8aylorian 1006 Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor The Daylorlaa 1..898 ' The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton, Texas Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor The Bay/orion Cathy Riccaboni . .. Managing Editor Vanissa Thunnan . Assistant Editor Layna Lewis . .. ................. .......... Art Editor Dr. Donna Walker-Nixon .... ... .. ........ Faculty Sponsor Staff Members Roni Hutcheson Matthew Neese Tara Reid Fred Elder Ellen Houghton Special appreciation to Mrs. Jane Haywood, Dr. Elizabeth Huston, and Dr. Nora Stafford for their advice in making this publication possible. Special thanks to George F. Nixon, Jr., Ph. D., for the use (and sometimes abuse) of his computer equipment. Cover Art Work: Layna Lewis Copyright 19%. English Department of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Published once a year in the Spring Semester. Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 2 Uterary Award Wlnnen Evelyn McFatridge Braahean Awards All Literature . Kim Pierce Poetry Award ......... .. ...... Matthew Neese Vignette Award .. ............... Candice Button Slpa Tau Delta Short Story Award . ...... Suzanne Baird Honorable Mention Poetry . ......... ........... .. ...... ...... Jeff Clayton Personal Essay, Poetry . ................... Roni Hutcheson Short Story . Hazel Roberts Poetry . .. Stacee Winters Personal Essay ......... ..... .... .. Vicky Garland Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 3 DEDICATION OF THE 1996 BAYLORIAN The 1994-1995 school year began on a sad note, since we lost our friend and colleague, Dr. William Frederick Hutmacher. In order to commemorate the legacy of learning, and of humor, that he left behind, we dedicate this 1996 Bay/orian to him. In the pages that follow, we have collected memories of his students and of his fellow faculty members. As a final tribute, we are including the poetry that he contributed to the Baylorian. The following article appeared in the Bells in the fall of 1994. THE LEGACY OF DR. WILLIAM FREDERICK HUTMACHER Every person is a allotted a specific number of years to live on Earth. Many people waste their years in frivolous pursuit of wealth or fame while others simply seek to enjoy their lives in ways that better the world around them. These people leave behind the legacies of full lives that never fade in the memory of the living. Very recently, one such person left his legacy to the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Mary Hardin­ Baylor ... Dr. William Frederick Hutmacher. On August 30, 1994, Dr. Hutmacher died in a Temple hospital after twenty-two years of service at UMHB. Since he worked with so many other professors and taught countless students, the memory of Dr. Hutmacher stirs vividly in the mind while a deep sense of loss weighs heavily on the heart. Many colleagues harbor fond memories of a cheerful old friend while students reminisce about a caring listener who once taught their English classes. One of his closest friends, Dr. Charles Taylor, remembers coming to UMHB as a professor along with Dr. Hutmacher. "He was the finest scholar I ever knew on material in which I had a deep interest," said Dr. Taylor. He saw Dr. .Hutmacher interact Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library,4 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with many of his same students and noted that those who learned from Dr. Hutmacher were the ones who really listened to him. One of these students is Shawndra Clay, an English/History double major, who bad Dr. Hutmacher for a variety of classes. She believes his greatest contribution to the University was the gift of himself. "He had more Christian values and heart-felt understanding than most men. and it all showed vividly when be taught, but mostly when be listened.; sbe added. He showed her that it was "okay not to know, but not okay to not tcy to know," Shawndra was able to enjoy his classes. She conunented, "His favorite thing to say was, 'Virtue lies in the quest, not in the attainmenL '" Shawndra is not the only student to enjoy his classes. Dale Dcli"le remembers the sense of bwnor Dr. Hutmacher bad in c l ~ "The excatement and the love he had for teaching that be brought into the classroom is probably his greatest legacy, • Dale reflected. Mrs. Jane Haywood, a colleague of Dr. Hutmacher's for the past nine years, remembers him as someone who enjoyed literature and enjoyed his students. Mrs. Haywood pointed out that his great love of literatw-e led to the publishing of a book he wrote on the subject of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbwy Tales. Mrs. Haywood said lhat Dr. Hutmacher's theory on teaching was that students should not leave his class crammed with facts but having learned to enjoy literature. "His trademark was enjoying the literature," she explained. Dr. Michael Thomas, one of UMHB's modem foreign language professors, had a rather unique relationship with Dr. Hutmacher, who was fluent in Spanish, German. French and Modem Greek and who studied Japanese extensively. What made their relationship so unique was the language activities they exercised on each other. By mixing together the different languages they each knew, they fonned their own personal language. They often translated English idioms literally into Spanish. For example, "Que esta usted arriba a?" meant, "What are you up to?" Dr. Thomas attested to the fact that Dr. Hutmacher bad a great sense ofhwnor, but he also stressed how he gave his total self to students, and not just his words. "He was a Christian teacher in the best sense of the word, • Dr. Thomas affinned. Dr. Thomas also recalled a time four or five years ago when Dr. Hutmacher helped him make a crucial decision. He gave such wise and insightful counsel that Dr. Thomas believes God really spoke to him through Dr. Hutmacher. Dr. Thomas fondly remembers Dr. Hutmacher as •a gentleman scholar and Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Christian teacher with extraordinary knowledge in his field and about the Bible." Christy Stanley recalls the dedication with which Dr. Hutmacher served as a teacher. She remembers a time when he was so sick he was in the hospital and was not able to attend his classes to administer finals. Yet, after the finals had been taken, he graded them even while he remained in the hospital. Soon after his death, in Mrs. Haywood's Advanced Grammar class, the life and legacy of Dr. Hutmacher was displayed in a most meaningful and proper way. While discussing the origins of the English language and tracing its historical path, Mrs. Haywood handed out copies of "The Lord's Prayer" in Old English. While berating herself for having ruined a tape of Dr. Hutmacher reading in Old English, Mrs. Haywood recalled that Dr. Hutmacher had always made his students memori.ze this particular version of the prayer when studying English literature. She asked how many students were present that were still able to read the prayer in Old English. Nearly half the class raised their hands. So in a reverent tribute to the memoty of the late Dr. Hutmacher, those students softly, but steadily, read the Old English version of "The Lord's Prayer." The silence that filled the room when the reading was finished was testament enough to the truth of how Dr. Hutmacher had successfully left his wealth of knowledge to the students of UMHB. With a warm tone to her voice, Mrs. Haywood stated, "It's what we have taught our students that is the real legacy, not what we have written or produced ourselves." Ann Montgomery, former secretary in the Education Department, has very fond memories of Dr. Hutmacher walking into her office every morning to rest in a chair before continuing to his classes. At the end of the day, he would saunter back into her office to rest before walking home. In the summer of 1994, summer Ann took eight hours of Dr. Hutmacher's classes in order to complete her General Studies degree. After finishing one of her finals under a tree in his front yard, she stopped to talk to him about the upcoming surgery he was scheduled to have before school started. As the two talked, Ann noted that this surgery had a deeper feeling of seriousness and held more than the usual amount of worries. Seeing her troubled expression, Dr. Hutmacher said in a matter-of-fact voice, "I've had a good life here. I'm ready to spend more time down here or a long time up there." Ann realized that he was prepared spiritually, physically and emotionally for the surgery and that he believed that whatever happened was God's will. Courtesy of Townsend Memorial Library, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 6 Something did happen. God called him home. We should be glad that he has entered into the presence of our sweet Savior and left behind all pain forever. But we are sad because he has left us behind, and we still miss him. No more bow ties and funny jokes. No more English gentleman to raise a bushy eyebrow at us and give a low chuckJe. In reality, be is still here. He is quite alive in the memories of his friends and loved ones, and he can be spotted in the faces of students who knew him and learned more than Old English from him He showed us the JOY of hving, and he chose to express it by teaching others the joy of literature. Life is not facts and figures~ it is experiences and people. And it was the experiences he had with people that make his legacy so ncb and wonderful and so necessary to carry on.