Super FansLetters to the Editor

Super Fans!

Our story about Oregon State superfans inspired loads of school pride, and we had a great time celebrating the colorful fans featured in it, as well as OSU fandom in general, during Homecoming. The story has also brought more community members into the effort to keep the Dam Flag waving at College GameDay broadcasts. Sign up to help. And when we asked for OSU food memories, boy, did you deliver! We received recollections aplenty and recipes, too. See here to savor the nostalgia.

Over two years ago, I randomly met Marvin [featured in “Super Fans!”] at a mall in Oahu, dressed head to toe in Beaver orange. I had to say something, so we chatted for a bit! To see him in the magazine was so fun! Go Beaver superfans!

—Andrea Nitta, via LinkedIn

I honestly think this issue with superfans of OSU was the best issue ever. Other schools cater only to multi-millionaire or billionaire alumni. That is totally wrong and against the mission of a public university. I thank OSU for being the people’s university. Much mahalo for highlighting the hardworking alums of OSU without a billion dollars to donate. Go Beavs!

—Marvin Yonamine, ’87

Susan Mayer Schmidt [featured in “Super Fans!”] and I were girlhood friends in Lebanon, Oregon, living a few blocks from each other. Her Oregon connections go way back. Her mother was my high school typing teacher — providing me with a skill that furthered my career more than any other I learned in school. Her father was a Lebanon entrepreneur, high school class president (class of 1930), and my father’s best childhood friend. Susan’s grandparents and my grandparents were next-door neighbors. Susan’s grandfather Joel Mayer founded the first bank in Lebanon. Both our families lived on the Lebanon canal, and during summers we often dove in from Mayer’s back yard and floated down to our backyard, where we’d continue to play in the water for hours. I and many of our Lebanon friends are tickled to see Susan and her collection featured in the Oregon Stater.

—Warrene (Beymer) Gill, ’65

Just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed the Fall issue of the Stater! Loved Scholle McFarland’s piece on Beaver superfans! She nailed that one — great picks to feature! Kip Carlson’s piece on the transformation of college athletics in this NIL-portal world was also excellent. And lastly, science does matter for our country and the world. It matters big time for OSU as well. Nice conversation with President Murthy. Well done!

—Scott Spiegelberg, ’75

Photo by Ema Peter Photography

We Love PDX

Thank you for your great article about the new Portland airport terminal. I flew into PDX in June for the first time in several years, and when I walked into the main terminal I quite literally just stopped and stared at the beautiful scene before me. I travel a lot and have never been in such a lovely commercial indoor space designed for thousands of people. The gorgeous wood ceiling, vertical spaces and floor; the trees and other greenery scattered about; and the soothing color scheme all came together to evoke that true Pacific Northwest natural outdoor feel. I was almost sorry that I had to collect my luggage and leave. Kudos to the architects, engineers and OSU alumni who made it possible.

—Gretchen (Bree) Brown, ’81

I travel a lot and have never been in such a lovely commercial indoor space designed for thousands of people.

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I just wanted to share how special it was to read Siobhan Murray’s article “Into the Woods,” because I helped on that project! I worked in preconstruction for Hoffman Skanska for years. Seeing it actually get built was exciting, and seeing this article recognizing the awesome project and the awesome Beavers who helped build it was pretty special. It made my day!

—Addie Miller, ’19

Pride is Contagious

Richelle Hayes, ’96, shared this photo of herself as a 1980s kid with superfans Susan Mayer Schmidt and “Beaver Bob” Schmidt in the background. “My aunt and uncle would tailgate with their college friends before each home football game,” she said. “Beaver Bob gave me my first stuffed beaver puppet. I still have it!”

I thought it would be appropriate to add another layer to the article “Into the Woods.” HL Stearns, Inc. — where I’m the executive vice president of finance — is also an active participant in the PDX Airport project, as it provided lighting and controls. The article profiled the amazing woodwork, while the photograph included several of the 450 light fixtures.

—Brian Tanz, ’85

Unforgettable Mentors

[John Valva’s] publisher’s note in the Fall Oregon Stater mentioning mentors who never leave us got me thinking. There are two names that immediately come to mind from my time at Oregon State. The first is James Douglass, director of bands. Although I was not a music major, I had far more class hours with Mr. Douglass than with any other professor. Marching band was a daily activity in fall term, and symphonic band and basketball pep band filled winter and spring terms. I still have two vinyl LPs that we recorded. Mr. Douglass was an inspiration to me, tough and exacting, but compassionate in private. I left with a lifetime commitment to music. I’ve spent 35 years as a clarinetist in the Tualatin Valley Community Band, and I’ve played piano for middle school and high school choirs and musicals for 15 years, while pursuing a career as a computer programmer.

The other is Paul Cull, professor in the computer science department. Although I had relatively few classes with Mr. Cull, it was the first time in my life I had encountered a genius. I will never forget his chest-length white beard, with a depression carved out for his pipe. It wasn’t until years later that I learned how very young the computer science department was; when I joined in 1976, it was only the third year of its existence, having been established by Paul Cull and Curtis Cook in 1974. To the two of them, I am forever grateful.

—Tim Roberts, ’80

I often tell student leaders I advise now that finding these mentors is what made me want to work in higher education myself.

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I wanted to share my OSU mentorship story. I am so lucky to have had great mentors within the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life, including Leslie Schacht Drey and JP Peters, who helped me find my strength in student leadership through my roles as recruitment chair and chapter president of Chi Theta Phi, and as one of the founding members of the Collective Greek Council.  As a student leader, I had so many great memories (the retreats, council creation meetings, Greek Week and even Leslie waving to me at graduation) but also so many lessons learned, and I’m so happy they were there to guide me through it all.

Leslie and JP taught me that it was OK to make mistakes and how to become a better communicator. I often tell student leaders I advise now that finding these mentors is what made me want to work in higher education myself. I now work at Portland State University, where I advise student leaders in our three Greek Life organizations and PSU’s student government.

—Madeline Frisk, ’17

Storytelling that Shines

Our Winter 2025 cover story, “Rewilding the Klamath,” written by Sean Nealon and photographed by David Baker, won the prestigious National Association of Science Writers Excellence in Institutional Writing Award. We’re proud of OSU research and that our OSU writers are among the very best. Go, Beavs! (Read the story.)

As an alumni lifetime member, I read the Stater’s contents with great interest. After that, I pass it on to three other OSU graduates who reside here where we live in retirement. Your article “Teachers Who Never Leave Us” caught my eyes and mind. The teacher who fits the title perfectly is my mechanical engineering adviser Professor Arthur D. Hughes. He was honored in the Stater around 1992, and was loved by many engineering students and definitely myself. In my case, he personally understood my challenge of lacking funds for school and my somewhat poor preparation for the demanding engineering curriculum.

He always had great mechanical test programs and made learning fun. I have never forgotten our senior project. I had wanted to test a pulse jet engine, but the lab unit was too big and powerful to do so safely in the lab. I suggested a 3-foot model, available for $45. He said yes and that I should buy it and he would find the repayment later. My designed tests were great, proved the engine’s thrust, and made a lot of fire and noise — a good show-off for Senior Week. He loved it and paid me back. When I was an officer in the Air Force and in Corvallis for business, I would stop and see him in his old office. He was still teaching, so we had great discussions about his work and my work as an Air Force space and missile test engineer. I think he was happy that his work with me was well spent.

—USAF Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Ronald L. Akers, ’57

Photo by So-min Kang

Safer Sawing

As a forestry major, I’ve always enjoyed working in and with woods, so imagine my surprise when I reached the last few pages of the Fall 2025 issue of the Stater and found that Steve Gass, inventor of the SawStop [see photo above], is a fellow alum. The woodshop at our retirement community has had one for over 10 years, and it is the standout centerpiece of our equipment, attracting several residents to move here and safely enjoy woodworking as we age. I now have an indirect connection to a personal hero.

—Dick Parady, ’70

53 Years of Sisterhood

Elizabeth Vandehey, ’72, sent in the above photo of members of the Class of ’72 Alpha Phi sorority celebrating their 75th birthdays in Victoria, British Columbia. “We get together every summer in Sisters, Oregon, for our annual ‘Sisters in Sisters,’” Vandehey said. Pictured here (left to right) are Betsy McGowan Holzgraf, Mary Paczesniak, Jane Karnath Ditewig, Reni Cogger Matlock, Linda Breeding Clancy, Barb Jackson Roberts, Elizabeth “Lizz” Anderson Vandehey and Jane Roberts.

Fir the Record

I was flabbergasted to read not one but two Fall 2025 articles incorrectly spelling the name of Oregon’s state tree. Douglas-fir (genus Pseudotsuga) is not a true fir. True firs, such as the noble fir, are in the genus Abies. Therefore, “Douglas-fir” must always be hyphenated, a spelling formally adopted by the International Botanical Congress. While “Douglas fir” is commonly used, it’s technically inaccurate. OSU has one of the best forestry colleges in the world, and no doubt the entire faculty is fuming big time right now.

—Josh Kahan, ’90

Editor’s note: Because the English language supplies us with a wondrous variety of ways to spell and punctuate, publications commonly use style guides to settle disputes. Whenever we mention the state tree, there is debate about whether to hyphenate, but for now we continue to defer to AP Style.

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