Brotherly Love

Here are brothers Charles and Robert Blair leaving home in Vernon, Texas, way up on the Oklahoma border, for the long trip to the Rice Institute. It was in the fall of 1930. :

Charles and Robert Blair leaving Vernon for Rice c1930

Their final destination, Room 407, East Hall Tower, where they lived together during each school year from 1929 to 1931:

Charles and Robert Blair 407 East Hall tower 1929 to 1931

When I first saw these pictures I scanned them just because I was so taken with the notion of the two of them rooming together. Then I began to wonder about who they were and what became of them. It took some digging (Thanks Lee and Rebecca!) but I found what I was looking for. Bob graduated from Rice in 1933 and went on to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he got his degree in 1937. He spent most of his long career as a doctor practicing in Houston. Charles stayed at Rice for  his B.A. (’31) and M.A. (’32), both in Chemistry, and went to Cal Tech to earn his doctorate. He was honored with the ARA’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1992 for his pathbreaking career in applying surface chemistry to solve a variety of problems in petroleum production and refining. (He had over a hundred patents.) I was touched to discover that it was a third brother, William (’36), who nominated Charles for the award.

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2 Responses to Brotherly Love

  1. Kathy says:

    What a sweet story! And great pix.

  2. Bill Johnson 57-58 says:

    Looks like the same furniture as in the 1950’s in South Hall.

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