Author Archives: Melissa Kean

This is one of those that’s so hard I put off writing it as long as I could. I was deeply saddened to learn a couple weeks ago of the death of Neil “Sandy” Havens ’56. In an unsettling coincidence … Continue reading →

Anyone who’s been reading this stuff for a while knows how fond I am of Norman Hackerman, who I think was a good guy and an underrated president. But as much as I admire him I never expected to see … Continue reading →

I’ve reached a point at Rice where it is not easy to surprise me but today I was surprised twice. This is the most recent one, from the Houston Post, December 29, 1964: We have a pretty thorough list of … Continue reading →

There is very little in this picture that I understand. I’d recognize Priscilla Huston’s smile anywhere and I think I also understand the telephone next to her: Otherwise I’m going to need someone to explain all this to me. Mainly … Continue reading →

When I was working the other day on the post about the crowd at a 1956 basketball game I got interested in one of the Rice players, Temple Tucker.  Tucker was a star for the Owls in the late ’50s … Continue reading →

The Woodson recently received a small but exquisite collection of Rice related materials from Gerald Moorhead ’69 ’71. Among the treasures is a box of 8×10 photographic prints, most taken around campus. The natural assumption is that Moorhead took them … Continue reading →

I am fascinated by this image of a full gymnasium and leaping cheerleaders. There’s something almost otherworldly about it: I found this write-up of the game in one of the old alumni scrapbooks: We had a very good season that … Continue reading →

It’s a rainy day today, which reminded me of this charming image: But what do these people have in common, besides a shared conviction that they won’t melt in the rain and the fact that they’re all really nice? It … Continue reading →

One of the contrasts that never fails to entertain is the one between undergraduate hijinks and the serious discussion thereof by senior administrators. This one is a classic, with the Committee on Outdoor Sports handing down their verdict on Sammy … Continue reading →

Update: The first time I got interested in the 1926 Math Department photo (five years ago!) I found myself perplexed about the location of the group and had to go out to look for it. It was changed from the … Continue reading →