The Skyline Newspaper

Parsons, Sager Featured In "New Texas" Literary Magazine

By MaryAshley P. Gredell
Skyline Reporter

Two well-known professors are featured in the 2007 New Texas literary journal, published by Sul Ross and edited by Dr. Laura Payne Butler.

Professor of History Judy Parson's nonfiction piece, "The Sound," chronicles the author's experiences as a student caught in the crossfire of the famous 1966 University of Texas tower shootings.

"Perhaps the most important thing I learned from the Tower sniping is even if we think something like that will never happen to us; it could," said Parsons.

"I don't think the size of the campus matters much. Bad things happen in all kinds of places, but we can't live our lives expecting them to happen."

Parson's piece was just nearing completion while she was enrolled in Dr. Barney Nelson's graduate-level Creative Non-Fiction class.

As she began her final revisions, the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech unfurled and the central message of "The Sound" took on an even more contemporary meaning.

"The Monday I was to read my essay in class was the day of the Virginia Tech shooting. I revised and finished the article listening to interviews with VT students on CNN," said Parsons.

"When I watched the Virginia Tech shooting on TV, I was struck by how much more personal the attacks there were. Whitman was shooting people from a distance while the young man at VT could see his victims clearly."

Dr. Nelson Sager, Professor of English, also features work in this Year's New Texas: four poems showcasing both his reflections as a writer and his perspective as a Texan of the high desert mountains.

"I have found that not too many of the Texas journals will publish any kind of formal poetry (i.e. with any kind of rhyme or controlled stanza [i.e. kind of a self-fulfilling kiss-of-death wish]) even if it has a Texas subject," said Sager.

"Having taught 19th century English poetry for 30 something years, it is difficult to break out of the patterns that you are accustomed to."

Sager, who has been published in several other regional journals, now seeks to set some of his words to melody with the help of other Sul Ross staff.

"I am currently working on turning some poetic lyrics into songs," said Sager.

"I have one that I think has some potential, particularly with the musical artists who come to the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering. It's called 'The Girl from Wild Rose Pass'; with the action of the narrative set up by Balmorhea.

"After working with Justin Badgerow to get my guitar tablature turned into musical score and Charles Bell working out a chording pattern for actually singing it, I think it is pretty close to ready-to-go," said Sager.

New Texas is available for purchase at the Department of Languages and Literature, MAB 114, or by e-mailing Dr. Butler at lbutler@sulross.edu. The cost is $10 per copy.

Stevens Retiring; To Be Honored Dec. 7th

Sul Ross State University print services supervisor John Stevens has not only seen, but experienced numerous transformations in the industry during his quarter-century of employment.

Stevens will retire Jan. 31, 2008. He will be honored at a retirement reception Friday, Dec. 7, 2:00 p.m., in the second floor foyer of the University Center.

The Marfa High School (1971) and Sul Ross graduate (B.A., Criminal Justice, 1976) joined the Print Shop as a printing operator II in 1983. He has worked for three directors, the late W.A. "Bill" Sprinkle; Paul Olsen; and present News and Publications director Steve Lang; and three presidents, C. Robert Richardson, Jack Humphries and R. Vic Morgan. Stevens was named print services supervisor in 2003 after Olsen's retireme.

His printing experience extends back another decade. Stevens worked for The Big Bend Sentinel in Marfa from 1974-78, then was a partner with Bill Brooks in the Territorial Printer in Alpine (1978-83). During more than 30 years as a printer, he has seen the industry evolve from Linotypes to Compugraphics to computers and digital composition. He has worked with letterpress, offset printing, color copying, scanning and now digital printing.

"Computer graphics has definitely been the most distinctive change in the industry," he said. "The ability to design all types of publications has been greatly expanded through the computer, and when things are working well, they can be produced more quickly."

He praised the Sul Ross environment. "I have enjoyed Sul Ross and West Texas; the people, the climate, the way of life," he said. "I have always worked for good bosses, and I regard them as my friends as well as supervisors."

Stevens was born in Laredo and moved with his family to Calexico, Calif., and Houlton, Maine, where his father, O.D., served as a Border Patrol agent. The family moved to Marfa in 1963 when O.D. Stevens was named chief patrol agent of the Marfa sector. John Stevens enrolled at Sul Ross after graduation from high school and also served in the Texas National Guard from 1972-78.

John and Becky Stevens have two daughters, Michelle Martinez, Alpine; and Leslie Stevens, Marfa, and three grandchildren, Kaela, Zachary and Adam. The couple plans to move to Kerrville upon retirement.

Retirement plans include "trying to work as little as possible, although that is not likely."

Museum Map Collection Going Places On Two Year Tour

A Nov. 2 reception at Dallas' Old Red Courthouse Museum launched a two-year traveling exhibition for the Museum of the Big Bend's Marty and Yana Davis Map Collection.

"Going to Texas: Five Centuries of Texas Maps," features 64 maps from the prestigious collection, housed at the Museum on the Sul Ross State University campus. The exhibit, featuring maps dating from 1548-2006, is organized by Texas Christian University's Center for Texas Studies and the Museum of the Big Bend.

The tour will include stops at the Old Red Museum; Panhandle Plains Museum, Canyon; Museum of the Southwest, Midland; Mayborn Museum, Waco; Museum of South Texas History, Edinburg; Texas Tech Museum, Lubbock; Centennial Museum, El Paso; Old Jail Museum, Albany; and will conclude in January 2010 at the Cowgirl Museum, Fort Worth.

Future tours in New York and New Mexico are also being considered.

A companion book, "Going to Texas," published by TCU Press, includes an introduction by Davis, Fort Davis/Dallas, who donated the collection to the Museum of the Big Bend in 2006. Museum director Larry Francell wrote "Uncharted Ground: Mapping West Texas, 1848-1861," a chapter on maps drawn during American exploration between the Mexican War and War Between the States. Curator Matt Walter wrote "Disorder on the Border, 1910-1923," on maps depicting border disputes between the U.S. and Mexico.

"The book will live long after the exhibit is over," said Francell. "Prior to this publication by TCU Press, there was only one other book on Texas maps. This book does not duplicate the first and will be another definitive resource."

TCU's Center for Texas Studies is an interdisciplinary center whose mission is "to celebrate all that makes Texas distinctive." The Museum of the Big Bend, which recently completed a $4.4 million renovation/relocation project, interprets the history and cultures of the Big Bend of Texas and northern Mexico.

The Davis Map Collection has been hailed as one of the most significant in Texas.

"Several other collections, including one at the University of Texas at Arlington, are of great prestige and size, but no collection is as accessible to the public as this one," Francell said.

"We are very pleased that Sul Ross State University and the Museum of the Big Bend will have a state and possibly a national presence," he said.

For more information, contact Francell, (432) 837-8145 or francell@sulross.edu, or visit www.texasstudies.org or call (817) 257-6295.

Employees To Receive Recognition

Twenty Sul Ross employees will be recognized for five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of accident-free work on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

The annual awards ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the University Center's Espino Conference Center.

Recognized employees will include:

25 years: Anselmo Reyes, custodial services supervisor, Physical Plant.

20 years: Aurora R. Ramos, housekeeper, Physical Plant; Jesus R. Spencer, property and inventory specialist, Controller's Office; Susan K. Zukowski, administrative secretary, Human Resources.

15 years: Rosa C. Ramirez, library assistant, Wildenthal Library; John L. Sanders, tech support specialist II, Information Technology.

10 years: Linda S. Coleman, registrar's assistant, Admissions and Recruiting; Tanya D. Romero, budget specialist, Business Affairs; Margie Urquidez, custodial services supervisor, Physical Plant.

5 years: Mary Sue Belles, secretary, Criminal Justice; Steve G. Conant, communications/ electrical technician, Information Technology; Michael J. Howard, photography assistant, Archives of the Big Bend; Cynthia A. Kennedy, accounting supervisor, Controller's Office; Joy Morrison, secretary, Education; Stacy C. Ontiveroz, secretary, Physical Plant; Joe Ray Ramirez, maintenance worker, Physical Plant; Anabell Sartain, cashier, Controller's Office; Paul M. Spitzer, grounds keeper, Physical Plant; Sally T. Tobola, administrative secretary, Education; Amy B. Valenzuela, secretary, Biology.