Howard Payne College - Lasso Yearbook (Brownwood, TX)

Page 6 text:

■ In Memoriam - Dr. Guy D. Newman 1906-1988 By Michael Ganus and Melody Frerich As we bid farewell to a century of incred- ible works at HPU, it is easy to see why we are going out with a bang. The echo of our accomplishments will continue to resound mind that we honor one of the men who made it possible to reach this point- Dr. Guy Newman. This former president of Howard Payne, who later became chancellor, then president emeritus in 1978, was bom in Dorchester, Texas on December 9,1906, and was reared in the small community of Bug Tussle. When he was in the seventh grade, Newman’s family of 12 moved to Sherman. He worked as a soda jerk to help support his family and in his teen years did not see much point in finishing his education. As he put it, I never really learned theartof disciplined school, and he spent less and less time there. Finally he quit school altogether and decided to leave Sherman. So he and some of his friends took a Model T to Vernon, father of four. Dr. Newman kept a rather hectic schedule throughout his life. which was at that time a booming oil town, and found work at a drug store dispensing In 1926 Newman went to Amarillo where, at the age of 20, he married his first wife, Julia Herbst. They later had three children - Patsy Jo, Guy, Jr., and Charlotte Ann. It was also in Amarillo that Newman re- discovered God. After attending a revival at the request of the evangelist, Dr. T.L. Holcomb, Newman was amazed when his wife left the balcony seat in the church to go forward and commit her life to God. Because of this commitment and New- man's shame at having drifted away from the church, they became involved at First Bap- tistChurch in Amarillo. Newman taught the largest young men's class in the church and conducted prayer meetings. Then one Sun- day Newman was asked to preach. eventually pastored in Groom, Denison, Temple and Brownwood. He also decided to become better educated. Newman was accepted into Baylor Uni- versity under the provision that he fail no more than two courses in any one semester. His high school transcript revealed that he had received only eight of the 14 credits necessary to graduate. Thus he had to clear enough credits at Baylor to wash out his high school deficiency. In regard to the queries about his classification on campus, Newman wrote in his biography, entitled One Guy's Dream, It might have been better if the dean had put a label on my lapel: 'A student on trial for nine months!' Despite thisprovision, Newman gotalong reasonably well his first year, in spite of the fact that by this time he was 30 years old and a widower with three children (his wife had died of cancer when she was 25). However, by the second year, Newman faced the courses for which he had no back- ground in his few years of school. These 4 In Memoriam

Page 5 text:

Wow! It's hard to believe a century's gone by for Howard Payne. But it has! In that period of time we've gone from a college of 24 students in 1889, to a univer- sity of almost 1,300. We've gone from one campus to two, when Daniel Baker College and Howard Payne merged, and we’ve seen Old Main, our oldest and most cherished building on campus, bum in 1984. Traditions were established in the past century that have become an integral part of what Howard Payne is. Initiation, with all its fun and craziness, began in the early years of the college and continues today as we distin- guish ourselves as one of the few campuses in the nation which still uses beanies. Another tradition is the friendly atmos- phere that is so obvious on campus that Thomas H. Taylor, former presidentof HPU, dubbed us as the college where everybody is somebody.” Sports are a special part of college life and our athletes have put forth a valiant effort to excel in the past century. Football, vol ley ball, basketball, golf, tennis, baseball, track, and even boxing, have all been played at HPU. And, referring to our tradition of friendliness, both athletes and fans alike are known for their sportsmanship both on and off the field. Howard Payne has had several dedi- cated presidents who enjoy getting to know the students, and who use their time, talent and influence to further the institution. Dr. Don Newbury, our president since 1986, is one such president and has become a tradi- tion of sorts himself in that he is known as the Popcorn King by the students of HPU. Everytime his porch light is on, it means he's got popcorn ready to distribute to any hun- gry student, and he often brings bags of it to the movie on Friday nights or the TV rooms on weekends. Such events mark the passing of the first century in the life of our school, and it is this, our final year before beginning our second century, that we prepare to igniteeven more events in the future. With such explosive action in the works, it is easy to see why we are GOING OUT WITH A BANG!

Page 7 text:

larly, mathematics. Newman's fnstattempt was at trigonome- try and, in his words, it was as new to me as space is to an ant. The linguistics of the subject overwhelmed him and his total lack of background in geometry and trig in high school made the situation seem hopeless. After talking to his professor Newman decided to hire a tutor. He spent six to seven hours a day with his tutor and trig had Newman so obsessed that he slept and dreamed and hated it with a passion that cannot be expressed. Finally the end of the semester came and Newman went to his classroom to check his final grade. Now this is probably one course that has more to do in my life than any other single course I have ever had, he once wrote. It may have been the most important event of my life. In life, Guy faced numer- ous obstacles, many of which would have deci- mated lesser people, but he overcame them all. Much ofHPU's greatness can be directly attributed to this great leader. Dr. Don Newbury, HPU president As Newman scanned the list of names, his heart sank when he reached his own. He had received an F - an F that, in his mind, marked more than the failure of a course, it marked the failure of his attempt to attend the university. His loneliness, shame and the forlorn feeling that accompanies such a dis- appointment affected his attitude for the rest of the day. However after many tears and much soul searching that night, Newman experienced a new fortitude and strength. It was at this point that he realized that he had God's help to rely on and in His own way the Lord had provided Newman with the means to gain the discipline he had sought for so long. Such discipline would help Newman as he took over the presidency of Howard Payne College in 1955. Such discipline wouldalso help him undertake his dream for the campus - to establish something that would help preserve the great traditions, noble ideals and the high spiritual and moral values re- posed by the Constitution and our American way of life. The end result was the Douglas MacArthurAcademyofFreedom. Founded in 1962, the purpose of the Academy was, to reach the totality of our individual stu- dents so that they would have a true perspec- tive of not only our American system, but of the world in which they live...” Dr. Newman chose Mac Arthur's name because it dramatized the program and got the attention of the people nationwide. It occured to me that there was in this country a man whose image, though controversial, had captivated the imagination of millions of people as a great military statesman, edu- cator and American leader, he said. That man was General Douglas MacArthur. Dr. Newman was not only an effective administrator, but was also a personal presi- dent Reflecting back to the 1958 Lasso, a moving letter to the students is found. It told of his constant prayer for their continual achievement and that nothing may deter your purpose and defeat the ultimate plan God has for your life. The students responded to him as well. The 1968 Lasso was dedicated to Dr. New- man, with respectand love [for] apresident whose leadership and drive have resulted in substantial growth for the college in both physical facilities and academic strength. It is for his great love and dedication that we honor him once more. It is our hope this personal glimpse into this extraordinary man's life will provide an opportunity for those of us who never had the privilege of meeting Dr. Newman to do so. Unfortu- nately, his death on July 4,1988 has taken this fine man from us, but his spirit remains alive in this, the school he so cherished. Perhaps this tribute to a great man by an- other great man will bring the personhoodof Dr. Newman into focus. According to Dr. Don Newbury, HPU president and a student at Howard Payne during Dr. Newman's presidency, Dr. Newman was an unsur- passed Christian patriot, educator and gen- tleman whose vision, conviction and dedica- tion to Christian ideals inspired the tens of thousands of people who knew him. In the 33 years I knew him, he always was a trusted friend and valued counselor. In life, he faced numerous obstacles, many of which would have decimated lesser people, but he over- came them all. MuchofHPU'sgrcatncsscan be directly attributed to this great leader.” Dr. Newman in his younger days. Guy Newman and his wife Estelle were married in 1938 and they have one daugh- ter, Bobbie Kay. Guy considered his wife the greatest contribution to my life. In Memoriam 5