University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - Ivy Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

Page 10 text:

In Memoriam Lowell M. Lee, director of our art de- partment since 1946, died suddenly on August 26, 1953. His death means a great loss to Wisconsin State college. We feel tliat praise and confidence expressed by a student is the greatest tribute a teacher can recei e. With this in mind we reprint a letter which appeared Octo- ber 14, 1953 in the From the People col- umn of the Milwaukee Journal. To The Journal: The news item concerning the death of our artist and teacher, Lowell Lee, passed so quickly and quietly from the pages of your newspaper that 1 would like to write this testament on his behalf. He was so strong a person, so lo ed and respected by those who even casually came into his orbit, that the shock of his death is still incomprehensible to those whom he touched so closely. Mr. Lee was more than the head of the art department at Wisconsin State college in Milwaukee. He was a human being in the highest sense of the word. He will be re- membered for that, primarily, which is the greatest memorial of all. I speak only as a graduate student in art education who came back after a 10 year absence to absorb what I could of his knowledge, feelings and philosophy. Every class was a new experience for both him and his students, for he taught ac- cording to their needs and their stimulation. He practiced the self-demand theorv long before others thought of it. He was able to bring out of each student that which was his very own, so that people came to life under his subtle, indirect and quiet encourage- ment and faith. He taught and lived democracy in a way that is the essence of that wav of life; a way that escapes too many of us. He never preached, never imposed his philosophy on anyone. Yet students grew and de eioped under his gentle acceptance of and belief in them. He believed that if every person could accept that which was indi idually his and respect himself for it, he could, too, in time, accept every other persons products and subsequently the person himself, different though he may be, without imposing his own scheme of things. Mr. Lee ' s tool was art and he felt this truth might be attained through the use of this medium. But he respected and used all mediums which could work toward his supreme goal: A mature and healthy mankind. Graduate students came back year after year whether they needed credits or not and they clamored for him to introduce new courses so that they might return to him again and again. Each year he ga ' e them more. His classes were an unending surprise because of the ideas and feelings he brought to them. He was often exhausted at the end of a class. He gave so much of himself, so honest- ly, so morally, it is no wonder that his body could no longer support such intensity. GRATEFUL STUDENT

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At Work and Play College mean.s play. Social activities and sports make college life fun-and provide a host of pleasant memories in the years to come. We sip coffee at the Union and hold endless conversations with our friends, seated all around us. The rain pours down, and we sit huddled in the cold watching our team plav. We all feel the same thrill of pride when we can say, This is our team, the Green Gulls! We attend dances. Those after-game mixers are often as wonderful as the formal proms with their pat- terns of swaying formals and newlv pressed blue gabar- dine suits. We form lasting and cherished friendships- friendships formally bound by membership in sororities or fraternities or those casually aroused with the person who shares our locker. Here, in word and in picture, is presented to the stu- dent body, WSC 1954, at work and at play. We present it with the hope that it will keep these wonderful and ex- citing vears as fresh and alixe as they are today.

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As They Leave In September of 1922, Miss Irene Harbeck ac- cepted the position of second grade teacher at the campus school of Wisconsin State College, then known as the Milwaukee Normal School. Now, having fulfilled her teaching duties, she will retire in June. Miss Harbeck has always been a busy figure both on and off campus. At the college, besides her work as a critic teacher, she partici- pated in the Newman club and A.C.E. She has already co-authored two science books, and her future plans will undoubtedly include more craft work, a hobby which has brought her many awards. Leaving her post as assistant director of the Elementary education division. Miss Elizabeth Heiny is retiring this June after thirty-eight years of faithful service. She came to us from the teachers ' college at Mayville, North Dakota. Hun- di ' eds of students in lower elementary will espe- cially remember and value the guidance gained in her children ' s literature course. Pi Lambda Theta, national honorary sorority for college wo- men, and the Wisconsin Kindergarten Association are among the many outside interests to which Miss Heiny has devoted her time and energy, in addition to her duties at the college. After twenty-seven years of teaching in the physical education department at Wis consin State college. Miss Alta Wolcott retired in June of 1953 to her summer home at Ellison Bay, Door county. Miss Wolcott ' s greatest interest was in the field of modern dance, a course which she aided in establishing here. Many college women will long appreciate the grace, poise and better understanding of free expression which she helped to instill in them. Miss Wolcott ' s extracur- ricular interests included ad ising Dorado, the women ' s swimming group.