Henry Bellmon, one of OSU’s greatest alumni, died on Tuesday morning, Sept. 29, 2009, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s. The former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator was a man of integrity who loved Oklahoma State University and the state of Oklahoma. He will be missed and long remembered by the OSU family and many others.

A STATESMAN FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
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Henry Bellmon’s freshman year in 1938 differed significantly from student life today.
Few people of the Depression era had any money. Maybe a dozen students owned an automobile. And except for church and occasional theater productions or dances at the girls’ dorms, “There wasn’t much of a social life,” Bellmon says.

Campus also contrasted with the homestead in north-central Oklahoma where his family produced wheat and livestock and where his love of farming began.
Bellmon’s father encouraged him to pursue a high-paying profession. “He wanted me to become a lawyer,” Bellmon says. But Bellmon wanted to study agriculture and chose Oklahoma A&M because it was close to home. Preferring the outdoors to class work, he took the maximum course load to graduate a semester early in January 1942.

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“What a fun lady!”

That’s what everyone’s saying about Wally Funk, the 1962 astronaut candidate gracing the cover of STATE magazine. And they’re exactly right. She’s a hoot!

Even though Wally didn’t have much spare time during her Stillwater visit last spring, she invited me to join her for the day’s excursions, beginning with a brisk walk from the Atherton Hotel to the Hideaway to meet a group for lunch. I could barely keep up with this phenomenal woman, much less scribble down all her rapid-fire quotes.

Wally also graciously took time for a photo shoot with OSU photographer Phil Shockley, who captured her fun-loving personality in STATE’s cover photo.

It’s easy to think great photography just happens, especially when OSU photographers Phil Shockley and Gary Lawson consistently produce award-winning images. But outside the genre of photo-journalism or even the dumb luck of using your cell phone to catch an approaching tornado before it catches you, great photography often requires considerable preparation of lighting, sets and time to establish a rapport with the subject before pressing the shutter button.

So if STATE magazine calls you sometime asking for an interview and photo shoot, please do like Wally Funk did and make some time for us. We hope you’ll agree that it’s time well spent.

Janet