By Ken Irving, Senior Reporter
Brown began teaching at NWOSU in 1973 before retiring in 2004. Since retiring, Brown has been an active member of the Northwestern community. He will be this year’s Homecoming Grand Marshal.
The Grand Marshal at Northwestern is about someone who is being honored for their time that they’ve dedicated to Northwestern and the support that they continue to give,” said Northwestern Director of Marketing Kelsey Martin. “Dr. Brown will lead the parade and guide us toward the football game. The parade Marshal is chosen by the homecoming committee that is comprised of community members and University employees. Dr. Brown was chosen because he’s been a long time member of our community, and he is dedicated to our purpose. He’s been here for over 40 years and supports our students and represents what Northwestern stands for.”
Brown was born in upstate New York and went to school in New Jersey. As a young student, he interned under two chemistry professors. Every day he watched them, taking notes of the professors—thus where his love for chemistry and physics came from.
“Every day I was around the science building a lot,” Brown said. “I ended up growing a liking for science and I got into it.”
He graduated from Rutgers with his doctorate in physical and inorganic chemistry. He met his wife Dale in his freshman year of college.
“I lived in New York, so I didn’t go back home in between semesters,” Brown said. “That’s when Dale transferred in. … The dining room was in use in the basement of our dormitory,” Brown said. “You would go down the set of stairs to get there. I remember her going down the set of stairs.”
He would never forget her smile when he fist saw her walking down the steps. During school they spent many nights at the ice cream parlor where they would talk with each other and further their bond together. In 1961, the pair would get married while Brown was in graduate school.
Dale opened a preschool and daycare center in Alva. Brown describes her as being a caring person who put the feelings of others before herself. Dale was solely responsible for remodeling and keep the Runny Mede open.
Over 30 years ago, the city of Alva wanted to tear down the Runnymede. At the time, Runnymede was a rundown building that used to be a hotel. Dale did not want the city to tear down the building. She got a group of people and fought like a soldier to keep the Runnymede open. It became more than just a hotel. It was a boarding house, a store, a dance studio, hosted weddings and was a place for people to meet.
Dale and Brown where the picture-perfect American family. Over the course of 12 years, the two moved across the country while making stops at New Jersey and Kentucky before settling in Alva.
“We had four kids by the time we moved to Alva,” Brown said. “Two of them were born in New Jersey and two in Kentucky, but if you ask any of them their Oklahomans.”
Brown raised his family in Alva. While he taught at Northwestern, Dale opened a preschool and daycare center. As a professor, Brown taught chemistry to thousands of students throughout the years. His favorite teaching moment was doing a lab with copper and zinc pennies. He smiled as he talked about how he enjoyed the kid’s reaction to seeing the pennies change colors.
Brown said that although that was his favorite lab, he truly enjoyed watching his students grow as people. He specifically talked about a girl and a boy that was in one of his classes. His said that the girl at the time was quieter and more reserved but as they got older, she became more opened and than he became more of a supporter to her. He said that he was proud of that girl for growing into the smart woman that he knew she could be.
Although Brown was a successful professor, his biggest accomplishment was his children.
“I’m just so proud of my children and of who they have become,” Brown said. “They all turned out to be pretty good people. It’s fun to watch my grandkids grow.”
Brown’s contribution to Northwestern and his family legacy is a major part to why he is this year’s parade marshal. He said he is thankful to be a big part of the parade, and it makes him feel connected to the university and city of Alva. He said that he is excited for his children and family to come back to Alva and for them to spend time with each other.
The parade’s path will be around the square with Dale’s statue and the Runnymede at the heart of the route.
As Brown leads this year’s homecoming parade, surrounded by the city and university he helped shape, it’s clear that his legacy and his family’s legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
“My greatest accomplishment is not what I have accomplished in the classroom, but it’s seeing the person my kids have grown into and become.” -Dr. Ken Brown