He seemed so full of life as he reminisced about stories told to him by his late aunt and uncle. The stories were told with such clarity, it is hard to believe that this man’s days are limited- he is dying of cancer.
A.J. McNeese’s four children, Dave, Sally, Allison and John took off from work last week so they could take their father on a trip down memory lane.
From Eugene, Ore., the McNeese family journeyed 5,000 miles to Oklahoma to re-visit their roots beginning in Okmulgee where A.J. was born and lived until his first grade year.
The trip was undertaken even though A.J.’s doctor didn’t believe he would make it.
He proved the doctor wrong as the last stop for the travelers was Alva and the campus of Northwestern.
A.J.’s visit to campus came as quite a surprise to Northwestern president Dr. Joe Struckle. An even bigger surprise was what he brought to the university.
He brought an envelope full of Northwestern memorabilia from the time his aunt and uncle, siblings Leo and Zula Cott, were in school. Leo graduated in 1913 and Zula in 1914.
“It is good to see a person come back to the campus to bring memorabilia and remembrance,” Struckle said. “They must have thought a lot of Northwestern to bring it back here.”
Zula kept many things from her days in Alva. One item was a 1914 calendar which has a small, panoramic view of the campus on the cover. It pictures the Castle on the Hill and the Science Hall (now known as the Fine Arts Building). Also included is a copy of the 10th Anniversary Souvenir Edition of The Alva Pioneer, which covers the happenings in Alva from 1893 and 1903.
Various other items in the envelope include a commencement quiet program from 1913, debate banquet programs from 1912 and 1913, old photographs, grade cards and publication of the “The Commercial Club” which describes a pictures several businesses in Alva at that time, as well as photos of the buildings on the Northwestern campus.
Tentative plans are to house these items in the J.W. Martin Library, Struckle said.
As A.J. and Dr. Struckle looked through a few of his aunt’s items, A.J. commented that he drove his aunt Zula from Eugene to Alva in 1984 so she could attend her 70th class reunion at Northwestern.
A.J.’s daughter, Sally, added that she remembers Zula speaking fondly of Northwestern and the people with whom she went to school.
“Aunt Zula talked about this place a lot,” Sally said. “When she came back for her 70th reunion, she was thrilled. She was the only member of her class present that year.”
‘Zula played the organ and piano at Dr. Struckle’s house when we came back for that reunion,” A.J. remembered.
“Zula loved this place,” A.J.’s son, Dave, said.
A.J. noted, too, that Leo and Zula attended the seventh and eighth grade in the Science Hall and Library.
Zula died June 25,1992, at the age of 97 ½.
“She was sharp as a tack right up until the end,” A.J. said.
After touring around Northwestern’s campus, the McNeese family was on its way again taking with them fond memories of their own.
“This is a beautiful campus. The people are so nice,” Sally said. “Dad has been so full of life. We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.”
This story originally was published in the October 6, 1994 issue of Northwestern News.