University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 32, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 17, 1999 Page: 1 of 6
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Impeachment concludes
Today’s quote
President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate
“If bad taste were a felony, every writer I know would’ve done prison time.”
on Friday.
Page 3
— Steven Bochco
University Press
Wednesday, February 17,1999 A THREE-TlME ASSOCIATED PRESS TEXAS MANAGING EDITORS AWARD WINNER Vdl. 75, No. 32'
Food test to kick off homecoming celebrations
Cynthia Edwards
UP staff writer
Campus organizations have a chance
to play a major role in homecoming by
participating in a “Taste of Big Red”
Food Fest, set for Feb. 25 and Feb. 26,
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sample dishes will include frito pie,
chilli cheese hot-dogs, links, shrimp
gumbo, and Puerto Rican rice.
Participating organizations should
keep the prices reasonably low, Valarie
Durham, assistant director of student
organization services, said.
“Food Fest is not a competition
between the students, which is why no
two tables can serve the same item,”
Karen Thomas, director for Setzer
Student Center, said. “It is a way for stu-
dents to make money, and it is supposed
to be fun and more of a team spirit
builder among the organizations.”
Prizes will be awarded for the organi-
zation whose table displays the best dec-
orations showing spirit for Lamar
University. First prize will be $100, the
second prize will be $75 and the third
prize will be $50, giving organizations
another chance to make money, Anetria
Thompson, Lamar Alive! director, said.
“We are excited about this event, and
the students are excited,” Thomas said,
in reference to the fest.
Lamar Alive! and the Setzer Student
Center will decorate the SSC Arbor with
multi-colored balloons in honor of Food
Fest, Thomas said.
The school mascot will also appear at
the event.
“There will be a showing of Big Red,
and lots of entertainment,” Thomas said.
Lamar faculty and staff, along with the
students, and anyone affiliated with the
campus, are invited to attend Food Fest,
Thomas said.
“All organizations are encouraged to
participate,” she said. “It will be a terrif-
ic fund-raiser for organizations and will
give organizations a chance to interact
with the Lamar community as well as
other student organizations.”
All applications are to be returned to
the Office of Student Organization
Services, 212 Setzer Student Center, by
noon Friday.
In order to participate in the fest,
organizations must have a representative
at a mandatory meeting on Tuesday at 3
p.m. in 125 Setzer Student Center.
All food tables must be set up by 9:30
a.m. on Feb. 25 in order to be inspected
by the Beaumont Health Department.
All tables must be cleared off and
cleaned by 3 p.m.
Disney to honor ‘Hott spot in
Museum to have 24-foot-tall fire hydrant
Lori Gayle Lovelace
UP staff writer
The Fire Museum of Texas in downtown
Beaumont will soon be the home to “the world’s
largest fire hydrant.”
Manufactured and donated by Walt Disney Home
Video in celebration of its March 9 home video re-
release of the animated “101 Dalmatians,” the per-
manent black-and-white spotted hydrant, made of
fiber glass, will stand 24-feet tall and be 16-feet in cir-
cumference, Linda Miranda Gaudio, curator of the
fire museum, said.
Since the Dalmatian has long been associated with
the-fire service and its history, Disney thought it
appropriate to construct its creation in a place that fit
with the traditions of the fire service, she said, and a
fire museum seemed the logical choice.
“They started contacting museums across the
country,” she said, “and there are over 300 fire muse-
ums in the nation. Part of the sdarch was to call us
and ask for a proposal.”
As Disney called various museums for proposals,
the company left out one important detail — the fact
that it was Disney calling.
Once it came down to specifics on coming to
Beaumont and setting up a meeting, Gaudio, still not
knowing that she was dealing with Disney, stated a
few of her own requirements.
“I’m kind of protective of the museum,” she said.
“We have a reputation, and I’m not willing to open it
up to just anybody. It would have to be a family-ori-
ented company that would help us in our mission of
teaching fire safety.”
Once Disney revealed its identity, Gaudio says
that it took her a moment to regain her composure
before she could give her approval with an almost
inaudible and broken up, “Uh-huh?!”
Although not against the idea, Beaumont residents
do have some questions.
“I’m curious why Disney has taken this sudden
interest in Southeast Texas?” asked Mildred Hall,
member of the Beaumont Heritage Society.
Prior to hearing from Disney, Gaudio had devel-
oped a promotional letter head with Dalmatians on
it, labeling the museum as the “Hottest Spot in
Town.” Ironically, it was this same letterhead that
caught Disney’s attention and made them want to
come to Beaumont, Gaudio said.
The hydrant, manufactured to withstand 120-mile-
an-hour hurricane winds, is being constructed in
California and will be transported to Beaumont on a
trailer-truck. It will be placed on the proposed park
property, donated by the Chamblee family, across
Walnut Street from the museum.
This land will not only contain the fire hydrant,
but will also serve as a park for visitors and as a
memorial to past and present fire fighters.
“In honor of our Beaumont fire fighters,” Gaudio
said, “we are wanting to have bricks engraved with
each of their names and their dates of service —
starting with 1881.”
The park, measuring approximately 20,000 square
feet, is being planned by Steinman Contractors of
Beaumont, and will be maintained by the museum —
not the city.
Aside from the hydrant, being paid for by Disney,
and the land across Walnut, donated by the
Chamblees, the additional Main Street property that
the museum wants to purchase will be funded solely
by donations from individuals and organizations, she
said.
“There’s no way we’ll have the park finished by
March 9, but we’re hoping to have the money raised
(to fund the park) by then so we can begin construc-
tion,” she said. “The hydrant will be here (March 9)
and we will start putting it in place and start construc-
tion of the park.”
A “block party,” still in the planning stages, will
also be held on March 9, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., in
See HYDRANT, page 3
Pre-law group
to sponsor
kiss-a-pig
fun contest
Christina Miner
UP staff writer
Professors, get ready to pucker
up. You may get the honor of kiss-
ing a pig for a good cause.
The Lamar University Pre-law
Society is sponsoring a kiss-a-pig
contest.
The event is being held as a
fund-raiser that will allow the
group to attend the Texas Under-
graduate Moot Court Competition
at Baylor University in Waco.
Students will elect the profes-
sors to run for the honor and stu-
dents will donate money, trying to
get the most money for their
favorite teacher.
“The professor with the most
donations in his or her name will
kiss a pig during half-time at the
See CONTEST, page 2
Mardi Gras pick-up
Local personality dies at age 88
UPSmith
Marcio, right, and Lou Davis, left, load barricades on a trailer Monday
morning in Port Arthur in an effort to clean up after Mardi Gras.
C.L. “Charlie” Schmucker,
retired director of development
and executive secretary of the
Lamar ' University Alumni
Association, died Sunday in
Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital.
He was 88.
Services will be held today at 2
p.m. in the First United Metho-
dist Church in downtown Beau-
mont, with burial in Forest Lawn
Memorial Park under the direc-
tion of L.M. Williams & Sons
Funeral Home.
Schmucker came to Lamar in
1975 after retiring as senior vice
president and chief agricultural
loan officer of First National
Bank. He retired from the uni-
versity in 1979 after a distin-
guished period of public rela-
tions work and fund-raising.
He was born in Nappanee,
Ind., in 1910. His family moved
to the Hamshire-Winnie area in
1918, where they raised rice, figs,
and watermelons — in fact, any
crop that could be sold during
the 1920s and 1930s. They also
ran a dairy. His father, the Rev.
S.J. Schmucker, was a lay‘minis-
ter in the Methodist church. He
preached in many East Texas
communities, including Buna,
Bessmay, Kirbyville, Call, Sabine
Pass, High Island and Port
Bolivar.
Charlie Schmucker graduated
from Winnie High School in 1926
and entered Lamar Junior Col-
lege in 1932, the first year that
the name of the school changed
from South Park Junior College.
He was a member of the first
football team to be called the
Lamar Cardinals rather than the
SPJC Brahmas. He graduated
from Lamar in 1934 and went on
to graduate from Texas A&M in
1937 with a bachelor’s degree in
agricultural education. He re-
ceived his master’s degree in
See SCHMUCKER, page 2
Charlie Schmucker
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Dorman, Billie. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 32, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 17, 1999, newspaper, February 17, 1999; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500784/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.