Louis Zukofsky was an American writer and poet. Born in New York City in 1904, Zukofsky’s poems first appeared in print in 1920 and he earned his M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1924. His friendship with contemporary poets Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams began in 1927, the same year when Zukofsky began work on his piece “A.” From 1930 to 1931, he taught at the University of Wisconsin. In 1934, “Le Style Apollinaire,” a work in conjunction with his close friend Rene Taupin, was published. From 1947 to 1966, Zukofsky taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York, and he was the Poet in residence for San Francisco State College in 1958. In 1959, his work “A” 1-12 was published, while his first complete American edition of poetry was published in 1965. Zukofsky retired from teaching in 1966, after which he spent time translating the works “Catallus Fragmenta” in 1968 and “Catallus” in 1969. Zukofsky died in 1978.

Alice L. Paddleford Wood was born in Birmingham, Kansas on December 25, 1903 and graduated from Erie High School in 1921. She then attended college at Kansas State University, known as Kansas State Agricultural College and graduated in 1925 with a degree in journalism. After college, she worked with several different employers in advertising until 1931 when the great depression caused a shortage of jobs and she became unemployed. She married Leon Fenton Wood in 1934. She had four children who survived to adulthood. Alive died in Canandaigua, New York on August 15, 1995.

Dorothy Willner was a Sociology and Anthropology professor who was a leading international consumer advocate with the United Nations. Willner received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1947 and then a Master of Arts in 1953, after which she spent time working as an anthropologist overseas, first in Israel from 1955 to 1958, then in Mexico until 1959. She first began working for the United Nations in 1960 when she published “Community Leadership” on their behalf. After having spent several years teaching sociology and anthropology at the University of Chicago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and at the University of New York, Willner arrived at the University of Kansas in 1966 as a professor of anthropology and continued to teach there until 1990. From 1974 to 1983, Willner served as the International Organization of Consumer Unions’ (which was first formed in 1960) official representative to the United Nations, and throughout this time, she was heavily involved in many of the IOCU’s activities. This included her managing the IOCU “A World in Crisis” conference in 1978 and the IOCU Tenth World Congress on “The Food Crisis” in 1981. Her work with the IOCU culminated in the adoption by the UN of IOCU protocols as the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection in 1985. Willner died in 1993.

Alma Williams, O.B.E., is a long-standing contributor to the consumer movement in the United Kingdom and abroad, having worked in a myriad of capacities for a vast variety of organizations.  Born in 1928 to parents Alan and Edith Pratt at Wakefield in Yorkshire, she graduated university with double honors in French and Latin.  After two years of post-graduate research on a scholarship at Leeds University, she wed Michael Williams, with whom she had three children and remained happily married to until his death in 2010.  Following twelve years in language instruction and consumer education, Ms. Williams shifted entirely into the field of Consumer Affairs.
In 1962, she founded one of the first local consumer groups in her area, at Watford & District in Hertfordshire, and in time became chairman (and subsequent president) of the National Federation of Consumer Groups (now called the National Consumer Federation).  In 1964 she was elected as a member of the Council of the Consumers’ Association (now called Which?), on which she served for ten years, whereupon she became the Association’s consultant on consumer education and the editor of its school magazine, <emph render='italic'>Whichcraft</emph>, for five years.  As a consultant, she persuaded the Department of Prices & Consumer Protection to print the Council’s safety publication, “Dangers and Disasters,” and distribute it to all secondary schools in the United Kingdom.  This publication was the forerunner of the later European Union publication, “The Safety Pack.”
She served on the Independent Television’s Advertising Advisory Committee from 1966 to 1975 and the Independent Television’s Adult Education Advisory Committee 1968 to 1976.  She served as chairman of the Eastern Gas Consumer Council from 1975 to 1987, and on the Food Standards Agency’s Committee on Toxicity from 2000 to 2008.
Abroad, she served as chairman of the Education Committee International Organization of Consumers’ Unions (IOCU, now called Consumers International) for five years, and subsequently served as the IOCU’s permanent representative to UNESCO from 1975 to 1990.  She served on the consumer education committee for the Council of Europe from 1970 to 1978.  She worked as a consultant on consumer affairs to the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1980, and advised start-up consumer organizations in India, Jamaica, Thailand, and Malaysia.
She served Her Majesty’s Government with distinction abroad in various capacities with the European Union, first as United Kingdom consumer representative to the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC) from 1982 to 1990 and 1994 to 1998, and later became vice president of the Association of Former Members of the committee.  During her time on the committee, she proposed and authored a publication entitled “The Safety Pack,” which was translated, published, and distributed to all secondary schools in the European Union.  She also introduced the antecedent of the Product Safety Directive, and suggested the institution of an annual Consumer Rights Day.  She was the European Union representative for the EESC, a member of the United Kingdom’s delegation, and featured speaker at the third United Nations Decade of Women conference in Kenya in 1985; and also served as a member of the European Union delegation to consider the accession of Malta into the Union in 1995.
Ms. Williams was awarded the M.B.E. for services to the consumer movement and consumer education in 1975, and the O.B.E. for services to the European Union in 2003.
She has been a prolific writer, especially in the field of consumer education.  Her publications include: <emph render='italic'>The Elderly Consumer</emph> (1965), <emph render='italic'>Educating the Consumer: A Practical Guide</emph> (1975), <emph render='italic'>Reading and the Consumer</emph> (1976), <emph render='italic'>Using and Abusing Literacy</emph> (1977), <emph render='italic'>Your Choice? </emph>(1980), <emph render='italic'>Getting Married</emph> (1984), and <emph render='italic'>Projects: Skills and Strategies in Consumer Education</emph> (1984).
As of this writing, Alma Williams remains active in the consumer movement as the vice president of Which? (formerly called the Consumers’ Association), and a vice president of the Charted Institute of Trading Standards, where she works specifically on projects related to reshaping consumer protection for the 21<emph render='super'>st</emph> century.
Locally, she serves as President of the Ripon Centre Women’s Institute, and continues to serve on the Council of Outwood Academy Ripon, on which she has served since 1990.  She was a founder member of the Harrogate Foundation Trust Hospital for eight years (the maximum allowed), and now serves as a lay member of its Research and Development Group.  She also served as a founder committee member of the Ripon & District University of the Third Age, and now is a member its editorial team for <emph render='italic'>News & Views</emph>.

Julius T. Willard was a Kansas State graduate and chemistry professor, as well as the longtime college historian and vice president. After receiving his B.S. from K-State in 1883, Willard worked as assistant chemist at K-State until he received his M.S. in 1886, after which he studied for two years at Johns Hopkins University. In 1888, Willard returned to Kansas as assistant chemist of the Kansas Experiment Station, a position he held until 1897, and in 1890, he became an assistant professor of chemistry at K-State. From 1900 to 1901, Willard was promoted to Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Kansas Experiment Station, eventually becoming the Dean of the Division of General Science at K-State in 1909, a position he held until 1930. Willard also twice served as the acting president of K-State, in 1914 and 1918, and served as vice president from 1918 to 1935. From 1936 to 1950, Willard was the college historian for K-State, a position which led to his publishing of “History of the Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science” in 1940. Willard died in 1950.

Thomas Elmer Will was born November 11, 1861 in Prairie Adams county Illinois. In 1880 he taught at a country school and in 1882 he entered the Illinois State Normal School, graduating in 1885. In the fall of 1888, he studied at the University of Michigan for one year. He then entered the senior class at Harvard College and graduated in 1890. On completing his university studies, he married Marie Van Velsor Rogers of Cambridge, Massachusetts and accepted the chair of history and political science at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He held the position at Lawrence University for two years after which he went to Boston where he delivered courses of lectures on economics and wrote a series of sociological articles for the “Arena” publication for one year. Will came to Kansas State in 1894 to become the chair of Political Economy, serving in this role for three years before becoming President in 1897. Notable during Will’s presidency was the establishment of the first on-campus bookstore and dining hall, but these services were closed after his removal as president in 1899. Kansas in the 1890s was the center of political upheaval between Populists and Republicans, and issues surrounding Populism and the free silver combination led to the removal of President Will together with several other faculty members after Republicans gained control of the Board of Regents. He devoted six years following the close of his work at Kansas State Agricultural College to emphasize the principles taught in his lectures, addresses, and papers while President, including time at Ruskin College in Trenton, Missouri, and as president of the New Socialist College in Wichita, Kansas. He became well-known in the 1930s as an advocate for the development of the Everglades in Florida, and he helped found the settlement Okeelanta in Palm Beach County, Florida. This led to the naming of the Thomas Will Memorial Highway in his honor in 1941, four years after his death.

Warren Nichols White, Jr. was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 12, 1952. Finishing his secondary education at St. Paul’s High School in Covington, Louisiana, he pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering with honors in Electrical Engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the summer of 1974, he began working for General Electric in Schenectady, New York.

White later transferred to GE’s Power Transformer Division in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. While working in Pittsfield, White commuted to Troy, New York, to earn a Master of Engineering degree in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1977. While working on his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Tulane, he met his future wife, Georganne Wilcox and married on May 4, 1980.

In 1985 White and family traveled north to Manhattan, Kansas, where he began teaching at Kansas State University. Over the years he taught Digital Controls, Finite Elements, and Dynamics among other subjects and developed a course in circuits specialty for Mechanical Engineers. He served as advisor for Women in Engineering, the Wildcat Wind Power Team and Final Frontier Aerospace Systems and Technology (FFAERO). He was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, a national honorary society for Engineering.

Warren Nichols White, Jr., 68, died on Monday, May 24, 2021.

George Dudley Wheatley was born April 10, 1909 in Abington Massachusetts; son of Frank G. and Nellie Holbrook Wheatley; he had three brothers, Frank E., Russell, and John R. Wheatley.
He graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. From 1914-1917 he was employed by Bay State Nursery, Abington and United Shoe Machinery Co. Boston. In May of 1917 he entered the National Army’s Officer Candidate School at Plattsburg, New York where he was a member of the second class of 1917 (Company 3, 17th Provisional Training Regiment composed of men from New England); commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s Officers Reserve Corps in November, promoted to first lieutenant on Nov. 27, and inducted into military service.
In 1918, after induction into the U.S. Army he sailed with other officers from New York to Europe on the SS Mongolia. In 5 weeks of February and March he attended the Allied Expeditionary Forces school in Chatillon-sur-Seine, France.
Mar 13. Reported to Company A, 165th Infantry at Senneville, France
Mar 31. Additional three weeks of training in Baccarat
Apr 23. Returned to area near Montigny
May 9. Reported to Company B at St. Pole
May 30. Left Baccarat, France for the front
Jul 14-15. German offensive began
Jul 29. First wounded in battle; while recuperating at a nearby military hospital, he was also stricken with influenza (several accounts cite date of wounding as July 28)
Aug 21. Reported wounded in action and transferred to an American Red Cross Convalescent Hospital in Biarritz, France, AEF; treated for multiple gunshot wounds in the buttocks and right thigh; reported back to his regiment at La Marche on Sep 26
Sep 26 – Nov 11. Returned to the front when the 42nd Division moved to Verdun as part of the Meuse-Argonne offensive; took Hill 288, La Tiuderie farm and the Cote de Chatillon, and broke squarely across the powerful Kriemhhilde Stelling, clearing the way for the advance beyond Landres et St. Georges; moved through the advancing lines of the forward troops of the First Army and drove the enemy across the Meuse, capturing the heights dominating the river before Sedan and reached the enemy lines, the farthest point attended by any American troops.
Nov 11. Learned of Armistice while passing through Buzaucy; stopped at Thenorgnes
Nov 14. Started for Germany as part of Army of Occupation, took command of Company L at Landres (relieved of command on Dec 1).
Dec 3. Crossed Seine River into Germany
1919, Jan 13. Transferred to 27th Division
Jan 16. Reached Paris
Feb 28. Sailed for United States from Brest, France
Mar 9. Landed at Hoboken, went to Camp Merritt, New Jersey Mar 25. Paraded in New York City
Apr 1. Discharged at Camp Devens, Massachusetts Oct-Nov. Resided in Springfield, Vermont for at least several months
1920 Entered the insurance business in Chicago 1921 Married Margaret G. McMillan in Evanston, Illinois: 3 children; Margaret A. (1923), Barbara H. (1925) and James H. (1929) Wheatley
1940 Moved to Abington and became successful in the insurance business and civic affairs
1961 May 20. Died in Abington.

Dorothy Anne "Dottie" Wellington was born May 4, 1924, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the daughter of Lancie L. and Julia Rouggly Watts. Dottie grew up in Kansas City and attended Hale H. Cook Elementary and Southwest High Schools. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College. On September 14, 1946, she married Robert B. Wellington at the Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri. They were married more than fifty-four years before Robert's death in 2000.
Dottie was a homemaker and author of the syndicated "Let's Cook" cooking column that appeared in the Ottawa Herald and other newspapers for many years, as well as two "Let's Cook" cookbooks. She taught cooking classes, was a frequent volunteer in her community and welcomed international exchange students to her home. Dottie enjoyed genealogy research and creating photo slideshows of her family. She loved keeping in touch with a wide circle of family members and friends. She and Robert were devoted members of the Grace episcopal Church in Ottawa, where she baked the alter bread for many years. Dorothy Anne Wellington died on July 16, 2016 at the Olathe Hospice House, Oltahe, Kansas.

He was born February 6, 1924, on a farm near Osceola, Iowa, the son of Howard Oak and Nancy Elizabeth (Fugett) Wassom. When he was three weeks old, the family moved to Laurens, Iowa, where Clyde grew up and graduated from high school in 1941. Clyde attended Iowa State University for two years prior to being drafted into the United States Army in 1944. He served in several stateside camps and was a prisoner of war guard at several installations. He was discharged in June of 1946 and returned to Iowa State where he earned his bachelors in 1949 with a Genetics major and minors in mathematics and physics. He immediately started on an M.S. in Crop Breeding, completing the degree in 1951 working with brome-grass. His Ph.D. also was in Crop Breeding working with orchard-grass. Upon completing his Ph.D. in 1953, Clyde and family moved to Hiawatha, KS, where he became the first Superintendent of the Cornbelt Experiment Field at Powhattan.
In 1955 the family moved to Manhattan and Clyde became a professor in the Agronomy Department at Kansas State University. During his 38-year tenure at Kansas State University he exhibited conscientious dedication in his comprehensive field research programs in corn breeding and genetics. His research efforts led to the release of several inbred lines of corn, including ones with special characteristics, and white corn germplasms. Dr. Wassom was widely known for his corn breeding efforts and served as a consultant to several countries. He also supervised several graduate students who are serving in university and industry positions in the United States and in their native countries. While on sabbatical in Mexico City during 1967, he worked with CIMMYT, an international research organization supported by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations. He was the faculty leader for three intersession courses to South America to compare agriculture practices.
Dr. Wassom was a member of the First Christian Church and was a life Elder. He was also a member of the Manhattan Kiwanis Club, Konza Kampers, Gideon's International, and American Legion Post # 17. Clyde held a private pilot’s license and was a former member of the K-State Flying Club and the Civil Air Patrol. Clyde was also an excellent trombonist and enjoyed playing at church and for family in recent years. On December 24, 1945, while on active duty he was married to Jane Lavonne Williams at Camp Grant in Rockford, IL.
Mrs. Wassom survives of the home in Manhattan. Additional survivors include three children: Jane Luanne Nelson and her husband Gary of Cottonwood, AZ, Steven Clyde Wassom and his wife Becky of Wamego, KS, and Karen S. Stewart and her husband Christopher of Manhattan; three siblings: Glenn Wassom of Johnston, IA, Scott Wassom of Alexander, AR, and Phyllis Stefani of Cedar Rapids, IA; nine grandchildren: Christopher P. Henton, Tracy A. McCabe, Richard T. Henton, Mark S. Wassom, Matthew C. Wassom, Laura L. Sylvester, Derek J. Wassom, Brandon C. Hagedorn and Brian S. Hagedorn; seven step-grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Colston Warne was an economics professor and consumer advocate, who served on multiple national consumer advisory boards that served to advise several U.S. presidential administrations. Warne earned his B.A. degree from Cornell University in 1920, his M.A. degree from Cornell in 1922, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1925. From 1925 to 1926, Warne was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Denver, after which he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh from 1926 to 1930, while simultaneously serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Cooperative League for the USA until 1929. From 1930 to 1942, Warne was a professor of economics at Amherst College, though he often spent his summers working as a professor at Bryn Mawr College’s summer school for industrial workers. Warne’s work as a consumer advocate began in 1928 when he helped form the group Consumers Research and continued when he served from 1934 to 1936 as President of People’s Lobby in Washington, D.C. Warne was the president of the Consumers Union from 1936 to 1979, while continuing to work as a professor at Amherst College from 1942 to 1970. Warne’s other efforts in consumer advocacy included serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Consumers from 1947 to 1956, serving as an advisor to the President of the United States from 1947 to 1951, and organizing the first Council of Consumer Information in 1953 (later became the American Council on Consumer Interests). Warne was also instrumental in having the Consumers Union removed from the House Un-American Activities Committee’s list of “subverse organizations” in 1954. Warne’s work in consumer advocacy continued into the 1960s when he helped form the International Organization of Consumers Union in 1960 and served as a member of the Consumer Advisory Council to the President from 1962 to 1965. Warne retired from teaching in 1970 and died in 1987.

Ruth Ann Von Elling was born 23 July 1941 at Fort Riley, Kansas, the daughter of Robert Leroy and Margaret Doretta (Have) Stillwagon.
Following her divorce from William Howard Von Elling, Ruth worked at a number of different businesses around Manhattan, Kansas, as either a cook or bookkeeper. She spent 4 years as the cook for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
She died 15 June 2016 at Manhattan, Kansas.

Leona Velen 1916-2001

Doris Velen 1919-2003

Edna Worthley Underwood was a writer and author who published original works of poetry, prose, plays, and short stories, as well as translated the works of other authors into English, as she was fluent in 6 languages. After graduating from Arkansas City High School in Arkansas City, Kansas in 1888, Underwood attended Garfield University in Wichita for two years. She then attended the University of Michigan and graduated in 1892. Underwood spent time teaching in Arkansas City schools before moving to Kansas City prior to 1904 and living there until approximately 1910-1912. From 1911 to 1938, Underwood wrote much of her works of poetry and prose and translating various works into English while living in New York City. After moving back to Arkansas City in 1938, Underwood spent her time traveling between Maine, Boston, and Arkansas City until 1953 but did not publish any more writings. Underwood died in 1961.

Nels A. Tornquist served as a U.S. Cavalry soldier, seeing action in several conflicts, and was known for his rapid promotion to command a black company during World War 1. Tornquist’s family moved to Kansas from Sweden when he was eight years old and homesteaded south of Salina, Kansas. Tornquist first joined the U.S. military in 1896 and from 1899 to 1902, he was part of the 22nd Field Artillery Battery as a corporal, serving in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. After the war, he served with various regiments before serving with the 1st Squadron 13th Cavalry as a sergeant from 1916 to 1917 in the campaign against Pancho Villa. In 1918, Tornquist was made Captain QMC of a black company, 344th Labor Battalion Company B, which saw action in France during World War I. After the war, Tornquist was assigned to the ROTC in 1921 at the University of Washington in Seattle with a rank of sergeant before retiring from active duty in 1922. In 1932, an act of Congress promoted him to the retired rank of captain. Tornquist died in Pasadena, California, in 1950 at the age of 77.

John Thirwell, a British consumer advocate, spoke at Farrell Library in 1988. The donor file contains correspondence from Anthony Crawford to Mr. Thirwell and correspondence from Mr. Thirwell to Richard L. D. Morse, as well as an announcement from the Friends of the Libraries about Mr. Thirwell's speech on The Consumer Movement in England.

Russell I. Thackrey was a journalist, university professor, and educational administrator. Thackrey earned his B.S. in journalism from Kansas State in 1927 and his M.S. in 1932. Simultaneously, Thackrey worked as an instructor at K-State from 1928 to 1935, while he also revived and edited Kansas Magazine from 1933 to 1935. After working as a reporter for the Associated Press for one year from 1935 to 1936, Thackrey taught at the University of Minnesota from 1937 to 1940, but he returned to K-State as Head of the Journalism Department from 1940 to 1944. This was followed by his work as Dean of Administration at K-State from 1944 to 1947. Thackrey’s work in education continued as he served as Director of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges from 1947 to 1970. He also served on the John F. Kennedy Task Force on Education in 1960, and in 1969, he was awarded the Presidential award of American College Public Relations Association. After leaving education, Thackrey spent his time writing, and in 1971, he published “The Future of the State University” through the Illinois Press. Thackrey died in Manhattan, Kansas on March 11, 1990.

Stuart McGregor Pady was born in Arnprior, Ontario, Canada, on November 15, 1905.  Educated in Ontario, he graduated from McMaster University in Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928 and a Master of Arts degree in 1929.  As a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, he married Rose Annie Maw in 1931.  Two years later, Stuart received his Ph.D. in Mycology, Plant Pathology.
Pady received a Fellowship in Botany from the National Research Council and did his work at the New York Botanical Gardens between 1933 and 1935.  He then joined the faculty at McMaster University for one year, and then became Head of the Biology Department at Ottawa University, in Ottawa, Kansas, from 1936 to 1945.  During this time, Pady and his wife adopted two children: Donald in 1937 and Helen in 1942.
In 1945, Stuart taught botany at Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kansas, for one year.  Then, the Padys moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where Stuart joined the McGill University faculty and taught botany.  During this time, he received research grants from the Defence Research Board, Ottawa, Canada, on Arctic Aerobiology.
In 1952, the Padys returned to Manhattan, Kansas, as Stuart became Head of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Kansas State College, now Kansas State University.  He served in this capacity until 1967, when he returned to the classroom.  During his tenure he recevied several research grants from the United States Department of Health Education and Welfare, National Center for Air Pollution Control, to study airborne fungi.
Pady enjoyed a sabbatical from July 1969 to March 1970 at Waite Agricultural Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.  During this time he also was a consultant for the USAID program at Andhra Pradesh University, Hyderabad, India.
Rose Annie Maw was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on January 28, 1900.  While not a college graduate, she was important to Stuart's academic life by often typing his research papers and attending academic functions with him.
Stuart retired from Kansas State University in 1973 and they moved to Ottawa, Kansas, the following year.  After living in Ottawa for twenty years, they returned to Manhattan in 1994.  Rose died there in June 1997, followed by Stuart's death in January 2004.

The Shirley Smith Papers (1937-2011) contain a wide array of information regarding the unique life and career path, from rural Kansas to New York City, of Kansas State alumnus Shirley Smith. Smith’s papers are of importance not only as a record of personal history, but history within the modeling, art, and acting worlds as well. The collection includes a variety of formats into which most of the papers are organized according to series and subseries. Research strengths of the collection include the regional and biographical history of Smith’s hometown, Whitewater, Kansas, as well as more substantial documentation of Smith’s career as a model, actress, and artist.
Shirley Smith died in New York in October 2013.
Shirley Smith was born in Whitewater, Kansas in 1929. By the time she graduated high school in 1947, her career as a model was already beginning as she entered (and won) several beauty pageants in her hometown. Soon, she moved on to Kansas State College, becoming heavily involved in theater, and graduating in 1951.
After graduating, Smith began her modeling career by modeling in advertisements for Kansas City’s Helzberg Diamonds in 1952. Soon, Smith moved to New York to continue to model for several major lingerie companies, including Maidenform. Following her modeling career, Smith moved on to acting in shows on Broadway and soon took roles on television and in a movie as well. Several of her most notable appearances include a play entitled The Highest Tree, which also featured Robert Redford and Paul Newman, and a starring role in a 1956 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (“Alibi Me”). Smith also appeared alongside Peter Falk in the motion picture film Pretty Boy Floyd.
In her early 30s, Smith began to suffer hearing loss and turned her focus toward her art career. Beginning with collages and other forms of abstract art, Smith moved on to “lyrical abstraction,” a form of post-modern art, which included fabrics and various other mediums. Later in her career, she returned to her roots, painting pastoral scenes of rural Kansas and farm animals, especially pigs. Smith spent several summers in a trailer studio outside of Whitewater, Kansas as inspiration for her work.

Roderic Simpson, born in 1922, worked in cooperative agriculture.  He was among the first to complete a pilot program under the aegis of the United States Department of Agriculture through Dodge City Community College (previously Dodge City Junior College) and received a certification in lieu of a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, making him eligible to be a county Extension Service Agent.    This program entailed 60 credit hours of science coursework at Dodge City Community College followed by three years of employment under the supervision of an Extension Agent. 
After completing the certification, he worked for three months as Gray County Extension Agent in Cimarron, Kansas before receiving his draft notice in December 1944.  After serving in the Navy, Simpson was brought on by his father to a series of cooperative projects in Mullinville, Kansas.  Galvanized by the attacks of the National Tax Equality Association on cooperatives, he embarked on a career in cooperative agriculture. 
Roderic Simpson began working in a management position at a general purpose cooperative in Peetz, Colorado; and then transitioned into work as a fieldman in eastern Nebraska and western Wyoming for the CCA (Consumers Cooperative Association, predecessor of Farmland Industries).  He then worked for the Dodge City Cooperative Exchange for 15 years as a local cooperative fieldman, and later joined FAR-MAR-CO in 1971 as a territory fieldman based out of Hutchinson, Kansas.

Born in 1945, Robert Simonsen is a life long resident of Kansas. He received an undergraduate degree in history/political science from Washburn University in 1976.

Simonsen joined the U.S. Army in 1966 and achieved the rank of Seargent-Major in the medical field. He retired after 31 years of combined active and reserve service.

Since elementary school, collecting photographs autographed by political leaders in the United States has been an avocation of Simonsen's. While serving in Vietnam in 1969-70, he began collecting in earnest and expanded his focus to include political and military figures from the United States and countries throughout the world. The collection contains over 7,500 portrait photographs signed by political and military leaders from approximately 75 countries, including the United States.

Currin V. Shields was a political scientist and leading consumer advocate. Shields received his A.B. degree from the University of Nebraska in 1941, followed by his Ph.M. from the University of Wisconsin in 1943. From 1944 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. After his time in the military, Shields was an instructor at Yale University until he earned his Ph.D. from Yale in 1950. From 1950 to 1960, Shields was a professor of Political Science at UCLA. He also served on the 22nd Congressional District, Democratic Council of California and host of a radio program entitled “What’s the issue?” at station KFWB in Hollywood. Shields was co-chairman of the California Democratic Council Political Action Committee from 1955 to 1957, and in 1958, he published his book “Democracy and Catholicism in America.” From 1960 to 1984, Shields was a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Arizona. Shields was a failed candidate for Governor of Arizona in the 1968 Democratic primary. Shields’s work as a consumer advocate began in 1969 when he became a board member of the Consumer Federation of America, as well as president of the Arizona Consumers Council, a position he would hold until 1980. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Shields was a member and director of several consumer groups, including the Consumer Advisory Committee, the National Conference of Consumer Organizations, the President’s Consumer Advertising Council, the National Consumer Affairs Internship Program, and the National Consumer Symposium, Inc. Shields died in 1984 at the age of 66.

Lt. General Richard J. Seitz, age 95, completed a storied life on June 8, 2013 after suffering congestive heart failure. Born in Leavenworth, February 18, 1918, he grew up in that city and then attended Kansas State University where in 1939 as a junior he began dating his first wife, Bettie Jean Merrill, a freshman.
That same year Dick, foreseeing WWII looming on the horizon, accepted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army. Once in the Army he went through the sixth jump school class the Army ever had thus becoming one of its first paratroopers.
With the advent of the war, Dick rose rapidly until at the age of only 25 in March 1942, as a Major, he was given command of the 2nd Battalion of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team. Thereafter, he was promoted to Lt. Colonel and, as the Army’s youngest battalion commander, led his battalion throughout its historic combat operations in Europe with the personal radio call sign of “Dangerous Dick.”
The 517th was flung into combat at Anzio at the time of the breakout from that beachhead followed by fighting up the Italian Peninsula. They then made the combat jump into the southern invasion of France at 4 a.m., August 15, 1944 as the airborne element of Operation Dragoon with its subsequent heavy combat in the French Maritime Alps. Finally, put in reserve in Northeastern France in December 1944, Dick was drawing up Paris leave rosters for his men when Hitler launched the Battle of the Bulge.
At that point, Dick’s 2nd Battalion was married with a Regiment of the 7th Armored Division to form what became known as Task Force Seitz.
It was pushed in to plug the gaps on the north slope of the Bulge every time the Germans tried to make a breakout. In doing so, his battalion went from 691 men to 380 through combat losses in some of the worst fighting of WWII. The battalion went on from the Bulge to see even further bloody combat in the subsequent battles of the Huertigen Forrest.
Before shipping out to Europe, Dick and Bettie continued to see each other whenever they had a chance to do so. In 1942, after graduating from Kansas State, Bettie joined the Red Cross and was subsequently sent to England in late 1943 to support the bomber groups of the Army Air Corp’s 8th Air Force.
In the fall of 1944, she was moved to Holland to run an Army rest and rehabilitation center. There in January 1945, she read in Stars and Stripes that Task Force Seitz was heavily engaged in the fighting around St. Vith. By herself, she drove from Holland to the front in Belgium and managed to find the Regimental HQ of the 517th.
But they would not allow her to go on to the very front lines where Dick was. However, this put them back in personal touch which led to their marriage in June 1945 in Joigny, France with one Red Cross bridesmaid and 1800 paratroopers in attendance in one of the greatest love stores of WWII.
Dick ended the war with the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart plus what he most treasured besides his Parachute Wings, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Thereafter, during his lifelong Army career including nearly 37 years of active duty he also received numerous other decorations and awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, the French Croix de Guerre, and Legion of Honor.
Along with these awards, his commands included the 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 503rd Infantry Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division, which he led into Detroit and Washington, DC in 1967 to quell those cities’ riots.
He also commanded the XVIII Airborne Corps and was Chief of Staff US Army Vietnam in 1965 through 1967 under General Westmoreland. As a Portuguese speaker he served two tours in Brazil, the last as Chief of the Joint US/Brazilian Military Commission and one year in Iran as a military advisor. He likewise served in Japan with the occupation forces immediately after World War II.
Dick and Bettie retired to Junction City in 1975. Unfortunately, Bettie died of a heart attack June 1, 1978. Thereafter, Dick was blessed to marry Virginia Crane, a widow, in 1980. She also predeceased him in 2006. In retirement, Dick remained extremely active with the Army through Fort Riley as well as in the Junction City Community and in Kansas generally.
During the Iraqi and Afghanistan Wars he would go out to Ft. Riley to see off and greet the deploying and redeploying units from those fights, no matter the hour day or night.
He was past Chairman of the Ft. Riley National Bank, very active with the Coronado Council of the Boy Scouts, a Trustee of St. John’s Military Academy, on the Board of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, President of the Fort Riley-Central Kansas Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army, and Chaired Junction City’s Economic Redevelopment Study Commission among many other activities. He was also honored as an Outstanding Citizen of Kansas, received the prestigious AUSA Creighton Abrams Award, and most recently had the General Richard J. Seitz Elementary School named in his honor on the post at Fort Riley.
He felt a particular affection for the faculty and students of that school whom he visited as often as he could. The best way to describe Dick is that he lived his life “Airborne all the way!” to the very end.
Chronological Biographical Sketch
1918, Born, February 18, Leavenworth, Kansas
1937, Graduated from Leavenworth High School; Enrolled at Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
1939, May, completed the ROTC program, left Kansas State and commissioned as Second Lieutenant Infantry Reserve
1940, February, called to active duty, sent to Camp Bullis, Texas, and assigned to the 38th Infantry
1941, September 6, assigned to the 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion as assistant platoon leader; November 1, promoted to First Lieutenant
1942, August 11, promoted to Captain
1943, Temporary 2nd Battalion Commander at Camp Toccoa, Georgia; April 12, promoted to Major; Placed in command of 2nd Battalion, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment
1944, February 21 promoted to Lieutenant Colonel; May 31 deployed to Italy; Awarded the Purple Heart; August parachuted into France; Awarded the Silver Star and the French Croiz de Guerre with Palm; December 21 moved to Werbomont, Belgium joined the fight of the Battle of the Bulge; Awarded the Bronze Star
1945, June 23 married Bette Merrill in Joigny, France; August 22 arrived in the United States; November, assigned to the Special Training Section, Headquarters Army Ground Forces, Washington, D.C.
1946, September 2, Patricia Ann Seitz was born in Washington, D.C.
1947, January, moved to Hokkaido, Japan, and assigned to the 11th Airborne Division as Assistant G-3, later assigned Deputy Chief of Staff
1948, October 30, Catherine Seitze was born in Sapporo, Japan; December, appointed Chief of Staff of the 11th Division
1949, January, returned to the United Stated; July, attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth
1950, June 30, graduated and assigned Director of Airborne Training Department of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia
1953, August 24, entered the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia
1954, January 21, competed in Joint Operations and Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia; September 13, departed for Rio de Janerio, Brazil, for assignment as the Chief of the Infantry and Airborne Sections; December 10, promoted to colonel
1956, August 7, Richard M. Seitz and Victoria Seitz were born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1957, July 15, returned to the United States
1958, June 19, graduated Army War College; Assigned to command the 2nd Battle Group, 503rd Airborne Infantry of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
1959, January 3, deployed to Alaska for three months of training and exercises; July, became Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training, Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps
1960, June, departed for Iran as training team chief in Mahabad
1961, June, arrived back in the United States
1962, January 27, graduated from the University of Omaha with a Bachelors in General Education and assigned as Executive Officer to Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel on the Army General Staff, Washington, D.C.
1963, December, promoted to Brigadier General and assigned as Director of Combat Arms Officers and later promoted to Acting Director of Officer Personnel
1965, June 12, assigned to Vietnam as Deputy Commander U. S. Support Command, served under General William Westmoreland; August, assigned Chief of Staff and Assistant Deputy Commander
1967, Promoted to Major General; March, left Vietnam to return to the United States (While in Vietnam he received the Legion of Merit, Air Medal, and Distinguished Service Medal); May 24, assigned to take command of the 82nd Airborne Division
1968, February 14, escorted President Lyndon B. Johnson around Fort Bragg to speak with troops deploying to Vietnam; September, received the Distinguished Service Medal upon completing his tour with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg; Assigned Chairman of the U. S. delegation and Chief of the U. S. Military Assistant Group in Brazil
1970, April, assigned as the Assistant Chief of Army Personnel in the Pentagon
1973, June, promoted to Lieutenant General and took comman of the 18th Airborne, Fort Bragg
1975, June 30, retired from the U. S. Army; July, moved to Junction City, Kansas, where he became active in the community and with Fort Riley and Kansas State University/ The General Richard J. Seitz Elementary School was named in his honor on the post at Fort Riley. He was also honored as an Outstanding Citizen of Kansas and received the prestigious AUSA Creighton Abrams Award.
2013, Died June 8, at Junction City, Kansa

Kansas State University first lady Noel Schulz was born in (town?), Virginia in 1966.  Schulz is the daughter of Charles "Butch" and Joan Nunnally.  Noel and Kirk Schulz married in 1987 and had two children, Tim and Andrew.  She graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, or more commonly known as Virginia Tech, where she earned both her B.S.E.E. (1988) and M.S.E.E. (1990).  In 1995 she received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.  Her field of work is with power systems.
During her career she has taught at Michigan Tech, University of North Dakota, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State before moving to Kansas State University where she is the Paslay professor of electrical and computer engineering.
She is an active member of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Power & Energy Society where she has served as the Awards and Recognition chair (2001-2004), Secretary (2004-2007), Treasurer (2008-2009), and President (2012-2013).  She is also a member of several honor societies such as Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, ASEE, Society of Women Engineers, and National Society of Black Engineers.  Along with her memberships, she has also published numerous papers, articles and a book chapter.

Phillip F. Schlee was born on March 10, 1950, at Pittsburg, Kansas. He received a B. A. in History and a Minor in Music from Pittsburg State n December 1973. In May 1975, Schlee earned an M. M. in Music History from Pittsburg State and that same month he published The Isaac Standford Family history. Schlee earned a Master's of Library Science from Emporia State University in May 1978 and shortly afterward moved to Manhattan, Kansas. From 185 to 2006, Schlee was Guest Services Coordinator in Housing and Dining at Kansas State University. It was during this time (November 2002) he started collecting letters in extension to his genealogy research. The primary thing he looked for was genealogical information on the families mentioned in the letters. In some cases, letters are the only source of information, e.g., births and marriages in the 19th Century. Most of the letters were purchased on eBay. Schlee donated his collection to the Morse Department of Special Collections in 2006 when he left Kansas State University.

David E. Schafer was born in Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, on August 30, 1941.  He attended the University of Minnesota and earned a B.S. in Animal Husbandry in 1963.  In September of 1963, David Schafer married Jeanne in St. Paul, Minnesota.   He then went on to South Dakota State University and received his M.S. in Animal Science in 1968.  In 1968 Schafer worked for Kansas State University and spent two years in Andhra Pradesh, India as a meat technologist with the KSU-USAID program.  In October of 1968, his first child, Jason, was born.  In 1972, Schafer earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from Kansas State University and worked as an extension specialist in meats.   In December his second child, Derek, was born.  He joined the staff the same year when he became an associate professor at Kansas State University.  In 1975 Schafer’s third child, Mark was born.
In 1984 Schafer was promoted to full professor.  He served as Faculty Senate President from 1986-1987.  In 2003 he was awarded Emeritus status and retired on August 2, 2003.  Over the years David Schafer belonged to a variety of organizations.  He was a part of the American Meat Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Institute of Food Technologists.

Shirley Sarvis was born to George Vernon Sarvis and Wilhelmina Marie Koch Sarvis on February 21, 1935 in Norton, Kansas. Ms. Sarvis graduated from Norton Community High School and went on to Kansas State University to pursue a degree in home economics. After graduating in 1957, Ms. Sarvis moved to Menlo Park, California to begin her career as a food writer. Here, she worked for Sunset magazine from 1957 to 1962, then acted as a freelance food writer from 1962 until 2004, frequently writing for magazines like Woman's Day, Better Homes and Gardens, and Gourmet, among others. During this time, Sarvis gained notoriety as a talented pioneer in wine pairing, widely respected for her excellent palate. Over the years, she became friends with several well-known cooking icons, including James Beard, Julia Child, and Julia’s husband, Paul. Additionally, Ms. Sarvis published almost two dozen cookbooks, among them The Best of Scandinavian Cooking: Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Women’s Day Home Cooking Around the World, and Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide and taught classes on wine and food pairings.  Shirley Sarvis died on January 17, 2013.

Reva Helen Lyne was born on August 4, 1906, at Oak Hill, Kansas, to Lillie Akerman Lyne and Thomas Lyne. She attended Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas, from 1924 to 1928, graduating with an undergraduate degree in home economics. She married Paul Wilfred Russell in 1934. Paul died in Salina, Kansas, on November 3, 1979. Reva died in Salina, Kansas, on July 18, 2000. Both are buried in the Mount Liberty Cemetery in Oak Hill.

1922 Born April 19 near Barnes, Kansas, son of Floyd and Dora (Wesche) Roper
1940 Graduated high school in Barnes. Attended Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
1943 Left Kansas State to enlist in US Army. Completed basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama
1944 July 4: Commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant.
July 7: Married Alice Roelfs of Bushton, Kansas
October 30: Completed 17-week course at Fort Benning, Georgia.
1945 January 10: Departed New York to Le Harve, France
January 22: Arrived in Le Harve, France
March: In combat in Germany in March. Reassigned to Red Cross Service Center in Metz, France. Transferred to Anti-Tank Platoon Leader in Battalion Headquarters. Alice Roper takes correspondence course in preparation for teaching. Assisted in liberation of concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria.
December 26: Appointed 1st Lieutenant
1946 January: Observed Nurnberg trials in. Returned to United States
1947 June 25: Graduated from Kansas State with B.S. in Accounting
1965 Transferred to Retired Reserve
1985 January 6: Retired from First National Bank as Senior Loan Officer
1997 March 1: Passed away in Manhattan, Kansas
Victor Kenneth Roper was born April 19, 1922 near Barnes, Kansas, the son of Floyd and Dora (Wesche) Roper. Victor ("Vic") attended eight years of county school in the Maple Wood community before graduating from high school in Barnes in 1940. Victor attended Kansas State Agricultural College and was active in ROTC. Before he could graduate, Victor left Kansas State in 1943 to enlist in the US Army. While in basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, he courted Alice Roelfs of Bushton, Kansas via correspondence. He completed his training on October 30, 1943, and after a 17-week course at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on July 4, 1944. On July 7, he married Alice in Washington County, Kansas.
In the fall of 1944, Vic was stationed at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he prepared for war in Europe. After spending a short time with Alice in New York, Victor departed the United States on January 10, 1945 and arrived in Le Harve, France on January 22. He was deployed in Company E, 65th Division. As Infantry Platoon Leader, Victor was responsible for the training, supply, and tactical employment of the platoon. The 65th Division stayed at Camp Lucky Strike, where they lived in tents, dealt daily with snow and mud, and ate K rations. Victor’s time in France was filled with discomfort and anxious waiting, though at times this tension was broken by the receipt of letters and care packages of candy, cookies, popcorn, and clippings from the Kansas State Collegian. Victor spent much of his time in France training, censoring mail, and exploring the countryside. Beginning March 4 in Saarlautern, Germany, Victor saw three continuous weeks of combat. During this period, he could not bathe or change clothes. When another lieutenant, Henry Amster, was wounded and evacuated, Victor temporarily took command of that platoon. Later that month, he recuperated at the Red Cross Service Center in Metz, France. In April, he was a part of the first wave of allied soldiers to cross the Danube to take Regansburg. In April, he was transferred to Anti-Tank Platoon Leader in Battalion Headquarters.
While Victor was away, Alice took a correspondence course in preparation for becoming a teacher in Barnes. After the war was officially over in May, Victor was made Information and Education Officer. That month he relocated to Linz, Austria, and a month later to Mauthausen. In June, Victor took part in the liberation of the concentration camp at Mauthausen, where he personally witnessed and documented the prisoners and mechanisms of genocide. By September, he was in Mons, Belgium, in charge of gasoline supply. From October 1945 until his departure, he handled the administration of 11,000 prisoners of war employed by the Base Depot. On December 26, 1945 he was appointed 1st Lieutenant and the following January he observed the Nurnberg Trials. He returned to the United States June 25, 1946, having served overseas a total of 18 months. Victor was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze and Silver Star Campaign Ribbons for the "Rhineland" and "Central Europe," the World War II Victor Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal, and the Combat Infantry Badge. Victor completed his separation from the service on August 28, 1946. He was transferred to the Retired Reserve on January 6, 1965.
After the war, Victor returned to Manhattan and completed his studies at Kansas State, graduating with a B.S. in Accounting in 1947. He was employed 38 years by the First National Bank, retiring in 1985 as Senior Loan Officer. He was a member of the First Christian Church of Manhattan of which he was a Life Elder, Lions Club of which he was a Past President, and the Fraternal Order of United Commercial Travelers of which he was a Past Grand Counselor. Victor and Alice had two daughters, Barbara Kravitcz and Nina Moss, two sons, Dennis and James Roper, and five grandchildren. Victor Roper died on March 1, 1997, in Manhattan Kansas.

Donna C. Roper, professional archeologists, was born to Norman E. and Laura (Dietz) Roper in Oneonta, New York, June 20, 1947. She became involved with archaeology at Hartwick College in Oneonta where she earned a B.A. in History with Departmental Honors in 1968. She completed her Master's and Doctoral degrees, respectively, in Anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1970 and the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1975.

Donna Roper was a dedicated and prolific archaeologist. She directed projects in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, and other states. She held research positions at the American Archaeology Division of the University of Missouri and the Illinois State Museum in the1970s. In 1980 she joined Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. of Jackson, Michigan, as Senior Archaeologist and Project Manager, becoming a partner with Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group of Jackson, Michigan, in 1988.

Her projects for Commonwealth took her to Nebraska, where Donna developed a true love for the Great Plains. In 1991 she fulfilled her dream to live and work regularly in the region by moving to Manhattan, Kansas. She appreciated the environment, the town, and Kansas State University, where she became an avid fan of K-State women's basketball. She served as Research Associate Professor with the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work and also worked regularly as an independent researcher and consultant. In 2015, she also became an adjunct research associate with the Archaeological Research Center at the University of Kansas.

Donna not only stayed active with regional archaeological research, but occasionally taught classes at K-State and KU. She also was an integral graduate committee member for nine Master's and Doctoral students of archaeology. She employed and influenced many students in the field and lab leading to a number of careers in archaeology. Her curiosity, broad knowledge, and keen mind stimulated not only students, but her colleagues in the Plains, Midwest, and beyond. She presented research in two edited books, as well as five book-length monographs, and numerous professional journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. She was active with various regional professional organizations for which she often served in leadership roles.

Donna Roper regularly looked forward to professional meetings where she presented her research, caught up with colleagues, and vigorously debated ideas. She loved to share her knowledge and learn from others through public venues. She was invited regularly to share her insights with public groups in Kansas and Nebraska and always elicited valuable conversations with others about the Native prehistory of this region. She also co-led public archaeology projects in Kansas though the Kansas Archaeological Training Program sponsored by the Kansas Anthropological Association and the Kansas Historical Society.

In 2015, Donna Roper was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the Plains Anthropological Society and the W. Duncan Strong Memorial Award presented by the Nebraska Association of Professional Archaeologists. Through these she joined a select group of renowned recipients marking exemplary contributions to her profession.

Donna Roper died on August 1, 2015, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Jimmy Rogers was a famous blues musician, known for his work with Muddy Waters as well as his R&B solo songs. In 1947, Rogers first began playing with Muddy Waters and Little Walter in Chicago, and in 1950, the trio began recording with Chess Records. Rogers first charted as a solo artist on the Billboard R&B charts in 1957 with the single “Walking by Myself.” After the rise of rock and roll, Chess Records placed less emphasis on blues music and Rodgers’s career, so Rodgers briefly left the music business in the early 60s. He returned to the blues scene in the late 60s and toured Europe, where blues music had become particularly popular. A new song, “Gold Tailed Bird,” was released in 1972, and Rogers continued to tour across the U.S. and around the world throughout the 1980s. In 1991, Rogers was awarded the W. C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation for his song “Ludella.” He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1995, and he received the W. C. Handy Award for Best Male Traditional Blues Artist in 1996. Rogers died in 1997, but his last album, Blues Blues Blues, was released posthumously in 1998 and featured contributions from Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and others.