Alumni Memories

Duane R. Sywassink

Farm Operations, CT, 1951; Agronomy, B.S., 1956

Congratulations to the College of Agriculture’s 150 years! More than 50 years ago, 59 to be exact, as a farm boy about to graduate from high school which can claim having Iowa’s oldest, active Vo Ag and FFA chapter, Muscatine, I decided to continue my formal education at Iowa State College. The plan was to enroll in a two-year farm operation curriculum and return to the farm. This was fall quarter 1948. H.H. Kildee was Dean of Agriculture, a man well known in livestock circles. R.M. Vifquain was my counselor who, early on, helped guide me along the way.

The top floor, northwest corner dorm room, Hughes Hall, was my home away from home that first year. Looking out our window one could see the south end zone of Clyde Williams field … close enough to feel you were a football spectator on Saturday afternoons. Ping-Pong was an activity welcomed by floor-mates at the dorm. Friley Hall cafeteria provided us three solid meals a day. The long trek to the far side of the campus for classes in Curtiss Hall, Botany Hall, Dairy Industry, the Armory, Ag Engineering and the Chemistry Building helped keep us in shape. Morrill Hall was where we picked up agriculture publications.

Pammel Court was bustling with veterans who had returned from World War II. Temporary classrooms had popped up most everywhere. The Green Gander had a circulation in the thousands. One had to be at the distribution point early to obtain a copy. “The Bomb” was a yearbook. Baseball playoffs and the World Series were available to view on a black and white TV set in Memorial Union. Did it seem like the Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants were always in contention? ROTC was required for the first two years … little did I know the artillery training might come in handy when the Korean War broke out in 1950. It did.

I received my Farm Op certificate in March of 1951 and was home on the farm when I was drafted in October of 1951. Basic training was at Camp Chaffee Arkansas, and was sent promptly to an artillery outfit in Korea. After 13 months along the MLR, I rotated home and was discharged – and became an ex-GI on the GI Bill, back at Iowa State … like so many others before me.

This time I enrolled in agronomy. Floyd Andre was now Dean of Agriculture; Darrel Metcalfe my adviser, and what a wonderful mentor he was. The agronomy department and ag college in general was blessed with having so many knowledgeable and dedicated professors. They took personal interest in their teaching and mentoring. Wayne Scholtes, B.J. “Bugs” Firkins, Louis Thompson, Robert Shaw, Robert Kalton, W.H. Pierre, Iver Johnson are names that come to mind. And, who could forget Amy, the agronomy office secretary. Every office needs an Amy, which I found out later in life.

During this period of readjustment to civilian and campus life, I had decided to marry the woman I had asked to be my wife (now of 52 years) during Veishea 1954; in my 1953 Chevrolet parked on the street along the shores of Lake LaVerne. In August we married and set up housekeeping in a second floor apartment on 118 N. Hyland Ave., (Porter Lodge), across the street from the Sigma Chi fraternity. “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” sounded out around the neighborhood, especially at Homecoming. Spudnuts in Dogtown became a treat. Beverly’s work in the Soil Testing Lab and my journeys to the same area of campus provided economy of travel. John Hanway oversaw the Soil Testing Lab at that time. He also needed help for his soils research projects so I was able to have part-time work with him.

Graduation time came at the end of winter quarter 1956. I was offered a position with a seed corn company which I accepted, starting April 2. I was employed with this company for 38 years until my retirement in 1993.

Rich traditions, indelible memories, a top-notch education from an outstanding institution with excellence in agriculture, and perhaps most importantly, faculty and administrators who cared.