 |
|
     |
|
|
Good Classes In “Taking BART to Stockholm,” your profile of Daniel McFadden (December), you list him as the 17th Nobel laureate from Berkeley, but your table on page 27 gives only 16 winners. You missed Professor Emilio Segré, who was co-winner of the physics prize with Owen Chamberlain in 1959. As a chemistry major at Cal, I had the opportunity to take classes from three Nobel laureates: in nuclear chemistry from Glenn Seaborg, organic chemistry from Melvin Calvin, and nuclear physics from Emilio Segré. I doubt that any other student in any other university has ever had such an opportunity. Robert DuBois ’55
Vallejo Good Neighborhood I enjoyed your article on the Alumna of the Year, Maxine Hong Kingston (“Woman Warrior Speaks Peace,” December). There was one error: I also grew up in Stockton and went to UC Berkeley, and can report that Stockton is less than one hundred miles from campus, not a “few hundred miles,” as stated in the article. I spent part of my childhood in a very multicultural neighborhood on E. Worth Street in Stockton and have, therefore, felt a special connection to the work of Ms. Kingston. I was the “Okie” girl in my neighborhood. At one end of my block lived a large Chinese family. Oh, how I relished the dried salted plums they shared from time to time! The African-American boy, Dobie, lived at the other corner. A few houses away from them lived my boyfriend, one of six Filipino brothers. And on Sunday afternoons I enjoyed pizza, minestrone soup, and dancing the polka to the accordion in the Italians’ basement across the street. I feel fortunate to have lived on that street. Unfortunately, so many of our neighborhoods today are de facto segregated. Deborah Hickerson ’80 Good Friend Winters Your tribute to Bill Rockwell ’48, Oski’s creator (“Farewell to two close friends of Oski,” December), was especially meaningful to me, a fellow “Flying Golden Bear,” Marine pilot, and Cal classmate. After the war, we both returned to Cal, where Bill further developed Oski. I even had a small part to play (as did many others) in Oski’s early exploits. Because I could ride a unicycle, Bill thought up a skit in which I would ride across the field, Oski would come running out to protect his turf, chase me down, and then fearlessly try to ride the one-wheeler. This skit was used at halftime of the Cal–University of Washington football game, probably in 1947, before some 50,000 fans. H. Jesse Walker ’47, M.A. ’54 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Back to Top |
 Daniel McFadden Have an opinion? Write to “Letters,” California Monthly, Alumni House, Berkeley 94720-7520; 510/642-6252 (fax); calmonthly@alumni.berkeley.edu. Letters may be edited for length.
| |||||||||||
| About
CAA Contact
Us
Update
your Address CAA Career Opportunities Privacy Policy |
©2009 California Alumni
Association. All Rights Reserved For questions about CAA: info@alumni.berkeley.edu Technical inquiries: web@alumni.berkeley.edu
|
Alumni House Berkeley, CA 94720-7520 Toll-Free: (888) CAL-ALUM Phone: (510) 642-7026 Fax: (510) 642-6252
|
