Changing Seasons
Wichita's old Fire Station No. 7 has a new role to play, thanks to Brian Allender '93, a business administration grad. Allender, who worked for Target stores for 10 years, always wanted to start his own business, and the unusual 51-year-old, 3,500-square-foot structure at 2828 W. 13th Street provided the perfect opportunity. Fire Station No. 7 is now Seasonal Decorating. The store is open year around and its stock, as its name implies, changes with the seasons. The structure retains many markings of its former role, including the overhead alarms system and floor markings. “I want to leave it as close to a fire station as I can,” Allender says.
Hydrox Devotee
Before there were Oreos there were Hydrox sandwich cookies. Kim Burton, a WSU graduate student, has loved the chocolate, icing-stuffed cookies since she was a kid. So in 1998 she made a website devoted to the cookies. Unfortunately, in 2003 they were discontinued, leaving Burton without her favorite sweet. She voiced her discontent to the maker of Hydrox, and when Kellogg brought the cookies back for their 100th anniversary, the company gave her a six-month supply of Hydrox. Bon appetit!
George, the Friendly Ghost
Wichita State's Wilner Auditorium is named for George Wilner, who began his Shocker career as head of speech and theater at Fairmount College in 1923. Although he retired in 1960 and passed away in 1976, stories persist that Wilner’s presence can yet be felt in the auditorium’s hallowed halls. Not satisfied with unsubstantiated claims, WSU’s own Comprehensive Research in the Existence of Entities in the Paranormal Society (yes, its acronym is CREEPS) thoroughly investigated the auditorium. Organized by students Rachel Maxey, Ellie Simmons, Nathan Maxey and Paige Wenger, CREEPS hopes to shed light on paranormal mysteries on campus and in the Wichita area. As for the things going bump in Wilner Auditorium, Rachel Maxey assures us, “Don’t worry. George Wilner is a friendly but mischievous ghost.”
Guru of Woodworking
"Woodworking" understates what Chris Lovchik '94 has accomplished with his invention — the CarveWright. The computer-controlled machine can carve wood in dozens of designs or can reproduce an existing design with a scanning probe. Lovchik’s Pasadena, Texas-based company, LHR Technologies Inc. had sales of $10.2 million in 2007. Lovchik is a former senior research scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Record-Setting Flipper
Tasha Gallegos, a Wichita State student from Liberal, Kan., has won the International Pancake Day Race, an event that since 1950 has marked Shrove Tuesday in the towns of Liberal and Oley in Buckinghamshire, England. Gallegos ran the race in a record 57.9 seconds. She beat England’s winner Jane Hughes, who set a new record time across “the pond” at 62 seconds.
Rent-A-Rower
Need some help around the house? Out in the backyard? For $15 an hour, with a four-hour minimum, Shocker rowers will undertake a variety of tasks: yard work and moving furniture, along with seasonal chores, including raking leaves in the fall and planting in the spring. It’s all part of their “Rent-A-Rower” program. “Basically it’s for anyone who needs some extra help,” says assistant crew coach Tori Breithaupt. Funds raised go to help rowers pay off their $400 yearly participation fee. As a non-revenue activity, crewmembers have to pay the fee to help cover such expenses as equipment and travel. So if you need a big hole dug, the team may have an answer for you. “We have some farm kids, and they can even operate a backhoe,” Breithaupt says.
Keeping the Peace
This February, campus police had their hands full with a protest and a counter-protest. The protest promised to be heated with the involvement of a group famous for causing a ruckus wherever its members go, and Wichita State was no exception. “We planned for the worst and hoped for the best,” University Police Captain Sara Morris says, adding that, luckily, “both sides of the protest agreed to their designated area.” Still, had things gotten unruly, the campus police were ready to step in to keep the peace. Morris has experience dealing with controversial protests. “I helped with some of the abortion protests that have happened in Wichita,” she says. That experience, along with conflict resolution training the campus police go through, would have come in handy had things gone wrong.
Spring Planting
With nearly 20 years at WSU, Kari Ossman, grounds maintenance supervisor and greenhouse manager, is charged with keeping a 330-acre campus looking beautiful every season. Spring brings the newest round of gardening and planting for her and her crew, who invite you to come see spring’s blooms!
