Keeping In Touch

to young people at a school, and a boy will say ... He’s read something of my bio, he’ll say, ‘Were you in the Army?’ and I say, ‘Yes,’ and he’ll say, ‘Why?’ And I say, ‘Because I was drafted.’ And he always says, ‘Yes, but why did you GO?’ Now, that’s a warning to me never to tell about it. I could create a character in another time, but I could never sell them on me. They wouldn’t believe it. So, my new book is called Fair Weather, and it’s set in the 1890s. I feel perfectly free to go there, because it’s there in the library, all written down. I start out with the Sears & Roebuck catalog, to see what people paid for things, and I do a timeline of 1893, so I know what’s going on in the world, and I disappear back into it, and I never get in my way, because I wasn’t there. So this new story’s about a farm family that goes to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, and sees the Twentieth Century suddenly introduced.”

I asked Richard why he set virtually all of his books in the Midwest. He said, “I set a lot; not all, of my novels in the Midwest, because we have too many set in the northeast and New York City, and we have too few set in Chicago and the Middle West, for the obviously painful reason that most editors and publishers are in Boston or New York, and they are not very familiar with real American life. Also, the older I get, the more Midwestern I become. A day never passes here in New York without my saying, under my breath, ‘You couldn’t get away with that where I come from!’ You begin to remember things more clearly that you thought were long gone. Also, the Middle West is a wonderful place for stories because there’s a much stronger sense of community than the east knows anything about. There’s a social contract in the towns. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s there.”

I asked him about his family background. “I have a sister who’s Associate Chancellor at the University of Illinois. She was out in San Francisco to see me get my award, and so was our 95-year-old mother. She had her 95th birthday while there. She made a writer out of me, because she read to me before I could read. I think it’s all decided before we get to school.”

“My mother’s a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, and my father didn’t go to seventh grade. I felt that balance between my very-carefully-spoken, educated mother and my very natural, easyspoken, farm-boy father. It was an enormous sense of inspiration, since they were really speaking two different languages in my own home. I think that helped make me a writer. I became very conscious of language because of that. I also knew that my father could talk ‘country’ if he wanted to, and he could also talk ‘town,’ whereas my Mother spoke only very clear, precise speech.”

As the interview came to a close, we returned to our discussion of mutual fraternity experiences. Richard noted that the members of the DePauw Chapter were always close, and that at one of their recent reunions, more than half of his pledge class had returned for enjoyable fellowship.

It was obvious that he still treasures his affiliation with Delta Chi. APPALACHIAN STATE

Doyle Chambers ’95, married to Laura Higgins on June 23, 2001.

Born to Brother and Mrs. Rick Robinson’95, a son, Austin Daniel, on July 29, 2001.

Eric Stubblefield ’99, married to Lorin Kirby on July 14, 2001.

ARIZONA

Leonard Moulin ’98, married to Kristen Humenesky on July 7, 2001.

ARIZONA STATE

John G. Vescova ’97, married to Kelsea Kardinal on September 23, 2000.

AUBURN

Born to Brother and Mrs. Alex Charleston ’91, a son, Anderson Reed, on September 3, 2001.

Born to Brother and Mrs. Michael Garrison ’93, a daughter, Leah Grace, on August 28, 2001.

Born to Brother and Mrs. Damon Reed ’94, a daughter, Abby Elizabeth, on October 1, 2001.

CLEMSON

Christopher J. Diak ’90, married to Nicole L. Roberts on July 29, 2001.

COLORADO

Peter Dalby ’98, married to Michelle Dawn Pennington on August 10, 2001.

FREDONIA

Born to Brother and Mrs. Patrick Fischer ’94, a son, Alexander Timothy, on September 4, 2001.

Born to Brother and Mrs. Frank Garguiolo ’03, a son, Matthew, on June 30, 2000.

ILLINOIS STATE

Born to Brother and Mrs. Kevin Deany ’91, a son, Ryan William, on May 10, 2001.

Born to Brother and Mrs. L. Wayne Hoover ’91, a son, Gregory Wayne, on July 20, 2001.

KANSAS

In addition to his strong support of Delta Chi, Forrest E. Hoglund ’56 has been a loyal supporter of his University. Forrest is the chairman of “KU First: Investing In Excellence,” a capital campaign aimed at raising $500 million for the University and its medical center. In addition to a prior major gift to renovate the KU baseball stadium, which now bears his name, Forrest and his wife, Sally, have pledged $7 million for the KU Medical Center’s brain imaging facility.

William P. Bunyan, III ’61 was recently awarded the Fred Ellsworth Medallion by the University of Kansas in recognition of his outstanding support of University programs and student recruitment.

KANSAS STATE

Born to Brother and Mrs. Jeff Schutzler ’96, a daughter, Madeline Lorraine, on March 9, 2001.

KENT STATE

Born to Brother and Mrs. Erik Ellman ’89, a daughter, Taylor Nicole, on July 9, 2001.

Steve Bossart ’90, has been named Assistant Director of Development for the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio. LONG BEACH

Wayne Evans ’93, married to Denise Fleck on December 18, 2000.

Alvaro Castillo ’97, married to Teresa Ayala on June 30, 2001.

John P. Hurley ’98, married to Jennie Wirick on March 31, 2001.

NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Michael J. Vinson ’98, professed his temporary vows as a Benedictine Monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, Indiana. He received the name Br. Anthony. Br. Anthony has been assigned to theological studies at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana.

TARLETON

Phillip Seidenberger ’00, married to Angi Sage on July 20, 2001.

TEXAS

Born to Brother and Mrs. Daniel E. Kubiak ’96, a son, Dale, on January 29, 2001.

TRI-STATE

Thaddaeus Greiner ’01, married to Angela Jensen on September 23, 2000.

Jonathan King ’01, married to Emily Brown on June 23, 2001.

Neil Terry ’01, married to Sarah Kuieren on June 9, 2001.

WESTERN MICHIGAN

Jeffery King ’95, married to Tammy Dallas on May 19, 2001.

THE DELTA CHI POSTER

A great holiday or birthday gift!

Delta Chi is pleased to present this beautiful and meaningful 18 x 24 poster suitable for matting and framing.

Please send $15 and your address to Delta Chi, P.O. Box 1817, Iowa City, IA 52244, or call 1-319-337-4811.