quote:

---

I reviewed all the entries in this thread and was disappointed that apparently none of you had the pleasant experience of knowing Dr. Frank E. Vandiver, President of TAMU from Sept 1, 1981 to Sept 1, 1988. Definitely as a historian, Dr. Vandiver was the most esteemed of that branch of humanities ever on campus.

---

As a Presidents Endowed Scholarship recepient, I was very fortunate to have Dr. & Mrs. Vandiver as my donors. They were wonderful - and, as a history major, he and I never ran short of topics to discuss.

Elsie, if you're still looking for classes to take, definitely take Kirkendall's history of Latin America post-1810 and know what the Mask of Ferdinand is.

Wyoming said:

---

Victor Treat, a great prof, for me about 1968.

---

I believe he was my advisor when I attended Fish Orientation in 1997.

Schall 02 said:

---

Reese was great. Went to Russia with him spring 2001. His Soviet history class convinced me to become a history major.

Krammer was amazing. Brought history to life and literally put it in our hands.

Buenger for Texas history was challenging and rewarding. "Goodbye to a River" remains my favorite book.

---

I really wanted to go on that trip to Russia with Reese. I loved his dry sense of humor. His story of Lenin and Trotsky giggling after they pulled off the revolution always makes me laugh when I think of it.

Neat thread.

My very first class at Texas A&M in 1996 was a naval history class in the Animal Industries building taught by Dr Bradford.

Definitely the best history prof I had.

Wow, this thread definitely brings back memories. I had Kostolnyk, Calvert, and Krammer in the 90s. Krammer for 3 classes, definitely my favorite professor.

Kostolnyk's Western Civ 1 class was a cast iron ***** because of his accent. I would record his lecture on my mini-disc recorder and then replay it at home, while during the lecture, I would copy the notes from a dude that sat next to me who had had a class with him before and was used to his accent. I used to say he sounded like he spoke with marbles in his mouth while lapsing into Latin. I was so happy to get a C in that class, but never took another one from him. Extremely nice guy though.

strider98 said:

---

Wow, this thread definitely brings back memories. I had Kostolnyk, Calvert, and Krammer in the 90s. Krammer for 3 classes, definitely my favorite professor.

Kostolnyk's Western Civ 1 class was a cast iron ***** because of his accent. I would record his lecture on my mini-disc recorder and then replay it at home, while during the lecture, I would copy the notes from a dude that sat next to me who had had a class with him before and was used to his accent. I used to say he sounded like he spoke with marbles in his mouth while lapsing into Latin. I was so happy to get a C in that class, but never took another one from him. Extremely nice guy though.

---

When I had him in '71' or '72, he would literally write every word he spoke on the blackboard as he lectured. Couldn't understand what he was saying, but I could read his handwriting.

Dr. Beaumont. He'd deliver his lectures from memory and in such a fascinating way that I'd just sit there mesmerized, entertained and enlightened. I never took notes. His entire theme centered on history delivering us to where we are: who, what, where, when, why and significance.

Dr. Beaumont's essay tests tended to brutalize, but he had a fascinating curve that he'd use to adjust the grade: he'd average the exams, and round the class average UP to 75. One semester, I'd managed to demonstrate in my essay how the failed Gallipoli campaign, through steps, delivered us to the then-contemporaneous Cold War, and he gave me a 96. The class average was a 55, so I ended up with a 116!

I tested out of a final in his history of the American military through 1914 (or some such) by setting the curve on the midterm. Was distraught when I got the test back and it said 56 on it. He then explained the curve and average score was closer to 26.

I still remember the last question. It was a map of the earth and said to mark every American military deployment from 1865 through 1898.

Charlie Wallace said:

---

Screamin' Al Nelson, American History in the fall of 1958 before most of you were even born. A rabid Southerner, Al was still fighting the War Between the States almost 100 years after it ended. I felt sorry for a fish Lincoln in the class who was mercilessly berated. Rest in peace, Al.

Charlie Wallace '62

---

Listen to this learned man. He knows of what he speaks. I had Screaming Al as a fish the last semester before he retired.

Ashcraft and Unterberger. Unless you were there you wouldn't understand.

Not at A&M, but I had a phenomenal American history teacher at Blinn in Bryan in spring 2005. One of the most gifted lecturers I've ever heard. Wish I could remember his name.

I had Unterberger as my chair and Beaumont was on my committee. Both stellar. Arnie Krammer, RIP, was the best storyteller of the bunch. He really made it come alive. Bradford was just a hoot to listen to, inside and outside of class.