FRIDAY, MARCH. 29, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Custodian retires after four decades of work at University
By Melissa Shuman Kansan staff writer
James Lewis, an unsung hero of Marvin Hall, is retiring today after 41 years of service as a custodian at the University.
"I if had to do it all over again, I would." Lewis said.
He was honored yesterday at a retirement party at 1043 Indiana St. where Hank Louisa, associate director of housekeeping, presented him with a picture of campus.
"Each of us have opportunities every day to let someone know we respect and support them," Louisa said, "We appreciate you, Jim Lewis"
Lewis has been working at Marvin Hall for several years, but he has been a custodian in many buildings around campus.
He gets to work at 5:30 in the morning and works until 1:30 p.m.
Lewis started his job at the University on Oct. 25, 1960. He said he saw an ad in the newspaper for jobs at the University and decided to come and work in housekeeping.
The starting salary for a custodian in 1960 was $1,980 per year, said Sonia Farmer, housekeeping receptionist.
Lewis grew up in Manhattan. He left when he was a junior in high school to join the U.S. Navy in 1940.
He served in the Navy for about 41/2 years. He worked as a deck hand and traveled extensively before returning home to Kansas.
After being released from his service in the Navy, he moved to
He worked for years making shells in the ammunitions factory in Parsons.
Pittsburg.
Before coming to the University, he was also employed at a bar in Pittsburg.
Cindy Muckey is a micro-computer systems technician at Marvin Hall.
"It's a really tough job keeping this building clean; architecture students are here twenty-four hours a day and they are more concerned with their projects than keeping things clean," Muckey said.
She said housekeeping didn't always get the recognition they deserved from faculty and students.
The Marvin Hall faculty will have another retirement party for Lewis at 10 a.m. today in the jury
"Each of us have opportunities every day to let someone know we respect and support them"
Hank Louisa
associate director of housekeeping
room on the second floor of Marvin Hall.
Contact Shuman at mshuman@
Muckey said students who would like to stop by and thank Lewis for his years of service are welcome to come and have a piece of cake.
KIMBERLY THOMPSON/KANSAN
kansan.com. This story was edited by Gillian Titus.
After working 41 years as a custodian for the University of Kansas, James Lewis, who turns 80 on June 3, is retiring. Lewis is ending his work in Marvin, where he began work 41 years ago.
EVEREST
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backpacking after she moved to Colorado. Her first mountain was Mt. Yale in Colorado.
Since then, she has added Grand Teton in Wyoming, Mount Blanc in France and the Matterhorn in Switzerland to her list of accomplishments. In May of last year, she went to the top of Cno Oyu, a 26,905 foot peak within view of Everest.
During the last 20 years, Preb.
ble has encouraged women who usually don't explore nature to expand their own boundary through Women's Backpacks, a program that organizes yearly climbing trips.
"A lot of times, I think what limits you is what you think you can't do," she said. "Think of what you can do."
Prebble said she trained for Everest for more than two years. She practiced climbing while wearing 50 percent of her body weight, camped on the top of
14,000-foot peaks to get used to the altitude and did strength training and aerobics, including hour runs at 9,000 feet.
But Everest presents major challenges for Prebble, even with training. She will have to battle hypothermia and frost bite, bitter weather conditions and the possibility of falling ice.
Since 1973, 143 people have died on Everest, while 1,468 have made successful summits.
Prebble's mother, Marty Hartwell, of Wichita, said she
was proud of her daughter but was worried for her health and safety.
"I just want her to come back without losing a lot of toes and fingers and in one piece," she said.
Hartwell said that they would keep in touch during the expedition through e-mail and phone. Those who want to follow the team's progress may do so through www.fordvehicles.com and clicking the "Expedition on Everest" link.
Prebble's brother, Rick
Hartwell, said that he went climbing with Prebble until back arthritis prevented him. He said Prebble helped him realize that there were still ways he could challenge himself, even though he was limited. He said he calls her his hero.
"She's just an inspirational person," he said. "You just look at her goals and accomplishments and it's just hard to look at someone like that and not say, 'Yeah, I can do that too.'"
"A lot of times, I think what limits you is what you think you can't do. Think of what you can do."
Lynn Prebleb 1974 University of Kansas graduate
Contact Pracht at apracht@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brooke Hesler.
BOY
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e-mail pushed me over the edge."
about the tuition increase to the listserv last semester. He said it was because of concerns about overloading the system.
Breeze Luetke-Stahlman, offcampus senator, said she thought Boschee's e-mail was free advertising for events at Memorial Stadium.
"It's absolutely ridiculous that we were denied," she said. "Jeff's
Cohen said the e-mail was part of a coordinated effort to bring a public safety message to students and the Lawrence community.
"Students aren't the only people we're concerned about," Cohen said.
The messages featuring Williams are being aired for free because they are public service announcements, Cohen said. He said the cost of several
advertisements in the University Daily Kansan and the Lawrence Journal-World asking people to celebrate responsibly had had been about $2,000,paid for out of the University Relations' budget.
"People will probably be pretty loaded before, during
Mike Sheridan, Topeka junior, said he didn't think the ads would make students think twice before coming to campus drunk to celebrate.
and after the game anyway, and whatever voice of reason they have will be gone," Sheridan said.
"It is a good idea because Roy has more pull than probably any other administrator on campus."
David Swayze, Lawrence sophomore, said he thought the ads would be effective, and he respected Roy for trying to keep campus safe.
"I wouldn't have even thought
about it," he said. "I wouldn't have gone on campus just to be rowdy, and I was surprised that he was taking the initiative to do that."
To view the Roy's Rules of Order ad, a 1.9 megabyte movie, go to www.jayhawks.ku.edu/roysrules.html.
Contact Boyer at
Contact Boyer at cboyer@kansan.com.This story was edited by Brooke Hesler.
"People will probably be pretty loaded before, during and after the game anyway, and whatever voice of reason they have will be gone."
Mike Sheridan
Topeka junior
This message brought to you by the University of Kansas.
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