1950s
Sally McBride ’52 received the Patron of the Arts Award from the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce for her work in keeping music alive for area schoolchildren during a time of deep budget cuts in arts education. She serves on the board of the Corvallis–Oregon State University Symphony Society and has spent 20 years as a music specialist in the Corvallis schools. In addition, McBride is a founder of Opera Theater Corvallis, for which she has produced two children’s musicals.
Lois Nelson ’52 has returned to Portland. She looks forward to reconnecting with her classmates.
James E. Paul ’52 received a master’s degree in music composition and a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Washington. Paul founded and directed the Early Music Ensemble of San Diego, which toured in America and Europe. He is currently the director and cofounder of the Academy of Music Northwest, a nonprofit precollege school for gifted young composers and performers in the Pacific Northwest.
Robert "Bob" Strutz ’53 was a teacher in Huntington, Irrigon, and Boardman. He and his wife, Arlene, later moved to Hermiston, where he taught and coached for 20 years. During that time, he was principal at Armand Larive Junior High School and vice principal at Hermiston High School. Arlene is currently the director of a rug-making camp at Friends Camp in Rockaway and has another camp at the Prairie Rose Rug Hooking School in Richardton, North Dakota. Bob and Arlene celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on January 13.
Milton "Milt" Bowerman ’56 uses the training he received from Lewis & Clark College to teach music at the Hayward LaHonda Music Camp. As camp director, Bowerman supervises more than 300 students in grades 6 through 12 each year.
John Houser ’58 is creating the largest equestrian bronze sculpture in the world. The sculpture depicts Don Juan de Onate, who introduced Hispanic culture to the Southwestern United States. When completed, it will reside in El Paso, Texas.
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Diane Demott Spencer ’58, pianist, was scheduled to play recitals in New York City and Connecticut. Due to the September 11 tragedy, these events were canceled. Instead, she played a recital on October 5 at the United Church of Marco Island, Florida, to benefit the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Last year, Spencer performed a six-recital Beethoven sonata cycle for the millennium at the Marian Anderson Hall in Connecticut. She continues to give concerts in southwest Florida, where she now lives.