Monday Mystery solved

Sept. 1, 2009—Congratulations to Tyrell Stewart (TLC), the first person to correctly identify the location of our Monday Mystery. This little sign is hanging in a tree on the west side of the plaza next to the WG building. Tyrell will receive a $5 gift card to hello, cupcake.

But who was Burton J. Williams?

When I ran across this sign on my hunt for Monday Mystery photos, I admit I was stumped. But, assuming that Mr. Williams had been a professor here, I sent a quick e-mail to founding faculty member Mike Allen, hoping he'd know a little more about it. As it turned out, he was exactly the right person to ask. He responded promptly—from a rodeo in Mississippi, no less—with the following message:

"Burt was a 70ish retiree as Dean at Central Washington University, who taught American History here as an adjunct for nearly a decade (he began in the Perkins Building). He was a crusty fellow yet had quite a following on campus. When he died unexpectedly, I took over his class and finished it up. Several folks wanted a memorial. We talked to the admin and grounds dept and were permitted to designate that tree."

Mike wrote Williams' obituary for the American Historical Association. In it, he says students were drawn by Williams' dramatic teaching style, "his finely crafted irony, his curmudgeonly stance, and his iconoclastic ways."

Mike also said my email reminded him that he had once hoped to establish a more permanent memorial for Williams on campus, and that he may renew that effort. So stay tuned.