By Jim Berge
I hung around to watch a few laps of the kart race. Before the race began, I was chatting with a man who was wearing a racing suit and holding a helmet. He was preparing to race a kart. He identified himself as Don McGraw. I found out he was a Welding Engineering alum from 1971! I thought that was cool, so we chatted for a while. He’s 71 years old, and still racing karts.
Turns out his father had been a professor at LETU. I was told his name is Joe McGraw. I was astounded, because Joe McGraw had been my Calculus teacher 40 years ago! Don said his dad was planning to be at the race that evening, and that he was now 96 years old. In fact, their kart number is 96 in honor of dad.
I looked around but didn’t find Joe McGraw. I took some pictures and video of the race, then went back to my truck. The truck was in a great place to watch the race, so I put the tailgate down and sat on it for a while, just to watch a few more laps before driving home.
An elderly gentleman walks up to me and says “You’ve got a comfortable seat there!” and I invited him to join me. He sat beside me. I introduced myself. He told me his name was Joe McGraw!
He gave me a LETU business card, which identifies him as Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. We chatted about the old days, and what LETU was like decades ago. I have to admit it was a very touching moment, and I was truly inspired by this man’s agility and razor-sharp mind at 96 years young.
We chatted about the old days, and what LETU was like decades ago -- for example, when the math classes were still taught in a barracks building!
A wonderful way to end my Engineering Preview Day. God is good, all the time.
