Farewell, Beckett-Hughes

The summer 1998 edition of "the mag" conjured up many great memories for me. Many of my friends and associates at Davis during the years from 1966 to 1970 are most probably thoroughly amazed that, as one of those proverbial '60s survivors, I even have memories conjured at all. However, one of the most delightful, near-Lucasfilm memories I enjoy is of my time at Struve-Titus Hall on the west side of Beckett-Hughes and the Segundo dining facility. Craig Machado's remembrances were truly appreciated, and I will sincerely enjoy them to the soothing sounds of Cream's Disraeli Gears album (now CD cloned) while musing through the cluttered box of stored memories of my senior year as resident adviser for Titus II (Room 239) in 1969­1970.

Much like Craig, I had the surprise of discovering numerous John Deeres meandering about the now remarkably open space of freshly turned earth where Segundo had once stood. I suppose you really can't imagine all that bulky cement and linoleum ever going away--certainly not without some public edict from the EPA. But there it was before me: nothing. I suppose I wasn't too taken aback. After all, my first year was spent living in the cozy, antique military barracks known as Aggie Villa, across from our nemesis Theta Xi. It is now, after some controversy, a new business area.

But these conjured buildings from the past are of course merely symbols. It's the extraordinarily wonderful people and friendships that we truly miss. Many kudos to Craig as he waded through that time warp with remarkable clarity and captured so wonderfully the nuances, rituals and spirit of Segundo/Beckett-Hughes/Struve-Titus. Wow, man, it was a great trip.

Douglas Coplen Miller '70
via e-mail