Out of the Big Blue

At first glance, Andy Dekaney High School, located in Houston, Texas, appears to have nothing in common with the University of Kentucky. However, upon closer inspection, a couple of major similarities arise.

First, their official school color is a royal blue; suspiciously similar to that UK blue we all know and love. Secondly, their team mascot is a wildcat. Now we’re on to something. All of this could be a major coincidence; after all, the color blue and the wildcat mascot are fairly common among high school teams.

As it turns out, it is no coincidence that the Dekaney High School mascot is a wildcat and their school color is blue. The late Andy Dekaney, the eponym of this high school, was the father of alumnus Josh Dekaney ’96 FA. After serving on the Spring School District Board for 17 years, the school honored Andy Dekaney by naming the school after him.

Apparently, Andy Dekaney influenced more than just the name; he also chose the school colors and mascot.

“When the school district was picking colors, he recommended blue and white and the wildcat mascot because I attended the University of Kentucky and his favorite color was blue,” says Josh Dekaney.  ”He really became a UK Wildcat fan because of my time there.”

Josh Dekaney, a native of Houston, attended UK because of the excellent percussion program.

“Professor James B. Campbell has built a powerhouse percussion program at UK,” says Josh Dekaney. “He was one of the main reasons I went to school there. UK was a good fit for me.”

Today, Josh Dekaney teaches percussion at Syracuse University.

Although Dekaney High School is young, it is already a powerhouse in Texas high school football, winning the Texas 5A Division II State Championship this year.

Thanks, Josh, for sharing your Wildcat pride with your father. We’re glad to know there’s a piece of bluegrass in the Lone Star State!

The Andy Dekaney High School wildcat mascot.

Is there a teacher or educator, past or present, in your life who you would like to thank? If so, the University of Kentucky College of Education has the perfect opportunity for you to honor that special educator.

For the 14th consecutive year, the College of Education is sponsoring the Teachers Who Made a Difference program. The idea behind this program is simple. Nominate a teacher who has made a difference in your life and they will be honored at an awards reception in April.

Honorees can be teachers, professors, principals or other educational professionals. They do not have to be graduates of the University of Kentucky or residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Also, there is no selection process for the program. The college simply wants to recognize spectacular educators!

For more information, and to nominate an educator by Feb. 29, click here.

For the Harmon family of Indiana and Illinois, last Saturday’s UK men’s basketball game against Ole Miss was much more than an exciting win for the Cats. It was “a dream come true.” Why, you ask?

Four generations of the Harmon family attended the game at Rupp Arena on Feb. 18, to cheer on their beloved Wildcats and cement a family bond that has spanned so many years. Attending the game were: Francis Harmon (who attended UK in 1938 but joined the Navy at the onset of World War II), alumnus Thomas Harmon, alumna Lori Harmon Shockley and Lilly Shockley (in the “future” class of 2023).

We caught up with them before the game where they shared some of their favorite memories of UK and some fun facts about their lives. We’re proud to have the Harmons as part of our UK family!

Francis E. Harmon

Where are you originally from?: Auxier, Ky.
Where do you currently live?: Benton, Ill.
What are your favorite memories from your time at UK?: Football, basketball and horse races.
What does it mean to you to attend this UK game with your family?: After all these years, it’s about time!
Fun Fact: I saw two national championship games. I shook hands with Adolph Rupp.

Dr. Thomas Harmon

Where are you originally from?: Wayland, Ky.
Where do you currently live?: Evansville, Ind.
What does it mean to you to attend this UK game with your family?: It’s a dream come true.
Fun Fact: I met an Irish custom’s officer who, upon reviewing my passport, said “Go Big Blue!”

Lori Harmon Shockley

Where are you originally from?: I was born in Fort Knox, Ky., but I lived most of my life in Evansville, Ind.
What are some of your favorite memories from your time at UK?: I loved going to the Midnight Madness practices. I remember the year [Jamal] Mashburn played. I knew that night that we were going to have a great season. My least favorite memory is the ’92 Kentucky/Duke game. It took me a long time to hear the name [Christian] Laettner without crying! My dad got me tickets to the Final Four in ’93 in New Orleans. I’m not a fan of Chris Webber, either.
What does it mean to you to attend this UK game with your family?: It means everything to me. I was born and raised a Kentucky fan. I am proud to say that my 11-year-old daughter asked for these tickets for Christmas. She told us “all she wanted” was to go to a game with her mom, granddad and great granddad. I am proud that I have passed the tradition on to her. I have another daughter who is 14 and a Louisville Cardinal Fan, like her dad. We are definitely a house divided!

Lilly Shockley

Why do you want to attend UK in the future?: It’s where my family goes to school. I love watching all of the games on TV, and have already visited the campus. 
Are you excited to attend this game with your family?: Yes. I watch all of the games on TV, and I can’t wait to see them in real life. I am especially excited to see Anthony Davis. I want to see how long his arms REALLY are!

From left to right: Francis Harmon, Dr. Thomas Harmon, Lori Harmon Shockley and Lilly Shockley. Photo by Michael Huang.

By Linda Perry

On a day when it’s snowing, sleeting and cloudy in Kentucky, my attention drifts to thoughts of spring. Can anyone be blamed for wanting to hurry along the winter season for a sunnier atmosphere?

It turns out there’s a simple way to appease ourselves as we wait for the Vernal Equinox on March 20. The UK College of Agriculture supplies lots of information to the public, and I found a publication on its website that helps me become an “indoor gardener” almost effortlessly.

Making a Terrarium is a four-page publication (pdf) that anyone with website access can learn from. It documents how to create a terrarium, which is a collection of plants growing in a glass-enclosed container. This indoor garden will brighten up the inside of your home through the use of just a few materials: a container, soil, drainage material, charcoal and plants. The container can be small or very elaborate. Preferred plants are easy to find at your local home and garden center and include such things as mosses, English Ivy and African Violets.

You can also get creative and fabricate a little woodland scene in the container by including small figurines of people and animals. Or create a terrarium with a theme. (Go Big Blue comes to mind!) It’s up to you. The best part is that once you put your terrarium together, it needs very little upkeep: just a spritz of water from time to time to maintain the moisture level and your guaranteed months of visual enjoyment.

Spread the love and do what I’m going to do — make one for myself and another to give as a gift! And before you know it, springtime will be here.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Wildcats! Today, we thought it would be fitting to share a heart-warming story from alumnus Michael Green ’63 AS about a very special spot on UK’s campus. Stories likes this are more proof that UK is a wonderful place to live, learn and love. Did UK play cupid in your relationship? We’d love to hear your stories. Email us at ukalumni@uky.edu

The Stone Bench
By Michael Green ’63 AS

“My girlfriend, Judy, was a student at Eastern State College and often visited me at UK on the weekends. One Saturday evening in April of 1962 I suggested that we end our date, a concert by the Four Freshmen, by taking a walk on campus. I casually led her to a spot that I had picked out months before. It was a small glen between the engineering building and Memorial Hall. The concrete path wound through a grove of small flowering trees. There was a stone bench in the middle of the glen and it was there that I asked her the great question. I told her that I had a question to ask of her and that I would only ask it once and never again. Her answer was an enthusiastic “YES.” I told her that I couldn’t promise her that we would ever be rich but I assured her that our life would always be interesting. Little did I know at that time how interesting it would be.

Nearly 50 years had gone by when our granddaughter asked us to take her to a speech competition at UK. While she was thus occupied, we took the occasion to wander around campus. It was a day when students were not in evidence and the campus was pretty well deserted, a delightful day for wandering. A few things became obvious; UK seldom tears any old buildings down. It just builds new ones in the open spaces. There didn’t used to be any trees in front of Pence Hall but now there were pin oaks that were nearly 18 inches in diameter. Did they really grow that fast? It couldn’t have been that long ago that we sat on those steps for photographs.

I hadn’t much hope that the stone bench would still be there. They had built onto the engineering building and used up that space where the bench used to be. I had to go look anyway. It was still there. They must have moved it during construction of the engineering complex and restored it to its rightful place later. I recognized it immediately. It looked really good sitting there on that grassy slope, beneath the sheltering trees. It is very gratifying that the University of Kentucky welcomes the new but takes the pains to preserve the old as well, even an old stone bench.”

Judy and Michael Green circa 1963.

Judy on the "stone bench."

A recent photo of Michael and Judy.

Kentucky poet, novelist, environmentalist, former UK professor and alumnus Wendell Berry ’56 ’57 AS was recently named the 41st Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This is the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

“Wendell Berry is an American treasure whose prose and poetry have— with subtlety, intelligence, and conviction—helped open our eyes to the importance of respecting and living with nature,” said NEH Chairman Jim Leach in a statement released by the organization. “Tilling the land of his Kentucky forebears, he is a 21st century Henry David Thoreau.”

He will deliver the 41st Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, 2012, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The lecture is titled “It All Turns on Affection.”

Berry is no stranger to success. This recognition comes on the heels of receiving one of only 10 National Humanities Medals for outstanding achievements in history, literature, education and cultural policy presented to him by President Barack Obama on March 2, 2011.

Congratulations, Mr. Berry!

*compiled from material written by Kathy Johnson, UKPR.

Wendell Berry circa 1985. Photo from Explore UK.

President Barack Obama awarded Berry one of only 10 National Humanities Medals for outstanding achievements in history, literature, education and cultural policy on March 2, 2011.

We recently caught up with alumnus and former UK soccer player Lee Baker ’01 ED. Read what he has to say about his time at UK and what he has been up to since graduating almost 11 years ago.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Louisville, Ky. My dad, Allen Baker, coached soccer and basketball at Ballard High School in Louisville. We then moved to Morristown, Tenn., and finally ended up moving to Spring, Texas, near Houston. My brother, Danny Baker, is also a UK alum and played on the soccer team as well. He graduated in 2000.

Describe your time at UK.

It was a really exciting time to be at UK. During my time there, I feel like we really helped put the soccer program on the map. My senior year we made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program’s history. We lost to Indiana University but this proved that we could compete with some of the top-ranked schools in the nation. In 2000 I served as an undergraduate assistant on the team. That year, we went to the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row and ended up going to the second round of the tournament for the first time ever. I also have so many great friendships with my former teammates to this day.

What made you want to attend UK?

My family has a lot of roots in Kentucky. My uncle was a professor at UK and my grandparents lived in Richmond. I seriously considered attending other schools but knew that I would have a great relationship at Kentucky. The soccer program was fairly new and up and coming which was exciting to me. Having the opportunity to work with former Coach Ian Collins was a big draw for me too. 

Soccer seems to run in your family. Tell us about your family.

My dad picked up the game of soccer while stationed in Germany. He fell in love with the game. After coaching in Kentucky and Tennessee and moving to Texas, he became the head coach of the boys’ soccer team at Klein High School in Klein, Texas. To this day, he is the winningest soccer coach in Texas with more than 600 wins. Growing up, he coached my brother and me. He and my mom are both huge UK fans. Also, my wife Cindy and I have three kids, Claire, Graham and Alice.

What are you doing today?

I am now the club director of the Texans Soccer Club in Houston. My brother is the general manager of the club. I actually played at this club during my high school years so it is a great feeling to be back doing something I love.

From left to right: Danny, Lee and Allen Baker.

UK teammates during a soccer trip to California in 1999.

Lee Baker and his family.

One month from today, the annual DanceBlue Marathon will be in full swing at Memorial Coliseum. This 24-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon benefitting the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic is a fairly new tradition on UK’s campus, starting in 2006.

Although this event is relatively young, it has quickly become one of the most popular philanthropic events of the year for students, staff and the community. Last year, 700 dancers, 95 teams and donors raised $673,976.60 making the grand total of funds raised by DanceBlue more than $2,675,000 since its inception.

Whether you are a new or “seasoned” alum, you can support this year’s DanceBlue Marathon, too! Here are just a few ways:

• Contact your local alumni club. All of our clubs are assigned one or two DanceBlue teams to encourage. Some clubs write letters to or send goodie bags to their assigned DanceBlue teams.
• If you are a DanceBlue alum planning to attend, be sure to stop by the King Alumni House prior to the start of the marathon. The UK Alumni Association will be holding a reception for you. Click here to RSVP.  Contact Alyssa Thornton if you have questions about the reception.
• Finally, if you would like to make a monetary donation, visit the DanceBlue website. You are able to specify which team you would like to support.
  

  DanceBlue alums during the 2011 reception.