OCR Text |
Show Summer Signpost Thursday, July 12, 1984 3 At Ninety-eight, Weber's Oldest Alumnus Wins Service Award When this year's winner of the Weber State College Alumni "Meritorious Service Award" was born, there was no pavement on Ogden streets and the electric poles for the street cars ran down the middle of the road. At 98, William Arthur Budge is Weber State's oldest knwon living alumni and was born four years before the college itself. "Of course I live a lot in the past now," said Budge speaking of his age. "It's cheaper." Budge received the award from the WSC Alumni Emeriti Association during their annual banquet. Budge is a slim five footfive-and-a-half inches who parted his once-black hair in the middle when he was a forward on the college basketball team. "You didn't have to be seven foot in those days. You just had to be fast," he said. Budge entered what was then Weber Academy when he was 18 years old. Besides being active in basketball, he was a member of the Weber Academy Choir and the Ogden Tabernacle Choir. During his junior year he was president of a class of 17, which included Moroni Olson, who later became an international actor and future WSC President, Aaron Tracy. When he graduated in 1907, David O. McKay, then principal of the school, urged Budge to go into teaching. "I fought with David O. for three days because I didn't want to teach school," he said. "Finally he let me have the degree in science, but I ended up teaching anyway." Budge had been out of school less than a year when a five-year mission call from the L.D.S. Church took him to Turkey. "Two years to learn the ' language and three years to do missionary work," he said. Both hostilities between the Turks and the Armenians resulted in the mission being closed and, after spending a year in Turkey, he was sent to Scotland. When he returned to Ogden, he married Jennie Farr, whom he had met at the Academy and took a job teaching at Central Junior High School. He said, "I saw the superintendent on Saturday night and on Monday morning I was teaching, but I had to do a lot of studying." He stayed at that job, making $700 a year, for five-and-a-half years. But since he was only employed nine months out of the year he had various jobs through the summers. One summer he heard of an oepning at Security State Bank and applied. Even though he knew nothing about banking, he was hired. He quit his job teaching and began 'working in the cage,' handling accounts and working the books year-round. He retired. from what became Commercial Security Bank 42 years later as one of the bank's vice presidents. Budge currently holds a standard certificate in the American Institute of banking and was president of the Ogden Chapter. He was a delegate to three National American Institute of Banking conventions and gave a paper at one of them. "I have done a lot of studying in banking,", he said. Though Mrs. Budge is bed-ridden, the two will soon celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary. On their 70th anniversary they received letters of congratulations from President Ronald Reagen as well as Elder LeGrande Richards, a personal friend of Budge and three months his junior. "If I'd known I'd live this long I'd have taken better care of myself," said Budge, who will be 99 in November and is still amazingly healthy. There isn't an original John Hancock in the group, but over 250 monarchs, presidents, actors, actresses and other famous people have penned their names and are included in the Richard E. Roser autograph collection recently donated to Weber State College. The collection is the donation of Arlene Burk of Ogden and contains such names as Fredrick the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Queen Anne, Abraham Lincoln, George V, Maria Theresa, Alexandra, Queen of England, Alexander Hamilton, Theodore see "Custer" on page 5. SUPPORT SIGNPOST ADVERTISERS Permanent Centers open days, evenings and weekends. 1 Low hourly cost. Dedicated full-time staff. Complete TEST-n-TAPEffacllities for review of class lessons and supplementary materials. 1 Small classes taught by skilled instructors. Opportunity to make up missed lessons. Voluminous home-study materials constantly updated by researchers expert in their field. ' Opportunity to transfer to and continue study at any ot our over 80 centers. KhPLhu Call Days. Eves & weekends EDUCATIONAL CENTER TEST PREPARATION SPECIALISTS SINCE 1938 Fcr Inlormition About Other Centers Call collect 363-4444 Though his failing eyesight restricts him from driving, he is still able to attend club and church functions as well as visit friends. Budge said, "I hope to be around a little while longer." Arthur. Budge, Weber State's oldest known living alumnus, looks at the 1907 yearbook that recaps the year he graduated. Budge will be 99 this November. Lincoln, Custer Sign-In At Weber menu Bin Special J)Daily 1 . f Lunch fir ? v All Orders Custom Cooked Open 7:00-3:30 |