Hello, Lynn, ~Susan.
![]() From fellow Kansans, now in Wyoming, Congratulations on a job well done. Happy Trails ahead!! The D. Bradleys ![]() One bad thing about retiring--you'll be busier than ever. Congratulations and good luck, ~Jude Glad
![]() Hello Lynn ~Ramona
![]() Lynn, I hope you enjoy your retirement from your 'other job' and will have more time to write all kinds of interesting stories for us to enjoy. Have a wonderful retirement! -- Connie Snyder ![]() As a retiree I never have figured out whether you should be
congratulated when you retire or not, it's really just another milestone
in life. I hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I have mine. One of
the reasons for the enjoyment is working for EKIS and Susan Stafford, so
you have a head start in that department. ~John Maier
![]() Congratulations Lynn, ~Barbara in Salem, MO
![]() Thank's Lynn, you've been a big help to someone
new to research. Best Wishes ~Lou Windholz
Ness City Ks ![]() Congratulations on your achievements and thank you for your contributions. I didn't take any history courses from you when I was on the hill but I sure wish I had. I hope you enjoy your retirement and have a ball with all your new projects and adventures. Please don't forget us on Ks-L. Please continue to share your observations and interpretations. We love them. ~Barbara Kidwell
![]() Dear Lynn, ~Teresa Lindquist
(EKIS volunteer) ![]() Thanks, Lynn, for helping create a truly world class genealogy and Kansas history resource! Good luck and Best wishes! ~Dave Leebrick
![]() Lynn, congratulations on a long career at the University of Kansas (and perhaps other universities that I don't know about), and THANKS so much for giving us former and present Kansans an opportunity to create a record on the World Wide Web of the sacrifices and achievements of our ancestors in Kansas! Also I enjoyed reading about your story of your experience with sunflowers, keep up the good (and for you, enjoyable) work! ![]() Congratulations and thanks for making history alive and well on the internet. Good luck in your future endeavors. ~Dwayne Crandall
Senior Auditor University of Missouri - System ![]() Congratulations to Prof. Nelson on his retirement. I have come to have enormous respect and admiration for his stories and for his work in helping make KANSAS-L the great virtual community it has become. ~Mike
(Mike Jacobs) ![]() Good Luck. You were a great teacher and a great inspiration! ~John H. Monnett
Professor of History Metropolitan State College of Denver ![]() As a born & raised Kansan, and a graduate of KU, I extend a heartfelt "yeehaw" as celebration and congratulations of this new chapter you are beginning! wow, 35 yrs at KU! ya know, I envy that. you had a long career in something you feel very passionate about, and that's rare. keep sendin' them cards and letters, we love 'em. ~margie in seattle
![]() lynn, congratulations. who would have thought those years back when i was an ancient/medieval history student and you a medieval history professor that we would end up doing kansas history together. go figure. mat. ![]() You've been retired now for at least a month, and that should be enough for anybody. Time to start again.... /AJP
![]() Lynn, ~Glenn Larson
![]() Thank you for getting this "Kansas THING" started. Many of us have rekindled interest in our family's Kansas Pioneers because of what you started, but the Kansas History sites are interesting even if our ancestors weren't involved in the particular county. It is just another reason to be proud of being a Kansan. ~Bob Mills
![]() Lynn ... I have enjoyed your stories so much, that I have a special folder in my email to save them. I am sure your retirement is well earned and I can't wait to see what you do with the second half of your life. More stories, I hope. You have been so successful in all of your endeavors, you will surely become a great curmudgeon. ;-) Congratulations on your retirement and I look forward to reading more email and stories. ~Freda Eaton-Lea
Phoenix, AZ ![]() Although I've only enjoyed your stories for a brief time I am looking forward to more and would like to see a collection of short stories or a book by you to add to my bookshelf. Intertaining, humor, fine writing and educational at the same time. Wonderful! Happiness, good health and prosperity in your future. ~Lee Nichols -- your Topeka neighbor.
![]() Thank you..... ~Ray Downing in Las Vegas, NV
![]() Lynn, congratulations on your 35 years at the 2nd best university in the great state of Kansas! And a great big huge "Thank You" for your work on the Kansas web sites and kansas-l. Having this connection to my home state makes me a little less homesick and makes me feel connected in a way that only being there exceeds. I'm looking forward to much more of your writings in the years to come. ~Jane
Jane Beach Soder, Seattle ![]() Lynn, ~Col. Ray Beery, USAF-Ret.
Vienna, VA KU 1955 ![]() The best is left unsaid. With much appreciation. @
![]() Best wishes on your new career. As one approaching retirement, I'm looking forward to all those projects and items of interest that have been postponed (like learning how to play a bass guitar in a blues band). I know you have lots of those stored somewhere and hope that you can get after them in a timely fashion. Again-- Congratulations. ~Ivan Pechanec
Wichita The polka is Czech blues ![]() Thanks, Lynn, for your personal attention in the midst of the whirlwind of academic work. It's always a bit amazing to realize that somewhere beneath all the paper and punditry there still beats the heart of true adventurers. ~Ted Grossardt
Sr. Professional Associate Kentucky Transportation Center University of Kentucky, Lexington ![]() Lynn, ~Les Peters
WWI-L ![]() To Dad, Your son and daughter-in-law,
~Lynn Albert and Antoinette ![]() Hi! I wish you all the best in your retirement, and I hope that you find many great things to do - I've read about some of them: writing etc. ~Rebecca Fenton
exchange student Wollongong University - University of Kansas ![]() Lynn,
~Dick Taylor
Director EKIS, KanColl, Heritage Village ![]() Lynn, ~Frank, Jeanne, & Travis
Healdsburg, CA ![]() Lynn - I wish you all the best in your new found "state of relaxation" (isn't that what retirement is all about? if not, please don't tell me and ruin my illusion [smile]) Anyway, I wish you happiness and health, no matter what you find yourself involved in next. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to find a "home" with all the wonderful EKIS/KanColl folks! ~Connie DiPasquale
(Orphan Trains of Kansas) ![]() Best of times in your retirement. ~kat.
![]() Hi Lynn! Congratulations on your recent retirement. We have only been "connected" for about 8 months, but we have most assuredly enjoyed all your offerings on KANSAS-L. We especially got a kick out of your piece on the the comparative intelligence of cows and horses. We could easily visualize your staring/licking contest. You are a great wit! (Note I left one of the "t's" out of that word.) Have a great retirement, and "don't be no stranger, now, ya hear?"
~Gary & Mary Lee Presson, Wichita
![]() Congratulations, Lynn! ~Victoria Foth.
![]() Lynn, ~(Rev.) Thomas H. Dolezal
Axtell, KS ![]() a good wish for retirement and future endeavors: Just a note from a stranger to wish Lynn Nelson a very fulfilling retirement. I'm sure there won't be enough time to investigate all the things he wants, but the adventure and joy of discovering things makes every day exciting. ~Janet Higley Elliott.
![]() [Paula McSweeney provided these stories, which are recorded here, in conversation rather than by email.] Paula remembers Lynn Nelson very well, since she was a student in his medieval history class at KU. She says that it seemed to her he not only tried to teach the material but also how to get on in class, how to study (adding wryly, "which I probably could have used..."). One thing she remembers is that, like all professors, he always wanted them to keep up with their reading, and would assign something like five to ten pages a night. Since it was a five-hour class, that meant the students had reading assignments every night. In order to make sure that the students kept up with reading, the professors often gave pop quizzes. Lynn didn't like these much, and he had a way of handling that. He would start the class and take out two coins, and flip them. If both coins came up heads, the students would get a pop quiz. If the coins came up in any other combination, there would be no quiz. Lynn figured that this way, the students would face a pop quiz about every fourth day, or about a dozen times during a semester. In any event, Paula said, it worked -- she worked very hard at the reading every night because she never knew when a quiz would be taken! Though she added that the quiz -- usually just one question -- was always straightforward, and if you'd done the reading you'd be all right. There was nothing tricky about it, the quiz was just a technique to make sure you kept up with the reading. Paula also remembers "the Nelson quotient" for success. She explained that this was his method for grading the class. He said that success in his class was partly based on how much you knew the material, and partly on how well you took tests. So if you knew the material -- say that was graded at 90% -- and okay at tests -- graded at 80% -- your overall grade would be 85%. Conversely, if you really great at taking tests, but didn't know the material all that well, you still had a chance at succeeding. He also told his students, "You won't remember any of this, of course." And she said he was right! She remembers Charlemagne, and sort of the feel of the period, but she doesn't remember details and dates. Even classes that she really studied hard for, and got A's in, did all the reading -- now she doesn't really even remember the class. But Paula remembers Lynn Nelson very well, and her respect and liking for him were evident in the way she spoke of him. She had been surprised to learn that Lynn retired, and she hopes that he would have the opportunity to travel and do other exciting things now. ![]() Hallo Lynn, many greetings from Germany and great thank for the very wonderful sizes. All the health of the world you and your family. Next year i'll stay for a while in Ft. Riley by my son in law an my daughter with the great grandchilds. Maybe see you. Good bye
~Bernd Zeh. |