Jim and Nancy Gaertner Jim and Nancy Gaertner

Jim Gaertner first visited Sam Houston State University (SHSU) as a teenager, when the institution was named “Sam Houston State Teachers College.” He traveled from Yoakum, Texas (where he grew up), and decided, without a lot of thought, he wanted to attend SHSU. Reflecting on this decision decades later, he said, “It was the right decision, possibly for the wrong reasons.” Nancy Gaertner had planned to move from her hometown of Port Lavaca, Texas and go to college out of state, but a month before embarking on her journey, she decided on SHSU. “My decision,” she recollected, “wasn’t very scientific.” It was, however, fortuitous.

When did the two of you meet?

Nancy Gaertner: It was at Garner State Park, and we were on (separate) family vacations with our parents. The meeting was an incidental one. But four years later, in 1963, one of my friends who was on that trip with my family, said, “I saw Jim Gaertner the other day, and he goes to SHSU, too!” Anyway, Jim called me, and we went out on a date, but when we met for the date, I don’t think either one of us recognized the other from Garner State Park.

Faded memories aside, the date must have been a good one.

NG: When I was a child, our family had a 50th anniversary party for my grandparents, and I remember thinking, “Lord, they are old. They’ve been together a long time.” But my first date with Jim was almost 60 years ago! So, yeah, I’d say it went well.

The Gaertners married in 1964, and they will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next year.

The campus you attended was very different than today’s campus.

Jim Gaertner: That’s true. The LSC hadn’t yet been built. The Margaret Houston building was our student center, and it had the only cafeteria on campus.

During Gaertner’s first year on campus, SHSU’s unofficial mascot, “Tripod,” was still alive and part of campus life. This mutt, who had been abandoned in the 1940s, had only three working legs, hence his name. But he was communally adopted by the student body: he was fed; lavished with attention; and provided with shelter. He died in 1962, and he is buried on campus.

Jim, did you ever meet Tripod?

JG: I did, and I had heard a lot about him before I ever met him. One day, I was walking to class, and there he was. I walked over to pet him, and he didn’t really respond. He was old at this time, and he had likely been petted so much and given so much attention, he just wasn’t impressed with my affection. But I went to his funeral. They dismissed classes for the service, President Lowman spoke, and there was a three-gun salute, one for each working leg. Tripod was a celebrity.

Nancy, the early 1960s was a different time for females on college campuses. Was there a curfew?

NG: Yes. We had to be in at 9 pm during the week, unless you were at the library, in which case you could come in later. I went to the “library” a lot. (laughter)

Where did you live?

NG: Before Jim and I married, I lived at Elliott Hall. After we married, we lived in Gintz apartments. Interestingly, our neighbors included Ron and Ruth Blatchley. After we all left SHSU, we lost touch. But after Jim became SHSU’s President, we attended an alumni event in Bryan, Texas, and we ran into them again. We didn’t recognize each other at first, but then we realized we had been neighbors long ago!

JG: Ron has been very successful in business, was Mayor of Bryan, and he served as Chairman of the Board of Regents. They also have been generous donors to SHSU, funding, among other things, the Blatchley Bell Tower on campus.

Although less than 20 years old, the Blatchley Bell Tower is now a key landmark on campus and central to many SHSU traditions. It is a major stopping point on prospective student tours. According to campus superstition, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors should avoid walking under it, lest they not graduate on time. And it is one of the most popular backdrops for graduation photos.