I read with interest the article, “Celebrating Fifty Years of Fisher Hall.” (Michigan Tech Magazine, Fall 2014, pp 30-33).

Fisher Hall did not materialize, until eight years after I graduated.  But, I had the privilege of knowing the living Professor James Fisher.

During my presence at MCMT, he was a greeter at the First Congregational Church in Hancock.  My first encounter featured the surprising handshake that revealed a result of his early research into x-radiation that permanently scarred his hands.  I was quickly diverted by his smile and interest in Tech students.

After reading the article, my brief research revealed the following dates covering two lifetimes that are pertinent to Mr. Michigan Tech and to me. Much has happened:

1873    James Fisher birth date.
1885    Michigan Mining School opens.
1890    Fisher affiliation begins.
1897    Name change to Michigan College of Mines.
1902    Kerredge Theater opens at the east end of Quincy Street in Hancock (seating capacity 1,250).
1921    First Congregational Church opens in Hancock adjacent to the Kerredge Theater.
1927    Name change to Michigan College of Mining and Technology.
1934    Lyndon B birth.
1945    Fisher retirement, but his Michigan Tech involvement lasted a lifetime.
1952    Lyndon B arrives at MCMT.
1956    Lyndon B graduates with a BS, Chemical Engineering.
1957    Final name change?  To Michigan Technological University.
1959    Fire destroys the Kerredge Theater.
1962    Fisher death
1964    Fisher Hall opens.
1969    Vacant Congregational Church demolished. Kerredge and church sites are now a parking lot. Sad.

In contrast, it was a pleasure to have known Professor Fisher and to shake that scarred hand again and again during my short stay at Michigan Tech.

Professor Fisher well deserves to have a campus building named for him.  I hope that the building will be with Michigan Tech for at least another 50 years.

Lyndon Babcock ‘56, PhD, Professor Emeritus, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago