Tonight marks the end to a symbolic
legacy. Dr. Duane Smith at Fort Lewis College will give his last lecture. He is
an icon at FLC, a legend, and with almost 50 years of teaching, someone with
more perspective than even imaginable. Tonight will be his last lecture, and
Max and I look forward to attending.
Dr. Smith is well known at FLC for
his knowledge of Colorado and Durango history and authoring a number of books.
He came to Fort Lewis in 1964, after receiving degrees from the University of
Colorado. He has authored books on western history, mining in the early
days of Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park History, Fort Lewis College history,
and a book on early baseball in Colorado, probably stemming from his love of
the Cubs.
I first met Dr. Smith when I was at
Fort Lewis College. In fact, my older sister, Lindy, had him as a professor
prior to me for class. She was about five years older, and I took my first
classes from him in the early 70’s. I always loved his classes, and
admired that he did not take shortcuts and always seemed to genuinely care
about his students and the content he taught. I remember him giving us essay
tests—a more thorough way to test our knowledge, even though it created more
work for him to grade those exams.
I’ll never forget seeing him at a
Fort Lewis event after I returned to Durango (I was away for eighteen years).
Dr. Smith said, “I remember you.” After giving me a perplexed look, he said, “I
remember your sister too, and I remember that she was a better student.”
I hate to admit it, but he was right! Over 20 years have passed since that
interchange. Since then, he often states that he has all of the grade
books, and he is not bashful about threatening to bring them out as proof.
Another fun moment was when I was
teasing Dr. Smith about FLC salaries in front of the college president, and I
mentioned that based on the grades he gave me, I am not certain he deserved a
raise. He then explained to me how his good students always took pride in
the grades they “earned”, and his poorer students discussed the grade he gave
them! I don’t think I will try to match wits with him again.
The last story involves Dr. Smith and
the historic preservation board in conflict with our church, First Baptist on 3rd
Avenue. The issue was our new front doors which were not approved.
Eventually, the issue was mediated, but his comment later was, “It just shows
you that it only takes one Methodist to bring down the whole Baptist Church. “
I still love running into Dr. Smith
around town or at Skyhawks games. He has impacted many, and taught hundreds of
students about Durango and Colorado history, as well as the benefits of hard
work and avoiding shortcuts.
We wish Dr. Smith the best as he
enters the next chapter of his life, and we are grateful for the hard work and
example he has set.
Dr. Smith will give his last lecture
tonight at the FLC Concert Hall at 7 pm. See the link for details.
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