The letters we publish here are edited for space and are representative of those we receive. We print only those letters referring to an article in the most recent edition of the magazine, not those responding to letters or commenting on issue not addressed in the recent edition.
Weapons of mass deterrence
A visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which commemorates the world’s first atomic bombing, will touch your soul. It is one of two places (funerals excepted) where I have publicly wept. But setting emotions aside, it is difficult to accept the proposition that nuclear weapons have failed in their deterrent mission (“The Third Nuclear Age”).
Consider the following counterfactuals. Would George W. Bush have invaded Iraq in 2003 if the Iraqi government had nuclear weapons at the time? Would Vladimir Putin have attacked Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 if that country had not traded away its nuclear arsenal in 1994 for a scrap of paper? Would Donald Trump and Israel have bombed Iran in 2025 if the Iranians had nukes? The reality is that nuclear weapons are a proven guarantee of a nation’s territorial integrity.
The essential problem is that humans are not a notably peaceful species. So long as nations use war to “solve” their problems, nuclear weapons will continue to proliferate.
Guy Wroble ’77
Denver
Distinction worth preserving
I enjoyed your article on the School of Architecture’s Master of Science in Historic Preservation program (“Drawing on the Past”). As always, Notre Dame is distinct in its decisions. During my five years as an architecture student, it was distinct as well.
Most intriguing: We had no “famous” architect teaching us his style. What a blessing. We were encouraged to reach out in our own directions, encouraged by Giedion’s Space, Time and Architecture and Professor Sprague’s history class. The best of architecture embraces the past, the present and the future. And, of course, there was Professor Montana and the junior year in Rome, which I missed by a year.
Then there was Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and their design for Seaside, Florida, with its many historical details. And guess what: a great demand for Notre Dame’s historically educated architects and a revival for mass historical residential architecture.
A few summers and a year at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill were fun, particularly the preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. Strangely I got a Harvard MBA and entered the world of home building.
History remains capable of creating the necessary referential experiences the home requires. And what about the home of architecture at Notre Dame? My first year was in Crowley Hall, built in 1893. Then it was Bond Hall — maybe a model of mine will be found in its old library stacks. And today? Walsh Family Hall. What a study in architecture. And surely all preserved for the ages.
And yes, speaking as a former LEED BD+C, the greenest house is the one that’s already built.
Charles G. Graham ’69
Charlotte, North Carolina
Interhall highlights
I enjoyed “Junior Mines Archives to Develop Encyclopedic Interhall Football Bible” and forwarded some Walsh Hall material from 1930 and 1942 for the website. I did not play interhall football but, as hall president, I was a big fan, and I attended several games.
I sent a photo of the 1930 trophy, which was displayed in Walsh Hall until 1972 when Walsh became one of the first two women’s dorms. At that time, Rev. Dan O’Neil, CSC, ’46, the last male rector of Walsh, took the trophy to his new residence in Corby Hall. After his funeral at Sacred Heart in 1978, which I attended with my father, the trophy was given to me as a remembrance of Father O’Neil, with whom I had developed a deep friendship as hall president.
The trophy occupied a prominent position in my man cave until I returned it to Walsh in 2009 when the hall was celebrating its 100th anniversary. I know it was displayed in Walsh at that time and hope it is displayed there today. The trophy may have been presented by Knute Rockne, a big supporter of interhall football, just before he died in the plane crash. If so, it would have been the last one he presented.
I also forwarded a memo of recollections written in 2009 by Bill Dunn, a member of the 1942 Walsh team, as well as a 1942 team photo. That team played in the championship game in Notre Dame Stadium and lost to Dillon Hall.
I hope more interhall football fans will be motivated by the article to forward such material.
David Fromm ’73
Mission Hills, Kansas
I thoroughly enjoyed the article about junior Gray Nocjar and his Interhall Football Bible, which brought back fond memories of playing for Stanford Hall my freshman year. Our team members were all former high school football players trying to extend our “careers.” I played fullback and linebacker. Our only running play was “direct snap to the fullback.” Consequently, many times I was “pancaked” by rushers who were on me the instant I received the snap. Apparently, though, I was able to breakaway for enough yardage and make enough plays on defense for my teammates to select me as the most valuable player, an honor I will always cherish. (Actually, I believed another player was more deserving of the MVP than I was. But what did I know?) Cheers to all former interhall players and coaches.
Dominick Lacovara ’70
Baywood-Los Osos, California
Peering ahead
Rather than sign a letter with 500 other university leaders (“Notebook”), as President Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, ’87 grows in office, he should send his own letter setting out his perspective on the distinctive stances of Notre Dame and the Catholic Church. Perhaps then our peer rating (“Notre Dame’s Academic Peer Institutions”) might improve.
Charles G. Conway ’56
Palm Springs, California