Mr. Ray retired April 1, 1946 at the age of seventy. He is a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a past member of its board of direction; he is also a life member and a past president of the American Railway Engineering Association. His home today is in Summit, New Jersey.
Gus Raymond
Gus Raymond's father, Leo Raymond, was born in Panola and his aunt, Miss Emma Raymond, today makes her home there. While we like to think of Gus as a native of Panola, he was actually born in Bloomington on July 24, 1900, but went to grade school in Panola. He obtained his high school education in Minonk and Mason City, Illinois, and then spent a year at a West Point preparatory school, but an army career didn't appeal to him.
In April of 1924 the young man started work at Western Electric in Chicago, and completed many technical courses in electrical engineering. At present Mr. Raymond is the personnel director for the Western Electric Company at its New York plant, having been only recently transferred from Indianapolis where he was the manager.
The business editor of the Indianapolis Times wrote in its November 15, 1950 issue that Gus Raymond had moved the Western Electric plant from Archer Avenue in Chicago to 2525 Shadeland Avenue in Indianapolis without ceasing the manufacturing operations of the plant. Mr. Hartley, the editor, calls the engineer "Gus the Great," and "Man of Magic." This huge plant is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of telephone instruments and parts. Raymond deserved the credit given him by Mr. Hartley, who said: "Raymond moved an entire industry from one city to another with one hand, and operated a third plant with another. He dismantled one plant, built and equipped another, while training workers in a third plant." The new Indianapolis plant was dedicated November 23, 1950, and is today a beehive of activity.
Gus Raymond treasures his boyhood memories of days around Panola and El Paso. He states that he and some of his grammar school chums were the first in this part of the country to have wireless transmitting and receiving sets. This was possible because of the understanding help of a local station agent who was one of the earliest of the ham operators. Under the operator the boys learned the international code, but more important, it interested Gus Raymond in the electronics field. There he today has a place with one of the great industrial manufacturers.
Dr. Richard Ostler Schofield
The discoverer of the cause of heatstroke is a native son. Dr. Schofield was born March 23, 1889 in Panola; he graduated from the old McKinley High School in 1905 and thereafter lived on farms in Illinois and Montana until 1911 when he moved to California. He holds a B. A. degree (1918) and a M. A. (1922) from the University of California.
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