Upon receiving an invitation to attend the 1957 dedication festivities for the newly built law building, Class of 1893 alum Luther M. Grimes hand wrote a response that is one part RSVP and one part trip down memory lane.
He said that he was regretfully unable to attend; at 87 1/2 years it was on account of age that he couldn\u27t travel from his Iowa home. He considered that he may have been among the oldest living Indiana University alums, and was, with certainty, the last surviving member of his law class.
As a Bloomington native with familial ties to the area, his memories included tending cows on a pasture that would later be sold to the university and become an athletic field.
He and his father both considered Professor (and eventual dean) William Perry Rogers to be a personal friend. This relationship would prove critical during Grimes\u27 years as a law student - it was at his pleading that Rogers reconsidered a threat to resign after classroom hijinks involving a dog hidden in a desk during a lecture.
This letter was warmly received and a press release and newspaper articles relaying its sentiments were published. Please see the comments sections for links to these materials
