Former editors reflect on 75 years of K-Stater magazine
In 75 years, the K-Stater has developed a robust history telling a wide variety of stories about life at Kansas State University and its alumni and friends. In celebration of the K-Stater’s anniversary, we asked several of the previous editors to share a memory or two about their time with the magazine.
I don't enjoy being around people who are name droppers. So when I was asked to relive
some of the memorable times I enjoyed as editor of the K-Stater— guess what? I'm going to drop the names of some of the people I got to meet: Aaron
Copeland, Edward Albee, Ray Milland, Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Fonda, Jimmy Breslin,
Robert Kennedy. Also there was Ronald Reagan who was governor of California. I took
his photo, made a 5 x 7 print and sent it to Steve Morgan who was an ag editor at
K-State. In jest, I wrote across the photo: "The next president of the United States."
Many years later Steve sent it back with this comment: "The joke is on you."
What I remember most was working on the Bicentennial issue. I was able to do research
on the early days of KSAC. I learned so much about how the distinctive personality
and land-grant mission of the college developed over time. I was surprised at how
statewide political arguments shaped the curriculum.
There are a gazillion stories written and memories of fascinating people interviewed,
but I’ll reminisce how the act of work changed during my 37 years with K-State as
a journalist and editor.
I typed my first articles at University News in Anderson Hall using an IBM electric typewriter in the late 1970s, which was replaced in the mid-1980s with a vertical box called an Apple Macintosh personal computer. It had a 9-inch, black and white video screen displaying only the written word.
Going to the Alumni Association in 1993 at the “Old Farm Bureau Building” west of campus on Anderson Avenue, my IBM desktop computer used a Windows-based document software. My articles were set into columns of text by the printer, and later with my personal laser printer using coated paper. Graphic designer Marsha Jensen pasted the magazine page designs using rubber cement or wax on large graph-paper sheets. She stood at a light table that backlit the translucent pasteup paper. Lorinda Duch Sultzer ’81 followed her. I would overnight these pasteups to our printer, Banta Publications in Liberty, Missouri, which overnighted color proofs back to us.
As personal computers became faster and more powerful to perform tasks, we used a program called PageMaker that revolutionized our work which became known as desktop publishing. We electronically “pasted” the articles, photographs and headlines onto digital pages displayed on our computer screens. These heavy, desktop screens seemed huge at the time, approximately 18-inches wide by 18-inches deep.
When I retired in 2012, the Adobe InDesign software enabled us to format page files to output directly to printing plates, thus bypassing some steps performed at the printing plant.
I served as the K-Stater editor for just shy of three years, bridging summer 2012 to spring 2015. Before joining
in an official capacity, I was a freelance contributor to the magazine and was fortunate
to be mentored by longtime editor and beloved Manhattan community member Tim Lindemuth
’77, who shared his experience and earned wisdom both before and during my tenure.
I learned a great deal from Tim and loved our pre-publishing coffee meetings and post-publishing
critiques, usually over breakfast at the Sale Barn Cafe. His most impactful advice
was, "You can't edit this magazine from behind a desk." In other words, show up, make
connections on campus and listen to people. Thank you, Tim, for your counsel and friendship!
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the great honor of working alongside the phenomenally
talented photographer David Mayes '96, whose images have graced countless pages of
the K-Stater, and whose professionalism, creativity and humor helped influence me as a young editor.
I tip my hat to you, Dave.
During my time, working with some of the best alumni association team members, freelancers, and wonderful people across campus, we covered the construction and opening of the West Stadium Center, the Global Food Systems Initiative, the 2025 Campus Master Plan, and K-State's Sesquicentennial, among others. My favorite story was "Lost & Found," from spring 2014, in which I helped reunite an alumnus with his class ring after he inadvertently left it behind in an airport 28 years earlier. The ring changed hands several times and, one day, landed on my desk. With some creative sleuthing, I found its owner. What a fun phone call that was. I was humbled to interview so many inspiring people—athletes, alumni, students and administrators—enjoy behind-the-scenes tours of magnificent new buildings, and make the trek to several of the alumni club summer picnics, which provided an opportunity to step foot in small Kansas communities full of passionate Wildcats who are the backbone of this wonderful community we all share.
There's a tremendous amount of collaboration behind the scenes that goes into creating every issue, and I could fill pages with memories of that special time. I'm grateful for the experience and thank everyone who took the time to read our stories. It's been fun to watch the magazine continue to evolve with Tim Schrag ’12 at the helm. Keep up the great work, Tim, and thanks for inviting us to share some reflections. Go State.