Alumni

'Grant'ing students a chance
Alumni couple give to students to honor former mentors
By Audra Kelln, Shattuck, Okla.

When Ben Grant considered a future beyond graduation from high school in Grandfield, Okla., he envisioned himself following in his father's footsteps and becoming a farmer. Grant realized his dream, and today he helps others realize their dreams.

Grant and his wife, Alma, provide scholarships to the Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources students through the OSU Foundation.

Farming was what Grant knew, and money was scarce in the years following the Great Depression. Families had to work together to meet the most basic of needs. There was no room for selfishness, and college was a luxury rural people could not afford.

“There is no way to describe the Depression to people of the current generation," Grant said. “It just does not make sense to them. You worked all day for a dollar, and the money we made was given to our parents."

However, Grant's high school vocational agriculture instructor, William E. Brown, took a special interest in Grant through FFA and urged him to enroll at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (now OSU).

“I was not programmed to go to college," Grant said, “but Brown said, 'You're going to go to college; just get used to the idea.'"

And go to college, Grant did. In fall 1936, Grant entered OAMC with no money, but a desire to earn an education and a degree in animal husbandry.

Upon arriving at OAMC, Grant went to the animal husbandry department in search of a job, only to be turned away.

“I went to OAMC with recommendations, but I was quickly informed there were no jobs available," Grant said. “So, I took a job with the Daily Oklahoman."

At the end of Grant's freshman year, he accepted a job at the college's horse farm, working under the supervision of Clark “Andy" Kinkead, OSU draft horse manager and instructor.

Kinkead, who lived and worked alongside the students at the horse farm, took a great deal of interest in Grant and other students, serving as both a mentor and friend. The policy of the animal husbandry department, at the time, was that students could work only one year at the horsebarn. Upon completion of that first year, students were required to rotate to another of the college farms. Grant, however, remained at the horse farm during his sophomore year.

Kinkead also served as a charter member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. And, through his association with the fraternity, he encouraged Grant to join and participate as an out-of-house member.

“The founding of a fraternity was the last thing I had thought about," Grant said. “I did not have any money. But, Andy said 'You're just like a lot of farm kids who come up here. You've got a lot of rough edges on you. You are going to join that fraternity, and I'm going to pay for it.'"

For two years, Grant lived and worked at the horse farm, under the watchful eye of Kinkead. The rooms were little more than horse stalls, and the wages were modest: 13 cents per hour, which equated to about $18 per month.

“All the time I was working at the horse farm, I lived on Post Toasties, sugar and milk," Grant said. “That is why the one meal a week I was required to eat at the fraternity house was like Christmas to me. It was a rare treat."

For young men who were physically fit, military training was required at OAMC, Grant said. Once again, Kinkead provided guidance to Grant, advising him to pursue an infantry commission as a second lieutenant in the college's ROTC program. Kinkead believed the United States would eventually become involved in the conflict overseas, Grant said.

Grant's employment at the horse farm came to an end with the start of his third year at OAMC. He had already exceeded the one-year limit set forth by the animal husbandry department, so Kinkead arranged for a transfer to the sheep farm, which was managed by Alex McKenzie.

“Andy could not swing a deal for me to work another year at the horse farm, so I went to work for Alex," Grant said. “You could not dream of being associated with or working for anybody with such high ethics. He was a prince of a man, just like Andy was."

Grant said he credits Kinkead and McKenzie for providing the inspiration and wisdom needed for him to finish college.

“Those two men made it possible for me to get through college," Grant said. “They gave some of the soundest and best advice."

Grant continued to work for the college farms until his graduation in 1940. After graduation, Grant went to work on a 132,000-acre sheep and cattle ranch in New Mexico, managing the sheep flock and breeding records.

After nearly a year in New Mexico, Grant reported to active duty in June 1941.

“Uncle Sam sent me an invitation and ordered me to active duty," Grant said. “When I got my orders, I was already 10 days overdue in El Paso, Texas. I had to drop everything and report for duty."

Grant served in an infantry division for one year before going into the U.S. Air Force as a bomber pilot. During his tour of duty, Grant flew in 56 combat missions over Italy and various other European war theaters. And, once again, he credited Brown, Kinkead and McKenzie for instilling a strong work ethic and a solid sense of self-worth in him.

“They showed me what integrity and honesty and giving a full day's work plus 15 percent more is worth," Grant said.

Upon completion of Grant's World War II tour of duty, Grant and his wife, an OSU business education alumna, returned to Oklahoma, producing wheat on rented land with the aid of a single self-propelled combine.

In 1950, the Grants moved to Pasco, Wash., which is located in the Columbia Basin in south-central Washington. The land was covered with sagebrush, but water was plentiful due to the Grand Coulee Dam and Columbia Basin Irrigation Project that provided irrigation water to area farmers.

The Grants started their farming and custom harvesting operation with the one combine Ben had purchased in Oklahoma.

“When I moved to Washington, I brought that little combine with me, and I could not have landed in a better place," Grant said. “When the crops started coming in, I started buying more combines and moving farther north. From 1951 to 1988, I never asked for a job; they all came to me. I was in that much demand."

In 1988, at age 70, Grant retired from farming and combining. In 37 years of farming and harvesting crops in Washington's Columbia Basin, Grant bought 64 new combines, all of which never traveled farther than 30 miles from home.

“I never loaded a combine and hauled it anyplace," Grant said. “I was home every night."

Now, at the age of 89, Grant lives on the farm he and Alma started together in 1950. The miles separating Pasco, Wash., from Stillwater, Okla., are many, but Grant credits his success to the three men from Oklahoma who helped shape him into the man he is today.

“There's not much time in my daily life that I do not think about one or more of those three men," Grant said. “I know I would not be where I am today if it was not for the interest they took in me."

To show his appreciation and respect for Brown, Kinkead and McKenzie, Grant decided to pay tribute to each man by establishing scholarships named in their honor through CASNR and the OSU Foundation.

The OSU Foundation exists to support the university and strives to assist OAMC and OSU agricultural alumni in the pursuit of ensuring the continued success of CASNR students, both present and future.

“We seek to unite donor passions with university priorities to achieve excellence throughout the OSU system," said Becky Endicott, the foundation's senior director of marketing and communications.       

A deep-seeded passion for CASNR sparks the desire to give back, to the college just as it did for the Grants.

“Mr. Grant is one of a number of CASNR alums who have established scholarships for their department," said Gary Clark, OSU agricultural education alumnus and OSU Foundation vice president and general counsel. “CASNR graduates and faculty are very loyal to OSU, and that is what makes the college of agriculture the special place that it is."

Through the private support and generosity of the Grants and others like them, OSU's agricultural legacy will continue to thrive. The continued impact of donors' loyalty is long-reaching and provides OSU with a means to compete with other universities.

“Private support provides the margin of excellence needed to elevate Oklahoma State University beyond its competitors," said Michal Shaw, director of donor relations and scholarships for the OSU Foundation. “Private support will continue to play a major role in providing new opportunities for current and future Cowboys."

That is exactly what Ben and Alma Grant hope.

“We give so these students coming in have a chance at the same education and opportunities I did," Grant said. “I have tried to give 150 percent in everything I have done for others because of those three men. I feel I should pay back something, that I owe something to these students because I would not be anywhere near where I am today if it were not for those men."

For more information on how to support CASNR students, please call the OSU Foundation at 800-622-4678 or visit the Web site at http://www.osugiving.com.

 
OSU alumni Ben and Alma Grant live near Pasco, Wash. (Photo by  Paul Erickson)