Ag Fish Fry to host alumni
 By
Dave Stephens
Assistant Campus Editor
Alumni from across the country will return to Purdue
this Friday to take part in one of the University's oldest traditions.
More than 1,800 alumni will attend the Ag Fish
Fry, which is the 106th annual meeting of the Agriculture Alumni Association.
The fish fry will feature skits about current and
former U.S. presidents as well as Purdue presidents.
"We're paying tribute to new leadership at the
University and in the country," said Donya Lester, executive secretary
for the Agriculture Alumni Association. "We wanted to welcome President
(Martin) Jischke to the Purdue agricultural family as well as celebrate
having a new president."
Along with the skits about voting, presidential
campaigns and presidents, the fish fry will feature the Purdue Pep Band
and the Varsity Glee Club, which will perform a patriotic program.
Fish will not be on the menu at this year's gathering.
For the third year in a row, the fish fry will be serving pork tenderloins,
a practice that began to help draw attention to low pork prices.
"I think everyone was incredibly impressed with
the tenderloins," said Lester. "We decided to make it our annual entrée.
"
Lester said it may sound funny to people to hold
a fish fry that serves pork, but it fits the fun atmosphere of the event.
"The fish fry has always been a fun time for people
to get together, and serving pork tenderloins is just a part of that
fun," said Lester. "Besides, we'd have to spend too much money and way
too much time to get people to realize that the fish fry was still the
same event that it's always been."
Before the fish fry, Lowell Catlett, a professor
of agricultural economics at New Mexico State University, will talk
on the future of agriculture. Catlett, who will give his talk at 9:30
a.m. in Fowler Hall, will discuss agriculture as the dominant industry
of the 21st century.
The Agriculture Alumni Association will also present
its highest award, the Certificate of Distinction, to three Purdue alumni.
The recipients receiving the awards are Dale Humphrey, the owner of
a 2,000 acre cattle and grain farm; Phillip Nelson, the head of the
food science department; and Bob Ritchie, who retired in 1999 from working
with 4-H.
For people planning to attend the fish fry, free
parking is available at Ross-Ade stadium. A shuttle bus will run continuously
beginning at 8:15 a.m. throughout the day.
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