Homer
L. Bryce of Henderson,
Texas, was a legend in his own time on the campus of Stephen
F. Austin State University.
Almost everyone
called him "Homer," including a lowly history professor, when
talking about him because despite possessing great wealth he retained
the flavor of an East Texan. In his presence, "Mr. Bryce" was
more commonly used because he was, after all, the Boss.
Bryce, a
native of Shelby
County, and his wife Velma--from Angelina
County--attended SFA early in the 1930s. All his life Bryce
retained a love for the school that grew steadily during his two
terms on its Board of Regents.
He served
as chairman of that board, 1978-1980, and was so supportive of
all Lumberjack athletics that the school's football stadium was
named Homer Bryce Stadium in 1986, and its first $1 million scholarship
program was established by friends and business associates in
1985 in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Bryce. He also received SFA's "distinguished
alumnus" award in 1971. Henderson,
Texas, made national news about when Mr. Bryce, as chairman
of the board of Henderson Clay Products, sold the company's oil
and gas interests to Atlantic Richfield for $300 million and merged
with Boral Limited of Sydney, Australia, to form the largest brick-making
company in the world.
My
most vivid memory of "Homer" involved, appropriately, a football
game --played at night, against Lamar University in Beaumont.
Mr. Bryce needed
someone to drive him home from the game, so I got my first and only
chance to drive a Mercedes. He told me early in the trip that the
car would operate better at a speed greater than that allowed by
law and I could do so if I would pay any tickets. I allowed that
the car's performance at 70 mph was adequate.
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