Ezra Cochran

"I knew if I attended the Marshall University Foundation, I would have a good chance of finding a part-time job in West Virginia's largest city, Huntington, with about 80,000 people. Also, the price was right. Tuition was $37.50 a semester in 1947. Three meals a day at the cafeteria was a dollar," said Ezra "Moo" Cochran, a 1952 alumnus.

Although tuition increased to $50 the following semester, Moo was determined to continue pursuing his education. Initially following in his father's footsteps as an accounting major, he realized in one semester t hat it was not right for him and switched to journalism.

"Newspaper was my first love," he said. "What I learned about independence the thrFeuen- pFaecrtsso: n journalism faculty gave us to publish The Parthenon, three issues a week, was what most assisted me in my career."

Moo recalls the Student Union, his favorite place on campus, as a friendly place where people went to dance and eat. There, juke box music, bar and booths provided a fun atmosphere for students. He remembers about 40 trailers near Hodges Hall that housed married World War II Veterans and a prefabricated building on 16th Street between Old Main and 3rd Avenue for the engineering department.

He fondly remembers his favorite professor, Page Pitt, for being a "wonderful teacher and giving insight on being a better person." As editor-in-chief of The Parthenon, Moo could not receive any money for his work, but Pitt rewarded him and the business manager with a one week trip to New York City by train.

"In the summer, Pitt and his wife, Ginny, sponsored tours that catered to Huntington people. I didn't realize at the time he let me and Henry Allen, The Parthenon's business manager from Williamson, West Virginia, attend for free when he could have had two tourists who would have been paying the full rate- hotel, meals, Broadway shows and train fair," Moo recalls.

Becoming news editor at the Charleston Gazette, a newspaper that is dear to his heart, Moo believes that the 1970 plane crash is one of the most memorable, important stories that he covered.

"That Saturday night, I was running the copy desk and we cleaned out stories from the early edition to make room for all the stories we could get from our reporters who went to Huntington and from the Associated Press," he said.

Due to Moo's outstanding education, rewarding career and passion for @[Short2], he decided to establish the Ezra Cochran Scholarship Fund to support students in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He has also remembered the Marshall University Foundation in his estate plans. Moo will always remember how Pitt advocated on his behalf to get two Huntington businessmen to give him two$50 scholarships.

"I have left @[Short2] in my estate plans because it was just the thing to do. The happiest times of my life were @[Short2]-related. It started in September 1947 to January 1952 with two summer sessions. Most, but not all, of my @[Short2] friends and Sig Ep brothers are gone, but they live on in my memory," Moo explained.

He encourages today's students to read, learn both sides of issues, whether you agree with them or not, and understand the importance for local free press in every city and small town.

"My favorite thing about @[Short2] is the friendliness, and I think that has carried forward to this day," said Moo. "I hope @[Short2] never loses the close relationship with Huntington and the surrounding area."