A look at Dan Rather's school days

Since the $70 million lawsuit, talk of Dan Rather's days at Sam Houston State University has escalated. One classmate recalls the good times and offers his thoughts on Rather's current situation.

As the conflict surrounding Dan Rather’s resignation and following lawsuit unfolds on his television, Gordon Brown thinks more about the man behind the conflict.

For two years, Brown and Rather attended Sam Houston State University together as part of the same “social club,” and the friendship they developed gained Rather a lifelong, loyal friend.

“I’ll say it up front - Dan is a good person,” Brown said. “As soon as he got to the university, he started to get involved because he liked a challenge.”

Decades later, Brown views Rather’s current conflict in a very simple, direct way.

“I’ve never seen him do something he didn’t believe in,” he said. “Nothing will convince me that changed just because of this issue.”

School days

Brown said he was around Rather in two ways, both in their classes and in a club focused on helping others.

“I knew him a little more than a classmate, although we did have government class with Dr. Holloway together,” Brown said. “It was held on the second floor of the Austin building – they had classrooms there back then.

“The year we had that class together was the year before Sam Houston had air conditioning, and Dan and I sat in the window so we wouldn’t burn up.”

Brown said he and Rather also got to know each other by dating sisters – both sorority sisters and, once, biological sisters.

“We were in an organization called the Ramrods, which was dedicated to helping other clubs on campus,” Brown said. “If they were having a program, the Ramrods would help, though I suspect we helped the girls’ clubs more than the men’s clubs.”

Brown described Rather as a person who was handsome and highly respected, but had a personality that sometimes distinguished him in a very obtrusive way.

“He had a vision and an attitude of, ‘We can do it, and I can do it,’” Brown said. “He was of good character; he had good, high morals.”

One incident Brown recalls specifically took place soon after Rather came to Sam Houston.

“Dan played football in high school before he came to Sam, but he was too small to play in college,” he said. “One day, after the football season was over, he said, ‘We’re going to have a football game and it’s going to have two teams from the college of players who are not eligible for the school team. It’s just going to be for the other students.’

“I was stunned, and when I asked him if he meant flag football, he said, ‘No, full dress football – we’re going to do it and I don’t care what it takes.’”

Rather did organize the game, Brown said, just as he had planned to.

“He did it,” Brown said. “I went to the game and watched him play, and they had a heck of a time. I think that tells a lot about Dan – he makes things happen.

“And by that, I mean – he makes good things happen.”

Even as students, Brown said Rather found valuable and profitable ways to spend his time compared to other students.

“When we were students, we both had jobs,” Brown said. “I was a lifeguard and I’d have to get up at 4 a.m. to clean the pool. I made 50 cents and hour. Dan worked at KSAM and made $1 an hour, and he didn’t have to go to work at 4 a.m. like I did.

“That’s where he got his start doing bigger and better things – I just wish I could have kept the same ratio going.”

From that point on, Brown said he realized that Rather was going to do incredible things with his life that others could only imagine.

“It’s strange sometimes to look back and remember sitting next to him in class, but I have no complaints,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade my career just as I’m sure he wouldn’t trade his.”

Later years

Brown said he and Rather have stayed in touch over the years, but only remained close friends for about ten years after Rather graduated.

“One night in the winter after I was married, he spend the night with me, but he had to be back at work the next morning which was 100 miles south of where I lived,” Brown said. “He told me, ‘Buddy, I have to make it back to Huntsville or I’m going to lose my job.’

“It was freezing – I couldn’t believe he planned to drive in that weather, because we didn’t have heaters in our cars back then.”

Rather wouldn’t be convinced otherwise, Brown said, so he offered him the only consolation he could.

“I gave him the only pair of gloves I had at the time, because I knew his hands would freeze, otherwise,” Brown said. “Ten years ago, I read in the paper where he had signed a contract with CBS for millions.

“I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to write Dan a letter and tell him to send me my gloves back or pay for them.’”

Looking back, Rather’s decision to drive home in freezing weather was just one of the decisions he made which Brown said, put in the position, he might not have.

“I’ve thought he was crazy to do some of the things he did, I thought maybe be went a little bit too far, but I wasn’t surprised because that was just Dan,” he said. “He pushed that football game too far, too.”

Looking back

The first time he saw the news about Rather’s lawsuit against CBS, Brown said he just cleared his throat, listened carefully, and didn’t change his mind one bit about his old friend.

“To me, in my mind, this is just another situation in the professional world that wasn’t handled professionally,” he said. “I’m sure someone could find fault with Dan’s actions, but that really doesn’t change anything to me.

“I know who he was, I know what his motives are, and I just don’t see him doing something he doesn’t believe in.”

While he does not speculate on how Rather’s situation with CBS will turn out, Brown said he thinks Rather has made a profound, real impact on the world.

“Maybe he’ll be paid back, and maybe he won’t,” Brown said. “I can remember the hurricane Dan reported on years and years back – people know him as the face of their news, and I don’t think this is going to change that.”

Compared to the lawsuit and the events leading up to it, Brown said he would much prefer to focus on the good things Rather accomplished.

“I have very good memories of Dan, I’m really proud of the success he’s had, and I think there’s a good lesson in his life that people in that field can learn,” he said. “It really is possible to start at the bottom and work your way to the top.

“He was just like the rest of us – he came from a similar environment, and in the Bearkat tradition, he went on to work and made a super success story.”

Brown said those who knew Rather as a Huntsville resident should be extremely proud of his career and the way he’s helped Sam Houston.

“He’s been very generous to the university,” Brown said. “He genuinely loved Sam Houston when he was here; he’ll always love what the university did for him and he’s shown that.”

Brown said he sincerely hopes the American public will not forget “the Dan Rather they grew up with.”

“This story’s for him – I know the experiences I’ve had with him will help people understand him better,” he said.

Gordon Brown currently resides in Elkins Lake with his wife. In his spare time, he tends to a barn which has been in his family for over 100 years.]

Links

More on Dan Rather - "A look at Dan Rather's School Days"

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The $70 million lawsuit - "Dan Rather sues CBS over story"

Reaction from professionals - "Professional journalists react to Dan Rather lawsuit "

Reaction from SHSU students and alumni - "Students/Alumni reflect on Dan Rather lawsuit"

A look at Investigative Journalism - "Investigative Journalism on the decline?"