Gifts from classmates total nearly $1 million

Three alumni from the class of 1929 have provided gifts to support various projects on the Mississippi State campus.

Harold C. Lucas of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Theodore B. Plair of Walnut Creek, Calif., and the late Ferris S. Batson of Wiggins have together pledged or contributed $910,000 to the university.

Lucas, who received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Mississippi State, has bequeathed property valued at approximately $500,000 to support wood preservation research. When the university receives Lucas' property, it will be sold and the proceeds will be used to establish the Harold C. and Claire Lucas Endowed Fund for Wood Preservation. Lucas made the gift in memory of his late wife, Claire, who died in 1993. The property includes the Lucas' house and several bay front lots on Choctawhatchie Bay.

The Lucas Endowed Fund will support the Mississippi State Forest Products Laboratory and its research in laboratory and field evaluation of treated wood, the development of new wood preservatives, and the development of improved test methodologies.

Lucas had a long career in the forest products industry with American Creosoting Corp. in Louisville, Ky. He retired in 1966 as executive vice president of the company, which was then a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Camp Corp.

Plair, who received his bachelor's degree in general science, and his wife, Katharine, have established a charitable remainder trust valued at more than $250,000, which will pay them an income for life. When the trust is terminated, the proceeds will be used by Mississippi State to establish the Illahee Tree Farm Fund. The fund is named for the Plairs' former Illahee Tree Farm, which covered some 760 acres in Washington County, Ore.

Annual proceeds from the Illahee Tree Farm Fund will support activities and programs of the College of Forest Resources, including student enhancement, development, and scholarships; faculty recognition and development; and equipment purchases and maintenance, among other things.

Plair began his career as a forester for the National Park Service, before transferring to the USDA's Soil Conservation Service as a regional forester and later as head woodland conservationist.

The late Batson, who received his bachelor's degree in agriculture, left $160,000 in his will to support the university's Plant and Soil Sciences Department. The Ferris S. Batson Endowed Fund for Plant and Soil Sciences will be used to develop and maintain a teaching plant arboretum and to support rose disease research.

Batson was employed at Mississippi State from 1931-51, first as instructor and later as professor of ornamental horticulture. He also was supervisor of grounds and greenhouse operations for the campus, and was an early researcher in methods to grow Easter lily bulbs in quantity. Horticulture professor Coy D. Box, one of Batson's students, later achieved national acclaim for his work in this area at Mississippi State.