The First Four Graduates
On Wednesday, May 27, 1931, Richard E. Tope had some fine news for his service club. As recounted in his history of the Grand Junction Rotary, Tope provided an update on “the first four boys who were students of the Junior College who were now graduating from Universities.” According to Tope, the “first four” were A. Allen Brown, Bayard Rhone, John Baptist Wolf, and S. Victor Wagler. Each of these early graduates went on to make significant marks in their chosen fields.
Allen Brown
Following two years of junior college, Allen Brown earned a law degree from the University of Colorado and returned to the Western Slope. Brown began practicing law in Delta in 1931, earning seventy-five dollars per month. He served for thirty years as the Delta city attorney, eight years as the district attorney for the Seventh Judicial District, and as a director and president of the Colorado River Water Conservation District. He is credited in a 2016 article with promoting the sport of tennis in Delta as a means of relaxation following “long summer days in court.” An editorial in the Delta County Independent following Brown’s death in 1983 stated that “his life serves as a tribute to what a single industrious, caring citizen can do to enhance the quality of life in his community.
Bayard Rhone
Bayard Rhone also became a lawyer, completing his degree at the University of Southern California. The son of early Mesa County pioneers, Rhone adopted California as his lifelong home. He served as a deputy state attorney general before being appointed to the Los Angeles municipal court in 1952. In 1953, Rhone was appointed to the California superior court by Governor Earl Warren. Rhone received national attention in 1967 when he ruled in favor of a deaf Southern California couple, awarding them custody of a two-year-old hearing child. Rhone died in Los Angeles in 1971 from complications after a surgery.
John Wolf
John Baptist Wolf was born in Ouray in 1907, the son of a German immigrant. His academic interests lay in history. Following his 1927 graduation from Grand Junction Junior College, he earned a BA and an MA from the University of Colorado. After a short stint at Northwestern University, he completed his PhD at the University of Minnesota with a focus on diplomatic and French history. He began teaching at the University of Missouri before spending twenty-three years at the University of Minnesota. Wolf ended his career at the University of Illinois, Chicago, retiring as a professor emeritus in 1974. Wolf was a Fulbright fellow and taught at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950–1951. In 1979, he was posthumously honored by the French government for his contributions to French history.
Victor Wagler
Born in Iowa but raised in the Grand Valley, Victor Wagler is credited with organizing the first debating society and the first orchestra while a junior college student. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of California Law School and set up a law practice in the Bay Area. At age thirty-two, he was named the youngest superior court judge in Alameda County. He spent twenty-eight years as a judge before retiring in 1968. Throughout his life, Wagler remained engaged and supportive of Mesa College. He established two scholarship funds at CMU: the S. Victor Wagler Scholarship (in honor of his mother, Mattie) and the S. N. Wagler Scholarship (in honor of his father, S. N.). In 1991 and shortly before his passing, he was notified that he would be honored as that year’s Distinguished Alumnus. “He was very pleased,” Mesa State Foundation Executive Assistant Dr. Carl Wahlberg shared with The Daily Sentinel in April 1991. “He told me that without this college he would never have been able to go to school."
A Story 100 Years in the Making
Want to learn more about CMU's history? On August 16th, The Maverick store will launch a pre-sale for Colorado Mesa University - A Century of the Maverick Spirit, written by Amber J. D'Ambrosio and Kristen Lummis. The 192-page book chronicles CMU's 100-year journey of growth, resilience and community impact, celebrating the people and moments that shaped our Maverick history.
CMU's Century Project honors one hundred years of Colorado Mesa University's rich history - celebrating the people, milestones and spirit that have shaped our enduring legacy. As we reflect on this meaningful milestone, proceeds from the commemorative Century Book and events throughout the year will benefit the Century Scholarship, ensuring that future generations of CMU students can continue to grow, learn, and carry the CMU legacy forward.
Pre-sale will be available on August 16th.