Ohio Wesleyan Magazine - Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan Magazine - Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan Magazine - Ohio Wesleyan University
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(continued from page 13)<br />
Serving as associate jus-<br />
tice in the Court of Appeal,<br />
Third District of California,<br />
George Nicholson is suc-<br />
cessful in his own right. An<br />
impressive legal and judicial<br />
background combined with<br />
professional activities, hon-<br />
ors, and community activities<br />
comprise his vitae. He is not<br />
an <strong>Ohio</strong> <strong>Wesleyan</strong> alum-<br />
nus and has no ties to the<br />
<strong>University</strong>, which further adds<br />
credibility to the fact that it<br />
isn’t just those in the OWU<br />
community who hold Rickey<br />
in high regard.<br />
“George Nicholson has<br />
such credentials in the judi-<br />
cial system,” says Branch B.<br />
Rickey, OWU Class of 1967.<br />
“It has been riveting to see<br />
what he has uncovered about<br />
my grandfather that my fam-<br />
Justice George Nicholson and Branch B. Rickey ’67.<br />
14 <strong>Ohio</strong> <strong>Wesleyan</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
ily didn’t know. The contact<br />
I’ve had with Nicholson far<br />
outshines any contact I’ve had<br />
with sports writers. His inter-<br />
est is not in writing about my<br />
grandfather, but in exploring<br />
and understanding the com-<br />
posite of Branch Rickey – his<br />
sense of humanity, the beliefs<br />
he held, and how they moti-<br />
vated him.”<br />
Nicholson is clearly<br />
dedicated to preserving<br />
Branch Rickey’s legacy. He<br />
mentions Rickey during pro-<br />
fessional speeches, and he’s<br />
currently working with OWU<br />
to see what might be done to<br />
commemorate the 60 th anni-<br />
versary of Robinson’s start in<br />
major league baseball.<br />
“The projects he envi-<br />
sions and has gotten me<br />
stirred up about are exciting,<br />
but to have this person now<br />
as a personal friend is magi-<br />
cal,” says Branch B. Rickey.<br />
Nicholson sees Branch<br />
Rickey as an alumnus who<br />
should make other OWU<br />
graduates very proud. He<br />
notes his own inspiration.<br />
“The first presiding justice<br />
of my appellate court,<br />
Norton Parker Chipman,<br />
sat on the platform with<br />
Abraham Lincoln as he<br />
delivered the Gettysburg<br />
Address in 1863. As a<br />
result, I feel a tie to<br />
Lincoln and inspired by<br />
Chipman, a Cincinnati<br />
Law School graduate.<br />
Current <strong>Ohio</strong> <strong>Wesleyan</strong> stu-<br />
dents should be proud of their<br />
link to Jackie Robinson and<br />
feel inspired by Branch Rickey.<br />
Rickey knew his gifts were<br />
God-given and that his skills<br />
were honed at <strong>Ohio</strong> <strong>Wesleyan</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong>.”<br />
Ms. Kurtz is Assistant Director<br />
of <strong>University</strong> Communications and<br />
Assistant Editor of the <strong>Magazine</strong>.