AJanuary 24 1960
The Times, Munster, Indiana, Sunday, January 24, 1960
Caption: He's a Chess Champion; she's a ceramics fan, and both are instructors at Valparaiso University. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Byrne shares interests in arts but he teaches English and she is philosophy instructor.
Ceramics, Chess Interest Valparaiso U. Faculty Couple
Valparaiso—An interest in the arts has led the Donald Byrnes of the Valparaiso university faculty to careers in philosophy and English and hobbies ranging from ceramics to chess.
Mrs. Byrne is the philosophy instructor in the family, receiving introduction to the discipline through aesthetics. She is now writing her doctoral thesis for the University of Michigan on “The Aesthetic Theory of Remy de Gourmont.”
The study of this French philosopher won Mrs. Byrne a Fulbright travel grant and a French government scholarship. She studied for several months at the University of Sorbonne in Paris.
She notes, however, that the days of students living for pennies on the Left Bank are gone. The high cost of living in France makes it necessary to have an allowance from home because French scholarships give very low stipends.
While studying at Michigan, Mrs. Byrne held a philosophy teaching fellowship for leading discussion groups of 25 undergraduates—a contrast to Valparaiso where she has fewer than ten students per class, she commented.
Although both Byrnes share an interest in the theater, dance, concerts and paintings, Mrs. Byrne works in ceramics.
A member of the Potters' Guild of Ann Arbor, Mich., she entered a vase in the Craftsmen Exhibition for Michigan Artists at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Mrs. Byrne works with stoneware which requires 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit to be fired.
She prefers to shape vases and bowls on the wheel because “the symmetry achieved on the spinning wheel is more satisfying than the unusual shapes resulting from other molding methods.”
Chess achievements are left entirely to the head of the Byrne family who has held the national speed championship several times. This particular chess championship limits time per move to ten seconds.
Byrne was U.S. Open champion in 1953 and Western Open winner in 1957.
The most recent major tournament in which he participated was the national invitational held at New York City during Christmas vacation, 1958. He placed fourth. It is limited to America's 12 top players.
Byrne also played on two American teams which faced the Russian world champions in 1954 and 1955. Both years he played the current top Russian and both times won four and lost four games against the Russian champions.
What Does his wife do while he ponders moves on the tournament chess boards? She goes to a play or a concert, usually arriving at the meet just in time to watch the last half hour of play.
“It makes me too nervous to watch the entire match. It's so slow and I know how hard he has to concentrate. The tension is too much for me.”
Mrs. Byrne knows the rudiments of chess and finds the game fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that she is satisfied to have only a small knowledge of the game for fear that in mastering it she would neglect more important duties.
The Byrnes have been in Valparaiso since September 1958, when the husband joined the VU English faculty after teaching at Olivet (Mich.) College.
His wife became a member of the philosophy faculty this fall.
Mrs. Byrne holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Michigan and her husband holds the B.A. from Yale University and the M.A. from the University of Michigan.
The Byrnes have an 18-month-old son, Jonathan.
