Alumnus recalls college, Navy experiences

Norman Begier, '60, featured as 'Hero of the Week'

DUNKIRK, N.Y — A 1960 administration graduate recently was featured as the “Hero of the Week” in The Observer in Dunkirk, N.Y., because of his service in the U.S. Navy, successful life as a businessman and his volunteerism.

Norman Begier came to Tri-State (now Trine) University on the GI Bill, following in the footsteps of about 30 other men who made the trek from Dunkirk to Angola in the late 1950s.

Begier told The Observer that he enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 4, 1951, along with several other friends at the Dunkirk Post Office. The next day, he was off to Buffalo, N.Y., to be sworn in. He served aboard the U.S.S. Greenwood for training in sonar and later served as yeoman on the U.S.S. Strong, patrolling waters following the Korean Conflict.

After he returned home, he worked at Allegheny Ludlum. Realizing he needed an education to get ahead, he followed in the footsteps of his friends and attended Tri-State. While he was in school, his wife, Mary Ann, worked as a first-grade and kindergarten teacher in Orland. They lived in a little apartment behind Lakeland Radio Supply on Park Avenue. He had odd jobs working for his landlord, Harold Stephens.

He said he loved his time at Tri-State.  His favorite professor was Wayne Champion, who held his seven-person statistics class in the cafeteria.

Begier thought he would major in engineering, because he’d spent a good deal of time working as a metallurgist at companies in Dunkirk. But, he wound up earning an administration degree, but his career didn’t leave the engineering realm.

When he graduated, he went back to work at Allegheny Ludlum in the tool steel metallurgy lab. He later went to work for Bethlehem Steel as the assistant foreman in the hot finishing department. After a couple of other jobs, he retired in 1987 from Allegheny Ludlum, his last stint as a marketing and salesperson.

After retirement, Begier and fellow alumnus Peter Briggs purchased Dunkirk Metal Products.

Begier was an active fireman, served as a city councilman-at-large and was a member of the Dunkirk Board of Education.

To read more about Begier, click here.

To share your news, contact Trine University communication specialist Lindsay Winslow Brown at winslowbrownl@trine.edu.