Paul “Kissy” Kisseberth ’54, #884

Normally, Alumni profile’s are the result of personal interviews with the featured brother. Paul Kisseberth lives in Connecticut and a personal interview was not practical. Even better, in this case and at the request of the editor, Paul sent “his story” which follows, in his own words, with but few edits.

The Early Years

My mother and father grew up on farms in Ohio; my dad outside McCutchenville, and my mother north of Tiffin. Neither had the privilege of going to college or graduating from high school. The necessity for a job had a higher priority. Dad was nine years older than mother and I was born when she was 19. She always exclaimed, “13 months after your dad and I were married!” I was their only child. They could not afford more.

Our home was in McCutchenville, (affectionately called Scutch) Ohio. It then and now still has a population of approximately 200. Our home was next to a little store which was next to the school I attended all 12 years. My parents boarded school teachers during the depression to supplement their income. You can be assured my parents received my report card, not only every six weeks, but every night at dinner and mostly when I was not present.

Living close to the school gave me ready access to the school yard, ball field and gymnasium. Most of  my friends lived on outlying farms. Pick up baseball and basketball games were very popular. My mother’s brother was a very good athlete whom I admired. He owned a farm near Tiffin, Ohio and each summer from grades 1-8, I stayed with my aunt and uncle to help on his farm. I am the oldest of 13 first cousins, therefore, I was milking cows and driving a tractor when I was seven. My parents felt it was better for me to be on the farm during the summer than being around Scutch’s older boys.

By the time I was in junior high, there were two fathers in our town who took an interest in coaching and developing the baseball skills of those of us that were always playing during any free time we had together. By the time we got to high school, we were pretty good individually and as a team. My freshman year we won all of our games, except losing in the finals of the District tournament. By that time I was playing baseball with the American Legion team and the Tiffin Mudhens, a semi-pro team, during the summers.

There were 75 students in our entire high school, and only 33 boys. My sophomore year, we won all of our games except one, being defeated in the Ohio State regional quarter finals. My junior year we won all of our games except one and that was in the Ohio State final. My senior year we won all of our games except one and that was the Ohio State quarter finals. Thus, during my four years of high school, we won 54 games and only lost 4. My dream in life was to become a professional baseball player.

Our high school principal wanted me to attend college, as did my parents. No one from “Scutch” had ever attended college. I had been scouted by the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians. All of the scouts urged me to attend college. Our principal graduated from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He recommended Ohio Wesleyan over Capital because of OWU’s baseball
program.

One weekend, during my junior year in high school, he arranged for me to visit Ohio Wesleyan. The University assigned me to stay at the Beta house. I did not even know what a fraternity was! During the weekend, I was introduced to Don Wedge, ’51 and Bix Newhard ’52. They “just happened” to be from Carey, Ohio, seven miles from “Scutch”.

My senior class had 15 students. While most boys took 4-H, my parents insisted I take two years of Latin. Am I ever glad I took that language requirement in high school! Since I was in the upper third of my class, OWU accepted my application. I definitely was a “walk on”.

Off To College

Before I knew it, during the summer of my senior year, I was visited by Don Wedge and Bix Newhard. They were very persuasive about the idea of my becoming a Beta pledge. Sounded great to me, thus I was wearing a Beta pledge pin before they left town. Today I
understand the full meaning of their influence in my life. I had no clue at the time.

When I arrived at OWU my freshman year, I was overwhelmed and unprepared, certainly academically. I still look at my pledge class picture and note that I was the only one of 24 wearing a tee shirt! I knew one thing, at least I could play baseball. I did feel good about myself.

That first year I lived in a home across from the Beta house and roomed with another Beta pledge, Peter Kaufman ’54. Hank Baldwin ’54 and Robert Neff ’53 lived on the third floor. Don Wedge became my BIG BROTHER and my idol. I would attend football practices just to watch him play. [Editor’s note — Don Wedge ’51 was one of the outstanding football stars in OWU sports history, having scored 5 touchdowns in one game — a record which still stands, and who was elected to the OWU Hall of Fame].

I did just make my grades and was initiated into Beta Theta Pi in 1951 — one of the highlights of my entire life. Why? I needed Beta and what it represented. The relationships made then have become life-long friendships to this day. At the time, it was my family and home away from home. My family and “Scutch” were proud.

My commitment to varsity baseball and basketball at OWU did take me away from important fraternity experience due to practice and team travel. [Editor’s note — the editor personally saw Paul on the Edward’s Gym basketball court where he was a “wizard”, bringing the ball down court and driving the basketball with his beautiful delivery of a lay-up for two points for the Battling Bishops of Coach Bob Strimer.] I would not have graduated if it had not been for the support and encouragement of my fraternity brothers.I must include that Bix Newhard introduced me to his cousin, Ann Grinton, also a freshman, early our sophomore year. As it turned out, Ann’s father was a Beta from Connecticut Wesleyan. I met him the first time at lunch in our Beta house dining room during a parent weekend while dating Ann. Later I learned from Ann that Bix’s great grandfather was also a Beta. He was a Dr. of Divinity and a professor at Ohio U before coming to Delaware to initiate OWU’s Philosophy Department. At one point he was interim President of OWU and also had the distinction of performing the wedding and funeral services for President Rutherford B. Hayes [also from Delaware]. We have Dr. McCabe’s Beta pin which measures 3/4” in height and reads, “Rev. L.D. McCabe, D.D., 4-17-1853.” We understand he was one of those instrumental in shaping the beginning of the Miami Triad. Over two dozen members of Ann’s family
attended OWU.

Ann and I were married June, 1954, ten days following our graduation. We will celebrate our 5oth wedding anniversary in 2004.

Off To The Air Force

I did take ROTC at OWU. In November, 1954 I was sent to Vance AFB, Enid, Oklahoma as a Special Services Officer. I was in charge of the physical training program at that basic multiengine base. The first year we played 25 basketball games. The following year I was the Base Exchange Officer.

McGraw-Hill Publishing 

Six months before my completion of two years of active duty, my father-in-law, at the time a VP at McGraw-Hill in Cleveland, Ohio, asked what our plans were upon leaving the Air Force. I had planned to return to OWU’s placement office in hopes of finding a coaching job at an Ohio high school. My father-in-law urged me to take the McGraw-Hill sales aptitude test, which I did, and 40 years later completed a wonderful career in the publishing business.

Paul’s work with McGrawHill began in 1956 first with a sales assignment in Missouri and Southern Illinois soon followed by an advertising position in Detroit. Following management assignments for Fleet Owner magazine (trucking industry) in Chicago (1961), and to National Sales Manager (1976) at which time he moved to Connecticut where he currently lives. He commuted to offices in NY city.

A 1978 assignment as Publisher was followed by promotion to VP in 1986, and in 1987 he was appointed VP Associate Publisher for Aviation Week and Space Technology. In 1988, following McGraw-Hill’s sale of Fleet Owner, Paul retired from McGraw-Hill and rejoined Fleet Owner as publisher of the magazine. In early 1996, after more than 40 years of service, Paul retired and returned to
private life with Annie and family.