Tributes and Reflections

If it is true that one can come to know a man from what his friends have to say about him then we know that Arne Nixon was loved by many. He made friends wherever he went the world over. Listed here are a few of his friends' remembrances and reflections. If you would like to add your memories of Arne to this tribute page please send e-mail to arnenixoncenter@csufresno.edu.
(Documents may be edited for space.)

Mario Baca - Arne John Nixon

"I can still hear him muttering in the confines of his office, like Eyore in A. A. Milne's classic story of the Winnie-the-Pooh, ‘Oh bother!’"

Maurice Eash -

Arne Nixon (1927-1997): A Life of Story

"Throughout his lengthy teaching career, Nixon held that if children were exposed to the early stimulation of reading widely, they could be relied upon to be self directing in their reading choices."

The Great Plains Influence: L. Frank Baum and Arne John Nixon,
A Reflection (pdf)

"Both Baum and Nixon were greatly marked by their experience in the rural Great Plains of the United States, which is reflected in their respective interpretations: fictional characters and setting in Baum's world; and critical, world interpretation of children's literature in Nixon's world."

Carmen Farr Gregory -

Dr. Arne Nixon: Impressions of a Middle School Teacher

"Dr. Nixon used to tell us students that in the simplicity of children's literature lie the deepest truths. I often thought that in the simplicity of his kindly nature we also found deep truth."

Jukka-Pekka Mecklin - For Professor Arne Nixon's Memory

"Arne frequently used Finnish words in his storytelling. As far as we know, most of his "magic words" were invented Finnish sentences..."

Jo Ellen Misakian - My Recollections of a Wonderful Person

"As we journey through life we meet and get to know many people. Some enrich our lives in ways and on fronts that cannot be measured. Arne Nixon was one of those people."

Ivan Rowe - The Hen Connection

"...one evening as we smoked our cigars and talked, one of my wife's chickens, a spotted hen, Rockie, flew over and sat on Arne's lap."