Monday, January 25, 2016

Widener to Welcome Alumnus Author for free African American History Month Event


Widener University’s Pennsylvania Military College Museum to Host Discussion and Book-Signing Event for African American History Month with 1962 PMC Alumnus Louis Horner, Author of “Who Will Water the Flowers?”

CHESTER, Pa. – Louis Horner, a 1962 graduate of Pennsylvania Military College, Widener University’s predecessor institution, wrote about his time at PMC and life as an African American during a turbulent time in U.S. history in the new book “Who Will Water the Flowers?” Horner will discuss the book and sign copies at a special African American History Month event presented by Widener University’s Pennsylvania Military College Museum. The event takes place on Widener’s Main Campus in Chester in the Wolfgram Memorial Library Drost Room on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m.

Horner has a long track record of overcoming adversity to enjoy a full life beyond what he says his racial and working-class background might have predicted. He was the first African American to participate in Little League Baseball in Stratford, Conn. in 1951, the first African American class president at his school from 1955 to 1956, the first African American accepted in and to graduate from the now-defunct Peekskill Military Academy in Peekskill, N.Y. from 1957 to 1958, and the first African American to play varsity baseball and basketball at PMC from 1958 to 1962.

By sharing his life journey in “Who Will Water the Flowers?”, published by Dog Ear Publishing Company, Horner provokes readers to think about their own views of friendship, opportunity and race relations in America. He dedicates much of the text to examining the friendships he forged, beginning with those built at PMC. 

After graduating from PMC in 1962, Horner was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He spent time as a human resource manager with Digital Equipment Corporation out of Springfield, Mass. He received a presidential citation from President Ronald Reagan in 1985 for designing a computer enrichment program that served several thousand children nationwide. Horner retired from Digital Equipment Corporation in 1993 to start a promotional marketing company with clients from major educational institutions and several Fortune 500 companies. After 10 years of continued growth and a changing environment, he retired from industry in 2003. He says that a “startling spiritual experience” left him with a sense of urgency to share his life story through “Who Will Water the Flowers?”

Horner currently resides in Mashpee, Mass. He has returned to Widener University’s campus previously to be honored as the April 2009 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year and to throw out the first pitch of the alumni baseball game during Homecoming Weekend in 2011.

Registration is encouraged, but not required for the Feb. 27 book-signing event. To register, for more information or to pre-order a book, contact Ronald Romanowicz, PMC ’68, at rromanowicz@pennsylvaniamilitarycollege.org.  The event is free to the public.

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