Gig 'Em, Col. Morris

We recently dropped in to see Tom. C. "Ike" Morris '33, the oldest living Aggie, at his home in San Antonio.

Col. Morris is a wonderful man with an amazing Aggie story. He was a sophomore in Aggieland when Pinkie Downs, Class of 1906, popularized the "gig 'em" hand signal. He was here before "howdy" became a tradition. He waited tables with Earl Rudder '32 in the athletes' dining room, doggedly held down five jobs while a student during the Great Depression, and served in all campaigns in the European Theater of World War II (including D-Day plus 1 on Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge). He once hitched a ride from the original 12th Man, E. King Gill '24.

And he also played a significant role in the evolution of the Aggie Ring tradition, as a member of the 1932 committee that first set requirements for seniors to earn the Ring. He still has records documenting the work of that original Aggie Ring committee.

So it's especially fitting that Col. Morris recently established an Endowed Aggie Ring Scholarship, to help ensure that Aggies who earn the right to wear an Aggie Ring are not prevented from doing so by financial obstacles.

Thanks and gig 'em, Col. Morris!

Read more of our stories about Col. Morris here. Read more Aggie Ring stories here. And learn more about the Aggie Ring Scholarship program here.