UA ALUMNA LEAVES LEGACY OF HER LOVE FOR LEARNING

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A UA alumna with a love for literature and world travel bequeathed nearly $240,000 to the University of Arkansas to benefit University Libraries.

Approximately $225,000 of the funds received from the Ardeth A. Ridgeway Estate will be utilized to establish the endowed Frank B. Ridgeway and Forrest D. Annen Fund. Proceeds will be used to supplement library collections in the arts and humanities, primarily books, journals or electronic resources to enhance access to the information in its many forms as new technologies emerge.

The remaining $15,000 will be available to purchase additional library resources immediately.

Ardeth Ridgeway established a memorial fund to honor her husband and her brother, a UA alumnus, prior to her death last year. She was a resident of Hot Springs.

Dean of University Libraries Carolyn Henderson Allen said, "This gift is significant to the future of the University Libraries and how well they will be equipped. A nationally competitive research university must have resources available to students and faculty that will give them an academic edge. The endowment created by Mrs. Ridgeway will help ensure that the UA libraries stay on the forefront of providing information - whether electronic or in print - to not just the campus community, but to other academic and public libraries, and the public at-large."

The University Libraries encompass the David W. Mullins Library and three branch libraries: the Fine Arts Library, the Chemistry Library and the Physics Library. The combined holdings of the libraries total more than 1.6 million volumes of books and bound periodicals and more than 2 million items in microform. Other resources currently available are government documents, maps, sound recordings, electronic full-text and bibliographic databases and manuscripts.

Ardeth Annen studied English literature and library science before earning her degree in romance languages from the U of A in 1928. Two different high school teachers inspired both her love of literature, and sparked her interest of travel and exploration. While at the U of A, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, the Psi Chi psychology club, the Rootin’ Rubes Club for women whose charge was to foster all university activities and uphold the college spirit and loyalty. She was also a member of the Women’s Panhellenic committee.

After graduating from college, Ardeth returned to Hot Springs to teach junior high school for a year. Then, at the age of 23, she moved to New York City to pursue her studies at the Library College in Bronxville, N.Y. After three years of city life, Ardeth returned to Hot Springs, and began working for radio station KTHS. It was there that she met her husband, Frank Ridgeway, a radio engineer. When the couple moved to Buffalo, N.Y., Ardeth worked for the Erie County Public Library. She remained there for more than 20 years. After her husband died in 1977, she returned to Hot Springs where she volunteered for many years at the St. Joseph’s Hospital and First Presbyterian Church libraries. Throughout her life, and well into her 80s, she loved to travel and made voyages all over the world.

University of Arkansas Chancellor John A. White said, "We are grateful that Mrs. Ridgeway chose to remember the University during her estate planning, and by doing such, she has ensured that her memory will forever be a part of this campus, as well as memories of her husband and her brother. Planned giving offers a variety of special ways for benefactors to realize their philanthropic goals during their lifetimes, and the University Libraries will see the benefits of this gift for years to come."

Frank Ridgeway graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1929 and went to work for Hot Springs radio station KTHS. He is considered to be a pioneer in the radio and television industries and studied the technical aspects of radio engineering during his ten years of employment at the station. In 1938, when offered a position to help build Toledo, Ohio, radio station WTOL from the ground up, Ridgeway jumped at the opportunity. It was at that time that he and Ardeth were married in Angola, Ind.

During the course of his distinguished career, Frank helped to construct many new radio stations, served in the Logistics Department of the Pentagon, and designed a transmitter for Buffalo, N.Y., radio station WEBR, known for introducing action hero The Lone Ranger in the late 1920s. He was an engineering consultant and designer of the "fine-in-line" directional antenna and transmitter, a revolutionary innovation in the broadcasting industry. He died on June 24, 1977, in Buffalo, N.Y.

Forrest Dean Annen, Ardeth Ridgeway’s brother, was born in Washington, Ind., but lived in Hot Springs nearly all his life. He attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia, and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1932. While at the U of A, he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.

After returning home from college, he married Bessie Dunlop. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in World War II and was made infantry major as a combat veteran. Upon completion of his military service, Forrest returned to Hot Springs where he and a partner founded the Birnbaum-Annen Insurance Service. He is described as a warm, generous and funny man, who was involved in the community. He was an elder deacon and trustee for the First Presbyterian Church, chairman of the Hot Springs Water Commission for 25 years, a Paul Harris Fellow of the Downtown Rotary Club and a member of both the Hot Springs Lodge and the Hot Springs Royal Arch Chapter. He died June 6, 1982.

In fiscal year 1999-2000, 3 percent of all gifts received by the University of Arkansas were designated to University Libraries, or $1,793,411. Of all gifts received by the U of A that same year, 34.3 percent were in the form of bequests.