     Editorial Nebraska Blueprint at the ECMA awards
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 Clarence Brehm has always been a very active person. He works out religiously every day, boasting that his stair machine gets quite a bit of use. Brehm also is a great fan of dance music and always has been. When he was not dancing to the beat, he was keeping the beat with his saxophone in a dance band. This Chappel, Neb., native also was a member of Delta Tau Delta and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. In fact, it is this “keep-active” attitude that helped him create a low-vision support group in Mesa, Ariz., where he now lives.
While attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brehm and a few other students did a groundbreaking E-Week project involving microwaves. What sets Clarence Brehm apart from other students, however, is that Brehm was an Electrical Engineering major at the University of Nebraska between 1929 and 1933. The E-Week project involved using microwaves to heat up water molecules at a time when applications for this type of radiation were just being discovered. This research was a precursor to the modern microwave—an almost ubiquitous appliance in homes today. These days, he keeps busy with dancing and his support group for macular degeneration. But Clarence Brehm still recalls his days at the University during the depression era when most of his time was spent surviving. “It was tough enough trying to eat and sleep while trying to go to school,” Brehm said. He worked a variety of odd jobs just to earn enough money to make ends meet. During spare moments, which were few and far between, he would often run suits over to the cleaners for fifty cents. Other times, he would play his saxophone in restaurants during the lunch hour for cash. On a good day, he would also get a free lunch out of the deal. Originally from Nebraska, Brehm chose to go to UNL because it was so close to home, and yet, not everyone in his family supported his decision to attend college. “My father wanted me to work in a machine shop, but I wanted to go to school. He didn’t give me a dime,” Brehm explained. “I had to find more ways than most others just to get the money I needed to get by.” Sometimes, he would hunt and fish for that extra something. But playing in a dance band probably one of the most stable work experiences he had, even though it could be terribly time-consuming. “There were times when we would get to a place to play at 6 p.m. and stay there until 4 a.m. Many times, we would have to go to class at seven in the morning, only three hours after getting back.” This same work ethic and enthusiasm for keeping active has allowed him to stay healthy for the past ninety-six years of his life and, hopefully, many more. |