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Show Engineer Credits His Career Success To Weber College Football Coach by Charlie Schill hen August L. Ahlf started playing football at Weber State in 1929, he couldn’t have realized that his experiences and associations on the gridiron would lead to a future as a world-renowned civil engineer. Mr. Ahlf says he was an 18year-old without much ambition except when it came to playing football. But fortunes changed when he met Wildcat coach and professor Merlon L. Stevenson, affectionately called “Steve” by many Weber athletes. Over the next three years, Mr. Ahlf recalls, “Steve taught me how to be a man and started me on a 60year career.” During his distinguished career, Mr. Ahlf created dams, canals and water projects in Southern California, Iraq, Taiwan and Thailand. Steve became his “surrogate father.’ 9 “He gave me the guidance my own father couldn’t provide. I feel indebted to Weber State for allowing me to associate with Steve. He was remarkable as a teacher and fantastic as an individual.” Mr. Stevenson was hired in 1921 as an instructor in mathematics and engineering. He eventually served as chairman of the department of math and physical sciences and as dean of instruction. He also coached every Wildcat sport — football, basketball, tennis and track and field. It was his reputation as a winning coach that attracted Mr. Ahlf to Weber. Under Mr. Stevenson’s leadership, the Wildcats won seven football championships. DYNAMIC DUO—August L. Ahif (left) renews his friendship with former football coach, Merlon L. Stevenson. Mr Ahlf says the coach taught him to get back to the “basics of education—especially math and science.” What made Mr. Stevenson more than a great coach, Mr. Ahlf believes, was his dedication to excellence in academics. “He wasn’t content to turn us into star athletes,” says Mr. Ahlf. “Steve always told us to “get back to basics.’ And he wasn’t talking about passing and blocking and tackling. He meant the basics of education — especially math and science.” Mr. Ahif never had considered a career in civil engineering until Mr. Stevenson suggested the idea. “I didn’t have any career goal in mind when I left Ogden High School,” Mr. Ahlf says. “I had fair grades and a flair for math and science, but I was unprepared to do anything serious about it.” That changed after Mr. Stevenson took an interest in Mr. Ahlf, who played football and basketball for three years, was cocaptain of the 1931 football squad, and won the Ogden Standard-Examiner’s award for best all-around athlete in 1932. Mr. Ahif also excelled academically, graduating with an associate’s degree in general science and a burning interest in engineering. “The time I spent with Steve gave me the chance to make the transition from youth to manhood,” Mr. Ahlf says. “I admired him so much that I became determined to make a success of my life.” Mr. Ahlf graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in civil engineering. He worked for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1934 to 1956 and helped design three canal systems that provided irrigation for the Imperial Valley and Southern California. Mr. Ahlf’s work earned him an international reputation as an expert in the design and construction of water development projects. The royal family of Thailand asked him to train Thai engineers, and Mr. Ahlf helped design and build some 3,000 miles of canals in rural Thailand. “The land irrigated by those canals now helps produce about a million tons of rice each year,” Mr. Ahif says. Mr. Ahlf also helped Iraq develop the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near the Kuwaiti border. His work ended in the 1958 revolution that replaced the traditional monarchy in Baghdad with a military regime. From 1959 to 1964, Mr. Ahlf helped to construct a hydroelectric project in Taiwan. Since then, he has been a senior engineer of water development projects in Hawaii and U.S. trust territories throughout the Pacific. Mr. Ahlf remains a close friend of Mr. Stevenson, 97, of Ogden, and visits him regularly. Mr. Ahif has maintained contact with his alma mater by earmarking $100,000 of his estate as a scholarship endowment for the University. Mr. Ahlf also provides a $1,000 donation each year for applied engineering scholarships. He says “That’s just my way of trying to repay Weber State for the way the institution shaped my life and for the guidance of a guy like Steve.” @ AA THE TRADITIONAL VARSITY LETTER SWEATER #895. “The Original” 100% worsted wool cardigan fully fashioned and hand finished with block “W” integrally knitted in. Amply sized, made one at a time and weighs over 2lbs. White with purple “W”. Miers eile ere, sis, ck ES. Sera Ce $200.00 Your participation in this unique custom gift program will help fund the scholarships we provide to our student athletes. All proceeds derived from the sale of these high quality items will be used to benefit the athletic programs at Weber State University. h twill visors with f adjustable, back ng. Specify white . One size fits all aoe) $12.00 ea. es #331 (52 x 23). ed natural, inside NSU velour seal. IGS eat $59.00 ) travel kit piped eber “W”’ framed se with (2) comidles. 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