Fishing, kayaking, walking, feeding ducks or just taking some down time, COM Students, faculty, staff and community have been enjoying Lake Eckert for decades. But there is some history behind Lake Eckert that you might not know.
Pictured right, Jean and Norman Konemen at the Fountain dedication 30th anniversary, 1997.
When the campus was built in 1968, the site that later became the lake was to be used for fill dirt for the site (to shore up buildings); as flood drainage; as an irrigation source for watering the shrubbery; and later as campus beautification.
It was not until 1970 that the lake got its name. Lake Eckert was named in honor of the first president of the COM Board of Trustees, H. K. “Griz” Eckert. In 1987 Eckert passed away and his ashes were sprinkled on the lake in a private ceremony. In 2015 College of the Mainland's first president, Dr. Herbert Stallworth and his wife Yvette Stallworth also had their ashes scattered over Lake Eckert.
In 1973 11 ducks were contributed by Bernard Levin of Texas City in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes killed in the Munich Olympics by a group of terrorists. Today we have ducks of many varieties as well as geese that make their home on campus.
The most recent addition to the lake is the fountain, dedicated to Norman Albert Koneman III at the celebration of COMs 30th Anniversary Open House Oct. 5, 1997.
See our Lake Eckert album, all currently available COM History photos or go to our COM History Guide for more COM History.
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to help us identify events or individuals in our photos. Just make sure to include the URL (web address) of the photo when sending information. Please contact Tillie Henson at (409) 933-8205 or email Thenson@com.edu.
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