The Department of Geography has a new addition to its hallways, a table to go along with the department’s new Keurig machine, both donated by Kit and Cathy Salter. Kit is a former MU geography chair and Cathy is a writer and columnist, perhaps best known for her Daily Tribune column: “Notes From Boomerang Creek.”

The table was purchased through University Surplus about 30 years ago. At the time, Dean Larry Clark let Kit take it home “for the sake of having a place to work without students or faculty at my elbow,” Kit says. Though he spent numerous years working from home at that table, he decided it would be a good fit for the alcove just outside of the community kitchen.

“We are a coffee culture,” Kit adds. “A coffee pot (Rhubarb Keurig in this case) needs to be near a comfortable table for reading, chatting, doing some pen on paper writing, or just hanging out.

“All thinking is enriched by thoughtful interaction with others. The table and coffee enable, or at least set the stage for, just such activity. I see it as a Kitchen Corner with all the Bistro-like qualities but with coffee for a half dollar (honor system) and the spirit of geographic exploration and innovation rising to help make the Korner a useful, even engaging, part of being a geography major.”

In mid-January, just before the start of the spring 2020 semester, Department Chair Soren Larsen, Director of Undergraduate Studies Doug Hurt and Kit hauled the heavy (emphasize heavy) table down a flight of starts at the Salter’s residence, carefully placed it in a U-Haul and then lugged it up to the second floor of Stewart Hall via the stairwells, as it would not fit in the elevator