William Ward was a bass drum player in the NCHS band when he wrote our Alma Mater in the 1930’s. He used it as one of his audition pieces for the composition program at the University of Kansas, where he studied for his bachelor’s degree in composition with Charles Sanford Skilton. (Skilton met him during a visit to Norton). After completing his studies at KU, Ward went on to complete a Master of Music and PhD at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Howard Hanson. Dr. Ward was a professor of music and chair of the music department at San Francisco State University for 41 years, retiring in 1988. He still resides in San Francisco.