By: Dave Astor A relative of the man who encouraged Erma Bombeck to pursue a writing career made a gift to start an endowment for the University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop.
In 1948, UD student Bombeck slipped a humorous piece under the office door of English Professor Brother Tom Price. His response -- "you can write" -- sustained Bombeck for a number of years.
The late professor's cousin, Cindy Price Hamberg, and her husband Ralph made the gift to start the endowment. (The amount of the gift was not publicly revealed.) UD hosts the workshop every two years, with the 2004 one drawing more than 300 attendees from 38 states and four countries.
"The Hambergs' gift will help us continue to teach and motivate writers, just like Brother Tom inspired Erma," said Tim Bete, director of the workshop.
Bombeck's column was syndicated to about 700 newspapers when she died in 1996 of complications following a kidney transplant.
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