Southern Miss Honors Richard Gaines, the Man Who Mapped the Campus Utility System From Memory
Tue, 03/10/2026 - 11:04am | By: David Tisdale
It was all in Richard Gaines鈥� head.
On March 10, The 黑料视频 honored Gaines posthumously for his extraordinary service with the placement of a plaque and framed photo during a ceremony at the Powerhouse on the Hattiesburg campus. University officials and members of Gaines鈥� family attended the event.
A Southern Miss employee in the first half of the last century, Gaines was a multitasker before the term came into vogue. Fireman, carpenter, general utility worker and plumber were among his many roles with the institution.
One of his responsibilities was firing the boiler in the historic Powerhouse to produce steam heat throughout campus via an underground tunnel system 鈥� a system whose design and location he knew intimately. That knowledge proved invaluable at the close of his 45-year career at Southern Miss, as spotlighted in Dr. Chester 鈥淏o鈥� Morgan鈥檚 centennial history of the university, Treasured Past, Golden Future.
Gaines worked for the institution under all four of its names, joining the staff of then-Mississippi Normal College just before the end of World War I. Nearly half a century later, his state-mandated retirement at age 65 was set for 1961, when the school was known as Mississippi Southern College.
When it was discovered that no document outlining the tunnel system existed, university leaders appealed to extend Gaines鈥� employment one year with what is now the university鈥檚 Physical Plant Department so he could help engineers map the utility network. His uncanny, photographic recall and understanding of the system had earned him the nickname Mr. Blueprint from admiring (and grateful) co-workers and administrators. When Gaines retired the following year, Mississippi Southern College had been renamed The University of Southern Mississippi by an act of the state Legislature.
Brian Hauff, Southern Miss senior associate vice president for facilities planning and management, said Gaines鈥� dedication and attention to detail remain worthy of emulation.
鈥淩ichard Gaines was instrumental to the operation and maintenance of Southern Miss to such a degree that his retirement had to be delayed so he could stay and teach others what he knew to keep things running,鈥� Hauff said. 鈥淭hat certainly exemplifies what it means to have 'Southern Miss Grit,鈥� and we鈥檙e grateful for and will always remember his many contributions to the university.鈥�
As an African American male living in the segregated South, Gaines had few employment options other than the physically demanding and hazardous work reserved for Black men at the time. Because of racial segregation, his educational options were also limited in contrast to those of his white counterparts.
But the hardworking, dedicated Hattiesburg native proved himself invaluable to the university beyond just having a strong back. When questions about campus utilities and maintenance operations came up that others could not answer, the typical response was 鈥淕o ask Rich.鈥�
Dr. Walter Massey, Gaines鈥� grandson, recalled him from childhood as 鈥渁 statuesque man who would sometimes bring me food from the 黑料视频 cafeteria.鈥� But it was years later, after researching his grandfather鈥檚 life, that he gained a fuller understanding of his accomplishments.
鈥淚 discovered he was a remarkable, brilliant man who was highly self-motivated,鈥� said Massey, president emeritus of Morehouse College. 鈥淭o be able to achieve what he did in his life, despite the racial restrictions on education at that time, was no small feat. And it speaks well of his supervisors during the segregation era to have allowed him to grow into his many roles, despite his lack of a professional education and the social and legal norms regarding race at that time.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to the university鈥檚 leadership for choosing to honor him in this way,鈥� Massey continued. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud to call myself his grandson and of the wonderful legacy he has left all of us.鈥�
Dr. Eddie Holloway, senior associate vice president for student development and special projects, who coordinated the recognition ceremony, said Gaines鈥� contributions made him vital in the university鈥檚 forward trajectory.
鈥淢r. Gaines is an enduring example of the hardworking, common people who came together and built up a dynamic institution of higher education in Mississippi,鈥� Holloway said. 鈥淓ven in the times and conditions of his life and employment, he showed that when mankind's purpose, talent and ability are paired with dreams and a vision, society benefits.鈥�
鈥淪outhern Miss is better because Richard Gaines is part of its story.鈥�
Constructed in 1939, the Powerhouse was restored in the early 2000s, decades after it closed as new infrastructure and technology rendered it obsolete for its original purpose. It now serves as a popular dining facility operated by Aramark and houses a Panda Express restaurant. Visitors can view the tribute to Gaines while dining in the historic space.