Haunting to watch Bob Hope Christmas specials

Bob Hope with Raquel Welch

I had the opportunity to see Bob Hope twice, first when he appeared at the State Fair grandstand in the '70s. The show was boilerplate Bob Hope. There was the predictable Bob Hope sexism, baked into the cake at that time. When he called a female singer back out for extra applause, he said "isn't she pretty?" not "what a fine singer." You just had to understand his generation.
He told the joke about Thorndike the Grasshopper. A bartender looks down and sees a grasshopper, and says "I'll bet you don't know we have a drink named after you." And the grasshopper looks up and says "you mean you have a drink named Thorndike?"
The second time I saw Mr. Hope was in his twilight when he arrived by small plane in Willmar, there to depart for a fundraiser which I believe was in Montevideo. Can't remember the particulars, but I do remember hearing that the turnout was not good for that. Mr. Hope's star had evidently faded as it does for all celebrities. I was in Willmar by coincidence, visiting my friends the Cruzes, old Morrissites.
I seek here to make an absolute proclamation: There is nothing more haunting than to view the opening of a Bob Hope TV Christmas special from the 1960s. Those specials were filmed in Vietnam. At the time we'd get a rush of good feeling viewing that on TV. We knew war was a sobering task but we were glad to connect Christmas with our cause of fighting for American ideals, i.e. against communism. Communism was such a boogeyman in the post-WWII years. Eisenhower warned us against the military-industrial complex. Perhaps the veiled interests saw a need for some kind of profound conflict on the planet.
Here were masses of U.S. soldiers assembled around a stage in Vietnam. Bob Hope pranced onstage with his signature golf club. He was a smooth and professional entertainer. He had sort of picked up the torch from W.C. Fields when the latter was fading. Part of his shtick was to act cowardly, so it was ironic he was on the cutting edge with jingoism, by appearance, for Vietnam. Vietnam! What a defining backdrop for my generation.
We have access to the old TV specials today thanks to YouTube. What don't we have access to?
The TV camera cut to a random close-up of several soldiers during the Hope performances. Those "grunts" were always laughing so enthusiastically. Maybe they were happy because being at the performance gave them a reprieve from their regular duties.
 
War with the dreadful "body counts"
It's no fun raining on parades, but the truth is: Vietnam was an even bigger hellhole than the worst impressions you have ever gotten from movies etc. Around 60,000 American lives were lost. Young people with potential just snuffed out.

The war lacked the kind of "front lines" that were standard in previous wars. In lieu of that, "body count" was the measuring stick. People my age remember watching the network evening news with those body count numbers for us and the enemy. I remember seeing the initials ARVN which I guess was our ally. Imagine "body count," i.e. the deaths of human beings, as a means of judging success in a war. Here's a very tragic offshoot of that: the grunts were suspicious of the motives of superior officers, fearful that their lives would be sacrificed in order for a superior to get a commendation or promotion based on body count. That fear was the driving force behind "fragging." Technically speaking, fragging was death by a fragmentation hand grenade, but it came to denote mutiny in general. It has been said that fragging or mutiny was the main reason - not that there weren't other substantial reasons - why the U.S. had to depart that place when it did. 

Bob Hope with Ann-Margret

When did the Bob Hope Christmas specials from Vietnam end? The last one was probably 1970 or '71. America had woken up to the pointlessness of it all. The unrest on the domestic front was staggering. It was beyond what young people today could fathom. So much of what was wrong with the Vietnam war appeared to be in plain sight. Our communications leaders were probably cowed by not wanting to seem negative in the face of patriotic cries. The inhibition faded, as with Morley Safer's "Zippo lighter" story (how a Vietnamese village could be burned with a simple Zippo lighter). The realization was slow as molasses in arriving.

Lessons to be applied today
I can't help but see a parallel to today: the obscenity that is the Trump administration has not truly been called out by the media. Again there is self-interested fear on the part of media people. The Wall Street Journal had a policy at least for a while of not using the word "lie" to describe anything Trump said. I wonder if it's still in place. The urge is to be deferential to the people in power, until the facts become too hard to resist.
We hope the Mueller report, if it's not successfully spiked by that Whitaker fellow, will be the eye-opening time of realization. A cavalcade of exposes will develop and grow until there is a real meme, as what happened with Nixon, that Trump was a toxic influence on our nation.
What if the Nixon tapes had never come out? What if those recordings had never been made? Serendipity allowed the needed breakdowns to happen. Will serendipity happen again? Can we all sit idly by and let the climate of the planet steadily worsen? If in fact we have a grand and glorious ending to this present episode, akin to Nixon flashing his 'V' symbols outside his helicopter, then we can feel good about the American system working.
Oh my, there will be a flood of books and such to line the pockets of the publishers and movie big shots! Problem is, we cannot assume such a happy ending. Michael Moore has strongly cautioned us: Trump has an instinct for winning.
A scandal flies in our face which in a normal world would be resolved appropriately. An obscure judge like Kavanaugh comes forth with the president's blessing only because this judge has indicated he defers strongly to presidential powers. Perfect for an autocrat. Sensational allegations come forward vs. Kavanaugh. We watch media coverage and assume it's just a matter of time before the judge withdraws or is voted down. But, Susan Collins gives a dramatic speech and then the guy is in!
Moore cautions that the episode follows a pattern of Trump simply winning. The media in the meantime get the sugar high of realizing such great ratings (commercial success) as these debacles proceed.
 
Enduring dubious legacy of Vietnam war
The Vietnam war left scars on my psyche partly because I was an avid news consumer for my age, going all the way back to preschool (in St. Paul). I am instinctively skeptical of the machinations of people in power, even at the micro level, due to having grown up during Vietnam. The U.S. was outdone by an eighth rate military power. It happened in one of the least significant countries in the world. We soaked in the news about it, through filters that made it conform somewhat to how we viewed WWII. Let's "pray for our troops" etc.
News coverage showed us war scenes not unlike WWII when our cause was so virtuous. World War II was in fact hell. The more that comes out about Vietnam today, through the myriad sources of information like YouTube on the Internet, the more stupefying it is. We saw the implementation of the "low IQ soldier" in Vietnam because the more advantaged young men found end runs around military service. How many deferments did Dick Cheney get?
George W. Bush certainly got a spot in the National Guard and we cannot fault him, just like we cannot fault anyone who found a way to escape. So, that was the backdrop for my youth: instead of building our ideals, the young men crafted ways - anything they could think of - for simply getting out of military service. I wrote a feature article for the Morris paper on a Cyrus school administrator who went to Australia to escape. As a kid you became grim in your outlook toward life.
Shall we blame Bob Hope? I guess not. He was just a professional entertainer. Someone was going to fill those shoes.
We see the openings for those old TV Christmas specials and they are designed to uplift us and make us feel happy, happy I guess about our U.S. being such a force for good. We hear those strange (by our standards) place names from around Vietnam. We hear the strains of introductory music from "Les Brown and his Band of Renown." So uplifting if you look at it superficially. We see Hope bring out the kind of females who you might say arouse the hormones of young men - very sexist fare. The men were supposed to get bug-eyed over that, I guess. The camera might have panned around to get some lustful looks.
 
War brings tragedy for Brainerd MN
Forget the smiles and laughs: Vietnam was one of the biggest and most pointless hellholes in world history. My family had a close friend from Brainerd who was killed by friendly fire in 1966. We attended the funeral. As a child I was never persuaded by any of the pro-war rhetoric. Was our family friend (Richard Ungerecht) "fragged?" He wasn't literally fragged because a grenade was not in play.

Richard Ungerecht RIP

Based on accounts, he had some command authority and he was positioning his troops on the perimeter of a LAM (land to air missile unit). The story goes that he lost track of where he was, got out too far and was mistaken for the "enemy." I put "enemy" in quotes because the troops could never know for sure who their allies and enemies were, among the ethnic Vietnamese. Could the soldiers have feared they were being sent out as cannon fodder as it were? The speculation is most unpleasant but it cannot be resisted. BTW Mr. Underecht's mother was the sister of my mother's best high school friend. Us boomer kids got so much wholesome entertainment in the 1960s. Such huge irony: the same decade that gave us the heartwarming Dean Martin, Perry Como and Andy Williams Christmas specials, was also the time for the Vietnam war. It was the decade of the classic Don Knotts comedy movies. My father loved those. And then there was Vietnam.Today we have the specter of Russian interference in our elections. If someone with the KGB savvy of Vladimir Putin saw fit to do this, he knows very well the disruptive consequences for our nation, perhaps even the existential threat to our nation. Can we come out on the other side of all this?

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

 

Mpls. Tribune highlighted UMM orchestra in '61

Ralph E. Williams, director of original UMM orchestra

The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune had a nice feature splash on the new University of Minnesota-Morris in spring of 1961. The fledgling institution, considered "experimental" by some, was nearing the end of its first year. The future of the institution did not seem totally certain. It had taken over the campus of the defunct West Central School of Agriculture.
Today we refer to the Star Tribune. In '61 we had the morning Minneapolis Tribune and the afternoon Minneapolis Star. I remember Bob Foss making his rounds in Morris with his Minneapolis Star sack slung over his shoulder. He might pause to chat with me when I was at Shorty's Cafe next to the Morris Theater. Thanks Bob.
There's a large photo of the new and exciting UMM orchestra on the front page of the General News section, Part 2. The headline: "Minnesota's newest symphony is different from the Philharmonic." I'm not sure such a comparison was necessary but it gave a sense of context. The UMM orchestra "was what it was," and what it was, was artistically fulfilling for the musicians and the audiences who came to Edson Auditorium. All of UMM's concerts were at Edson then.
There was one music faculty member in the first year. That person happened to be my father, Ralph E. Williams. He was no stranger to the pages of the Minneapolis newspaper(s). The '50s saw him direct the Minneapolis Apollo Club among other things. It's fascinating to look through the old scrapbook.
The Tribune's feature photo shows Dad leading a rehearsal from the director's podium. Today Edson is refurbished thanks to a generous financial gesture from the Morrison family. I'm sure the Morrisons were delighted to take in those early concerts. Helen Jane Morrison was instrumental in starting the Performing Arts Series.
There is a feature article accompanying the photo, written by David Mazie. May of '61 was the second month of the baseball season that saw Roger Maris hit 61 home runs for the New York Yankees. It was our Minnesota Twins' very first season, putting them on a parallel course with UMM, headed for tremendous vitality! UMM and the Twins are staples of the Minnesota scene today.
Oh, there is a subhead to the main headline, appearing under the photo. Yes the orchestra is different from the Philharmonic, "But Morris orchestra has a good time." My mother Martha was a part of that good time, playing the violin. She honed her musicianship in Brainerd where Dad began his teaching/directing career at Brainerd High School. He achieved great success with the Brainerd High choir. He tells a story from his hiring, where he appeared before the board who wanted to know if he was set for a long commitment. Thinking quickly and realizing he had a pair of stockings in his pocket, he pulled them out, held them up and proclaimed "I'm prepared to stay!"
Problem with that commitment was that World War II came along, and for that, Dad was ready for the maximum commitment. He was a gunnery commander in the Pacific theater, rank of lieutenant. I never asked why it wasn't feasible to go back to Brainerd, but he did carry one pretty significant legacy from that place: He ended up marrying Martha, a 1942 Brainerd High graduate. I never found out to what extent their relationship was developed when Mom was in high school. I presume it was minimal at that point - had it not been, I might be a little concerned, but who am I to judge them? They certainly ended up on a parallel course in life together, getting fully invested in Morris and our UMM!
Mom managed the campus post office for many years. She left us to join Dad in heaven in April, about six weeks before what would have been her 94th birthday. Dad made it to 96 years old. I'd like to think I had something to do with their extended lifespan and opportunity to stay in our precious Northridge Drive home 'til the end.
I have always felt uncomfortable in my associations with UMM. I have tried to solve that by giving money. I can introduce myself as a President's Club member. That should take care of things.
I invite you to read the feature article from the Minneapolis Tribune from May of 1961. Here it is:


MORRIS, Minn. - Minnesota's newest symphony orchestra was launched last week with a converted trumpeter playing bass viol and an assistant postmaster on a "rusty" violin.
It featured a 17-year-old contra-bass clarinetist and a 68-year-old cellist.
Half a dozen of the musicians were making their first orchestral appearance in 25 years.
"We may not exactly remind people of the New York Philharmonic," admitted director Ralph E. Williams. "But we have just as good a time."
The new orchestra is the University of Minnesota Morris branch symphony. It made its concert debut Tuesday night in Edson hall on the Morris campus.
And if the orchestra doesn't have all the attributes of the Philharmonic, at least Williams has faced some problems Leonard Bernstein never worried about.
He's had to ignore exploding violins, shift performers around like Murray Warmath does football players and nurse out-of-condition violinists through sore arms.
"Anything we've gone through is worth it, though," insists Williams.
Williams, 44, an assistant professor of music at Morris and former director of the Apollo club in Minneapolis, conceived the idea for the orchestra last December.
Basically it is an orchestra for the university, and most of the wind and percussion instruments are manned by Morris branch students.
Williams found, however, that as in many colleges, there was a lack of string players at Morris. So he sent out invitations to musicians - and former musicians - living in nearby west-central Minnesota communities.
At the first rehearsal Feb. 17, a dozen violinists, viola players and cellists showed up - some from as far away as 45 miles. For many talented musicians who had kept practicing but had no real outlet for their playing, this was an opportunity they had long wanted.
"It's one of the most wonderful things that has happened to this part of the state," said Mrs. Harry Hansen, Morris, the first violinist. It's something I dreamed of ever since we left home."
Mrs. Hansen originally learned violin from her father in Chisholm, Minn., and later played in the Range symphony at Hibbing and the Duluth Symphony orchestra before moving to Morris in 1945.
For others, like Cliff Wolner, the assistant postmaster at Ortonville, the new orchestra meant a chance to "get the old fiddle out from under the bed, kick the moths out of the case and limber up my rusty fingers." The last orchestra Wolner had played in was in high school 25 years ago.
Just how rusty some of the fiddles and fiddlers were became evident in early rehearsals.
Glen Linscheid, choral director at Morris high, was practicing one afternoon when his violin suddenly fell apart. "Exploded," he says.
Linament for tired arms was standard equipment the first few weeks.
But gradually the orchestra took shape.
The core is formed by Morris branch freshmen - such as Ronnie Larson, a trumpet player from Donnelly, Minn.; Bonnie Bogie, clarinetist from Glenwood; and Frank Nelson, Graceville, the leader of the percussion section.
The string section consists of adults from all over the area and from all walks of life.
Mrs. Arnold Opdahl is a housewife and grandmother from Starbuck, Minn. Ralph Finden runs a dry cleaning business in Glenwood. Paul Askegaard is a school teacher in Alexandria, Minn.
For Finden and Mrs. Opdahl, the symphony was something of a reunion. Both had played violin in the Pope county orchestra 25 years ago.
Each week, as word of the orchestra spread, a new string player showed up at the Friday afternoon rehearsal. But Williams discovered that nowhere among the group did he have a bass viol player.
So, like a football coach switching a fullback to center or an end to tackle, he talked Cliff Hedberg, a trumpet player, and Walt Sarlette, a clarinetist, into trying the bass viol.
"We knew we couldn't get on the orchestra with our regular instruments because there were plenty of college kids who played them," said Hedberg. "So we learned to play the bass. We wanted to play with the orchestra no matter what we had to do."
To this assortment of performers were added a few brass and wind instrument players from Morris high school. The age of the musicians now ranges from 17-year-old Connie Rabenberg, a junior in high school, to 68-year-old John A. Anderson, a retired music teacher who once played in a chataqua band.


- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Winters here were truly ominous in a past time

Here's the back yard of the Williams family, my family, from one of the storied late 1960s winters. We live on Northridge Drive and our windbreaks were not as well-developed then. Holy mackerel, what incredible drifts! That's probably Dad on the "summit." The attire is a snowmobile suit. Can we ever imagine such a scene today? It's important to remember.
 
We have just a trace of snow on the ground as Thanksgiving week begins in 2018. Have we forgotten how intense the winters used to be? Surely it's not the same now. It seems not an aberration, it seems like a long-term pattern of milder winters, absolute proof of climate change. We have winters now like what we used to associate with Iowa. We used to look down on such winters as bland and boring, a way to take a dig at the state to the south of us. The Iowa winters were not as friendly for winter recreation.
Who ever raved about a Missouri winter? But Minnesota winters were quite the delight even if adversity could visit us.
Adversity? Think back to the late 1960s. I'm 63 years old and well remember. Such winters should form an important part of our collective memory of life here on the prairie. The wind would sweep down the slope to the north of where our family lives. (I'm alone now.) The notorious wind left daunting drifts for dealing with.
Our current milder winters might seem preferable because certainly they're safer, right? And, more economical because there's little need for the big snow removal equipment to be deployed all over the place. A savings in tax dollars? Maybe so but in the long term, climate change is naturally bad news. Two winters ago I was sick all winter and began wondering if the mildness resulted in more germs in the air, germs that maybe Minnesotans weren't conditioned to combat. I heard out and around that lots of people were having those symptoms: congestion and a regular cough, with a feeling that it was hardly possible to clear your throat. I finally got a prescription for something pronounced "zithromax." Last winter I was better - had my system adjusted?
Do we really want to adjust to these new "Iowa" winters? Do we want to feel happy about them? The whole wave of Donald Trump anti-intellectualism has featured put-downs of the climate change explanation. The circle of people who strive to parrot him appears to be getting smaller. They'd parrot the president by saying "climate change is a hoax." We hear clusters of older white men talking like that, like right here in Morris, men who have their pickups parked outside a restaurant (OK, DeToy's) with a bumper sticker saying "Hillary for prison." But those voices are at last losing their stridency. Voters pushed hard in the mid-term election. The public clearly sent a message that was colored "blue."
Problem is, the U.S. Senate isn't really set up to reflect the overall sentiment of the American people. A majority of Americans has been favoring the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and not with "illegal votes." Forget the anti-intellectualism. It will take a stronger push by Democratic-oriented people. In spite of the prevailing sentiment now - "blue" - the Republicans control the Senate, the presidency and frankly the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court should not be so partisan. But if we had a Democratic president naming sensible people like Garland to the Court, the red state crowd would be alleging partisanship. "Alleging" might be too big a word for those people, people who shout "lock her up."
Heidi Heitkamp lost in North Dakota because she voted no on Kavanaugh? Ask yourself: what do you think Kavanaugh is going to do for you in your life? Really.
 
Chokio MN, Monday, Jan. 16, 1967
There is one clear historical exhibit that Stevens County residents can appreciate, in terms of our past with wicked winters. I think of the late 1960s. Our nation had a very troubling backdrop as it was immersed in the hellish Vietnam war. And in 1967, perhaps the worst year for the war, Stevens County had a near mass tragedy due to weather. Blizzard forces reared their ugly head.
Nowadays I believe schools give the benefit of the doubt to the weather - kids can just stay at home if there's risk of real danger. This did not seem to be the case when I was a kid. In the wake of all that happened, I heard stories about how schools were desperate to be in session each day, so to get "state aid money." Sheesh. If true it was a foolish system, unconscionable really, just like our folly in Vietnam.
In 1967 we had the Chokio school bus incident. It was harrowing. Nearly 30 students and a teacher were stranded in a school bus for seven hours. Thus was born the story of the "Chokio school bus rescue." School started at the usual time that morning. The classic signs of a blizzard came forth with the snow and wind. Surely a day for kids to stay safely at home. Obviously it wasn't worth the trouble for the kids to even show up that morning. School was dismissed very early.
Kids boarded the buses which departed at 9:30. The blizzard whipped up mightily. The buses driven by Harley Peters, John Mount and Don Grossman high-tailed it back to Chokio. Going out in the country was as risky as climbing Mt. Everest. Another bus was driven by John Berlinger. Those kids found shelter at the Floyd Zimmerman farm. That party spent the night safely there, getting a good meal from their generous hosts. Roger Amborn was driving a busload. He was able to complete his route but had to walk the children of one family to their home. His attempt to get back into town was futile. But he was able to walk to a farm residence and find shelter there for the night.
The disaster arrived for the Clayton Kolling bus. Crisis loomed. He realized he should try to go back. He got stalled at about 10:30 a.m. The bus was hopelessly in the ditch, a common peril for those traveling country roads in winter. He kept the engine going as long as possible. The motor got clogged with snow and finally died. Science teacher Mr. Hollen was in the bus. Mr. Kolling embarked on foot to try to find help.
County plows were enlisted. A plow got stalled just outside of Chokio. A different school bus tried to get to the stranded party. It too got stuck in a ditch. My goodness, the storm was surely out of hell with winds measured at nearly 75 miles per hour! I can close my eyes and re-imagine it all so well. The cold was biting and extremely dangerous, below zero. If only all these schoolchildren had just safely stayed at home like they surely would today. A movie could be made about all that happened.
 
Brave people up to the task
A "caravan" of determined people left the Co-op at about 3:50. It included a tractor, a Federated Co. truck and a "Cat." It took about an hour to get Gerald Ehrp's Cat started. LaVerne Monson got a school bus going to bring the imperiled kids back. The town's residents supplied candy, blankets and food.
Some men walked in front of the emergency vehicles to prevent them going in the ditch. The frigid temperature was a real threat. The wind was overwhelming. It was 4:30 when the tractor and truck got to the stranded children. A great feeling of relief, yes, but kids were having trouble dealing with the cold. It was actually dire as we learn in this sentence from the Chokio newspaper: "The little ones were getting to a point where they wouldn't have lasted much longer."
The status of some of the other searchers wasn't known for a time. Efforts began to dig the bus out. What became of the Cat? Here it comes, ready to join the effort. Ditto Monson's bus. The "caravan" had concentrated. Kids left their disaster bus and got in Monson's. The rescue process was humming albeit under duress. Sigh of relief: the kids were returned to safety, to the school where they were served hot soup and hot chocolate.
Driver Kolling ended up getting commendations. He had walked four-plus miles in his three ventures into the storm out of hell.
 
An avoidable emergency?
The drama and the happy ending are gripping. Yet we come away with regret about our school systems which seemed unreasonably determined to hold school, perhaps enticed by "state aid money." It's a lesson on the folly of government that sometimes happens, bureaucratic illogic, which I think today has been wiped away in our school systems. Parents' wishes are more likely to prevail today.
In the Morris school district where I attended, we had the "buddy system" to deal with the harsh winters of the late '60s. Country kids were assigned places to stay with their city brethren. I thought the system got abused after a time, as it started to get implemented when there was just a bad forecast.
The Morris radio station had a charming ritual in those days! Our historical society should preserve this. In those days pre-digital and all that, we got word of school closings and postponements from the good old radio station. We'd sit there riveted. And when the Morris station blared the announcement of "no school," it then immediately had a song queued up to play. The song began: "That's what happiness is." We might do an LOL after that.
There was a prevailing image of school being drudgery for kids in those days. School was arduous, boring and openly unpleasant much of the time, with teachers saying in a gruff voice "take out a sheet of paper" (for a pop quiz). I guess our economy was still in the industrial age in which jobs were generally not considered fun or very fulfilling. So, school had to reflect that world and set of values. Today kids are allowed to have a greater sense of self-esteem and personal value as they go out in the world. It's wonderful. And certainly it's wonderful that their sheer safety is protected more. Maybe the day will come when more kids can stay at home for their whole education. It's a goal we ought to set.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

John Lennon and the fateful "fat Beatle" comment

John Lennon 1963 ("Beatles Bible" image)

Often people ask: Will future generations of students study the Beatles the way we were exposed to the "classics" like Mozart, Beethoven etc.? Will the Beatles become the "classics?" And while they're at the forefront, many others like Bob Dylan will get interwoven.
Mozart and all that was the popular music of its time. Without electronic amplification, large groups of people were needed to create a moving sound. So we got the whole array of "instruments" that might be considered "analog" today. But they sure haven't faded away. We guide our own kids into these instruments as much as ever. The Beatles, just four guys, harnessed the new possibilities coming from high quality amplified sound.
It's easy to overlook that the British recording industry was ahead of its counterpart in the U.S. We had a Driggs Lecturer at UMM talk about this once. An impediment in the U.S., this speaker explained, was the distraction of the Vietnam war. A generation of young men had this horrible distraction over their heads, of possible war service. Why did the group "Abba," also four people, look so totally fresh and uncorrupted throughout their run? Did Sweden have to deal with Vietnam? I believe not.
In studying the Beatles, we'll have to differentiate between the Beatles period per se and the extensive work these guys did as solo artists.
 
Transformation of a person
My memory of John Lennon is marked by two images I have of him. The early John Lennon seemed most agreeable. He seemed affable and pleasant and totally focused on just giving us good music. His persona in the two Beatles movies projected that. The later John Lennon bothers me for more than one reason. He did classics totally worthy of praise but there was other darker stuff, idiosyncratic stuff. So that's an issue, but what I'm really focusing on here is how he looked.
Today we are so non-judgmental in how we react to people's appearance. We'll be sitting at McDonald's when a quite rotund person comes in the door, and think nothing of it. We might make a mental note - "I'm glad that's not me" - but we make no outward comment. The first wave of Beatles success was in the early '60s. We certainly judged people's bodies differently then. Being "slim" was absolutely idyllic. Being "fat" (or insert synonyms) spelled stigma. Eventually the lens of that time caught up with Lennon.

John Lennon in 1971

So, we have the chapter of his life where he lost weight because of body image. He was in a fishbowl of course because he was famous. The scrutiny of such of person can be vicious. We look at photos of Lennon and his mates from the early '60s, and we think they all look quite agreeable. If forced to compare, yes, Lennon looked somewhat thicker around the middle than the others. Would anybody suggest he was overweight? It would be a stretch. You might suggest that McCartney and Harrison were on the quite trim side.
Let us not overlook how "the camera adds weight." Neal Cavuto talks about this on Fox News today. Celebrity women can look anemic when you meet them in person, as a columnist noted after an encounter with the actress Frances McDormand. The Beatles were bound to be scarred in some way after the big bombardment of attention they got in the early '60s. It was like they were suddenly transported to the Land of Oz.
 
Three words with profound impact
A single fleeting statement from a reporter appeared to have a profound effect for Lennon. A reporter labeled him "the fat Beatle" in 1965. This reportedly stuck in his head. It has been written that Lennon had "an obsession with the 'fat Beatle' criticism." Compare his appearance in 1963 to 1971. I think it's sad that such a superfluous body image consideration would alter his behavior so much. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Many of us have insecurities we are not proud of.
The Beatles were vulnerable because of their sheer fame. Lennon probably thought the world had gone nuts, as it went wild over the four guys when they were simply talented dudes with a gift for creating music, hardly unique to them. They happened on a style when the time was ripe for that style to take hold. In their early rise I guess it was called "the Mersey sound."
John did put on some weight during the filming of the "Help!" movie. It has been written he indulged in alcohol, maybe to excess, for a spell. He didn't hesitate eating rich foods for a time, and so as fate would have it, a prickly newspaper writer decided that based on the "thin is in" standard of the time, a little mean commentary was in order.
"He was fat," an online commenter said, "however the booze gave him a bloated look that made him look fatter than he was. The comment really bothered him and afterwards he went on self-imposed starvation and became too thin for the remainder of his life. Many thought it was self-imposed anorexia."
The anorexia thing has not taken hold. I rather doubt it. What about drugs, really? Did any of the Beatles do drugs to the extent as suggested by legend? I smirk. I reflect on this the way I reflect on all the "outlaw" country-western performers of the 1970s. I have heard it said those "outlaws" were really "pussycats." I heard that comment in connection to Waylon Jennings. And I'm skeptical of the legend because it's really hard work to be a successful composer/performer of music. You can't risk self-destructive habits. The performers allowed the outlaw thing to take hold because it seemed to be cute and good for marketing. The Beatles too sensed, I'm sure, that the new young generation of rebellious youth primarily in the U.S. thought it cool to be associated with so-called "mind-expanding" drugs.
Take a time out and remember it's just entertainment, though I concede that's hard to do.
 
Do clothes make the man? No
I can relate personally to the disruption and unease that Lennon felt at the "fat Beatle" comment. I grew up when clothes were made with the trim and slim in mind. It was genuinely hard to find clothes to accommodate the larger frame. I never felt I was rotund or fat at all - I rather fancied my physique acceptable. For a while I sought pants sized 34x34 and these were hard to find. I walked out of J.C. Penney in a huff once because I only found one pair of pants in the place like this.
We saw ads in those days for "big and tall" men's stores. I don't notice these ads anymore. My theory is that the mainstream stores learned to stock the larger sizes, because those sizes appealed to more than a splinter of the population.
My frustrations got me resolved to try to lose weight, to an unreasonable degree.
Shirts were a problem because they used to be made too tight! Our fashion standards were that "form-fitting" was good, whereas loose-fitting might spell "nerd." Ha! Nerds completely won the culture battle. We don't even hear that term any more, thank the Lord. While the cool jocks were all out partying, the nerds stayed at home and studied the manuals for all the new tech stuff coming out.
I found a serious problem with tight-fitting shirts. Fitting so close to the skin, you'd develop perspiration odor much faster than with more loose, comfortable-feeling shirts. I decided to just assemble a large pile of T-shirts for use in the warm weather months. I found it a shame to wear an expensive button-down shirt which might have too much odor after just one day of use (like a "press day" at the Morris newspaper).
 
My own parallel experience
There is one last anecdote I'd like to share here. It's my own personal version of what happened with Lennon and the "fat Beatle" comment. I was at the county fair back around 1981, at the inside/front of the KQIC Radio bus one evening, talking with a couple friends I had at the station. A couple of high school-age girls walked in front of the bus. They looked up at me for a moment and one said "who's that?" They seemed unaware I could hear them. The other girl said "oh ish." I am saddened I gave such an impression.
It was very soon after that, that I plunged into my decade-long passion of distance running, as I felt a more fit and sleek appearance would discourage a reaction of "oh ish." I ran up to around 70 miles a week and I did the Twin Cities Marathon three times. My weight plunged down to as low as 160 pounds. I was on a parallel course with the earlier John Lennon, having been stung by a hurtful comment, a comment that obviously should not have gotten us so shook. But we are so human. Maybe there's a song there.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Old boomer friends visit back home in Morris

Camaraderie from bygone times: Peter, Scott and Del

The years inexorably roll along and MHS alumni of a certain vintage continue to show exuberance. Isn't that evident in the faces you see in the image here?
Two 1972 MHS grads pose with a compatriot one year older. From left: Peter Timmons, Scott Reese and Del Sarlette. Del of Sarlettes Music is the '71 grad. The photo was taken at the store.
As suggested by Peter's clothing, the visitors were back in their home area to hunt. The wet weather on this day - the norm lately of course - had them looking for other options. Pete and Scott do a lot of hunting together: turkeys, pheasants and ducks.
Our part of the state can be a magnet for hunting. What we might lack in urbanity we make up for with game birds! I think Del is a pacifist.
Your blog host is a contemporary of these dudes.
 
Inculcated in music when young
Don't we all remember who played the bass clarinet in our high school band? Timmons wore that mantle. Often we'd play a different instrument in marching band, and in Timmons' case he pounded the bass drum. Our marching band would totally wow the public if it was transported via time machine to today. The decline of Prairie Pioneer Days has prompted its cancellation as a summer event. If only that marching band could be present to march down 7th Street, everyone would be so invigorated. I would venture to say we'd be awestruck. And Scott Reese played the trumpet. Scott's dad cut hair.
Peter's mom had distinction in the political sphere. As I recall, she was a delegate to the Democratic national convention on behalf of Shirley Chisholm, the bold and pioneering African-American woman.

Peter Timmons as lawyer

Morris legend has it that Peter got left behind when the marching band buses came back to Morris once. And I do believe that director John Woell had to personally go back and get him, accompanied by a rather nonplussed father of Peter.
Marching band would be such an exciting and wholesome activity for our kids today. No one has to "win" or "lose" like in sports. (No legal appeal to get reinstated from suspension after you've practically knocked out an opponent in football, eh?) In summer we get to see the Irondale marching band from the Twin Cities area come here for intensive rehearsals and a public exhibition at Big Cat Stadium.
I try making constructive suggestions for more activities like this. And, I have tried arguing for keeping Prairie Pioneer Days a summer event. We hear the argument that "Morris gets dead in summer." So the solution is what? To cancel the one event that injected some special life in this community? Truly I am not on the same wavelength as so many Morris people.
 
"An elephant is honest"
How wonderful to have Peter and Scott "back in the neighborhood" again. Scott was also here for services for the late Barb Stevenson. The Class of '72 had other personalities - for example Steven "Skip" Sherstad - who would be worthy of more recollections sometime. Let's acknowledge Mark Lammers - our sympathies go out to Mark because of the very recent passing of his mom Dolores. Mark's father was Ray who was an early fixture in helping get UMM going. Ray's forte: theater. And, guess what Mark's forte was in school: theater! He might be surprised to know that I remember his speech that had the refrain "an elephant's honest 100 percent." I heard him give that at the old (now razed) elementary auditorium.
Update: We learn of another death of a Class of '72 parent, Patty LaFave, mom of Joe. Condolences to Joe.
The '72 class along with my '73 group had its education at the height of the boomer years. Our numbers were teeming. Our parents celebrated the prosperity of the immediate post-war years. Skip Sherstad was a long-time public servant with a reputation of winning squeaker elections. It's possible that his old Northridge Drive, where my family resided, put him over the top! Skip died too young.
 
Some more name-dropping
I might have seen Matt Watzke recently but he was not back for his mother Dorothy's funeral. Matt was a '72 class member, one year older than my classmate Tom Watzke. Tom seems almost alarmed at how I can remember obscure details of the "old days." The most fun I've ever had at a reunion, was for the '87 all-school event that had Tom and I in a group of 6-7 just "doing the town."
The biggest character in the '72 class was Tom Erickson. Sometimes four or five such conspicuous personalities can give a class its overall image. Silly rabbit, the large majority of any graduating class are kids pretty much the same from year to year. The '73 class has survived me being associated with them. The '73 class motto was "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."
The local radio big shot Deb Mattheis (nee Driggins) was a Class of '72 member! Deb was an ingenue in high school. I remember when she came forward to speak into a microphone for a pep fest and the mike wasn't cooperating. Some kids sized up that the problem was that Deb had her hand on the mike. So we heard shouts of "take your hand off the mike." Then after a pause, Del Sarlette shouted "take it off!"
Del was in the '71 class and did a lot to keep the school newspaper interesting. The paper was called "Tinta Wasota." That's Native American language, what we would have called "Indian language." The most proper term today might be "indigenous people." The Land O' Lakes company is feeling pressure now to drop its "Indian maiden" logo. Land O' Lakes is catching hell for having given money to the campaign of Nazi panderer Steven King of Iowa.
The content of the "Tinta" was not always conventional. We saw the caption "Lucky Lindor grabs pass" for a sports photo. Keith Lindor was a '71 grad and has gone on to be one of the most brilliant medical minds in the world, having served for a time as dean of the Mayo Clinic Medical School. I grew up next to him: terrible luck as I would inevitably develop an inferiority complex. His sister Laurie went on to be a doctor too.
 

UMM honoree Marilyn Strand w/ Del Sarlette

Of Marilyn "Hazel" Strand, Tom Erickson
The Class of '72 got a big shout-out recently with honors announced in connection to the UMM Homecoming. You might say "hometown girl makes good." Dr. Marilyn Strand received the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Marilyn was a trumpet player back in a time when the instrument was associated pretty closely with the male gender. Girls were attracted to flute and clarinet. My late mother Martha also played trumpet (along with violin) back when I'm sure it was even more rare. I played alongside a female trumpeter in 1972, Joan Force of Marion IA, who was superb. Not sure why the old gender associations seemed so fixed.
Marilyn showed behavior that reflected the movie "Five Easy Pieces" starring Jack Nicholson. Remember Jack ordering some toast? Anyway, Marilyn decided not to be passive in band rehearsal one day. Out of the blue she said "that's no way to teach," directed at John Woell who could be rather authoritarian. I'm not sure what the backstory was there. John made no comment but he suspended rehearsal for the rest of the hour. I remember Marilyn a.k.a. "Hazel" wearing a neck brace for some of her time in high school. She was a fine trumpet player.
I remember Tom Erickson singing the song "There's a Hole in the Bucket" at the elementary auditorium. He was an extroverted fellow. In high school he was excited to get the assignment of interviewing football coach Jim Satter going into the new season. Wasn't Satter rather an under-achieving coach? He later coached with UMM. I remember being in a class with Tom under the tutelage of Stan Kent in high school. Tom began joking one day about how a student might get "extra credit" in sex ed. class. This seemed funny for a time until Kent clearly decided he'd had enough of it. Kent bellowed "that's very UN-funny!" whereupon we all became very stoic. Chad Swanson, another '72 class member, was there and remembers I'm sure.
Kent was very nice to me, the opposite of Gene Mechelke.
 
We came, we saw, we passed classes!
In sum: the boomers of Morris lived a blessed life in many ways, albeit with some bumps in the road. Students of varying needs did not necessarily have special needs met. We all had to try to grind our way through the system. There was bullying, horseplay and ridiculous peer pressure to "party." There was no FFA or girls sports. Imagine a world with no girls sports.
An 'A' grade was difficult to achieve most of the time. The 'A' honor roll was for a very elite sliver of kids, not at all like today. I like today's system better.

Scott Reese in his Morris Boy Scout days

School for the boomers seemed designed to beat down our self-esteem. Education was once set up to conform to the industrial age model. A "job" in those days lacked fulfillment in many ways. We spoke of drudgery and boredom, of hating your boss, of trying to stretch your weekend, of consuming alcohol on the weekend as an escape etc. It's not like today where it's expected you'll feel passion for your work. Today's jobs have stress but not drudgery so much.
Us 60-somethings might overlook some bad aspects of growing up as boomers. Bullying was a cloud. People with special needs and gay people had to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. You'd get teased if you had a foreign-sounding name. Life is never a bowl of cherries. But, look at the expressions on the faces of people in the images with this blog post. We have had more than our share of enjoyment of life. Even while playing the bass clarinet.
Dave Raasch was in the '72 class, and so was Jon Fellows, son of popular counselor Don Fellows. Brian Henjum is remembered as a legend Little League pitcher. Robin Dunnum played the oboe. Like a snowflake, that class was unique.
 

The image at right shows Joe LaFave along the Gunflint Trail in 1968. He points out bear tracks and a tear on his tent. Del Sarlette the photographer explains: "The story alleges that Joe had stashed some candy in his tent, against the 'suggestion' of Scoutmaster Sandy Munson. A bear sniffed it out while we were out on a canoe trip." Again, our condolences to Joe on the loss of his mom Patty.



- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers topple No. 1 seed Paynesville for North title

Tigers 3, Paynesville 0
MACA volleyball rolled past the higher-seeded team in Thursday night competition. The Willmar paper said the match was played in Glenwood, but that might not please the Starbuck people. The Section 3AA-North championship match was played at Minnewaska Area High School. The whole idea of building that school in such a remote place was to be equal distances from Glenwood and Starbuck, because small town politics was really important back then.
The orange and black was second-seeded going into Thursday's competition. And, on the other side of the net was the No. 1 seed: Paynesville. This wasn't going to be easy, at least not on paper. We can never assume the top seed will garner the top trophy. Chris Berman of ESPN always used to say: "That's why they play the game." We not only beat those Paynesville Bulldogs, we did so in a sweep! Not only that, the game scores weren't really close. Consider: 25-17, 25-16 and 25-13.
The Willmar paper article had a byline with two writers. Just like Lennon and McCartney, I guess. I didn't see anything about the article that would have required two.
To be honest, I was skeptical that our team was going to get through this match. So, I wasn't going to post about it until Sunday or Monday. But now I want to acknowledge the success in an expeditious way, so after brewing a cup of strong instant coffee, here I go again! I wrote newspaper articles about Tiger sports for 27 years and I know the expectations or demands by sports parents for this sort of thing. Why do I keep punishing myself? I must like it. And, I must also feel some pretty strong enthusiasm about it, even though, as I told my restaurant waitress this morning: "The more you try to do for sports parents, they always want more."
Tom Carrington is a morning patron of that restaurant. What a day he will have tomorrow (Saturday) when his granddaughters Maddie and Meredith will run in state cross country! We want them to excel up to the standards set by Tom's daughter Anna.
The volleyball Tigers now own 19 wins for the season. We'll take a sterling 19-7 record into the next challenge which will have Marshall, the "Tigers" like us, as the opponent. The orange and black will rule. But which orange and black team will prevail? Surely lots of fans will pile into the Southwest State University gym to find out. Match time is 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Marshall Tigers come out of Section 3AA-South. They prevailed Thursday with a four-game win over Redwood Valley. Paynesville ended its season with a 19-5 record.
 
The stat story
Bailey Marty came at the Bulldogs with three serving aces. Kenzie Stahman and LaRae Kram each had one. The Willmar paper has been spelling Kenzie's last name as "Stahlman" all season. Are they wrong or am I wrong? The primary setters were Kram with 14 assists and Liz Dietz with eleven. Riley Decker produced three assists and Stahman had one.
The crowd-pleasing hitting category had Marty leading the way with her eleven kills. Lexi Pew and Sophie Carlsen each had five kills. Kenzie Hockel and Jen Solvie each pounded four, and Emma Berlinger had three. Carlsen and Solvie each had one ace block. Decker was most in command digging up the ball. On this night she posted the team-best 26 digs. Marty had eleven digs, Macey Libbesmeier had nine and Kram seven.
The green-themed Paynesville team had one serving ace which was by Olivia Riley. Paynesville's top setter was Madi Leyendecker with 13 assists. Abby Schaefer led the green in hitting with eight kills. Paynesville failed to execute any ace blocks. Olivia Riley had the team-best ten digs.
The Willmar paper must have made some adjustments before the new school year. The paper has been totally reliable as a source of football information, whereas over the previous few years, it could be very inconsistent and sloppy with information, although coaches probably bear most blame for the latter. Maybe some meetings were held to try to get coaches more fired-up on media relations. I can only speculate on what the problems were before. I'm out of the loop on such things now.
Volleyball information has been reliable too although I have seen discrepancies in the spelling of MACA names between the paper and the roster on Maxpreps.
I hope more than a few players, parents and fans take the trouble to check out my blogs. Also, don't forget to check your team's home page on Maxpreps.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA girls keep climbing with sweep of EV-W

Tigers 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
MACA volleyball kept climbing in the Section 3AA playoffs Tuesday night at home. We hosted a North semi-finals match. The Tigers took care of business in the minimum three games. We prevailed over Eden Valley-Watkins by these scores: 25-17, 25-17 and 25-21. Our overall season record now is 18-6. EV-W ends its season with an 18-10 mark.
Liz Dietz batted two serving aces while Kenzie Stahman had one. Our setting stalwarts were LaRae Kram with 18 assists and Dietz with 16. Bailey Marty was at the fore with her hitting prowess, powering ten kills. Lexi Pew had nine kills, Kenzie Hockel eight and Jen Solvie seven. Then we have Emma Berlinger with four kills and Riley Decker, Kram and Sophie Carlsen each with two.
Pew powered four ace blocks. Solvie and Kram each had one ace block. In digs it was Decker leading the way with 16 followed by Marty with 15, Hockel with eight and Macey Libbesmeier with seven.
Senior captains Marty and Decker are setting an example with their leadership.
Next: the North title match set for today (Thursday, Nov. 1) against No. 1 seed Paynesville at Minnewaska. Match-time is 7 p.m.
 
Football: Pillager 28, Tigers 7
Winning one game in post-season got MACA the opportunity to make the very long trip to Pillager for Round 2. It's quite far to the north. It's in the same neighborhood as the old El-Ray truck stop and cafe. I saw the place when I went to Pillager for post-season softball involving the Tigers. I rode with the Exners and I think we made two trips there. I recall complaints after the first game that Pillager hadn't gone out of its way to host a section-level softball game. So for the second game, they at least had a little hot dog concession set up. Please be aware re. me that I remember lots of minute things.
It's beautiful country up there to be sure. But I'm getting a little old to embrace such long trips from Morris. It looked like the old El-Ray building has been replaced by a new one. And, checking the Internet, I think it has a new name now, "Brick's." My recently-deceased mother was a native of nearby Brainerd. I hung around there some in my youth.
Is it true that the Saturday (10/27) game had its starting time moved earlier than what was originally announced? I heard it was, based on what I picked up at DeToy's Restaurant Saturday a.m. The visiting fans should not have to make such a long trip home late at night. It's really a safety issue.
The game didn't bring many highlights for our MACA Tigers. Yes, we got within seven points on the scoreboard during the third quarter. Our fans could embrace hope. Hope faded as the seventh-ranked (in Minnesota AA) Huskies of Pillager seized the momentum after that. The Huskies scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the ball carried by Luke Woidyla and Tucker Peterson. Pillager ended up in line with its state-ranked billing, and MACA had the books closed on its season. Surely there were lots of season highlights for orange and black fans to savor.
But the day belonged to the Huskies Saturday. Their Tucker Peterson rumbled for 97 yards in 20 carries. Pillager's rushing yards totaled 235. And on defense, the Huskies presented a state-ranked sheen too. They clamped down to hold the Tigers to 45 yards rushing and 50 through the air. Now the Huskies are readying to play Osakis who holds the No. 3 rank in AA. Pillager and Osakis will vie in the Fargodome.
It was Pillager getting the scoring going on Saturday: Jack Bentson ran the ball in from the three. Peterson added two with a conversion run. The score was 8-0 at the end of the first quarter. Pillager also scored the game's second TD which came in the second quarter. Peterson showed his pass-catching flair, making an eleven-yard reception that had Erik Peterson throwing the ball. The conversion was no-go. The Tigers had to accept a goose egg on the scoreboard at halftime.
Camden Arndt injected optimism for Tiger fans with his 13-yard TD run in the third. Eli Grove added the PAT and now it's a one-possession game, score of 14-7. But the fourth quarter would belong to the Huskies. Two touchdowns later, Pillager could begin setting their thoughts on the 6AA championship game, to be played on Friday, Nov. 2 (3 p.m.). Pillager's final touchdown on the night, the Tucker Peterson four-yard run, was followed by Hunger Gjovik's successful conversion run.
The final score: 28-7. I would have had a couple cups of black coffee at the El-Ray (Brick's?) before heading home. I remember being at the El-Ray once when a motorcycle game pulled in. You don't forget that sort of thing.
The total offense numbers were 95 yards for Motown and 258 for Pillager. Arndt was held down as his rushing yards were 58, on 13 carries. Other Tigers had minimal impact carrying the football: Matt McNeill, Jack Riley, Kenny Soderberg and Colton Scheldorf.
Tucker Peterson was joined in the Pillager rushing attack by Woidyla, Bentson and Gjovik.
Our quarterback Durgin Decker found the going rough against the Pillager defense. Decker is fairly new to the varsity scheme of things. He got another dose of valuable experience Saturday but it was not a night for him to excel: five completions in 19 attempts with one interception, 50 yards. Credit Pillager's defense. Erik Peterson did Pillager's minimal passing and had two of seven numbers, zero interceptions and 23 yards.
Colton Scheldorf had three of our catches for 35 yards. Arndt and Riley had our other catches. The two Pillager receptions were by Spencer Schaefer and Tucker Peterson.
MACA football had an entertaining 6-4 campaign in 2018. Now it's time to cheer for volleyball as we begin to anticipate winter! Remember the year of the Halloween blizzard?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com