Ramblings: A Piece of My Mind

By Dave Adkins

I like the idea of a sentimental-historical approach to articles about Grinnell and other topics. Maybe there is no past or no future, only the present. I have a good memory, which is my main research tool. Share ideas and establish contact with old friends and others. Somehow, I believe the blogs on aging are of some value to others. Feedback confirms that. It gives me something worthwhile to do. Too much leisure can be the booby prize of retirement, as can be too much activity. This is a collection of essays which I have written and arranged in a reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent and moving back in time with the others. The main topic of the articles is Grinnell, Iowa, my hometown, but there are also other subjects discussed. They are a historic, nostalgic treatment of many facets of life there in the 1940s and 1950s including Grinnell College and Grinnell High School sporting events, customs in the neighborhoods back then, and the inevitable topic of aging and life as a septuagenarian. The articles on aging are written with my GHS class of 1957 classmates in mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503564565

Dave Adkins

I have written these articles and essays which are mainly historical-nostalgic and also on the topic of aging. They were published on the Grinnell, Iowa website ourgrinnell.com under the heading of Readers Share Thoughts. I was born in Grinnell, graduated from Grinnell High School in 1957 and Cornell College in 1962. I have a Master's Degree from Iowa State University and the University of Leon and a Doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University. I have lived and worked on Okinawa, in Mozambique and in Australia

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Copyright © 2015 by Dave Adkins.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5035-6457-2

                eBook           978-1-5035-6456-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 04/23/2015

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Strong Voices from The Past

Chapter 2: The Barber

Chapter 3: Sweet Bird of Youth Flown Away

Chapter 4: Hep with a New Hip

Chapter 5: Memories of John

Chapter 6: Fitness – A Two Edged Sword

Chapter 7: Trip Home – Summer of 2014

Chapter 8: World Series of Soccer

Chapter 9: Christmas in Mozambique

Chapter 10: Tehuacan, Mexico

Chapter 11: Lady with a Cane

Chapter 12: Stranger Than Fiction

Chapter 13: Letters to Editor

Chapter 14: T.T. Cranny – The Principal

Chapter 15: Caveat to Volunteering

Chapter 16: 1951 Grinnell Tigers State Tournament Basketball Team

Chapter 17: Here’s Johnny!

Chapter 18: Student Interest and Effort Can Make a Difference: The Origins of Wrestling, Baseball and Tennis as Sports at Grinnell High School

Chapter 19: Fiction based on Fact: Psych Ward

Chapter 20: The Historic Old Monroe Hotel in Grinnell: Site – 3rd Avenue and Park Street

Chapter 21: Fast Company at Grinnell College – Harry, Jimmy, Morgan and Hap

Chapter 22: Aging: Part 1

Chapter 23: Aging 2 View from 75 Years of Living

Chapter 24: Aging 3 - An Essay

Chapter 25: Teaching and Coaching in a Small Iowa High School 50 Years Ago

Chapter 26: Walk Around the Square in Old Grinnell in My Mind’s Eye

Chapter 27: The Family Named Torres of Grinnell: La familia se llama Torres de Grinnell

Chapter 28: Grinnell High School Football Team - 1954 and 1955 Seasons

Chapter 29: The Band Bowl - 1948 Mythical Championship of Poweshiek County

Chapter 30: The Grinnell Academy of Fine Arts – the Pool Hall

Chapter 31: Grinnell History - Jobs for a Kid in Grinnell in the 50’s and 60’s

About the Author

PHOTO IDENTIFICATION AND CREDITS

1. Old Congregational Church in Grinnell courtesy of Drake Library

2. Dave Adkins photo from Dave Adkins and Geneva Adkins collection

3. Graduation Photo of Christisons courtesy of Dale and Barbara Christison

4. Chris in Navy Uniform courtesy of D. and B. Christison

5. Grinnell Junior High Basketball Team 1953 courtesy of Grinnell H-R

6. Grinnell Junior High Schools girls courtesy of D. and B. Christison

7. 90th Birthday Photo courtesy of D. and B. Christison

8. Ave Adkins, Ray Standerwick in Barber Shop courtesy Grinnell Herald Register

9. Calvin Bruton from Calvin Bruton Collection in Australia

10. Ave Adkins cutting hair of French diplomat Courtesy of Grinnell Herald Register

11. Cal Bruton and Steve Carfino from Calvin Bruton collection

12. Depot Scene of returning Iowans from Alaska probably taken by Helen Olson, courtesy of Wayne Olson collection.

13. 9th Avenue Cardinals Courtesy of Grinnell Herald Register

14. Boy on bike at 9th and Main From Irene Adkins collection

15. D. Adkins guarded by Bob Musser courtesy of Grinnell Herald Register

16. D. Adkins with Chica in Grand Rapids, MI D. Adkins collection

17. 1332 Main Street in Grinnell from Dave and Geneva Adkins collection.

18. Market in Lorenzo Marques, Mozambique 1973 taken by Geneva Adkins

19. Zulu boy with herd in Zululand, Africa 1973 taken by Geneva adkins

20. Action shot at Sporting Pavillion Lourenzo Marques, Moz. courtesy of Alexander Franco

21. The Chargoy family - 4 generations- of Tehuacan, Mexico.

22. La Lonja Restauant in Tehuacan, Mexico courtesy of Joel Chargoy III collection

23. Hotel Mexico in Tehuacan, Mexico courtesy of Joel Chargoy III collection

24. TT Cranny from GHS 1917 annual: Irene Adkins collection

25. Jerry Hagen, Jack Marcum photo by Jack Mathew ourgrinnell.com

26. 1951 Grinnell Tiger team provided by Jerry Hagen from his collection

27. Johnny Orr courtesy of Mike Green Director of Sports Communication at ISU

28. GHS Girls Tennis courtesy of scan from Drake Library Grinnell, Iowa

29. GHS Boys Tennis courtesy of scan from Drake Library Grinnell, Iowa

30. GHS Baseball 1956 provided by Rick Ramsey photo courtesy of Grinnell H-R

31. Still Osteopathic Hospital Des Moines Courtesy of Des Moines University

32. Monroe Hotel courtesy of Ivan Sheets collection-from Drake Library

33. Hap Moran at Grinnell College courtesy of Rev. Michael Morgan

34. Another photo of Hap Moran on campus at Grinnell - Rev. M. Moran

35. Ken Cessna Courtesy of K. Cessna Estate (Edith Cessna)

36. Shineland from collection of Avery and Irene Adkins

37. Old Grinnell High School Courtesy of Drake Library

38. Parker School Courtesy of Drake Library

39. Prairie City Gym Courtesy of Dick McKlveen and P.C. Historical Society

40. Prairie City Girls Team D. Adkins collection purchased from Newton Daily News: Ed Peck

41. Prairie City Boys Team D. Adkins collection purchased from Newton Daily News: Ed Peck

42. Queen-Olson Furniture Store – courtesy of Wayne Olson collection

43. Family Torres in Grinnell Courtesy of LaVerne and Sheila Latcham

44. Hispanic Group Courtesy of Mario Morales of El Enfoque news

45. Photo of Bill Weeks Courtesy of Mike Green ISU Sports Communication

46. 1948 Grinnell HS football team courtesy of Ken Cessna estate (Edith Cessna)

47. Main Street of Grinnell in 1943 courtesy of Drake Library from Jim McNally collection.

48. Fifth Avenue Barber Shop (building) photo by Jack Mathews ourgrinnell.com

49. One Lomond Terrace- Brisbane, Australia from collection of Dave and Geneva Adkins

50. McNally’s Food Market – photo by Jack Mathews ourgrinnell.com

INTRODUCTION

This group of articles (blogs) was written by Dave Adkins for his (my) Blog Site. This book has been published for those who read the blogs first online and want to preserve the articles for themselves or for their family members or for those who have seen them for the first time; therefore, they have been made into a hard copy – book form.

A special thank you to the Grinnell Herald Register and the Pinder family. When Al and Dorothy Pinder moved to Grinnell in the late 1940’s, they rented a small apartment at the NE corner of Main and 9th Avenue, directly across the street from 1332 Main St., site of the Adkins family home. Al was a good friend of Ave Adkins and the two talked frequently about local issues and breaking stories around town at the 5th Avenue Barber Shop, directly south across 5th Avenue from the H-R building.

The vacant lot directly behind 1332 Main was the scene of seasonal sports played by neighborhood kids. Al always stopped a moment to observe what was going on in the way of kids in sandlot action. If he saw something of particular interest or heard about it, he would often dispatch a photographer to snap a shot of the team of budding Grinnell athletes for the H-R. He did the same at the 5th Avenue Barber Shop, as in the photo of Ave Adkins and Ray Standerwick which appears in the first piece in this book – The Barber.

A shout out to Jack Mathews, creator of ourgrinnell.com, the local web site, who provided the idea to write historical-sentimental articles on Old Grinnell and for the suggestion to write a book on the Grinnell of the 40’s and 50’s, which I did with Home Town Memories of Grinnell, More Home Town Memories and Essays on Old Grinnell.

Thank you to Marilyn Kennett and the Drake Library for helping me track down my unusual questions about the past in the old home town.

Every effort has been made to give credit for photos and other quoted information used in this book. In that the focus of the book is historical, many of these go as far back as the 1920’s. At times, the photographer in question has long since closed his doors with no recorded continuity of ownership and these works could be classified in the public domain.

Readers are invited to make regular visits to http://daveadkinsgrinnell.wordpress.com for monthly articles covering a variety of topics.

Ramblings – A Piece of My Mind

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Photo 1: Classic old photo of the landmark Congregational Church at the corner of Broad Street and Fourth Avenue and the old Grinnell High School looking from Broad Street across the corner of Central Park. Photo courtesy of Drake Community Library in Grinnell, Iowa.

What is a blog, blogger and a blog site? For our purposes here, a blog is an article or a collection of articles (a blogger is a writer) and a blog site is the place on line where the blog appears – like a web site. The blogs here appear in reverse chronological order and the newest article (blog) can be accessed under Current Blog and the rest of the articles under Blog by Title. See these selections -Current Blog and Blog by Title – at the top of this Home Page.

Why maintain a blog? Ego gratification – of course, it comes in small quantities in retirement. You have to create your own game. Desire to express self – Yes, I like to write, which goes to the heart and soul of a subject and written words remain around for a while; in speaking, the words disappear immediately into thin air. Keep the past in some sort of order – Yes, I like the idea of a sentimental-historical approach to articles about Grinnell and other topics. Maybe there is no past or no future, only the present. I have a good memory, which is my main research tool. Share ideas and establish contact with old friends and others – Somehow, I believe the blogs on aging are of some value to others. Feedback confirms that. It gives me something worthwhile to do – Too much leisure can be the booby prize of retirement, as can be too much activity. This is a collection of essays which I have written and are arranged in a reverse chronological order – starting with the most recent and moving back in time with the others. The main topic of the articles is Grinnell, Iowa, my hometown, but there are also other subjects discussed. They are a historic-nostalgic treatment of many facets of life there in the 1940’s and 1950’s including Grinnell College and Grinnell High School sporting events, customs in the neighborhoods back then, and the inevitable topic of aging and life as a septuagenarian. The articles on aging are written with my GHS class of 1957 classmates in mind.

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Photo 2: The author from Dave and Geneva Adkins collection.

Dave Adkins GHS 1957, B.A. Cornell College ’62, M.A. Northeast Missouri State ’70, Doctorate Middle Tennessee State ’75 – all in HPER. M.A. Iowa State 2004 (Interdepartmental Spanish and Portuguese), M.A. University of Leon (Spanish) 2010. Teacher-coach West Liberty, Iowa, Prairie City, Iowa and Dept. of Defense Schools on Okinawa; Grad assistant instructor and basketball coach – Middle Tennessee State; basketball coach in Lourenzo Marques, Mozambique (Africa) – coached Sporting Club of Lourenzo Marques to National C’ship of Portugal in Luanda, Angola in 1973; State Director of Coaching in Queensland, Australia; Head coach of Hobart Devils in Australian NBL; overseas player agent; adjunct instructor in Spanish at Des Moines Area Community College 2001-2010.

Last lap project was starting at age 60 and then dedicating the next 10 years to reading, writing, traveling, interacting, and studying Spanish attaining near native fluency, which I use daily, and also fluency in Portuguese, which I use frequently. Interacting online with old and new friends along with colleagues in Mexico, Portugal and Mozambique give color to my days.

The idea is to keep learning, a day at a time. Retired with wife Geneva, who I met in Lourenzo Marques when she was there with U.S. State Dept. in Corpus Christi, Texas. Geneva was busy doing and completing the 10 year Great Books Reading Program designed by Mortimer Adler while I was reading Spanish literature for one decade. Our beloved pet is Holly, Dalmatian-Lab mix. Author of 6 books – Home Town Memories of Grinnell, Iowa; More Home Town Memories of Grinnell; Memories of Cornell College; Journey in Overseas Basketball; Essays on Old Grinnell; and Gringoismos – Bilingual Essays. (All Available). Also, please check out the interview I did recently with Big Slam, a Portuguese web site: http://bigslam.pt/destaques/dave-adkins-um-americano-muito-mocambicano-por-alexandre-ribeiro-franco/

CHAPTER 1: STRONG VOICES FROM THE PAST

April 6th, 2015

In the spring of 2014 I received an email – a strong voice from the past – from Dale Christison, who taught at Grinnell Jr. High School from 1951-54 and was very popular with the class of 1957. Chris graduated from Grinnell College in 1949 and his wife, Barbara, in 1950. He worked at Maytag after graduation for a year, then did a master’s degree in Colorado. They then decided to return to accept a teaching and coaching job with the Grinnell schools, which he held for three years. He casually stated in that first email – I’m 90 now and Barb is 86.

They sounded great. They live in California in a senior apartment and Chris wanted to know about all members of our class so I sent him a photo of the class of 1957 at their 55th reunion with names identified. He has vivid recall of most of these classmates and asked about them. Two things that stood out in our email communications – I picture my correspondents, Chris and Barb Christison, as they were in Grinnell in the 1950’s and also how eager classmates were to get back in touch with them. Wayne Olson, Sharp Lannom, Joel Prescott, Dan Hillman, Ann DeLong, Patty Peak and Bob Parmley (’56) all touched base with the Christisons immediately upon hearing an update on their whereabouts – first contact in like 60 years!

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Photo 3 of Dale and Barbara Christison as seniors at Grinnell College – he graduated in 1949 and she in 1950. Coutesy of the Christison’s collection.

Dale Christison was born June 7, 1924 in Walcott, Iowa and had one brother. He attended Coe College one year before his entry into WW II combat in the U.S. Navy. He graduated from West Liberty, Iowa High School in 1941 and after the year at Coe fought in WWII and then studied at Grinnell College and received his B.A. in 1950, later he earned an M.A. from Western State in Gunnison, Colorado.

Born in 1928 in Morristown, New Jersey Barbara had one sister. She graduated from Pelham, New York High School in 1946 and from Grinnell College in 1950 where she majored in Elementary Education. Dale and Barb were married in the fall of her senior year at Grinnell on September 1, 1949. Barbara is an artist – I mentioned to her that I would like to have a farm scene of Iowa for our Texas home with a barn, snow, etc. and she painted exactly what I had suggested and it is now on my wall of our den. She is very good and has a great touch with a brush and colors. Chris is a skilled woodworker and avid stamp collector, although he says that he no longer works in his shop on wood projects.

Dale taught for three years at Grinnell Junior High School and later in Pelham, New York; Punta Gorda, Florida and Englewood, Florida. These two, life- long companions, have moved seven times – to Gunnison, Colorado; Shrub Oak, New York; Port Charlotte, Florida; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Peoria, Arizona; Leesburg, Florida and Rancho Palos Verdes, California where they now reside. Dale worked as a teacher and coach and Barbara as a full time mother, pre- school teacher and a printer for a department store. The Christisons have five children – two girls and three boys – and eight grandchildren. They were married Sept. 1, 1949.

Graduating from high school in 1941 in West Liberty, then spending that one year at Coe College, WW II was going strong. Chris left Coe behind, joined the U.S. Navy and served from Nov. 1942-Feb 1946 with no home leave during that period in Pacific combat at Guadalcanal and two years in the Solomon Islands. The Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the turning points in favor of the Allies in WW II. This historic victory was the first major offensive for the Allies in the Pacific theatre of the war. Gaining control of the air base at Guadalcanal, later known as Henderson Field, was crucial in the sealines of communication between the United States and Australia and allowed the Allies to gain advantage in the sea, air and ground war against Japan.

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Photo 4 of Dale Christison in the U.S. Navy. He was in the Pacific theater of WWII 1942-1946 without home leave. Photo courtesy of and from personal collection of Dale and Barbara Christison.

Chris was in the Navy Air Force which served only on land bases and never on a carrier. They were called CASU units (carrier aircraft service units). He reported that what they couldn’t fix on the carriers they sent on shore to CASU units where they had our own fleets of planes His unit island hopped- as soon as one isle was secure they hopped on towards Japan – he was an aviation ordinance man dealing with bombs, guns and sometimes aerial gunnery.

The significance of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal is explained by historian Eric Hammel:

On November 12, 1942, the (Japanese) Imperial Navy had the better ships and the better tactics. After November 15, 1942, its leaders lost heart and it lacked the strategic depth to face the burgeoning U.S. Navy and its vastly improving weapons and tactics. The Japanese never got better while, after November 1942, the U.S. Navy never stopped getting better.

After the war, while still in the service, but finally back on U.S. soil, he coached basketball teams at Alameda Naval Air Station in California. Coach Chris had two players on those teams who went on to fame in big time college basketball meeting in the 1949 NCAA Finals at Madison Square Garden.

A good all round athlete and having participated in football, basketball and baseball at West Liberty High School, Chris had hoped to play college sports at Grinnell. After transferring from Coe after the war, he talked to John Pfitsch about coming out for basketball and the coach discouraged him as he had a strong nucleus in place. As a resident of Clark Hall at Grinnell College, Chris was elected hall president but could not serve because he was married and living in an apartment. He pitched Clark to an IM title in the competitive intramural softball league.

Coach Chris also pitched in the Grinnell City Softball League in the summer for the Pfluegerville Pflashes, a team organized by John Pfitsch with players all from the college faculty and staff – Hank Brown (football coach), Earl Peisner (basketball player), Jim Kissane (English), George Apostle (math professor), Sparky Parker (football player and phenomenal gloveless left fielder), etc. The team won some games and also was recognized as an important link in town –gown interaction. In spite of his love of the other sports, swimming was his forte and he relates the following story:

It seems that a few of the boys (all vets) were at the E’s (3 Elms Restaurant close to campus and a favorite college watering hole) hoisting a few when talking of swimming, of all things I had mentioned that Irv Simone, the Pioneer swimming coach, had sent for me to come over to the pool, as he heard I could swim fast. The upshot of it was that there were bets going around that I could or could not beat one of the swim team boys who was sitting there with us drinking. What happened is that we went to the college pool, broke in and raced (I won). I made a few bucks that night and was damned lucky I among others didn’t get kicked out of school. Also, were you aware of the tunnel that used to go from the men’s to the women’s residences? That’s how the girls got their beer deliveries at times.

In addition to his academic work and participation in IM sports year round, Coach Chris worked as a volunteer for Uncle Sam’s Club in Grinnell. He recalls walking from the college campus, past the Community Hospital, across the tracks and on to Sam’s Club to play sports and other games with the Grinnell kids there. He said that he remembers Larry Ellis, Eldon Criswell and Jim Van Draska as three of the Sam’s crew, three that he later coached at GJHS in football and basketball.

Another prominent student at Grinnell at the time and also a resident of Clark Hall was Robert Noyce, who later co-founded the Intel Corporation of Silicon Valley and is credited with the development of the microchip which opened the door for the use of personal computers around the world. Known as the Mayor of Silicon Valley and as the modern day Thomas Edison, Noyce, son of a preacher and a preacher’s daughter, was a precocious student in class of 1945 at Grinnell High School and at Grinnell College.

As a student, Bob Noyce will also be remembered for the infamous pig stealing incident. In his junior year, Clark Hall was planning a luau so Noyce decided to steal a (25 pound) pig from a farm just north of the Grinnell Country Club. He was said, after stealing it, to have butchered it with help of others, then placed an apple in its mouth and it was served at the party. This was obviously a childish thing to do for such a brilliant young man. The farmer, of course, saw no humor in this foolish and damaging prank. Noyce was summarily dismissed from Grinnell for a semester and it took some strong support from his mentor, Professor Grant Gale, and college president, Sam Stevens, to have him readmitted which allowed him to eventually graduate with a Grinnell diploma in 1949. I asked Coach Chris if he remembered Noyce and he responded as follows:

"You bet I knew him–he lived 2 doors down from me at one time. Always studying–can you imagine that? When the rest of us were studying at the 3 Elms, he was always at