Fall Fulminations

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

Ongoing conflicts around the globe – 2021

(Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the video at the end of the post and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #1)

“Fulmination” is defined as “a vehement objection or protest.“ Normally, autumn is my favorite time of year – football, beautiful weather and spirit of optimism and community before the winter rains in the Northwest.

Yet with the state of global events, US politics, earthquakes and climate disasters and it seems – every headline – one wants to scream in protest, especially for the terrible conditions faced by the citizens in Israel, Palestine and the Ukraine to name just a few.

So remembering that a blog about bars and breweries seems trite and maybe inappropriate in light of this turmoil, I offer my fervent prayers for all affected by these issues and will try distracting with some light-hearted topics.

Although fall is rapidly fading away and the holidays are imminent, here are a few issues I want to address – in some cases to gripe and others to offer thanks and share my appreciation.

But First…..

While this is a blog about bars and breweries and the meanderings of my cranium, it behooves me to offer this word of caution as we enter the holiday season.

So take the advice of a slogan in the front of one of my favorite dive bars – Lumpy’s Landing in Dundee, Oregon: (#2 – #3)

Lumpys2

An Apparent Incongruity?

After back fusion surgery in 2022, I underwent very good physical therapy at Advance Sports and Spine Therapy in Wilsonville, Oregon for several months. Everything was then fine until this September, when in preparation for our forthcoming move, I pulled some tires out of our crawl space and messed up something.

So I returned and my Physical Therapist, Jeff Cox, did his usual good job of getting me “back” to where I was before I got stupid! As I was waiting in the reception area before my final visit, I was glancing at a brochure entitled, “What You Can Do to Prevent Falls.”

It was a sunny, autumn day and I looked up and saw the following poster by the reception window and laughingly said to the wonderful receptionist, “Joselyn, do you really think that sign is appropriate for a Physical Therapy Clinic?”

Photo Nov 02 2023, 9 16 16 AM

Joselyn, shook her head and replied, “Don, you’re the first person who has ever asked that question.” Jeff overheard the dialogue as he came out to get me, smiled and said, “Well, maybe that is a good business development strategy!”

And Speaking of Falls……

Those following this blog since its inception in 2011 know that I’m an Oregon State University grad (Class of ’70) and love Beaver Athletics. It’s interesting – especially during football season since my wife, Janet, is a University of Oregon Duck and my older daughter, Lisa, and her husband are both of Husky ilk – he a third-generation University of Washington grad.

My Fall Fulminations are heightened as I am appalled and saddened with the “Fall” of the PAC 12 Athletic Conference. Known as the Conference of Champions, it has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference in history. (#4)

It’s moniker is now the PAC 2, since all the schools other than Oregon State and Washington State have abandoned it for other Power 5 Conferences. Fortunately, the two schools were granted a preliminary injunction in Washington State Superior Court.

The judge ruled that they were now the sole voting members of the Pac-12’s governing board and granted full control of the Conference’ assets and how its revenue for the 2023-24 school year will be divided. That decision is temporarily held in abeyance as the Washington Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of the preliminary injunction last week.

I’m not unduly bitter about the decision of the other schools, but disgusted that this demise could have been delayed or more likely never occurred if the PAC 12 Board of Governors (University Presidents) had instead, exerted reasonable control over former Commissioner Larry Scott who commenced his tenure in July, 2009.

But they sat placidly by and totally acquiesced until they fired him in 2020 as he overspent, including shifting the Pac-12 offices into a multi-story building in San Francisco that cost conference members a total of $92 million in rent over 11 years – a rate significantly higher than that of other Power 5 conference headquarters. The staffing organization he left behind was in a shambles.

Our boy Larry was new to college athletics except for being captain of the Harvard Tennis Team in 1986. Before coming to the Pac 12, he was the CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association.

His gamble to form the independent Pac-12 Network, which failed to gain distribution nationally and in assorted cable markets was his worst mistake. All this while they paid him an exorbitant salary. According to Awful Announcing.com:

“Scott’s compensation varied over time, starting at $1.9 million annually but reaching more than $4 million by his fifth year and more than $5 million by his ninth year…..” (#4 – #5)

His successor, George Kliavkoff, who like Scott, had no college sports experience, failed to remedy the problems and muffed TV negotiations which dealt the final blow. (#7)

But I Digress – Let’s Celebrate the Beaver History!

Oregon Historical Society Exhibit

My fondness for Beaver Teams was “kicked off” in my sophomore year when I watched what would become known as the fabled 1967 Oregon State Giant Killers knock off an OJ Simpson led USC Trojan Team – rated number one in the nation – on a dreary 1967 fall day in Corvallis.

I paid tribute to them in this post: https://thebeerchaser.com/2018/05/20/the-1967-osu-giant-killers-beerchasers-of-the-quarter-part-i/ (#8)

gkwebsitewelcomeheader

My OSU classmates will never forget that day and the inspirational Beaver record that year under iconic Coach Dee Andros (the Great Pumpkin) was historic.

I was fortunate to live in the Oregon State SAE fraternity with eleven members of that team. (Larry Rich, Don Whitney, Roger Cantlon, Duane Barton, Jess Lewis, Jim Blackford, Don Welch, Chris Wahle, Clyde Smith and Jim Scheele.)

And the Beav’s positive history with USC continued over the years (albeit a bit exaggerated in comparison to 1967) by The Oregonian when the banner headline on the September 26, 2008 Sports Page shouted “Giant Killers III.”

This was after the Beavers beat No. 1 rated USC 27 to 21 at Reser Stadium. The accompanying article also asserted that Giant Killers II was the October 28, 2006 game in Corvallis when OSU beat the third-rated Trojans 33 to 31.

I was at that game thirty-nine years after the Beavs toppled the No 1 Trojans the first time). (#9 – #10) https://www.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2008/09/the_giant_killers_times_3.html

The Huskies

Unfortunately, my efforts to prove to my daughter and son-in-law, Jamie, that the Beavs are superior to the Huskies have been far less productive – both at Reser Stadium and Husky Stadium. (Note the score in the picture below when we attended at Reser.)

The gridiron facility was completely renovated from 2011-13, with Jamie’s Dad, Jon Magnusson and his team from the Magnusson Klemencic firm doing the structural engineering work. (They were also key players in the 2023 renovation of Reser.)

The Civil War

The “Civil War” – the 127th meeting of the Ducks and the Beavers played today, may be the last time this rivalry game is played. Next year is somewhat doubtful as the only potential date would involve a Duck buyout of Boise State.

As stated at the beginning of a wonderful book by the five-time winner of the Oregon Sportswriter of the Year Award, Kerry Eggers entitled, The Civil War Rivalry – Oregon vs Oregon State:

“Thirty-five years after Oregon reached statehood and fewer than 30 years after the end of the Great War between the Union and Confederate States, the University of Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) met on the gridiron on a sawdust field in front of 500 curious observers….The Farmers beat the Lemon-Yellows 16 to 0…that cold, wet November day in 1894.”

This historic rivalry – one of college football’s oldest – has provided many hours of great banter in the family, at the law firm where I worked and with friends across the country. (#11 – #12)

And Finally

As I fulminate on the probable loss – or at least the diminution – of this great tradition, I’ll leave you with my favorite Civil War joke and hope the 16th-rated Beavs pull off the upset over the No. 6 Quackers later today. (#13)

Happy Holidays!

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Albert Einstein arrives at a party in Eugene and introduces himself to to the first person he sees and asks, “What is your IQ,” to which the man answers, “241.” “Wonderful,” says Albert, ” We will discuss the Grand Unification Theory and the mysteries of the universe.”

Next, he introduces himself to a woman and inquires, “What is your IQ,” to which the woman replies, ” 207.” “That’s great,” said the physicist, “We can discuss politics and the scientific implications of world affairs. We’ll have much to discuss.”

He approaches a third person and asks, “What is your IQ,” to which the guy holding a beer, answers, “51.” Einstein ponders this for a micro-second and says, “Go Ducks!” (#9)

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Ongoing conflicts around the world in 2021.svg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: wikimedia 9 July 2021.

#2. Lumpy’s Landing Facebook Page (Facebook).

#3. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thinkinag_woman.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Xuan Zheng – 11 October 2009.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Pac12logo.png) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Ryanishungry – 9 October 2022.

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_racket_-_The_Noun_Project.svg) The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law. James Keuning – 18 December 2017.

#6. Linked In site for George KIiavkoff) (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kliavkoff/overlay/photo/).

#7. Oregon Historical Society.

#8 – #10. Jud Blakely (https://vimeo.com/1552809)

#11. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BennyBeaverPhoto.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Flickr user “VRC Jeremy” – 2 March 2008.

*12. Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Duck#/media/File:The_Oregon_Duck_.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Ray Terrill – 19 November 2011.

#13. (https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/11962755238966344/) Fernanda Gomes saved to Christmas – http://pbs.twimg.com)

Did We Really Do That – Part II – The Tie That Binds…

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.) (External Photo Attribution at the end of the post #1)

In my last post – Part I of this series, I reflected on a past antic by some friends and me when I was in my mid-twenties. It caused me to both laugh and wonder what I (we) were thinking when we undertook it. (In that case it was crashing an Electrical Union Apprentices’ Graduation Ceremony at a high-end motel.)

My crazy dentist and I receiving our motorwinder diplomas.

The next incidents occurred over ten years later when I was married and my wife, Janet, exerted at least some influence to keep me from making a fool of myself. And during these, I was working in legal management, so I also was a bit more restrained.

The Tie That Binds

I left local government in 1979 to work as the Business Manager at the Oregon State Bar – starting three days after Janet and I got engaged at the Top-of-the-Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco.

The Bar was both a public corporation and an arm of the State Judicial Branch – responsible for the Bar Exam, admission and lawyer discipline and ethics for what was then about 7,000 Oregon lawyers. (It’s now over 12,000) (#2)

The Bar also serves as a professional association for attorneys and provides Continuing Legal Education (CLE), an excellent magazine as well as activities and events which are intended to mentor lawyers and improve their practice management.

To help us with the latter function, the Bar was a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) ASAE was founded in 1920, is headquartered in Washington DC and has about 42,000 individual members who work at 7,400 diverse organizations ranging from the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, to the American Health Care Association to the Louisville Tourism Bureau. (#3)

Each year, ASAE has an Annual Conference in a major US city:

“The ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition is where thousands of association professionals and industry partners gather to exchange knowledge, resources, strategies, solutions, and more.

Over three days of learning, growing and finding inspiration, attendees are equipped with a year’s worth of support in their daily responsibilities as leaders in the association industry.”

It was a big deal and proposals for presentations for the 50-minute breakout sessions were to be submitted and screened about nine months before the Conference. In 2024, the event is in Cleveland and in 2025 in LA.

At the Bar, we encouraged managers to get involved in civic and professional activities, so I thought I would propose a session at the Chicago conference in what I think was 1994.

Each of the break-out sessions has about 100 + attendees. I had not presented before that many people (other than a failed effort campaigning for Oregon City High School Student Body President in 1965…)

As a masterstroke, I decided to ask my Oregon State SAE Fraternity brother, Jud Blakely, who lived in Chicago to co-present with me. Jud graduated five years before I did at Oregon State and made his mark as ASOSU Student Body President in 1965. I was going to be somewhat nervous; however, Jud was an accomplished and charismatic speaker.

After graduation, Jud served heroically as a USMC Platoon Leader in Viet Nam for thirteen months and subsequently opened his own very successful consulting firm Jud Blakely, Ltd.

He wrote speeches and publications for CEOs and top corporate executives and coached them how to make presentations. His clients included Shell Oil, Sea First, Rainier Bank and Lonestar Gas.

Every association executive has to present an annual budget to his or her board to adopt, so I would propose a session on “How to Make a Boring Budget Proposal One that Your Board Will Both Enjoy and Approve.”

I called Jud and he agreed and we both acknowledged that we wouldn’t have time to rehearse prior to “launching.” I said I’d draft the outline and do the submission paperwork and Jud said:

“Don, you can do the fundamentals. I’ll be your wingman and periodically chime in with some words of wisdom on presentation tactics and strategy.”

Jud was a high-profile consultant and I knew that one of the reasons he was so successful was his creative and brash approach.

Evidence dated back to his senior year at OSU when Jud and three other OSU seniors went on what was to be a stealth mission and lit the traditional “Rook Bonfire,” the night before the planned lighting ceremony in 1964. (#4)

A Night Early?

In what became OSU historical lore known as “the bonfire incident,” Jud and two of the others got caught and arrested for “Maliciously and willfully starting a fire.”

Fortunately, the Municipal Judge, one Helmut Schreima, could not find that specific provision in the Corvallis Municipal Code and our boys were only charged with “burning without a permit” and fined $15 each (Jud’s beer money for the month but he also had to forfeit his student body office.)

Trial by Fire at OSU

A column from the OSU Daily Barometer (written by Editor, Rich Hansen) expressed sentiments about Jud’s leadership talent and his ability to arouse (?) students:

“….Seldom has the office of President been so alive in campus conversations or has the President’s name been so often repeated. I’m convinced that it has been a long time since OSU has had a president so well suited for the office as Jud Blakely.

Blakely is not only an intellectual and dynamic leader but retains those school-boy qualities that make him a human being – the zeal for school spirit and his subsequent bout with municipal authorities (bonfire incident) is a recent example. He drew enormous criticism and even more teasing for that stunt, but in the end it achieved its goal. It revived spirit and got students participating again.

Nevertheless, for the first time in my memory the student body is excited, or at least aroused, about what’s going on. From the hand-made sign that someone carried to the game reading, ‘Ban Blakely’ to the chants of ‘We want Blakely’……”

I wasn’t sure that our goal was to “arouse” attendees, but I would have an “intellectual and dynamic” wingman by my side to assuage my nerves during the ASAE presentation.

To reinforce that, I knew that even though we didn’t have time to prepare together, I could be confident that Jud would approach this mission with the same vigor and grit that he commanded his platoon in Viet Nam which resulted in two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star with Combat V while serving with India Co, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.

The Result

We had a full-house in the large conference room. Fortunately, it was not a late afternoon session, when many attendees, rather than listening to presentations on budget and management topics, would go out drinking at the nearby Chicago bars.

I gave about a fifteen minute introduction and then Jud came up to the stage and the dialogue went something like this.

“Don has given a good introduction on the foundations of a good budget presentation, but you should remember that revenues/expenses and balance sheets aren’t the most stimulating topics for any Board to hear.

As Don stated, you need to have a good strong underlying message or theme that your budget conveys, but for them to absorb and retain that theme you need to get their attention.” (#5)

300721818_5823248777719311_3432285377218039118_n

Now Jud was impeccably dressed in an impressive suit and a fancy silk tie that he had probably purchased at an exclusive shop on Michigan Avenue. He then walked down from the stage into the audience

and

To everyone’s astonishment – including mine – pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket, cut his tie in half and give the lower part to one of the attendees stating:

“I’m confident that all of you will remember this session and the point I’m making about getting your audience’s attention.”

Well, he did get their attention and then I continued with my presentation with Jud periodically interjecting to emphasize a point or add some of his own thoughts for the remaining thirty minutes including a question and answer period. (One of these was from the woman to whom he gave the lower half of his tie, who asked him if she could keep it.)

Afterwards, we were having a drink(s) in the hotel bar and I said to Jud:

“I’ve always thought you resembled Coach Bobby Knight (see below), but I’m glad you didn’t throw a chair across the room to get their attention.” (#6)

A resemblance to the Coach – especially in later years

I wondered how the audience, which included people such as the CFOs for the American Welding Society or the American Polygraph Association, would react to this “demonstrative gesture” by my wingman.

I was therefore a bit concerned about the participant evaluations which always are collected at the end of each session and subsequently tabulated.

I figured that this was the last time that we would be asked to share our knowledge in this environment. To my surprise (although not Jud’s) we got excellent ratings both for the content and the delivery.

And I learned a few things from that session:

First – A Marine Corp infantry officer – even though he wasn’t a military aviator – could be a superb wingman.

Second – In future presentations, one key to getting your message across and retained is to be bold and innovative in your delivery strategy although it’s probably best to do that without using furniture to convey your point. (My next blog post will give you an example.)

In my 2013 blog post where I named Jud my Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, I described Jud’s character and routine as:

“He’s an amazing guy. Jud will take a twelve-mile run, break to read a 600-page non-fiction book such as John Maynard Keynes, “The Theory of Money,” then play full-court basketball for three hours before coming home to work.”

(I should have added that Jud was a three-sport athlete in high school, but I had a better elbow jumper….)

In Seaside, Oregon marathon before reading “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu

Jud hasn’t worn a coat and tie for fifteen years. I’m also pleased to report that Jud’s precious granddaughter, Nylah seen in the picture below, has had a profound and positive influence.

Now his daily routine consists of walking three miles (although at a rapid pace) and then coming home and reading Dr. Seuss books (although not One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish which is too political…..) and doing puzzles with Nyla. (#7 – #8)

As we celebrate Veterans’ Day next week, cheers to Jud and to all veterans – especially those who served in combat arenas.

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Lol question mark.png – Wikimedia Commons) This is a smiley from the Lol collection of high quality PNG smileys licensed under the CCØ license! Feel free to use.

#2. Oregon State Bar Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=476709637799349&set=a.476709641132682).

#3. Wikimedia Commons (File:ASAE logotipo.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). This logo image consists only of simple geometric shapes or text. It does not meet the threshold of originality needed for copyright protection, and is therefore in the public domain. 13 August 2015.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=large+bonfire&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Fir0002 – 8 September 2004.

#5. ASAE Annual Conference Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/asaeannual/photos/pb.100064402073724.-2207520000/5823248794385976/?type=3).

#6. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Bob-Knight-Nov-21-07-1.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This image or file is a work of a U.S. Air Force Airman or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain in the United States. Author: Airman 1st Class Jonathan Steffen – 21 November 2007.

#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:One fish two fish.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Ethically Yours – 2 January 2014.

#8. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Seuss_WikiWorld.png) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Author: Greg Williams – 14 November 2006.

2020 Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter Update

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Thebeerchaser

(Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this through an e-mail, please visit the blog to see all of the photos and read the story by clicking on the title above so the post is not clipped or shortened.)

Well Beerchasers, I’m still waiting to get back to reviewing bars and breweries, but since that is on hold, I’m trying to provide some other insights. My next post will be on a number of Montana watering holes that I visited last summer. Due to the number visited (49) on a 15-day road trip, I’ve only written up several so far. So stay tuned for some good history on Montana bars.

Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter – Update

The Dude on his Mount Everest summit climb in 2012

Two of the past Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter, Craig-the Dude- Hanneman and Steve Lawrence should be recognized again for recent achievements and accolades.

Steve Lawrence

While that may be hard to understand given their past exploits, it’s true.

Jan and Jack at their home in Sisters, Oregon

So far, there are three BOQ’s in 2020, including a married couple – Jack and Jan McGowan who were co-recipients in February, for their outstanding and long-term commitment to SOLV (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism) from the ’90’s until their retirement in 2008.

Former Oregon State Beaver football wingback and receiver Billy Main, a member of the legendary 1967 Giant Killers Team, was named in May.

It took Thebeerchaser two posts to fully cover his football and Navy ROTC stories while in college and then his successful hospitality industry career.

And the most recent BOQ label was for a group – Lawyers. That’s right – I relate my observations after working with them for forty years in three different organizations – the last twenty-five at a great law firm of 140 lawyers – Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt – where I retired in 2011.

I respect the members of this profession and enjoyed the interaction with this talented and competitive group. In future posts, I’ll continue this narrative as I have a great number of stories that I find very entertaining and think you might also.

https://thebeerchaser.com/2020/08/31/beerchasers-of-the-quarter-lawyers-part-1/

Update on Previous BOQ “Honorees”

Craig “The Dude” Hanneman

Transitioned from fullback to defensive tackle

My SAE fraternity brother at Oregon State who graduated in 1971, was a Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter in 2012. This former high school fullback who transitioned to defensive tackle at OSU, was voted captain and MVP of the Beaver team his senior year and named a Second-Team All-American and First-Team Pac-8 Team.

He then played for four seasons in the NFL including two years for the Pittsburgh Steelers and two for the Patriots, when a catastrophic leg injury ended his NFL career.

After a successful career in the timber industry and local politics, Craig is now retired but when he was about 50, he either ignored or confirmed the assertion of singer, David Lee Roth:

“I guarantee you will find no reasonable man on top of big mountains.”

Fellow Everest climbers, Mike and Heidi with Craig

He started mountain climbing in the late ’90’s, and in 2012, became the first former NFL or NBA player to successfully summit Mt. Everest. Kerry Eggers, who has been named Oregon Sportswriter of the Year six times, wrote two wonderful articles on Crag’s story in the Portland Tribune in 2019. https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/12-sports/446236-359995-mountaineer-craig-hanneman-takes-on-als

The next year (2013) Dude and four of his friends Ran with the Bulls in Pamplona (Below left to right Hanneman, Scott Freeburn, Mark Dippel, Jim Sherbert and Bob Jossis.)

Pamplona in 2013

But his sense of adventure was not stifled and even with significant injuries sustained when he fell into a crevasse and was buried in the snow for forty-five minutes before rescue on Mt. Jefferson in 2013, climbing continued. In 2019 at age 70, he became one of only about 500 people in the world and probably the oldest of those, to have completed The Seven Summits – the highest mountain on each continent.

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame – To the surprise of no one who has followed athletics in Oregon, he was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in August this year. He will be formally inducted into the Multi-Sports category i.e. Football and Mountain Climbing. This supplements his prior admission to the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Besides Price’s Tavern in Corvallis during college days, Craig and our SAE brothers have been on many Beerchasing expeditions together in recent years including several at the Gemini Pub in Lake Oswego.

The Dude and I did a toast recently to retired Professor Dr. Edward G. McGrath, who died in March 2019 at the age of 101 in California.

In 1970, Dr. McGrath had an upper-division political science seminar in which Craig and teammate, Mark Dippel, a starting guard on the OSU Football Team and I, joined about seven other students.

Cheers to Ed!

The Dude, “Dip” and I sat in the first of two short rows and to the good professor’s astonishment, those two would chew tobacco while he lectured.

Professor McGrath, who was my advisor, always glared at me (rather than the two big lineman) because I walked into class with the “chewers” and they were about twice as big as he was.

At least he appreciated the fact that they used a pot-pie tin for the residue……..We laughed that he reached that ripe old age before passing – I was always convinced that he was going to have a heart attack during those classes.

Congratulations to Craig Hanneman. He is without question one of the most outstanding human beings Thebeerchaser has had the privilege of meeting even with his somewhat morbid fascination with the word “ubiquitous” and Dean Martin tunes which I had to endure in college. He is a man of great character, family values and humility.

Steve Lawrence – Lawyer, Mayor and Author

This 2014 Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter has also had several careers. After college, he distinguished himself for his service as an Army officer in Viet Nam where he commanded an infantry platoon.

The Bronze Star with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and the Silver Star

He was subsequently awarded two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star in 1968 and 1969 for heroism during enemy action. (To see the wording on the citations, click on the link above.)

After graduating from law school and passing the Oregon State Bar exam in 1978, he had a long career as a successful lawyer in private practice before retiring to his home town – The Dalles on the Columbia River.

Lt. Lawrence at ease

Steve graduated from high school in the ’60’s and married his high school sweetheart, Donna — but not until 2008! It’s an interesting story set forth in Thebeerchaser post you can see through the link above.

His next “career” was one of notable public service and little compensation. Steve served as Mayor of The Dalles for two terms from 2012 to 2018. The picture below is when Jud Blakely – another former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter and also a Bronze Star winner for action in Viet Nam (along with receiving two Purple Hearts) and I joined him to visit some watering holes in The Dalles while Steve was successfully running a mayoral re-election campaign in 2015.

Blakely on the right, points to the incumbent….

Steve’s insight and actions promoting economic development in The Dalles were notable. He also served for twenty-five years on the Board of United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon and SW Washington including three terms as President.

But this man of many talents demonstrated those again. He added “novelist” to the list in 2013 with the publication of his first book – First Light – A Novel of Close Combat in Viet Nam – that was forty-four years after he returned from Vietnam.

“Based on my own experience and notes kept in a journal, it literally took 44 years for me to know what I wanted to write. Over the years, I would write about singular events, put the writing into its own folder and stack it with others in my file cabinet. When I retired at age 62, determined to write, I gathered all those folders and finished the book.”

Steve was not done writing, however, and early this summer, he published a sequel entitled Amotan Field, which is now available at Amazon.

As Steve stated, in part:

“After First Light, I wanted to write a novel about a skeleton that was unearthed in The Dalles, Oregon by a sewer construction crew. Considering many possible stories, it occurred to me this was an opportunity to answer the question asked; what happened after First Light…..

The story is intended to be a story of redemption. Redemption for a returning soldier dealing with the aftermath of combat. Redemption for a WWII soldier who was denied a medal because the truth of his bravery was buried by a terrible accident. He was killed by friendly fire. He was a member of the Celilo/Wyam tribe.

The backstory of Amotan Field is the history of the Indian community, which had lived and thrived along the Columbia River for thousands of years, shoved aside in the 1850’s by pioneers, missionaries and the military, promises made and broken and complicit racism which has continued.”

Will be ready to raise a mug….

So check out both of the Mayor’s books and if you get up to The Dalles, invite him to have a beer. He knows some good establishments in his city and had a role in getting many of them up and running. (He might even buy your pint for coming to his city!)

The Next Honoree…

Followers of this blog will enjoy the story of my next Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

Fr. Martin

In 2017, I told the story of Fr. Martin Grassel. He’s a monk at the Mount Angel Abbey who also happens to be the Head Brewer at the wonderful Benedictine Brewery – one of three in the US owned and operated by Benedictine Monks.

And I will soon share the fascinating journey of another man of the cloth.

I have only known Fr. Chuck Wood for about eighteen months since I have had the pleasure of serving on the Abbey Foundation of Oregon Board with him

Fr. Chuck Wood

After studying at Mount Angel Seminary, Fr. Chuck went on to get his Master’s at the University of Notre Dame. He is now the Pastor at St. Wencelaus Parish in Scapoose, Oregon and has a wonderful sense of humor and warm personality. His story will captivate you. Stay tuned.

Cheers!

The Oregon State Giant Killers and Billy Main – Part II

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Thebeerchaser

Note: If you are reading this on your mobile device, click on the title above so that you will see all of the images in the proper format.

In the first post on the story of the newest Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, I related how Billy “Rabbit” Main, who had his sights set on playing college football for the California Golden Bears, ended up instead as an Oregon State Beaver and member of the 1967 OSU Giant Killer Team.

He was a starting wingback from 1967 to 1969 for the Beavs and their beloved coach, Dee Andros – The Great Pumpkin – whose 5’10’ frame carried 310 pounds.

The first blog post highlights Billy’s outstanding football career – not only as a running back, but a pass catcher, blocker, kick-off return specialist and even holder on PATs and field goals.

Rabbit – not just a runner but a pass catcher – one of eight against the Dawgs in 1969….

The prior post also features a tribute Billy wrote for Duane “Thumper” Barton, his football teammate, our shipmate in the Navy ROTC program at OSU and my SAE fraternity brother.

https://thebeerchaser.com/2020/05/11/tucker-william-billy-main-beerchaser-of-the-quarter/

But as I mentioned in the first post, Billy wanted to emphasize the team aspect rather than his own story – a key attribute of the members of that team:

“Don, please make sure you focus on my other teammates as we go forward. I remain to this day, in awe of many of them; Jesse (Lewis), Dude (Hanneman), Enyart, Preece, Foote, Vanderbundt, Houser, Didion…the list goes on and on.”

And if you want to learn more about the Giant Killers, check out the wonderful, comprehensive narrative with great pictures and historical documents developed by OSU alum and long-time friend of Billy Main’s – Jud Blakley. https://www.oregonst67giantkillers.com/

Jud as Student Body President at OSU

Beaver alums remember these years as part of the rich tradition of Oregon State Football including the Civil War Game with the University of Oregon – it goes back 126 years to 1894.

Thebeerchaser also covered this story in May, 2018 at https://thebeerchaser.com/2018/05/20/the-1967-osu-giant-killers-beerchasers-of-the-quarter-part-i/ .

Gone But Not Forgotten

So, we will start by remembering the fifteen players and coaches from the 1967 team – including Coach Andros who passed away in 2003 at the age of 79 – who are deceased but still remembered in the hearts and minds of their teammates – brothers – who defeated two nationally ranked top ten teams (No. 2 – Purdue and No. 1 – USC) and tied the number two team (UCLA) .

“In a four-week period, the Beavers became the only team to ever go undefeated against three top two teams in one season since the inception of the AP Poll, earning the nickname ‘Giant Killers.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Oregon_State_Beavers_football_team

Players

Coaches

Besides instilling the commitment to team, Dee Andros also demanded individual accountability. This was a key factor contributing to their success on the gridiron and also why so many of the members of those teams went on to meaningful careers after graduation.

He illustrated this accountability with a narrative entitled “Man in the Glass” which you see below. This was a poem originally entitled “The Guy in the Glass” written by Peter Dale Wimbrow in 1934 – an American composer, radio artist and writer. The Great Pumpkin’s version is slightly different and reads:

The late Coach Dee Andros (19– 200 “The Man in the Glass”

Billy Main – Part II — After College

As I mentioned above, Billy, did want to focus on himself in this or the previous blog post and I’ve tried to honor that request. Nevertheless, he is an integral part of the overall story of the Giant Killers. So I asked GK historical expert and Main’s friend, Blakely, for his advice in structuring the posts. Jud e-mailed me the following:

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame member, Dr. Bob Gill, Blakely and Main outside the Angry Beaver in 2018

“Don, the Giant Killers did what they did because they were ‘All for One and One for All.’ They may not have all ‘liked’ each other but they sure as hell all did love each other. And so, no member of that brotherhood will single himself out for acclaim or for attention.

Steve Preece – Fox

The GKs had leaders on both sides of the ball – Preece was alpha leader on offense. Steve will never endorse that. He will name other guys whose leadership was essential.

Same on defense – Lewis, Sandstrom, Easley––each of them will name other guys. Like them, Main will deflect and Main will diminish his role. Do not buy it. Tell the story.”

Jess “Froggie” Lewis – Giant Killer and always to be remembered for “the tackle” of O..J. Simpson

Therefore, read on:

Besides football, Billy was also enrolled in the two-year Navy ROTC program. I would see Billy in the Navy Armory because both of us were in NROTC. He was in the two-year program and one-year ahead of me.

After playing Rook football in 1965, he was red-shirted the next year and when his military deferment was eventually continued because of NROTC, it enabled him to play in the 1969 season. He was then scheduled to report for Navy flight school in the spring of 1970.

Billy said: “Between NROTC, football and regular academics, those were the most intense two years of my life.”

One benefit of NROTC which he used for both work and leisure for many years afterwards, was getting his pilot’s license at the nearby Albany Airport – the Navy paid all of it. “I love to fly and I flew for over 25 years – over 2,000 hours logged.”

The account below of his college experience as a midshipman below is interesting and worth reading, as is the Appendix at the end of this post – a remarkable and entertaining account of the culmination of summer training at the end of his junior year at the Naval Air Station – Pensacola.

“As I look back, 50 years ago to the 1960’s, I can say with total clarity and perspective that the Vietnam War was probably the single factor that most affected my life, the career path I chose, and the quality of life I enjoyed.

My draft board was in Richmond and at that time the Army desperately needed recruits to replenish the pipeline of daily fatalities in Vietnam. I was a sophomore at OSU and was redshirted in 1966 because of Bob Grim, from Red Bluff, maybe Oregon State’s greatest wingback, my mentor, and a spectacular athlete and role model.

Bob Grim

Then one day I received my induction notice from the Richmond draft board, and my life changed forever. I had one week to respond, and was expected to report at Ford Ord, CA. at some point. My OSU football career was over. I called my Pop and he suggested I talk to the Navy ROTC.

The CO there in Corvallis was a Navy Captain named John Hitchcock, who, as fate would have it, was a huge football fan. In a matter of days, I took the oath and joined the Navy ROTC program, allowing me to graduate in 1970 as an Ensign, subject to (2) summer camps in Los Angeles and later, Florida. I could continue playing football.

After taking the proverbial oath and effectively ducking the Richmond draft board, ROTC classes represented one 3-hour college-credit class a week and it quickly became serious business. I was very impressed with the organization, the structure, and the discipline, which was completely aligned with my experiences in football, from High School through college

Current-day Oregon State NROTC middies drilling

We had drill one day a week for 3 hours, in full uniform. I remember vividly marching with my weapon around Gill Coliseum parking lot adjacent to the football players’ entrance.

I’d finish drill around 3PM, and then go to football practice. I was one of a few players in ROTC – Tight-end, Nick Rogers, was in the Army ROTC with a similar draft board story, so we were able to commiserate. (Duane Barton and Rus Jordan were also NROTC and played football.)

Eventually, the day when all the 50+ ROTC members at OSU were called in to a meeting room to declare their preference. My time to declare arrived and my subconscious mind overwhelmed my conscious mind! Without realizing it, I said, ‘aviation.” To this day, I cannot reconcile how it happened. For the record, Pop (who served in World War II on the USS Porterfield) was pleased with my choice and I think he was proud as hell of me.

NROTC Armory at Oregon State

When we went to Pensacola the next summer, there were 15 midshipman in our aviation cohort. We were then asked by the US Marine Corps Gunny Sergeant, who was our “shepherd” during that training, to declare what division of aviation we preferred – Fixed Wing, Helicopters or Jets.

Fixed-wing preference

Thinking fast, I preferred Fixed Wing (propellers) like the E-2 radar picket planes. Jets, of course were sexy and being a ‘jet jockey’ was appealing. (The later movie “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise brought back many memories of my summer cruise as a Midshipman on the aircraft carrier, USS Lexington)

So, the Gunny says…’How many of you opt for Jet’s?’ 9 hands go up enthusiastically. Next, ‘How many of want Fixed Wing?’ 6 more hands go up enthusiastically – mine included. Finally, ‘How many of you opt for helicopters?’ No hands go up.

(Remember, the Vietnam War was losing a lot of US helicopters on an ongoing basis and horrible stories were circulating about POW pilots being tortured by the Viet Cong. One of the 15 in our group – Bill Scott – actually flew in Vietnam and he is a good friend to this day.)

Then the Gunny smiled broadly, and said the words I will never forget: ‘Well, gentlemen, you are all officially going Helicopters, that’s where the action is.’ And my life changed forever. As we filed out of the room, stunned and disillusioned, the Gunny said…’Welcome to the US Navy, gentlemen!'”

“You will go helicopters. And you will enjoy it!”

After the 1969 football season ended, Billy took a number of courses in upper level economics and graduated with an Econ degree which he said had an impact for the rest of his life.

To fulfill his military obligation for NROTC, he was set to go to Navy Flight School back in Pensacola and prepared to serve six years as a Navy pilot after commissioning. But the winding down phase of the Viet Nam War in 1970, meant the Navy’s need for pilots was significantly less. His dream was to fly and when given the option to serve aboard a ship or return to civilian life, he chose the latter and the remainder of his service obligation was waived.

Based on his athletic achievements at OSU, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and went to training camp in the fall of 1970. They wanted him to play running back and wide receiver and he made it to the last cut.

He then was a member of the taxi squad for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League for two weeks but was never activated – also not enamored with the $12,500 annual salary. Main also felt that he’d been a football player long enough and retired even before his NFL career got going.

When he returned to Corvallis, reality set in. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, but needed a job to eat and pay the rent. Fortunately, Kenny Ross, the owner of the fabled Beaver Hut – the favorite watering hole of many OSU students and especially athletes (Still operating for take-out orders and growlers) hired him – as a night janitor or “swamper” where he cleaned the Hut between midnight and 4 AM each morning.

Still operating on NW 16th Street in Corvallis

After a while he started bartending and really enjoyed it and thought, “This could be a great business.” But he didn’t want to work for anybody else, so he returned to his home state.

Main’s mixologist skills were refined in San Francisco. He planned a bar in Chico. The idea was to create the Beaver Hut concept for the students at Cal. State University – Chico.

A Corvallis concept in Chico?

Unfortunately, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union did not want to see another bar in the city and one near the college campus – even one owned by an All-Pac 8 football player and opposed the license. It was never opened. Main was not one to give up easily, however and Jud Blakely continues the story:

“Soon enough (1973), he opened his own seafood place in Half Moon Bay named The Shorebird and made a big success of that venture, and was off and running in the world of food…this time with no blockers out front clearing the way.”

This successful venture led to another establishment named The Sandpiper in Chico, which he opened in 1979 and sold in 1986. Billy then opened his hospitality consulting firm, Bill Main and Associates and Blakely continues the career story:

“Sought after for his advice in the hospitality (ie, food and drink) business, The Rabbit is sought after, too, as an expert witness when the owners of a restaurant—or restaurant chain—get tangled up in a dispute that lands in court where millions of dollars and countless jobs are at stake. His diagnosis of the issues is highly prized and reflects the impeccable arc of his long career.”

Consultant and expert witness

And as you might expect based on his upbringing, Billy was also a family man. He married Nancy in 1992, a registered nurse with a Masters Degree, and while he was managing restaurants and consulting, she was working as a pediatric RN and teaching nursing at the college level.

Jud Blakely with granddaughter, Nylah Rose

Consistent with the previous years you’ve read about, nothing was ever dull or routine in Tucker’s William (Billy) Main’s life and I’ll wind down the story with a final quote from Martin Jud Blakely:

“Billy “The Rabbit” Main – #22 in your program but #1 in being a great and unwavering friend of so many—was the cover boy for Street & Smith’s 1969 West Coast football preview. He was second-team as a Pac 8 all-star, a record-setter on the field…and then (one remarkable day in 1995 (when he was 44 years old and his wife was 42) they became the parents of triplets (WHAT!)”

Sierra Exif JPEG

Nancy, passed away from cancer in 2010, but they raised a wonderful (and great looking as you can see below) family. The triplets are now 24 and all are embarked on promising careers.

Jack Main – second from right – on break from Special Forces training with colleagues

His son, Jack, graduated from the US Naval Academy and is now in Special Forces training. Daughter, Kim, is following in her mom’s footsteps and is scheduled to graduate from Azusa Pacific University in nursing and will be commissioned as a Navy nurse.

And son, Steve, is following his dad’s footsteps while living in San Francisco. He went to bartending school and now has a great job in a San Francisco restaurant and bar. Billy stated, “He’s an idea generator and has a passion for process. He can be a great success in that industry.”

Steve, Kim and Jack Main

And so Beerchaser followers, this ends my characterization of the Billy Main story and the continuing legacy of the 1967 Oregon State Giant Killers. But stay tuned, there are a lot more wonderful stories surrounding this fabled team you can read about in future posts of Thebeerchaser.

Appendix – “Nine Yards and In!”

My first summer camp as an ROTC Midshipman was at UCLA in Los Angeles, the summer of 1967. There were about 60 of us from all over the western US universities. Duane Barton (nickname Thumper) was my OSU football teammate and was also going Naval Aviation.

Thumper – Naval aviation colleague

He was #2 fullback behind Bill Enyart, (Buffalo) and a real character. That 10-week summer in Los Angles was heavily classroom and PT oriented and was intended to fast-track flight school.

Flight School was normally 18 months in Pensacola, but the US was losing pilots in Vietnam so fast that the Naval Aviation ‘new pilot pipeline’ had to be accelerated while still allowing the NROTC guys to stay in school and complete their degrees.

One particular event that summer sticks vividly in my mind. We were assembled on the football practice field and told to ‘pair off’ by weight. We were assembled in a long line, smallest guys first. Then a Gunny went down the line, asked each candidate their weight, and then re-ordered accordingly.

After this process was completed, I found myself, at 190 lbs, being #59. The biggest guy, at 230, was last. He was a big baby-faced guy from the University of Washington, I think, and a very nice guy named Kyle.

All of the 2-man teams were then paired off in the end zone. The Gunny then instructed us on how to do the ‘battlefield carry’ – meaning, placing a wounded man over your shoulders, cross wise, and carrying him to the medic.

I began to sense a ‘feeling’ among the candidates that resulted in them staring at me…and then I understood…I would be carrying a guy 45 pounds heavier that I was. Now the ‘battlefield carry’ was 100 yards, from one end zone to the other.

My stomach turned, and I felt a bit light-headed with all the candidates looking at me curiously. So, it started, one pair at a time, with everyone yelling and cheering; the emotion was palpable. Finally, my turn came. Being last, I looked down the field, 100 yards away, and saw all my fellow midshipmen lined up anxiously awaiting – watching me carry a guy 100 yards that was much bigger than I was.

Nine Yards and In??

As 1 of 3 college football players of the ’60’s, I can honestly say that we were somewhat of an anomaly and that the other midshipmen were very supportive of us (both) playing football and being in the aviation program. The adrenaline rush I had was reminiscent of the rush I always had standing in the end zone, waiting for an opening kick-off, in front of a stadium filled with 50,000 people.

So, I threw Kyle over my shoulders, and started the slow jog towards the other end zone. I have never felt more physically challenged, and after 50 yards I was afraid I was going to collapse. I kept readjusting Kyle slightly to balance the weight on my lower body. After 80 yards I started feeling light-headed but kept going, my vision blurring, heart pounding, and breath gasping. The other midshipmen were yelling and cheering me on, but that was just a blur in my mind.

At 90 yards I remember stumbling and Kyle and I went down fairly hard, hitting the turf, my breath gasping. I remember thinking “don’t quit” but realized I was too spent to ever get Kyle back on my shoulders, so I quickly grabbed him by the wrists and dragged him the last 10 yards across the goal line on his back. Then I collapsed to a knee, gasping for breath, with dozens of my fellow midshipman around me.

Gunny – “Gentlemen, what say you about Mr. Main?”

Then the Gunny assembled us all together and informed the group that they had all passed the exercise except me. Technically, I had failed…it was 100 yards, not 90 yards. He then said…’gentlemen, with a your approval, I will ‘pass’ Mr. Main for this component of the exercise….only if you all agree’…there was a huge roar of agreement by the midshipmen, and dozens of guys slapped me on the back as if I had just returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

During my time at Oregon State, during the season, we had a ritual called ‘9 yards and in’ which simulated the red zone game specific circumstances. Needless to say, that term always had special significance to me based on my Navy experience dragging poor Kyle the last 9 yards

Training for the Buddy Carry!

The 1967 OSU Giant Killers – Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Thebeerchaser

The Great Pumpkin and the 1967 Beavs

Nothing captivates a state or geographical entity more than a team labeled as an “underdog” which whether by adrenalin, good coaching, mental toughness of team members or a combination thereof, not only exceeds expectations, but also establishes a legacy – a story that will inspire future generations. The team is usually remembered not only for its achievements, but the character and stories of its individual members and coaches.

In Oregon, I can think of a few that fit this category.

The 1937 Bellfountain High School Basketball Team – this unincorporated Benton County berg with a high school attended by twenty-seven students had a basketball team of eight boys, none over 6 feet tall. Burton “Bill” Lemmon coached the Bells to a 17 and 1 season which included two wins over the Willamette University freshman team!

Bellfountain High School in 2009

In a fascinating Portland Tribune story about the season, George Edmonston Jr. (also the retired editor of the OSU Alumni Magazine) tells the story of how “The Giant Killers” won the State Championship when all schools regardless of size played in the same tournament.

In the semi-finals Lincoln defeated McLoughlin and Bellfountain cruised to a 39-13 victory over Portland’s Franklin (still known as “The Quakers” – at least then…..) The Bells then beat Lincoln 35 to 21.

“To realize the size differential between the two contenders, consider that Lincoln High in 1937 had almost twice as many teachers as Bellfountain had students. Lincoln’s student body numbered 1,580, who attended classes in a building that had 45 rooms and occupied an entire city block.” http://pamplinmedia.com/nbg/144-features/247929-116273-tales-from-the-grubby-end-oregons-version-of-hoosiers

The 1964 Portland State GE College Bowl Team – The Portland State College team, led by its captain, Jim Westwood (Beerchaser of the Quarter in March 2013) and coached by Professor Ben Padrow played the upset role by defeating their opponents for five straight weeks on national television before they retired as champions with the sum of $15,275 in scholarships – a large sum at the time.

Jim Westwood (second from left) and the PSC Team with Padrow (right)

“The 415 points scored in their final match ties them for fifth-highest single-game total achieved, and their 1725 points total set a new record at the time and is fourth highest overall.

The March 26, 1965 issue of Time has an article on how the College Bowl victories helped change Portland State’s image as “the flunk-out school” for University of Oregon and Oregon State drop-outs…” (“Portland State Alumni Association News” article by Kathryn Kirkland, May 2, 2005)

The 1967 Oregon State Football Team aka “The Giant Killers” – This post will be followed by two additional Beerchaser narratives on the story of the greatest magnitude in the State’s athletic history. It’s personal to me because I was at OSU as a sophomore in 1967, attended the games and lived with ten members of that fabled team in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Gary Houser #89…Billy Main #22…Nick Rogers #79…Roger Stalick #74…Donnie Summers #21…and Coach Sam Boghosian.

You will see why this story deserves commemoration, but to put the season into perspective before getting into the details:

“In a four-week period, the Beavers became the only team to ever go undefeated against three top two teams in one season since the inception of the AP Poll, earning the nickname ‘Giant Killers.’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Oregon_State_Beavers_football_team

The Giant Killer Legend

The Beaver team, led by the late coach, Dee Andros – also known as “The Great Pumpkin” – compiled a record of 7-2-1 that year. As a sophomore standing in the student section, I can still remember the electricity in the air and history in the making as the fourth quarter ticked down when OSU was ahead of No.1 ranked USC 3 to 0 on a November Saturday afternoon.

But one has to remember that this victory was only the apex of a tale that not only captivated the State of Oregon, but garnered the attention of sportswriters and coaches throughout the nation.

The soon to be Giant Killers started their journey in West Lafayette, Indiana where 60,147 fans saw the unranked Beavers topple the No. 2 ranked Purdue Boilermakers 22-14. Keep in mind that this game was after two disappointing back-to-back OSU defeats to the Washington Huskies and BYU (at Parker Stadium in Corvallis).

Purdue had won nine straight games including nine consecutive wins at home. Many of their fans wondered why their Boilermakers were playing this Podunk team from the West Coast. Starting defensive back, Larry Rich, remembers Purdue students ridiculing the Beavs as they walked through campus wearing their team blazers.

As they got to the locker room quite a bit before they had to dress-down, the Beav’s Equipment Manager brought out a bunch of pads for players who might want to lie down and rest before the game. Rich said that the manager was promptly chastised for suggesting that they recline on the same pads that the Notre Dame Irish had used a few weeks before.

After the Purdue triumph, the Beavers had a record of 4 and 2.

One of the great stories from that game involves the late long-time Beaver sportscaster, Bob Blackburn, who broadcast the Beaver games on KEX Radio.

The late Bob Blackburn in his tux

He was also the announcer for the new Seattle Super Sonics basketball team and on October 21, broadcast their maiden game at home with the Houston Rockets. Black-tie was the appropriate dress for the evening.

“His wife Pat, remembered after the game, ‘I rushed him to the airport so he could get to Purdue to do the Oregon State football game, and he didn’t have time to change out of his tuxedo.'” (Feedback Radio.com 1/8/15)

Blackburn, when asked about it stated:

“Upon seeing me in the tux, Andros said that if Oregon State won the game, I would have to wear the tux for the remainder of the season…..As luck would have it, Oregon State, a 14-point underdog, upset Purdue. And, of course, I had to wear the tux for the next seven games.” (The World 10/23/2003)

The first time the Beavers will face Purdue after that 1967 victory will be in 2021 when they play their season opener at West Lafayette. It will be followed in 2024 by a rematch at Reser Stadium. (Oregon Live 12/5/17)

After Purdue, OSU racked up another victory at home over Washington State. Then on November 4th, they traveled to Los Angeles to take on another No. 2 ranked team – UCLA – in Memorial Coliseum with an attendance of 50,172. The Bruins were led by quarterback Gary Beban, who was to become the 1967 Heisman Trophy winner. The OSU strategy was to keep the ball away from the Bruin offense. The end result – a 16 to 16 tie and Beban ended with 21 net yards on 16 carries.

Reporter Jack Rickard wrote in the November 6th Corvallis Gazette Times, “It wound up as a stalemate on the scoreboard. Prothro once said that a tie is like kissing your sister…..That’s not bad if your sister is No. 2.”

The next weekend was filled with anticipation as the Beavs returned to Corvallis in a game attended by Governor Tom McCall and California Governor, Ronald Reagan along with 41,494 fans on Veterans’ Day who witnessed a 19-gun salute at the start of the game.

Gov. McCall won a case of oranges that day from Gov. Reagan

The governors, as grand marshals, had both ridden horses in the traditional Veterans’ Day parade in Albany which always draw thousands. They made the 14.5 mile trip to Parker Stadium in Corvallis in a Model T.

“Cars moved at the proverbial snail’s pace, and at one time were backed up for five miles on the freeway north of Albany. It took some Corvallis residents who drove to the game an hour to get home following the game. Some out-of-town visitors didn’t arrive at Parker Stadium until half time.” Corvallis Gazette Times 11/13/67

Reagan Celebrating victorious gubernatorial campaign BUT no victory in Corvallis!

When thinking about orange juice, it was usually in the context of what the less restrained OSU kids slurped out of their vodka-infused oranges they “smuggled” into Parker Stadium for consumption during the games.

But that Saturday, “The Juice,” contemplated was O.J. Simpson, who started the game with two spectacular runs. The field was muddy although it did not rain during the game. At halftime, however, the game was a scoreless tie:

“The start of the second quarter marked perhaps the most famous defensive play in the history of Oregon State football. O.J. shook off a tackle at his own 37-yard line, bounced to the outside, and found himself with an expanse of open field and three blockers to lead the way.

Safety Mark Waletich was the only Beaver who seemed to have a chance to bring him down, but with three Trojan blockers to contend with, the odds were not in his favor.

Jess Lewis – legendary tack

Simpson slowed to set up these blockers, not realizing that Beaver defensive tackle Jess Lewis was coming up fast. Never giving up on the play, Lewis quickly closed the gap and made a touchdown saving tackle at the Beaver 32-yard line – over 30 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage.” (BeaversEdge.com 11/11/67)

As Mike Chamess, now a Portland insurance consultant, but then a freshman reporter and later Editor of the OSU newspaper, The Barometer, stated in a recent e-mail:

Mike Chamness – then a freshman reporter

“…my Dad, Art, and my brother, Danny, came down to the USC game when we ‘squeezed the Juice’ for 3 to 0 win. My dad told stories about going to that game for the rest of his life until he passed away in 2012 at the age of 97!”

And was the game exciting? Definitely, to a tragic extent. In fact, Quentin B. Zielinskis, a 48-year old professor of horticulture and according to the Gazette Times, “an ardent sports fan” died of a heart attack at the game. (Yes, Oregon State was an aggie college…..)

At that time, freshmen could not play on the varsity and the rook team was playing Treasure Valley Community College after a long bus ride to Ontario, Oregon. As future All-American and then NFL defensive lineman, Craig Hanneman, stated in an e-mail:

“We were playing that same day at the same time in Ontario and were getting updates when we’d come off the field during possession changes. Someone, I presume, had a transistor radio in the stands and was relaying the 0-0 score and then the 3-0 update down to our bench. It was pretty cool when we heard the final score. Anyway, I was already at OSU, but just couldn’t play varsity. Jess was, of course, a big factor in why I came to Corvallis and pledged SAE.”

Dirt and “The Dude.”

USC went on to win the Rose Bowl against Indiana 14 to 3. O.J. Simpson was the most valuable player.Their only loss was to the Giant Killers. USC ranked first in both the final AP and Coaches poll and outscored opponents 258 to 87.

Any OSU alum, or for that matter, any Oregonian interested in one of the great historic athletic tales of the State of Oregon, should visit the website below developed by Jud Blakely for the complete story. It is a labor of love by this OSU alum and I consider it the War and Peace equivalent to sports websites.

https://www.oregonst67giantkillers.com/

Jud, was Oregon State Student Body President in 1964-1965 and also a member of SAE. After graduation, he served as a Marine Corps Officer for thirteen months as an infantry platoon leader in Viet Nam – being awarded the Bronze Star and earning two Purple Hearts. He has spent years researching, documenting and gathering statistics, video and stories from newspapers and the players themselves on the 1967 OSU team.

As Jud stated in the dedication to the players:

“The Giant Killers of Oregon State. Epic. Recalled so often––and honored so often––for all the right reasons. You were ‘grace under pressure’ again…and again…and again. You were the Laws of Physics in action again…again…again. You epitomized the marvel of a ‘team.’

……..One concern is the slow, steady, historical ‘fading out’ of a unifying sense of respect for a Great Thing. But the fact is…few Great Things have survived the passing of time in their original form……This website is an interactive home for many of those details—videos and audios, game programs, photos, and other resonating pieces of the puzzle of what drove you to become Great and memorable.

And so…I wanted to step off on a mission of discovery in 2002 to begin to gather up your words of recollection and cautious pride…and to craft a faithful story of what you lived 50 years ago, which is as fully alive and exuberant in you now as then.”

Craig Hanneman (right) on Mount Everest Climb

This blog periodically names the Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter and past recipients have included athletes (and mountain climbers including Craig “The Dude” Hanneman), war heroes, authors, academics and media personalities.

They may or may not have anything to do with bars or beers, but have made a contribution to society or have an interesting story which bears telling. Even the crew of the USS Constitution was named in 2012 for their legendary 1798 war cruise.

Jud, himself, has a compelling personal history which I narrated in 2013 when he was named Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

Beerchaser of the Quarter – George M. (Jud) Blakely III

Jud after patrol in 1966 at Than Thrah Viet Nam

1967 on the OSU Campus

The Memorial Union – a classic structure at the center of campus

These were days when college life was a really enjoyable, albeit protected, environment – largely insulated from the growing conflict in Viet Nam that had begun taking the lives of our former high school classmates. Although we liberal arts majors occasionally wondered how we were going to make a living after college and males would ponder the end of student draft deferments, those four years were a time to grow, meet people and receive what was a solid education.

The term “lottery” was not associated with the video games that the State of Oregon has used since 1984 to supplement its revenue budget, nor the NBA rookie draft lottery commencing in 1985.

The lottery in the minds of most males over eighteen during those years was the military draft lottery which commenced in 1970. If you got a high number, you would essentially escape military service unless you otherwise volunteered. And even if one had a low draft number, college enrollment meant you were deferred from conscription – until you graduated or flunked out.

On that December 1, 1969 night when Roger Mudd of CBS interupted Mayberry RFD to broadcast the drawing from Selective Service headquarters in Washington D.C., many young men around the nation gathered around TV sets hoping they would not “win the lottery!” After the capsules were drawn, September 14th was 001 and my May 4th birthday was No. 276 although for NROTC guys, the issue was somewhat irrelevant.

Trial by (or over) fire for Blakely

Oregon State, not being an urban university and largely an “aggie college” in the peaceful berg of Corvallis, was not on the forefront of current global affairs. This would change to some extent in the years following the Giant Killer victories, but in 1967 fraternities and sororities were at their heyday and “dead week” usually the only time of reckoning for students.

We participated in activities such as the Rook Bonfire – notwithstanding Jud Blakely’s foray with two buddies three years prior, where in an unsuccessful effort to surreptitiously light the pyre early during his senior year, they were arrested for “maliciously and willfully starting a fire.” Although the municipal judge reduced the charge to “burning without a permit” and fined them $15 each, he was stripped of his OSU Student Body Presidency!

There were no online courses, social media, cable television channels or iPhones. (Because long distance was pretty expensive, we called home – collect every few weeks – usually after 11:00 PM or on Sundays when rates were much lower) And if you filled up your car driving back to Corvallis, there was a good chance that you would get a bunch of green stamps and even a glass from the gas station. (Gas was $.34 per gallon in 1967.)

The SAE entry to the IFC sing – Whitney top left and Bartons (Gary and Duane) third and second from right end bottom row)

Other campus activities such as the Rook/Sophomore Picnic at which there was an annual Powder Puff Football game, the Inter-fraternity Sing, Joe College/Betty Coed court (see below – it would not be politically correct these days) were popular and had campus-wide participation.

Freshmen coeds had a curfew labeld “Closing.” Larry Rich met his future wife, Mariellen Lorenz, when they were on “the court” for Joe College and Betty Coed at a photo-shoot at the MU in December 1967. They were selected and were married two yeas later and will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. The couple now lives in Lincoln City. Mariellen, in response to my question about closing for coeds wrote:

“OSU regulated the innocent freshmen women who had to live in one of the dorms on campus their first year. I recall a curfew in the dorms of 11:00 weekdays and Sunday and 1:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. We couldn’t wear pants/jeans/slacks to class until my junior year and the skirts and dresses were cold in the winter! And we didn’t wear shorts anywhere on campus, but very short skirts were the trend.”

Janet Williams and Mariellen and Larry Rich in Lincoln City

Closing, of course, could be easily circumvented by staying out all night and returning to the dorm for breakfast!. One has to wonder the rationale for discriminating by gender on the curfew. Did the OSU Administration think that Rook males were more mature and therefore should have the requirement waived?

Dad’s Weekend. Larry Rich and his dad, Scooter – third from left bottom two rows and my dad, Duane and me – back two rows on the right

Mom’s and Dad’s Weekends were always a highlight and drew a lot of parents.

Mom’s Weekend. My mom and I are sixth from the left in first two rows.

Gill Coliseum was also a concert venue

And we went to concerts by such groups as The Mamas and Papas, Three Dog Night, The Association and Lou Rawls (see below) which drew full houses in Gill Coliseum which was converted to an auditorium without great acoustics — we didn’t care……

Rick Gaffney, one of the SAE frat bros, chaired the Sophomore Cotillion events on the weekend when the late Lou Rawls appeared in concert. His concert was not well attended although all who went were thrilled with his performance.

Our class of SAE’s rented a room at the Town House Motor Inn on 4th Street in “downtown” Corvallis for pre-functioning and post-functioning – also because we weren’t yet 21 and could not go to a venue that served alcohol. (The motel is now the University Inn and one can still get a standard room with a king-bed for $70.39 if it not on a weekend with a home athletic contest.)

Gaffney, (who was also a NROTC midshipman) invited Lou Rawls to our party at the motel, after the show, never thinking he’d actually come. When he arrived, we offered him a beer — he asked if we had any “hard stuff.” The only thing other than Olympia Beer in our inventory was Sloe Gin, which made Rawls guffaw.

Homemade Sloe Gin

Why Sloe Gin? It’s a “red liqueur made with gin and ……drupes a small fruit relative of the plum. Sloe gin has an alcohol content between 15 and 30 percent by volume.” (emphasis supplied – Wikipedia)

Rick Gaffney relates how he ran into Rawls again at Kona Village Resort where he worked as beach captain in the mid-70’s. He was there with actress Brenda Vaccaro (“Midnight Cowboy”, etc.).

When Rick re-introduced himself and reminded him of the Sophomore Cotillion show he did at OSU, he looked Gaffney right in the eye and said, “Sloe Gin — All you had was Sloe Gin.” They both had a good laugh….. (Gaffney later became the owner of a successful charter-fishing business in the Islands.)

Larry Rich and his date, Mariellen were there and Larry remembers Rawls sporting a fabulous, large diamond-studded ring with the initials “LR” and Rich said that he told the singer if he ever got tired of the ring, he would be glad to buy it “at the right price!”

“LR” initials rang a bell

And speaking of Giant Killer stories, Keith (Sweeny) Swensen, another one of the SAE’s there that night, relates another Lou Rawls story involving defensive back, Don Whitney:

“I remember the look on Don Whitney’s face when he came out of the bathroom singing a Lou Rawls’ song only to walk right into Lou Rawls, himself. Whit turned bright red but then Lou complimented him on his singing. After that, I don’t think Whit said a word for the next 10 minutes. He just sat there with a shit-eatin’ grin on his face.”

One of the good things about OSU, which even now is still not a large school with 2017 enrollment (grad and undergrad) of 30,400, was that it was a closely-knit campus – you knew a lot of people regardless of whether you lived in a frat, a dorm or a co-op. This is in contrast to schools we played that year such as UCLA – 44947, USC – 45,500 and Washington – 45,600 (enrollment figures are from 2017).

And most of the Beaver athletes did not live off campus or in their own athlete-only dorms. They were an integral part of campus life – you attended classes with them, saw them at the Memorial Union and lived with them. (Maybe during the off-season, you might even raise a discrete mug with them at Prices, Don’s Den or the Peacock!)

For example, in the SAE fraternity, I lived with the following members of the Giant Killer Team – Larry Rich, Don Whitney, Roger Cantlon, Duane Barton, Jess Lewis, Jim Blackford, Don Welch, Chris Wahle, Clyde Smith and Jim Scheele. In our freshman year, Rich and Whitney got up each weekday morning at 7:00 A.M. and did “rook chores” at the frat each morning like the rest of their classmates. And we were not a jock house.

The SAE House in 1966 – (Scheele 3rd right back row – Blackford, Lewis, Whitney – back row right- Barton 3rd row five in from right – Wahle second row fourth from left with bandage! – ) Rich, Smith, Welch and Cantlon not present)

To further illustrate the point, as a member of NROTC, I would see Giant Killers Duane Barton and Billy Main (and later Rus Jordan) at drill each Tuesday for an hour when we paraded around the concrete parking lot – they were upper-class midshipmen. Midshipman and ROTC cadets were also required to wear our military uniforms to class one day each week and we did so without incident notwithstanding the growing national agitation about Viet Nam. (One would often cross the street, however, to avoid having to salute an ROTC officer……)

That mood was to change in my senior year when the NROTC unit was firebombed. Fortunately, no one was injured. In an incident that still makes me chuckle, I also remember walking into a Russian History Class with my girlfriend who was also enrolled in the course. It was the day of the week that 1/c midshipmen were required to wear uniforms on campus. We were somewhat disruptive because we tried to slink in but were 15 minutes late and it was not a large classroom. The professor stopped his lecture looked at me in my uniform and sarcastically stated, “And to think that the defense of our country is going to lie in the hands of people like you……..”

1970 NROTC First-Class (Senior) Midshipmen. (Note only males at that time. Women were first enrolled in 1972).

And as a freshman, I sat next to starting safety, Mark Waletich, in CK Smith’s “History of Western Civilization 101” class – one of those required courses in large (for OSU) classrooms with about 75 students. Dr. Smith, in order to take roll to see who was skipping class (I thought that didn’t happen once you reached college) had us sit in assigned seats – in this case in reverse alphabetical order.

King John signs the Magna Carta

So I sat right next to Mark in the first row in front of the professor in a morning class. In the first class, Waletich said “hello” and cheerfully asked me to nudge him if he fell asleep – he did a few times (evidently not very interested in the Magna Carta…..) and I would always give him a friendly elbow.

While we as college students attended class, hit the books, went to keggers and house dances and were thrilled by the amazing OSU Football Team, what was going on in the world?

In 1967, the average new house sold for $14,975 and the average income was $7,844. Annual full-time tuition, room and board at OSU was about $2,500 although for our four-year after-graduation obligation, the Navy paid tuition, books and a $50 monthly stipend. (Main and Barton would have a six-year requirement because they opted for Naval aviation.)

A McDonald’s hamburger was 39 cents. In 1967, the Dow Jones Average peaked at 973 with the low point at 786 and inflation was at 2.8%. The most popular song was “To Sir with Love” by Lulu which was at the top of the charts for five weeks. Other significant events included:

Ultra-conservative generals in Greece fear results of the elections scheduled for May. A coup led by Colonel Giorgios Papadopoulos, takes power. (This will be the last time most US citizens see the name “Papadopoulos” until Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos is indicted for lying to the FBI in 2018!)

Boxing champion Muhammad Ali has refused induction into the Army and is stripped of his boxing title. He is then indicted for refusing induction into the US Army.

In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park approximately 30,000 take part in a “be-in.” Among the participants are Allen Ginsberg, credited with creating the term “flower power,” and Timothy Leary, fired Harvard professor and LSD guru. California’s governor, Ronald Reagan, meets with FBI agents for information on Berkeley campus radicals.

The US Freedom of Information Act becomes official. To withhold information, government agencies must show its need to be classified.

The Monterey International Pop Festival opens in California and is attended by over 200,000. Featured are Janis Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Otis Redding.

The Soviet Union has been under moral pressure from North Vietnam to help their struggle for national liberation. It signs an agreement with Hanoi to send more aid.

There is rioting over race in major cities including Buffalo, Memphis, Detroit, Newark and Cairo, Illinois. Thurgood Marshall becomes the first black justice of the US Supreme Court. In Cleveland, Carl Stokes is elected mayor – the first African-American mayor of a major US city.

In New York the musical Hair premiers Off-Broadway. (Admission was $8.50.)

John McCain bails from his damaged plane and falls into Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake. He is viewed as a heinous criminal, beaten, bayoneted in the foot and groin and taken away for imprisonment and more primitivity and torture.

John McCain (front right) – a hero (in just about everybody’s book…)

Richard Nixon claims that the US must pursue the war in Vietnam to a “successful” conclusion or risk a Third World War. Some 474,300 US soldiers are now in Vietnam.

(Excerpted from Macrohistory and World Timeline http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1967.htm Author Frank Smitha)

Now one thing that is a real misperception and deserves clarification is that the total focus of the 1967 Giant Killers season was the 3 to 0 victory over No. 1 ranked USC. And while it’s true that this game (including the amazing tackle by Jess Lewis after OJ broke away) was the zenith of the season, the story transcends this one game as I will try to illustrate in the next two blog posts.

This misperception was reinforced by Portland newspaper, The Oregonian (which should have known better) when the banner headline on the September 26, 2008 Sports Page shouted “Giant Killers III.” This was after the Beavers beat No. 1 rated USC 27 to 21 at Reser Stadium. The accompanying article also asserted that Giant Killers II was the October 25, 2006 game in Corvallis when OSU beat the third-rated Trojans 33 to 31.

Now as you can see by the ticket stub below, I was at the 2006 game which was outstanding. With OSU leading 33 to 10 at the end of the third quarter, USC fought back and scored a touchdown with seven seconds to go to make it 33 to 31, but the Beav’s Jeff Van Orsow knocked down the Trojan’s David Booty’s pass for a two-point conversion as time ran out.

And that was an incredible victory since it had been 39 years since the Beaver football team had beaten a team ranked third or higher in the national polls – in the aforementioned Giant Killers’ 3 to 0 victory. On that fall 2006 victorious afternoon, as we hit the corner of 29^th and Harrison Street in the ensuing traffic jam, we saw SAE frat boys standing on the corner holding beer bottles and a big sign that said, “You Honk. We Drink!” (We honked…..)

Now admittedly both of those games were celebrated victories especially given the woefully long drought in winning football seasons, but the Giant Killer story was and is much, much bigger and more compelling than the single victory over a ranked USC team. The next two posts on Thebeerchaser will attempt to explain why – not a very challenging position to argue.

And by the way, we should not forget the Civil War Game in 1967 – usually the pinnacle of the season in a contest that commenced in 1894 and is one of the oldest football rivalries in the nation. Oregon State had won the last three and traveled to Eugene for the christening of the new Autzen Stadium. Many thought that the outcome was a foregone conclusion given the Beavs spectacular wins and national ranking versus the Ducks 2 win – 8 loss season to that point.

In a game that will be described in more detail in the next post, Oregon State was losing 10 to 0 in the fourth quarter and had to come from behind to win 14 to 10. Had the Beavers not had the fortitude to “reach back,” the season would not still be discussed and be the focus of narratives such as this one fifty-one years later.

But the Giant Killer legend lives on and as Blakely states in his website, “The Giant Killers have become a rich and precious gem.” And it should be restated, that to fully appreciate the veracity of that statement, you should visit (and spend a lot of hours….) at his website. http://osu67giantkillers.com/

To conclude this narrative, I offer another recent statement from former newspaperman, Chamness, who used his still good writing skills to sum it up quite well:

“As a Barometer reporter we covered events like protests and controversies. It was depressing! And then the ’67 Giant Killers came along and they were like an ‘Alka-Seltzer’ bringing welcome relief from the drudgery of reporting the hard news.

I don’t think any of us freshman really understood the magnitude of what our football team accomplished that season; and I’m sure none of us even remotely thought that we would be reminiscing and celebrating that season some 50 years later! In the world of OSU football, the Giant Killers inspired us to ‘keep hope alive’ . . . season . . . after season . . . after season . . . after season . . . . . ”

Cheers!

Beerchasing Miscellany -Updates and Brew Tidbits….

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Thebeerchaser

The Benedictine Brewery and Taproom under construction

Benedictine Brewery Update – I have enjoyed working on this project on the grounds of the Mount Angel Monastery and Seminary. It will be one of only two west of the Mississippi in which the monks are the owners and operators. Construction is proceeding well and a certificate of occupancy expected in May and the Taproom is scheduled to open in September.

Father Martin, the Head Brewer and Procurator of the Abbey did a great job at the Meet-the-Brewer function at the University of Portland Pilot House Pub last month where they served Black Habit and Farmhouse Ale – our two flagship beers.

Meet the Brewer at UP

He got feedback from the students on the beer and had a great chance to chat with them. Notwithstanding his assertion that he is basically a shy person, the students appeared to really enjoy the conversation. I think many of them will make the trip to the Taproom when it opens.

Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter Update: Each quarter I feature an individual or group who has an interesting story or has made a contribution worth noting. The “honorees” may or may not have anything to do with bars or beer. Here’s an update on three of them.

Jud Blakely as 1964 OSU Student Body President

Jud Blakely – this SAE fraternity brother at Oregon State and long-term friend (about 50+ years) is living in Alabama. Those who remember my previous post when he was Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, will remember him as former OSU Student Body President, Viet Nam war hero during service as a Marine Corps Officer (Bronze Star and Purple Heart) and Renaissance guy who is a prolific writer, former athlete, consultant , family man and general overachiever.

Well, he’s done it again. Jud’s initial technology work went into the website for the Oregon Viet Nam Veterans’ Living Memorial a number of years ago, which is an outstanding tribute to those who served and died in the War.

Jud after patrol in 1966 at Than Thrah Viet Nam

His latest effort – recently finished (although still an ongoing work in progress…) is a website on the OSU Giant Killers. It’s the result of months of effort mastering the technology and work during the years since he wrote a screenplay on the subject and started interviewing, obtaining records and film, etc.

Dee Andros – The Great Pumpkin

The 1967 Beavs were the un-ranked (pre-season) football team who amazed the nation, by beating two top-five teams including Purdue and USC and tying UCLA when the Bruins were ranked second. I was a sophomore at OSU then and still have memories of the game and beating an OJ Simpson-led USC Trojan team 3 to 0.

The Battle of Borodino. No Great Pumpkin, but the “Little Corporal…”

Stated simply, “This website is amazing!” It is the War and Peace of websites only featuring the yardage gains of football players after mowing down defensive opponents as compared to Napoleon’s French marauders’ march to Moscow after the Battle of Borodino.

Check it out. You will be amazed at this inspired effort. http://osu67giantkillers.com/

Coach Andros after the USC win

Thebeerchaser will feature the website and some of the amazing stories from that season when the Giant Killer Team is featured as the next Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

Jack Faust – This Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Of-Counsel and well known Oregon appellate lawyer was also for many years the moderator of the award-winning public affairs show “Town Hall” which was broadcast on ABC/KATU. Some of his most noted broadcasts were on the Rajneesh “invasion” of Central Oregon where they formed a commune and tried to take over the town of Antelope and Wasco County by poisoning citizens and importing busloads of transients – whom they later dumped on the streets – after they had voted.

The sordid historical account, which includes attempted murders, political manipulation and organizational intrigue, has been captured in a new, excellent Netflix documentary entitled, “Wild Wild Country.” A younger, Jack Faust, is shown in the film – his second appearance in such documentaries as he also had a much larger role in “The Battered Bastards of Baseball,” the story of the Portland Mavericks which is also on Netflix.

Jack’s food was allegedly poisoned by the Rajneesh, who felt that it would preclude him from broadcasting his third Town Hall show after the first two came across much more negatively than they expected. (Faust used his cross-examination skills well during the session.) The box lunch from the Rajneesh deli, Zorba the Buddha, delivered to him at the law firm made him incredibly sick, but thanks to his wife, Alice, who drove him to Antelope, he moderated the show.

For a first-hand account, read Thebeerchaser post on Jack and his amazing career which includes a compelling excerpt from the article his daughter, Amy, wrote for 1859 Magazine. https://thebeerchaser.com/2014/09/02/john-r-jack-faust-fall-2014-beerchaser-of-the-quarter/

And you should definitely watch “Wild Wild Country”. In a long e-mail to Thebeerchaser Faust gives his assessment of the film. While he asserts that there are some issues which could improve the documentary, overall he gives it a “Thumbs Up” as you will see from the excerpted final three paragraphs of his missive below:

One of the Bhagwan’s 90 Rolls Royce

However, none of that should dissuade you from enjoying a fascinating 6 hours. It is bingeworthy – incredible footage and the amazing feat of telling the story without any narration; the whole story is told by those interviewed and contemporary news broadcasts.

And, it was well edited from a mass of materials: e.g. I was interviewed on two topics – my own poisoning and the fraud perpetrated to get LCDC approval for their comprehensive plan. Both were cut, but I would have added little to what the film presented.

The cult leader smiling at one of his “followers.”

Ma Sheela, whom I came to know, seemed creepy to me from the start. The mouth smiled but the eyes never did. At lunch in her home at the Ranch – twice – she treated the Rajneesh girls who waited on us like dirt. And in Town Hall 3 she showed herself to a large northwest audience to be arrogant, contemptuous and heartless.

The parts in hour 6 about the sorrow of the abandoned sannyasins leaving the ranch were on target. Those were 90% decent people, many very talented, who had hit some bad ‘bumps in the road’ (divorce, depression, personal failure) that left them with damaged psyches that found solace in the group and a lifestyle that was ‘alternative’ to the max.”

Dr. Sam Holloway – this associate professor at the University of Portland Pamphlin School of Business, is also an internationally recognized brewing consultant, who is a founding partner in the craft-brewing consulting firm – Crafting-a-Strategy. Sam is also on the Board of the Eugene Brewery, Oakshire Brewing.

He and his family are on his first sabbatical from the University and besides enjoying Rotterdam, Sam continues to make his mark as an expert in the craft brewing industry as can be seen from this excerpt from a May 2 e-mail to Thebeerchaser. He will return to Portland for the fall term at UP with an additional accolade as set forth below:

Sam’s photo from Sarajevo Brewery in Bosnia-Herzegovina

“First, Erasmus University. Due to my research and publication record prior to my sabbatical (and their department chair’s love of beer) I was offered and accepted a visiting professor job the University’s Rotterdam School of Management – it’s ranked in the top 10 in Europe and offered me the chance to work in a research focused institution. (I was relieved of nearly all teaching and allowed to focus on research the Dutch craft beer industry as well as overall growth of craft beer in Europe.)

I had an amazing and large group of colleagues that included professors, doctoral students & masters students. So I got to spend a year surrounded by brilliant people in my area of focus. I also am excited about a new paper Ion which I am collaborating that uses Ratebeer.com data overlaid on Brewers Association data to see how a craft breweries mix of products affects their growth over time.

Dr. Sam having a brew with Guinness Master Brewer, Fergal Murray

I’ve also been able to grow Crafting A Strategy over here and been a featured speaker at two beer industry related events. At the first event, I gave a beer business talk to about 85 Dutch beer industry professionals in February 2018.

Even more exciting, I am a keynote speaker at the first ever beer business June conference in Europe in Brussels. I am speaking opposite Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev. At this exciting conference, I will be presenting and also emcee a panel of small to medium sized breweries in Europe where discussing how small and independent breweries need to think and act differently to survive.”

Finally, Sam was just honored by being awarded a named professorship at the University of Portland. The Bay Area Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship. UP stated, “These professorships are critical to support the scholarly work of our finest professors and to recognize and retain their leadership and expertise in their disciplines.”

Bar Update – One of the smaller but interesting breweries first reviewed by Thebeerchaser in 2013 has expanded to a second location in Portland’s Pearl District.

Sasquatch Brewing which started five years ago, after the owner, Tom Sims, decided to expand his garage home-brewing hobby, opened a new taproom and sandwich shop, just below Forest Park in the summer of 2017.

“…a new brewing facility in a 4000-square foot warehouse in industrial Northwest Portland. The new brewery will include a 15-barrel system, two 90-barrel fermenters and a tasting room open to the public seven days a week.” (Brevnet.com 3/31/17)

The beer is anything but abominable……

Check out the 22 beers on tap and see another example of a home brewer who pursued a dream to fruition.

Renners’ Grill and Suburban Room – This classic dive bar in the heart of Multnomah Village, is trying to continue the tradition of “Generous Cocktails, Cold Beer and Good Food Since 1939,” after a disastrous two-alarm fire on March 29th which closed most of Multnomah Village while firefighters made a successful effort to save the old building.

The community is trying to help get this neighborhood icon back and co-owner, Josh Hartnell, who told me when I interviewed him on one of my visits, to call him “Uncle Stumpy,” has established A Go Fund Me account to help supplement insurance proceeds.

Uncle Stumpy and server,Emmie, on Thebeerchasers visit

According to a May 3 article in the Portland Tribune, which quotes the other co-owner/manager Stephen Potter, who is optimistic that Renners’ will again be serving strong drinks and what I found to be excellent food:

“‘We’ve survived a lot of things. We’ve had our ups and downs. This is definitely a setback,’ Potter said. ‘We’ll power through it and try to look at it as thoughtfully as we can about trying to make it a better place when it comes back open again. Our goal is to keep the same ambiance we had before.’

Beerchaser regular, Walt Duddington, at Renners’

Potter purchased Renner’s about two and a half years ago and has since expanded the menu, doubled the beer selection and collaborated with organizations such as Neighborhood House and the Oregon Humane Society for fundraisers. And he says revenue has spiked since he bought the shop.”

Stay tuned along with Thebeerchaser for the re-opening of this great establishment which according to my brother-in-law, Dave, served “the best hangar steak, I’ve eaten in Portland.”

The Marathon Taverna – What’s(a) in(a) a Name(a) ?(a)?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Thebeerchaser

Not what you might expect!

While working in downtown Portland for over thirty years, I would often promise myself that I would pay a visit to the Marathon – a bar housed in an interesting looking building on W. Burnside not too far from Providence Park (aka Civic Stadium). I figured it was a dive bar with an eclectic group of regulars with a storied history – like some of the classic dive bars I’ve reviewed – Joe’s Cellar in NW Portland and the Ship Tavern in Multnomah Village were stellar.

Perhaps it will keep you from reading the remainder of this post, but I was sorely disappointed by this watering hole – a pseudo sports bar with a paucity of character and little to distinguish it.

We should have instead opted for the nearby Cheerful BullPen, which has more character or Claudia’s with a rich history.

The saving grace was being accompanied by Beerchaser regular and Beerchaser-of-the Quarter Jack Faust and his son, Charlie. Their company and conversation could make a discussion on the Rule Against Perpetuities seem interesting or make a soccer match ending in a scoreless tie, stimulating. (I would get into trouble by suggesting more globally that such would be the case for any soccer match…..)

The Fausts with thebeerchaser logo

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but one or both have joined me for great trips to the Buffalo Gap Saloon, the Grand Cafe and Bailey’s TapRoom. Jack’s daughter, Portland radio personality, Amy Faust (99.5 The Wolf), recently Beerchased with us at the Rookery (review still pending).

Upon entering the Marathon Taverna, I raised the question as to why there was an “a” at the end of the word tavern. A taverna is defined as a small Greek café or restaurant.

Not the character or ambiance one would expect on West Burnside

There wasn’t any moussaka or souvlaki on the menu and no retsina wine or even ouzo or Mextexa Brandy to drink. Alas, the only things Greek in this watering hole were Faust who was a Sigma Chi at Oregon, Thebeerchaser – an SAE at Oregon State and a few gyro sandwiches. Socrates would not be impressed with that line-up.

And what’s with the name Marathon? The website mentions that the bar – opened in 1974, was originally located in the Acropolis Tavern – also a well known Portland strip club, but whether this heritage is accurate could not be verified.

To better understand the lure of the Marathon, Charlie Faust suggested that instead of driving, we start in Marion County in the city of Donald. A run to Portland with a short side-trip around Forest Park – would yield a route of 26.2 miles. We would therefore honor the Greek soldier Pheidippides – who was reported to have died in 490 BC after his run from Marathon to Athens to proclaim the Greek victory over the Persians. Before dying, he shouted, “We have won!”

I thought this would be fitting, since these are the same words Jack uttered when he represented Bing Russell and the Portland Mavericks in the now famous arbitration with Major League Baseball in the 1970’s and chronicled in the great new documentary, “The Battered Bastards of Baseball.”

: Jack Faust ordering a beer from the Marathon Bartender

Jack, however, based on his undergraduate and law school days at the University of Oregon, countered with the suggestion that we each drink 8.75 pints of beer to arrive at the 26.2 milestone. Looking at the photos below will demonstrate that his idea could offer some synchronicity, but his son and I demurred.

Jack Faust drinking a beer at the U of O after a 26 mile swim

But we digress. What was good about the Marathon Taverna? Well, they have free popcorn – not a Greek dish, but still very good. There are also a lot of TVs with different sporting events, if that’s what you like with your beer. A small, but ardent group of Portland Timber supporters was watching a match on one of the TVs – 20 high definition and a giant 92-inch monster.

: Not Mediterranean, but free.

There are nineteen reasonably-priced beers and also cocktails on their menu – but neither is listed on their website.

A number of reviews are positive about the gyros and the cheeseburgers – and their $2.00 breakfasts served until 2:00 P.M. But the rather agressive and surly attitude of the staff was also mentioned multiple times in reviews – a downside, especially as you enter.

And this may be because of the physical layout confronting you when entering the bar – the only such arrangement I have seen in visiting over 50 bars in Portland.

There is a bouncer – a security guy, of sorts – sitting at a dias or throne-type arrangement which makes him look – and possibly act like Alexander the Great. The “welcome” signs shout out, “No soliciting and “No Trespassing.”

Power hungry??

Portland Barfly sums up this issue and the overall atmosphere of the venue quite well:

“The loyal shift of elderly patrons and the unsmiling doorman – those regulars may have been arriving every morning the past fifty years, but they’d best have their ID on hand to enter – are the only traces of The Marathon’s rather-more-dangerous past.

Plenty of TVs, but where are the grizzled regulars?

Weekend nights have largely been overtaken by a large, tight-knit, metal-happy, pool-playing, irritatingly-attractive group of twenty-somethings seemingly brought en masse from Beaverton for reasons beyond our imaginings.”

A sentiment echoed by this excerpt from a City Search review: “Great place with horrible irrational staff – This used to be one of my favorite places until the last two times I’ve gone there, the bouncers have gotten extremely aggressive and kicked me out for no reason.”

Now perhaps the bar’s management feels that they need this type of defensive screening based on its Burnside location although the only altercation I could find occurred in 2008, and did not seem to be too savage. As reported in Willamette Week:

A University of Portland grad is suing a Vancouver man for subjecting him to an uninvited bear hug outside a dive bar on West Burnside Street. In a lawsuit filed Sept. 10 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Patrick Geraghty claims that Brian Yoakum and his friends were standing outside the Marathon Taverna on Sept. 13, 2008.

Yoakum, “without warning, clutched [Geraghty] in a ‘bear hug’ and twisted [Geraghty’s] body after securing said hold,” the lawsuit says. Geraghty suffered a broken right foot as a result, according to the lawsuit. The suit, filed by Portland lawyer Sanam Dowlatdad, seeks seeks $75,000 for medical bills and lost wages, plus $500,000 for pain and suffering.

We don’t know if this suit settled or was tried, but for those wondering, Sanam Dowlatdad, after graduating from Willamette Law School, worked as Multnomah County Deputy DA and then at the Cosgrove Vergeer Kester law firm, before establishing her own firm in 2011.

Charlie Faust and Thebeerchaser – good company but no ambiance.

No Greek national flag either…..(Faust and Son)

And the only other egregious conduct recorded is that of Welches area con-man named, David Wilson. Several years ago he purportedly tried to scam those at the Marathon and nearby establishments by stating that he was desperate for a loan because he’d lost his wallet at a Timbers game and couldn’t get his car out of the parking lot.

I guess if you just want nothing more than a cheap beer and to watch a sporting event, hit the Marathon. But unless you can get the Fausts to join you or maybe start running from a mile and one-half east of the Vista House on the Columbia River Highway – it would allow your marathon to finish at the Marathon – it may not be fulfilling.

Marathon Taverna 1735 West Burnside

Crackerjack’s Pub – Open the Door and There’s a Prize Inside

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Thebeerchaser

Thebeerchaser at Crackerjack’s Pub in NW Portland

One of the joys of Thebeerchaser’s Tour of Portland Bars, Taverns and Pubs, which commenced in 2011 and has resulted in review of over 60 establishments, is that it motivates one to discover hidden gems. While I have visited some classic venues such as The Goose Hollow, The Lutz, The Mockcrest Tavern, et. al., many have been neighborhood bars I never would have otherwise discovered. And some of them are the most memorable.

The Willamette Week annual "Bar Guide" - a great resource for Beerchasers.....

The Willamette Week 2014 “Bar Guide” – a great resource for Beerchasers…..

As evidence, consider one of my favorite resources, Willamette Week’s Annual Bar Guide. The just-published edition has 150 of the paper’s favorite bars (this included six strip clubs which Thebeerchaser does not review on this blog….). And only twenty-one of those visited by Beerchaser’s to this point, were in the 2014 listing. For context, remember that Portland has about 750 taverns!

Crackerjacks Pub and Eatery is a perfect example. Although it has been a gathering place at 28th and NW Thurman for fifteen years, it has never made the Willamette Week list.

While I don’t rank the bars I review, I can say that my two visits to Crackerjacks were among the most enjoyable of any since this journey commenced.

A Cheers-type Ambiance

A small-curved bar…

—–

It has a Cheers type of ambiance and Sam, the wonderful female bartender who made us feel like we were regulars on our initial trip, kidded me about my nickname – “Dirt,” which you can see on the logo above and the caricature below.

I don’t have enough space to explain how that moniker was bestowed my freshman year at the Oregon State SAE house. Suffice to say it was when I weighed 120 pounds and spent Saturday mornings running obstacle courses in an ROTC counter-guerilla training group called “Raiders.”

When I walked in a week later on my follow-up visit, Sam yelled so every patron could hear, “Dirt Williams is back!” It reminded me of the shouts of “Norm!” at the famous TV bar in Boston when he entered Cheers.

: The birth of “Dirt”

The following reviews – the first by The Portland Mercury and the other from City Search sum it up well:

“This longtime neighborhood pub sports everything a dive-bar aficionado requires: strong drinks, cheap happy hour specials, an easy balance of hipsters and old-timers, “sports” on the big screen—when I was there, MMA was being featured instead of the Winter Olympics… priorities and all—satisfying pub grub and pizza slices, ’80s music on the jukebox…

You can either plop down alongside the curved bar, or cram your pals into any of the spacious booths that sprawl throughout the establishment. Don’t forget to drink and laugh heartily. Crackerjack’s was dropped from the heavens for exactly this.” (Steven Humphrey)”

Memorabilia to enhance the environment

Or take this review from City Search:

“Neighborhood Pub the way it should be – Man, I love this place. I love the atmosphere, the owner, the servers and the food. I always feel like I’m at home. At a home with free pool and tasty little corndogs, mind you……I don’t know a better place to get a salad in a bar. And the patio is great for an afternoon beer.”

: Free Pool….

While Thebeerchaser is certainly no gourmet, one of the best parts of this bar was the food – excellent on both visits. My good friend and Beerchaser, San Francisco consultant, Dave Hicks, (see prior reviews of The Horse Brass Pub and The Belmont Station) and I watched two simultaneous NCAA Elite 8 games on the big screens.

Dave had an excellent hamburger and I had four pieces of delicious friend chicken and French fries for only $11.50. While they have twelve beers on tap, I opted for the LLL Pilsner in a bottle and Dave had a Dead Guy Ale.

: A hamburger rivaling anything at Princeton, NJ

: Scrumptious fried chicken

Dave went to undergraduate school at Princeton (his nickname was “Lucky”) and then to law school at the University of San Diego including a semester studying law in Paris. He honed his musical talents singing bass at Princeton in the famous a capella group The Nassoons.

One of the treats during our visit was the great line-up of ’70’s tunes being played on satellite radio – the line-up ranged from Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac to Hall and Oates and the Eagles. Dave talked about his thrill of seeing them live at the LA Forum in January this year and meeting lead guitarist, Joe Walsh and his wife, Marjorie, back stage.

On my second visit, after a bowl of fantastic Portuguese bean soup, I had an amazing Southwest Chicken Salad – huge pieces of chicken and very little lettuce unlike the converse in most pubs’ version of this dish. According to Sam, they recently overhauled their menu and serve nothing that has been frozen. We asked to meet the cook and had the pleasure of greeting Jimmy, who has held the position for the last eight years.

Sam and Jimmy – Crackerjack’s ace cook.

——

About the only negative comments I could find were from a 2007 Yelp review, “..The fries are decent. The only problem is that the clientele’s average age is about 38. Kinda like ‘Cheers.’ I guess I should have picked a better fantasy.”

Okay – since a lot of this bar’s clientele are regulars and the above review was 7 years ago, logic dictates that the mean age has now risen to 45 – and I was a significant deviation from the mean! That maturity opens the door to reminisce just a bit about the original Cracker Jacks….

Still tasty, but instead of a decoder ring, a tiny decal…..

This delicious concoction of caramel popcorn and peanuts with Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo on the box were first sold at baseball games. Anyone attending a Major League game has mentioned the treat in the seventh inning stretch when singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game“. On June 16, 1993, the 100th anniversary of Cracker Jack was celebrated at Wrigley Field.

Baby Boomer’s can remember the neat “prizes” in every box such as puzzles, baseball cards or decoder rings – now they are cheap decals. And speaking of decoder rings, this raised another great memory – Captain Midnight and his decoder rings a Saturday morning TV favorite…..

: Captain Midnight and the amazing decoder ring (Thanks to Jerome Holst and TVacres.com)

But if you want a prize inside that has not diminished in value, make a visit to Crackerjacks Pub. Open the door, walk in and tell Sam and Jimmy, “Dirt and Lucky sent us!”

Crackerjacks Pub and Eatery 2788 NW Thurman

(To view the map with all the bars reviewed by Thebeerchaser, click on the “View Larger Map” link at the bottom of the map below)

Beerchaser of the Month – Art Vandelay

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Thebeerchaser

The Beerchaser-of-the-Month or Quarter is a method this blog has periodically employed to acknowledge certain individuals or groups – simply because they should be recognized. Some, such as the four bartenders from the first four taverns visited (November 2011), are directly related to beer or pubs.

Lt. Jud Blakely, USMC at Than Thrah Viet Nam

Others such as two of my SAE fraternity brothers at Oregon State – Jud Blakely (Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient for Viet Nam service) September 2013

and

Craig Hanneman (Collegiate All-American football in 1970, NFL career and successful summit of Mt. Everest in 2012) August 2012

: Craig Hanneman (right) on Mt. Everest Climb

and

Dr. Harry Frankfurt (Princeton University Emeritus Professor and author of the book, On Bullshit) January 2012 are named because of their achievements and contributions to society. And some such as the fabled crew of the USS Constitution July 2012 and retired chemist, Harold Schlumberg August 2011 for more light-hearted faire.

: Professor Frankfurt, developed a theoretical framework in his book “On Bullshit.”

In that spirit, the current Beerchaser-of-the-Month is recognized for his profoundly inconsequential contribution to the world of Latex. Art Vandelay, President and CEO of Vandelay Industries a latex manufacturing company has largely slipped under the radar for many years – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Art Vandelay, President and CEO of Vandelay Enterprises

He grew up in Keokuk, Iowa, where he was President of his eighth grade class – twice and in high school was voted “Most Likely.”

: Keokuk – Childhood on the Mississippi

Vandelay then moved to Racine, Wisconsin and attended Kramer Community College for four years where he received his associate degree. He didn’t participate in major team sports but was a Bowler.

After a very short first marriage to a classmate, which was voided by the court based on a “technicality,” he moved to New York. Art Vandelay gained new confidence upon realizing that all his annoying habits disappeared when he lived alone.

Vandelay Industries’ Products, in part…

Our Beerchaser then became a latex salesman for Vandelay Industries and rose up the corporate ladder when he validated the following leadership theory propounded by comedian Dave Berry:

“When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.”

—————————

Art Vandelay’s solution for a market slump was originating the slogan for one of their more well known products:

“Wrap it in latex, or she’ll get your paychecks.”

After becoming President, he led his company to a record number of years of marginal profitability – his employees followed him primarily out of a sense of morbid curiosity.

: Leadership that inspires followers….

Idiosyncrasies such as his habit of paging himself on the intercom raised questions. However, his personal lifestyle and political philosophy had a calming effect on the organization. For example:

“Set aside five minutes each day. At the end of the year, you will have saved up 1.27 days.”

Another five minutes accrued…..

“Annoy a liberal – Work – Succeed – Be Happy!!”

: Room Temperature Intellect and Personality…

—————

This led to the oft quoted expression: “Work of Art.”

So raise a mug to an individual, who notwithstanding his room temperature IQ, may not have raised the bar, but at least passed it.

For those who want more detailed information about Vandelay Industries including the real story, use the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Vandelay#Pseudonyms

Thebeerchaser

Bars, Breweries and Watering Holes – An Exploration

Tag Archives: Oregon State SAE fraternity