JUNIATA COLLEGE
TRACK & CROSS COUNTRY REUNIONS
Highlights of the April, 2001 Third Annual Track and Cross Country Reunion
There were eight track/cross country alumni that made an appearance at the 3rd annual. Mike Slough, a founding member and loyal attendee, could not make it due to a death in the family. In addition to the attendees, we heard from several others who sent their regrets and will attempt to make this year's reunion.
In attendance were:
Larry Hoover '74, Grant Brewin '74, Jack McCullough '76, Bill Kibler '75, Doug Crosby 75, Brian Maurer '75, Coach Don Mitchell and wife Becky, Jim Bowen '74 and wife Kathy.
We also heard from Rev. Dennis Weidler, Joe Coradetti and Mike Slough. In past years we have heard from Dr. Steve Hooper, Dr. Bill DeMuth, and Scott Williams.
On Friday, April 20, 2001, Grant, Doug, Jack, and Larry (that's me) met at Larry's house in Wilmington, Delaware, and car pooled to Huntingdon where they met Dr. Mitchell at Kelly's Corner bar and restaurant about 11:00PM. En route to Huntingdon, a stop at Zinn's diner, a frequent cross country road team hangout, fulfilled the dinner requirements. On arriving at the HQ, better known as the Huntingdon Motor Inn (HMI), it was discovered that Brian Maurer had checked in, and then made the pilgrimage to Altoona to the home of the famous Altoona Mirror reporter, Bill Kibler, a former room mate of his. The remaining contingency talked and drank till 2:30 AM.
On Saturday morning, the entire group met, shook hands, made time-worn-out bad inside jokes about each other, did imitations of each other and of members who could not make it, and eventually settled into Grubb's Diner for a hearty breakfast. Here's a place that looks and smells exactly as it has since we graced the saggy seats in the seventies, right down to the mangy bear-hide that graces the east wall of the dining room.
The group migrated north to campus where we toured the admissions office and various other buildings of the campus. In case you haven't been back to Juniata for several years, they somehow came into millions of spare dollars and have changed a once frumpy campus into a pristine model of small town Division III perfection. It looks the same, but only newer than when we were there. When I lived at the Cloister, we had two pay phones for the entire dorm; now they have voice and T1 data lines (not to mention cable TV) in Every Room!
We verged upon the gym where we made the annual inspection of track records. They actually put the track records on a decent looking record board this year (they had disappeared somewhere for the past couple of years, and before that they were hand written on dog eared cardboard with crayon. Meanwhile, surrounding the track record board, were legions of gold-engraved homage's to the girls volley ball teams, complete with ten foot tall full color blow ups of female volley ball players in various spiking poses). Even Chris Perry's name was spelled correctly this time on the Mile Relay record (I know his name is a tough one to spell. For decades it said "C. Paddy". This shows you how often the Phantom Puker comes back to campus to keep an eye on his props).
We once again swarmed into the "Hall of Fame" housed in the gym in search of some clue commemorating the fact that Juniata had won the MAC Championships in Track in 1973 (and 2nd place, missing by one point, in 1972), but all we could find was a plethora of volleyball stuff and a few relics of the past such as a pretzel bowl from 1938. Even the famous team picture was missing. Last year we reported that the 1973 Championship Team picture was fading in the direct sunlight and that our yellow fuzzies were turning gray, so they solved the problem by removing the picture from the trophy case altogether. Maybe we'll find it back again this year, colored in with magic marker.
After a stop at the Campus Book Store to buy Juniata paraphernalia, which has been bastardized with Eagle logos replacing the politically incorrect Indians (am I allow to say that?) logos, we went back to the HMI to change into our Tigers for the annual run. We met the Doc at his house, posed for pictures , and set off up sure-kill hill, determined to find out where they hid the old course that used to traverse a dense forest. We were stymied at the top of the hill where the water tower used to be (I think there's a McDonalds in it's place), and stood scratching our heads in wonder at the huge housing development that has taken the place of deer and squirrel habitat. Houses are built right up to the edge of the cliffs, even to the spot where Sheila and I ... well, never mind that. We had the Doc with us, so we barreled through back yards until we found what remained of the woods and ran on across what we remembered as the trail. We kept going to the power lines, down Petersburg Pike and Cold Springs Road, and ended up at the Doc's house, reeking and posing for more pictures.
Back to the hotel to shower and change, and to rehash every foot of the seven miles we had just covered, and of course, to get beer. Back to the Mitchell house for a delicious Smithfield, sprial cut, honey ham dinner cooked by Mrs. Doc, more beer, and more pictures. Jim Bowen (Jimbo) and his wife Kathy arrived during dinner; there was more hand shaking and back slapping, guffawing, story telling, and so forth until late into the night. It's amazing how many stories you remember that no one else does, how many stories about you other people tell that you have no recollection of, and how other people remember your race times as being slower than you remember them to have been. Anyway, I know I got to bed about 4:00 AM that night, and I learned a lot about myself that I didn't know (or at least had forgotten).
Up at 10:00 the next morning, Brian had snuck off to Connecticut, Jack and Doug left early for home, and the rest of us grubbed down at Grubbs to soak up last night's beer with pancakes. Hey, what a great time it was, and we're all looking forward to doing it again this year. I hope all the usual gang, plus more newcomers show up in April.