Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Flash from the Past:

Blue Devils Sports Highlights

Compiled by Ron Jacoby 70’ from the 1966 – 1970 Towers)

My journey at Stout began in the fall of 1966, fresh out of high school. I distinctly remember the campus excitement generated by the preceding year’s undefeated conference championship football squad.

Sports at Stout will be highlighted over three postings: Football; Basketball; and Baseball - Track - Wrestling - Gymnastics - Swimming. Golf and tennis are not highlighted, but provided opportunities for Stout students to pursue a sport which could last a lifetime. Cross country was introduced during the 67-68 season and hockey during 69-70. In addition to collegiate sports, intramurals provided a workout for students eager for exercise and physical challenge. Looking back, it’s hard to comprehend the lack of women’s athletics during our stay at SSU when they are an equal in today’s campus life.

Ron Jacoby '70

Before reviewing the stats below, please stand for the singing of the Stout Fight Song, a tradition at every game.

CLICK HERE for Stout Fight Song

FOOTBALL

65-66

“Determination, experience, team spirit, and skillful guidance were determining factors in leading the Blue Devils to their first undefeated conference championship since 1921.” Under coach Max Sparger the team concluded the season with an imposing 7-1-1 in conference play. Familiar names include Dunford, McHugh, Krueger, Saunders, Waters, Erickson, Warrington, Lorenz and Hickman.

66-67

The 66’ team had been picked by conference coaches in pre-season polls to repeat as WSU champions. That did not happen, as the Blue Devils plagued by injuries and bad luck ended with a 2-6 record.

67-68

The 1967 squad became the celler dwellers of the WSUC, with a record of 1-8. Coach Max Sparger was hampered by an early season loss of starting signal caller Mike Dunford. Stout won 28-7 over River Falls in the final game of the season.

68-69

The team began with two wins. Reggie Holmes performed well in blocking and running, while Rocky Maxson excelled in passing. The mostly Freshman and Sophomore team ended a frustrating season 2-6-1.

69-70

A talented and enthusiastic squad experienced a year of frustration and disappointment. With a 3-6 record, the Blue Devils finished sixth in the conference. Seniors Duane Stevens and Roger Zell were named co-captains.

Add your recollections about Football by clicking on "Comment" below.

Brrrrrrrr -- Winter Carnival in the '60s

FEBRRRRUARY –
That was the time of the year for Stout's Winter Carnival!

…contests and competition, games, talent shows, tricycle races, tug-o-war, teas, ice races, professional entertainment, ice carvings, and a queen and a dance.

“Nippy winds quicken the step and each step squeaks on the snow. A timid look from under a scarf at the flashing temperature sign retreats as it reads an inevitable zero. The University contends with this intruding nature of Wisconsin with a Winter Carnival Week.” --1970 Tower

“Going against the grain of normal activities, students buckle on snowshoes or wrap themselves around a tricycle for outdoor games. Piles of snow acquire a transient quality as they are carved into unique pieces of sculpture. A kindled hearth, swishing

gowns and fragrant corsages are familiarities of the “Sno-Ball” and are stimulants for the theme “Winter Reflections.” --1970 Tower

Add your "Reflections" on Winter Carnival by clicking on "Comments" below.

Themes and Queens:

’66 Winter Wizardry – Queen Joan Severson

’67 Snow-Flake Forest – Queen Cindy Olson

’68 Heritage in the Snow – Queen Leslie Piller

’69 Winter Chateau – Queen Karen McChesney

’70 Winter Reflections – Queen Kay Schneider

A Pre-Reunion Reunion

During this past October ’06, several women including, L to R, Winnie Clark Preston, Margaret Congdon Gawlik, Irene Paris Stradtman, Nora Stute Fuller, Jane Taylor Bispala, and Carol Conroy Loyd, class of 1968, met at Stout for a “Tainter Hall Girls Reunion”. After spending most of the day touring Stout, the Tainter Theatre, and the Dunn County Historical Museum, the group came up with the following list of reminiscences from dorm life their freshman year (compiled by Jane Bispala).

Feel free to add your memories to the list by clicking on “Comments” below.

Good Ol' Days at Tainter Hall:

• Weekly room inspection
• 10 o'clock curfew--madly making out at the front door right down to the wire. If you were late, you had the big letter "Sin" sign on your dorm door stating you were grounded.
• Mrs. Stone, the formidable Housemother!!!!!
• Studying
• Lights out at 11 pm. and what we covertly had to do to survive that rule and still study for classes
• Mrs. Stone!!!!
• Only one phone on each floor
• Only certain floors had bathtubs....the rest had communal showers and bathrooms
• Being called that your "escort" was in the lobby
• Panty raids
• Luggage room to store all of our suitcases
• Thursday nights at the "Rondi"
• Friday nights dancing at Pete's
• Strumming guitars and singing
• The Tap
• The Dew Drop Inn for dinner on Sunday nights…and the huge 10 cent pancakes!
• Illicitly cooking in our rooms
• The Kernel and its great caramel rolls
• The Farmer's Store with its neat overhead zip line for money
• Getting dressed in heels and then having to walk a mile or more to the campus destination, church, etc
• Having to wear skirts to class—no jeans or slacks!
• Knee-high socks and knee tickler skirts (Mini skirts hadn’t happened yet)
• Storing butter pats in the windows for popcorn
• Tabs on the bottoms of stretch sweat pants
• Only one bed sheet given out on Thursdays…and, if you forgot to stand in line, no clean sheets for you!
• One laundry room with two washers/dryers for three wings
  
• Always standing in line for meals…and having to return to the dorm for lunch

President Who?

Student governance had a rebirth during the 60s. Five Stout Student Association Presidents who provided leadership during that era are shown above. They were asked to make a few comments for the 40th Reunion. Their responses are below.

If you would like to comment or reflect on student government at Stout during your tenure, please feel free to respond by clicking the "comment" button below.

Dwight Davis ‘66:

"Though four decades have come and gone, my wife, Linda (nee Nyhus - '67), and I have wonderful memories of our years at Stout. We look forward to reconnecting with friends from the 60's. This reunion should be a great time!"

Barbara Gardner Ebeling ‘67:

"It is unbelievable that forty years have gone by! Unfortunately, over the years I have not been good at keeping people posted on my whereabouts and activities. It seems like yesterday that I was at Stout and taking on the leadership of the Stout student body only to have it cut short by an intern assignment with the Racine Public Schools. It was also the time of Viet Nam war demonstrations which were even beginning to touch Stout's campus. My experiences at Stout stayed with me through a year in Thailand, earning my doctorate at NIU, assuming an Assistant Superintendent's role and eventually becoming a Superintendent of two different Illinois school districts. At the time of my first superintendency there were only four other women superintendents in Illinois. Over the next few years that changed significantly. After early retirement I took on the directorship of a not-for-profit social service agency only to open and operate a very successful agency resale shop for them. Stout gave me the skills to take on new experiences even when those experiences were not something I was trained to do. Stout taught me how to think and search out what I needed to know to get the projects I took on done. It has been an incredible forty year journey!

It has been over thirty years since I have been at Stout or in Menomonie. I vividly remember the Homecoming address where I inadvertently referred to the Marion Hotel as the "Memorial Hotel"! I can still remember the laughter that rippled through students and alumni in attendance. It is with excitement that I am looking forward to returning for our fortieth reunion, the homecoming events and touching base with long lost acquaintances."

Larry Haisting ‘68:

“Long lasting personal and professional friendships are tremendously valuable over a lifespan, but most friendships come and go in a short period of time. I've been fortunate in maintaining a close camaraderie with a core group of friends from Stout that I value above all others, and those relationships have grown even stronger over the years. School reunions provide an opportunity to renew old friendships and establish new ones. I hope to see you at the upcoming Stout reunion this fall to share stories and, perhaps, cement a new friendship.”

Dale Granchaleck ‘69:

"Stout changed my life in ways I never dreamed possible for a farm boy from Kewaunee, Wisconsin and later Green Bay. The people I met, friends I made (including my spouse), and experiences I had in student life, student government and photography have remained with me. I very much look forward to the 40th Reunion and to rekindling those friendships and to reliving (or at least retelling) some of those stories and experiences."

Robert McCord ‘70:
"Each time we have returned to campus since leaving in 1970, my wife and I have experienced the faculty and staff commitment to the students. That long-standing tradition has continued from the days when we attended. The Farmers Union Coop and other landmarks from the 60s are gone, but the true spirit of Menomonie and Stout live on, embodied by the dedication and creativity of both staff and students. The 40^th reunion will be an excellent opportunity to reflect, rekindle, and renew."

Stout Brewers & Vintners

Alumni have found numerous ways of celebrating their Stout heritage with fellow alums. Here are two examples -- Stout Merlot and Tower Lager. Each vintage was brewed by an alum as a special gift intended for exchange at annual New Year's celebrations attended by a group 1966-69 Stout grads.



Are there other examples of these unique links to Stout? Let us know by clicking on "Comment" below.

President William J. Micheels

William J. Micheels
President, 1961 – 1972
Stout State College/Stout State University

President William J. Micheels led this great University primarily during the years the alums for this 40th Reunion attended Stout. The graduates from 1966 – 1970 attended SSU from 1962 to 1970 and his presidential tenure stretched from 1961 to 1972. Here are some excerpts from the UW-Stout History and the ‘66-’70 Towers.

”The Stout story during the 1960s is one of dynamic growth. At the start of the decade, Stout had a student population of close to 1,700 and a faculty of 107. By the end of the 1960s, enrollment topped 5,000. Faculty increased accordingly. Physical facilities and the number of programs offered also experienced dramatic growth.”

“The creation of several new academic programs in the 1960s helped ensure the growth… Several of the majors, such as art, were related to the early mission. Others, such as hotel and restaurant management and vocational rehabilitation, were driven by other needs…”

UW-Stout History: Expanding Horizons

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HISTORY --

UW-Stout History: Expanding Horizons

“It is my earnest hope that as you leave Stout, you will find that the pattern we have fashioned together will be one which you can spread and extend out during the rest of your life.”
William J. Micheels, 1966 Tower.

“But there is another dimension which, I think, all of us would do well to consider in these years of rapid change and movement. That is the dimension represented by the distance between where we now are in the human story and the place to where we will be going in the decades of your life.”
William J. Micheels, 1967 Tower

“The horizon for Stout appears unlimited. The significant changes which have come about in the four years you have been on campus are indicative of those which are to come; the pace of growth accelerates daily.

Just as the university, impelled by its heritage, moves on to new challenges, so also do you of its Diamond Jubilee class carry with you this heritage as you move forward toward your personal horizons.”
William J. Micheels, 1968 Tower

At the all-university convocation held at the beginning of the year (1968-1969) the president discussed problems facing today’s campuses “…the right to protest to oppose a law or to engage in controversy.” Open discussions were held throughout the year with students and faculty. “No one will be happier than I to see our students as well as our faculty get directly and deeply involved in taking a careful look at this and in trying to make suggestions and come up with ideas where this can be made stronger or where we can possibly try for some changes in direction as may be desirable…”
1969 Tower

Dr. William J. Micheels proposed a revolutionary five year plan… The ultimate goals… would be the abolishment of all grades, semester hours and honor points. Every student would work at his own pace, and evaluate his own proficiency.

Throughout the year, President Micheels took time to meet with students… He was intensely involved in the progress of campus construction, and the restructurization of many of the departments.
1970 Tower

Micheels Hall, named in President Micheels honor, links Jarvis Hall and the Applied Arts building. CLICK HERE TO SEE MICHEELS HALL

Your 40th Reunion Planning Committee