First Row, left to right: Lee Ayres, Fred Elder. Glenna Stearman Park; Second Row, left to right: Skip Granger, Diane Rusch Zinn, Janice Collins Bailey; Third Row, left to right: Linda Soderberg McKay, Kay Ellen Consolver, Calvin Ross
Because all were repeat participants, no introductions were made. Fred explained the absence of some our regulars.
Topic of the Day: The Olympics, Paris, Miscellaneous Sports
Linda Soderberg McKay, St. Louis, MO: 
I’m your non-sports East High graduate, but I have been thrilled about hearing about Caitlin Clark. I have a grandson who is competing in a golf tournament in Florida, so I’m having fun with that, even though I don’t play golf. I have a friend who is going to the Olympics, so I can tell you how hard it is to get tickets because they are all loaded on line. I’d like to know how many of us are going to watch both the Republican and Democratic conventions. I had a grandfather from western Kansas and he drove into me that whether you agree with the candidates or not, you thank them for running and you make yourself listen to all the candidates. I’ve found that so few persons are watching the Republican convention, and fewer are going to watch the Democratic. (Glenna and Janice are watching both.) We went to political events all the time around Lakin, KS near the Colorado border, so I’m sure they were Republicans. My grandfather would attend events for persons he wasn’t going to vote for, but insisted we thank them for running. He was county attorney, a lawyer, in Kearney County. Lee commented that county attorneys in Kansas had a major role in negotiating with railroads about routes. An interesting story is about Nicodemus, KS, founded by African-Americans, and how one of their own was elected county attorney and took on Union Pacific and won. County by county, they played a major role in the transportation system we have today. Linda noted that after the Dust Bowl, they had to deal with negotiating water issues because so many wanted water from the Ogallala Reservoir, even as far as California. Seven states are using that water system and it’s becoming unsustainable. Lee commented that our water problems could have been easily solved fifty years ago if we had had more competent persons in government roles. They needed Linda’s character development program. Janice commented that her mother served on the board of education in Wichita for seventeen years during the time the schools were being integrated, so it was an interesting time for her and for our family supporting her.
Janice Collins Bailey, Wichita KS: I really haven’t paid much attention to the Olympics. Maybe I’ll have something to say when the Olympics are over. I’ve
been occupying myself in recent years with lots of quilting and it keeps my mind and hands busy. I have an example of a wall hanging I made from my father, grandfather, and husband’s silk ties. I don’t recommend working with silk ties because they are slippery and have to be stabilized on the back. That’s as sporty as I get.
Diane Rusch Zinn, Lawrence, KS: The Olympics may be a marginally popular topic. I read the other day that Paris held the Olympics 100 years ago in 1924 and it was the first time they were broadcast on the radio. Also, 135 women participated, and that surprised me. I don’t watch a lot of the events in the Olympics. I mainly watch track and field because of Dick’s interest. All in all, though, for both the summer and winter Olympics, I’m just amazed at the versatility of the human body and what the human body can do. That gives me a lot of respect for the athletes. Dick and I had the privilege of watching Jim Ryun when he was running at East, and when Bob Timmons was coaching KU Track, we always went to the KU Relays for many years. Our kids all participated in track and cross country. Our son Rob, who has given me a list of athletes to watch in this Olympics, set a state high jump record when he was 10 years old. One of the other topics we were invited to participate in was our exercise regimen. Some of you still play golf, bicycle, and swim. My main two have been jogging and racquetball. I jogged for 25 years, but never more than a 5K. I started playing racquetball when I was 36. Right now it’s not a very vigorous activity the way we girls play, but it does help with eye-hand coordination and lateral mobility.
Skip Granger, Sun Lakes AZ: I sort of parrot Diane’s view. I’ve always watched Jim Ryun and Bob Timmons and I remember when we started track season Bob
would always say, “I’m going to show you that you can do things you don’t think you can do.” He was about 5’6″ and he would set up the high hurdles and run them in front of us. That was a big statement for us. Then he would take us to College Hill Park and run the guys through the park for the long run and then Bob Gates and I, as managers, would stand there and hold a barf bag for them. I will switch to a more pleasant subject. Summers we used take trips and one time we went to Paris. As we came back from the Eiffel Tower, we ran into a group of kids from Redwood City that were on a tour. One of the kids shouted “Trey,” and he just raised a finger and moved on. When I asked him if he remembered any of those summers, he says he doesn’t. Amanda says she remembers everything because she got to take an empty suitcase and buy her school wardrobe and would be 2-3 years ahead of fashion. But, no shopping at home then. When I told my PT about Trey, he said it didn’t matter if Trey didn’t remember the trips as long as he was smiling when he was there. And, he was.
Lee Ayres, Fresno CA: I haven’t watched the Olympics for years. Some new events this year, though, include women’s flag football, which apparently is the growing sport at the collegiate level and now in the Olympics. With all the interest in women’s basketball, it will be interesting to see how that goes. I follow the California NBA teams, LaBron James and Stephen Curry, who will be playing on the Olympic team. They’ll have to be teammates instead of opponents. The British Open is about to begin and I used to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to watch Tom Watson play. That goes back a few years, but it caused me to appreciate the British Open because it’s probably one of the more difficult tournaments and, if you read anything about it, several of our very best golfers hit a lot of bogeys. It’s usually a windy setting with a lot of hills and very unpredictable. So from a sports standpoint, it is fun. The last thing I’m thinking about is Wheaties and the cover with sports figures: Bob Mathias was one; then Bruce Jenner and we know what came of him. There was a time when they were the heroes of our country. Skip added that he once loaned Bruce Jenner some money; he wanted to do Venture capital. He was with his wife at that time. We went to lunch and I didn’t give him any money, but I was somewhat involved in his decision to change gender.
Glenna Stearman Park, Montgomery Park , MD: I always watch the Olympics even though I don’t know the athletes by name. I’ve heard of them because I’m
in a family of males. My youngest son was a diver in Texas and he was ranked in Texas. Because he was a good diver, he had scholarships to college. That was the goal. At a diving camp we sent him to in Florida, he dove with an Olympian whose name I don’t remember, but he was a super star of diving. It was impressive for Danny and it was his first encounter in sports with gay people and that was interesting to him. I told him, “Welcome to the world.” Another athletic experience in our family was when Joel was president of the youth soccer league in San Antonio. He decided he better learn how to play; he was one of the few who volunteered for the position. We had three boys deeply involved in soccer, so Joel had to go to soccer camp on Saturday. He’d come home around 1:30, absolutely beat up, scratches all over, dirty clothes, and a big smile on his face. This enjoyment has passed down even to my youngest grandson who is playing on a national team that’s playing in Great Britain this summer, but he plays pretty much year round. At school, he’s the hot volleyball player who gets his picture in the paper every week. He’s only a sophomore, so he has time to build his reputation. My brother was a miler at East, but basically, we’re more interested in politics. I have two grandchildren who are directly involved. One is in an office that does research for several senators. He went to law school and is getting ready to take the bar in two weeks. It’s like silent time while he studies. The other one is his sister who works for Senator Whitehouse in Rhode Island and she just came down this week to work in his local office. She wants a more international political career. She’s the one grandchild who did college on a sports scholarship.
Fred read an email that just came in from Marilyn who is on Madeline Island off the shore of Lake Superior. It’s very beautiful. Last night we watched the coverage of stage 17 of Tour de France bicycle race which was in the Alps yesterday. Very exciting even though I don’t understand it.
Kay Ellen Consolver, Litchfield, CN: I was married to a man who was on All-American lacrosse player, so we did watch the Olympics, but never attended. I do remember Jim Ryun and Bob Timmons too. I follow more the controversies in the Olympics such as drug issues, sexual abuses. I knew two American women in London who had been on the Olympic Administration Committee, so I became really interested in what was going on, and I still follow that. For exercise, I finally gave up swimming and took up jogging because all you needed was a pair of shoes. I actually worked up to marathons, and have done six. I ran the Long Island and New York twice, the Marine Corps marathon twice, right after 9/11, and the London marathon once. Now I’m trying to get back to upping my steps on walking. My favorite thing in Paris is simply Paris because that’s the first international trip I had. I went in 1961 after my first year at KU, when President Kennedy and Jacqueline were there. It was June 2, 1961 and he started his speech to de Gaulle and others with saying, “I’m the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.” I was there for the summer with Martha Parmelly, a friend who went to Southeast, and I’m still in touch with her. We’ve been friends since we were ten years old. We were talking to a gendarme about Jack Kennedy and that’s when I first understood how globally connected the world was. It might have had something to do with why I chose my career. I ultimately worked in sixty-five countries with Mobil Oil. So I’m very focused on that summer period after my first year at KU. It was always called the Harvard on the Kaw.
Calvin Ross, Johnson City, TN: This is a fun topic for me. A lot of us can think about our favorite sports and sports figures. I think about when I was 8-12 years
old and collected baseball cards and the heroes then. The big four on the Cleveland Indians – Bob Lemon, Bob Feller, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn. I had a nice autograph from Allie Reynolds who pitched for the New York Yankees. But when I think of all the athletes I’ve played with and against, my favorite is my 14 year-old grandson. Taj is very athletic. He played in Little League baseball for five years and every year he made the all-star team in Johnson City and they played all-star teams in the area. Two years ago in the all-star game, he hit two home runs, over the fence wall. Last year, playing third base, there was a runner on third, and the batter hit a laser line drive and Taj caught it then went over and doubled off the runner. It was one of the best athletic moves I’ve seen and I told his parents that. It would rank up in the highest baseball league, it was such an athletic move. No longer playing volleyball, my granddaughter Marin, also a favorite athlete of mine, played extremely well in high school here and made the all-conference team. They made a banner for her and another team mate to hang in the lobby at the high school. She’s now a freshman at the University of Tennessee and has decided not to play volleyball because she wants to concentrate on studies, sororities, and things like that. So that’s what I concentrate on – all the games our grandchildren play. They’ve made a huge difference in our retirement. It’s been so enriching for us to share the lives of our grandchildren that way.
Fred Elder, Madison, WI: I’m not a big Olympics fan, so I decided to do a little history. You may remember Jesse Owen who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and won four gold medals – one in the 100 meters, one in the 200 meters, the long jump and the 4×100 relay. It was absolutely amazing. What we probably didn’t know about Jesse was that he went to Ohio State University where he also did amazing things in track. But, Jesse could not have a scholarship there because he was Black. So he had to work to raise his own money to go to school. He also was not allowed to eat with the other track athletes. One can argue whether he was the icon of the ’36 Olympics. I also looked up the 1972 Olympics, held in Munich, when the terrorist attack occurred and nine Israelis were taken as hostages; two were killed immediately and the others later. The interesting thing where we are in history today is the terrorist group was called Black September, a Palestinian group. So, how far have we progressed in these years; it seems a little strange to say that we are still dealing with these kind of things. On a more positive note, I have been to Paris, but only once and as I recall I was pretty sick. I also recall that the person at the drugstore was very unhappy that I couldn’t speak French. I did get into the Louvre and had a moderately good time.
Back and Forth
Skip commented that since we had just lost Willy Mays, I’m wondering what is the value of the two baseballs he signed for me. The story is kind of fun. I took Trey to a place where you had to pay to get in and have Willy sign. Since he was a little kid, they let me come through, and I had another ball in my pocket. He signed the crest of the ball, and that makes it worth a lot of money. The value goes down if it’s signed anyplace else. Another player started to sign the second ball and I yelled no to him. I researched to see once someone dies, to see how that increases the value. I have a Sri Lanka painting and was given $7,000 for two of the paintings I paid $100 for. They offered $40,000 for the third one that’s now hanging in our living room. With artificial intelligence, I’m concerned that someone will take that painting and make a copy of it and the value will go way down. So, in the latter years of life, I’m just cashing in some of these things. So, if anyone wants that painting you can have it for $35,000.
Janice said when she was growing up, her mother didn’t approve of female athletes. Janice said, I was involved in gym classes at East and did take dance lessons. I had a bicycle, but had very little athletic involvement.
Kay Ellen suggested we remember Vicki Pettit because she was a excellent golfer, and I think when she was twelve she was playing in the Kansas Women’s Championship and she won it. (She was actually 14 when she won the Championship.) I was doing some research and she was absolutely extraordinary. I wasn’t athletic. We didn’t have to be. We weren’t supposed to be. We weren’t allowed to dribble across the center line on the basketball court because it was too strenuous. Skip said Vicki golfed at Crestview Country Club and there were several excellent golfers there.
Calvin noted that Johnny Stevens’ grandson is on the PGA tour now. Johnny was a terrific golfer.
Kay Ellen said that her uncle moved from Texas to Wichita and was the Pro at McDonald Golf Course. He taught me. He used to stand and hold my head down. He ultimately was in charge of all the public golf courses and was inducted into the Kansas Hall of Fame. They named a course after him and I saw the ceremony.
Calvin shared some memories of football days at East. One involved Lee, and I don’t know if you remember our senior year in our first game against Wellington, we had a play that called for you to go deep, and I passed to you for a touchdown. Lee thought it was the Valley Center game. In our senior game against North, North had the ball, and after the play there was a pile on and you, Fred, pushed Wayne Moore into the pile and got called for unnecessary roughness.
At KU, Skip had fraternity friends who were football players – John Hadl and others. They remembered playing with Fred and he was the smartest guy on the team. Fred said he wasn’t smart enough to quit, but he was glad he played.
Fred said the Wellington game was interesting because Chuck Hess was the quarterback there and later played for KU.
What Glenna remembers about football games was that when it was cold, windy, and snowing, the players all had warm capes and a fire to stay warm. All of us in the Pep Club had skirts that were much too short and the wind blew right up our skirts and froze us. We would hunch close together and look longingly at your fire. Janice was just happy to be a Peppy Pilot.
Kay Ellen keeps in touch with Kay Brinnon. When her granddaughter was wearing a very short skirt, Kay was so distressed, and she had to be reminded how short her skirt was in high school. Glenna reminded us all of the story about how Susie Smith was able to work with Bobbie Brooks to get the contract for the Pep Club skirts through Innes.
Glenna asked what happened to Susie and was told she passed away recently. Lots of stories are about her yellow convertible. One night, Vesta, Susie, some others and I went to the nunnery on South Lincoln and tried to think of the dirtiest song we could sing. After shouting it a few times from the parking lot, some lights came on and the nuns heard us. We tore out of there and enjoyed being naughty and joyful. It was a Leland Stanford Junior song, “Roll me Over in the Clover.”
Fred reminded all to read the new story by Dan Kinney about Susie’s convertible.
Susie was such a kind person, Glenna said. She never said anything negative about anyone. One time Sid Moore took us both to lunch, I think because I had objected to something he said at an assembly. He took us out for pizza to make sure we weren’t roaring mad at him. It was an awkward situation because he was doing a group punishment for something only a few were guilty of. When he asked if anyone objected, I stood up to him and was surprised no one else did.
Skip thought Sid was a great guy, but sure didn’t like Kirby. He took care of real troublemakers.
Lee shared a story about Sid Moore. I learned this from Jack McDowell that I hired as a maintenance supervisor. He had gone to Planeview when Sid was principal there. Back then, boys were cheer leaders, and Jack was a cheer leader. Sid would drive them to all the games. That guaranteed having someone to cheer for them at an away game. Sid came to East after Planeview. Jack was eight years older than me and just turned ninety.
Glenna thought Sid paid close attention to all the social activities at East. He rotated to all the “corners”. Senior corner was not open to younger students. Sid knew what was going on everywhere.
After Skip had a run-in with Kirby, Kirby had the audacity to ask Skip to do a magic show for one of his groups. Skip agreed to do one. Glenna asked Skip to explain how to cut a normal size woman in half in two little boxes. When I saw my eye doctor yesterday, Skip said he used a Svengali dagger; if not that, then a Wizard dagger. Skip doesn’t do card manipulation any more because of hand issues. Skip described a quarter trick his friend did and Skip didn’t understand. Glenna thinks a guy should be cut in half instead of all ladies.
Final Comments
Lee – Thanks, stay cool.
Glenna – ditto
Skip – Say prayers for my Parkinson’s test.
Diane – My 20 year-old grandson is coming for the weekend from New Hampshire, just to see me.
Janice – I’m planning on outliving all the political programs on TV this summer.
Kay Ellen – Thank everyone for these sessions. They help me focus and come back into the world.
Calvin – Whatever is important to us, let’s hit it out of the park for a home run.
Fred – What I remember about the Olympics incident I described was how scared Howard Cosell was. He was way out of his element and they didn’t keep him on very long.
Fred thanked everyone and encouraged us to invite two friends for the next Zoom, August 15.
