Those Unforgettable Two-A-Days

     Tom Burke wrote about those two-a-day football practices and that memory jogged the memory of a couple other former Toreadors.
     Mike Loehrer wrote, "whenever we former Toreadors, 1961-63, get together that subject constantly comes up. As a lineman, our sophomore and junior years, Coach Larry Parr was a taskmaster. He could, sometimes, be brutal. We practiced two blocks west of the high school in a field we referred to as the "weed patch." Whenever coach got mad, he'd yell, "get me some grass". We had to all four it 100 yards, gather up some grass, put it in our mouths and all four it back to him and spit it out at his feet. Hilarious huh! This scenario was a common occurrence. One particular day the temp must have been near 100. Steve Roeder, and I don't know why, but we ate double lunches at school. Two hours later we're on the field and exhausted. The team is running plays. Roeder is the center and, all of a sudden, he throws up on the ball as he was down to snap it to Brett Downey. Then we heard Coach Harris shout, "move it over," as in move the ball to the right a foot or so and continue on. Those were the "good" times. I'll never forget when John Cooper, later the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, did his student teaching from Iowa State at BHS. He coached our senior year under the tutelage of Coach Larry Blaker. On the first day of practice, he addressed us this way, "my name is John Cooper and I want you to do 50 six count burpees and do them right now." We all looked at each other like, "who is this guy"?"
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     John Kueck, BHS-61, wrote, "I remember well those two-a-day football practices. I think we all, equally, suffered from the workouts and could never get hydrated enough. However, not all of us would eat watermelon and go to the Ledges. Some of us religiously went to the A & W and had orange crushes, which we could not drink fast enough, despite the pain in your forehead from the cold drink. On another subject, my wife, Susan, and I went to the Drake Relays for over 10 years consecutively. I ran there when I was in high school and my daughter and I ran the 5K pre-relays race too. We have not been there for several years since we lost our connection to the top seats. Not only are the Relays as good and as exciting as you'll see anywhere, it was typically 10 to 15 degrees warmer in Des Moines than Minneapolis which we always looked forward to. It was usually the first sunburn of the year."
     The Kornerman says, "no such luck, weatherwise, this year. It's very rainy and coolish on this, teh final day of the event."
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     Vern Modeland reported in from the "colorful spring-time Ozarks."
     He reminded us of, ".......we did, however, successfully de-hydrate and get into fantastic condition......." Vern's reply was, "Re-hydrate, maybe? Or did you and the team have a collective leak?"
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     The old Kornerman hit this one on the head. Maybe you remember I made a prediction last time that Steve Shaler, Tim Croxen, Barry Wills, that 1958-59 contingent, were either in the area or on their way for their annual Drake Relays outing.
     A few hours later, Shaler stopped at the Korner's worldwide headquarters. Wife Jo informed him the Kornerman was at afternoon coffee and a short time later, Steve looked me up at McDonald's. We had a great conversation for a half-hour or so. Always look forward to seeing him.
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     By the way, Boonetown boasts a strong BHS girls track team this year........one that could contend for a state team championship next month. Don't have all the results yet but have already noticed that Bailey Schminke placed second in the long jump and the BHS sprint medley relay team won their event in the early stages of the 2015 Drake Relays.
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     As you know, the Depot (the old Gigglin' Goat) restaurant sits empty. Several gatherings had booked events for that location in the coming weeks/months and have had to seek out substitute locations. Rumor has it that a plan has been hatched to open the old Percival building in east Boone for hosting such events. If that can be achieved, here is one real fact........some 18 different events have sought residence there in the coming months.
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     Boone Area Deaths: Bobbie Lee Rodgers, 84, Boone. Truck driver. Boone area survivors include his daughters, Jenny Stoneburner, Carla Harris and Sarah Rodgers all of Boone...........Steven Harriman, 67, Ames/Gilbert. Navy vet. Postal employee. Boone area survivors include his wife, Sandra of Gilbert, son Phillip of Gilbert and daughter, Pam Overland of Madrid...........Doris Jensen, 65, Boone. OHS-grad. Lived many years in Ogden and then in Boone. Worked for Goodwill and Genesis...............Jim Gates Jr., Boone. BHS-72, employed at Danfoss Power Solutions for 39 years. Boone area survivors include his mother, Betty, sister Sue George and aunt and uncle, Mary and Harold Gildea, all of Boone.........Chris Veeder, 87, Boone. Moved to Boone in 1953. Secretary at Augustana Lutheran church and for United Way. Boone city assessor, 1976-87. Boone area survivors include husband Dan and daughter Corrine "Corky" Anderson both of Boone.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments/support......
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.