Campus Mail Spring 2023

Coming Up Roses

In response to your request for memories of the Hawkeye Marching Band, I was a member of the drum section from 1956 to 1959. To march in the band was my main goal in attending Iowa. I don’t recall tryouts, but I had been taking lessons from UI assistant band director John Whitlock (41MA, 58PhD) throughout my senior year at Burlington High School.

The band director was Fred Ebbs, who had been hired to transform the band from a traditional military style to a contemporary style. His arrival helped the band keep pace with the success of the football team under Forest Evasheski.

The final conference game of the 1956 football season was against Ohio State for the Big Ten championship—and we won. At that time, the Big Ten champion played in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. There was no precedent for this at Iowa, and the band and Scottish Highlanders’ attendance raised issues of money and logistics. After a few days, we were ecstatic to learn that a sponsor had been found, and we were all going to the 1957 Rose Bowl by train.

Two days after Christmas, we boarded the train made up of two cars for band members, an observation car, two dining cars and another observation car, followed by cars for the Scottish Highlanders. Treading beyond the observation and dining cars was forbidden for both groups. Each car had an upperclassman as a monitor to enforce rules, such as no drinking and a quiet time for sleeping.

In Los Angeles, we performed on the popular Art Linkletter TV show in a parking lot outside the studio. Then on New Year’s Day, we were bused to the Rose Bowl parade. We were warned the parade was over a mile long, so I carried two extra drumsticks, which was fortunate since one stick cracked along the way. I remember rolling it to a giddy child sitting on the curb.

At the parade’s conclusion, we were driven with a motorcycle police escort to the stadium for the pregame show. Once there, we were taken to a tunnel that led to the field. The drum section was the first to take the field. I recall emerging from that tunnel into this massive venue jammed with more people than I had ever seen in one place.

The section high-stepped at a quick pace to the goal line and began the cadence, fast and loud. I could feel all eyes on us. Then the entire band followed and came to a halt facing the flag to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The halftime show went well, and Iowa won the game handily. Afterward, the band assembled on the field to play for the fans as they left. Quite an amazing day for a kid who had never been west of Des Moines.

In the 1958 season, we once again won the Big Ten and were off to the 1959 Rose Bowl. Tom Davis was now the assistant band director. I had become the drum section leader and spruced up some of the cadences we played with Davis’ blessing and encouragement. Last I heard, these were still played.

Two things stand out for me with this second appearance. One is that Davis had the drum section perform outside the stadium before the pregame show, drawing a large crowd. Second, it was the peak of popularity for Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. He allowed the band to play his music during the season and for our appearance in the Rose Bowl. In fact, Willson conducted us to the delight of the crowd. We heard this also gathered an enormous TV audience. And we won the game handily. Those were the days.

Keith Schulz (60BA, 63JD)
Burlington, Iowa

Familiar Face

The back pages of the fall 2022 issue have a lovely photo of the Union Boys in the 1940s [“At Your Service,” p. 64]. My older sister Karen L. McKinley (71BA) was flipping through the hard copy, and the last page caught her eye. Soon I found my copy and confirmed—there indeed was our dad, Charles “Chas” McKinley (49BA), at the far right holding the tray. This picture would have been his freshman year before the war. When he returned to campus after the war, he resumed his job as a Union Boy. In addition to the GI Bill, this job at the Iowa Memorial Union allowed him to pay for college.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Dad also made time to be drum major for the Hawkeye Marching Band. Thanks so much for the memory of him.

Leslie M. McKinley (75BA)
Brooklyn, New York

Archaeological Impressions

I was pleasantly surprised to open the fall issue and see the illustration of Professor Robert Cargill. I was the secretary in the classics department when Cargill was hired. As secretary, I handled administrative duties but rarely knew much about the subjects the faculty were teaching. I knew Cargill as a very warmhearted colleague who would sometimes bring me a Pepsi when I wasn’t able to leave my desk. After reading this wonderful article, I wish I had asked him more questions!

Jean Frazer
Washington, Iowa

Memorializing The Mill

I worked at The Mill from 1970 through 1975. I sang, waited tables, bartended—whatever owner Keith Dempster needed. I was the last person to sing at the old Mill and the first person to sing at the new Mill (the one that recently closed). I’m the guy who carded Jane Smiley (75MA, 76MFA, 78PhD) and wound up marrying her and having a son who is now 30. I thought this story captured it perfectly. It took me back to after-hours parties in smoke-filled rooms.

Stephen Mortensen (72BFA)
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

I worked as a waitress at The Mill from 1981 to around 1986. Besides the Iowa Writers’ Workshop folks, there were film and photography grad students who met there regularly. I remember sitting at the bar with Susan Kirchman (75BFA, 80MA, 84MFA) and Jan Ballard (73BA, 81BFA) after a shift. We all got jobs in the late ’80s teaching. We hadn’t a clue we would make it back then, but we were hopeful.

I met my best friend, David Goodwin, at The Mill. He walked in, and I remember knowing he would be a significant person in my life. When I returned for his memorial service in 2009, I felt wafted on the love and condolences I received from many old Mill friends who knew I’d show up. I wish I’d been at Keith Dempster’s service. Part of being a waitress at The Mill was learning to walk backwards out the door when Dempster was talking at you. He barely stopped to take a breath.

I really loved and miss my time there. I’ve never found such an exceptional group of creatives as I did in Iowa.

Linda Bourassa (80MA, 87MFA)
Chagrin Falls, Ohio

As one of those waitresses, I loved this description! I loved those people. It was always said that one had to be working on an MFA to be a waitress and a PhD to be a bartender. Those Mill peeps got me through a lot of hard times. So many memories. I got that MFA and a tenured position at a major university. I think that The Mill helped make me tough enough to succeed.

Susan Kirchman (75BFA, 80MA, 84MFA)
Johnson City, Texas

Commitment to Care

I had the honor of working with doctors Arlene Drack (92F) and Alina Dumitrescu (11F) [featured in “Hope in Sight”] in the pediatric ophthalmology clinic. They are among the most amazing, caring providers I have ever met. They would go above and beyond to work patients into their already packed clinic schedules and then spend time with each and every family reviewing their child’s disease progress. They are truly an asset to the field of ophthalmology, and it is no surprise that families appreciate the care they provide to their children.

Bev Vermace
Tiffin, Iowa

IMAGE COURTESY ROBERT DONNELLY A flyer advertises Hancher's first show.

Hancher Highlight

I really enjoyed Aaron Parker’s letter and picture of The Music Man playbill, marking the first production at Hancher Auditorium in 1972. At that time, I was a sophomore at Central High School in DeWitt. Each night of the production, a different high school band was invited to perform the grand finale of “76 Trombones.” Our band was picked to play on one of those nights. I played the bass drum.

I’ve seen many stage performances of that musical, as well as the movie, but that is the only time I was actually in The Music Man. Thanks for reminding me of that wonderful night.

Robert Donnelly (79BS, 82MD)
Clinton, Iowa