— nothing has changed since that summer of 1970.
Something tells the Head Groundskeeper that he is well past the halfway mark on a life well lived. Anyway, he spends a lot of time peering into the rear view mirror.
Pulled out of the gun safe a 12″ by 16″ hardbound book. It contains every edition of the weekly college newspaper Blaska edited in calendar 1970. Joplin and Hendrix died that year and our student newspaper organized a dirge of their greatest hits to boom out of dormitory windows.
The Advance-Titan reported the first Earth Day. Benjamin Spock spoke on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus; the Association sang. The National Guard was called out to put down a violent protest over the Vietnam War incursion into Cambodia. One of the reporters reported to the newspaper front office that Blaska’s rented house on Cherry Street was ablaze. Arrived at the scene to observe the brothers and sisters saving our stereo and other valuables. Turned out they were looting.
Leafing through the bound volume’s 52 years of history, Werkes researchers alighted on a report from the summer of 1970 National Student Association convention. Talk about a time capsule! Featured speakers were Jesse Jackson, Rennie Davis of the Chicago 7, My Lai reporter Seymour Hersch, Betty Friedan, former A.G. Ramsey Clark, and Bella Abzug, What surprises the old student editor today is how cheeky we were even then. Startled by our lack of reverence for the hippy dippy progressivism of the day.
Because it’s in a bound volume, could not scan it and damned if the Werkes is going to re-key the thing. So we’re introducing our first podcast. It’s just under 5 minutes.
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
Jefferson Airplane “Volunteers” —
“Hey now it’s time for you and me
Got a revolution
Got to revolution
Come on now we’re marching to the sea
Got a revolution
Got to revolution”
There was a time when “marching to the sea” evoked images of General Sherman, but now I just see “lemmings”. Now, as eyesight fails, some things just come into sharper focus.
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“What do YOU remember?”
1070: The Gotch’s family got their 1st dog (a Yellow Lab we named Samantha) and Edwin Starr’s mega-hit WAR playing during what seemed like every other slot on WISM 1480a.m.
The Gotch
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Fall 1970. Had my knee caved in during football practice. That was in days before MRIs, so it took them 2 weeks to decide to do “exploratory surgery,” which turned out to be reconstructive. And was in the days before arthroscopic surgery, so I have a couple of railroad tracks running down the inside of my knee. And it was in the days when that kind of surgery derailed any future football or court sports. My surgeon also repaired Gayle Sayers knee…..
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“My surgeon also repaired Gayle Sayers knee…..”
Rare Air, there, mon frere!
Unfortunately abbreviated career aside, the Kansas Comet (the youngest player EVAH inducted into the NFL HoF) is in The Gotch’s Top Five RBs.
Heck, his 30.6 yard career KO return average, AND TDs per return, are BOTH STILL RECORDS…50 + years later.
IMO, even more importantly? He was an unassuming, straight-shootin’ Class Act, a quality in regrettably short supply these days.
The Gotch
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Memories? I remember waking up in my downtown Madison apartment in the wee hours of August 24, 1970 to a huge clap of what sounded like thunder, rolling over and resuming my shut-eye. Next morning I found out Sterling Hall had been bombed.
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Recall delivering next day 08/25/1970 WSJs with that screaming headline.
After serving an effin’ joke-of-a-sentence, The Gotch recalls seeing him playing a leisurely round at Odana Hills Golf Course ~10 years ago.
Wonder if Robert Fassnacht was a golfer…
The Gotch
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