In the almost unbelievable category, what you see are three separate teacher trading cards. A student at the high school where Josh Jones ’07, Peter Pactor ’65, and Gabe Duarte ’02 teach in Fort Worth, Texas came up with the idea, I guess.

Notice they all share the distinctive mark of their “team”, the red “W”.

I’m told these cards have the most value of any in the deck…and I am not surprised.

Jessica and Ben Tooley ’04 proudly announce the arrival of a 2030 Little Giant, Evan Tooley. From the picture, you can see that Wally is already taking Evan under his wing.

Evan arrived on tax day, checking in at a little over 7 lbs. and 20 inches. †We’re pretty sure he’ll be a morning person as he arrived at 7:25 AM!

Not to scare you and Jessica, Ben, but tuition in 2030…oh well, he looks to be a Lilly Scholarship kind of guy!

Congrats!

Jessica and I are proud to introduce…
Evan Benjamin Tooley
Born on April 15, 2008 at 7:25 am
7 pounds, 12 ounces
20 1/2 inches long

†

Dick Havel ’57 and his wife travel fairly often these days and they like to take long trips on ships. In fact, they have been around the world several times.

On a recent 72 day trip around South America, they had a chance to dine with one of the guest lecturers on the cruise – the Washington Post’s Dave Broder. Broder writes on politics and is a frequent guest on Meet The Press.

As the conversation continued, the subject made it way to Wabash College and Crawfordsville, Indiana. Ann, Broder’s wife, knew Wabash fairly well. She had a relative in the Crawfordsville area and knew a number of the Wabash presidents. It turns out she even dragged her husband to a Monon Bell Game!

Small Wabash world!

The seniors, blessed with two great Wabash presidents, invited Wabash’s 14th president, Andy Ford, back to give the last Chapel talk of the semester and of their time at Wabash. It was a classic – he brought the house down.

Andy drew a comparison of their first time back at home after being at Wabash and their first visit back to campus, at some point in their future. Those visits, while home and Wabash may look the same, are and will be different. The guys will be different.

Andy told them there’s a world out there desperately needing men with their skills.

Andy Ford. Wabash’s 14th President. Honorary alumnus. Some Little Giant!

For a few more photos, click here.

As it happens, last night I was working in the yard when a gentleman walked up to the house. Right away I could tell he was running for office. He introduced himself, explained that he lived on a neighboring street, and he was running for office. †Seeing my Wabash t-shirt, he then asked if I was a Wabash graduate. I responded with my class year and that I worked at the College. †He asked if I made “that drive” every day (gas prices!).

He then said he graduated in 1988.

I could, with a good heave, hit his house with a rock. I’ve not seen Tom on campus or one of our Lafayette lunches…but I’ll try to get him involved.

Small Wabash world.

It wasn’t until I started looking through the photos I took at Rob’s going away party that this one hit me…right between the eyes. It’s one of the shots I took as all the attendees who had been coached by Coach Johnson assembled at the front of the room to help announce the naming of the indoor track for Rob.

In this photo are a renowned doctor and a Trustee of the College…that tells you the kind of guys who competed for Coach. What really matters is the looks on their faces – all of their faces. Every face…every look…shouts Coach Johnson made a REAL difference in my life.

What a guy…what a legacy…Johnson, Robert H. IMPACT!

Dave Obergfell, who serves as a Deacon and Administrator at St. Edwards Catholic Church in Dallas, traveled to Washington, DC with his wife Jackie to welcome the Pope at Andrews Air Force Base. †

Dave and Jackie were able to get the tickets through his son Eric, an Air Force major who was part of the security effort for the Pope’s visit.

Dave and Jackie had great seats in the bleachers within easy viewing distance of the Pope and his entourage.

Dave – send us a picture!

A couple of days ago, a friend sent me an email and asked me to post some photos of the baseball series this past weekend.

I’ve never tried to shoot a baseball game so yesterday I threw my stuff in the truck and headed to campus. For the first try, the photos here and here aren’t too bad.

However, the series didn’t turn out the way we had hoped. For more on the games, see Brent Harris’ excellent coverage on the sports page. I just hope Coach Stevens doesn’t have me thrown out the next time I show up with my camera. You know how superstitious those baseball guys are…

Photo: Nick Schreader let’s a fastball fly.†

What a party! The retirement party for “Johnson, Robert H.” was the best going away/retirement party I have seen since my days in the Air Force. Nothing else has come close.

Almost 400 people gathered at Knowling Fieldhouse Saturday night – some traveled from Idaho, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Arkansas. Four of Rob’s five brothers and sisters were there. †Rob’s children were all there. †Pat Johnson was a very special guest. †Coach George Baldwin, Rob’s mentor and coach who encouraged Rob to become a coach, was there. †Wabash legends Stan Huntsman ’54, Max Servies ’58, Gail Pebworth and Chick Clements H’77 were in attendance. There must have been 100 Wabash alumni who ran for Coach there. He touched the hearts of thousands of Wabash men.†

Coach probably didn’t invent the term “student-athlete” – but he sure made it an everyday practice at Wabash.

The greatest comment you can make about someone is that they leave a place in better shape than they found it. †Rob’s done that and he’s taken it one step farther. †He’s left everyone he’s touched a better person – you can’t ask more than that!

Rob Johnson H’77 – Some Little Giant!

Yesterday I had another checkup with my doctor and classmate, Dr. Trey Holland ’71. Here’s the Cliff Notes version of my story…

If yours truly would not have taken the PSA (no symptoms, just thought it was “time”), and Trey had not been proactive about determining what was causing an elevated PSA, I would be a ticking time bomb, so to speak. When it comes to prostate cancer, by the time you get real symptoms it’s probably too late to eradicate the disease.

So, if you’re in the Class of 1979 or earlier, get a PSA test. If you’re the Class of 1990 or earlier and your family has a history of prostate problems, get a PSA test. The PSA is a simple blood test that takes you one minute – no fasting, no prep, nothing. Get a doctor’s order and get it done. Discuss the results with your family doc.

And I hope your doc is a Wabash guy…a guy just like Trey Holland.

Grunge