Happened to be passing behind the Sparks Center recently when I spied the Chef and his crew performing food processing the old fashioned way.

Been there and done that – a Hoosier tradition.

I asked the Chef what the heck they were doing.  Simple answer- "This is local corn, the best we can get, and it’s for our students".

Looks and sounds great to me!

The Grunge took a quick walk past the construction yesterday.  The weather this week is much more conducive to progress, the crew reports.

For a few more photos, click here.

I had the privilege of having lunch with my classmate Keith Nelson ’71 last week.  Keith was on campus to talk to some faculty and staff about interesting ideas to improve student retention, especially for Black and Hispanic students. 

Keith talked of his days at Wabash, which were my days as well.  I thought I had it tough – local C’ville kid from a poor family.  I didn’t know tough.

Keith and his classmates, and those who followed, knew tough.  And I have to believe their experience prepared them for that tough world they joined right after school.

One of the things those guys told each other was "We ARE going to make it" – and they did.  And we are a better college for it!

Photo: Keith Nelson ’71 pauses for thought as Prof. Tracey Salisbury looks on.

32 Years.  32 Admissions Cycles.  2,700 plus applications.  Over 500 matriculants.  That’s two entire classes of Wabash students.

Did I mention 32 years of Admissions cycles?  I barely made it through two here.

Mike Reidy is retiring from Wabash Admissions.  A small group gathered last week to say Thanks and All the Best.

Chip Timmons ’96, with Mike above, was the roaster.  He kept it PG rated.

Mike Reidy touched so many people in a positive way.  Think of all the high school counselors. You know they were helped by Mike’s hard work.  Think of all the families, whether or not their sons came to Wabash.  You know they benefited from Mike’s sage advice.  Think of all of us – we knew Mike was a great spokesman for us – he always painted a great picture of a Wabash education.  32 years…and over 80 different folks in Admissions.  All have the same feeling – Mike is a great friend!

Mike – it won’t be the same.  Having said that, we’ll figure out how to make it work.  Your fingerprints are all over the way we personally recruit each young man.  You should be very proud!

Jim Roper ’68 saw my post about the new baseball field on the blog and responded that he was involved in some baseball action as well.  That’s Jim’s sons Joshua (l) and Matthew (r) at a baseball clinic put on by 8 entertaining Major League Baseball alumni at the Air Force Academy.  

Check out those uniforms!  Matthew has his sun glasses placed exactly right.

Jim closes with the line that always makes me jealous – "T’was another glorious day on the Front Range."

So, another restless morning and another trip to campus earlier than normal.

I thought I’d take a photo or two of the work on the new baseball field from a different perspective – deep in center field looking Southwest towards home plate.  You see, deep in center field was never a place I hit a baseball, simply a place where I ran wind-sprints as a pitcher.

The guys hadn’t started yet this morning, but there’s been a lot of progress thus far in leveling the playing field, so to speak!

What caught my eye, up close, is what appears to be a the mound of dirt outside left field.  I’ve shown you pictures of this before.

I’ve seen similar structures in another life.  What made me wonder is the ventilation pipes strategically located around the "mound".  Here’s a closer look.  

Hmmmm…drainage?  Ventilation?  Comm lines?

Bunker?  The new Wabash College Command Post?

Just kiddin!

They were at it bright and early this morning.  We’ve had a lot of rain but the work keeps going.

For a couple of other shots, click here.

Matt Storm ’04, a leading scorer and All Conference honoree while at Wabash, has been named the head basketball coach at North Miami.

Matt’s had the kind of career development that many coaching prospects enjoy at the early stages f their professions careers – many moves and always headed for more responsibility. 

For the complete story of Matt’s new challenge, click here.

Congratulations, Matt!

Todd Rokita, Class of 1992, stopped by the Mitchum Crock to wish all of the golfers well.  Todd’s schedule is a little hectic, to say the least, as the Campaign trail for the US House of Representatives is keeping him constantly on the go.  

Of course, he also has this full time job as Indiana’s Secretary of State!

Good luck Todd!

That’s Dave Callecod ’89 on the left and a recent Purdue grad who also works in Louisiana on the right – his name is Drew Brees.

Dave said the test question was about what he is saying:

1.  Why did you beat the Colts?
2.  You best be repeating as Superbowl Champs!

In actuality, one the the things both mentioned was Drew’s time at Purdue and the fact that he used to work out with another really good quarterback, Jake Knott ’03.

 Can’t help but think that the real caption of the photo is "Two real difference makers in Louisiana – both educated in Indiana."