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Michael McLeod

And Steve H - he had a quiet poise beyond his years, yes. Rest in peace gentle spirit.

John Jackson

I didn’t keep in touch with Steve after our BWHS graduation but we were in many classes together and I knew him well. So sorry to hear of his passing.

David Mitchell

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Woody actually teach a history class for several years?

Michael McLeod

yes. woody taught a military history class or two. he had been in the service himself (navy) and taught a ww2 history class  based in part on his own uunderstanding of the system. he'd often draw parallels between fooball strategy and military campaigns in his classes. He had a charisma to him. Nobody nodded off when coach was lecturing.

Daniel Brown

I have one Steve Hemmelgarn story from high school*. He sat in front of me in coach walker's history class which  just happened to be the last class before final bell. During football season Friday's class became a study hall for us non-players because the team's last minute strategies took precedence over all else as we Catholic school kids knew was as god intended. Once all the players arrived at  coach's desk they huddled together as football players do, and the rest of us decided we could take this opportunity to turn the time to better use. The noise level reached a level of distraction. Walker stood up and told us in no uncertain terms to keep it down or something, something. As he was explaining the etiquette of study hall, he looked straight at Steve, who as we knew was probably the quietest, most unassuming guy we'd ever meet, and said "Hemmelgarn, you're in charge". Steve's face glowed bright red as he realized he became the center of attention. The first thing that came out of Steve's mouth was "what"? The room exploded in laughter and applause. Thus began the illustrious career of our favorite study hall monitor, Steve "Maha" Hemmelgarn. 
 

*as with most stories remembered from the days of one's innocent youth, this one qualifies as mostly, or maybe somewhat, true. 
 Rest in peace, buddy  

Michael McLeod

what a great story dan - * or otherwise.

Daniel Cody

Steve got the name Maha when he was a caddy at  the OSU golf course

Bill Reid

Since we're into "Woody Hayes stories",  here's one that never got much publicity. My sister Mary Alice was born with Cerebral Palsy and was mildly mentally retarded (I don't know what the politically correct term is for that anymore). Mary Alice regularly attended the Cerebral Palsy Center, which was located somewhere on Hudson Street. Occasionally, outside of football season, Woody would visit the center and talk with the people there. He never had a press entourage or any publicity for doing so; he just did it out of the kindness of his heart. And he didn't do it just once or twice; often my sister would come home and say "Woody was there today." It was a selfless act of kindness on his part, and he never wanted any notoriety for doing so. As many Woody Hayes stories as there are (and at least SOME of them might even be true!) this one is for certain. He was a good man and an excellent football coach. May he rest in peace!

Joseph Gentilini

I met Woody once in a drug store on Lane Avenue. I interduced myself and I don't remember the conversation, although I think it was someing on history (which he loved). He was just a regular guy, not arrogance, almost common like the rest of us. May he rest in peace.  

David Mitchell

Woody story #1

Woody had a history of speaking engagments for all kinds of groups. These were mostly "paid" engagements. Apparantly he would give his talk and receieve his check afterward. Hewould ask what the favorite charity of the group was and endorse the check and hand it back to the hosts.

Woody story #2

Woody's wife Anne (I think that's right) held a fund raiser for a charity cause every year. it always drew a good audience and riased a lot of money. She called on a number of different guest speakers over the years but her favorite and most frequent choice was her all-time favorite OSU assistant coach - Bo Schembechler.

Woody story #3 

Several of Woody's assistant coaches at the end of his career later said that they saw something different (and a bit frightening) in Woody's eyes and in his demeanor when they began preparations for that final year. They though he looked a bit detached from reality and seemed almost always on the verge of losing his mind. Years ago I saw an interview with long time assistant Esko Sarkkinen in which he stated that he worried that Woody seemed like he was about to go over the edge. 

Michael McLeod

Thanks for all those Woody stories folks -- several of which, particularly the personal ones, touch closely to the part of him that I sensed as a kid and have carried with me all my life. What struck me first, way back then, was his voice. In particular there was something you could hear in it when he'd bring players onto those old black-and-white half-hour locally produced osu football tv shows -- this blustering football coach that could also sound like he was reading sleepy-time bedside stories to little kids in fatherly tones when he talked to those big bulky halfbacks and linemen that he'd bring with him like clunky, shy, monotonal talk show guests, to discuss -- well, he did the discussing - their roles in that week's game. The contrast between strength and sensitivity in him struck me and charmed me for as far back in my childhood as I can remember. He was, yes, an infamously hot-tempered and hated figure, especially by "that team up north" (if you'll recall, he could never bring himself to use the m-word. Neither can I.) But for me that temper only made it all the more touching when you would see all that bluster, all that anger, all of that warrior face of his dissolve now and then to the point where suddenly, with a start, you could see the sweet soul underneath. In other words, he was a man with an emotional range. In other words, the kind of man I knew I wanted to be.

I only met him that one time but long before that happened I felt like he was family, like another one of those assorted uncles we had over for dinner every sunday.

I know I'm not the only one who saw him that way. We, our class, our generation, had many blessings -- and beacons. Wayne Woodrow Hayes was among them.

John Jackson

I was going to wait a few weeks before putting my lawn sign out, but after the firehose of lies we heard from JD Vance during Tuesday’s debate I couldn’t help myself:

Make no mistake, Walz is a mediocre debater and Vance won on style but that only goes to show how slickly and effortlessly he lies.  It's hard to single out the biggest whopper but, forced to choose, I'd say Vance's claim that Trump “saved” Obamacare when Trump vowed to end it - only John McCain’s brave vote at the end (when he was sick with brain cancer) prevented Trump from succeeding.

And a close second in the smorgasbord of lies was Vance’s claim, ignoring the events of January 6, that Trump “peacefully gave over power on January 20^th as we have done for 250 years in this country”.

James Hamilton, M. D.

John J.

Truly John, your lawn needs raking. 🌿 😄

Jim

Michael McLeod

Thanks, Jim. Somebody had to say it.

John Jackson

Jim and Mike - I appreciate the tough love.  All I can say in my defense is that it's been really dry here and all the leaves are falling early and as an old fart I just can't keep up.

Michael Boulware

John,

Our yard signs have been out for two weeks and they are still there!!!! Usually some lowlife steals our political signs. What keeps haunting me is the beating of the police with flag poles and the defecating in the halls of our Capitol on January 6. The attempt to undue a fair election by forcing electors to go against the popular vote of their states is such a violation of our law and it may go unpunished. Let's recognize that this is going to be a close election. I simply can't understand how we can reward a criminal with the Whitehouse.

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

"Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to save."  Psalm 146:3

Joseph Gentilini

I agree that God is the answer, but he expects us to use our minds and hearts to examine politicians. I just read a very interesting book by Matthew Fox.  It is called, "Trump and the MAGA movement and the Anti-Christ."  It calls a spade a spade!  joe

Michael McLeod

You got it Joe. God is the answer. Politicians are questionable.

Speaking of politics, this story in the NYTimes -- just wanted to share the first few graphs - focuses in on the cultural/humanistic aspect of the presidential race: the rise of a powerful woman. Our generation has lived through a stupendous shift with regard to the balance of power and respect between the sexes, one that we lived long enough to see all boiled down to a point in the form of one of the two presidential hopefuls.

Given that Kamala Harris is running for the world’s most powerful elected office, it’s no surprise to see voters and pundits commenting on her “power moves” and “boss energy.” What’s remarkable is that they mean it as a compliment. That’s a far cry from the experience of many women — in politics and beyond — who have dared to assert themselves.

It’s even a far cry from Ms. Harris’s experience four years ago. In the crowded Democratic presidential primary field of 2020, she and other female candidates were mostly criticized for lacking warmth. When she joined Joe Biden’s ticket, the warmer Ms. Harris seemed, the more positive impressions people formed of her — especially if they were conservative. But overall, people viewed her primarily as assertive and ambitious. Attempts to soften her image, such as the “We did it, Joe” video clip that the campaign released after the election was called for Mr. Biden, were sometimes mocked for seeming contrived.

Seeking power has always been a maddening tightrope walk for women. Show up as too dominant and they’re seen as cold; reveal too much vulnerability (or, God forbid, cry) and they seem weak. Over time Ms. Harris has figured out how to navigate these double standards, and her playbook may help other women do it, too.

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

The NYT journalist obviously has a narrow view of history. Women have been powerful players in positively impacting the world since Old Testament days. I don't need a woman who is obsessed with making it moral & legal for a mother to end the life of her own child to be a trail blazer for the female sex especially as Harris promotes ending the future for pre-born females. As one of the most respected women of our times, Mother Teresa of Calcutta admonished us, "if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another."

Here is but a small list of women whose lives 21st century women can turn to for guidance and inspiration:

https://guideposts.org/prayer/8-women-saints-and-their-incredible-lives/

https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/9-saintly-modern-lay-women-to-inspire-you-throughout-the-new-year-6191

Michael McLeod

I love your list, mm, and I respect the tack that you chose to take with it --apart from saying that, in fairness to the NY Times, it is a NEWS paper not an OLD paper. I do get your point. I just love the history-book resonance of a woman of color in a place of 20th century power, living out a moment, regardless of your politics or personal philosophy, that epitomizes both racial equality and women in our era as we are ALL -male and female -- coming into our own as our species, hopefully, continues to evolve and become more enlightened. All I wanted to say, and again I'm sticking to it and you can do with it as you will, is that I'm proud that our generation is party to a turning point moment when it comes to gender equity and race relations. Nice to think or hope that history books of the future will speak well of us along those lines. You can be damn sure Kamala will have her picture in those books. That makes me happy. Though I had nothing to do with it, it makes me proud.

Now I am going to get back down to earth and on my knees and clean my bathroom and wipe down my baseboards per my girlfriend's instructions because she has no hesitancy whatsoever about critiquing my feeble homemaking skillset. My daughter is coming down from columbus for a visit and Denise wants to make sure she will be happy to see her father isn't living like a slob.

Wish everybody could meet her, by the way. My Significant Other, that is. Que mujer, as they say in espanol. Denise is a willowy, bossy, fiercely independent, fair skinned and therefore prone to sunburn New England transplant, an elementary school teacher who has taught me a thing or two. I am grateful and humbled in my suburban dotage down here in Winter Park, Fla., home, by the way, to a fabulous Loius Comfort Tiffany stained glass museum I have written about as it rescued disintegrating stained glass treasures that may have otherwise been lost. I am appreciative for every moment of my own sunny, ongoing enlightenment and restoration in no small part thanks to Denise - my own, personal, homeroom teacher, if you will.

Yikes. I'll say it again, in English this time: What a woman. I so wish you guys could meet her. I can't help but smile, a bit shamefaced, when I say: It took a grade school teacher to help me grow up. 

I didn't know it when I set out to write this but as it turned out, and thanks for being my audience, this turns out to be a tribute to not just one but two remarkable women. You go, girls.

Joseph Gentilini

Michael McL - your Denise sounds like a gem. It is a wonderful thing to have someone who loves us unconditionally and who also keeps us in line - ha.  

John Maxwell

David Mitchell

Is there some disconnect here ?

the general notice shows the latest entry is from Tim, but then you go to open it and there is nothing after  Jack's post ?????????? 

Janie Albright (Blank)

Dave I have no idea. I see your post. Has anyone posted in last day or two and not seeing the post on the forum?