Carleton Rugby History - 45th Celebration of Men's Rugby and 35th of Womans- Expanding the Network of Rugby!

 During Reunion 2013, I started running into men who I knew began the Carleton Rugby Tradition back in 1968.  Prior to the weekend, my friend Jamie Wellik, Carleton '87 and current Carleton Rugby Club coach, encouraged me to attend and see how much of the thread of the history I could put together.   So here is the beginning.  I trust others.closer to the history will edit and refine the story!!!

I attended  the C Club lunch Saturday June 22, a place for honoring more the mainstream of intercollegiate sports at a lunch at the new Weitz Center of the Arts.  Then, after buying books written by Carl's including Lance Craighead, I wondered over beyond Lyman Lakes to the big Rec Center.

It had been refreshing to re connect with Lance Craighead, '69 at the Rube n Stein for dinner the night before, with Bob and Ann Aby '67 now of Northfield and then we opted to walk to the Contented Cow, the local watering hole along with Cannon River, where I reconnected with other guys who co created the first Rugby Teams.  Al Wells '71 and Todd Carlson of '70 and others were there to share in the evening story telling over a brew,  that tend to be part of the Rugby tradition I have learned.  I had a local cider complements of Lance and then I met a woman who works at Macalester College in the Chem Dept who went to Frost Valley YMCA in the 1970's the same era I worked with Halbe Brown there.   Neat to connect and share stories.  Thanks Karen from Macalester Collage.

 

So Tim Preheim in the light blue shirt and shorts in the middle, took the initiative to call the group together.  Some of the guys I knew from L - R, Jay Bothwell '71 (lt blue), Bill Mauzy '69 blue and white striped, ________black and green shirt?, Tim Preheim, Dave "Brute"Bradshaw '69 , Lance Craighead '69 light colored shirt, Royston Kruse 1971, a native of British Africa who was raised playing rugby there! Not sure of the names of others.


Pixie Newman ‘78, the founder of women's Rugby with Dave Bradshaw, Class of 1969.

 The guy in the grey shirt William Hartley, was the Carleton Professor who started Rugby on Campus during the time of president John Nason, here talking with Jay Bothwell.  I think he taught in government.  In the blue shirt is in front Denny McGraw, 1969,   known mostly as Muggsy McGraw during our days on campus. He was one of my freshman roommates.



Many attendees, whose names I do not know  ---Feel free to contact me off line, to add names

William Hartley in center








William and Pixie, founders of men's and woman's rugby clubs at Carleton

Spring into Summer - Green Options in Minnesota 2013 :-)

Last year I began to work in Denny Stockdale's garden in Edina.  My sister Jane Newell and I began weeding and rescuing some the hosta's here, and planted ferns by the back fence.  With all the rain, fun to see the bench below the spruce tree calls people to sit and meditate and slow down and enjoy the green.

Lilacs with sweet smells of spring with the vegie garden in the background at Denny's

Here is the late start of the herb and vegie garden. 

Small detailed garden behind Denny's house. 

Love seat under the ash tree, recently re mulched. 

Here is the organizer of the bike ride from Myers Hall, Carleton from I think the class of '83, that was advertised to be the first to the Thorstein Veblen Farm in Goodhue County by Nerstrand.  I will add his name later.  He is here from Peru Indiana.....

Participants ( I think around 30 started the 15 mile ride into the SE Wind...and not sure how many finished) The blue shirted folks are recent Carleton Grads who are helping out with the logistics of the reunion weekend. 

A couple of the class participants who are enthusiastic along the road to Nerstrand.

Finally at the top of the long hill.  To the left is Nerstand Big Woods State Park. To the right is the town of Nerstand and beyond, the Veblen farmstead.

The corner on the dirt road, with the small Veblen welcoming sign below the blue fire number.

We were welcomed by the woman in the pink shirt who lives at the home with the spread of food.  Cheeses from local farms. Sustainability is one of the themes of the reunion. She works with her hands, and repairs clocks and is also a Weaver. Will add names later, hopefully

Here we are having a tour of the flower and vegetable area by Mark Fjelstad who promotes the special aspects of the Veblen History.  Thorstein Veblen wrote about Conspicuous Consumption around 1900. 

For details of his life, check out. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorstein_Veblen

Old barn on the Veblen Homestead. 

T B V, vertical initials carved in as a youth in a stud in an upstairs bedroom. 

View of the Veblen home as it was extensively restored recently.  Mark in green shirt and ______ in the pink shirt live in the home. 

Pelican Lake Property 1967 - 1968 Planting Trees for Their Legacy

The Three Weaver Brothers,  Jim, Jack and Tom, together purchased 2 cabins, lakeshore and backland from Alden C and Edyth Palmer in 1967 on Pelican Lake, Crow Wing County.  Tom, this author, was attending Carleton College in Norhfield and maintained his connections with Faribault High School classmates who were attending the University of Minnesota.  Here are Greg Larsen, Fred Zahn, and Steve Wafler interacting with a snapping turtle on the sandy back road behind Sunset Beach, lot 11 where the Weaver parents, Paul H and Margaret Weaver purchased the lot in 1946. 

This is the front of the Palmer Big Cabin as it appeared in 1967 when we completed the purchase. Later on, we learned that the original cabin with the taller roofline, was built by Shattuck School instructor Fred Haeberle in 1912, making it the first cabin build here on the shore.  The neighbors, Winnie and Dave Leonard, next door, mentioned that Winnie's Grandfather, FE Jenkins, the First Headmaster of St James School, in Faribault, built his cabin in 1913.  The Leonard "Old Cabin" still maintains the original architecture and character to this day! 

The Palmer Cabin garage with railings of birch as it appeared in 1967 soon after the purchase by the Weaver brothers. 

Interior of the kitchen with original furnishings as purchased from the Palmers. 

In the spring of 1968, I was joined by some Carleton undergrads who supported my vision to plant some evergreen seedlings, then available through the state of Minnesota for a few cents each.  Here is the old Buick 1949 Woody Station Wagon that I drove at the Badora Nursery where I drove to pick up the seedlings that Winnie Leonard decided to plant. 

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 Likely one of the first times people stayed at the Palmer cabins after we purchased the property.  Here are Carleton underclassmen I knew from Burton Hall, John Trucano, Jeff Ball and Will Bouricous planting the seedlings in front of the cabin.

The interior of the Palmer small cabin, looking southeast, as it appeared in 1967-68 when we first visited the properties. 

In the winter of 1967-68 Jim Weaver visited our parents cottage on Sunset Beach and together he and I explored the property we had purchased as three brothers, to get a sense of how we could manage the property. Here is how the mailbox area looked with signs for AC Palmer and W Hokans seen.

In the winter 1968-69, the sign with Jim looking on, that AC Palmer had erected by the mailboxes to encourage people to drive down a second road to East Pelican Cottages, 800 ft to the east.  Later this road was renamed Leonard Drive, in honor of the Leonard family who inherited the Jenkins Property. 

Tom Weaver, the author, walking down the "private road" indicated by Palmer's sign toward the newly purchased cabins in the winter of 1967-68. 

In 1968 Jack Weaver, invited his financee' Nellie Jane Williams and her father, Harold Williams, to test out the fishing.  At that time, we still had the old red pontoon boat left by the Palmers to fish on the big lake.  I think I took this at night after a successful venture out on the big lake. Also, a possibility is from Lougee Lake, where we created a landing for fishing that was used with an access road for many years. And I just read in the log book from the cabin, that these fish were caught on Markee in July of 1970.  So there you go, consider the possibilities.....lots of fish over the years. An abundant experience regardless of when.

One of the benefits of having sugar sand beaches, is being able to make large bays and islands out of the sand.  Jack Weaver in 1968 is modeling how this has been done over the years on Pelican Lake and  lakeshore stewarded by the Weaver family. 

 "Pete" AKA Paul H Weaver, MD, at the sink on Sunset Beach cottage with Nellie Williams in 1968 during the summer visit.

Jack Weaver and his dog "Tau".  Nellie attended Western Illinois University which is reflected in the sweatshirt worn here. .