Go I.U.!

My college years at Indiana University were idyllic. They truly were. I think back on them and only remember the golden memories of the four years I spent in Bloomington, Indiana, doing a minimum amount of classroom studies and a maximum amount of maturing. With a few bad choices mixed in for good measure.



I was amazed when I heard that my alma mater was going to be in the Rose Bowl this year. During my tenure at I.U., the football team was a joke. The school had high hopes when they hired Lee Corso as the football coach in 1973, but his record was spotty. The modifed poster in my dorm room with the blacked out tooth and zombie eyes says it all (no, that's not me standing next to it). For my freshman year (Corso’s final year), his record was 5-6.



Having been in my high school’s marching band, I decided to audition for the one at I.U., known as The Marching Hundred. In 1927, the band marched in a 10x10 block during the pregame show for the match against Harvard. And there you have it. Below is a shot of the bus trip to the one and only away game (Michigan in Ann Arbor) the band could afford to accompany the football team on.



Posing for the family that kindly hosted us in Michigan during our stint there. We lost, 10-24.



Even back in college, my camera went everywhere with me. I took these shots during a home game. Yes, it was cold.



Below are band directors Wilbur England and Ray Cramer (also his final year as director):



England took over when Cramer left and lasted until 1985. I can still hear the teashing chants of “Wilbuuuuuuuuur” not-so-silently from my fellow band members.



I only did one year in the Marching Hundred. The practices and games really killed my social life and prevented me from making many friends outside of the band until the football season was over. I still went to a few football games afterwards. Some shots of the band from the 1983 season:









In 1985, it was one of those Haley’s Comet moments when I was with my two brothers AND my dad  (the occasion was the IU Homecoming game). Being on the Indiana Memorial Union Board of Directors, we were treated to a tailgate picnic feast before the game.



The last shot I took of the Marching Hundred during my college career appropriately shows them in “I” formation, circa 1985:



While I never marched in the Rose Parade while at I.U., I DID have that honor as a high school student back in 1980.

I’m the alto in the middle.

Not only did I.U. play in the Rose Bowl game this year, they had their best season in program history with a College Football Playoff national championship after a 27-21 victory over Miami on January 19. To quote our Indiana University fight song, “GO! IU! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Indiana, we're all for you!"

See more Indiana University photos at my main website.

50 Years Ago...

Fifty years ago, Walt Disney was the Grand Marshal for the 77th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade held in Pasadena. The theme was "it's a small world." Sadly, Walt would pass away by year's end.

Flashing forward to 1980, Frank Sinatra was the Grand Marshal. Here is his gigantic floral recreation:



and the Chairman of the Board himself:



As it so happens, I was marching in the parade with my high school band that somewhat chilly New Year's Day, too:



Playing my alto saxophone:



You can read more about our fundraising, rehearsals, and other performances during that memorable trip in 1980 here: http://www.tehistory.org/hqda/html/v30/v30n1p021.html

Hope you are all enjoying 2016 and sticking to your resolutions!

More Daveland photography at main website.

Conestoga: more than just a wagon

Conestoga is the name of the high school that I attended many moons ago. On the side of the building, there was a metallic cutout of a Conestoga wagon, and fittingly, our mascot was a Pioneer. This 1979 photo shows our high school band, ready to march in the 1980 Rose Bowl Parade (yes, we had some good trips!).

You can see a very disinterested me, 4th from the right, with the rest of the saxophone section. The tall hat really sucked; balancing it was a pain in the a#$.



My dad drove me crazy taking photos of us during the games; of course now I treasure these.



The band trip during my senior year included a detour to Walt Disney World in Orlando. Couldn't complain about that.



On graduation day in June 1982, you can see my high school in the background.



This vintage April 1958 Disneyland image shows a Conestoga Wagon, which once graced Frontierland and provided a very bumpy ride for guests looking for an authentic old west experience.



Zooming in for a closer look:



This shot shows the Wagon barreling out of the loading queue area:



Unfortunately, this attraction bit the dust a few years before I was born, so I am unable to say that I've actually been on a Conestoga Wagon. However, the name of it sure provides a few warm memories of my high school years.

See more Daveland vintage Disneyland Conestoga Wagon photos at my main website.