Rock 鈥檔鈥� roll
I was delighted to read the reference to Jax Snax (your article referred to it as Jack鈥檚 Snacks) in the article about the Astronauts and other 1960s Hall of Fame bands [鈥淔lash Cadillac, Sugarloaf and the Astronauts,鈥� pages 36-39, June 2012 edition]. Jax Snax was a popular 3.2 beer bar in Estes Park, Colo., the place to go for 18-21 year olds spending the summer working or visiting in the tourist town. It was a rowdy place, constantly in trouble for noise violations, and it was eventually closed down. Thanks for a walk down memory lane.
Susan Harris,
Estes Park, Colo.
Name that building
The picture of the building on page 42 of the June 2012聽Coloradan聽depicts Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles campus. Royce Hall was built in Italian Romanesque Revival architectural style with construction starting on 1926 and completed in 1929.
The caption on the picture of Royce Hall incorrectly refers to the University of Southern California. A similar building built on the USC campus in 1921 is Bovard Hall.
Steven Camden聽(Bus ex鈥�00)
Albuquerque, N.M.
[Editor鈥檚 note:聽We heard from several alums who noticed we misidentified the building on page 42. We apologize and thank our readers for setting us straight!]
Coloradan聽beats paying bills
It is Saturday afternoon in sunny South Florida and while my friends are tanning on boats or sipping daiquiris at the Lauderdale Yacht Club, I鈥檓 stuck inside catching up on bills and other items on life鈥檚 to-do list. But to my surprise, the mundane task was pleasantly disrupted when I started leafing through the March edition of the聽Coloradan.
Bravo on a fantastic publication; the clean layout, thorough reporting, varied subjects and sharp photography piqued my interest throughout the pages. Your heartfelt and inspiring Editor鈥檚 Note was beautiful; my condolences about your losses and recent biopsy, but I have no doubt that with your attitude you鈥檒l be able to supersede the nasty disease that has found a home in our genes for so many years.
Congratulations on a job well done with the magazine. Keep up the great work!
Meredith Clements听(笔丑颈濒鈥�07)
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Secret to a happy child
Thanks for making a great聽Coloradan聽magazine! As a first-time father, I really appreciated 鈥淭he secret to a happy child鈥� article [pages 22-25] from the March 2012 issue.
Ramon Padilla听(尝颈苍驳鈥�04)
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
GIs set standard for team
I should have written sooner to say how much I appreciate and enjoy reading the聽Coloradan, but it isn鈥檛 until you see a little something that triggers a note. So please know that your publication is carefully read and shared with others.
The 鈥渢rigger,鈥� which brings this letter, is a tiny update in Class Notes on page 54. I was touched by your coverage of聽Stan Hendrickson聽(Econ鈥�47) as I had the good fortune to play with Stan after he鈥檇 returned from service in the South Pacific.
Stan and others, such as聽Bob Spicer聽(Jour鈥�50), still had the desire to play for CU, even though they鈥檇 both been very badly wounded. In addition to Stan鈥檚 earlier years of 1941-42, he was an end on the 1947 Buffaloes. I have a United Airlines photo of the CU football team boarding one of their first flights to an away game on Oct. 2, 1947. Their flight was to New York where they played Army at West Point. I won鈥檛 go into the score, which was lopsided in favor of West Point.
In this traveling squad probably half the team members were returning GIs. CU鈥檚 win-loss record that year wasn鈥檛 all that great, but the camaraderie amongst the team members was strong. Those players, like Stan and Bob, set a lasting example for the rest of us.
Doug Nelson听(骋别辞驳鈥�50)
Dixon, N.M.
How did Ralphie get her name?
Ralphie was named after the third son of the Rev. A. Balfour Patterson, the Episcopal chaplain known to thousands of 1950s and 1960s students as Father Pat. Father Pat was the stadium announcer through most of the 鈥�50s and into the 鈥�60s.
He also usually sang the bass part in the annual spring production of the聽惭别蝉蝉颈补丑听on campus and regularly sang with the community Gilbert and Sullivan Company. He was, at the time, so loved and respected by both students and faculty alike that Ralphie was named in honor of his young son.
C. Mark Brown听(础&补尘辫;厂鈥�61)
Freeland, Wash.
These are my comments on CU Around, page 40 [June 2012 issue] regarding 鈥淩alphie facts.鈥� I have been around the university only 50 years and I do not recall any reference to 鈥淩raalph鈥� since the first Ralph was commissioned in 1966. This was prior to the Super Bowl and before the two football leagues merged into one NFL, before the escalation of the Vietnam War and an era of 鈥済ood times.鈥�
What I do remember is the TV show聽The Honeymooners聽was in full force with afternoon reruns (when most of the student body spent their lazy afternoons watching TV). The U.S. was aiming for the moon under JFK鈥檚 directive of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade, which made Ralph Kramden鈥檚 (played by Jackie Gleason) continuing threat to Alice as he shook his fist, 鈥淎lice, one of these days, to the moon,鈥� fit the mood of the country.
Ed Norton (played by Art Carney), was Ralph鈥檚 best friend. Joyce Randolph played Ed鈥檚 wife Trixie who was best friends with Ralph鈥檚 wife, Alice Kramden (played by both Audrey Meadows and Shelia McRae).
The strong connection to CU football was the fact that Audrey Meadows was married to Robert (Bob) Six. Bob was the founder of Continental Airlines, booster for the University of Colorado and a very good friend of Coach Eddie Crowder. I remember seeing him in the old 鈥渢eam house鈥� after some of the home games.
So in honor of Ralph Kramden, one of the game themes was 鈥淲hat鈥檚 it all about Ralph?鈥� And you are correct, when a fan noticed Ralph was a girl, the name changed to 鈥淩alphie,鈥� which has stuck.
J. E. H. Knutson听(叠耻蝉鈥�69)
麻豆影院
[Associate athletic director聽Dave Plati聽(Jour鈥�82) responds: The official story is based on what was told to us by the original Ralphie handlers. In 1966 John Lowery, the father of a CU freshman from Lubbock, Texas, donated a six-month old buffalo calf. For a while, she was billed as 鈥淩raalph,鈥� the name given by the student body after sounds she allegedly made while running and snorting (original handlers will tell you something else). When a fan discovered the buffalo was a female, the name became Ralphie.]
Celebrating 50 years
Thank you, Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, for 鈥淎 call for courage鈥� [page 60, June 2012聽Coloradan]. It was in recognition of our class of 1962.
DiStefano writes of developments in 1962, such as the beginning of the Space Age, publication of the books聽To Kill a Mockingbird听补苍诲听Silent Spring, integration and Peace Corps involvement. That year, in my opinion, also was the last year before the 鈥淎ge of American Assassinations.鈥�
My attendance in cap and gown at the 50th reunion [during commencement] brought memories and produced an assessment. I summarized my past 50 years as a series of mistakes, bad decisions and wrong turns. Yet, by some miracle, I came out on top. A life of this sort therefore should not discourage new graduates. Life, or at least a big part of it, is unpredictable. It takes courage to
be realistic.
If indeed there is a 鈥渟pirit of 鈥�62,鈥� as DiStefano writes, I found its 50-year progeny well and thriving in 麻豆影院 during our reunion. It is, after all, part of the spirit of CU, an ever-growing wonder.
The graduates of 2012 displayed it in all its glory. And they did this despite an economy that we in 1962 only read of in the history of the Great Depression. Hence, they are launched into a far stronger headwind and face personal challenges with student debt unknown in our era. Courage, a double dose, is called for.
Risto K. Martinnen听(贬颈蝉迟鈥�62)
Lexington, Ky.
