An important part of Wildcat football is the Linfield Water Crew

Linfield Water Crew 2009 (l-r): Bill Harlan, John O'Connor, Eric Lundeen, John Schindelar and Jason Schindelar. This photo and accompanying video from Oct 11, 2009, at the Pine Bowl on the campus of Whitworth University in Spokane/Mead/Country Homes, Wash., prior to Linfield-Whitworth football game.



Water Crew members John Schindelar, Eric Lundeen before a 2005 home football game at the Catdome (Linfield College's Maxwell Field).


First came the Ice Age.

In the case of Linfield College football's Water Crew, first came Fred "Iceman" Baugh.

Through hot practices in McMinnville and home and away games during part of Ad Rutschman's tenure, all of Ed Langsdorf's and, now, Jay Locey's Wildcat head football coaching career, Baugh or the Crew has served the needs of Wildcat football players.

After retiring from a 27-year career with the McMinnville School District, Baugh noticed a need while attending a Linfield Wildcat football practice on a sunny day in August 1986.

At the practice, he saw hot and thirsty Wildcat football players drinking water from a hose, he told Linfield Review reporter Jeni Aaby in an April 2, 2004, article, “Nourishing the thirst to win.”

Baugh came up with a better way to keep the Wildcats cool. Starting in the 1986 season, he provided water and ice to Linfield players during hot practices and on the sidelines at home and on the road football games.

After working solo for a couple of seasons, Baugh invited his best friend, Brad Mills, then a McMinnville elementary teacher, to “help me water the boys.” For a time, Baugh and Mills were the Linfield Water Crew. In addition to providing water, they purchased towels and water bottles, kept ice water and towels for overheated players during the games, cleaned mud from cleats, and repaired some equipment and helmets.” They also affixed the famous Wildcat logo decal on player helmets.

Water Crew members John O'Connor and John Schindelar at University of Wisconsin Whitewater Perkins Stadium prior to Dec. 12, 2009, Linfield NCAA semi-final playoff game, Linfield Wildcats vs. UWW Warhawks.

In 1989, John Schindelar, also a Mac elementary teacher, accepted their invitation to join the Crew. In 2002, Baugh retired from his Crew work. So, did Mills. But, alas, Baugh missed the work too much and could not stay away. He returned to practices and the sidelines. Baugh claims the 2005 season was his last on the Crew. “It's been a wonderful time being associated with such quality coaches and players,” Baugh says. Schindelar now leads the Crew.

"Lots of people don't know how much time we spend providing water during the during the hot fall practice pre-season sessions. Often there are three to five of us on the practice field for more than three at least four days per week. That's about 48 hours weekly," Schindelar says.

When practices take place later in the season, when it's cold and rainy, the Crew does not work. "But, rain or shine, on home game days, all Crew members are busy," says Schindelar. Water Crew members are volunteers, but each make a financial commitment. Crew members buy their vehicle gas, and pay for their food and lodging on the road. They also buy some towels, water faucet hoses and coolers.

The Crew is credited with organizing the Linfield football icebreaker, which continues to this day. Held on campus immediately before fall drills, the events provide players, coaches and player parents with a good meal and a chance to get to know each other.

"We love what we do," says Schindelar. "The student-athletes at Linfield are great. Our coaches are the best. They teach our players to always do the right thing."

Crew team members (listed in sonority order):

John Schindelar…
…joined the Crew in 1989. A Solon, Ohio, native and Solon High School and Bowling Green State University grad, he played football at Solon High and, as a freshman, at Bowling Green. He has a master of education degree from Ohio's Kent State University and he has studied at Ohio State University. His background includes teaching in Ohio and also in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants’ Schools in Japan, Germany, and Spain. He taught 25 years in the McMinnville School District. This includes 20 years teaching fifth grade at Cook Elementary School and five years of fourth grade at Memorial Elementary School. In Augsburg, Germany, at an American high school, he was an assistant varsity football coach and head varsity track coach, both for four years. At Ohio’s Beachwood High School, he was an assistant varsity football coach. He also coached football, soccer, and track for 20 years at Cook Elementary.

John O'Connor…
…after being a substitute, he became a full time Crew member in 1995 and says, “I absolutely love it.” Born and raised in New Jersey, he is a 1973 economics graduate of Southern Oregon University. Prior to retiring in 2003, he served 27 years with the state of Oregon as an Adult & Family Services case manager. He says baseball is his favorite sport. He coached Little League baseball, 10 years in Mac and two in Klamath Falls. Now retired from swim officiating, for 15 years, he was head timer for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets swim meets.

Bill Harlan……joined the Crew in 1996, the year he moved to McMinnville. Born and raised in central Illinois, he is a graduate of Monmouth College in that state. His 30-year teaching career included working in Los Angeles public schools and in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants' Schools in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Greece. A snow skier who has skied in the Alps of Switzerland, he and John Schindelar taught at the same Department of Defense school in Germany.

Eric Lundeen……became a Crew member in 1997. He’s a McMinnville School District child development specialist. Originally from California, Lundeen graduated from Nebraska's Concordia College and earned a master of science in social work degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He says a benefit of crew work is "being involved in a program that uses positive thinking to achieve monumental goals." There's great joy, Lundeen says, in "watching a group of Linfield students come together as a team, see leaders develop, see goals being met and surpassed. I see our coaches skillfully guide their team without raising a voice, lowering themselves to denigrating their players and overcoming obstacles that get in the way." His sports background includes bicycle touring – he’s cycled Europe. Lundeen is learning and practicing tai chi, a traditional Chinese mind-body relaxation exercise. He has coached football and track at McMinnville's Adams Elementary School. As a swim meet official for the Oregon Swim Association, affiliated with USA Swim Association, he has officiated for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets

Jason Schindelar…
…signed on with the Crew in 2002. The son of John Schindelar, he is a McMinnville High School graduate and former Mac High football player and track athlete (shot put and discus). He was elected Mac-Hi track & field team captain as a senior. He lives Estacada. During the 2005 season, his father says, "Jason took care of (All-American quarterback) Brett Elliot and other players every time they came off the field with a dry towel and water. He also watered the referees."

Honorary Water Crew member

Al Sekerak…
…an Ohio State Buckeye fan/friend of Joan and Joan Schindelar, from Canyon Lake, Calif., he serves as an honorary Water Crew member. Says John Schindelar, “We allow him to come to Oregon once or twice a year to be an honorary Linfield Water Crew member.” In the 2005 season, he worked as a Crew member for the PLU game on Maxwell Field and traveled to Spokane to work the Whitworth game. “He has been doing this for five of six years,” says Schindelar.

Honorary Water Crew Groupies
Joan Schindelar, Marcia Harlan, and Phyllis Mills have Linfield football season passes, and travel to away games with their Water Crew husbands. ”Sometimes Kay O Connor joins us, especially when we travel to California,” says John Schindelar.

Crew team alumni (listed in senority order):

Fred Baugh…
…the founding father of the Linfield Water Crew, he was nicknamed the “Iceman” when he started providing water and ice for Linfield football players. In his more than a quarter of a century of work for the McMinnville School District, he was principal of Columbus and Newby elementary schools and support services director for the district. Born and raised in Wenatchee, Wash., he came to Linfield as a student in 1947, transferring from Spokane’s Whitworth College, where he played football for one season. He graduated from Linfield in education in 1950 and earned a master’s of education degree from the college in 1955. A Navy veteran, his sports background includes coaching elementary school sports and high school freshman football. Iceman died Sept. 21, 2015.

Brad Mills...
…made the Crew possible, when he joined Fred Baugh at practices and on the sidelines that made two, a Crew! Although Mills “retired” from the Crew in 2002, he still helps at practices and on the sideline when needed, until he drives his recreational vehicle for winter in sunny southern California. There, he’s activities director at an RV resort. A Navy veteran, Mills taught 30 years in the McMinnville School District, at Columbus and Adams Elementary Schools. Ten of those years were as a K-6 P.E. instructor. He is a graduate of Newberg High School and earned bachelor (minor in physical education) and master’s degrees from Western Oregon University. He coached fourth-sixth graders in all sports and helped in the early stages of the district’s successful outdoor school for sixth graders. Mills is an avid golfer and enjoys fishing.

Bob Payne…
…served on the Crew from about 19XX until his death in 2004 -- a cancer victim -- in 2004. He was a McMinnville attorney, city councilor and civic leader. A California native, he graduated from the University of California-Davis and earned a law degree from the University of Georgia. He was a Vista volunteer. Also, he was a legal aid attorney in Georgia, Coos Bay and for Yamhill County. From 1983-1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law to the U.S. military. He returned to McMinnville in 1985 and opened a private law practice. He taught business law at Linfield. His sports interests included watching soccer and playing golf. See below for his obituary as it appeared on March 3, 2004, in The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise newspaper.

Jerry Nutt…Jerry Nutt was a member of the Water Crew from XXXX until his death in 2011. Said the Crew’s John Schindelar, “The Wildcat football team never really got to know … Jerry … because he was always too ill (Myelodysplastic Syndromes) to really help much," he said. "(But team members) would surely recognize him with his oxygen tank and cane limping along on the track or field. … One thing is for sure, he loved the Wildcat football program and he came to every practice or game he could manage!"

Jerry L. Nutt
1940 - 2011
McMinnville News-Register
February 2011
Jerry Lynn Nutt, 70, a resident of McMinnville, died on January 29, 2011, following his long-fought and valiant battle with Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

He was born in Cashmere, Washington to Claude and Lulu Nutt on February 1, 1940. Jerry attended primary and secondary school in Coulee City, Washington and graduated from Coulee City High School in 1958. He received a Bachelor’s degree in education from Whitworth College and a Masters Degree in library sciences from Central Washington University.

He began his career in education in Cashmere, Washington in 1963; however, worked the majority of his 35 year career as a teacher, librarian, administrator and media specialist in the Beaverton School District where he retired from in 1997.
Jerry, or “Grandpa Griz” as he was known to many, continued to work with children by volunteering as a counselor at the Tillamook County Outdoor School. He also loved spending time as a docent at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville and was proud to be part of the Linfield College Football Team Waterboys.

He provided guidance and passion to his family, friends, coworkers and kids through his enduring love of life and spiritual passion. He exuded a joyful spirit with a zest for life and made everyone feel comfortable through his fun, giving and outgoing personality. He devoted his life to Phyllis, his beloved wife of 33 years. Together they traveled throughout the western United States expanding their horizons and visiting their children in Portland, California, Wyoming and South Dakota; however, they always reveled in the tranquility and solace of their companionship spent on their porch watching the birds and sunsets.

Jerry is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis; son, Jason, his wife, Michele and grandchildren, Justin and Ryan; son, Dan and grandchildren, Samuel and Logan; son, Eric and his wife, Patty; and a large community of loving and caring friends who will miss him very much.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 10, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at the Church on the Hill located at 700 North Hill Road in McMinnville, Oregon 97128 (503) 472-8476. Viewing will be held Thursday and Friday from 12:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Macy & Son.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Tillamook County Outdoor School, P.O. Box 4, Cloverdale, OR 97112. To leave private online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com.


Robert A. Payne
The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise
March 3, 2004
Robert A. "Bob" Payne, a 1963 Davis High School graduate, died Feb. 20, 2004, of pancreatic cancer in his McMinnville, Ore., home. He was 58. He was born Dec. 19, 1945, in Sacramento, to Leonard and Thelma Bailey Payne. He grew up in Woodland and Davis, graduating from UC Davis in 1970. He graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1975.

In 1971-72, he served as a Vista volunteer in northern Georgia, where he later worked as a legal aid attorney.

In 1976 he moved to Coos Bay, Ore., to practice as a legal aid attorney. He moved to McMinnville two years later. He served as director of Yamhill County Legal Aid until 1983.

From 1983 to 1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law for the U.S. military.

He then returned to McMinnville, opening a private practice. He was a member of that city's planning commission for four years, then served 12 on the City Council before declining health forced his resignation last October.

He also served on the McMinnville Cable Commission, Yamhill County Community Action Organization board, Oregon Legal Aid board and local Habitat for Humanity board. He was a founding member of the Henderson House family crisis shelter, and was active in the North Willamette Valley Investment Club.

He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1966-75. He worked with the Cheyenne River Sioux on the Eagle-Butte Indian Reservation in South Dakota. And he taught business law at Linfield College in McMinnville.

His hobbies included reading, playing golf, traveling, camping, playing computer games and politics. He was an avid sports fan, supporting McMinnville-area soccer teams and serving as a "water boy" for the Linfield football team.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Payne of McMinnville, daughter, Katy Payne of Seattle, sons, Jim Payne of Anacortes, Wash., and Bailey Payne of Corvallis, Ore., mother, Thelma Cooper of Woodland, sisters, Katie Cooper of Dayton, Ore., Lynn Wilen of Shingletown and Elizabeth Sherin of Pollock Dunes, and one grandchild.

A memorial service was held Feb. 26 at McMinnville First Baptist Church. A private burial was planned.

Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, care of Macy & Son Funeral Directors, 135 N.E. Evans St., McMinnville, OR 97128.

::::::::::::

Good Hydrations 

By Andrew Kilstrom of the N-R/McMinnville News-Register 9/13/2013 

Every Linfield home football game, John Schindelar and his five-man water crew arrive at Maxwell field two and a half hours before game time.

The men help prepare the locker room, mix Gatorade, prepare the various water jugs and bottles and collect towels. They then move to the field, where they set up everything up for both the offense and defense, making sure everything is perfect before kickoff is underway.

 During the game, Schindelar follows the defense with a “six-pack” of water bottles, ready for anyone who needs a drink. John O’Connor does the same for the offense. Eric Lundeen is in charge of mixing all the Gatorade and helps Schindelar with the defense. Schindelar’s son, Jason, is in charge of providing the coaches and referees with water at a moment’s notice, and Bill Harlan roams the sideline doing whatever else is needed.

 Together, the five men help Linfield run as smoothly and efficiently as possible on game days, unnoticed by most, but vital nonetheless. “That’s our only goal, really,” John Schindelar said. “To do whatever is needed of us and help out in whatever way we can. Our main job is taking care of the water, but there’s a lot more we do too.”

The group does more than work home games. They work summer practices, making sure the players get the water they need. Schindelar said their rule is to always be at practice when it’s 80 degrees or warmer.

They don’t always work practices in the morning or later in the season when it’s cooler, but when they are at practice — around 48 hours a week combined — they’re helping with more than just the water. In addition to handling the water, Schindelar and company help equipment manager Mack Farag with cleaning helmets and applying decals. They’ll stay as late as 10 p.m. some Fridays making sure everyone’s helmet looks brand new for game day.

 “They do a lot more than what you see on game day,” said Tim Marsh, creator of the Wildcatville blog. “There’s so much behind the scenes stuff that no one gets to see.”

The five members of the water crew are all volunteers, donating their own time and money on road trips to serve the Linfield football team. The entire group rarely travels to away games, especially ones across the country like Saturday’s game against Hardin-Simmons, but there’s always someone with the team to take care of the water. This week it’s Schindelar traveling with the team to Abeline, Texas. While it’s expensive at times, he said making the trips with the team is always worth it. He’s experienced many great memories during his 25 plus years of working on the Linfield water crew.

“I’d say the best memory is the year we won the national championship,” he said. “There’s so many great memories and great people you meet, but that was special. I still remember it, a beautiful day, even though it was 15 degrees below zero. It was special.”

The members of the water crew aren't the only ones that enjoy what they do for the Wildcats on a daily basis. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed by the coaching staff and players. Coach Joseph Smith and his team realize the sacrifice and hard work the five men put in, and are always appreciative. “I can’t say enough about our water crew and the things they do for us every single day,” Smith said.

“They’re out there in the heat running around with water bottles, helping out with anything and everything. It’s people like them that allow our team be successful every single year.”

Schindelar said he sees the appreciation on an everyday basis. Interacting with the players has always been one of the most appealing aspects to the position. Nothing the crew does goes unappreciated by the Wildcat players.

“The draw is that at division three you have a really nice program,” Shindelar said. “You have really, really nice kids. When we take water to them, every kid says, ‘thank you, appreciate you being here today, this is the best water we’ve ever had.’ It just goes on and on and on.”

 Chances are Linfield will experience its 57th consecutive winning season this year, the all-time record for all divisions of college football.

While the five men running around the sidelines will often do so without recognition, their impact will be major. Win or lose, Schindelar and his team are happy to do what they do. “It’s just so much fun he said,” he said. “Some of my best memories have come from Linfield football.”

................

Below from Oct. 11, 2014, edition of (football) Game Time, the official publication of the Linfield College Wildcats. Click on image to read story.

In memory of Fred “Iceman” Baugh, a 1950 Linfield grad, who died 9/21/2015.   Photo of Iceman provided by his son, S. M. “Steve” Baugh, smbaugh(at)yahoo.com

Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh
1926 - 2015
McMinnville N-R/News-Register 9/25/2015

FRED BAUGH

Story below based on obituary from Baugh family on 9/28/2015 

Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh, age 89, formerly of McMinnville died Sept. 21, 2015, in a private care home in Portland. Private family services were held.

Fred Baugh was born Jan. 23, 1926 in Wenatchee, Wash., to Fred E. and Luella Thurston Baugh. 

Their son, Fred, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1946, including during World War II.  Fred's mother wore a pin with five blue stars indicating Fred and his four brothers were on active service in the war. 

After his military discharge -- but serving as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve -- he attended (and played football for) Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash. It was there that he met a fellow student, Patricia Ann “Pat” Henefer. 

They married Sept. 7, 1947, in Seattle and moved to McMinnville, Ore., as Fred had transferred from Whitworth to Linfield College. 

He graduated from Linfield in 1950.  Upon graduation he was hired to teach at McMinnville Junior High School.  But, in August 1950 -- before the school year began – he was called back into military service with the Navy because of the Korean War. 

During this Navy tenure which ended with his discharge in 1952, he had additional schooling and served in the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash.

In 1952, after military discharge, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville where Fred taught at the junior high and Cook Elementary School. Later he was principal of Columbus and Newby Elementary Schools. 

In 1975, he began work in the McMinnville School District #40 Office as Director of Support. 

In 1977 Fred and Pat moved to Kauai, Hawaii, where he was Supervisor in the Rehabilitation Center for mentally and physically handicapped.

In 1979, they moved to St. Helens, Ore., where he was Principal of the elementary school there until retiring in 1983. Then, they moved back to Kauai when he worked again at the rehab center.

In 1985, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville. 

Fred worked at the McMinnville Elks Lodge part-time janitor. He founded the Linfield "Water Crew" for the football team and was known as "Ice Man" by the teams’ players.

Fred was a member of the McMinnville Elks Lodge and the First Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed fishing, reading, Linfield and other football teams. He spent time working in his wood shop at home in which he enjoyed making handicrafts for the Linfield Athletic Department,  Linfield Hawaiian Club and other clubs.

Fred was preceded in death by Pat in 2011 and his brothers. He is survived by his older sister Irma Wise, 95, Tualatin; sons David of Oklahoma City and Steven of Valley Center, CA; daughter Melinda Olson of Tualatin; and 8 grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Housecall Providers at www.housecallproviders.com, 5100 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR 97239

............................

Obituary (below) for Fred’s wife, Pat Baugh. 

Patricia Ann Baugh

May 21, 1927 -March 18, 2009

Daughter of Ben C. and Ina Davis Henefer, she attended school in California and graduated from North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. 

She attended Whitworth College in Spokane from 1946-1947 where she met her husband Fred Baugh. They were married on September 7, 1947 in Seattle, WA. Following their marriage they moved to McMinnville, OR where Fred attended Linfield College in 1947. 

They resided in McMinnville from 1947 - 1977 then moved to Hawaii for 2 years; then to St Helens, OR in 1979 for 4 years until moving back to Hawaii in 1983.  In 1985 they returned to McMinnville. 

She was President of Junior Matrons; charter member and President of PEO, Chapter DO; elder and Deacon of McMinnville First Presbyterian Church; President of Chapter BO of PEO in St. Helens; and was also involved in community activities at Hillside Manor. She also designed and founded Hawaiian appliques in Kauai, Hawaii. 

The family said she will be remembered as a devoted and loving wife of 61 years. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, crafts, sewing, and reading and loved to play bridge.

................

Below is photo of Fred Baugh as a Linfield student. Fred, Pat and their son David, as a baby, lived in this trailer (which leaked when it rained) in McMinnville while Fred attended Linfield. Photo provided by their son S. M. "Steve" Baugh.

...............

In October 2015, Coach Ad Rutschman told Wildcatville, "Both Fred and his wife, Pat, were close and very loyal friends. I stayed with Fred and Pat while recruiting on Kauai. Pat sewed appoximately 20 aprons for our ticket crew and game ushers. I believe some are still in use." These two photos, taken 10/10/2015 at a Linfield home football game, show Linfield ticket crew members wearing aprons.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

IN THE N-R:

==Story in Nov 30, 2000, N-R about Fred Baugh includes, "Baugh's friends more likely associate him with the Linfield College football team ... He is a member of the program's support staff, and he has worked on the water crew for about 15 years."

==Story in Aug 21, 2001, McMinnville N-R includes” While there are plenty of questions to be answered (about Linfield football) before the Sept. 8 (2001) season opener, players and coaches seemed relaxed during Saturday night's icebreaker, commonly known as the "Beanie-Weinie." As players arrived Saturday to prepare for the season, they were treated to a meal of hot dogs and chili in Memorial Stadium. The event, organized by longtime volunteer water crew members Fred Baugh, Bill Harlan and Brad Mills, serves as a welcoming party for Linfield players and parents. A silent auction also serves as a fund-raiser for the football program. About 150 players are out this year. After dinner, they met with position coaches and received playbooks.”

==Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh obit in the Sept 25, 2015 N-R includes, "He was known as the “ice man” for Linfield College Football Team since 1989, for which he was very proud."