Linfield is small enough that it’s easy to have an “in”
(connection) to entities on campus which are not directly related to the entity
for which you work at Linfield.
So it was for Paul Durham when he was Linfield’s head football
coach (1948-1968) and the college’s athletic director (1949-1968).
During some of the time Paul Durham worked at Linfield, the
Linfield Bookstore (owned/operated by the college, not Barnes & Noble) manager
was John F. Dillin, Sr., (1936-2001), who was also the Linfield men’s golf
coach. He served in those two positions for more than 10 years.
As athletic director, Paul Durham was the “boss” of Coach John Dillin, a son of Linfield (1943-1968) President Harry Dillin, who hired Paul Durham.
To clarify, John was a son of Harry Dillin and Harry’s first wife, Elizabeth (Grant) Dillin. John was raised by Harry and his stepmother, Irene Dillin.
The Dillin connection to the bookstore was a pretty good “in,”
but even better for Paul Durham was the fact that his first wife, Amelia “Litz”
Durham, worked for the bookstore.
(Paul Durham and Amelia married in 1938. In 1979 they
divorced. In 1981 he married Kitty Chang.)
It's Wildcatville’s contention that the Linfield Wildcat on
Linfield football helmets came from Potter Decal in Eugene. Potter was not the
only decal company creating sports logos and making decals of their creations
for the college bookstores around the country to sell. A competitor was Angelus Pacific of Kensington, Minnesota. The success of
Angelus Pacific with its logos might have influenced designs created by Potter, which the Linfield Bookstore bought and sold. Or, viceversa.
(By the way, look at decals produced over the years by Angelus Pacific and Potter. Note that many
of the college mascot animals -- including the Linfield Wildcat -- wear sailor hats.)
If Coach Durham wanted a large quantity of Linfield Wildcat
logos to affix on Linfield white football helmets, all he had to do was
talk to John Dillin and his wife, Litz, to place the order with Potter Decals.
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