Al Beeler spent 75 years attending Linfield athletic events

Al Beeler spent 75 years attending Linfield athletic events

http://www.linfield.edu/sports/release.php?id=2407

April 3, 2008 from Linfield Sports Information

Wildcat alum Al Beeler passes away

A Linfield and McMinnville icon has passed away.

Al Beeler, class of 1935, died of natural causes in his sleep Thursday
at home in McMinnville. He was 94.

The term "longtime supporter" doesn't begin to properly credit a man
who spent 75 years attending Linfield athletic events and volunteering
his time to help make the college and the city better places.

Beeler was a football and basketball season-ticket holder for decades,
and, as recently as March 21, was seen in his customary seat at Roy
Helser Field for a Wildcats baseball game that day.

"Al was a tremendous supporter of Linfield and its athletic programs,"
said director of athletics Scott Carnahan. "I liken him to the 'Old
Oak.' His devotion was symbolic of the kind of loyalty we have enjoyed
at Linfield for so very long. We are going to miss him."

Beeler was an active member of the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Committee and the group's foremost advocate for nominees from the
decade of the 1930s.

Up until five years ago, Beeler volunteered his time each summer to
sell advertisements to area businesses. The ads appeared in Linfield
athletic publications, helping offset the cost of production. He also
was a volunteer each August at the Wildcat Open golf tournament,
selling raffle tickets or assisting with registrations.

Beeler was a regular attendee at the Monday morning Quarterback Club,
a weekly gathering of local Linfield and McMinnville High School fans
and supporters. For many years, he served as the club's treasurer.

Beeler came to McMinnville in 1933 to study business at Linfield. He
found a job at Hamblin-Wheeler Men's Shop, stayed with the store after
he graduated, eventually becoming the owner.

His business motto was, "If you don't like people, you'd better not be
a retailer."

Over the decades, he was active in downtown events. He served on the
beautification committee that revamped downtown Third Street in the
1970s, adding curb cuts, underground wiring and street trees. He also
chaired a downtown business committee and helped the McMinnville
Downtown Association get started.

Beeler was a member of the McMinnville Elks Club for more than 70
years, where he once was an exalted ruler.

A musician, Beeler played the drums at countless Linfield and Elks
dances. Once he sat in with the nationally known Freddie Martin Band,
featuring pianist Merv Griffin, when it visited McMinnville for a
dance.

As a student at Linfield, he organized his own band, Al Beeler's
Campus Knights. The band's name worried President Elam Anderson, who
was concerned that the school's conservative Baptist trustees might be
offended by being linked to swing music.

Over the years with the Elks, he served in almost every office and on
almost every committee. He also held state, district and national
offices, including state president in 1966, district deputy in 1972, a
member of the Grand Lodge Committee in 1978.

In an interview in 2002, Beeler said his most rewarding moments as a
member of the Elks came while working on service projects, such as
providing food baskets to needy people at Christmas.

His is survived by his wife, Beverly. The father of three children and
four stepchildren, Beeler especially enjoyed projects related to young
people.

Super Wildcat fan Al Beeler dies at 94 (April 2008)

Super Wildcat fan Al Beeler dies at 94 (April 2008)

http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=233227

Al Beeler dies at 94

Published: April 3, 2008

By Starla Pointer, McMinnville, Ore., News-Register

Longtime McMinnville businessman Al Beeler died this morning in McMinnville. He was 94.

Beeler came to McMinnville as a Linfield College student in the 1930s. During college, he played drums with dance bands that performed downtown.

Once he sat in with the nationally known Freddie Martin Band, featuring pianist Merv Griffin, when it visited McMinnville for a dance. He even had his own band at Linfield, Al Beeler's Campus Knights.

While still a college student, he went to work for Hamblin Wheeler, the Man's Shop. He eventually became owner of the popular downtown clothing store and continued to operate the business until his retirement.

Beeler was a 72-year member of the McMinnville Elks Lodge. He remained active at the local, state and national levels, and recently spoke at a state Elks convention.

He had served as exalted ruler of the local lodge and president of the state Elks organization. He was inducted to the Elks Hall of Fame in 1990.

Over the years, Beeler especially enjoyed helping with projects related to young people. He was proud of the Elks' major state project, the Casey Eye Clinic, and of the youth hoop shoot that started in Oregon and has become a nationwide event.

Beeler had just been installed as McMinnville Lodge 1283's leading knight, heading up charitable activities. A former state youth activity chairman, he also was proud of the organization's ability to raise so much money for scholarships.

"Everybody likes Al," said Gary Anderson, president of the McMinnville Lodge. Anderson said he had encouraged Beeler to accept his latest post, knowing "his wisdom and spirit would inspire new members and old."

Arrangements are pending with Macy & Son Funeral Directors.

Linfield track steeplechase water hazard morning of 5/3/2012

Linfield College landmark oak falls to its death (Pendleton EO 1-8-2008)

Linfield College landmark oak falls to its death

Jan 8, 2008, Pendleton East Oregonian newspaper

McMINNVILLE - A proud symbol of Linfield College fell to its death.

The Old Oak, an 80-foot-tall tree that had been standing since the college was founded more than a century ago, collapsed in a matter of seconds Tuesday (Jan. 8, 2008). No one was injured.

The tree was estimated at 250 years old and was described by the first settlers to the valley. The oak was mature when Pioneer Hall opened in 1882, the first building on the new campus of then-McMinnville College. Pioneer Hall and the Old Oak became symbols of the college, and had been pictured together on everything from calendars to college stationery.

But the tree was starting to show its age. A consultant who examined the tree last year found an infestation of carpenter worms. The tree was labeled a hazard, because a branch could fall at anytime.

College officials took steps to keep the tree standing as long as possible, but crews planned to move the senior class bench, which was placed under the tree 60 years ago, to discourage people from getting too close.

Light rain was falling Tuesday afternoon, but there was no wind to explain the sudden collapse of the beloved oak. "Incredible," onlookers said as they gaped at the dome-shaped base of the tree, where spongy, rotten wood was visible.

Linfield College landmark oak falls to its death (Pendleton EO Jan. 8, 2008)

Linfield College landmark oak falls to its death

Jan 8, 2008, Pendleton East Oregonian newspaper

McMINNVILLE - A proud symbol of Linfield College fell to its death.

The Old Oak, an 80-foot-tall tree that had been standing since the college was founded more than a century ago, collapsed in a matter of seconds Tuesday (Jan. 8, 2008). No one was injured.

The tree was estimated at 250 years old and was described by the first settlers to the valley. The oak was mature when Pioneer Hall opened in 1882, the first building on the new campus of then-McMinnville College. Pioneer Hall and the Old Oak became symbols of the college, and had been pictured together on everything from calendars to college stationery.

But the tree was starting to show its age. A consultant who examined the tree last year found an infestation of carpenter worms. The tree was labeled a hazard, because a branch could fall at anytime.

College officials took steps to keep the tree standing as long as possible, but crews planned to move the senior class bench, which was placed under the tree 60 years ago, to discourage people from getting too close.

Light rain was falling Tuesday afternoon, but there was no wind to explain the sudden collapse of the beloved oak. "Incredible," onlookers said as they gaped at the dome-shaped base of the tree, where spongy, rotten wood was visible.

Paul Durham, Father of Linfield Athletics, Memorial Set for Monday July 2, 2007

Story below is a Linfield Sports Info news release

http://www.salem-news.com/sports/july12007/linfield_coach_070107.php

Jul-01-2007 16:16

Paul Durham, Father of Linfield Athletics, Memorial Set for Monday

Salem-News.com SPORTS

Durham was Linfield's head football coach for 20 seasons, compiling a record of 122 victories, 51 defeats and 10 ties for a .694 winning percentage.

Photo courtesy: Linfield Athletics

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - 

A memorial service for Coach Paul Durham is scheduled for Monday, July 2, at 1:00 p.m. in Ted Wilson Gym at Linfield College in McMinnville.

Durham, one of the founding fathers of Linfield athletics, died Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 93.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to the Paul Durham Fund for the Support of Athletics at Linfield, attention College Relations, 900 SE Baker Street, McMinnville, OR 97128.

The annual Paul Durham players reunion will be held as scheduled Wednesday, July 11, in Riley Center on the Linfield campus.

Reminiscing begins at 10:30 a.m., lunch at noon, open-mike program at 12:45 p.m.

The cost of the lunch is $15 at the door.

Please RSVP to Pat Smith at (503) 656-3724.

Durham was Linfield's head football coach for 20 seasons, compiling a record of 122 victories, 51 defeats and 10 ties for a .694 winning percentage. (In his final 12 years (“once I got the hang of it,” he said), the Wildcats went 90-16-6 (.830), won six Northwest Conference championships and reached the national championship game of the NAIA twice.

His 1956 team started the string of 51 consecutive winning seasons that continues to this day and is the national record at all levels of college football.

Durham was inducted into six athletics Halls of Fame, including the charter class of the Linfield Hall of Fame in 1998.

He also was inducted into the Portland Interscholastic League Hall of Fame in 2001, Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, the NAIA Football Hall of Fame in 1969, the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame and the University of Hawaii Circle of Honor in 1997.

He also was nominated for the national College Football Hall of Fame.

He was chosen NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) football Coach of the Year in 1962 and Oregon Man of the Year in 1961.

For three seasons (1949-1952), Durham and Oregon baseball Hall of Fame member Roy Helser were co-coaches of men's basketball. One of those teams won the Northwest Conference championship.

In 1961, Durham's football Wildcats capped the first unbeaten, untied regular season in school history with a trip to the "Camellia Bowl" in Sacramento, Calif.

Linfield was the first college from the Northwest Conference to participate in the NAIA football playoffs. The Wildcats lost a hard-fought national championship game, 12-7 to rugged Pittsburg State of Kansas.

Linfield again finished unbeaten and untied in 1965 and defeated Sul Ross State of Texas 30-27 in the NAIA semifinals before losing to St. John's of Minnesota 33-0 in the NAIA "Champion Bowl" in Augusta, Ga.

In the season-opening game of 1967, Durham took the Wildcats to Honolulu, where they upset the University of Hawaii, 15-13, at rainy Honolulu Stadium before a Honolulu Stadium crowd of about 20,000 - still the most ever to see a Linfield game.

Hawaii was so impressed with Durham and the Wildcats that it hired him away from Linfield in 1968 to direct its athletic program. He guided the ambitious Rainbows from lower-level competition into NCAA Division I.

Durham stepped down as athletic director in 1975 for health reasons but taught in the Hawai'i College of Education until his retirement in 1981.

The foyer that serves as main entryway into the Linfield athletics complex, completed in 1989, is named in Durham's honor.

He was a star athlete at Linfield in the 1930s, competing in football, basketball and track and field, and is one of the few Wildcats in history to earn 10 letters.

Durham graduated from Linfield in 1936 and he received his master's degree from the University of Oregon in 1941.

He then coached at high schools in Yamhill and Portland - Commerce (now called Cleveland) and Franklin (his alma mater) - before returning to the college 12 years later to coach football. A year later, in 1949, he was appointed Linfield director of athletics.

Durham was a Renaissance man.

Not only did he coach and teach (he taught health classes in addition to the life lessons he imparted on the football field), Durham read widely, sang in choirs and as a soloist, was an accomplished formal speaker, a wonderful story and joke teller (the Honolulu Quarterback Club's weekly meetings were officially opened when he told a joke) with a deep, booming voice.

“He was an incredible person whose positive impact reached far beyond Maxwell Field and Manoa for more than 60 years,” said Chuck Charnquist, long-time Portland Trail Blazers official and former Linfield sports information director.

Durham received a small scholarship to attend Linfield as the nation sank into the Great Depression. He earned a free room by working at the original Macy's Funeral Home in McMinnville. “I shared a bed with another football player,” Durham said. “In those days, two guys sleeping in the same bed did not raise any eyebrows.”

Raising a family (sons Jeff and Terry and daughter Cathy) on a small-college coach's salary was a challenge, so Durham augmented his income in many other ways.

During summers -- in addition to teaching classes at Linfield -- he ran the McMinnville city recreation program - overseeing activities in the city park during the day and softball games at night.

And, he was sports editor of the then-daily local newspaper, the McMinnville News-Register. He wrote a popular sports column, "Dodging with Durham."

One observer opined that Durham might have been the only college football coach in America who was never criticized in print by the local sports editor.

He was chosen First Citizen of McMinnville by the Chamber of Commerce and was elected president of the Linfield Alumni Association and honored as Alumnus of the Year.

Durham's deep baritone singing voice was in great demand. He sang in the choir at the First Baptist Church on Sunday mornings and picked up a little extra cash singing popular hymns like “How Great Thou Art” at funerals at Macy's.

Durham’s second wife, Kitty Chang, died in Honolulu in 1994.

His first wife, Amelia “Litz” Durham, a former Linfield bookstore employee, died in Oregon in 2004.

“Coach” is survived by three children, Jeff of Tigard, Terry of Beaverton, and Cathy Devine of Chicago, Ill., seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren (with two more on the way) and more friends and admirers than could ever be counted.

Carla Atkinson July 18, 2007 10:31 am

Paul Durham was my uncle. I would like to add that besides the wonderful things he accomplished as an athletic director, the family side of Uncle Paul was equally as important. Paul was a Christian man who lived his beliefs in his kindness, words of encouragement to the children in the family, and the manner in which he left everyone feeling good. He was a great son and his parents were blessed by his enthusiasm, talent and great humor every day of their life. He made family gatherings fun with his practical joking and great sense of humor. He sang at my wedding 47 years ago, and has blesed my life by word, deed, and example. Through the year 2006, Uncle Paul sent us monthly cartoons and notes. I have mentored many other children in his name. We miss him. 

Paul Durham was a jack of all trades in McMinnville

http://newsregister.com/archive?articleArchiveId=a223370

Legendary Linfield coach dies

Jun 26, 2007 McMinnville N-R/News-Register from staff and wire reports

HONOLULU - Legendary Linfield College football coach Paul Durham died Friday night at his home in Honolulu. He was 93.

Durham's 1956 team started the string of 51 consecutive winning seasons that continues to this day and is college football's national record for all divisions.

He was Linfield's head football coach for 20 seasons, compiling a 122-51-10 record for a .694 winning percentage. In his final 12 years, "Once I got the hang of it," he said, the Wildcats went 90-16-6 (.830), won six Northwest Conference championships and reached the national championship game of the NAIA twice.

Durham took over the athletic director position at the University of Hawaii in 1968. He held that position until he stepped down in 1975 for health reasons.

Durham, who also served as the sports editor for the News-Register for several years while coaching the Wildcats, said the thing he is most proud of is the type of players he was able to recruit to represent Linfield.

"You have to have good people," he said at a luncheon in his honor at Linfield in 2005. "A lot of them have done wonderful things after college. I claim a lot of them as my sons."

Durham said he stayed in touch with quite a few of his former players.

"A lot of them come to Hawaii and we have lunch and tell a few lies," he said. "I'm lucky that way."

Durham was a star athlete at Linfield in the 1930s, competing in football, basketball and track and field, and is one of the few Wildcats in history to earn 10 letters.

He received a small scholarship to attend Linfield as the nation sank into the Great Depression. He earned a free room by working at the original Macy's Funeral Home in McMinnville.

"I shared a bed with another football player," Durham said. "In those days, two guys sleeping in the same bed did not raise any eyebrows."

Durham was a jack of all trades in McMinnville. He did everything - from coaching the Linfield football team to writing for the McMinnville News-Register to singing every Sunday morning in the First Baptist Church. He wrote a popular column "Dodging with Durham" while with the News-Register.

"I don't know how I became sports editor of the News-Register," Durham said. "I always enjoyed writing, took a journalism class in high school, and wanted Linfield sportsmen's names in the paper. I always knew people enjoy seeing their name in print, even me, and that led to the column, built on names. I don't remember writing in high school or college in the school paper, but I may have.

"When I started writing the column in the N-R, (publisher) Phil Bladine, a good friend of mine, named it 'Shooting the Bull.' After a bit, some readers started adding a word to it in their minds, and we decided we had to get a new name. Bladine suggested 'Dodging with Durham,' which was fine with me."

One observer opined that Durham might have been the only college football coach in America who was never criticized in print by the local sports editor.

During summers, he ran the McMinnville city recreation program - overseeing activities in the city park during the day and softball games at night.

Well-known for his singing prowess, Durham also taught music early in his career as a coach at Yamhill High School.

In a Letter to the Editor (New-Register, May 26, 2007) Yamhill resident Gordon Dromgoole wrote, "During 1940, (Durham) also directed "The Mikado" put on by the school. My uncle, Gordon Zimmerman, was a junior and played the lead. Coach Durham told him, 'You can't make a basket, but you sure can sing!'

"I'm sure most people aren't aware of coach Durham's theatrical talents because he was such a great coach, but many in Yamhill remember him as a multitalented asset to the community."

In town for the Linfield Hall of Fame banquet in November 2005, Durham received two standing ovations.

"I've led a wonderful life, worked with great cohorts and around terrific students, and wouldn't change anything," he said. "How about that? Sounds like I could have been a preacher."

Durham said he appreciated the way the people of McMinnville treated him and wanted them to know that Mac would always have a special place in his heart.

"Thank you for being so nice to me and my family while I went to college here from 1932 to 1936 and when I lived here after that for 20 wonderful years," he said. "I was lucky."

"Coach" is survived by three children, Jeff of Tigard, Terry of Beaverton and Cathy Devine of Chicago; seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren (with two more on the way) and more friends and admirers than ever could be counted.

Paul H. Durham October 18, 1913-June 22, 2007

Paul H. Durham: Oct 18, 1913-June 22, 2007

Paul H. Durham was born to Darr and Gretta Phillips Durham on Oct 18, 1913 in Portland, Oregon. He died at age 93 on June 22, 2007, in Honolulu

Graduated Franklin High School in Portland in 1932.

He graduated from Linfield College in 1936, majoring in History, English, and minoring in Physical Education while earning10 varsity letters.

He earned his Masters of Education at the University of Oregon in 1941. He additionally gained a major in Physical Education at Lewis and Clark College.

He married Amelia Litzenberger in 1938 in Portland and they divorced in 1979.  She died in 2004. On Aug. 14, 1981, he married Katherine 'Kitty' Chang. She died in 1994. 

He taught and coached Yamhill (Oregon) High School from 1936-1940.

Moving to Portland, he taught and coached at Franklin High School from 1940-1942.

Teaching at Portland’s High School Commerce (now Cleveland), 1942-1946, he then returned to Franklin High for an additional two years. Then, moved to McMinnville in 1948 to join his alma mater, Linfield College, initially as football coach. 

From 1948-1968 he taught and coached (football, co-men’s basketball, golf) at Linfield College and in 1949 became its Athletic Director. 

Moving to Hawaii in 1968 he became the Athletic Director for the University of Hawaii Manoa (Honolulu) till 1975. He was a faculty member of University of Hawaii in the Health and Physical Education and the College of Education from 1975-1981 when he retired in Honolulu.

He married Kathryn 'Kitty' Chang August 14, 1981.

Honors and offices he held:

President of Linfield Alumni Assn.
President of McMinnville Kiwanis Club
Oregon Sports 'Man of the year' , 1961
NAIA National Football Coach of the year, 1962
President of Northwest Conference Coaches Assn.
President of NAIA Football Coaches Assn., 1963
President of NAIA Coaches Assn. (for all sports), 1964
Member of NAIA National Executive Board
Third Vice-president of NAIA
First Citizen of McMinnville, 1965
Member of Oregon Olympic Games Committee, 1966.
Linfield Alumnus of the year, 1966
Member of the National Alliance Football Rules Committee
Franklin High (Portland, Oregon) Alumnus of the year, 1967
Honolulu Quarterback Club 'Sportsman of the Year', 1970
NAIA Football Coaches National 'Hall of Fame'
Member of Helms Athletic Hall of Fame Los Angeles
Chairman and Director of NAIA National Baseball Tournament
NAIA District II Coach of the year
Member of the American Football Coaches, All-American Selection Committee for small Colleges
Member of UPI Small College National Rating Board
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame 1989
Linfield Sports Hall of Fame 1998

He was preceded in death by his wife, Kitty ( in 1994); brother Dr. Philip Durham and his sister, Nellie Marr.

Source: Macy & Son Funeral Directors, McMinnville, Oregon

https://www.macyandson.com/obituaries/Paul-H-Durham?obId=1647189#/celebrationWall

::::::::::::::::::::::::::;

Inducted in 1996 into the University of Hawaii Athletics Hall of Fame. His bio for that “hall:”

Paul Durham was UH athletics director from 1968-75. He was instrumental in moving the UH sports program from a club level to the threshold of Division I competition. During his tenure at the University, football and baseball moved to all-collegiate schedules. Prior to moving to Hawai‘i, Durham served as head football coach at Linfield College, where he earned honors as the 1962 NAIA Coach of the Year and the 1962 Oregon Man of the Year. Durham was inducted into the Los Angeles Football College Hall of Fame in 1975.

 ::::

PAUL DURHAM / 1913-2007

Former UH athletic director won players’ respect

By Cindy Lui, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 

STORY SUMMARY

He was inducted into the University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor, the Linfield College Athletic Hall of Fame and the Los Angeles Football College Hall of Fame.

But the honor that perhaps meant the most to Paul Durham was the annual summer gathering of his former Linfield football players in McMinnville, Ore.

"That says a mouthful about the respect his players had for him, that they came back to see him every year," said former UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida, who played for Durham at Linfield from 1958 to 1961. "He was a very strict coach but very understanding. We lost a good man."

Durham, who served as UH's athletic director from 1968 to 1975, died Friday night at his Kahala Nui residence. He was 93.

Durham was unable to attend the Linfield reunions the past few years and had not planned to attend the one next month. He recently, however, videotaped a message to his former players that will be shown during the July 10 gathering.

"I know it will mean a lot to the guys," said Al Wills, the former Kalani athletic director who played for Durham at Linfield from 1949 to 1952.

---

FULL STORY »

Tony Ah Yat so respected Paul Durham that he named his first-born son for his former college football coach.

"He truly lived aloha," Ah Yat said yesterday. "All my adult life, he was like my dad. He always made you feel like you were the greatest.

"I feel fortunate that I was able to spend a lot of time with him this past week, saw him Friday. We lost a great, great man."

Durham, the 13th athletic director at the University of Hawaii (1968-75), died Friday evening at his Kahala Nui residence. He was 93.

Ah Yat is part of the still-running island pipeline that has sent dozens of players to Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. Durham, remembered as one of the founding fathers of the Wildcats athletic program, fostered the relationship with Hawaii as football coach (1948-67) and athletic director (1949-68).

Less than a year after Durham brought Linfield to play in Honolulu Stadium -- beating the Rainbows 15-13 in the 1967 season-opener -- he was hired to succeed Robert Martin as athletic director.

Durham was 122-51-10 (.694) in his 20 years at Linfield, guiding the Wildcats to six conference titles and two appearances in the NAIA national championship game. He was named Oregon Man of the Year in 1961 and NAIA Coach of the Year in 1962. His 1956 team started a string of consecutive winning seasons that reached 51 last season

Durham was a star athlete at Linfield in the 1930s and earned 10 letters in football, basketball and track. He graduated in 1936, then coached at several area high schools before returning to his alma mater in 1948. The foyer that serves as the main entryway into the athletics complex was named in his honor in 1989.

Durham was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1969, Los Angeles Football College Hall of Fame in 1975, UH Sports Circle of Honor in 1996, the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame last year. This February, he was honored by the Honolulu Quarterback Club for his service to the organization.

Durham accomplished much in his tenure at UH, helping position the school for the eventual move from independent to Western Athletic Conference membership. He hired legendary baseball coach Les Murakami in 1971 and oversaw the "Fab Five" men's basketball team's rise to national prominence (1970-72).

"He was a great man and did some great things for us during those years," said Bob Nash, a Fab Five member who recently was hired as head basketball coach. "He helped bring us all to Hawaii to play, was always very supportive of the program. It is truly a loss for Hawaii."

"Even though I didn't work for him, I got to know him well during my time," said recently retired Rainbow basketball coach Riley Wallace. "He was someone who loved UH every second of the day. I enjoyed him coming into the office, talking story about the past and where we were going."

Al Wills was on Durham's second team at Linfield in 1949. The former Kalani athletic director played for the Wildcats for four seasons, then returned after a stint in the Army as Durham's assistant line coach.

"He was a father to all of us then and he's been a father to all of us through the years," Wills said. "All of us kids ... old guys now ... have so much to thank him for. It seems that he was always a part of my life.

"We used to play golf every Monday, but one Monday he said, 'Let's go to the Quarterback Club and listen to (newly hired UH football coach) Fred vonAppen.' We never played golf on Mondays again."

That was in 1996. Durham rarely missed a Quarterback Club meeting after that.

Durham is survived by sons Jeff and Terry of Oregon, daughter Cathy of Illinois, seven grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren. Services have tentatively been scheduled for Thursday at Borthwick Mortuary. Additional services will be held in McMinnville.

His wife, Kitty (Chang) Durham died in 1994.

 

 

Paul Durham born October 18, 1913 in Portland, Ore.

Paul Durham born October 18, 1913 in Portland, Ore.

Paul Durham died June 22, 2007 in Honolulu, Hawaii

http://www.macyandson.com/obituary/Paul-H.-Durham/Honolulu-HI/432378

Paul H. Durham (Paul Henry Durham) was born to Darr and Gretta Phillips Durham October 18, 1913 in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Portland's Franklin High School  in 1932.

He went on to receive a bachelor's degree from Linfield College in 1936, majoring in History, English, and minoring in Physical Education while earning 10 varsity letters in athletics.

He married Amelia Litzenberger in 1938 in Portland. They divorced in 1979.

He earned his Masters of Education at the University of Oregon in 1941. He additionally gained a major in Physical Education at Lewis and Clark college.

He taught and coached Yamhill High School from 1936-1940. He then taught and coached at Franklin High School from 1940-1942. He taught at High School of Commerce (now Cleveland), 1942-1946, he then returned to Franklin High for an additional two years. Moved to Linfield in McMinnville in 1948.

From 1948-68 he taught and coached at Linfield College and while there in 1949 became the Athletic Director. Moving to Hawaii in 1968 he became the Athletic Director for the University of Hawaii till 1975. He was a faculty member of University of Hawaii in the Health and Physical Education and the College of Education from 1975-1981 when he retired.

He married Kathryn "Kitty" Chang August 14, 1981. She died in 1994.

Honors and offices held:

President of Linfield Alumni Asso.
President of McMinnville Kiwanis Club
Oregon Sports "Man of the year" , 1961
NAIA National Football Coach of the year, 1962
president of NWC Coaches Asso.
President of NAIA Football Coaches Asso. , 1963
President of NAIA Coaches Asso. (for all sports), 1964
Member of NAIANational Executive Board
Third Vice-president of NAIA
First Citizen of McMInnville, 1965
Member of Oregon Olympic Games Comittee, 1966.
Linfield Alumnus of the year, 1966
Member of the National Alliance Football Rules Comittee
Franklin High Alumnus of the year, 1967
Honolulu Quarterback Club "Sportsmans of the Year", 1970
NAIA Football Coaches National "HAll of Fame"
Member of HelmsAthletic Hall of Fame Los Angeles
Chairman and Director of NAIA National Baseball Tournament
NAIA District II Coach of the year
Member of the American Football Coaches, All-American Selection Comittee for small Colleges
Member of UPI Small College National Rating Board
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame 1989
Linfield Sports Hall of Fame 1998

He was preceded in death by his Wife Kitty in 1994; his brother, Dr. Philip Durham; and his Sister, Nellie Marr.

"Welcome to Wildcatville," says "Voice of the Wildcats," Darrell Aune

Photo above taken in Sept. 2010

The original story (below), which leads "Award-winning sportscaster," was posted and has been at Wildcatville since well before July 15, 2009. That's the date athletic department officials at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore. announced that Darrell Aune will become the WOU Wolves' radio play-by-play announcer for home football and men’s and women’s basketball games. Thus, Aune’s time with home and road radio announcing duties for Linfield Wildcat football (2000-2008) and basketball (2000, 2005-08) has come to an end. By the way, Aune and his wife, Catherine Aune, a WOU mathematics adjunct instructor, live in Monmouth, which is about 27 miles from McMinnville.

Award-winning sportscaster Darrell Aune is play-by-play “Voice of the Wildcats” for Linfield football and men’s basketball on McMinnville’s KLYC (1260 AM) radio, the Internet and Teamline. A Washington State University graduate, Aune has been named Oregon Sportscaster of the Year 11 times. A former “Voice” of the University of Northern Colorado Bears, he was “Voice of the Beavers” 29 seasons for Oregon State University. This video was shot Oct. 11, 2008, on Linfield's Maxwell Field. For a list of those who have been Linfield radio sportscasters over the years, see Linfield football commercial radio station play-by-play 'voice' here at Wildcatville.

The large photo above is of the Wildcatville sign. Note a striking similarity to the Linfield sign. It certainly was outrageous of Linfield to create a sign so similar to Wildcatville's! :)

Where is/was Davies Chevrolet, Inc.?

Where is/was Davies Chevrolet, Inc.?

Here is photo of a metal (made in USA) fingernail clipper. It is engraved with this text: "Call SHANNON O'NEIL ... Davies Chevrolet, Inc., EA 2400 AD 1239" .... Research has not come up where this dealership is/was. If you know, please let Wildcatville (wildcatville@gmail.com) know.

Perhaps the Telephone Exchange Name Project will indirectly help in the search?

Al Beeler, Linfield super Wildcat fan

A story about Linfield College graduate and McMinnville resident Al Beeler could be about Al the loyal Elks Lodge member, the drummer in his own swing band, the U.S. Navy veteran, the husband and the father.

But, this story is about Al Beeler, the Linfield super Wildcat fan. Well, it’s also about Al, the former business owner, too.

Born in McMinnville on Sept. 2, 1913, Al attended McMinnville schools and graduated from McMinnville High School in 1931.

At Mac-Hi, he played basketball his senior year and also freshman basketball at Linfield. “I always wanted to be an athlete, but my small size” -- he was a 5-foot-6 guard – “held me back. So, the next best thing was to be a good fan. I have always loved all sports.” In addition to being an athlete, he was yell king in both high school and college. (See photo, Al Beeler, Linfield yell king.)

How did he become a Linfield sports fan? At age 11 in 1925, Al saw his first Linfield athletic event, a football game played on the college’s original athletic field. Linfield football coach for the game was Maurice Pettit, who coached 1922-1925.

Grandstand for the field was on Blaine Street facing Pioneer Hall. “The field took up the areas where Melrose Hall and Northup Library now stand. It extended to Linfield Avenue and faced Pioneer and Riley Gym,” he said. “Since that first time, I have attended almost all the Linfield football home games ever since.”

Linfield went through “many years of being the underdog in athletics, but never gave up,” Al said. And, he never gave up on the Wildcats. While it was sometimes difficult to cheer on the Wildcats on the road, Al did so when possible. For example, at age 14, he rode the train from McMinnville to Salem and back with Linfield students for the Wildcats’ game at Willamette. Unfortunately, the ‘Cats lost.

His list of Linfield football games attended includes all NAIA and NCAA Div III football playoff games in McMinnville and a NAIA championship game in Portland. He attended the 2004 Stagg Bowl game in Salem, Va., where Linfield won the national football championship.

One of Al’s highlights as super Wildcat fan was Linfield’s 1961 Camellia Bowl football game in Sacramento. Al and other fans flew on a chartered DC-3 in and out of McMinnville Airport.

Many Linfield alumni and long time faculty and staff remember the business side of Al Beeler. He was associated with downtown McMinnville’s Hamblin-Wheeler clothing store at the corner of Third and Davis. Nicknamed “The Man’s Shop,” the store featured “Latest Campus Styles” and “Famous Brand Names.”

As a Linfield student, Al expected after graduating with a business degree in 1935, he’d go to work for Oregon Mutual Insurance in McMinnville. But, Hamblin-Wheeler came into play.

In 1932, he began working part-time at Hamblin-Wheeler while as a Linfield student. Later, with college graduation nearing, Harold Elkinton, his Linfield business professor, recommended he continue working at the store, where he excelled in working with the public.

And, as they say, the rest is history. His Hamblin-Wheeler tenure was for 55 years (1932-1987). The store opened in 1900 as Hamblin Clothing Co. After working for it in the 1930s and 1940s, in 1950 Al and Lauretta Wheeler became store partners. They owned/operated Hamblin-Wheeler until they closed it in 1987.

Now you know about super Wildcat fan Al Beeler and a bit about his time as a business owner, too.

Paul Durham, former Linfield athletic director and coach, calls Al a “dear friend. He was the reason for the store’s great success,” Durham said. “He’s always been a backer of Linfield athletic teams and knows many of the athletes. He’s a great man. I really like and respect him.”

Updated 2/9/2006

Linfield Athletics 2005 Hall of Fame banquet goes well

Linfield Athletics 2005 Hall of Fame banquet goes well

McMinnville N-R/News-Register from staff and wire reports Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2005

Linfield College celebrated its rich sports heritage Saturday night, Nov. 5, 2003, inducting the eighth class of its Athletics Hall of Fame.

A riveted audience of nearly 250 in Ted Wilson Gym watched as the 1961 Camellia Bowl football team, the 1976 national champion mile-relay track team, five exceptional individual athletes and two long-time supporters of the program took their places in the pantheon of Wildcat legends.

Inducted in traditional ceremonies were:

= The 1961 football team, the first Wildcat team to play in a national championship game in any sport, establishing the standard of excellence that has flourished ever since.

= The men's 1976 Mile Relay team that won an NAIA championship and set a school record that has never been threatened.

= Cliff Saxton (class of '52), the third Linfield football player to earn All-America recognition and a four-year starter at guard.

= Joe Robillard ('69), whose pass interceptions and punt returns 37 years ago are still in Linfield's record book and football lore.

= Alan Schmidlin ('80), first-team All-America quarterback who passed for more than 5,000 yards and led two unbeaten teams.

= Ed Kama ('81), first-team All-America tackle on some of the Wildcats' most powerful offensive teams.

= Lisa Lind Prevedello ('89), who held or shared five school records in track and field and was Linfield's first Female Athlete of the Year.

= Dave Hansen, who has been at the heart of Linfield's football radio broadcast team for 32 years and is also Dean of Students.

= Del Smith, founder and owner of world-renowned Evergreen Aviation and a financial supporter of Linfield athletics for more than 30 years.

Steve Lopes ('84) also was elected to the Hall of Fame this year but was unable to attend Saturday, so his induction has been postponed to 2006.

In their acceptances speeches, the inductees traced the role their Linfield experience has played in their lives since they graduated.

"The sense of achievement becomes a part of your character," Prevedello said. "My thanks go to the Linfield community for improving my life 20 years ago, today, and tomorrow."

Robillard said, "We took the values, lessons, skills and tools we learned here and we used them to build a pretty good life."

Schmidlin said Linfield made him feel "confident and well prepared."

Smith said Linfield's athletic program was "one of the best classrooms on campus. Linfield teaches young people to be successful, to learn values and ethics," he said, noting that his company, Evergreen Aviation, has many Linfield graduates as employees.

Keith Lazelle of the 1976 national champion mile relay team noted that Linfield had many "ethical role models" among its coaches and teachers who "gave us the opportunity to blossom and mature."

Paul Durham, coach of the 1961 Camellia Bowl team, received two standing ovations. Durham, 92, came from Honolulu to accept induction for his players, 33 of whom were present.

Durham recited achievements of outstanding athletes "who make us proud of Linfield."

He was one of several speakers who spoke proudly of Linfield's national record of 50 consecutive winning football seasons. Durham's teams started The Streak.

Saxton called Durham's impact on his life "indescribable" and noted that many players valued their Linfield experience so highly that when they became coaches, they sent their players to Linfield as well.

Kama said he cherished his time at Linfield and the opportunity to be on the field and compete.

While strong with reminiscence, the evening was not without levity.

Prevedello, who has three children, said "My life now is more about high chairs than high jumping."

Hansen, who has broadcast Linfield football games for 33 years, said he is often asked if it is difficult to remember the numbers of all the players. "For me," he said, "remembering the numbers has not been so difficult, but remembering the names that go with them has been difficult."

A 20-member selection committee chooses inductees to the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame. Nominations, with supporting information, should be sent to Kelly Bird, Linfield sports information director kbird@linfield.edu. The 2006 class will be selected in June.