Fresh paint for Maxwell Field concessions building

Fans arriving at Maxwell Field for Linfield football's 2013 season opener Sept. 21 against Cal Lutheran will be using a freshly-painted concession building (johns, football game food). Wildcatville photos, taken the morning of 8/22/2013, show Wright Touch Painting of Yamhill at work.

Hops salute Linfield nat'l baseball champs 8/13/2013 in Hillsboro

Syndicated column about Linfield sports from 1987

Georgie Anne Geyer is an "American journalist and columnist for the Universal Press Syndicate, says Wikipedia on 8/14/2014. " This column appeared in the 6/30/1987 edition of the Ellensburg, Wash., Daily Record newspaper.  She died May 15, 2019.

Linfield Homecoming 2013 in October

In U.S. Mail and at the Linfield website is information about Linfield 2013 Homecoming. It will be held Friday-Saturday, Oct. 4-5. Click here for info about the annual BWC Homecoming golf tourney, BWC/Linfield Homecoming barbecue and more. Below is a Wildcatville slideshow looking back at Homecoming 2012.  The photo above, which is included in the slideshow, was taken during last year's barbecue.

You can see Wildcat football games in Texas, Ohio during 2013 season

Uwe Dedering map at Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, edited by Wildcatville.

Too far for you to travel to McMinnville for a Linfield home football game? How about watching the Wildcats play in Texas or Ohio? Linfield has games in both states on its 2013 schedule.

The season begins Saturday, Sept. 14, in Abilene, Texas, versus the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys at Shelton Stadium.

On Saturday, Sept. 28, in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University, Linfield will be the homecoming opponent for the Spartans on Case Field.

Kickoff for both contests is noon, Central Daylight Time in Texas and Eastern Daylight Time in Ohio.

Linfield has never traveled this far (to Cleveland in this case) for one regular-season game before. To have two long football trips like this for regular season games is unprecedented in Linfield sports history.

The approximately 3,830 miles the Wildcats will travel for these two games (within 15 days) is more than 750 miles they traveled in all nine of their regular-season road games the last two years.

Based on the team’s flying and bus travel, there's about 1,790 miles between McMinnville and Abilene and it's some 2,040 miles from McMinnville to Cleveland. The record distance for Linfield football to travel for any game was in 2011. That was about 2,440 mile trip to Dover, Del., and a 49-34 NCAA playoffs loss to Wesley.

The game in Cleveland came about because George Fox University resumes football starting next fall. However, originally GFU announced it was to begin playing again football this season. Because of that, teams in the Northwest Conference had GFU on their 2013 schedules. That left an opening in Linfield's schedule which it's filling by traveling to play at Case Western Reserve.

OHIO CONNNECTIONS
Linfield President Thomas Hellie and his wife, Julie Olds, have Ohio connections. He was a tenured faculty member in theatre and English at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, 1980-1989. It's about 40 miles from Hiram to Cleveland. A Hiram grad, she earned a master's degree from Case Western Reserve and worked several years as an actress in the Cleveland area. 

John Schindelar, head of the Linfield Water Crew, volunteers who hydrate the Linfield football team during practices and games, is a Solon, Ohio, native and grad of Solon High School and Ohio's Bowling Green State University. 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 studied at Ohio State University. His background includes teaching in Ohio. At Ohio’s Beachwood High School, he was an assistant varsity football coach.

ABILENE
"Blend an old West town and a modern, medium-sized city, then throw in a good dose of hospitality, and a large helping of recreation, and you have Abilene, Texas! Established in 1881, Abilene is located near the geographic center of Texas and is named after a famous Kansas cattle shipping point. Abilene is located in Taylor County and has a population of 116,806. Dyess Air Force Base, home to the B-1 Bomber, lies in the western part of the city. Abilene Regional Airport offers daily connecting flights through DFW." -- Logsdon Seminary of Hardin-Simmons University website

CLEVELAND
"Five miles east of downtown Cleveland, University Circle is one of the city's most energetic and culturally robust communities. It's anchored by Case Western Reserve University and enhances the urban campus experience with some of the nation's best arts, music, historical and medical institutions." -- Case Western Reserve website

LINFIELD FOOTBALL GAMES EAST OF OREGON
1964: At Fargo, N.D., vs. Concordia, Minn., NAIA playoffs, lost 28-6.
1965: At Midland, Texas, vs. Sul Ross State, NAIA playoffs, won 30-27.
1965: At Augusta Georgia, vs. St. John's, Minn., NAIA playoffs, lost 33-0.
1974: At Seguin, Texas, vs. Texas Lutheran, NAIA playoffs, lost 52-8.
2003: At Collegeville, Minn., vs. St John's, NCAA playoffs, lost 31-25.
2004: At Salem, Va., vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, Texas, NCAA playoffs, won 28-21.
2006: At Abilene, Texas, vs. Hardin-Simmons, lost 21-6.
2008: At Abilene Texas, vs. Hardin-Simmons, lost 29-22.
2009: At UWisc.-Whitewater, Wisc., NCAA playoffs, lost 44-41.
2010: At St. Paul, Minn., vs. St. Thomas, Minn., lost 24-17, NCAA playoffs.
2011: At Dover, Del., vs. Wesley, NCAA playoffs, lost 49-34.
2013: At Abilene, Texas, vs. Hardin-Simmons, yet to be played.
2013: At Cleveland, vs. Case Western Reserve, yet to be played.

Linfield football record for games east of Oregon: 2 wins, 9 losses, 2 yet to be played.

MILES BETWEEN HERE AND THERE
2,437 -- McMinnville to Dover, Del.

2,321 -- McMinnville to Augusta, Ga.

2,254 -- McMinnville to Salem, Va.

2,042 -- McMinnville to Cleveland

1,790 -- McMinnville to Abilene, Texas

1,755 -- McMinnville to Seguin, Texas

1,632 -- McMinnville to Whitewater, Wisc.

1,514 -- McMinnville to Collegeville, Minn.

1,504 -- McMinnville to Midland, Texas

1,438 -- McMinnville to St. Paul, Minn.

1,231 -- McMinnville to Fargo, N.D.

Mileages are estimates, based on one-way trips. Within Oregon and Washington, Linfield travels by bus from campus in McMinnville to the opponents' campuses for football road games. For longer trips, including those east of Oregon, the team travels by air from Portland International Airport to an airport near the opponent team's campus. The team travels from that airport to the game site.

PRACTICE
The 2013 Linfield football team reports Aug. 18 and practice begins Aug. 19.

Slight change to Linfield sport venue(s)

New vehicle entryway surface between the back of Helser Field/Wright Stadium and Maxwell Field/Memorial Stadium. Photos taken 8/7/2013 by Wildcatville.

Mickey Polis, Wildcat men’s assistant basketball coach has Lower Columbia College, family connection to Linfield

When Mike Polis was growing up in Longview, Wash., he attended Perry’s Basketball Camp in Vernonia, Ore., run by Linfield men's basketball coach Ted Wilson (and the Perry brothers). Mike dreamed of playing for Linfield.


It didn’t happen.

After graduating from Longview’s R.A. Long High School in 1968, he played two seasons each of basketball and baseball for Lower Columbia College (LCC) in Longview and Central Washington University.

But, Mike’s dream is almost coming true in a roundabout way through his son, Mickey Polis. See photo.

Mickey is coaching Wildcats men’s basketball in Linfield’s Ted Wilson Gym as assistant coach on the staff of newly appointed men’s head coach Shanan Rosenberg.

LCC has a Linfield connection through Linfield grads Don Porter, Jack Riley and Scott Carnahan, Linfield athletic director and assistant/former head baseball coach. Carnahan came to Linfield as head baseball coach after serving in the same role at LCC. Don, Jack and Scott graduated from Linfield in 1956, 1960 and 1973 respectively.

Don -- who played basketball for head coach Ted at McMinnville High -- coached LCC men’s basketball, 1965-70, assisted by Riley. Mike played for Don and Jack in the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons. At the time Jack left LCC in 1972 to become Oregon State University head baseball coach, he was LCC head coach of both baseball and men's basketball.

Back to Mickey, he starred in basketball and baseball at Longview’s Mark Morris High School from 2002-2005. He went on to play basketball at LCC, 2005-2007, and Portland State University (PSU), 2007-2009. At PSU, he was a point guard on teams that won 46 games, two Big Sky Conference titles and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mickey was the team’s top three-point percentage shooter during his career, hitting 47 percent of his shots.

After his graduation, Mickey remained at PSU as director of basketball operations for the men’s team.  During four years in the job handling various administrative duties for the PSU team, he earned a master's in education degree.

MORE TO THE STORY:

==Second Polis brother in NWC -- While this will be Mickey's first time in the Northwest Conference, his brother, Tony Polis, is no stranger to it. Tony played men's basketball for NWC member Pacific Lutheran University and competed against the Wildcats at Ted Wilson Gym.

==PSU pipeline to Linfield -- In addition to Mickey joining the Linfield Athletics staff, former PSU trainer Duane Duey now holds the same job at Linfield.

==About Ted Wilson -- He was Linfield head men's basketball coach, 1961-1981. He died in 1996.

==Camp leaders --Ted Wilson and brothers Bob and George Perry started and operated Perry's Basketball Camp (also known as Perry's Sports Camp) in Vernonia, 1964-1980.

==Played hoops for Lefty -- Don Porter played basketball at Linfield for coach Roy “Lefty” Helser in the 1954-1955 and 1955-1956 seasons.

==Former reporter's Linfield connections -- John Polis, uncle of Mickey and brother of Mike, has connections to Linfield, too. As sports editor of the Longview Daily News, he covered LCC basketball when Don Porter was coach. He knows two of Ted's Linfield players, Terry Miller and Loren Bruner. "Terry was my closest pal growing up in Longview," John said. "We lived on the the same street, played four years on the same Little League team and remain friends to this day. I played ball with and graduated from R.A. Long with Loren."


.........

Mickey Polis at Greg Crawford (Linfield Class of 1972) Sports Lunch Oct. 5, 2016, in Portland.

IPNC 2013 will take Linfield by a storm 7/23/2013

All was relatively quiet at Linfield the morning of July 23, 2013, when Wildcatville took these photos. But, soon -- July 26-28 -- the 27th annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) will take campus by a storm. According to the IPNC website, the celebration "offers Pinot noir consumers and industry members the chance to enjoy an unparalleled selection of Pinot noir from around the world via a full schedule of seminars, walkaround tastings, winery tours, and unforgettable meals prepared by top Northwest chefs. With the exception of a vineyard and winery tour, the IPNC is held on the beautiful and historic Linfield College campus. McMinnville is an easy hour drive southwest of Portland in the heart of Oregon wine country."

O'Riley's becoming Starbucks 7/23/2013

Construction turning O'Riley's coffee shop in Linfield's Riley Hall into a Starbucks continues. In this video of four Wildcatville photos, see exterior entry door on June 14, 2012. Other photos from July 23, 2013, show the green awning gone and a Starbucks logo on the door window. Wildcatville has learned wood from the Old Oak will, indeed, be used in the Linfield Starbucks. However, it will be used as trim. Tables in the shop will not be made of Old Oak wood.

Exodus of Linfield football opponent head coaches to CFL

Do two head coaches of  California small college football teams moving in a six year span to coaching jobs in the Canadian Football League (CFL) make an exodus? Yes.

The coaches are Scott Squires of California Lutheran and Mark Speckman, formerly of Willamette and most recently of Menlo.

In 2007, Squires left CalLuth for an assistant coach position with the Edmonton Eskimos. Later, he coached with the Montreal Alouettes. Now he's in southern California real estate investing. Speckman departed Menlo in 2013 to coach with the Alouettes.

Wild bits -- After Frosty Westering retired as PLU head football coach, the finalists to be his successor were Scott Squires and Frosty's son, Scott Westering, who got the job. ... On Sept. 21, 2013, Linfield plays at CalLuth on Maxwell Field. Linfield and Menlo are not playing each other this season. ... Menlo opens its 2013 schedule Aug. 31 in Cheney, Wash., versus Carroll College (Helena, Mont.) on the red artificial turfed Roos Field of Eastern Washington University (EWU). On the same day, EWU plays at Oregon State in Corvallis. 

Then and now

Starting in the early 1930s -- it was a gift of the Linfield Class of 1931 -- and for many years, there was a wood "Linfield College" sign hanging on a metal holder affixed to a brick pillar on the edge of campus. The sign is long gone, but the holder and pillar remain, next to Highway 99W, across the street from Walgreen's (used to be site of McMinnville Community Hospital) and near an empty lot (used to be site of a former Columbus Elementary School). Current photos taken 6/24/2013 by Wildcatville. Historic photos from Linfield Oak Leaves yearbooks.

Should Linfield be called 'The Farm,' too?

According to one source, Stanford University's "The Farm" nickname is "derived from the days when horses rather than students roamed in what previously was the farm of university founders Leland and Jane Stanford." 

Wildcatville does not know if horses roamed what is now the Linfield campus. But, it does know this photo -- taken by Wildcatville on 6/24/2013 on the newer part (Keck campus) of Linfield's campus – appears it could have been taken on a farm. Wildcatville still photos taken 7/11/2013 appear in a video slide show.

Linfielder John Sadowski saluted for 41 years as an educator in Hawaii

More than 100 people attend the May 31 retirement celebration in Wahiawa, Hawaii, of educator John Sadowski. That’s one indication of Sadowski’s positive impact during a 41-year career.

Sadowski graduated from Linfield in 1970 with a bachelor of science degree. In 1971, he earned a master of education degree. As a student, he was member of the Linfield football and track & field teams.

He started teaching in 1971 at Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, initially as a physical education/ health teacher and head junior varsity football coach. Later, Sadowski joined the varsity football staff as an assistant to head coach Hugh Yoshida (Linfield Class of 1962).

During his time at Leilehua his duties included being boys’/girls’ track & field co-head coach and JV and later varsity boys head basketball coach. He also was head coach of boys’/girls’ golf and served as acting athletic director. He also served as a career guidance counselor and head of physical education/health.

He left Leilehua and for three years was in the Hawai’i Department of Education central office in teacher development working with new kindergarten through 12^th grade teachers. Returning to Leilehua, he served as a teacher mentor, initially for new teachers and then all teachers.

Looking back on his career, Sadowski says, “I was blessed to have great coaches in high school and college. Being mentored by Hugh during my tenure at Leilehua was special.  Linfield was a big part of my life. I was grateful to share what I've learned from my Linfield coaches, Paul Durham, Ted Wilson, Roy Helser, Hal Smith; Ad Rutschman, Ted Henry and John Knight and student coaches Tony Ah Yat and Pete Dengenis.  Professors Wilson, Helser, Durham, John Boling, Ray Befus and Roy Mahaffey and many others positively impacted my growth and development, too.”

His hard work as a mentor, teacher and coach were acknowledged in April when he was given the high school’s first “Leilehua Way Award” honoring his leadership, humility and service.

As busy as he was at Leilehua, he has made and continues to make a positive impact in Ewa Beach, where he lives with his wife, Sharan, and mother, Wilda.

In retirement, he'll continue helping fight a flood of litter on Ewa Beach. Sadowski created Save Our Surf and Seals which holds monthly cleanups of the Ewa Beach and channel. For his efforts, he has been honored with:

• a 2009 Laulima Award -- presented to him in the state capitol in Honolulu -- for helping keep Hawaii beautiful.
• a 2012 "Good Neighbor Award" for making significant contributions to the City and County of Honolulu’s Storm Water Quality programs.

And, in retirement he will continue surfing and stand-up paddle boarding. (See photo.) "John's," a surf site off the west end of Ewa's beach park, is named for him.

Pencil pouch examples

Turning O'Riley's into a Starbucks

Photos in slide show posted above taken by Wildcatville morning of 6/14/2013.

Linfield Sodexo delays Starbucks construction

Feb 27, 2013 - Linfield Review with slight editing by Wildcatville

Despite plans to introduce a full-service Starbucks in O’Riley’s coffee shop space in time for the spring semester, Linfield Sodexo is pushing back the construction process to June 3.

The decision to postpone the project, which was slated to take place during January Term, came after Bill Masullo, general manager of Linfield Sodexo, and Allison Horn, director of auxiliary services, re-evaluated the construction schedule.

Moving the Starbucks project to coincide with the renovation of Dillin Hall this summer proved to be more cost effective. 

Additionally, it eases the burden on the incoming contractors who otherwise would have had to make numerous trips, Masullo explained.

Although Starbucks is on hold for now, plans to remodel the Fred Meyer Lounge were in full swing during January, leaving the space ready for use in time for the new semester.

The Fred Meyer Lounge received a new paint job and furniture. 

The floors were refinished, and the Wildcat logo was added, Masullo said.

The Office of Academic Affairs funded the media portion of the space, which includes a flat screen TV, Horn added. There is also a built-in sound system.

In addition, the old wood-burning fireplace was converted to gas. Dan Fergueson, director of college activities, is safekeeping the controls, Horn said.

Originally, there were plans to open up the space to the coffee shop. However, the entrances had to remain the same because of structural issues, Masullo said.

Even so, the Starbucks space will be arranged differently than the current café. The tables will be made from Linfield’s famous Old Oak. And, historical photos will adorn the walls.

Students will have the opportunity to see the floor plans after spring break. Masullo and Horn said they plan to post them up outside of the space.

“It was disappointing for everyone when the project was pushed back. But, [the Starbucks] is still coming, and it will be an improvement when everyone gets back to campus,” Horn said.

Signs of a Champion

How you fixed for strings?

As a Linfield student, there's no doubt McMinnville provided everything you needed. Well, consider this. If you are a current Linfield student in McMinnville, you have access (off campus outside a McMinnville guitar shop) to a 24-hour vending machine from which you may buy guitar strings and accessories. See photos taken 6/3/2013. Did you have such luxury during your Linfield student days?

Golden Grad Ad

Ad Rutschman (Class of 1954) was among Golden Grads taking part in Linfield College 2013 Commencement on June 2 in the college's campus Oak Grove in McMinnville. During the ceremony, he hugged graduating granddaughter Alyssa Nichols (Class of 2013) as she walked by in her cap and gown. This photo by Erika Nichols, Alyssa's sister, another grandchild of Ad and Joan (honorary Class of 1954) Rutschman. Also, see "Recruit a Wildcat" graphic from Fall 2009 Linfield Magazine here.

AD RUTSCHMAN Annual Reunion. Year 2013 edition at Golden Valley, McMinnville, 6/1/2013

Travel in Wildcat football time machine

If you could travel in the Wildcat time machine and attend, play in or coach in any past Linfield football game, which game and why? 

Respond to wildcatville@gmail.com. 

Responses -- which may be edited for clarity and accuracy and etc. -- might be posted at Wildcatville. 

If you have a photo related to your response, please include as a JPG attachment to your email. 

Thanks, Go, Wildcats!