Author Archive
Cool Shots of the Space Shuttle Over D.C.
The Space Shuttle Discovery gave Washington, D.C., residents quite the photo op yesterday. The retired orbiter flew on the back of a NASA 747 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida up to Dulles Airport, where it will have a permanent home next door at the Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the National Air and Space Museum. But before heading to Dulles, it flew a few passes over the nation’s capital.
Maxwell Kruger ’09, whose photography we featured in the magazine a few years ago when he was still a student, got himself up on a rooftop for the flyover. You can see one result of his efforts above, and more at this blog entry.
Tina Hay, editor
Images from an Arboretum in Bloom
Our colleague John Mark Rafacz ’82 over in the Center for the Performing Arts has been spending some time with his camera at the Arboretum lately, and he’s been posting some beautiful images to his Facebook page. I asked him if he’d be willing to send me a few that I might share with you, and he was happy to oblige.
The one above is of a redbud tree beginning to blossom, and below is a close-up of some sort of tulip:
You can click on any of these to see them bigger—which I highly recommend.
Below are two of John’s photos put together. On the left, he tells me, is a flowering quince, and on the right is a lilac just beginning to bloom.
Besides loving John’s artistry with his Nikon, I’m also impressed at how much beauty there is to photograph at the Arboretum—a site that was just dedicated less than two years ago. “Except in the depths of winter, when things are mostly dormant,” John says, “I think you could visit the botanic gardens and see something new each day. It has an incredible variety of flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees. And with the ever-changing light, weather, and blooming and maturity cycles, the setting can seem completely different from one visit to the next.”
Maybe my favorite of John’s latest photos is the one he made last Saturday, a misty day, when he framed a row of tulips against the large oak tree that stands behind the Arboretum pavilion.
John, by the way, also took some lovely springtime photos elsewhere around University Park two years ago, and we posted them as a small slide show; you can see those images here.
Tina Hay, editor
A Small-World Story
You will either find this tale to be very boring or very cool.
We’ve been getting a lot of calls about our new March-April issue, which is a commemorative issue about Joe Paterno. One such call I fielded today was from a reader in Richmond, Va., who had just gotten the new issue and who wanted to buy two more copies. I put him in touch with our Alumni Store and went back to whatever I had been doing.
A few hours later, he called me back, saying he wanted me to talk to his wife. She had lived in Somerset, Pa.—my hometown—for a number of years, he said, and she knew my family. Naturally I was happy to have him put her on the phone.
Her name is Jolinda Myers, and she knew her stuff: She told me that my brother (a professional photographer in Somerset) had done family portraits for her, and that her daughter had briefly taken a ballet class from my sister. She also knew that my best friend in childhood was Richard Critchfield.
Then she described the location of the house she had lived in—at the corner of Clover Hill Road and Felgar Road, just up the hill from my house. And I said, “You know, I have a childhood memory from that house. Or maybe it was the one next door….” So I told her the memory:
Richard and I had occasion to be at that house for some reason one summer day when we were maybe 9 or 10 years old—I don’t remember the reason, but Richard and I went everywhere on our bikes. I vaguely think I might have been helping him collect on his paper route that day. Someone at that house had a brand-new baby—a boy—and I remember thinking (more…)
A New Building Along the Mall
If you haven’t been on the University Park campus in a while, on your next visit you may notice that a new building has snuck in along the Old Main Mall, between Henderson Building and Henderson South.
Construction crews about a year ago tore down the “Bridge,” the building that once connected Henderson (or, for those of you who go farther back, Human Development*) and Henderson South. Now shaping up in its place is the new Biobehavioral Health Building, which should be finished by November of this year.
(*or, for those of you who go even farther back than that, the Home Ec building!)
My first job at Penn State, more than 27 years ago, was in the then-College of Human Development, and my first office was on the now-defunct Bridge. One of my favorite pasttimes was helping the hopelessly lost students who popped their head into my office, looking for help in finding classrooms in the Human Development complex. (I can still remember a freshman basketball player by the name of Suzie McConnell ’88 staring at the room numbers, trying in vain to figure out where the heck she was supposed to be.)
It wasn’t the students’ fault that they were lost—it was that the building numbering made no sense. The dean’s office, in 104, was uphill from the main classroom auditorium, which was S-209. Or maybe the student’s class was actually in Human Development East, which was a whole other building altogether.
I also was working in that college—which by then had morphed into the College of Health and Human Development—when the new doctoral program in biobehavioral health was created, back in 1991. The idea behind that program was to understand the way mind and body work together—how stress affects health, for example, or the biological and psychological components of drug addiction. Those kinds of interplays may sound pretty obvious now, but 20 years ago the idea of getting the “bio” folks and the “behavior” folks together was fairly new.
The experiment was a success: The program has since expanded to include an undergraduate major, which has a pretty robust enrollment of 450 students. You can learn more about the BBH program, as it’s called, at its website.
Tina Hay, editor
More on ‘The Joe We Know’
One of the interesting things about watching The Joe We Know—the new film in which former football players talk about their relationship with Joe Paterno—is trying to name the players.
The men who appear on screen throughout the hour-long film are not identified. That was a deliberate choice by the producers, according to former tight end Brad Scovill ’81, who introduced the film at the State Theatre last Sunday afternoon. The point was for former players to reflect on their memories of Joe and the ways he’s affected their lives—and thus it doesn’t really matter whether the player speaking was once a star or a third-stringer.
Still, you couldn’t help but try to guess the identities of the faces on the screen. Some, like Franco Harris ’72, Gregg Garrity ’83, and Shane Conlan ’86, were pretty easy to recognize. Others weren’t so well known. One in the latter category was a guy who who got emotional as he talked about his and his wife’s unsuccessful and frustrating quest to have children, and how Paterno’s influence made him determined not to give up. I’ve since learned that the former player is Joe Carlozo ’74. As he explains in the film, his wife eventually becomes pregnant—with triplets. (That revelation provoked a lot of laughter from those in attendance on Sunday.)
I later found out that that Carlozo, who owns a CPA firm outside of Baltimore, does some blogging on occasion. Some weeks back he wrote this post about his role in the film. It’s worth a read.
Meanwhile, 12 more free showings of The Joe We Know have been scheduled—all at the State Theatre on College Avenue, and all in the next week. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Feb. 24, at 4:00, 7:30, and 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26, at 4:00 and 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 27, at 4:00 and 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 4:00 and 7:30 p.m.
For those who don’t live in State College and/or can’t make it to any of those showings, keep an eye on the Web. A site dedicated to the film is scheduled to go live on March 1 at www.thejoeweknow.org, and it’s possible that other ways to view the production will eventually become available.
Tina Hay, editor
Mourning Joe Paterno, From Afar
A writing room at Finca Vigía, Ernest Hemingway's home outside Havana.
I’ve been absent from the blog—and the magazine—for the better part of the last two weeks. I have an unusual excuse: I’ve been in Cuba.
It was, admittedly, an awkward time to go off on vacation, with Joe Paterno having just passed away and the magazine staff working in fifth gear to put together a tribute to him for our next issue.
But I had already postponed the trip once: I booked the trip months ago and was originally scheduled to go in early December, but the Sandusky scandal—and our need to scrap our Jan-Feb issue in favor of an issue devoted to the scandal—scuttled those plans and caused me to rebook for the end of January. Rescheduling the trip yet again wasn’t an option, for a variety of reasons, mostly having to do with the complicated nature of traveling to Cuba.
(Incidentally, I went there under a U.S.-approved “people-to-people cultural exchange,” which is making it possible for more and more U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba legally. Here’s a Washington Post story from last Friday about such exchanges.)
So I ended up watching from a distance, with only spotty Internet access, as the Penn State family mourned Paterno’s death. I wasn’t able to watch the memorial service at all—though I’m told that (more…)
Flags Lowered to Half-Staff for JoePa
Say what you will about Gov. Corbett and whatever role he may or may not have played in the Sandusky scandal, but this is a very nice touch.
Tina Hay, editor
‘There is So Much to Mourn’
That was the simple caption that my Penn State colleague Sara Platz Brennen ’92 wrote when she posted this photo to her Facebook page tonight. Click to see the image bigger.
Tina Hay, editor
Remembering Joe Paterno—on Twitter
Adam Taliaferro ’05 posted a photo of his “Air Paterno” sneakers. Many other former and current players, and others who knew Joe Paterno, have posted comments about him on Twitter in the past 24 hours. Here’s a small sampling:
Oct 102005 when I committed to penn st. The #1 thing you said is that I will get my degree look what you did —defensive end Eric Latimore ’11
I committed to Penn State May 3 2009. Thank you for the AMAZING opportunity to become a better man. —tailback Silas Redd
I committed to PSU June 18th 2003 and became the man i am today because of Joe! Thanks for everything Coach! —center AQ Shipley ’08
You have played a huge part in making me the man I am today. Took an average walk-on and made my dreams come true —wide receiver Graham Zug ’10
As I’ve said before, I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to play for one of the greatest coaches to ever coach. —cornerback Adrian Amos
One can only hope to impact as many lives as Joe did. His spirit will carry on through all of us and will never be forgotten —Miami Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick
At a loss for words… One of the most influential men in our nations history. By his passing PSU nations grows even stronger. Love you Joe —Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jordan Norwood ’08
R.I.P Coach. I owe you so much! My prayers are with the Paterno family and the Penn State Family. —former assistant coach Kermit Buggs ’06g
A morning I will never 4get. Thoughts/Prayers go out to the Paterno family. Thank u Joe 4 helping me become a man. —Seattle Seahawks running back Michael Robinson ’06
Rest in peace joe paterno —Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould ’05
R.I.P Joe..thank you for helping shape me into man I am today..will always be missed.. —St. Louis Rams cornerback Justin King ’07
I love you coach.. Thanks for believing in me —quarterback Daryll Clark ’08
We should not be discourage by his death but encouraged by his life…it would be a blessing to impact others the way he did R.I.P Coach —defensive tackle Devon Still ’11
My heart mourns for the #Paterno family. Learned so much from him. More than just football. About life. I can speak volumes about him —Houston Texans wide receiver Bryant Johnson ’05
Laid my gloves from the Illinois game & my whistle from this season at the statue. The least I can dedicate to a man who gave so much more. —drum major Ian Kenney
Penn State will never be the same and neither will I. Goodbye, dear friend. Give George a hug for me. —former radio play-by-play man Fran Fisher
There will be a candlelight vigil in Paterno’s memory on the Old Main lawn tonight.
Tina Hay, editor
Some Poignant Reactions to Joe Paterno’s Death
(Photo by Annemarie Mountz ’84)
It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but I’ve been collecting a handful of the reactions I’ve seen about the loss of Penn State’s legendary football coach Joe Paterno.
One news article I highly recommend is this one by Dave Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot-News. In it, Jones tells a wonderful story from 2004 of the late sports reporter Jerry Kellar doing his spot-on Joe Paterno imitation—to Paterno’s face—and Paterno playing along.
Next thing you knew, it was an interview. Except Joe was asking the stupid questions and Jerry was flicking them away dismissively with a wave and a nasal backhand insult. The more persistent questions Joe asked, the funnier Jerry’s Paterno answers became.
Within minutes, the old coach was crying he was laughing so hard. If I had a tape of it, it would get 20 million Youtube hits.
Striking an even more poignant note is this piece by Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Phil Sheridan, called “Requiem for the Soul of Penn State.”
Many of Joe’s coaching colleagues across the country have issued tributes to the man; you can read what Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban had to say in this article at ESPN.com.
Finally, there is this praise from former Penn State defensive coordinator and former interim head coach Tom Bradley ’78, ’86g:
Words seem to pale in a moment such as this. The terms “icon” and “legend” have been often used to describe Joe Paterno. Certainly, he was both within the world of college athletics. But to those of us who played for him, to those of us who coached with him and to those of us who had the privilege to call him a friend, Joe Paterno was much more.
To me, he was my mentor for 37 years and the lessons that I learned from him as a player, coach and friend will live on with me forever. It was Coach Paterno who saw what I could be and helped me to realize that potential. He was a tremendous teacher not because he knew all of the answers but because he challenged us to find the answers for ourselves. He made us better men than we believed we could be — both on and off the field. And when we lost our way or became unsure of ourselves, it was Coach Paterno who was there to encourage us, guide us and remind us that we must always strive to succeed with honor.
Coach Paterno never believed that his role as “Coach” ended after practice, or when the fourth quarter wound down or when a student-athlete graduated. He was a coach for life. I am deeply grateful to have had Coach Paterno in my life. He was the epitome of class and his spirit will live on in all of us who had the great honor of knowing him and running out of the tunnel with him on so many autumn Saturdays.
My thoughts and prayers are with Coach Paterno’s devoted wife, Sue, his son Jay, with whom I coached so many years, and with the entire Paterno family during this sad and difficult time.
If you’ve seen other tributes you’d recommend, please let us know in the comment section after this post.
Tina Hay, editor
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