Here are a real bunch of Portsmouth names. The Clark twins, Carl and Clare, and I worked as ushers at the Ohio Theatre in New Boston during our senior year (49-50). We went to Grierson's Inn and Joe's and found that all high schoolers, boys and girls, spent time there. In contrast, it seems girls were rarely found at the Mound Park, the Sugar Bowl, or the Park Shoppe. I met my wife Jeanie there in New Boston, Carl met Emma Mills whom he married, and Clare (now deceased, dated a few of the New Boston girls.
Hi Kegley bros,
This was in our 3rd newsletter. If you have not read it, you may want to forward it
Dozens of classmates and others can call
themselves members of the Park Shoppe gang. I
was one of those and would like to remember
some of the group.
We went through at least three owners that I
can remember. There was Russ (can’t remember
his last name), Clarence Evans and George
Banchy. Clarence was the most irritable and
George was perhaps the most tolerant of the
three. Clarence was a bit like Basil Faulty of the
English tv comedy series, Faulty Towers. He was
high-strung and short tempered. He wanted our
business but would be quick to toss out anyone
for the slightest reason. His son Larry (a great
buddy of ours) was his waiter and busboy who
was frequently caught in the middle.
We spent hours playing the two pinball
machines at a nickel a game. We drank lemon or
cherry cokes or phosphates (nickel a glass) and
gobbled down their famous pork barbeque sand-
wich. As we neared drinking age(?), many an
elbow was bent in the back room. The best sell-
er was Burger beer, of course.
Some of the names I will not forget: Bill
Banchy, Mark Banchy, Nelson (Nellie) Barker,
Bob (or Phil) Bickham, Jackie Brown, Buddy
Burger, Jack (Bat) Burgess, Larry Coriell, Jack
Duschinsky, Larry Evans, Jim Gardner, Jerry
Gillen, Dick (Hans Gans Afghanistan) Hansgen,
Bill (Animal or Ank) Hilderbrand, Jim (Big
Animal) Hilderbrand, Jim Kegley, Dick Klitch and
his father, TerryKouns, Paul Ladomer, Marlene
Larch, Jim Lauter, Skip Martin, Dave Marting,
Howard (BI) McCoy, Val Minch, Dave Otworth, Al
Oxley, Lovel Pack, Ken Payne, Dick Purpura, Sam
Pollock, Fred Ramsey, Don Stamper, Barbara
Spears, J.B. Warden, (a newcomer from
Roanoke, VA), Nancy Witten, Dick Woolwine,
Mike Zuliani, and other names which are some-
where in my memory and others I have since for-
gotten. To them I apologize
Most of us just sat on the wall across the alley
and next to the tennis courts. We sat and talked
and waited for someone to drive up and give us a
ride around the boulevard or perhaps to the
Cycle Inn or the Shawnee drive-in. The cars had
names like “The Green Hornet”, or “The
Neltilus”. Help me remember...
This was our hangout, our watering hole and
a safe place where our parents knew they could
always find us. It was a place for tennis breaks, a
snow cone during the industrial league softball
games or a place to buy your out of town paper.
I always hoped that one of our classmates would
revive that institution called the Park Shoppe.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
John Calipari- Refuse to lose 1996 Forward by R Pitino
I was fortunate to pick up a copy of the book: John Calipari with Dick Weiss and forward by Rick Pitino- at the Westerville library.
Here are a few nuggets I gleaned from the book:
In 1988, when RP, part of UMass's coach search committee, was called and told they had eliminated John Calipari from consideration, he asked them to schedule a special meeting. Rick gave an ardent speech for John Calipari. "They had offered John a $63,000 package. "But", they said, "we don't have $63,000. Would you be willing to kick in $5,000?" So I did.
The book is mainly about Caliparii's coaching days at UMass. He brought them out of the cellar to many wins and into the NCAA semi-final and a close 81-74 loss to Kentucky in 1996.
At the time the book was published, John was head coach for the New Jersey Nets. In the last paragraph of the book, John says:
"When I look back at my career, my definition of success is, did I make a difference? Did I make a difference on this campus? Did I make a difference in people's lives? Are my players better off now than they were when they arrived? Have I prepared them for life? If I can answer yes to those questions, and if I have accomplished those goals, then I've had success."
Of course, John Calipari has since had nine successful seasons at Memphis. We Kentucky fans are hoping he will have that many seasons and more at UK. We hope he will hang more banners. We hope for continued success for Coach Calipari.
Here are a few nuggets I gleaned from the book:
In 1988, when RP, part of UMass's coach search committee, was called and told they had eliminated John Calipari from consideration, he asked them to schedule a special meeting. Rick gave an ardent speech for John Calipari. "They had offered John a $63,000 package. "But", they said, "we don't have $63,000. Would you be willing to kick in $5,000?" So I did.
The book is mainly about Caliparii's coaching days at UMass. He brought them out of the cellar to many wins and into the NCAA semi-final and a close 81-74 loss to Kentucky in 1996.
At the time the book was published, John was head coach for the New Jersey Nets. In the last paragraph of the book, John says:
"When I look back at my career, my definition of success is, did I make a difference? Did I make a difference on this campus? Did I make a difference in people's lives? Are my players better off now than they were when they arrived? Have I prepared them for life? If I can answer yes to those questions, and if I have accomplished those goals, then I've had success."
Of course, John Calipari has since had nine successful seasons at Memphis. We Kentucky fans are hoping he will have that many seasons and more at UK. We hope he will hang more banners. We hope for continued success for Coach Calipari.
Good news for UK Wildcat basketball- Calipari
This is old news by now, but the LCJ has this on John Calipari's hiring by UK:
Calipari hired to hang banners
New UK coach eager to accept challenge
By Brett Dawson • bdawson@courier-journal.com • April 2, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- John Calipari yesterday was placed in charge of the University of Kentucky's basketball future. It didn't take long for him to give a nod to its past.
During his opening statement at his introductory news conference, the Wildcats' new coach mentioned four former UK coaches, four former players and longtime equipment manager Bill Keightley, who died a year ago this week.
And just before he took questions from the media at the Joe Craft Center, Calipari gestured toward the wall where banners hang commemorating the Cats' seven NCAA championships.
"Can you imagine -- they don't put banners up here for anything else except national champions?" he said. "That's why you want to coach here. We want to compete every year and hopefully add to this wall."
Calipari, 50, replaces Billy Gillispie, who was fired last week not only for his 40-27 record after two seasons but for being -- in the words of UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart and university President Lee Todd -- a bad fit for the program.
Gillispie didn't understand the scope of the position, they said. He didn't deal well with the public nature of the job.
The hope at UK is that Calipari -- who was 252-69 in nine seasons at Memphis -- is more suited to the job.
"There's a variety of characteristics I think you've got to have to have to be successful at Kentucky, and he's got a lot of them," Barnhart said. "He's got the courage. He's not afraid of it. He's passionate. I think he's got a very good sense of humor. He has the ability to relate to people. He's a giver and not a taker."
Hiring that mix of characteristics didn't come cheap. Calipari signed an eight-year contract worth $31.65 million, plus possible incentives, over the life of the deal. It is believed to make him college basketball's highest-paid coach, according to UK.
In return, Calipari will be expected to do for college basketball's all-time winningest program what he did for Massachusetts and Memphis: lift it into national championship contention -- and in short order.
(2 of 2)
Calipari took UMass to a Final Four in 1996 -- it was later vacated when the NCAA ruled that star Marcus Camby had accepted benefits from a sports agent -- and built Memphis into a national powerhouse that lost in last season's NCAA title game.
He inherits a UK program that hasn't advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2005 and hasn't been to a Final Four since 1998, when it last won the NCAA championship.
But Calipari sounded yesterday as if he's ready for the challenge. To hear him tell it, he's been preparing for it for more than 17 years.
"This is pretty heady stuff for me," he said. "But this is a dream I had since we brought our (Massachusetts) team down here (to play UK) in 1992. … I couldn't believe the environment. At that point I said, 'I would love to coach there someday.' "
He didn't get the chance two years ago, when UK hired Gillispie to replace Tubby Smith.
Barnhart said yesterday that not pursuing Calipari then was "my mistake."
This time around he targeted Calipari from the start, but he had to make sure he was finding the right fit.
Barnhart said he and Sandy Bell, UK's head of compliance, worked with the NCAA in a thorough examination of Calipari's background, and they came away satisfied.
"Our commitment at the University of Kentucky to compliance and discipline has always been strong, and that will not change," Barnhart said. "John's commitment to compliance and discipline has always been strong, and that will not change."
Further, Barnhart said, he believes he found a coach who "understands the demands of the job and the expectations of our fans and supporters."
Calipari addressed those demands and expectations yesterday, both with humor and with a more serious tone.
Asked about the second-guessing that's sure to come with the job, he joked, "Do they question coaches here?"
But he added that he and his wife, Ellen, will be involved in the community and that "there will be no bigger cheerleader for this place than me."
Calipari also sounded keenly aware that being the right fit means winning, early and often. Still he cautioned that fans shouldn't expect miracles.
The Cats' two best players -- sophomore Patrick Patterson and junior Jodie Meeks -- are candidates to enter the NBA draft, and though Calipari is a standout recruiter who could bring impact players with him immediately, UK already has more eligible players for next season, including three 2009 recruits signed under Gillispie, than it has available scholarships.
"I'm a regular guy, folks," Calipari said. "I do not walk on water. I do not have a magic wand. I'm day-to-day. I told Dr. Todd and Mitch, 'If you want something to happen in a year, do not hire me.' That's not how I do things. But when we get it right, you notice we're No. 1 in the country, we're No. 1 seeds (in the NCAA Tournament), we're playing in Final Fours -- when you get it right."
Brett Dawson can be reached at (859) 523-0706.
Calipari hired to hang banners
New UK coach eager to accept challenge
By Brett Dawson • bdawson@courier-journal.com • April 2, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- John Calipari yesterday was placed in charge of the University of Kentucky's basketball future. It didn't take long for him to give a nod to its past.
During his opening statement at his introductory news conference, the Wildcats' new coach mentioned four former UK coaches, four former players and longtime equipment manager Bill Keightley, who died a year ago this week.
And just before he took questions from the media at the Joe Craft Center, Calipari gestured toward the wall where banners hang commemorating the Cats' seven NCAA championships.
"Can you imagine -- they don't put banners up here for anything else except national champions?" he said. "That's why you want to coach here. We want to compete every year and hopefully add to this wall."
Calipari, 50, replaces Billy Gillispie, who was fired last week not only for his 40-27 record after two seasons but for being -- in the words of UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart and university President Lee Todd -- a bad fit for the program.
Gillispie didn't understand the scope of the position, they said. He didn't deal well with the public nature of the job.
The hope at UK is that Calipari -- who was 252-69 in nine seasons at Memphis -- is more suited to the job.
"There's a variety of characteristics I think you've got to have to have to be successful at Kentucky, and he's got a lot of them," Barnhart said. "He's got the courage. He's not afraid of it. He's passionate. I think he's got a very good sense of humor. He has the ability to relate to people. He's a giver and not a taker."
Hiring that mix of characteristics didn't come cheap. Calipari signed an eight-year contract worth $31.65 million, plus possible incentives, over the life of the deal. It is believed to make him college basketball's highest-paid coach, according to UK.
In return, Calipari will be expected to do for college basketball's all-time winningest program what he did for Massachusetts and Memphis: lift it into national championship contention -- and in short order.
(2 of 2)
Calipari took UMass to a Final Four in 1996 -- it was later vacated when the NCAA ruled that star Marcus Camby had accepted benefits from a sports agent -- and built Memphis into a national powerhouse that lost in last season's NCAA title game.
He inherits a UK program that hasn't advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2005 and hasn't been to a Final Four since 1998, when it last won the NCAA championship.
But Calipari sounded yesterday as if he's ready for the challenge. To hear him tell it, he's been preparing for it for more than 17 years.
"This is pretty heady stuff for me," he said. "But this is a dream I had since we brought our (Massachusetts) team down here (to play UK) in 1992. … I couldn't believe the environment. At that point I said, 'I would love to coach there someday.' "
He didn't get the chance two years ago, when UK hired Gillispie to replace Tubby Smith.
Barnhart said yesterday that not pursuing Calipari then was "my mistake."
This time around he targeted Calipari from the start, but he had to make sure he was finding the right fit.
Barnhart said he and Sandy Bell, UK's head of compliance, worked with the NCAA in a thorough examination of Calipari's background, and they came away satisfied.
"Our commitment at the University of Kentucky to compliance and discipline has always been strong, and that will not change," Barnhart said. "John's commitment to compliance and discipline has always been strong, and that will not change."
Further, Barnhart said, he believes he found a coach who "understands the demands of the job and the expectations of our fans and supporters."
Calipari addressed those demands and expectations yesterday, both with humor and with a more serious tone.
Asked about the second-guessing that's sure to come with the job, he joked, "Do they question coaches here?"
But he added that he and his wife, Ellen, will be involved in the community and that "there will be no bigger cheerleader for this place than me."
Calipari also sounded keenly aware that being the right fit means winning, early and often. Still he cautioned that fans shouldn't expect miracles.
The Cats' two best players -- sophomore Patrick Patterson and junior Jodie Meeks -- are candidates to enter the NBA draft, and though Calipari is a standout recruiter who could bring impact players with him immediately, UK already has more eligible players for next season, including three 2009 recruits signed under Gillispie, than it has available scholarships.
"I'm a regular guy, folks," Calipari said. "I do not walk on water. I do not have a magic wand. I'm day-to-day. I told Dr. Todd and Mitch, 'If you want something to happen in a year, do not hire me.' That's not how I do things. But when we get it right, you notice we're No. 1 in the country, we're No. 1 seeds (in the NCAA Tournament), we're playing in Final Fours -- when you get it right."
Brett Dawson can be reached at (859) 523-0706.
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