Oberlin Alumni Magazine

*EERIE SIMILARITIES
Your Spring 2001 issue is a thing of beauty, cover to cover. I was particularly enthralled by the The Last Word's "In Search of a Rose Brass Bell and f-Attachment" by Eric Nye '70. His love of his trombone and experiences with it at Oberlin eerily parallel my seasoning at the Conservatory and as first-chair trombone with the orchestra, excepting that my horn was a 1939 Olds with a silver-rimmed bell, with no slide lock or f-attachment.

I began trombone potty training at age 9 in Newton, Kansas. In the ensuing years I graduated to the Pied Pipers and sackbut quartets, and eventually to a dance band at the University of Kansas to finance my undergraduate years. Then came my transfer to Oberlin. The University of Kansas was known then as the "Country Club on the Kaw." I still shudder remembering that students at Oberlin actually went to college to get an education.

My instrument was never stolen, but I did have anxious moments when my LST vessel was nearly split in half by a typhoon and I had to retrieve the Olds from submerged crew quarters.

Consistent with Eric's approach, I still play Dixie trombone once each week, and I have the autobiographical "Gosh, I Almost Forgot" ready for publication later this year. And although incredible, my next-door neighbor performing on the trombone had the surname Nye.

Yes, I'm still doing my thing on a '39 Olds.

Daniel C. Bachmann '45

Wichita, Kansas

*AN UNPOPULAR WORD CHOICE

Quoting TV producer James Burrows, author Dade Hayes writes "Half of what I say is good. Half of what I say is sh__." (Spring 2001.) I was a little surprised to see that printed in our magazine. I was a student at Oberlin 35 years ago when I first heard a woman use the f-word at a student demonstration. I didn't like it then, and I still don't like it. "Liberal [expression]" doesn't have to mean "in poor taste," methinks!

Joe Stoddart '67

New York, New York

*NO JOB CHANGE YET

I appreciated your publishing my letter commenting on the resources being devoted to the football team. But I REALLY got a kick out of my promotion to ambassador! Of course I quickly sent a copy up to the real ambassador, lest I be accused of lèse-majesté. I'll let you know via the Alumni Notes when--and if--I do make ambassador.

George Sibley '77

Regional Environmental Officer

U.S. Embassy, Amman, Jordan

*RADIO WAVES

I enjoyed reading Michael McIntyre's article about WOBC's 50th anniversary (Spring 2001). However, the paragraph citing WOBC alums who have created names for themselves in the industry failed to mention Michael Barone '68. A conservatory student, Michael was music director in his junior and senior years. After graduation he worked in Collegeville, Minnesota, as music director of station KSJR, which was on the brink of becoming Minnesota Public Radio. He has now been associated with the station for 33 years. Since the beginning of the 1982-83 season, he has been a senior executive producer, hosting "Pipedreams," a weekly 90-minute program of organ music heard by hundreds of thousands of listeners. He also does the "Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra" broadcasts and a weekly new releases program that is the longest-running classical music program in MPR's considerable history. Professional organists everywhere are deeply in his debt.

Mary Ann Howell Dodd

Sherburne, New York

I read with great interest the story on radio station WOBC, or KOCN as we knew it. I was active with the station my junior and senior years. Mike Berla '52, Scott Himstead '53, and I did a live play-by-play broadcast of the Oberlin-Wittenberg football game for KOCN in 1950 from Springfield, Ohio. And Oberlin actually won that game. We also broadcast the game at Wooster later in the season. I wouldn't be surprised if those are the only two live broadcasts of Oberlin football games by KOCN or WOBC. Thanks for producing such a good magazine.

I just got back from the protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in Quebec City. The FTAA is a giant trade treaty that will extend NAFTA to North America, South America, and the Caribbean (except Cuba). Quebec City is a tiny Canadian city where I ran into many fellow alums, and not a few current Oberlin students. As part of the legal team there I had a unique perspective of the protests. Far removed from the street skirmishes between protesters and police, I heard firsthand accounts from people still rattled days later from the tear gas that the authorities used indiscriminately. I also received frantic phone calls from many activists in jail who had been ambushed by plain clothes officers, beaten, and arrested--all for no apparent reason. Among those arrested was (at least) one Oberlin student. Her friends, also OCers, waited for her at the 24-hour vigil outside the jail where all the protesters were being held. Talking to them about their organizing within Oberlin and beyond was an inspiration. The non-profit I work for, the Midnight Special Law Collective, has provided legal training and support for activists in Seattle, D.C., and L.A. For (or rather, against) the FTAA, we helped in San Diego as well as Quebec City. In each of these places Oberlin students are an organized, powerful presence.

If anyone getting this magazine is starting to feel cynical and defeated, try talking to a current student about activism. Especially outside a jail.

Dan Spalding '99

Oakland, California

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