The Tigers did not have the good fortune to have a home match
during Homecoming week. But they sure took care of business, winning by
sweep over Yellow Medicine East on Thursday. The game outcomes were
25-15, 25-10 and 25-14.
The success upped the team's win streak to three. Coach Kristi Fehr's squad has won five of their last six matches.
Fans and players are in a most upbeat frame of mind with Homecoming
week reaching its apex today (Friday, 9/20). Today has the parade and
the football game (against Benson) on the slate. MACA volleyball has a
5-3 overall record and 5-2 showing in conference.
Paige Schieler and Sydney Engebretson were forces at the net in the
win over the Sting of YME. Schieler applied her own sting with the 13
kills she performed. Her numbers in good/attempts were 25/28.
Engebretson pounded down eleven kills and had 23 of 24 good/attempts.
Terianne Itzen added to the mix with seven kills on 16 of 17 in
good/attempts. Nicole Strobel was seven of eight with three kills. Haley
Erdahl was good on all seven of her attempts and had two kills. Lacee
Maanum went 11-for-13 with one kill.
Schieler went up to perform two ace blocks, while Engebretson had one.
Itzen topped the list in digs with her 19. Beth Holland broke into
double figures with her 14. The list continues with Chelsey Ehleringer
and her eight, Hunter Mundal and Erdahl each with seven, and Schieler
and Engebretson each with five.
On to serving: Here, Holland stood out by performing three ace
serves on 23 of 24 good/attempts. Ehleringer made her presence felt with
two aces on 15 of 16. Itzen had two aces as well, achieved on 13 of 13.
Engebretson had an ace to go with 10 of 11. Mundal had four good in
five attempts, and Erdahl went five of five.
Ehleringer and Erdahl were busy setting the ball, finishing with 13 and 12 set assists respectively.
YME is having a struggling season and came out of Thursday at 2-12
in overall record, 2-5 in conference. Allie Zieske and Jordan Hinz each
had four kills for the Sting. Madison Hagert accumulated 13 digs.
The Tigers will get back to the home court on Monday, 9/23, to play Lac qui Parle Valley.
Newspaper publishes paean
I noticed a feature article on a former superintendent in a recent
Morris newspaper. I don't buy the paper but I can occasionally page
through at a public place.
I saw a feature article on a fellow named Frank Fox. He is deceased.
I wondered at first if this was the first in a series of articles
on former supers. That would be an interesting concept. I wrote a blog
post at the time Dennis Rettke passed away, sharing some personal
recollections and acknowledging what I felt were his strong points. All
supers have strong points or they wouldn't have reached that level in
their careers.
I'm starting to think the newspaper feature on Mr. Fox was a
one-shot deal. It was written by someone not on the newspaper staff.
Maybe someone with personal connections to Frank Fox just wanted to see
this article, written as a paean, done. I don't blame them.
But I'm not sure that Fox, who really wasn't here that long
(1947-56), needs to be put on a pedestal relative to any other supers. I suspect he worked in a
time when people in his position had greater latitude to run the
system, as opposed to a later time when unionization and the empowerment
of unions created a quite different complexion.
I was in high school when a fellow named Fred Switzer was
superintendent. I think Mr. Switzer had the misfortune of working in a
time when the teachers union really had its claws out. I remember a time
when the spectre of teacher strikes seemed to be looming quite
regularly around Minnesota.
I remember attending a public discussion at the Grant County Fair,
Herman, one year where an exasperated individual (I believe either an
active or retired superintendent) talked about how teacher strikes were
"tearing apart" small communities. Charlie Berg was part of that
discussion, I recall.
Teachers unions still exist. But it seems the system has been
tweaked so that their activities aren't as disruptive as they once were.
Oh, we all love teachers. But we want to stay on an even keel.
Fred Switzer himself told me about the tremendous amount of time
required to get every "i" dotted and "t" crossed in negotiations with
teachers. I also seem to recall there was a nucleus or clique of
teachers here - I could name names but I won't - who were aggressive and
parochial on these matters, pursuing sort of a scorched-earth policy
vs. that big bad administration (and board).
Working under these circumstances, it would have been impossible
for Mr. Switzer to have wrapped up his career here drawing such warm
feelings as did Mr. Frank Fox (evidently).
I would say Mr. Switzer was a "maligned" superintendent. Which
means that he got criticism but that much of it was undeserved or
overstated. He was here a long time. I think he knew the ropes.
It is true that some phases of extracurricular declined during
Fred's tenure. Even here I'm not sure he deserves much if any of the
blame. Schools were going through retrenchment that meant they'd have to
bite the bullet and allow volunteers to play a bigger role, especially
with elementary athletics.
Morris dragged its feet on this, and it was that nucleus of activist
and parochial teachers, that I have already alluded to, that bears the
blame. Volunteers were anathema to all their aims. I'm quite sure that
if a volunteer were walking down a school hallway and said "hello," many
of the teachers wouldn't say anything back.
I think this climate has been addressed now. The MACA
extracurricular is right in line with other schools, maybe superior. But
it was a tough battle to fight for a long time. I was there. I was at
that sports banquet/program of infamy back in about 1987. Many of you
not familiar might not even believe me, if I were to tell you bout it.
It's not a "tale from the crypt" but it's close.
Mr. Switzer should get his due. Maybe the newspaper can continue a
series of profiles of former supers. It's really a pretty good idea.
That paean about Frank Fox was quite fine. Now let's see some more.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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