Truman Carlson was steadying influence

Truman as Tigers' coach, 1960, relishing success with his kids! Does it get any better than this?

I'm not sure that my high school lesson of dissecting a crayfish really made me a better person. But who knows, maybe it did. The lesson was led by Truman Carlson at MHS. It wasn't "MAHS" yet and we did not have "MACA" athletics. 

We're looking in the rear view mirror today as we reflect on ol' Truman, a rock as biology teacher and also a rock in community and church. Think back and you'll appreciate how he was always the same. Clean-cut with a steady and temperate demeanor, professional of course, courteous and a whole of other positive attributes. 

We're thinking of him today because he has gone on to the next life. I got re-acquainted with him when he started coming to the senior center for lunch. I was there because my parents had reached the age where they needed me with them more. 

Truman Carlson

Truman and I went a little back and forth on politics toward the end. Let's not say any more about that. He adjusted churches toward the end of his life as a reflection of his conservative principles. Would I dare disagree with him on anything? Disagree with a man who stood above us as all-knowing educator once? It's tough thinking how you can ever approach someone like that as a peer. I don't think I ever could. 

The gap between student and teacher was pretty wide when my generation went through. We could find it hard to get the desired 'A' and 'B' grades. The 'A' honor roll list might be as short as three or four kids. And it seemed to be the same three or four every time. Including for example the daughter of the high school principal. Ahem. 

Were those kids able to secure the "teachers' edition" of textbooks? Those would be like the Holy Grail: books that gave you the answers for everything. Imagine sneaking through algebra that way. 

I sense today the gap between teachers and students is far less, that kids need not feel as intimidated as we could be. A friend of mine puts it bluntly: "The kids today walk all over the teachers." And look how long the honor roll lists are. My eyes bug out. A better system now? That's a matter of opinion but I'd say yes. 

As I try to find the words to describe the old way, I'm inclined to think it was a lot like the military. The two systems had parallels: a big government monopoly with a stifling bureaucracy. I sense this began changing in the mid to late 1980s. At that point, perhaps as a reflection of thinning student numbers, we saw parents wanting to be treated like paying customers. You might say accountability shot up. 

Teachers could no longer rule the roost with their sometimes harsh and arbitrary judgments. Kids who struggled would get put into categories for special treatment. Whereas previously, the teachers could ride herd over them as if harsh punishment could solve everything. 

Today we hear of "autistic" and "bipolar," two terms I don't recall ever hearing when I was young. 

Truman Carlson had a system of rules and discipline but he was not at all menacing in how he applied it. 

A little anecdote enters my head. A classmate and I were talking in the hallway one day. I don't remember if it was between classes. My friend was a model citizen: the basketball superstar Gary Lembcke. We felt our talking was OK but Truman, who was standing momentarily outside his classroom, felt we needed to be hushed up. I mentioned with surprise to Gary a major league baseball trade that had just been made: Frank Robinson for Doyle Alexander. 

Robinson was the famous outfielder/hitter whose prime was with the Baltimore Orioles. Alexander was a wily pitcher but relatively obscure. On the face of it, seemed like a one-sided trade. I made note of this with Gary as I exuded incredulity, then Mr. Carlson felt he needed to tell us to cool it. He was serious. However, three or four seconds later he adjusted his demeanor and said "Yeah I know, Frank Robinson for Doyle Alexander." 

Carlson could put a gentle face on anything. I could cite other teachers from that era about whom I could not say that. The teachers put up with me well enough that I got my diploma in 1973. Kids today would have a hard time understanding those times. The worst of the Vietnam War was over for our youth, still the U.S. was anything but extricated from that mess. Would that we had left the way Joe Biden got us out of Afghanistan. Of course it was messy and unfortunately there were fatalities, but we got out, got it over with. 

Vietnam was this terrible storm cloud hovering over my growing-up years. 

I dissected crayfish for Truman as part of a lab threesome that also included Art Cruze and Ted Schmidt. Anyone who has a background with Art will not forget it. Went on to a career in radio advertising sales. He was from a large (Catholic) family of outgoing and fun-loving kids. He and Ted got carried away with talking about NHL hockey when they were supposed to be focusing on the lab project at hand. I'd get frustrated and they'd respond with bemusement. We must have gotten passing grades. 

Without a doubt Art and Ted would have warm memories of Truman just like yours truly. Truman could apply discipline but he also let us have our space to be ourselves. 

Truman coached Morris Tigers basketball in a time when we didn't have to differentiate between boys and girls. Basketball was for boys. The secondary sport during winter was wrestling. And Truman coached in the old building that has since gone under the wrecking ball. I remember watching a handful of games there. The gym was used until 1968 if I'm recalling things correctly. The old building once housed grades K-12. 

I never really felt comfortable calling the auditorium the "elementary auditorium" because I remember when it was for high school. You should know the auditorium blended in with the gym. Fans watched games from the auditorium seats. Harriet Stevenson recalled how the bleachers on the opposite side weren't even there when she was in high school. "There was just a wall," she said. 

The old complex never lost its charms but my goodness it sure got out of date. "Holy not meeting codes, Batman!" So the old had to give way to the new. 

If the old walls could only talk. They'd tell us about the basketball success when Mr. Carlson held the coaching reins. Just look at the photo at the top of this blog post. It doesn't get any better than that, Truman, even if you were to be a millionaire. I'm sure Truman appreciated the values. He was in education for the right reasons. Truman Carlson RIP.

Addendum: I was proud to tell Truman once that I learned the term "rhesus monkey" from his class. He thanked me but corrected my pronunciation!

Addendum #2: I neglected to mention in the above material that Truman had a tenure as athletic director. Based on conversations I overheard, from people within the system, Truman walked a tightrope. He had to listen to certain parents or fans who shall we say could get disgruntled with things. And I'm sure he listened with respect as well he should. But this could rankle some of his colleagues - let's call it an insulated clique - that wanted the public to butt out at all times. I think he was relieved when he left the AD role. 

Addendum #3: My Morris High School Class of 1973 will have its 50th reunion this summer. We have been saying goodbye to our parents and now our teachers. Russ Anderson is recently deceased. I hope my blog post/reflection piece on Carlson today serves to complement the obituary! Carlson's son Dave played the trombone under director John Woell. What a marching band we had! You'd get goosebumps as we came down the street, guaranteed. That experience is consigned to mothballs now.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com