GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fourth Annual Strong College Croquet Tournament a Spectacular Success!

The sky was blue and the grass was brown, and fun, food, hats, and contestants were everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of delighted people (well, maybe not that many, but whole lots) enjoyed the games and the company at the Fourth Annual Strong College Croquet Tournament this Saturday, October 3rd, from noon to 3:00 p.m. on the College lawn. Two preliminary rounds were played and then the top finishers went up against each other in a final playoff. In the interludes the Best Hat Contest and the race around the building diverted the contestants and the crowd. Delicious and nutritious health food was served from the grill throughout the day. Twelve Monarch butterflies, two Turkey Vultures, and three Red-tailed Hawks passed by but unfortunately didn’t stay.

The Contestants and the Champion!

The brave croquet warriors of the day were: Julia Bevan, Chris Butler, Amanda Culbreth, Jay Ewing, C.J. Heidel, Peter Jamieson, Gwen Kovalak, Heather Lloyd, Michelle Marcelais, Greg Shealy, Scott Thomason, Todd Thomason, Chris Williams, and Andy Winternitz! The competition among the players was fierce, and right up to the end the outcome was uncertain. But enough suspense. The winners are:

1998 Tournament Champion: Todd Thomason
Second Place: Julia Bevan and Peter Jamieson
Third Place: Scott Thomason

Todd’s name will soon be engraved on the silver Tournament trophy beside the names of past champions, and all future generations of Strong men and women will celebrate his greatness.

The Race and a World Record!

The annual race with mallet and ball around the building was fiercely contested as usual. Seven brave competitors took their chances against each other and the Forces of Nature: Sherrill Hayes (de-horned in last year’s race), C.J. Heidel, Michelle Marcelais, Amanda Culbreth, Chris Butler, and Heather Lloyd. And the winner was: Sherrill Hayes, setting a new world record with his time of 2 minutes 59.18 seconds! Many people believed the three minute barrier would never be broken, but they were proven wrong. (And tests for illegal steroids after the race were all negative.) Anyone hoping to enter next year should begin training now.

Hats and More Hats!

As is traditional at major Strong College events, a Hat Contest was part of the day’s fun. Denise Tucker and Kelly Woodfin served as judges, and millions of dollars in prizes were awarded. As we go to press, Croquet Central has not yet received a list of all the winners. Stay tuned to this channel for more information as it becomes available.

A Million Thanks!

So many people helped with the Croquet Tournament we hope we have got them all: Heather Lloyd, Gwen Kovalak, Julia Bevan, Holli Bogle, Bri Payne, Chris Williams, Pete Jamieson, Michelle Marcelais, Bob O’Hara, and C.J. Heidel (set up, shopping, and take down); Sherrill Hayes, Pete Jamieson, Jon Buford, and Evan Brown (The Band With No Name); Todd Thomason (timekeeper); Scott Thomason and Bob O’Hara (course preparation); Chris Williams (Hit-the-Stake contest); Andy Winternitz, Sherrill Hayes, and Chris Williams (grillers); Emily Brown, Michelle Marcelais, and Heather Lloyd (artwork); Cecilia Ruth Lance and Bri Payne (bake sale), and Denise Tucker and Kelly Woodfin (hat contest). Whew! The Croquet Tournament could not have happened without the wonderful help of all these wonderful people. Thanks to you all!

Musical Events Coming Soon!

Several Strong College members will be performing this coming Wednesday, October 7th, at 7:30 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium as part of the University Concert Band, and also this coming Thursday, October 8th, at 7:30 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium as part of the University Wind Ensemble. Don’t miss them!

Ad Astra

Our own Liesl Ehardt will be appearing in Dawson’s Creek this coming Wednesday, October 7th, at 8:00 p.m. Please join a whole crowd of Strong men and women in the Game Room at that time to watch this momentous event!

A number of Strong College people are involved in the smashing performance of Hair now running on campus: Jane Brookshire and Jennifer Rogers are performing and Krista Karbowski and Dan Treharne are doing tech. Wow!

Dr. O’Hara’s Book-of-the-Week in the College Office this week is Jeffrey Smith’s Printers and Press Freedom: The Ideology of Early American Journalism. Stop by and browse it today.

Poem-of-the-Week

Today’s special edition Poem-of-the-Week is Keats’s “To Autumn” (1820), now an annual croquet tradition:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
  Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
  And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
    To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
  With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
    For Summer has o’er-brimmed their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
  Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting on a granary floor,
  Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,
  Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
    Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
  Steady thy laden head across a brook;
  Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
    Thou watchest the oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Aye, where are they?
  Think not of them, thou hast thy music too—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
  And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
  Among the river sallows, borne aloft
  Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
  Hedge crickets sing; and now with treble soft
  The redbreast whistles from a garden croft;
    And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. Mind the gap. May be harmful if swallowed. No caffeine. For external use only. Do not eat. Refrigerate after opening. This does represent the official policy of James Elroy Flecker University and Blue Lemur Industries, Inc. Use only in a well-ventilated area. If rash develops, discontinue use. Assembled in Honduras from Canadian components. Machine washable and dryer safe. Choking hazard. Tamper evident. Eye irritant. May contain historical inaccuracies. Crayons not included. Do not inhale. If swallowed or lodged in ear or nose, promptly see doctor. Hold handrail. Read cautions on back. 100% undetermined man-made fibers. Rules subject to change. Contains beta carotene for color. Point away from people while opening. Not a significant source of calories. Easy to clean vinyl lining. Will not craze most plastics. Easily slips beneath outerwear. Contains no squid. Shown actual size. Do not shake. When dry, brush lightly. The most common things in the Universe are hydrogen and stupidity. Second star to the right, and straight on till morning. If we succeed there will be many songs sung in our honor. The better our fantasies are, the better our realities can become. Think continually of those who were truly great. A decent boldness ever meets with friends. Risk—risk is our business; that’s what this starship is all about; that’s why we’re aboard her. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Resistance is futile. Per aspera ad astra!