Married to Pam Piper (‘71) Son, Ryan
I have so many fond memories of living three years in the House: all the great parties, Homecoming, decorating the front of the house, my 4-man roommates Bennett, Menke, Heebink and I listening to KAAY in Little Rock after midnight to Clyde Clifford playing “Spirit in the Sky” and “Nights in White Satin,” those aholes shaming/making me to “go check the furnace-it might actually blow up” and upon return, finding my pillow hanging precariously out the window held only by the sill, riding in Dickie DeVriess’s boss Impala muscle car down to Florida to Bob and Mary’s house, 20 of us laying in the front yard getting some sun, all of us going into a Clearwater $5 all-you-can-eat chicken place and seeing the owner wince when we came in, the Mama Lacqua Spaghetti dinners, all of our delinquent but successful pranks (they now do have a “tire inaccessible” flag pole), all nighters, heading to Groonie’s Grandma’s house for fresh homemade bread and jam, stopping by Vander Ploogs Bakery at 4am and then bringing back all the day-old sweet rolls for the crew, chowing down at Dubits for breakfast with Olthoff, Danielson teaching me the epicurean delight of peanuts poured into a Sprite, and those wonderful adventure-filled nights in the make-out room or closed-off sunporch!
Upon spring graduation, I was drafted two days later (lottery number 35). After four years of a brilliant college broadcasting career at KCUI, the Pella radio substation of a Knoxville radio station KNOX, and WKKD AM & FM in Aurora, IL. during summer breaks, I tried my best to get into Armed Forces Radio, but that assignment was frozen as they had so many applications. September 2, 1970, I was inducted into the infantry and was one of only two Caucasians in my entire platoon at Ft. Lewis Washington. I barely survived basic training, but was determined to be the best soldier I could be if I had to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. On the last night of live fire training, I reinjured a high school football knee injury, went to “mandatory sick call,” and was asked by the doctor, “What are you doing in the Army with those knees, boy?” I was shipped home immediately. I returned to Pella to live in the Phi Delt house while I looked for a radio job and most importantly – spend time with my honey, Pam Piper (‘71). A month later, Pam and I went home to Lombard, IL, for Christmas, and I proposed. She said, “Yes!” 48 years ago this year. After returning to Pella, I checked in with KRNT in Des Moines. The program director said he had been searching for me (no cell phones or email back then) and hired me to do the 7pm till midnight radio shift and the TV signoff news. I was living a charmed life driving a new 1970 bright orange Opel GT and earning $97 a week as well as working days at Team Electronics selling stereos.
I was fortunate to always be highly rated on air, and after Pam and I married, we moved to Denver, Ft Lauderdale/Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, and finally here in Indy where I was the morning jock on WENS through the 90’s. All through my on-air career, I’ve done commercials and TV VO for many stations and networks around the country. In the late 80’s , I auditioned and won the imaging voice of 17 of the Fox Sports Nets around the country, including Fox