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Volume 104 • Number 16 • Friday, January 24, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO
Coach T stays By JASON LAWRENCE Sports editor
Things generally work out the way they’re supposed to, and Mel Tjeerdsma knows that, which is why he’s content to stick around as the athletics director at Northwest Missouri State University. “I’m very content with that fact that it didn’t work out,” Tjeerdsma said. “My faith has always carried me through on these things, and the Lord has always put me where I’m supposed to be, so I don’t have any regrets at all.” Tjeerdsma, 67, had been rumored for days to have been selected as the next coach at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. But all of those rumors were dispelled Thursday when Sam Houston State AD Bobby Williams announced former Delaware coach K.C. Keeler as the 15th coach in Bearkat history. Tjeerdsma was announced as one of the five finalists Sunday after first being linked
to the job Saturday night by KBTX, a Bryan, Texas, television station. Tjeerdsma said Monday that it was an attractive job due to the program’s recent successes under former Central Missouri coach Willie Fritz, who led the Bearkats to the FCS title game in 2011 and 2012. “This looked like a perfect situation,” Tjeerdsma said. “I’m not out pursuing coaching jobs. I mean, sure, I miss it, but that’s just part of life. I’m very happy with the job that I have. I was approached about this. It looked like a great situation. One thing that I’ve never been able to do is move up a level from Division II, and this was going to provide that. And it wasn’t a rebuilding project, it was a very good program. That’s the only reason I got into it and I don’t regret that.” Tjeerdsma, who returned to Northwest in 2013 as AD, retired from coaching in 2012 with a career record of 242-59-4 over 27 seasons. In 17 years at Northwest, TjeerdsSee TJEERDSMA, Page 3
75¢
FILE PHOTO
Staying put
Northwest Missouri State Athletics Director Mel Tjeerdsma, shown above talking to a referee during a Bearcats football game, will not be returning to the sidelines with Sam Houston State University. The Bearkats selected former Delaware coach K.C. Keeler Thursday from a list of five finalists. Tjeerdsma said he is content to stay in his current position as Northwest’s AD.
Clubhouse pro plays his game behind the scenes By STEVE HARTMAN Staff writer
KEVIN BIRDSELL/DAILY FORUM
Haunted, or not?
Northwest Missouri State University journalism instructor Jason Offutt, who writes a regular column for the Daily Forum, is shown in front of allegedly haunted Roberta Hall on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University.
Ten Most Haunted
Ghostly Roberta Hall lands Northwest campus in Top 10
By KEVIN BIRDSELL Staff writer
The spooky story of Roberta Hall has been told many times by students and faculty at Northwest Missouri State University. In fact, the ghostly tale has been featured both in books and on television and incorporated into the school’s official history. And now the legend of the haunted sorority residence has landed Northwest on a “10 most haunted” list featured by Mysterious Heartland, a website maintained by Illinois folklorist Michael Kleen that focuses on
hauntings and other paranormal doings across the Midwest. The university is included in Kleen’s “Top 10 Most Haunted Colleges.” “Top 10 lists have always been a popular feature on my website,” Kleen said. “But after writing more than two dozen lists about the strange and unusual in Illinois, I decided it was time to branch out and include other Midwestern states. I’m particularly interested in the folklore and ghost stories of colleges and universities. I chose the rankings by the number and notoriety of the sto-
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ries.” The tragic story of Roberta Steele is recounted in Northwest journalism instructor Jason Offutt’s book “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to the Show-Me State’s Most Spirited Spots.” In 1951, Steele was an undergraduate living on campus in what was then known simply as Residence Hall. On April 28 of that year a gasoline storage tank adjoining railroad tracks running behind the dormitory exploded, sending a steel beam See GHOSTLY, Page 3
INSIDE
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Professional baseball, like many businesses, has both employees everyone knows and others who work in anonymity behind the scenes to make sure everyone is able to perform at their best. One local man, Cleo Welch, has spent the past 16 summers doing “behind-thescenes” tasks as a clubhouse manager for three different minor league organizations, as well as working spring training for a big league team from 2002-2009. Welch, a Northeast Nodaway high school graduate, had an outstanding prep basketball career, playing for the late Missouri Sports Hall of Fame coach Claude Samson and helping lead the Bluejays to a 32-1 season in 1975, with the only loss coming at the hands of Advance in the state championship game. “Baseball was always my favorite sport, but we didn’t have baseball in school, so I played basketball and ran track, even though I never shot a basketball in a gym until I was in 5th grade,” Welch said. “We had summer baseball, but you could only play it through the age of 16. I did play one year of American Legion baseball in Maryville, and that was a lot of fun.” Some vacation While working in Maryville, Welch’s employer at the time, New England Business Services, informed employees that any vacation time had either to be used or lost. Welch had more than 300 hours of unused time on
Sports.................... 7, 8 Community Life ..... 9 Classifieds............... 11
the books and was looking for something to do in the summer to use them up. One of Welch’s friends, Bob Houtchens, had a friend who worked as a clubhouse manager for the Omaha Royals, the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. It was suggested to Welch that he contact Bill Gorman, the Omaha general manager about a clubhouse position. Welch contacted Gorman in the spring of 1996, but heard nothing back. Being persistent, he called back in 1997. Gorman returned the call, but said there weren’t any openings. Welch, his son and a friend attended opening day in 1998 in Omaha, and Welch asked an acquaintance on the grounds crew who the clubhouse manager was. He was surprised to find out that the Royals didn’t have one and were actively looking for someone to fill the position. This time, after contacting Gorman a third time, Welch got the job, beginning a four-year run with Omaha as the clubhouse manager. Following the 2001 season, Welch found out the Iowa Cubs, a AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, had an opening for a clubhouse manager. Not only that, but the Cubs offered an extra inducement — an industrialsized washing machine. “The washing machines run almost constantly from batting practice until well after the game,” Welch said, “and the industrialsized machines can cut two or three hours off the clubSee PRO, Page 6
OUTSIDE
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