Happy 50th Year Mohegan Striders!
To honor the 50th Year, each month, a Mohegan Strider has volunteered (or been coerced, strongly advised–whatever, let’s not split hairs) to post interesting or humorous tidbits past or present, about the club and its members. Starting off with January, of course, you can read those posts here from the bottom up. You’ll see these on the Strider FaceBook page as well. Enjoy!
November 2022 – CHANGES OVER A SEMI-CENTENNIAL ERA
– Todd Guertin
Do you remember 1972? I barely remember much of 1972. I was 10 years old. My brother, 8 years older than me, got an LED HP35 calculator for Christmas. I remember that like it was yesterday. The first thing he did was learn how to hold it upside down and spell hELL on it. Many of us may have been around since 1972, but were you running like some Mohegan Striders, Tim Smith, and those who were part of the Mohegan Striders founding members? Were you aware there was a group called the Mohegan Striders? I thought it would be fun to make a list of some of the things that happened in 1972 besides the birth of the Striders. And later, a comparison of things from 1972 to 2022. You may recall some of these events or items form 1972, you may not. Maybe you weren’t here to enjoy them yet. Either way, please enjoy…
Rose Arts Festival was 8 yrs old in 1972
The Rose Arts road race was 6 years old in 1972.
Tim Smiths best Rose Arts finish was in 1972, placing third behind Burfoot and Kelley.
Top song – “First time I ever saw your face” by Roberta Flack. Others that year – “American Pie”, The “Candy Man”, “Brandy (you’re a fine girl)”, “My ding-a-ling”, “Rocket Man.” – I know, you started singing “Brandy, You’re a fine girl”, in your head didn’t you?
Top movie of 1972 was The Godfather
The first wide released video game came out – Pong.
Did you know Ben Affleck, “the Rock”, Shaq, Jennifer Garner and Cameron Diaz were all born in 1972?
Top Saturday cartoons were Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, The Jetsons and The Bugs Bunny show.
Popular TV shows were All in the family, Sanford and Son, Hawaii Five-o
Oakland A’s won the World Series
Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl. (Super Bowl VI)
NBA champs were the Los Angeles Lakers
Boston Bruins won the NHL Stanley Cup
Tennis balls were always white or sometimes black until 1972 when they changed to bright yellow
The Norwich Police Athletic League was formed in 1972 as well.
Time magazine men of the year, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissenger., – Remember Tricky Dick?
Richard Nixon was President. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was signed by Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev.
Miss USA? Tanya Wilson of Hawaii. Miss America, Laura Lee Schaefer of Ohio.
The Dallas Cowboys hired the first NFL cheerleading squad in 1972.
Some famous marketing slogans from 1972 – Hey Mikey! He likes it! Nothing runs like a Deere, and Nobody does it like Sara Lee.
HBO was launched in 1972
Bounce dryer sheets came into existence in 1972
Silly string was invented by accident in 1972
The bands Kiss and ABBA were formed.
Summer Olympics were held in Munich. There was a massacre which held up the Olympics from starting for 36 hours.
Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals and set 7 world records at the Olympics
Dave Wottle (the Wottle throttle) came from behind to win the 800 meters at the Olympics.
US Men’s Basketball team was 63-0 going into the finals of the Munich Olympic Finals. They lost to the Soviet team by 1 point. In protest the US team did not accept their silver medals.
A stamp cost $.08, loaf of bread $.25, gallon of milk $1.20, doz eggs $.52, gallon of gas $.52, minimum wage $1.60, new car $3879, movie ticket $1.70 and the average cost of a home? $30500.
Cost of a Super Bowl ad was $86,000.
Digital watches made their debut.
The first Female FBI agents were hired.
George Carlin was arrested for violating obscenity laws after performing “seven dirty words you can’t say on TV.”
Popular funny people – Lily Tomlin and Don Rickles.
Ted Bundy was appointed to the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Committee.
Dish cleaner Dawn was born in 1972
Jesus Christ Superstar (musical) opened. As well as Grease (musical) on Broadway. Did you know that Dean Festa toured with Jesus Christ Superstar as a guitarist in 1972?
Just for some fun I thought it would be amusing to compare some things from 1972 to 2022. So much has happened over the past 50 years. Take a look at some of this.
Hewlett Packard’s handheld scientific calculator cost $395 in 1972. That’s equivalent to $2775 today. You could get a really nice laptop computer for that price today.
A gallon of gas in 1972, $.52. What did we see it rise to this past June? $4.98, $6.40 for diesel.
A gallon of milk in 1972? $1.20. This past October? $4.41.
The average cost of a home in 1972 was $30,500 and today in Connecticut the average cost is $361,501. With 10% down at the going interest rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage, that’s $2183 a month. For 30 years!
Getting that sweet ride you wanted in 1972 averaged about $3879 brand new, but in 2022 that’ll cost you nearly$29000 to over $57000 and much more for that fancy car you won’t have to pour gas in.
We now have autonomous cars. Not that they are perfect. But we have them.
Back in 1972 we had Ford pintos that would catch the fuel system on fire in a rear end collision. Now we have electric cars that have batteries which catch fire. And you can’t put them out in some cases. – Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The record for the mile this year was set in June at a pace of 3 min 46.46 sec. In comparison, the 1 mile world record was 3.51.1 in 1972. It took 50 years to take off just about 5 seconds. While the 5 k record in 1972 was 13:16.4, it is currently at 12:35.36. And in 2022 we saw a new world record for the marathon set to 2:01:09 as compared to 2:12:19 in 1972.
The top selling running shoes in 2022? Yes, Nike – 50% of the market share. In 1972? Yes, Nike. The 1972 newly released waffle sole “Moon shoe”. A pair recently sold at auction for $437500. And imagine this: The then owner of Nike was giving them away to competing Olympic runners. The sole was called waffle soles because he actually used his wife’s waffle iron to make the soles of the shoes. And the sole resembled the foot prints left on the moon. Hence the name, “moon shoe”.
The Norwich Rose Arts 10.6 mile Road Race ended in 1998, but did you know, Tim Smith is still running in 2022. That’s right, 50 years later. You can catch him at Billy Wilsons on Wednesday nights.
Did you have a Microwave oven in 1972? They were available in 1947, so why didn’t you have one? Originally they sold for $5000 and were 6 feet tall. In 1967 they became counter top size, but the price of $500 was still a bit steep for that 1972. Now you can get one for about $60.
Cell Phones? Oh lawd, we’ve seen an explosion of technology with those little devices. In 1972 you had to rent your landline phone from Ma Bell, and long distance calls cost extra. You no longer need a calculator, camera, video camera, voice recorder, 8 track tape player, am/fm radio or accu weather forecast on TV. It’s all in that one nifty little package that slips right into your back pocket.
What about those annoying TV antenna’s you had on your house “back in the day”? Turning and turning to dial in the best possible reception so you could watch a TV program. Then came cable. Now we have smart TVs. And flat screens. And they are lightweight!
In this season of giving thanks, I personally am thankful for the technological advances we’ve had since 1972. The advances in medicine that keeps us doing what we do. The safer cars that we drive, and the reflective materials that allow us to be seen at night, while training on those lonely dark roads in the dead of winter for that big race coming up. Do autonomous cars recognize those reflective or flashing light vests? Hmm. Most of all I am thankful for this Mohegan Strider family that has persisted for 50 years. Thankful for Tim Smith and the other founding members who set out to form this club, as well as all those who have served as board members to see to it that this club would thrive over the last 5 decades and the coming years. The friends, training partners, and warm greetings you get at every running event. I am looking forward to the coming years as a Mohegan Strider and to experience more of the ever changing world in which we live.
October 2022 – THE MOHEGAN STRIDERS 50TH ANNIVERSARY
– Don Sikorski
I’ll start by saying that I am truly honored to be accepted as a Mohegan Strider. Yeah, I know anyone with $15 can join (free since the pandemic thanks to the generosity of the club), and you don’t even need to be a runner to be a part of the gang. But nowhere can you stumble upon a group of people who are so dedicated to their craft and at the same time so welcoming to anyone and everyone that wants to be a part of the family. The Mohegan Striders can stack their running accolades against the very best, yet it is camaraderie and friendliness of the organization that is the selling point. It was at the finish line of the 1982 Rose Arts Road Race where the “sales pitch” took place; a very polite gentleman, super fit, sporting green-tinted glasses and clad in a brown and white racing singlet approached me, asking if I would like to join the Mohegan Striders. I already knew who he was. Local Legend; Mr. Running, Norwich’s Timmy Smith. The question was, why was he talking to me? A fierce competitor yet a nice guy who looked remarkably rested despite racing 10.4 miles in June’s heat and humidity and finishing a dozen minutes before me. He looked puzzled when I reluctantly declined, citing my lack of ability to meet the competitive qualifying standards for such prestigious membership. After assuring me that the only requirement was the $1.00 annual dues for a Junior membership, I enthusiastically complied. Forty years later, I’m proud to say I am still a member of The Mohegan Striders, I can still run 10.4 run miles (albeit a bit slower than 1982), and Tim Smith is still a fierce competitor and a nice guy. He still proudly sports that same brown and white racing singlet too.
The Mohegan Striders Association was formally founded on April 9, 1972 when several hardcore runners gathered at the Uncasville home of John Martin for their initial Sunday morning training run. 50 years later, those roads solicit significant traffic and are just as unforgiving hilly, making that initial training loop somewhat obsolete, but the history remains intact. The Mohegan Striders are a social club and have made running a social activity throughout Southeastern Connecticut, with “the loneliness of the long-distance runner” dismissed as a false myth.
I’ve been privileged to meet all kinds of people that were part of the Mohegan Striders family. I initially thought about listing some of the fastest and most accomplished of my teammates, but eventually realized that there were too many to mention and feared hurt feelings from those I may have overlooked. After all, 50 years is a long time, so thoughts of compiling any “all-time greats” listing would be too difficult. I will point of that the Mohegan Striders can boast of plenty; course record holders, high school state champions, Olympic Trials participants, fast running ladies, age group champions, runners who would battle you every step of the way when the pinned a race number on, and dozens of larger-than-life characters. We can discuss and debate over a few adult beverages which names belong in which categories.
Mohegan Strider road trips to The Montreal Marathon, The Boston Milk Run, Deacon’s Den, Millrose Games, US Cross-Country Nationals, World Cross-County Championships, New Balance Indoor Games, and plenty of national and state championship races across New England produced lifelong memories and provided content for great storytelling (we always seem to have run faster and drank more each time the story is re-told). Supporter staff like SNERRO, The Guido Brothers Escort Service, Auntie Joan, ShortTakes, Biff Laidback, and Thane Nivek conducted foot races which allowed us a stage on which to display our hard work and reported results designed to keep the Club visible and informed.
People have met their spouses and significant others through the Mohegan Striders. We’ve gladly attended Mohegan Striders weddings and sadly attended Mohegan Striders funerals. We’ve filled our social calendars with road races over the years, often returning to our favorites year after year. We put off yardwork to train with the Mohegan Striders. We stayed out late socializing with the Mohegan Striders. And despite aging, we’ve stayed physically fit during our later years by being part of the Mohegan Striders. We’ve made lifelong friends by being a part of the Mohegan Striders. Cheers to the next 50 years and hopes that others will continue to share our story with the next generation of runners. This is stuff of legends so please make us look good. – Don Sikorski, October 2022
This column is dedicated to Al Morrison, Joe Lonardelli, Bob Carbray, Jack Dempsey, Dave Mills, Sean Delaney, Mike Smith, Steve Hancock, Judy McGrath, and the Mohegan Striders we have lost. Memories of good running times will remain with us forever.
June 2022 – Mohegan Strider Newsletters over the 50 Years
– Bob Buckingham
50 years? Who knows what 50 years feels like? Oh yeah, those of us who have been around for more than 50 years. But, in reality, 50 years feels like nothing, like, where did it go? For the Mohegan Striders, the way to know what it feels like is to peruse the musings/writings of those who were living the experience of being in the Mohegan Striders over that time. I am attaching some samples of the Mohegan Strider newsletters from over the years. We have had many different people work very hard at providing a newsletter which represented all who called themselves Striders. Hope that you will visit the Strider archives to read the many issues of the Strider newsletters that have been produced over the years! See the following posts for the other newsletters.
May 2022 – InterGalactical Tribune
– Pete Volkmar
It’s May of our Quinquagenary year! After an exhaustive search, a rare artifact from the early days and before of the Striders has emerged from the myths of time. Two of these rare finds are below:
InterGalactical Tribune – March 29, 1972
InterGalactical Tribune – May 17, 1972
April 2022 – From the Desk of April Phillips
– April Phillips
Hello all,
We are in the official month of our anniversary. If you haven’t had a chance to read through our scrapbooks, please do, you will enjoy them. I read newspaper articles on runners and races like it was something you would watch every Sunday on national TV. There were articles stating who committed and registered for upcoming road races like it was a PGA Tour. Goes to show you how times have changed. I learned striders like Tim Smith, Bill Marshall, and Jim Crowley were running badasses. Definitely good reading.
The Striders were actually born on April 9, 1972. The club started as a long distance club for runners, joggers and racewalkers. Dues were one dollar with 30 members and by the end of the year closed out with 83 members. Strider shirts were only five dollars. BUT according to newsletter, “they last a long time.” I think Tim Smith has proven that. LOL.
I especially loved the letters to road race directors suggesting giving all runners a momento (bling) for completing the race. I for one will never place so I appreciate the “momentos.” There is an article about Will Zinser, Yankee Runner December 1975, that he is the last Mohegan Strider to finish the road races. Well, I am carrying on that fete, I can hear Way Hedding at the road races Snerro times, “and finishing for the Mohegan Striders is April Phillips.”
So in closing this article, yeah, sorry there will be more throughout the month, I will quote the ending of an article I read by George Maine back on October 18,1975. “No matter where you go, you can see a Mohegan Strider. Never look back, we’re always there.”
March 2022 – 50th Anniversary Date and Nostalgia Run
– Terrie and Tim Smith
Our 50th anniversary date and our nostalgia run comes closer. Here is a little history of why the route is to be retraced.
On Sunday mornings in the early 1970’s, several runners gathered at the home of John Martin at the corner of Edward Street and Golden Road in Uncasville, Connecticut. These runners (who would soon become the Mohegan Striders) had a route that gave them hill training and some distance at the same time. Along the way, these same runners would stop at the Long House at the Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum to visit with Chief Harold Tantaquidgeon. The Chief would chat and tell stories of the Mohegan Tribe and became a very good friend of the group.
Harold Tantaquidgeon, honored July 14, 1974. Mohegan Indian Chief
A clear, bright Sunday morning in Uncasville was the setting for the induction of only the second honored member of the Club. Chief Harold Tantaquideon, direct descendent of Uncas, Chief of the powerful Mohegan Nation, joined retired sports writer John DeGange in this unique honor. A group of about thirty friends and Club members witnessed the ceremony conducted by Walt Thoma, John Martin, and Bob Carbray. The Chief offered a brief, interesting look into the history of the Mohegan Indian. He wryly commented that striding or “streaking” began with the indians, and cited Chief Running Bear (Bare?) as the prime example. While claiming not to be a top runner the fact remains that not once was Harold apprehended in the apple orchards in his younger days. Harold Tantaquidgeon died April 4, 1989. The name Tantaquidgeon means “going fast”, probably a fast runner.
50th Anniversary Notalgia Run Map
March 2022 – How did your Club of 1972 get here to 2022?
– Terrie and Tim Smith
How did your Club of 1972 get here to 2022? How have the MOHEGAN STRIDERS come so far?
The mission? The visibility? The running wave? Good stewards?
In the late 50’s and early 60’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was played out in the U.S. by then to become legends Ron Daws, Hal Higdon, the Kelleys elder and younger, and Frank Shorter. Many followed. Women became inspired by the efforts of Nina Kuscsik, Kathrine Switzer, and our own Julia Chase-Brand. And again, many followed. The time was right in the early 70’s for the Sunday morning gathering in Uncasville to actively administrate their year-round addictive ritual of running a 7.6 mile route. Afterall, for those not drawn to running as a craving, the benefits at the least became embraced and more apparent. A mission statement perhaps? Thus was born The Mohegan Striders on Sunday, April 9, 1972, identifying with the many local sites and institutions named “Mohegan.”
The group felt strong, cohesive, family-like. Those in the group who affiliated with the Central Connecticut Athletic Association (CCAA) jumped track for the new Club closer to home. The running scene soon recognized the chocolate brown on white mesh Champion singlets with a flying arrowhead and OLD ENGLISH uppercase lettering. Even the running short shell was chocolate mesh; inner liner brief was extra. And Club visibility sprung forth via loved ones, business associates, schools, neighborhood watchdogs, and local sports news media. By year-end 1972 the Club boasted 83 members.
In the meantime the running ripple was swelling to a tidal wave. In 1897 the first Boston Marathon gathered fifteen (15) participants to the starting line. In 1970 the first New York City Marathon hosted one hundred twenty-seven (127) to its starting line. Now both events host tens of thousands of participants. And the Club benefited from this running wave, some years approaching nearly four hundred members.
Yet continues an unbreakable component that has spanned the five decades from 1972 to 2022. Good stewardship has been and must continue to be that component towards longevity. An existence driven by service and new blood has kept the Mohegan Striders relevant.
This fiftieth anniversary has prompted much interest in recollecting the decades by revisiting the archived scrapbooks. The Club has benefited from an active, innovative slate of officers term after term. Over the decades fifty-plus different individuals served the Club as officers. The “lifetime sentence” of seventeen (17) years was served by Secretary Bob Carbray. When Bob ended his final term the position was split into two secretaries: recording and membership. The longest serving president to date was Tim Kane at fourteen (14) years. And wife Kris-Anne, “Themum”, matched his fourteen (14) years serving as secretary. The Club has thrived under only eight (😎 treasurers, a trusted and sensitive position, with an average term of over six (6) years.
The media managers, newsletter editors, circulation servants, and article contributors, some guised in the cloak of pseudonyms as Biff Laidback, Thane Nivek, ShortTakes, and Auntie Joan, helped to keep the Club visible, informative and informed. Perhaps some true identity reveals will occur at the anniversary banquet. Much thanks to Club webmaster Laurie Schaeffer celebrating her “life sentence” term.
The number and purpose of the many committees is truly mind boggling. And the energy to achieve goals remains nothing short of remarkable.
The Club’s racing teams coordinators have likewise assured that both male and female members spanning all age group divisions find their way to the championship races. Some of the Club’s youth Striders also have experienced a pathway to the Junior Olympics.
Southern New England Road Race Officials, LLC (SNERRO): Some think the iconic white van is a mobile refrigerator in disguise. But the SNERRO organization’s expertise has been there in various forms since the early years with its directing and timing services. These experienced associates have become part of the Strider landscape. Throughout decades of governance changeups from Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Track Athletics Congress (TAC), and presently United States of America Track & Field (USATF) SNERRO has kept current with requirements and expectations to best serve the running community.
It is evident that The Mohegan Striders Club deserves to have history repeat itself; and to continue with the preservation of its existence. On to 2072!
Follow events here at moheganstriders.org. Click on 2022 Schedule of Events.
March 2022 – Do you remember?
– Terrie and Tim Smith
March Musings ………. In our last edition of Mohegan Striders History we talked about GBES……..
Here’s another Big “Thank you!!” to a more sedate group of people that makes races happen…….
Pete Volkmar and Way and Melinda Hedding = SNERRO
See the Mohegan Strider FaceBook page to see more great SNERRO pictures from post on March 12th.
March 2022 – Do you remember?
– Terrie and Tim Smith
Happy March!! And another episode of Mohegan Striders “Do you remember?”………
I’d like to start with a BIG “Thank you!!” to some people, without which many races would not be able to happen………
GBES “What is GBES?”, you say ………
Pete Volkmar and John Ficarra
February 2022 Give us that Good Old New England Weather!
– Laurie Schaeffer
Welcome to February, everyone! I’d like to dedicated this month to “Striders running in horrendous weather conditions” for obvious reasons. Recently, the Saturday Slug Run was cancelled due to a blizzard, and Bob Buckingham sent an email out to let everyone know this. Why? Because he knew that unless told otherwise, a number of brave souls would actually show up for the run, or try to.
This is New England, folks. The runners here don’t wait for a lovely day to go running because we would never get out there at all. You’re going to deal with snow, sleet, driving-rain, heavy winds, hail, insufferable heat, humidity, or just about any combination of those conditions.
Mohegan Striders have a long tradition of running and racing in bad weather. Our most talented runners excel at it. If you peruse the slide show below, you’ll see Tim Smith in 1973 winning the Pachaug Fair Road Race in driving rain. Flash forward to 2018, and you find Becky Snelson who placed 14th for the women in the Boston Marathon in monsoon-like conditions. Then, of course, there are plenty of Striders who laugh in the face of bitter winter weather by running from Mystic to Noank every New Year’s day to plunge into freezing water. –Not especialy smart, but – hey- it’s tradition!
For this month, let’s hear about a race or run you have done (with a picture to prove it) in the worst weather ever! Tell us about the conditions and any other interesting details. Post your picture and story on the Mohegan Strider FaceBook page.
Happy February running, everyone! You know you love it.
January 2022 More Biff Laidback
– Karen Short
More Fun Facts? No. More Biff Laidback? Yes. No guesses on Biff’s identity but plenty of interest in his reporting. Here are two more gems, circa 1988.
January 2022 Fun Facts -Week 4
– Karen Short
More Fun Facts about the Mohegan Striders as we celebrate our 50th birthday in 2022 —
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs roamed the planet and there was no Internet (no web sites, no social media) and, even worse, no computers (GASP!), the Striders had various iterations of a paper (mimeographed or photo-copied) newsletter. Writing for the newsletter over the years was a collection of almost-famous columnists who, fortunately, never quit their days jobs to pursue fame on the Literary Circuit. Who remembers Biff Laidback and his Racing Roundup, usually hand-written, dropped in the Editor’s mailbox and then deciphered & typed by said Editor? And who knows the identify of our Roving Reporter, Biff? Hint: He no longer lives in CT. Pictured below are two from 1989.
January 2022 Fun Facts -Week 3
– Karen Short
More Fun Facts about the Mohegan Striders as we celebrate our 50th birthday in 2022 —
The first club newsletter is dated 16 June 1972 and includes the following:
“Shirts have been ordered. White nylon mesh (very cool) with brown trim and brown Old English lettering with a winged arrowhead in the middle. Shirts may be obtained from Tim Smith around the first week of July. They should run under $5.00 per shirt and one should last for years.”
Inquiring minds want to know:
- Is “very cool” a temperature gauge or a fashion statement?
- Has anyone noticed the striking similarity between a “winged arrowhead” and a flying potato?
- Does “one (shirt) should last for years” include any years that said shirt is being held together by safety pins?
January 2022 Fun Facts -Week 2
– Karen Short
Happy 50th Year Mohegan Striders! Continuing with our Fun Facts about the club, how many of these original Mohegan Striders (Plank Owners, Original Gangsters, Founding Fathers and Mother) do you recognize?
January 2022
– Karen Short
This month marks the beginning of our anniversary celebration.
Fun Facts about the club (https://moheganstriders.org/strider-archives/):
- The Mohegan Striders running club was formed on April 9, 1972 at a meeting held at John Martin’s house.
- The club initially didn’t have a vice president.
- Original officers were Tim Smith, President; Bob Carbray, Recording AND Membership Secretary, and John Martin, Treasurer.
- On May 16, 1972, the Norwich Bulletin and the New London Day published articles about the club as a means to solicit membership and increase awareness of our existence.
- Members didn’t (and still don’t) have to run.
- At the end of 1972, the club had 83 members who paid $1 each to join.