50 Years Ago (or thereabout)

From the Polar Star, Sept. 21, 1956

Give Basketball Players Aid

Two freshmen at the U. of A. this year are here on basketball scholarships. They are Ralph McLea from Spokane, Washington, and Stan Gabriel from Kenniwick, Wash.

Coach Dick Strait told this reporter that last spring he had written about 50 letters to high schools in Washington and Oregon, all of them having an enrollment of under, 300, offering an $80 a month working scholarship to those players who could meet certain requirements. They had to have at least average grades, be able to hold down jobs on campus; and have good recommendations from their high school coach.

Of the 50-odd letters coach Strait wrote, he only received 9 answers. Of these 9 only the two mentioned came north.

25 years ago:

From the Northern Sun, Sept. 18, 1981

In Dark of Night Jumbo-sized Cabbages up for Grabs

By Fran Hove

Twenty-five pounds of cabbage make a lot of stuffed cabbage rolls.

Jim Cox, superintendent of grounds and maintenance, said he thinks the cabbages located in front of the Bunnell Building probably weigh in at about 20-25 pounds each. Cox' department is in charge of the care and feeding of the cabbages, which he said are used only for decoration and as a tourist attraction.

"I tried using one for sauerkraut," he said. "They're not good for that. They're too coarse; not a quality cabbage."

Cox said they're not used by the food service, auctioned off or given to charity. "They're available to anybody who thinks they want them," he said. "Just be sure to take them after dark."

The planting of the UAF cabbages originated years ago as a joke, according to Ed Gauss of the computer science program.

Gauss said when he was director of the computer center he received "a rather officious memo giving us a bad time because we were located down in the dark, windowless recesses of the Duckering Building were we obviously couldn't do a thing about campus beautification."

He said he decided to answer the memo, and tongue-in-cheek, sent one of his own, typed formally on parchment paper, to then Chancellor Cutler. In it Gauss suggested that "in order to property present the magnanimous image of the university better, what we needed was a cabbage patch."

His joke came back to haunt him. Chancellor Cutler liked the idea and gave the go head…putting the computer staff in charge.

Gauss said it worked out well, as his staff worked seven days a week and were available for the frequent waterings cabbages require.

"For a few years watering the cabbages was a reward for 'good behavior' for staff members," he said. "Because we spent so much time down in the dark basement it was a treat to go up and water the cabbages."