GaryOsberg.com

On Monday my daughter Kerry will be driving my granddaughter Christen to the University of Minnesota, Main Campus.  Christen will be going from a class of 34 at Upsala High School to a class of over 5,000.

I arrived on campus of the University of Minnesota, Main Campus in the fall of 1961. Coming from a class of 33 in Upsala and going to a class of thousands was overwhelming for me.

My two quarters at the “U” were a disaster. The Institute of Technology was certainly a bad choice. My worst performance was in English 101. Every week I would turn in the blue composition book and every week I would get a “D” or a “F”. Not paying any attention to Miss Krier in my 11th and 12th grade English class at good old Upsala High had caught up with me. Spending a lot of time playing pool and drinking beer did not help either. Remember, my nickname at Upsala High was “Alkie”.  

The highlight of the fall of 1961 was the Gopher football team. They were coached by Murray Warmath and lead by quarterback Sandy Stephens. They compiled a record of 8 wins and 2 losses. On New Year’s day 1962, they beat the UCLA Bruins by a score of 21 to 3 in the Rose Bowl.

When I came home to Upsala in the spring of 1962, defeated and broke, Bob Soltis nicknamed me “Murray” and he called me “Murray” from that time forward.  I liked it better than “Alkie”. 

I am confident that Christen will do well.  When she graduated Upsala High she already had 60 college credits from Central Lakes College.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”  John Wooden  and Earl Weaver