RE: Fall 2017

Without doubt, in my nearly 50-year association with Monmouth, this is the best Monmouth or Chancellor yet! Well done on so thoughtfully, and artfully, capturing the many facets of Monmouth!

Mitchell Shivers ’70

Favorite campus concerts

I saw many great shows at Monmouth—Jethro Tull, The Byrds, John Mayal—but my favorite was the first time I saw Bruce. It was 1969 or ’70, and I was sick in bed with the flu. My roommates said, “Come on, we’re going to see Steel Mill.” Steel who? When we got there, the gym was sectioned off in half. In front of us was a minimal drum kit, a bass guitar, a guitar, and a few small amps. I said, “I got out of bed for this?” Bruce came out and the band started to play … and play … and play—three hours of original material, and the place was going wild. Just phenomenal! I walked out into the night and had an epiphany: I was cured.

Jerry Tirotta ’71

Mitch Ryder, Sam & Dave, Jack Jones, Vanilla Fudge—I saw a lot of great concerts at Monmouth, but Wayne Cochran rocked Boylan Gym better than anybody in the ’60s. I remember him breaking chairs and rocking James Brown songs and then calming everyone down doing Otis Redding’s “Sitting by the Dock of the Bay.” Great memories.

Joe Rall  ’69

I was in a Blues-oriented group, The Charlie Smith Band, while at Monmouth. We opened for B.B. King when he played Monmouth Gym in 1971. We had opened for him once before, in Albany, New York, in 1969. B.B. remembered us and was very gracious, and we all had a great time together that evening. By May 1974, I was in another band, Clockwork, and we opened for Bruce Springsteen on campus. It was a packed house in the gym, and I was very proud when the announcer said, “Here is Clockwork, featuring our own Andy Shawn.” Bruce and the band were also very gracious.

Andrew V. Shawn ’74

Sneaky sailors

When I was captain of the Monmouth Sailing Team, there was a tradition for teams to “steal” the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s Greek bear flag and hoist it on their own flagpoles for the next regatta. After Navy stole it from the USMMA in Kings Point, the Monmouth team stole it from Navy in the dead of the night. We then hoisted it on our greased flagpole at the Patten Point Yacht Club where we held the next regatta.

Nina Vuyosevich Anderson ’67