By CHUCK OFFENBURGER
OSKALOOSA, Iowa, Sept.14, 2024 — Since we RicheBurgers do not have tickets for any major college football games this fall, I decided to make it an “Iowa small-college football season.”
Today, while Mary was politicking with Polk County Democrats at their annual steak fry, I soloed to Oskaloosa, where the William Penn University Statesmen were hosting the Baker U (of Kansas) Wildcats in a Heart of America Conference game. Baker won it 43-21, although the game seemed closer than that.
It was great having time to walk the Penn campus pre-game, allowing me to once again visit one of my favorite icons on any college campus — the ancient rough-cut sign that displays 12 bits of advice from William Penn in 1699.
Check out the photos and captions for more of my experience.
Big play early in the game, with the William Penn Statesmen, in gold jerseys, trying to stop a Baker touchdown drive. Saturday was the first time I’ve been to a William Penn game in more than 20 years, going back to when the Statesmen were playing in the old Iowa Conference. Penn’s history and traditions in sports — for both men and women — are impressive.
“William Penn’s Advice” apparently was given in 1699, but it seems as good in 2024 as it must’ve been back when. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) founded the Oskaloosa college in 1873, and the religious affiliation continues now. Baker U, Saturday’s football opponent from Baldwin City KS, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
These memorial benches on the William Penn campus are in a nicely-shaded spot. Can some Penn loyalist explain the “Penn Ten Forever” and “Gangbusters!” references? They must involve good stories.
William Penn U and Oskaloosa High School share a really nice football facility, “Community Stadium” in the northwest part of town. Is the new stadium about a dozen years old? There was an earlier “Community Stadium” the schools shared in a more central part of town, but it wore out after about 75 years of use. When the new stadium was completed, the historic ticket offices, dating to 1929, were moved to the entrance gate of the new stadium. Unless I overlooked it, I think the stadium needs one other historical salute — a statue or at least a plaque that tells the story of the late, great Wilbur Young. He was a 6 ft. 6 in., 250-pound-plus lineman who was a two-time “Little All-American” at William Penn before his 1969 graduation. He went on to a great career in professional football, including a half-dozen years with the Kansas City Chiefs. He died in 2014.
The huge press box overlooking the field. Besides having plenty of room for game officials, coaches and media, it also is said to have a nice reception area.
I loved the “Pride of Penn” marching band, which entertained pre-game, halftime and as a pep band in the stands during the game. They had only 16 marching musicians and six flag twirlers on Saturday, but their music — which included songs from the band “Chicago” at halftime — was first rate.
You can comment on this column below or write the columnist directly by email at chuck@offenburger.com.
LOVED your article! Your quintessential description of TRUE traditional football lore at its finest. I LOVED THE HISTORY, TOO!
LOVE TO YOU AND MARY, MOLLY
Years ago you carried me to that shrine of pragmatic wisdom. When the weekend radio program “Monitor Beacon ” was on WSM ,I use to listen to all…I man ALL the college football scores and remembering wondering why William Penn’s scores were reported not in the East but in the Midwest. Years later I learned that it WAS in the Midwest
Same story on Pittsburg State..
Has there ever been a movement to have their teams called FRIENDS.
Former students of Dr. David Evans placed the bench on the William Penn Campus to honor and remember him. He was a talented, energetic music director who worked to bring out the best in his students. The bench was dedicated in the fall of 2022 with David’s wife Kerry, son Peter, and daughter Jenny and their families present as well as many friends and former students. “Gangbusters” was one of Doc’s favorite sayings. He passed away in 2019.
Thank you for this article about William Penn.
Thanks for solving one of the mysteries I spotted on the William Penn campus, Sharon. As a great fan of college choirs, I wish I’d known Dr. David “Gangbusters” Evans. Did his choirs have a “signature” song they almost always performed?
You mentioned a “signature” song. We did not have one such as Wartburg’s “Give Me Jesus,” at least during my era at Penn. We sang Mozart and Brahm’s Requiems, performed the “Messiah” each year in Oskaloosa, and joined other choirs in singing Beethven’s Ninth with the Des Moines Symphony. Good stuff! What Dr. Evans was exceptionally good at was programming pieces that touched the hearts of the singers and the audience. When the William Penn Chorale was selected to sing in the Cardiff, Wales, choral festival we joined other American choirs and sang beautiful choral music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Each choir performed on its own, too, and it was Doc’s arrangement of “Home on the Range” that brought the house down. And funnily enough, some of us really wondered about that piece when he first brought out his arrangement for us to sing. Banjo? Guitars? Harmonica? We thought it wouldn’t measure up against the other choirs selections. We were wrong. William Penn alumnus Bruce Peiffer spoke about that piece at our bench dedication in 2022. Start at 42:17 and end at 48:20 for his story of “Home on the Range.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-NBHIJDtYw Have a gangbuster day, Chuck. I think Dr. David “Gangbuster” Evans would have liked you.