 What’s the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  Carla’s sister & brother-in-law Chris and Tony Woods, of Des Moines, were at the farm on Sunday, August 22, helping Carla do the lawn mowing and other yard work that we’ve struggled to keep up with lately, with all our medical appointments. The Woodses brought along their 18-month-old granddaughter Ari, who was a delight watching all the action from the porch with Chuck, catching up on her reading and then getting a moment on the lawn tractor seat! Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series Iowa Hall of Pride netINS, Inc. Butler House on Grand B&B Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' Barack Obama story & coloring book The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Jared Strong's columns Guest Columns The Simple Serenity Farm columns Farm Photos, 2006 - 2008 Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way 
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 Fun measure of a good life: When the students at your ol' alma mater give a hoot who you are By CHUCK OFFENBURGER February 8, 2006 AMES, IOWA In the 18 months I’ve spent shadowing Gary Thompson, interviewing and researching for his biography that I am writing, I have come across lots of reminders and measures of what a charmed life he has led.  The Thompsons with freshmen Trevor Kruger (left) and Tom Danielson. They launched into a discussion about the new basketball movie “Glory Road.” Kruger and Danielson were fascinated with Thompson’s stories about personally knowing several of the people portrayed in this inspiring film, which recounts the run of the former Texas Western College, with its all-black starting line-up, to the national championship in 1966. Later, Danielson told me “you walk in here at Hilton Coliseum all the time, see the banner up in the rafters with Gary’s jersey retired there with a few others, and then here he is right with us. You feel like you’re in the presence of greatness.” About that time, here came another freshman Mitch Cline, also of Johnston, who asked Gary if they could have their picture taken together. I volunteered to be the shutterbug with Cline’s camera. After it flashed and we confirmed we had a good photo of the two of them, Cline gave a thumbs-up and said, “My dad is going to freak out! He’s been a Gary Thompson fan all his life!” The Thompsons, who sat in the front row of Cyclone Alley, made legions of new fans among all those students. They autographed the backs of T-shirts, sang the Iowa State fight song with them (both Gary and Janet know all the words), joined them in waving the 3-foot-long cardinal and gold balloons that were handed out, obviously having a ball.  Mindi Harklau, a senior from Humboldt, gets an autograph on the back of her Cyclone Alley T-shirt. At one point, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy came walking past, stuck out his hand and said to Gary, “Who is this new student here?” Gary told freshmen Kruger and Danielson that he “really thinks this Cyclone Alley is what college sports should be about,” Kruger said. Indeed, it is a fun group, now in its third year and totaling about 2,500 students. Co-chairs are seniors Jamie Harpenau, of Remsen, and Trevor Pearson, of Kansas City, Missouri, and they head a central committee of 13 members. The idea they began with was to better organize and facilitate student fans of both men’s and women’s Cyclone basketball. They made a scouting trip to the University of Illinois, to learn how students there manage their well-known “Orange Crush” cheering section. Then they came back and enlisted the support of the Iowa State University Alumni Association, and found several Ames businesses to make contributions and become sponsors.  Cyclone Alley regulars Seth Vander Tuig of Indianola, Linda Carr of Huxley, their honorary member Gary Thompson, and Nick Hoch of Melcher-Dallas. Now, Cyclone Alley members pay $15 per year, and that gets them their Cyclone Alley T-shirts, premium seating in the special section nearest the basketball floor, a very creative program called “Alley Rally” written and printed for each game, and occasional visits with the coaches and players. All members are frequently reminded that “sportsmanship is the number one priority with Cyclone Alley,” as the “Alley Rally” put it, with loud sportsmanship especially encouraged. They also have the opportunity for bus trips to a couple of Cyclone road games each season. The day before the Thompsons joined Cyclone Alley, the students had filled two buses for an ISU women’s basketball game at Kansas, and earlier in the season they followed the men’s team to a game at Nebraska.  Three major Cyclone fans -- Reed Clayton of Booklyn, Ia., Gary Thompson and Trevor Pearson of Kansas City, Mo. Part of the group’s mission statement – and you can read and see more at www.cyclonealley.org – is to “heighten Hilton Magic,” that electric atmosphere that through the years made the Cyclones’ home court such a tough place for opponents to play. That had slipped some this year, with several home losses. So Sunday afternoon’s “Alley Rally” program outlined the “keys to a victory over Colorado” this way: “Regain the Hilton Magic! There is no excuse to sit down while the game is going on! Rest during timeouts, but we need everyone on their feet to get these alumni excited and start winning at home again! This is a big game in terms of receiving a bid to the NCAA tournament! Be loud, dress up, go nuts, do whatever, but let them hear you!” It worked: Iowa State 96, Colorado 79. And Gary Thompson is a winner in Cyclone Alley, just like in almost every other area of his life.  Granddaughter Emily Thompson, 7, from the Cambridge area south of Ames, had fun with the long balloons when she joined her grandparents Gary and Janet Thompson in Cyclone Alley. You can reach Chuck Offenburger by e-mail at chuck@Offenburger.com
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