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Augusta during the 1960s and returned to broadcasting in the
1980s for State TV, where he ran the defensive driving program.
Terry was one of the first to broadcast basketball and baseball on
WMEB-FM, the University’s first non-closed circuit radio station.
From there, urged on by a favorite UMaine professor, Terry earned
a master’s degree in broadcasting at the University of Indiana,
where an investigative reporting class landed him and several
classmates in Sports Illustrated magazine.
“At the time, there were a number of colleges and universities
cited for violations of the fire laws in Indiana. For example, Butler
University had to cut their seating from 18,000 to 4,000 to stay
within code. If there had ever been a fire at a basketball game,
because of the configuration of the exit doors, hundreds of
students would have been killed and injured. So my classmates
and I decided to investigate whether the field house at Indiana was
in compliance. We researched the formula, took our measuring
tapes, and went out to measure the field house. We did the calculations
several times to be certain and sure enough, Indiana would
either have to replace the doors or cut its seating capacity to 3,500.
We really weren’t trying to cause trouble, so we went to the athletic
department and showed them our findings. We were dismissed
out of hand. So at the urging of our professor, we went to the Indianapolis
newspapers with the story. From that coverage, we were
contacted by Sports Illustrated. At that point, and with some big
games coming up, the doors and exits got fixed in record time over
semester break. And while I didn’t go into investigative journalism,
I never forgot the experience. As that professor had impressed
upon us, when you find an important story, you have to pursue it
to the end no matter what. And that’s what I felt bound to do with
the Holleder story once the facts started to come to light about just
how and why he died in Vietnam.”
As Terry started interviewing the Holleder family along with
Don’s teammates and roommates from West Point, a story started
to emerge. In October of 1967, an ill-conceived battle at Ong Thanh
in Vietnam cost the lives of 58 U.S. soldiers, including Holleder. Of
the 147 members of the elite Black Lion fighting squad who went
in, only 12 walked out on their own. Ironically, Holleder had not
been part of the initial force. When it became apparent to Holleder
that there were no officers left to direct the evacuation of the dead
and wounded, he volunteered to go in to help out, something he
considered the duty of an officer. He was killed by an enemy
sniper after the battle. This battle had sent 150 Americans into a
UMaine authors with new books
were done by Caldecott medalist, John
Schoenherr. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity
to work with wonderful illustrators
and publishers. I write full time now from
our home in Winthrop. Although the boys
are now grown, Paul and I have a teenage
daughter, Kylee, who was the inspiration for
my book Wild Child.“
Lynn’s new book, Only Cows Allowed, is
available on the UMaine Bookstore’s
Website and from Down East Publishers.
Find out more about Lynn and her many
activities at her charming Website,
www.lynnplourde.com.
L.L. Bean –
The Man and his Company
By James L. Witherell ‘81, ‘82
Where do you go to look for a subject after
you’ve written a definitive book on bicycle
history? If you are Jim Witherell, sometime
L.L. Bean employee, Master Maine Guide
as well as cycling enthusiast, you turn to a
definitive if unauthorized history of Leon
Leonwood Bean and the company he
founded in 1912. Jim remembers the
Freeport store when you had to climb a
14 MAINE Alumni Magazine
creaky set of stairs to get to it. That was
decades before L.L. Bean’s multiple retail
stores and the crowd of outlet “Bean sprouts”
that now dominate the center of Freeport.
“About five years ago, I was searching
for a subject for my second book. With the
100th anniversary of the L.L. Bean
Company coming up, I thought maybe that
would make an interesting book that might
interest some other people as well. So I
approached the company, but they weren’t
interested. L.L. Bean himself had published
an autobiography in 1960. And Leon
Gorman, the former company president
and L.L.’s grandson, published his book,
L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon,
about five years ago. So I guess they
thought the subject was pretty well
covered. But I persevered,” states Jim.
“It’s been a fascinating process for me. I
used all the published materials that were
available. I probably have about two bookshelves
full of articles and books. But then I
started interviewing people. These were
people who knew L.L. Bean and people
who were longtime employees of the
company. That unearthed a lot of interesting
facts and stories. My research probably
turned up some things even the company
archivist doesn’t know about,” Jim asserts.
“About 50 percent of the book is L.L.
Bean biography. The other 50 percent is
about the company that bears his name,
after he was gone. L.L. was mostly interested
in the hunting, fishing and outdoorsy
stuff. His cold, wet, sore feet on a hunting
trip inspired him to invent his famous
Maine Hunting Shoe. By the ‘60s, he was
perfectly content making the famous Bean
boots and offering clothes, tents and other
related items for hunters and fishermen
and being a $4 million mail-order operation.
It was his grandson and successor,