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<\/a>Steve, Terry, Ken, Kent & Ed using ‘aiming fluid’ at Top Golf<\/p><\/div>\n
We came in the mid-1960s as young men, boys really, to Westminster College<\/strong>, a Christian college that sits at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains<\/strong> on the East Bench of Salt Lake City, for only one reason . . . football.<\/strong> We just wanted to play the game.\u00a0 While our destination was the same, our paths were quite diverse.\u00a0 Some came right out of high school, some came after a year or two of junior college, some came from a Division 1 school where they were never going to play and some came because they knew they were never going to play anywhere else.\u00a0 And while we all came for the game of football, we left with great friendships, great memories and a college degree that positioned us for success later in life.<\/p>\n The ‘we’ is a group of 11 Westminster graduates, all 70-something, who gathered in Las Vegas two weeks ago for an informal reunion put together by my old college roommate and running back on the football team, Ken Poulsen.\u00a0 You may think that 11 isn’t very many people to gather for a reunion, well, actually only 9 were football players, but that still represented nearly half of our team!\u00a0 The non-football players, but still successful graduates of Westminster were Dave Chally, who was a fan and a friends to us all, and John Soltis, our ‘spokesman’ who played basketball for Westminster.<\/p>\n Chally & Hall awaiting instructions from Ken<\/p><\/div>\n While Ken had planned a number of activities for us – Top Golf<\/strong>, bowling<\/strong> and attending a comedy club<\/strong> show, most of the entertainment came from the recalling of stories and antics from our college days.\u00a0 Listening to them would make one wonder if or how this group ever made it through college, much less enjoy any success after it, but indeed this was actually a very accomplished group:<\/p>\n Ken ‘Little Poison’ Poulsen<\/strong> – running back; after graduation joined the Marines,<\/strong> was a Bombardier\/Navigator<\/strong> in a A-6 jet during the Viet Nam<\/strong> war.\u00a0 Earned Master Degree in Education<\/strong> and ultimately became Superintendent of Schools<\/strong> in the Sacramento area, now retired with two homes in Arizona, one in the desert, one in the mountains.<\/p>\n Terry ‘TC’ Callahan<\/strong> – tight end; after graduation he was drafted into the Army<\/strong> and became a combat medic<\/strong> seeing lots of action in Viet Nam.\u00a0 After the service he earned a Masters Degree<\/strong> and worked as a Probation Officer and did background investigations for the Department of Defense.<\/strong> Retired, he now has two homes in Utah, one just south of Salt Lake City, the other in St. George.<\/p>\n John Soltis addressing us at our ‘Awards Banquet’<\/p><\/div>\n Joel ‘Herbie’ Hall<\/strong> – running back; joined the Marines<\/strong> after graduation and flew helicopters\u00a0 (Huey gun ships) in Viet Nam receiving 28 air medals<\/strong>.\u00a0 He then had a 32-year career with the 3M<\/strong> company.\u00a0 Now retired in the Atlanta area and has a second home in Jensen Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n (Editors note: I wrote a previous blog on the above three guy after we all met in Vegas in 2017 – here’s the link in case you want to read more.\u00a0 https:\/\/fromabirdeyeview\/?p=6648)<\/p>\n John ‘Tiger’ Horan<\/strong> – wide receiver; after graduation became a Navy<\/strong> officer and was a Bombardier\/Navigator<\/strong> in an A-6 jet and remained in the Navy retiring after 23 years as a Lieutenant Commander<\/strong>.\u00a0 John is retired and living in Kanab, Utah and teaching a high school aviation technology class.<\/p>\n Mickey ‘Mick’ McBride<\/strong> – lineman; received Masters Degree in Educational Administration<\/strong>, was a teacher and coach and ultimately retired as high school principal<\/strong><\/p>\n Steve ‘Hands’ Harmon<\/strong> – wide receiver; Steve transferred to Cal State Hayward where he earned a Ph D<\/strong> in Public Health<\/strong> and now teaches at the University of Utah and works for the Veterans Health Care Administration<\/strong> in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n Ken, Duffy, Horan & Mick ‘telling lies’<\/p><\/div>\n Ed ‘Coop’ Cooper<\/strong> – running back; graduated with a business degree and went on to earn a Masters Degree<\/strong> from the University of Utah.\u00a0 Ed\u00a0 worked for Martin Marietta<\/strong> for 38 years, the last 25 has a Regional Sales Manager.\u00a0 He is now retired in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n Kent ‘Kicking Lawyer’ Holland<\/strong> – lineman; after graduation became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army<\/strong>, then attended law school at the University of Pacific<\/strong> and continues to practice law in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n Dave ‘Electric’ Chally<\/strong> – friend & fan; after graduation he worked for NECA (National Electric Contractors Association)<\/strong> in northern California, where he grew up, then moved with the company to Spokane where he became Executive Director<\/strong> for the Pacific Northwest for NECA; he is still working for them in Spokane.<\/p>\n John ‘Duffy’ Soltis<\/strong> – basketball player and orator; graduated with a degree in Sociology<\/strong>, which he didn’t know what to do with so ended up going to law school in San Diego and returned to Utah with his law degree<\/strong> and worked in various positions with the Salk Lake County District Attorney’s office<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A pretty impressive group if you ask me!\u00a0 And that doesn’t include some Westminster ex-players who didn’t attend the reunion, like:<\/p>\n Parsons at the ‘First Supper’<\/p><\/div>\n Craig ‘Doc’ Wilkinson<\/strong> – receiver; graduated with mathematics major and minor in physics and chemistry, joined Army Reserves with the 328th General Hospital Unit<\/strong>, went on to earn medical doctor’s degree<\/strong> from University of Utah and has practiced general and vascular surgery<\/strong> in Salt Lake City for 35 years.<\/p>\n Steve ‘Sugar Bear’ Kazor<\/strong> – lineman; BS degree from Westminster and a Masters Degree<\/strong> from Kansas State.\u00a0 Coach in the NFL for the\u00a0 1985 Super Bowl Chicago Bears<\/strong> and continues to work in the NFL in player personnel.<\/p>\n Scott ‘The I’ Iverson<\/strong> – basketball player; served in the Marine Corp<\/strong> prior to coming to Westminster, where he earned a BS degree and then a Masters Degree<\/strong> from BYU.\u00a0 He taught and coached high school in Utah and Arizona.\u00a0 He is now retired in Utah<\/p>\n I’m holding my Worst Bowler ‘Stay with Football’ Award’!<\/p><\/div>\n But the three nights in Vegas weren’t about accomplishments, it was about hilarious stories and the rekindling of old friendships that could never die.\u00a0 I came away with pride of being a member of this group and with a big smile on my face thinking of the stories about our days as the fighting Westminster Parsons.<\/p>\n Not so terrible to be in your 70s!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow “How terribly strange to be 70”\u00a0 Old Friends,\u00a0Simon & Garfunkel We came in the mid-1960s as young men, boys really, to Westminster College, a Christian college that sits at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains on the … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Challey-Hall-300x225.jpg\")
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