- POST-TOKYO APPEARANCES, INVITATIONS
"An Old Royal Typewriter"
After Gary returned from Tokyo, he was inundated with requests for speaking, mostly for athletic sports banquets and civic organizations in towns throughout the State of Nebraska. At the time, Gary was enrolled in Hastings College, Hastings, NE, where he was carrying a full course load and also serving as Student Body President. He was obviously very busy, but he enjoyed speaking to these groups and the messages he gave helped to clarify his ideas about the importance of sports participation and striving for excellence. Much of his appeal was due to the fact that he was the first Olympic individual gold medal winner ever from Nebraska. From a file of newspaper clippings, here is a list of some of these appearances:
Hastings Optimist Club, Hastings, NE
Plainsmen Rifle and Pistol Club, Imperial, NE
Commencement Address, Nelson High School, Nelson, NE
“Eyes on Nebraska” Award, Hastings, NE
Cosmopolitan Club, Hastings, NE
Lions Club, Elm Creek, NE
Sumner HS Annual Banquet, Sumner, NE
Wilcox High School Athletic Banquet, Wilcox, NE
Fillmore County Extension Banquet, Geneva, NE
Boy and Cub Scouts, Holdrege, NE
Eagle Scout Court of Honor, Fairbury, NE
Papillion Air Gun Club, Papillion, NE
Nebraska National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit Banquet, Lincoln, NE
Hastings Chamber of Commerce, Hastings, NE
Westside High School All Sports Banquet, Omaha, NE
Blue and Gold Banquet, Wilcox, NE
Grace United Presbyterian Stewardship Family Dinner, Council Bluffs, NE
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| A sample of a sport banquet flyer. Notice the cost for an adult: $1.00. |
Speaking engagements and appearances outside of NE included:
“Boy Scout Day in City Government,” Santa Rosa, CA
International Jaycees BB Gun Banquet of Champions, Tulsa, OK;
Hutchinson, KS; Rogers, AR
“Salute to Shooters and Hunters,” Amateur Trap Shooting Association,
Vandalia, OH
Non-Powder Gun Products Association, Chicago, IL
Santa Fe Junior Rifle Club, Santa Fe, NM
Other notable appearances:
Inaugural Ball for Gov. and Mrs. Frank B. Morrison in Lincoln, NE
To Tell the Truth TV Show, NYC
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| A thank you letter from Governor Morrison for attending his Inaugural Ball. |
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| Instructions for the Daytime TV Show "To Tell the Truth." Gary was the "truthful" contestant; the others were impostors. |
Ruth Ann often accompanied Gary to sports banquet appearances in and around Hastings, but she had to get special permission from the Dean of Women to return to her dorm after 10pm curfews. Gary’s invitations to speak arrived by mail or phone call; there was no Internet, cell phones, or texting at the time. Ruth Ann knew shorthand and Gary dictated responses, then Ruth Ann typed letters of acceptance on an old Royal typewriter, with whiteout and carbon paper. Because of strict “amateur athlete” guidelines concerning Olympians receiving money for endorsements or speaking engagements, Gary could only ask for “gas money.”
The school children in Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE produced a banner that depicted Gary’s journey from the farm, to Hastings College, to Tokyo. It was drawn on butcher block paper and exhibited during a special “Gary Anderson Night” celebration. We have preserved this through the years along with the Gary Anderson paper doll.
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| The three panel mural drawn by students of Axtell school |
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| The Gary Anderson paper doll that went with the mural. |
Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE (population 350) honored him with a terrific welcome home evening. Over one thousand persons welcomed their Olympic hero for “Gary Anderson Night” at the high school auditorium (filled to capacity). Admirers from Axtell and surrounding communities came to honor their local hero. Gary spoke to the crowd about his experiences in Tokyo, saying winning the gold medal was “the biggest thrill of my life.” He showed slides, signed autographs, and displayed his guns and medal.
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| Gary's hometown of Axtell, NE welcomes home their Olympic Champion. |
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| Signing autographs |
The townspeople surprised Gary by declaring “Gary Anderson Night” and establishing a scholarship fund for seminary. The Axtell scholarship helped cover the cost of books when he enrolled at San Francisco Theological Seminary later that year.
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| Proclamation declaring "Gary Anderson Night" in Axtell November 10, 1964 |
Gary, in responding to these tributes, said “I find it harder to say thanks the way I want to for this evening, than it was to practice for five or six hours a day to win the gold medal.…The way people have treated me since my return makes me proud that I won a gold medal for the greatest nation in the world.”
Years later, Axtell further honored their home town boy by including his name and Olympic victory in a centennial plaque at the City Park (last paragraph):
