Mail Call

Mail Call

Olympic Autograph Requests

After the Olympics in 1964, in Gary’s home state of Nebraska, he had such notoriety around the state that an envelope addressed

​

Gary Anderson

Olympic Winner

Nebraska

would find its way to the post office of Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE (then the population was 350).  Gary doesn’t often honor requests for his autograph by mail because he just simply does not have the time to do this, but he has been keeping some envelopes requesting autographs for a day when he has time to deal with them.    But, if you are in his physical presence, he never turns down a request for an autograph.

I recently found a pile of over 100 unopened envelopes from autograph collectors, catching up with us at different addresses:

Our current address, Oak Harbor, OH

Our former address, Port Clinton, OH

Camp Perry Training Site, Port Clinton, OH

Sharpsburg, GA and Peachtree City, GA

(we lived there during the 1996 Olympic Games)

U.S. Olympic Committee in Irvine, CA

U.S Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO

Gary’s hometown of Axtell, NE

The National Rifle Association

ISSF Headquarters, Munich

The most envelopes come from  Germany. Next after that, from Czech Republic.    We also have autograph requests from

Austria

Belgium

Estonia

Finland

France

Great Britain

Hungary

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

USA

The hobby of collecting autographs is called philography.   Autograph collecting started in the 16th Century when Germans kept albums of correspondence when they traveled.    By the late 18th Century in Europe it was popular to collect letters of famous people.    In the USA, the hobby of collecting autographs took off in the 1980s.    By 1990 the industry skyrocketed and is today worth $500million.

We know that autograph collector clubs are very popularg in Germany.  Many of the typed letters requesting a signature are form letters.  Handwritten letters are rare.    Collectors try more than once to get an autograph.  Apologizing for their English is common:   "Excuse me please my bad English," or "Sorry I no write this letter in your language but I have not talent for foreign language."

After opening over 100 envelopes with requests for Gary’s autograph, I learned a few things about collectors:

They pay for return postage four ways:

1. Using an international postage coupon for return postage: 

2.  A prepaid cancelled postal mark is on the envelope:

3. Include a postage paid envelope with uncancelled USA stamps (they can get stamps from the Internet).  

4. Include 1USD for postage.    Very rarely is a request sent without return postage.

They never want just one autograph.    Multiple white (index) cards are for swapping with friends.   “Because of the possibility to change great sport autographs with other collectors we have included a large number of cards.  If you think we are asking for too much, we naturally prefer a signed card each before nothing.”

Some of the white cards are personalized: 

Four examples of stylized autograph cards made by collectors

If a photo is enclosed, they want the signature on the front of the photo; it must be an original signature, and signed with a water proof pen.

A collage of some of the photographs sent by collectors for autographs, 
all easily available on the Internet.
Notice the directional arrow for placement of an autograph on the bottom left!

They want addresses of other shooting Olympians:  i.e. Jack Writer, Martin Gunnarrson, Launi Meili, Nancy Johnson, Lanny Basham, William McMillan, Huelet Benner, Arthur Cook, and Don Halderman and “any other Olympic champions working for the UIT (ISSF); please send addresses of future Olympic winners."  

And here’s a really bold  request:

“I also collect Olympic tickets, starting numbers, stamps, sportswear.    It would delight me if you have anything for my collection that you can lack.”

One collector compliments Gary with the following:  "What a fine and classy and outstanding and remarkable shooting personality you have been always.  I admire you and your cutting from a magazine."

Of special interest:

"With this letter I dare to ask you a favor."

Another enthusiast sent a sample page from his collection of 3100 pages.

One included a post card of his home town in Slovakia with a letter which simply says, “I want your autograph and your signature.”

Request for autographs for a celebrity auction -- not one, but several.

"If you have any photographs to give away, please send two" --- or four or six!

Autograph seeker making a book for his children requests original signed autograph cards (no stamped autograph) WITH the event “Olympia 1964-1968 Gold” included and remarks “about your meaning of life.”

One autograph hopeful wishes to be Gary’s "pen friend" and sends a picture of himself.   And he wants a UIT (ISSF) badge (that probably means a pin).    He writes, "please return fluently and answer the questions:  Where, when, and how did you begin your shooting competition?  And since that time, what is your work in shooting?"

The task of keeping autograph collectors satisfied is not a priority in the Anderson household simply because the time to do this is not available.

1964 Olympics

• 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

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

A thank you letter from Governor Morrison for attending his Inaugural Ball.

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.

The three panel mural drawn by students of Axtell school

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.

Gary's hometown of Axtell, NE welcomes home their Olympic Champion.

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.

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):

Luncheon at the White House with LBJ

• A Cold War Victory Celebration 

After the Tokyo Olympics, Gary’s time was in high demand.  He received an invitation from President and Mrs. Johnson to attend a luncheon at the White House on December 1, 1964 to honor and recognize the Tokyo Olympic Medal Winners.

Gary’s invitation telegram described how the USOC would reimburse for round trip economy class air plus twenty dollars per diem, plus maximum air insurance. Men were to wear Olympic parade jackets, dark trousers, dark shoes, white shirts, and Olympic blue ties.  The medalists were to stay at the iconic Willard Hotel, which is very close to the White House.

Prior to the White House luncheon Department of Defense officials held a special ceremony in the Pentagon to honor members of the U. S. military that had won medals in Tokyo.  

The Under Secretaryof the Army, Stephenn Ailes congratulates Sgt. Martin Gunnarsson during the Pentagon ceremony.   Gunnarsson won the bronze medal in the 300m rifle event in Tokyo. Mr. Ailes was the President of the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice at the time.
Photo credit:    Gary Anderson

The White House
Photo credit:  Gary Anderson

President Johnson wanted members of the government who were well known athletes to attend.  Guests included Supreme Court Associate Justice Byron White, who was an all-American football star at the University of Colorado; Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, who was a star guard on the 1946 Championship basketball team at the University of Arizona, and Stan Musial, longtime St. Louis Cardinals baseball star who was a special consultant to President Johnson for physical fitness.

At the time, it was common practice in many countries to not only honor Olympic winners, but even to award monetary gifts.  In the USSR, for example, gold medal winners were given lifetime increases in their government stipends, better housing and television sets, perhaps even an automobile.  Gold medals, of course, were worth a lot more than silver or bronze medals.  Gary has often wondered how much he cost Russian shooters in government stipends; in all six of his Olympic and World Championship three-position rifle gold medal wins, the silver medalist was from the USSR.

Until this invitation by President Johnson, Olympic successes by American athletes had been taken for granted by our country’s political leadership.   President Johnson said, “Like most Americans, the Johnson family followed the 1964 Olympics with avid interest and a warm sense of satisfaction.”  The 1964 Olympics actually had exceptional political significance because they took place during the height of the Cold War.  Since the 1952 Olympics, the USSR’s “big red sports machine” had dominated Olympic medal counts and certainly Olympic shooting, but that changed in 1964.  In Tokyo, the USA Team finished first in the official medal table with 36 golds to 30 for the Soviet Union.  Though never stated, this White House reception had the marks of a Cold War victory celebration.

USA Shooting Team contributions to that victorious medal count were a big triumph for the USA shooting program.  USA shooters won two gold and six total medals in Tokyo in only six shooting events.  From the 1920s to today, no USA Olympic Shooting Team has won more that six medals; the USA won six in 1984 when there were 11 events and six again in 2008 in Beijing when there were 15 events.  

The 1964 White House luncheon was held in the State Dining Room for 108 Olympians and USOC officials, including USOC President Kenneth Wilson.  Unfortunately, President Johnson was delayed due to an urgent meeting with his Cabinet and Ambassador Maxwell D. Taylor over the crisis in Viet Nam.  

President Johnson arrived at 3pm, and said, “I haven’t had my lunch yet, but I’m so proud of you that I’d like to shake the hand of everyone here.”  In the receiving line with the President were Mrs. Johnson and their daughter Luci as well as Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

In his remarks at lunch, President Johnson said to the Olympians, “You demonstrated winning without strutting and loosing without whimpering…it is such a privilege to have you here in the first house of the land.    It is equally satisfying to have in this house some of the first of the land.”

Who Got the Bigger Bear Hug?

Ruth Ann’s Grandmother, Frieda Curtin, lived only 30 miles away from Hastings (Nebraska) in a town called Grand Island.   At the time, Grandma was in a wheelchair and when she heard about the plans for a parade in Hastings, nothing was going to keep her from going.

Ruth Ann’s aunt, Francis Waldo, also lived in Grand Island and offered to take grandma to the parade.    I’m sure they had to leave early in order to park, and find a good spot along the parade route.    Grandma wasn’t going to allow anyone to block her view.    They found a good spot along the parade route, and waited with 8000 other people to see the returning Nebraska Olympian hero.

Gary and Ruth Ann were traveling the parade route in an open convertible.    When Gary saw grandma sitting on the sideline and waving furiously, he asked the car driver to stop (which meant stopping the parade), got out and ran over to give grandma a great big hug.    Ruth Ann also stepped out of the car to greet grandma and Aunt Francis.

Gary and Ruth Ann along the parade route, Gary Anderson Day, October 26, 1964.

They hopped back in the car and the parade commenced.  Unfortunately we do not have a picture to commemorate  the moment, but grandma Curtin talked about that for the rest of her life, and Ruth Ann isn’t sure who got the bigger bear hug in that moment.

Frieda Curtin, Ruth Ann's grandmother

GARY ANDERSON DAY, OCTOBER 26, 1964

GARY ANDERSON DAY, OCTOBER 26, 1964

After Gary won his Olympic gold medal and returned home from Tokyo, Hastings College and the City of Hastings (Nebraska) organized a huge welcome home celebration for Gary, with a downtown parade that included dozens of school bands from the surrounding area.    

Gary returned from Tokyo to Denver with some other U. S. Olympic team members.   Hastings College arranged for Ruth Ann to travel by train (Union Pacific Railway) from Hastings to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Ruth Ann’s parents (Virgil and Helen Bell) lived. They drove to Denver to meet Gary’s plane.

After a weekend in Cheyenne, Gary, Ruth Ann, Virgil and Helen Bell traveled by plane—it was a company plane provided by the Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company--from Cheyenne to Hastings where the big welcome home parade for Nebraska’s Olympic Hero was ready to unfold.   Greeting Gary on his arrival at the Hastings airport were his parents, Roy and Ruby Anderson, his sister Karen Hulce, and step-sister Peggy Erickson, plus close friends, well wishers and the press. 

Ruth Ann and Gary arrive at the airport

Gary meets his parents at the airport 

Gary's father Roy greeted Gary with a firm handshake and asked if it would be all right to take a picture of him (Roy) with Gary and Fred Mayberry and Maurice Knutson, the men he was farming with the day Gary won his medal. 

Ruth Ann wore a blue suit ensemble and hat she made for a 4-H project, and an Olympic pin with a pearl attached.  A reporter asked if Gary had marriage in mind, to which he responded, "One step at a time."

"One Step at a Time"

Pin for Olympic athletes with pearl attached.

At a press conference at the airport, Gary, wearing the official dress uniform of the Olympic Team and with the gold medal around his neck, told reporters he needed a few days to get caught up after missing 30 days of classwork.  He “took some books along to study, but didn’t really get a chance to look at them.”  Gary told reporters the shooting team went to Tokyo fully expecting to win, full of confidence after the 1962 World Shooting Championships in Cairo.  He said the rifle team proved in Cairo that the Russians were not 12 feet tall  (See “1157”).

He said, “When you stand on the gold medal stand and hear the National Anthem, you realize that the sacrifice and hard work was worth the effort; you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the personal satisfaction of accomplishing an extremely difficult goal.  Then, when you come home, you have another reward – the warmth of the people, your people; their enthusiasm, their responses, that made it all so special.” 

Gary with Danny Olson, personal hometown friend

 

A motorcade took Gary, Ruth Ann and honored guests down the parade route in downtown Hastings and to the reviewing stand.  Eight thousand admirers welcomed the Olympic Hero.    All Hastings schools were dismissed early that day.   The Hastings High School, Central Catholic High School and Hastings College bands, pep clubs and precision drill teams participated in the parade.  Gary's hometown of Axtell also sent their high school band.   Several civic clubs had parade entries, including Gary's Optimist Junior Rifle Club.

The reviewing stand included Major General Lyle Welch, Adjutant General of the State of Nebraska and Commanding General of the Nebraska National Guard, who was the featured speaker (Gary was a Lieutenant in the National Guard and Executive Officer of C Company, 128^th Engineer Battalion in Grand Island, NE); Hastings Mayor Lyle Schuster, who proclaimed the day in Gary’s honor; Dr. Harrold Shiffler a Hastings College professor, who served as Master of Ceremonies, and Hastings College President Dr. Theron Maxson, who welcomed Gary back to the campus and called him Hastings College’s “favorite son.”

Gary and Ruth Ann on the reviewing stand.

Gary spoke briefly to the crowd, "someone said American youth are soft.  Our Olympic Team proved in Tokyo that American youth can work to conquer the highest challenges.  As a young boy, I dreamed of standing on an Olympic victory stand and hearing ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ played in honor of an American victory.   On October 15th, by the grace of God, my dream came true."

Gary was overwhelmed by the turnout in his honor.   The greatest praise, however, came from hundreds of youngsters who swarmed around the reviewing stand after the ceremony eager to clutch his hand, touch his medal and get his autograph.  He said “now is not the time for words, it is a time for deep emotional feeling that cannot be expressed in any way but to say Thank You.”

"Mrs. Pratt Takes the Call"

"MRS. PRATT TAKES THE CALL"

In 1964 there were no cell phones or individual telephones in college dormitory rooms at Hastings College NE where Gary and Ruth Ann were students.  In order to receive a call at Ruth Ann’s residence, Taylor Hall, an operator/student would answer the incoming call at the main desk and then "buzz" the student on her floor to alert her to an incoming call.   Each woman had a bell signal (for example, two longs and one short, like Morse Code).  Then the student would go to the hall phone on the floor to accept the call.   This was the procedure for campus calls, long distance calls, or local calls.   If the call came in before or after hours, the dorm mother, Mrs. Pratt, would have to take the call, usually to her displeasure. 

On October 15, at 6:15 AM local time in Hastings, Nebraska, Ruth Ann’s dorm mother, Mrs. Pratt, accepted an incoming call and “buzzed” Ruth Ann.    The call was from the Sports Editor of the Hastings Tribune, Hank Lowenkron, who told Ruth Ann that Gary had won the gold medal in Tokyo!    At approximately 6:30 AM, everyone on Ruth Ann’s floor knew of his victory, because Ruth Ann raced down the hall and pounded on every door, saying, “Get up!   He did it!  Gary has the gold!”

At 7:30 AM, Ruth Ann placed a call to her parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and at 8:10AM a call to her grandmother, Frieda Curtin, in Grand Island, Nebraska.   Gary’s parents had heard the news from the same Hastings Tribune reporter. 

A sign appeared at the breakfast line announcing Gary’s victory.    The word was passing quickly!

Ruth Ann received a call in the dormitory at 1:30 PM from Don Matthews, Hastings College Director of Public Relations.   He wanted Ruth Ann to come to his office to help compose a telegram (yes, telegram!) of congratulations.    

While in his office, the Omaha World Herald called and wanted to talk to “Gary Anderson’s girl friend.”  Gary's win was a major story in Nebraska because no one from that state had ever won an individual Olympic gold medal before.

At 3PM, Ruth Ann went to the Tribune office to meet the Sports Editor who had called her at 6:15AM with the news of Gary’s victory.   The editor of the paper was there and showed Ruth Ann the copy for the full page ads the Tribune would print, offering congratulations.  

At 4PM, Ruth Ann received a call in the dorm from a local TV station, KHAS.  They recorded a broadcast for the 6pm news, asking Ruth Ann if they were engaged.  The answer was “no," but the newscast introduction of Ruth Ann was as Gary Anderson’s “unofficial fiancée!”

At 10:45 PM local time, Mrs. Pratt once again had to accept an incoming call for Ruth Ann.    GARY CALLED FROM TOKYO.     Just 15 minutes prior to the phone conversation, Gary received his medal and he still had it around his neck.    Ruth Ann also talked to Martin Gunnarsson, Bronze Medal Winner, and offered congratulations.

The telephone call receipt from the Call Center.   The three minute call cost 4,320 Yen ($43 in today's conversion rate - September 5, 2013).

Hastings College and the city of Hastings planned a terrific welcome home for Gary, with a downtown parade that included dozens of school bands from the surrounding area.    Gary was to return from Tokyo to Denver with some of the Olympians.   Hastings College arranged for Ruth Ann to travel by train (Union Pacific Railway) from Hastings to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Ruth Ann’s parents (Virgil and Helen Bell) lived.  They drove to Denver to meet Gary’s plane.

After a weekend in Cheyenne, Gary, Ruth Ann, Virgil and Helen Bell traveled by plane, a company plane provided by Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Co., from Cheyenne to Hastings where the big welcome home parade for Nebraska’s Olympic Hero was ready to unfold.