Devastating news reminds all the good things the college offered for the Lincoln community

The stunning news last week that Lincoln College will close its doors this spring stirred up an old memory I hadn’t visited for decades.

If I had to put a date on this event I now vividly recall, I’ll say the year was 1964, when I was a sophomore at good old Hittle Township High School in Armington. Fate had already dealt me a hand informing me music would be an ongoing part of my life. Having said that, I was ecstatic to get word in 1964 The New Christy Minstrels were going to perform a concert at Lincoln College, less than 20 miles south of tiny Armington.

More: Legion Baseball serves breakfast

This was major news to me because the Minstrels were a hot-selling act in the early to mid-Sixties. They had big radio hits with songs “Green Green,” “Saturday Night,” “Today” and a cover of the Woody Guthrie folk-song classic, “This Land is Your Land.” In my wildest dreams, I can’t imagine any of those songs making a pop or rock radio playlist today. But back then, they were huge.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, describes The New Christy Minstrels as “an American large-ensemble folk music group” founded in 1961 by Randy Sparks. Sparks had found some success on both the East and West Coasts as a solo performer before putting together the Minstrels.

He struck gold with the group, which won a Grammy for its 1962 debut album, Presenting the New Christy Minstrels and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. The Minstrels were also in high demand on the concert tour circuit as well as on the appearance schedules of major television network variety shows. Sparks originally formed the 14-member group with a contract commitment to only perform in the recording studio and produce albums.

But being the money-hungry folks who rule the music industry, Sparks’ producers insisted the Minstrels go on tour to promote the hit songs that were starting to pile up. Being among the cash-starved performers in the industry, Sparks agreed, but he cut the size of the traveling Minstrels’ cast to a more economical 10 members. That’s the group that came to Lincoln College, I want to say, to perform on a late Sunday afternoon. Incidentally, Sparks had already left the group he founded and did not make the Lincoln show.

I well remember piling in one of Doc Lang’s vehicles with his daughters, my school pals Jackie and Joyce, to make the 20-minute trip from Armington to Lincoln that Sunday. I was excited as can be at the thought of seeing professional musicians who I’d heard performing hit songs on the radio. After all, this was my very first concert by a national touring group. I believe one of the Lang girls drove us to Lincoln and, after we found a place to park on campus, we made our way to the Davidson-Sheffer Gymnasium, where the concert was to take place.

More: Goodman honored for service to community

A stage had been set up on the gym floor and it was packed with guitars, standing silent in their tubular metal stands waiting for the show to start. Hundreds of folding chairs were set up on the floor. We either arrived early or had reserved seats because I remember we were only three, maybe four rows back from the edge of the stage.

I remember The New Christy Minstrels did not disappoint me that day, but honestly, I don’t recall much about the show itself. I know at times it sounded like there was a full orchestra of guitar players and a 50-voice choral group making music on that stage.

Shame on me, I never once gave a thought to Lincoln College supporting this terrific concert that was packed with fans. That thought never crossed my mind until last week’s devastating news about the school closing. It was just one of many good things the college would do for the greater Lincoln community over the next few decades. Now, I assume those “good things” will disappear with the college’s closing.

As could easily have been predicted, local social media, aka Facebook, has exploded with opinions, anger, hurt feelings, fond memories, sadness and any other emotion possible since the closure was announced. For me, the adjective of choice would be incredible. This simply can’t be happening.

Years after that New Christy Minstrels concert, I started working as a cub reporter for The Courier. Fulfilling the duties of that role took me on the college campus many times to cover news stories. That, in turn, led me to get acquainted and make friends with folks associated with the school. One of my favorites was the late Paul Beaver, whose educational specialty was American history. Paul, who grew up on a Logan County farm, was a crackerjack Logan County history buff. On top of that, he was a nationally recognized authority on Abraham Lincoln.

In spite of his notoriety, including being an author, Paul Beaver, the man, remained a friendly Logan County farm boy. He was always interested in my son’s 4-H project, which involved raising Chester White hogs. Paul’s family was in the pork production business and specifically, was involved in purebred Chester White pig production.

Another fellow who I associate with Lincoln College is retired Lincoln businessman Bill Gossett. He garnered a bunch of publicity during the school’s 2021 graduation ceremony, where at age 97, he received his associate of arts degree. Eighty years after starting his college education at the college, Gossett finished the required course work for the degree. His original effort was interrupted by World War II. On top of that associate’s degree, Lincoln College President David Gerlach surprised Gossett at the ceremony with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Taking into account all the residents of Lincoln, Gossett, more than anyone I know, has been a huge supporter of just about anything related to Lincoln College. I’m certain he is close to the top of the school’s list of loyal alumni. The news of the school’s closing, I’m also certain, has been quite painful for him.

The college’s official announcement contained a slight glimmer of hope with this statement: “Lincoln College needs help to survive.” Does that mean the college’s administration is reaching out for fat donations? Or what? The closing date of May 13 is quickly approaching. Two-year colleges in the area have reached out to accept students who had planned to return to Lincoln College next year. The college itself has scheduled a job fair for the scores of employees who will find themselves without a paycheck next month.

Back to the New Christy Minstrels: One of their hits from the Sixties, “Today,” has sent a sweet message to me throughout the years. A line from that tune seems fitting for the soon-to-be displaced staff and students:

“A million tomorrows shall all pass away, ere I forget all the joy that is mine today”

Dan Tackett is a retired managing editor of The Courier. He can be reached at dtackett@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Community to mourn the loss of the college closing