Memory Lane: Authors

Touchdowns & T aco S auce ALUMNI MEMOIRS BRING ROSE’S PAST TO LIFE

STORY BY ARTHUR FOULKES

From strolling through downtown Terre Haute in a gorilla suit to record-setting plays on the gridiron, two recently published alumni memoirs offer colorful windows into Rose-Hulman’s past. In one, “Rose Poly and Me,” 1959 civil engineering alumnus Carl (Rocky) Herakovich describes a hardcharging football star diving into a muddy end zone to score a record-setting touchdown, etching his name in school lore and NCAA records for all time. The other memoir, “Our Mascot was a Fire Truck,” 2006 mechanical engineering alumnus Ben Vosmek reveals the inside scoop on one of the best-known pranks ever committed on campus—the filling of a Resident Assistant’s Jeep with thousands of taco sauce packets. There’s also a score of other examples of what can happen when engineering students let off steam from their studies.

“I had a lot of fun writing it,” says Herakovich, the author of three academic textbooks as an emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Virginia. “I wrote it as much for my descendants as for the people at Rose.” NO ANIMAL HOUSE LIFESTYLE Working for approximately five years, Vosmek wrote his book, in part, as an antidote to the stereotype of college and, especially, fraternity life that’s perpetuated by Hollywood. “I wanted to show that you can have a great education and a great fraternity experience, and it doesn’t have to include any of those negative connotations,” he says. “Rose Poly and Me” takes you from Rocky’s upbringing as a second-generation American growing up outside of Chicago through his career as a talented studentathlete, and finally to his days coaching and teaching at the institute for the 1962 and 1963 seasons. It features remarkably detailed descriptions of plays on the gridiron, including each of the four touchdowns he scored at Earlham College in his final game. Those scores helped secure an undefeated season for Rose in the fall of 1958 (the last in school history). That gave Herakovich the points needed to be the top-scoring player in the NCAA that season with 168 points. His 21 points per game average set a national record that would stand for 30 years. He was named a Little College All-American by the Associated Press and his name is still scattered throughout Rose-Hulman’s football record books, 41 years after playing for the Fightin’ Engineers. Vosmek’s book includes stunts such as his appearance on the sidelines of an Indiana State University basketball game wearing a gorilla suit. Then, there’s the time he wrapped every item in a fellow student’s dorm room in tin foil. Other antics, that Vosmek calls “neardeath stupidity,” leave you wondering how he survived

Pi Kappa Alpha's fire truck makes several campus appearances each school year, as do several pranks by students.

One of the most infamous pranks in RHIT history came when students filled an RA's Jeep with more than 40,000 taco sauce packets.

adventures, including an exploding tennis ball, a red-hot piece of cable shooting out of a flaming automobile tire, and a burning propane tank that “lifted off into the sky like a strange fire-breathing pig.” The number of pranks and misadventures described in Vosmek’s book is in the dozens. The best known, and still remembered on campus today, is when an RA’s Jeep was filled with more than 40,000 taco sauce packets. Vosmek describes the prank from planning to execution, concluding with the problem of how to dispose of the packets when the humorous adventure was over. NEARLY MISSING A KICKOFF Herakovich’s book includes its own misadventures, including the day he and a fraternity brother overslept and had to be rushed to Franklin College in time to compete in a Saturday afternoon football game. Rushing a little too fast, they were stopped by a police officer, who they hoped would understand their necessity to get to the game. Instead, they got hauled before a Justice of the Peace. It turned out that the police officer’s brother was the quarterback for Franklin. Both memoirs include several photographs. In fact, photos are a central feature of “Rose Poly and Me.” Meanwhile, Vosmek, a proud member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (which uses renovated fire trucks for events—the basis for his book’s title), ends his book with the organization’s Preamble, which sets out the noble purposes of the “Pikes.”

Although set in very different time periods, each book gives readers a feel for what it was like to be a student at Rose during the writers’ undergraduate years. This includes the stress of exams, mountains of homework, memorable and influential professors, and enduring dates and friendships. “Rose is really not like any other place in the world,” Vosmek says. “It’s like a family.” From his perspective, Herakovich states: “As an engineering professor, I’m very proud to have gone to Rose. I had a number of good friends and teammates, a lot of fun, and an education that provided me with an excellent foundation for a successful life.” n

Carl Herakovich was a decorated football player and professor who returned to RHIT with his 1959 classmates to mark their 50-year anniversary.

“Rose Poly and Me” is available through Apple Books and “Our Mascot was a Fire Truck” is available online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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Chemistry and biochemistry professor Rebecca DeVasher mixed the right virtual formula this spring to provide students with the personal attention, creativity and sense of humor to make online learning fun and interesting. Her students were appreciative, with one stating, “Your efforts are so evident! I love your humor and your love for your students. Thanks for all you do.” Find out more about new ways our professors remained connected with their students on Pages 10-11. PARTING SHOT