What's the perfect gift for a self-confessed geek, like me? A box of nothing...complete junk that 90% of the population would not look twice at, before dumping it in a dumpster. For me, a box of nothing signifies everything.
Cleaning out old offices is an adventure I have enjoyed taking over the years. Is this activity a routine in my life? Hardly. When I do have the opportunity, it becomes an all-day job because I spend most of the time sorting through nothing. I may spend an hour sorting through papers that are, essentially junk.
When the company I worked for moved a radio station out of Rushville in 2006 or 2007, we scoured the place for anything that needed to be kept. Most of the stuff was old paperwork, and a lot of junk. Much of it was broken down pieces of equipment that my co-workers tossed into a large dumpster. Just as fast as they threw it in, I dangled over the edging picking through it. It was worthwhile to be a "garbage grubber" or a "dumpster diver" that particular day, as it netted me around $500. Not bad for somebody else's junk.
My favorite rummaging is discovering an old desk or file cabinet with sports stuff packed away inside. Admittedly, I am a super...no...uber-geek when it comes to anything sports. It's no surprise that I keep every broadcast I've done, interview recorded, and program picked up at a game. I will use words from a local drifter on the move-out day in Rushville who said, "Yeah...I'm a pack rat," in a slow drawl. I too, am a pack rat.
One of my fonder finds was on a weekend trip to a cabin on the Mississippi River. Heading into Dallas City for breakfast, I noticed a rundown store next to the cafe that had a hand written sign out front reading, "Sale Today". It looked like a bunch of junk....my favorite. I perused the junk, and after a couple minutes it looked like I was wasting my time. Then....as I was getting ready to head out the paint-peeled door, it struck me. Hidden below some LP's was what appeared to be a high school football program.
It was....a Geneseo High School football program from 1978. I picked it up, and the older gentleman reacted, "There's a bunch more over there." I followed his direction, and sure enough, a pile of old programs. There was a whole season of game day programs for the Green Machine football team from 1978, some basketball programs for the Maple Leafs, and even a 1975 IHSA State Championship Football program, the second year of the IHSA playoffs. I asked how much he wanted for the whole stack. I had to hold back my giddy laughter when he replied, "a buck." A dollar...one dollar, for something I would have paid well over $20 for.
Today, I received a phone call from my co-worker Greg Ford. He was at our WAIK studios in Galesburg doing some house cleaning. He said he found a whole bunch of "sports things," and if I wanted them. I asked what they were, and he said, "oh just a bunch of papers and stuff." Even if they were stats, I could use them for reference. Well....that's what I always say.
When he arrived back at the station with my bags upon bags of goodies, it was even more than I had anticipated. Sure, there were a bunch of score sheets and stats, some old programs, and state finals programs. But....the real find....the ultimate treasure for a geek like me was inside a thick manilla envelope.
Cassette tapes. There were about a dozen tapes with a few different games from WAIK radio broadcasts dating back to 1979. There is a Monmouth College/Knox College football game from 1979, a Galesburg/Quincy boy's basketball game from 1980, and a 7 overtime thriller between Galesburg and Morton in 1984. With the gobs of old file cabinets still in those studios, I am hoping to uncover more vintage broadcasts. As I type this, I am digitizing these relics, and will be posting them on our WAIK website. IHSSN Classics made its debut earlier this year, which is still in its infancy. Someday, a large collection of archived broadcasts could come to IHSSN Classics.
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