Anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps

  Thank you to all those who have served our country in the Marine Corps, including many people I have been blessed to know, such as Earl James, my college lacrosse coach, Web Harrison (RIP), and so many other heroes.

Anniversary of the birth of the US Marine Corps

Anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps

 Thank you to all those who have served our country in the Marine Corps, including our own Earl James, as well as our rector's college lacrosse coach, Web Harrison (RIP), and so many other heroes.

Anniversary of the birth of the US Marine Corps

Anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps

 Thank you to all those who have served our country in the Marine Corps, including our own Earl James, as well as our rector's college lacrosse coach, Web Harrison (RIP), and so many other heroes.

Anniversary of the birth of the US Marine Corps

One of the good guys: The life of Russ Reilly '66, beloved at Bates and Middlebury

 

One of the good guys: The life of Russ One of the good guys: The life of Russ Reilly '66, beloved at Bates and Middlebury

Middlebury photo

Russ Reilly's celebration of life is Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Mead Chapel in Middlebury, Vt., followed by a reception in Pepin Gymnasium. On the same day, the Bates-Middlebury football game will be played on Bates' Garcelon Field, beginning at 1pm.

July 24 was a sad day to be a Bobcat...and a Panther. 

That day saw the passing of Russ Reilly '66, who was directly associated with Bates or Middlebury as a student, coach, or athletic director for 55 of his nearly 75 years of life.

 

"He was one of the good guys," says former longtime Bates basketball coach George Wigton, for whom Reilly played as a student. "Nobody has anything but great things to say about Russ Reilly."

 

 A beloved Bobcat and Panther, Reilly's connections and contributions to Bates and Middlebury underscore a reality: The NESCAC is as much, if not more, about what unites our schools than divides them.

 

Reilly began his career at Bates where, from 1969 to 1977, he was head athletic trainer and, for part of that time, an assistant basketball coach under Wigton. 

 

Wigton's friendship with Reilly began the day that Wigton and his wife, Eleanor, arrived at Bates in 1965. "When we pulled into the driveway of our college house at 17 Mountain Ave., there was Russ and other men from the basketball team to help unload our moving van," recalls Wigton, now 90. "Russ was loyal and dependable — a guy you could count on."

 

Seeking a head coaching opportunity, Reilly left for Middlebury, where he coached the Panther men's basketball team for 19 years, then served as director of athletics until his retirement in 2006, the year he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. 

 

In recent years, Reilly served as a volunteer coach for men's basketball and PA announcer for football games, among other gigs for the Panther community.

 

As a Bates student and then a Bobcat coach and athletic trainer, Reilly was mentored by a close-knit corps of coaches and administrators.

 

They included Bob Hatch, a longtime football coach who became AD in 1974, and coaches Chick Leahey '52, Web Harrison '63, Bob Flynn, and Wigton.

 

"In one way or another, Russ always expressed gratitude that his career in athletics was begun and incubated at Bates under strong mentors and colleagues," says Karl Lindholm, a longtime friend of Reilly's and the son of Bates Dean Emeritus of Admissions Milt Lindholm '35 and Jane Ault Lindholm '37. (Karl's daughter is a Bates senior.)

 

As did his Bates mentors, Reilly found purpose in coaching and athletics administration. "Russ derived great pleasure from both the work and from the people around him," says Lindholm. 

 

At Bates and Middlebury, that sense of purpose manifested itself in both schools' upbeat and supportive athletic departments. Reilly, in fact, is part of the origin story of the famous Bates cheer, "Great Day to Be a Bobcat."

 

As the late Harrison recalled in 2013, he had fun greeting Reilly in whimsical ways, including an adaptation of the mandatory greeting to superiors during Harrison's Marine Corps officer training in the early 1960s.   

 

The Marine version was, "Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to another grand and glorious day to be alive and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps where every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet."

 

The Bates version Harrison used was, "Good afternoon, Russ. What a grand and glorious day to be a student at Bates College where every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet." 

 

Over time, that greeting simply became, "It's a Great Day to Be a Bobcat."

 

For Reilly, Lindholm, and others, inter-NESCAC connections and relationships aren't zero-sum: They're about doubled loyalties and loves, not divided ones. Bates remained central to Reilly's family; his widow is Jane Hippe Reilly '68 (Wigton served as best man at their wedding) and one of their three daughters, Joann Reilly Soja, graduated in 1998. 

 

As a coach and athletics administrator, Reilly came of age when Title IX fundamentally changed American college sports.  And while key Title IX–related changes in programs and facilities occurred at Middlebury prior to Reilly's becoming AD in 1997, he's credited with solidifying the culture of support for female Panthers.

 

"Russ' insistence that Middlebury's women student-athletes be allowed the same opportunities as their male counterparts connects directly to the success of our women's teams today," said longtime former Middlebury coach and administrator Missy Foote.

 

"He was a fair, kind, and fun athletic director and colleague, and we will miss his guidance and leadership."

 

"He was very supportive of women's athletics at Bates and everywhere else," Wigton says.

 

To be sure, before colleges ever created new facilities and programs to support female athletes, there needed to be administrators committed to change. And at Bates, Reilly's intramural program clearly welcomed women, foreshadowing a mindset that would be valuable at Middlebury. 

 

As The Bates Student said with great understatement in 1972, "the trend in physical education seems to be pointing toward coeducation." As such, "Russ intends to stress this point in his program this year." 

 

A telling aspect of Reilly's "fair, kind, and fun" approach was his long and sincere commitment to intramurals. During his stint at Bates, Reilly ran the intramural program with gusto and creativity. 

 

A trademark offering was the 1972 Bates College Cross-Country Bicycle Race, a 10.5-mile trek open to the entire Bates community. He hoped it would be "challenging enough for the eager cyclist, and appealing to those who are just out for the exercise and a little scenery." 

 

Back in 1971, not long after his appointment as athletic trainer, the Student praised the work of behind-the-scenes members of the department, including the training staff.

 

"No matter what your complaint is, they'll find something for it," said the paper. "Russ Reilly is the man in charge."

— Jay Burns

 

Russ Reilly '66 (right) joins Bates friends and mentors at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, circa 1990. From left: Milt Lindholm '35, Bob Hatch, Chick Leahey '52, Bob Flynn, and Reilly. (Karl Lindholm)

 

OBITUARY

Webster L. Harrison

MARCH 31, 1940 – JUNE 17, 2018

AUBURN: Webster Lee “Web” Harrison, 78, of Auburn passed away unexpectedly due to cardiac arrest at his home on June 17, 2018. His friends described him as a man of character and wisdom, serious, engaging and loyal. He was a good man who enjoyed life and touched many lives for the better. He was born in Torrington, Connecticut on March 31, 1940 to Lee H. Harrison and Inez Delia Webster. He is the grandson of the 19th century Lewiston Mayor, William E. Webster. He was a student at Torrington High School and New Hampton School. He attended Bates College from 1959-63. He played football under the tutelage of some very fine men who would have a lasting impact on his life, and developed disciplined, hard work habits as a Biology major. He loved the education and opportunities that Bates College afforded him. A loyal alumnus, he recently celebrated with former classmates at his 55th Reunion. In 1964 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. As an infantry platoon commander in Vietnam, his experiences and memories from there were an important part of his life. He saw the best and worst examples of human behavior, and it taught him to truly value the freedoms we enjoy. Following Vietnam he was stationed at Quantico, VA training officer candidates. He was discharged from the USMC in 1967 as a Captain. He said his experiences as a Marine officer taught him that commitment, discipline, integrity and courage were necessary to succeed. This is how he led his life. In 1977 he was named head football coach at Bates College and the following year head lacrosse coach. During his tenure he coached and mentored hundreds of Bates athletes. He always emphasized the academic side of their time at Bates. His commitment to those he taught through sports may be reflected in the array of success that can be found in his former players. In his last years at Bates he joined the Office of College Advancement. He retired in 1999 after 25 years of service. Web was very engaged in a second “career” in retirement. During that time he developed a love of golf and spent hours practicing his swing at his favorite driving ranges and offering coaching tips to anyone who was nearby. His competitiveness was evident when he played with “ The Coaches Foursome” and former players. He loved spending winters in Siesta Key, FL where he could practice and play and enjoy the serene life by the water. He spent many hours on the lanai talking and laughing about Marine Corps days and hundreds of other topics with his dear friends. He developed an extensive library of varied topics from the history of the Vietnam war, gardening and cooking to the stock market and science. He was proud of the fact that he was a lifelong learner and was currently studying the history, physics and philosophy of time.... really! He inherited both his Mother’s and Father’s love of gardening. Lovely gardens on his property in Auburn featured over 12,000 daffodils. They were a source of enjoyment, pride and more than modest accomplishment. He proclaimed himself as the Daffodil King of Auburn and was shooting for the title to include Southern Maine. He gave away thousands of those daffodils every year. Bouquets were given to people at the Hospice House, Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice in Auburn, the Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope and Healing and the staff at East Auburn Community School, which his daughter had attended. He enjoyed talking about the 27,000 varieties and 13 types. When people stopped by they often got a lesson, including an annual visit from the kindergarten class down the hill. He is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Kathleen (McEntee) Harrison of Auburn, daughter Kathryn Harrison and her husband, Tim Smith of Fort Collins, CO and his beloved granddaughter, Delia Smith. Condolences may be shared with his family at www.thefortingrouplewiston.com

Per Web's wishes, a Memorial Service will be held at Bates College Chapel at a later date. Those wishing, may make a charitable contribution to honor Web's memory to Friends of Bates College Athletics c\o the Development Office 2 Andrews Rd. Lewiston, ME 04240 or Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice 15 Strawberry Ave. Lewiston, ME 04240. Arrangements are under the care of The Fortin Group Funeral Home, Cremation and Monument Services 70 Horton St. Lewiston, 784-4584.