Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 1984, Page 180

Description:	Beaver rides in first Little 500 at IUIt is what Paul Henreid said aboutCasablanca: Nobody knew we weremaking a classic.—Don Beaver, 1984.Little did South teacher Don Beaverknow in 1951 that he was participating inan event which would become known asone of the biggest college weekends inthe United States. It was rinky-dinky . . .The fans were mostly moms and dads,coming to cheer us on, Beaver said,reflecting back to the first Little 500 at Indiana University in 1951.Beaver was a first-year junior on theBloomington campus in 1951. He had attended the Indianapolis-IU campus hisfreshman and sophomore years while living at home. Beavers interest in bikingstarted there, when he raced another boyaround his neighborhood.During the fall of 1950, Beaver movedinto Jenkins House dorm at IU. Gettingtogether with three other boys from hisdorm, they all started training one monthbefore the race. We did it just for fun,he said. Few people trained like today... We lived a different life. Beaver andhis three fellow riders rode in Bloomington and around the surrounding area.Jenkins House competed with 32 otherteams in the final race of the 1951 Little500; but before the final competition,qualifying times had to be met. The threeboys—Bill Pavous, Jim Parent, and ErwinDarling—were of different sizes to haveboth sprinters and distance riders. Beaverand Darling were the distance riders, withPavous and Parent (both big guys, according to Beaver) being sprinters. Thiswas what I guess you could callstrategy, he said. It was the first year;the Buccaneers (the 1951 winners) setthe pattern, supposedly, for the nextyears strategy.During the race Beaver said the otherguys were scared that Beaver would tearup the bike. However, Beaver biked 60 to70 laps. Our plan was to stay fresh, hesaid. Whether the plan worked is open tosome speculation, but the Jenkins Housesquad placed 32 out of 33 teams.Surprisingly, his teams placing in theLittle 500 was not known by Beaver until1982, when he read about the placing inthe Indiana Daily Student, the IU studentnewspaper. Beaver, for 31 years, thoughtthe Jenkins House team placed last. Noone ever told me, he said with a grin.But what is in a place? he asked.By 1957-58 the race had startedgrowing ... , Beaver noted. All thehype, he said, was there—the tricylerace, the celebrities. The race wasoriginally started to raise funds withwhich to aid those students in IndianaUniversity who are working to pay theirway through school ... , according tothe 1951 official program of the Little500. Beaver said the race was started bythe Indiana University Foundation. Itwas to start some student involvement,he said. In the long run it sure paid off.In 1952, I was bootlegged into theNavy, he said. Consequently, Beaverwas never able to race in another Little500. After the Navy, Beaver came backto Indiana University to finish his schooling. I was married then; I couldnt participate in the race because I did not livein IU housing, Beaver commented.Beaver has seen only two races sincehis Little 500 days. He said if he cheeredfor anyone, it probably would be forJenkins House, which has qualified for 10races since the first one in 1951 but hasnever won. In 1953 the team came in 33(last), fulfilling Beavers thinking that histeam came in last. At that time, however,Beaver was still in the Navy. This year,though, Jenkins House placed fourth—the highest placing since 1951.Beaver said he thought watching therace was comparatively boring, becauseit is a social event. He loved the moviespin-off of the race, Breaking Away, butsaid the first race that he rode in wasntanything like in participation. We bikedthe 200 laps, and there was a parade, butthat race is what the tradition was builton, he said. There was nothing for us tofall back on.1951 BEAVER—South teacher Don Beaver stands third from the left with hisfellow riders and racing bicycle.1984 BEAVER—Beaver tries his hand at bicycle riding 1984 style. 33 yearsfrom his Little 500 debut.180 Faculty-*•
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/1897
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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