Those Were The Days

Al Stewart driving a Jeep and donning shades and Purdue president Arthur Hansen fishing are reason enough to watch this 1974 video, but there are many other gems to take in. Filmed on the grounds of Jawacdah Farms and St. John’s Church in southeastern Indiana, Those Were The Days was a 23 minute video production that “was the climax of Al Stewart’s final year at Purdue.” (Carl White)

Performances include:

• For it’s always fair weather
• Gadeamus Igitur
• Playground of my Mind (John Quinn)
• Ave Maria
• How Great Thou Art (Keith Tonne)
• Lazy River (Mike Middleton)
• Battle Hymn of the Republic (Steve Whitcomb)
• and of course, Those Were The Days (Don Lee)

My mother-in-law (Jan Davis, quoted below) gave me the VHS tape twenty years ago and it has occupied a shelf ever since.

This Glee Club VHS tape was enjoyed by my parents, Jack and Bertanelle Long. Dr. Long was a Prof of Animal Sciences at Purdue and received the tape from their friends, John and Alberta Stewart, also big Glee Club fans. Mr. Stewart served as a Trustee for Purdue for many years, 1970-1990s, from Greensburg, IN.

The text of the enclosed letter:

HILLENBRAND INDUSTRIES

October 5, 1990

Mr. John Stewart
Stewart Seeds
Greensburg, Indiana 47240

Dear Mr. Stewart:

It has taken a long time in coming, but we finally “found” a copy of the video that was made of the Purdue Glee Club in 1972, just prior to Mr. Al Stewart retiring as the head of the Glee Club after many years. The video was made in conjunction with W. A. Hillenbrand, who had just retired as a trustee from the University.

Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy the video. This is your copy so you do not need to return it.

Sincerely,

HILLENBRAND INDUSTRIES
George E. Brinkmoeller
Vice President Corporate Services

11604:bsr

The reference to 1972 is probably a mistake or typo, as ‘73 or ‘74 would make more sense given the roster years of those Clubbers featured in the film. I had to send the tape to a specialist because it wasn’t turning at the proper speed in my VCR due to dust and grime in the cassette. With audio software I removed some of the hiss; overall the fidelity is good.

Carl White on The Hillenbrand connection:

William Hillenbrand was a Purdue trustee at the time and the Hillenbrand family were the owners of the Batesville Casket Company. Jawacdah Farms was a training and/or retreat center for that company. The PVGC went there for several days shortly after the end of classes in 1974 if my memory is correct. We stayed in a dormitory there while we filmed. Once this filming was completed we then traveled to Hawaii.

A selection of still frames:

Carl continues:

I remember that this was the first time the Glee Club lip-synced to the songs in making a film. (Prior films that were made had the singing simply as a background track to the action on the screen. Watching this version that is out of sync (as often happens with video conversions) makes me remember the care that was taken to get the sound track in sync with the mouths moving in the original version.

Seeing the pool scenes reminds me that it was too cool to be in a pool on the day we were filming and those were a few brave volunteers that jumped in the water.

Doling out Dollars:

The bus footage in the video brought Bill McGauhey this memory:

Al would always get on the bus with a cigar in his mouth and a huge wad of dollar bills and start dispensing our food allowance. Those were the days!

Indeed! Watch the video and chime in, below.