As I was saying, I met Ron Funk at the first HoPS meeting.

Ron was the first of several people that I met during that period who were around 35 years old and would be significant in one way or another, although I think Ron was just about to turn 34 when I met him. 

Ron was from Manheim, PA, which is where my aunt and uncle Joan and Mark had moved to, although he didn’t know them, nor did they know his family when I eventually asked them.

But that gave Ron and me something in common right off the bat, that we were each from the Pennsylvania Dutch area of the state. Ron had been in the service, and after leaving, had used that to get his college education, first going to the Penn State campus in Erie, PA, and now he was working on a graduate degree at the main campus. Of course, I was to learn all this later.

What I recall from the HoPS meeting is someone saying that the lights were too dim, could somebody please turn on some more lights. To which Ron pointed out, “I think subdued lighting is more flattering.”

Ron won.

I also remember Ron mentioning that he lived in “the smallest apartment in State College”, and he wasn’t exaggerating about that, as I learned when I paid him a visit shortly thereafter. When he moved out of State College a couple years later, I sublet the apartment from him.

I no longer recall where that first meeting was held, but it must have been either in the HUB, the Hetzel Union Building, or in some facility nearby, as when the meeting drew to a close, I found myself heading to the basement cafeteria of the HUB along with Ron and a couple of his friends for a late evening snack.

Ron’s friends were also grad students, in fact they were a couple, and I had seen one of them previously.

Brad Sprankle had played Bernardo in the Penn State Thespians’ Spring 1968 production of West Side Story, and while the entire production was excellent in my opinion, as the Thespians’ shows usually were, I thought Brad’s Bernardo was truly outstanding. The Collegian’s reviewer opined that Brad “came on strong without overplaying, and surpassed all others in his mastering of stage fighting and the necessary dialect.” Brad was just as good looking in person as he had been on the stage. And much friendlier.

His boyfriend (or lover to use the parlance of the era) was Dick Glean. Dick only had one leg, having lost one in a car crash a few years earlier, and as I was to learn, Dick could do more with one leg on crutches than most of the rest of us can do with our two legs. Dick was blond and just as good-looking as dark-haired Brad, so they made a very handsome couple.

Once we all got our snacks and settled down at a table, Ron told a story about having been to Washington, DC, recently where he found himself, after indulging in one too many drinks at a local watering hole, at some sort of formal party where everyone was dressed in a coat and tie. Ron apparently was as well, for some reason. Everyone was introduced as Mr. This or Mr. That, so Ron was introduced around as Mr. Funk, and apparently one was only supposed to address people as Mr. This or Mr. That. Finally, Ron blurted out, “Is everybody here gay?” At which point he was summarily ushered out unto the street.

Then it was Brad’s turn. He had always wanted to live in an A-frame house for some reason, and one year he got his chance. He rented an A-frame house and was ecstatic—until the cold weather came around. At which point he discovered that it wasn’t very well insulated, and he ended up freezing his ass off until spring came around. 

I remembered passing an attractive A-frame house just a few miles outside State College along Route 322, and I wondered whether that was the place, but I didn’t ask.

All in all it was a fun evening. First with the HoPS meeting and then with Ron, Brad, and Dick.

But wait! That’s not the only thing that came out of the meeting.

Remember I mentioned Duane?

Well, over the next couple of evenings, I started to hang out on the wall in front of Old Main, and I ran into Duane again, along with his two friends John Gottwalt and Kent Shaffer. All of them grad students. During the rest of the spring and through that summer, I’d see the three of them frequently; in fact, it was rare to see one of them without the others. They were all witty, always ready with a fast comeback, probably Kent and John more so than Duane, who was a bit on the serious side.

I really wish I could recall Duane’s actual name, but it’s gone, and while I used to remain in contact with John Gottwalt, it’s been a few decades since we last connected.

Anyway, the point is this.

A few days later there was a Help Wanted ad for Kentucky Fried Chicken. As you can see, I’ve found the ad. That ad appeared in the Center Daily Times in early April 1971 so based on that I have to revise what I wrote in my previous post about the first HoPS meeting. It must have been either in late March or very early April, because I definitely attended the meeting before I saw the ad.

When I went to answer the ad, who should the manager turn out to be but Duane!!!!!!

He took one quick glance at my application and told me there should be no problem in hiring me. He merely had to get it approved by his superior. This was a Friday and I should hear by Monday.

After months of fruitless searching, I had finally found a job! 🎆 🎊 🥂