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America The Good
Fresno's Rotations Burst Forth with Praise, Old Fashion Patriotism
By GENE ROSE
Bee Staff Writer
The Downtown Fresno Rotary Club
kicked off "What is Good About
America Week" Monday with some
liberal and loyal doses of old-fashioned Americanism.
Comments by a trio of Rotarians
were the first in a series of testimo-
nals by six Fresno-area Rotary clubs
as to what is right with America —
instead of what some speaker said
was recently a preponderance of
adverse or negative comments.
eon Peters, president of Valley
Foundry, told the Downtown Rotarians there is still many good aspects
to this country, and we should not
permit a few problems to overshadow the good.
"There is nothing on the face of
this earth that pleases every one of
us," Peters said. "There is no place,
no country that can satisfy the desires and wishes of all of its citizens.
And so it is in America today as it
has been in the past and will be so in
the future.
"Some of us will always find some
things wrong, some minor and some
major. But there is so much good
about America that we should bring
the good to our minds every day and
not permit the things we dislike or
disapprove to compltely overshadow
her good."
In tracing the plight of his Armenian father, Peters said freedom is
one of the great strengths of the
American way of life and that this
country is still a land of opportunity.
"There are some people who say
that we can't continue as we are, that
America has lost its zest, that the
American dollar is sick, that the
stock market is in shambles, that our
growth rate will not continue. I say
they are all wrong. They forget two
things which have always been the
strength of our country — We are a
free people, willing to pay a high
price for our freedoms and this nation was founded upon the belief in
God and the dignity and rights of her
people, the children of God."
Peters also praised the humanitarians and compassion of this country,
citing the rebuilding of Germany and
Japan after World War II.
Superior Court Judge Holis Best
said the greatness of American is
rooted in the "compassion and generosity" of the American people.
"It is difficult to conceive how this
people made up of immigrants and
the descendants of immigrants from
every corner of this planet, from
nations of every possible political,
economic and religious persuasion, of
every race, color and creed; a people
torn, disrupted and divided by a tragic Civil War, would not only endure,
but progress to become the most affluent, the most powerful, and the
most free people of all time — a nation of unlimited opportunity and
potential," said Best.
Best also cited the American response to wartime enemies, where
after every major war this county
has given its "expertise, wealth and
resources to revive, reconstruct and
return the conquered enemy to the
family of nations."
In quoting from the late Wendell
Wilkie, the jurist praised the freedom
of the American people and their
ability to pursue "great dreams."
The third speaker, Delbert Crum-
mey, sales manager of Peerless
Pumps, also recognized the importance of freedom to this country, but
also praised the friendship and what
he described as the ability to laugh at
ourselves.
"However bad we may be, we are
still a darn sight better off than any
other country in the world," Crum-
mey declared.
In comparing "stumbling blocks to
stepping stones," the Rotarian said
American has forged more stepping
stones to opportunity than any other
country in the world, and urged that
the nation continue to forge ahead.
The West Fresno Rotary Club will
strike out on another angle at noon
today in the Sheraton Inn, when
American League baseball umpire
Terry Cooney discusses what is good
about baseball in America.
The East Fresno Rotary will continue the theme Wednesday in Cedar
Lanes; however, the North Fresno
Club will delay its program until
Nov. 30 because of the Thanksgiving
holiday. The Fig Garden Club will
meet Friday in Pardini's restaurant.
Stadium: Seating Reduced
Continued From Page A1
loss of only three months" from the
originally planned start of construction because anticipated rainy weather this winter would have forced
delays for extended periods.
"By starting next spring, we're
talking about only one winter now,"
he said. "Had we started as originally scheduled, and completed the
excavation work, we would have
ended up with the biggest mud-hole
in the world. I'd love to see it (1980
opening) as a possibility but I
wouldn't say it's a probability at this
point."
FSU Athletic Director Gene Bour-
det, however, remains optimistic the
project will be completed in time for
the 1980 football season.
"New Mexico State recently com-
jpleted construction of its new 30,000-
seat stadium in 14 months, from the
time they first dug the hole until it
opened," he said. "Of course, you
never know about strikes, or things
like that. But I feel we can get it done
in time."
All those present at Wednesday's
press conference, including committee cochairmen Peters, Lewis Eaton
and Russell Giffen, emphasized the
redesigned 20,000-seat stadium still
will be a first-rate facility.
"We've asked the architect to
eliminate some items that could be
added later," said Eaton, in reference to the additional seating and
lockerroom facility. "We're very
determined here that we don't want
the quality of the stadium to be any
less than originally set out."
Bourdet said the items that inflated the stadium bid most involved
concrete, electrical and earth-moving
costs.
"For example, the stadium lighting system was designed to accommodate night color television coverage," he said. "But NCAA regional
TV is always in the afternoon, so
that's one item that could be altered.
And the sound system was designed
so that sound would flood down over
the entire stadium from the light
towers, but we can go to a more basic system at a substantial savings."
Bourdet and Peters also emphasized that the stadium's earth berm
will be constructed in a way that an
additional 10,000 seats can be added
economically "in the due course of
time." The eliminated 10,000 seats
would have been constructed in the
curved north and south ends of the
stadium.
Bourdet also noted FSU can comply with NCAA Division 1-A criteria
either by averaging 17,000 for football or, in lieu of that, adding a 12th
sport. "We have 11 now," he said,
"and adding one sport is not that big
a problem."
Peters echoed Bourdet's words
that the future course of FSU athletics hinges on the stadium.
"The athletic program will not be
hurt," said Peters, "unless we do not
build a stadium.
"I don't recall any project so readily accepted by the community. I am
confident we will complete the fund
drive successfully and get on with the
work."
"Who knows," grinned Bourdet,
"with this (six-month) extension,
maybe another (Bob) Duncan will
come forward with a major contribution and maybe we'll get those 30,000
seats after all."
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FSU Bids
mg
Sept. 14
ByJOEROSATO
Bee Staff Writer
Proclaiming it a milestone for
Fresno State University, President
Norman A. Baxter announced bids
for the construction of the 30,000 seat
campus stadium will be opened Sept.
14.
Baxter revealed the date at a
press conference Friday and said
approval has been received from all
necessary agencies to call for bids
for the $7.3 million project, a step
which was taken in the trade journals
the same day.
But the drive to raise funds for the
construction still faces a major hurdle.
Leon Peters, co-chairman of the
fund drive steering committee, said
the drive is still about $1 million
short of its goal. More than $5 million
has been raised by donations and
another $1.3 million was received
from the sale of Ratcliffe Stadium.
But Peters said the committee is
confident the funds will be raised by
the time the contract bid has been
awarded.
Calling it a momentous day in
Fresno's history, Peters called the
response to the fund drive phenomenal, adding, "In the years I have
been in Fresno and have worked on
simar projects, I have never seen
such great enthusiasm and such
support..."
He called the prospects "great"
for meeting the final goal.
To work towards that end, an
army of 400 volunteers is being recruited in the hopes it can solicit
enough persons to purchase four tickets each to make up the deficit,
largely in the $500 seat-option category. The seats are between the 18- and
30-yard lines.
Elmer "Bud" Richter said about
1,600 seats remain unsold, which
comes to about $800,000. The average
number of seats sold has been four,
accord to Richter, and that is
what the volunteers will concentrate
on selling.
The big push will come between
Sept. 12 and 29 when the 400 hope to
wrap up the stadium project, said
Richter.
Richter also took the occasion to
show off a sample of the seats which
will be used in the seat-option area of
the stadium.
The seats will be 24 inches wide
instead of the 18 at Ratcliffe, he said.
And.Uiete5wiU-be..niae.Taioi,a:inches---of
leg room.
Baxter said the bids, which will be
considered by trustees of the California State University and Colleges
system, must be awarded or rejected
within 60 days of the Sept. 14 bid
opening.
The natural-turf stadium is
planned on land south of Barstow
Avenue between Cedar and Millbrook
Avenues. It will be surrounded by 40
acres of turfed athletic fields that
will be used for parking during stadium events.
Baxter said groundbreaking will
depend on how soon after Sept. 14 the
See FSU, Page GS
FSU Bids *
Continued From Page CI
contract is awarded. Then it will be
up to the contractor.
Persons interested in joining the
army of 400 volunteers may telephone the stadium development office at 487-1236, Richter said.