1950

The signs have come. Finally. Touches of yellow in the maples; red in the sumacs. Shorter evenings. Cool nights. Summer ends. The new year, the school year, begins. Gridiron gleanings: the pickings are thin. Two years ago, a sophomore quarterback took over after injuries had sidelined Stafford and Polsinello. Mike Caraviello guided the team to a share of the Ivy title. Now he is first string on his own merits, but his supporting cast appears to be weak. Weissman may run for some gains, provided the offensive line can move off the ball. In summary, prospects are dim.

On more than one occasion, my scorn for the College Football Association (CFA) has found an outlet in this column. The CFA, lest you have forgotten, consists of the college football powers. Their ploy was to squeeze out lesser teams, including the Ivy League, and to corner all the television dollars for themselves. As a selfish, quasi-professional group the CFA sued the NCAA to obtain rights independently to contract for television appearances. And for lots of money. They won the battle.

The CFA won the battle. That's the bad news. Yet it seems that they have lost the war.

A digression. Ten or so years ago the major radio networks broadcast a number of college games, including, at least in the Northeast, the Ivy League game-of-the-week. Then the broadcasts dried up. For a while WQXR, usually known as a classical music station run by The New York Times, carried the Ivies. A number of classic struggles are treasured memories because of those broadcasts. Recently, even that outlet was lost. The entire spectrum of AM or FM was devoid of college football on a Saturday afternoon. One game was on Channel 7 (ABC) and who cares about Alabama versus Auburn. Forget about information from Memorial Field. Wait for the Sunday paper for the scores.

Suddenly, the situation has changed. The CFA schools have won their exposure. However, the monopoly, the NCAA monopoly, is over; every network, including the cable franchises, can now bid for games. College football is back on every channel throughout the afternoon. Best of all, there is even a game-of-the-week for the Ivies. The CFA teams play their games, but and here is the point where they lost the war their dollar return is significantly lower in a competitive market.

Patchogue, out on the Island, is a town of clams, summer visitors, and glimpses of the Atlantic on the other side of Fire Island across the Great South Bay. Patchogue is also the home of Swezey's Department Store. Its president is Kim Swezey, whose grandfather founded the store. Recently, Kim was elected to the board of trustees of the Union Savings Bank of Patchogue. The election highlights an old association between the Swezey family and the bank, which opened for business in 1896 on the second floor of the department store. The bank's founder was one of Kim's uncles. When Kim was elected, the bank's president observed, "Kim brings to Union a broad business background with particular expertise in retail marketing." Union hopes to extend its hold on the Suffolk County market.

After graduation Kim continued his studies at the New York University School of Retailing. He then joined the family store to hone his skills, and by 1965 he was qualified to become president. He has also served as president of the Brookhaven YMCA and the Patchogue Rotary Club. He was an officer and a member of the board of the Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. Kim married Nancy Hunt in 1951; their family includes six children and one grandchild (so far). They live in Sayville and enjoy the life of exurbia on the bay.

One of the new television shows this fall will be "Hot Pursuit" (NBC, 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday). The storyline is like that of "The Fugitive" back in the 19605, except that a couple instead of a lone man are on the run. The only important fact, however, is that Tom O'Connell appears in the second episode. His role is a hard-nosed Seattle police detective who attempts to locate a mentally disturbed woman who is being helped by the fugitive couple. Catch a rerun.

Tidbits here and there: Dick Echikson is a partner in Ricklin-Echikson Associates, a new human resources consulting firm, whose specialty is executive outplacement (a humanitarian function to help fired executives to find new jobs). Next month's feature will be "Life in the 'Future Tents'" by Parton Keese, whose backhand must be suffering. As the new executive vice president of Dunwoody, Robson, McGladrey, and Pullen, an international accounting firm, Jim Halsey roams to such exotic locales as Japan, Australia, and Singapore, at al. Dave Hitchcock is in from the cold and living in New London, N.H., or Washington, depending upon the season. A childhood's learning of history through Westerns has been shattered by the reading of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Newc Eldredge tours Bavaria, Austria, and Italy to set up yet another three-week reunion of that fabled fighting force, the Tenth Mountain Division.

Time is up. Time is out of warp. It is still too early to think about the fall foliage. The time will come. It will come and be long since past before you read about my anticipation. So be it. Have a happy turkey-time. In the meantime, cheers.

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