Shadow box

Edit: the name is now Western Technical College. Former names:

1912-17: La Crosse Continuation and Adult Schools
1917-36: La Crosse Vocational School
1936-65: Coleman Vocational and Adult Schools
1965-68: Coleman Technical Institute
1968-87: Western Wisconsin Technical Institute (WWTI)
1987-2006: Western Wisconsin Technical College (WWTC)
2006-present: Western Technical College
(In March 1972 WWTI was Awarded Accreditation by the North Central Association, now known as HLC, the Higher Learning Commission).

Back in the early '70s, the name was Western Wisconsin Technical Institute (WWTI) and had always been an adult vocational school. I went through the two-year Visual Communications - Associate of Applied Science degree program. We were the second ever class, so, those in the class before us were the real guinea pigs. We just took their places. It was a wonderful experience. I was just out of the Navy and on my own. What a great feeling.

I studied harder during those two years than I had ever done before, and it paid off big time. I landed the Audiovisual Specialist position at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center* where I set up shop under the Department of Education. Within six months, I had also become the hospital's medical photographer. I was also a member of the Naval Reserve in La Crosse. I left in August of 1977 for a contract with Lockheed Aircraft International in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A bit of my heart will always be overlooking La Crosse from Grandad's Bluff. If you've ever been there, you will know what I mean.

*SFH is now Franciscan Skemp Medical Center and is affiliated with Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota.

- - - - Here's a funny story, kind of . . .

Between my two years at Western Wisconsin Technical Institute, 73-75, I took a summer job at Rowley's Office Supply. It was the summer of 1974, and it was just a summer job, as the school didn't have enough courses in my field during the summer months to make it worth while for my GI Bill, so I walked two blocks down the street and managed to get a delivery driver job at Rowleys (at 100 3rd Street and Main).

They had a big white Dodge van which was used to go out to all of the county's schools and pick up all of their typewriters, for summer maintenance and clean up, which Rowley's specalized in. Actually, we covered the Tri-State area of western Wisconsin, south-east Minnesota and north-east Iowa. Anyhow, about the second week I was there, one night, the van was stolen and the kids that did it took it up and drove it off of one of the bluffs. The very next day, a Pinto showed up, and I had to make the best of it for deliveries.

Oddly enough, by the end of June, I was moved up to the second floor to the maintenance and repair department to clean those hundreds of typewriters, when suddenly the guy that made their rubber stamps died. I had printing in my background and knew how to operate a letter press, which meant... I knew how to set cold type, which is exactly what they needed for someone to make rubber stamps.

It was really a great summer job, and when it was time to enroll in the fall courses I told Ol Man Rowley that I would be leaving in a week to resume my studies. He was mad as hell, shouting that he wanted me to go to IBM's repair school and work in the repair department. I thanked him, but said no, I plan to continue with my degree at WWTI... HE FIRED ME ON THE SPOT. I can't help but laugh as I type this. He really was ... mad as hell. LOL

Newspaper article: Publication / The La Crosse Tribune / Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin
Issue Date: Wednesday, February 19, 1975
Page: Page 17...

February 19,1975—17 ELECTION COVERAGE — Members of the Television II class at Western Wisconsin Technical Institute provided live coverage of primary election returns from City Hall last night. Mary Frauen interviewed Nancy Gerrard who won the most votes in the school board race. At left, Don Schmitt and Lynn Rice, both of La Crosse, operated the TV control panel from a side room. The students used equipment provided by a local cable TV company. Students Televise Returns WWTI Class Covers Action At City Hall By MARY KAY MELCHER Tribune Journalism Intern Improvisation in television production is a sport for good sports. Last night, 10 good sports from Western Wisconsin Technical Institute produced their first live television program — the primary election returns — without a script and on a week’s notice. The event was staged on the balcony outside the City Clerk's office. The 10 are members of the Television II class at WWTI. They produced the program as a class project, using equipment provided by a local cable television firm. Since last September, they have produced taped tele casts three times a week on Tele PrompTer’s Channel 5, but they had never done a live show. The crew had designed a system whereby the phoned-in election tallies were read through headphones to another crew member on the stage area who marked them on the display board for the home audience. Twenty minutes before air time, the crew was one man short, someone to handle phone work in the City Clerk’s office. With a little juggling of positions, someone was found to handle the phone work. Meanwhile, director Lynn Rice and her cameramen Barbara Johnson and Pete Bolcerek were trying camera shots. They had never used the equipment before and were not certain what technical problems they might run into. And they knew in a live performance there would be no chance to go back and cut out mistakes. Several members of the crew had been working since 1 p.m. to set up the props, microphones and lights and to watch the TelePrompTer engineers set up the cameras and the visual and sound control panel. With no script to work from, they could only guess what areas of the set would need lighting. With five minutes to go, commentators Steve Loomis and Mary Frauen rehearsed their opening lines so sound engineer Don Schmitt could get an audio equal on "What's Happening", the program's title.

Note: It was this kind of education that Karl Friedline gave us. Challenges for the Real World, which I took with me and spent my entire working life using the skills I learned at WWTI. Also, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, just down the street, filed a letter of complaint stating that we (the WWTI students) were not qualified to do such an event. In fact, I believe they may have been referring to themselves and their own students.

I got discharged in June 1973 and enrolled at a technical college in the fall. One night I chipped a tooth, big time. So, I went to a local dentist, with my empty pockets, and he asked me... when did you get discharged?? -- "About five months ago" --

As luck would have it, he had been in the Navy, as an officer and dentist. According to him, I was covered for six months after my discharge. Well, a crown, actually two, one with a root canal, and the removal of my wisdom teeth, he billed the government. Not long after that, I got this letter, and a bus fare, to report to the VA across the state in Madison, Wisconsin. OK, I can still follow orders... I got there, sat in the lobby, was finally brought in and all they did was to look at the work that had been done and then they sent me on my way. All they wanted to see was that what they got billed for had been done. End of story.

Loomis, Steven, IC3