Funny Bones
Rings of Yore
Select excerpts from the IBM Ring Reports archive...
Linking Ring Vol. 52 No. 4
Apr 1972
Secretary Charles Ruff's shares his gift of writing….
On February 11 the Duke Stern Ring held a Charter-Night Banquet at Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor. An attendance of 98 attests that our small ring has won some good friends embracing a wide area. Kissells, Conklins, Osbornes and numerous other exotic species of magic birds flew in from all parts. "Close-ups at Poolside" featured Jim Wallace, Graham Putnam and Dennis Loomis.
Even without the cocktails, you couldn't have asked for a nicer warmup to the excellent dinner which followed. The genial Doug Dean, Territorial V P for Michigan, came over to present our permanent Charter. The secretary presented excerpts from his curious and maudlin "History?!" of the ring. There was scarecly a dry eye present amongstthese lovable dingalings.
Putnam manned the M C-chores as a strange specie from Midland swooped intothe opening spot. Our good friend, and no outsider to this group, Gene Anderson slew (in the more acceptable sense) his audience with his tightly-timed and hilarious Pitchman routine. Our favorite 10-year-old charmer, Diane Petersen, graced the stage with her truly talented vent-act. Lyle (Lolly) Richards, his wife and a most tolerant stooge followed all of this with comico-magic -cum-mayhem surrounding a "decapitation".Our own beloved Family of Magic the Moorehouses (Henry, Vera, Kim and Buddy) performed a smooth kaleidoscope of silk, doves and suspension effects. It is an act that is both pretty and pleasing. Our teen-hero Jeff Wawrzaszek wowed us with a new and skilled routining of the dancing ring on rope. A delightful evening was topped, like frostng on the cake, by Dennis Loomis and Bonnie. They premiered their newly-built Zig-Zag Girl Ilusion —a pretty box, a prettier girl and a smoothly professional presentation!
