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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
30 Wednesday,February24,2016The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon A memory of Jesse Owens By Karly Lusby Columnist The highest price ever paidforapieceofOlympic memorabilia occurred in December 2013, a medal belonging to Jesse Owens that sold at an online auc- tionfor$1.47million.News ofthesalebroughttomind a story I was told by my dad—anditcomestomind again as the movie “Race” premiers. My grandfather was a fire marshal in Munich, Germanybeforeandduring WorldWarII.Hisworktook himtoBerlinin1936andhe tookhis8-year-oldsonwith him;thisman,KarlEichner, wasmyfather.Itwasatime when kids could run free andasOpahadmeetingsall day my dad made his way totheOlympicstadiumand snuckin;hewasalwaysvery resourceful.Itwasanespe- cially auspicious day, as it wasthedaythatJesseOwens won his four gold medals anddadsawitall.Hespoke aboutthatdaywithaweand wonderthroughouthislife. Following the war, my dadcametotheUnitedStates asoneofthefirstFulbright Scholars. Out West Realty — Serving all of Central Oregon — This organization was foundedbyabillintheU.S. Congress, and its goal was to heal wounds caused by the war through exchange students. Dad attended Cornell University, and a formerJapanesesoldierwas his roommate … which is anotherstory. At the end of the one- year program he returned to Germany, yet remained charmedbyhisexperiences in the U.S. So he returned twoyearslater. Working as a handyman inupstateNewYorkhewas hired to help lay a kitchen floor. When he arrived he wassurprisedtofindthatthe manthathiredhimwasnone otherthanJesseOwens. As dad worked they talked, they talked about the war and the Olympics. Theywerebothtakenaback that an eight-year-old boy that had seen Jesse’s glory wasnowlayinglinoleumin Jesse’skitchen.Jesseshared thathehadlostthreeofhis goldmedalsandwasterribly upsetaboutit(themedalsold attheauctionwastheonehe hadgiventohisdearfriend Bill“Bojangles”Robinson). T h e U . S . O l y m p i c Committee had been of no help. My dad had an idea Jesse thought was crazy. What if Jesse were to con- tact the German Olympic Federation instead and ask them for help. Dad offered towritetheletterinGerman; askepticalJesseagreed.The GermanOlympicFederation respondedandJessewassur- prisedandgratefultoreceive a full set of replacement medals. Their lives took them in verydifferentdirectionsand they did not stay in touch exceptforaphonecallmade tothankmydadshortlyafter the medals arrived. Before Google and the Internet, a lotofinformationaboutthe war and the days follow- ing it, and people’s stories, have been lost. Documents weremisplacedordisposed of,tossedawayneverknow- ingtheirplaceinthefuture, andapapertrailisnoteasy to find. My dad was many thingsbutIneverknewhim tolieorexaggerate,hewas vehementlyhonest.Alotof differentfamilymembersfar outonthelimbsofthefam- ily tree had often told me thesamestoryandIhaveno reason to doubt it.There is documentationthatthemed- alswerereplacedandthatis aboutallIhavebeenableto find. Mydaddiedafewyears backandIaskedhimabout that, and other, stories he had told me about his life andheonceagainshookhis grizzledheadinamazement ofthosememorabledaysand theamazingcoincidenceof being a tiny part of Jesse’s story. AformerGermansoldier and the black athlete from America, a handyman and an Olympic champion, and awarpedfloorconspiredto bringthemtogether,andthis former enemy combatant helped replace medals that hadbeenlost. The full set of Jesse’s replacement medals now resides at his alma mater, OhioStateUniversity.Ilook forwardtoseeingthemone day. Reference: http://espn. go.com/olympics/trackand field/story/_/id/10101684/ jesse-owens-gold-medal- 1936-olympics-sells-147- million Gorayeb has earned principal broker license Kimberly Gorayeb of MetoliusPropertySaleshas earnedherprincipalbroker’s license. Becomingaprincipalbro- kerrequiressubstantialcon- tinuing education, testing, andlicensing. A principal broker is qualified to supervise other brokers in a firm, though thatisnotGorayeb’sroleat MetoliusPropertySales.She told The Nugget the further education in the field will allowhertomoreeffectively and efficiently serve her clients. NuggetNews.com is your online source for Breaking News Classifieds | Weather Road Reports Quality Truck-mounted CARPET CLEANING n Quality Cleaning 13 years i s! Reasonable Prices Sister ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL Award-Winning Home Builder & Renovator 541-549-1575 • LaredoConstruction.com Maintenance • Repairs • Insurance Work CCB#194489 Principal Broker ABR, CDPE,CIAS, GRI, SRES 541-480-0183 www.sandygoodsell.com Licensed Broker in the State of Oregon This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper in support of Deschutes Land Trust.
