Rebirth of Booster Club

By Jack Williams

When 11 students met on the third floor of Nicholson Library last year and conspired to resurrect a defunct social club, they were taking a page right out of Booster Club history. More than 60 years ago, Robert Reardon and David Howton met in the library — then located in Old Main — to revive a club that was supposed to “pound the drum” for Raven athletics. Reardon and Howton wrote the constitution for a new club and left the library with the beginnings the Booster Club.

That club, which would eventually become the most prestigious social club on campus, was launched to boost not just ballgames but the broader religious, social and service aims of the college in the late ’30s. AU Booster culture would thrive for the next 50 years, as the club hosted retreats, formals, all school musicals, Christmas parties, Humbleman’s Holiday and service projects while competing vigorously against other clubs in sports such as football, tennis, swimming, softball and golf. But behind all Booster events and projects was a single mission: to show Christian leadership in action.

So who would have thought that just a few years after the Boosters’ 50th anniversary, interest in the club would wane so completely that the Booster club song would go unheard — and unheisted — until the next generation of Boosters arrived.

John and Joel Frymire of Fresno, Calif., were two of the 11 students who met that day in the library to plot the Booster Club’s comeback. As the sons of Booster alum Jeff Frymire BA ’75, MA ’87, MDiv ’91, the brothers were schooled in Booster lore. Their mother, Joanie Williams Frymire BA ’75, once served as a Booster belle and an older brother, Douglas Walter BA ’87, had also been a Booster.

“Our father used to recall what an impact the Booster Club had on his life,” says Joel, a sophomore. “It just gave us a heart for the club.”

Now a senior, John spent much his sophomore year talking up the club with fellow students and past Booster members.

“We wanted to be something big in Anderson’s history,” says John. “We didn’t want to be a party club. We wanted to build character for leadership and ministry.”

To learn more about a club that had been borne of such a mission, the Frymire brothers and Steve Pierce conferred with faculty members who were Booster alums, as well as administrators, on the prospects of bringing the club back to life. One professor they encountered was Dr. Merle Strege BA ’69, MDiv ’72, professor of Bible and religion and a Booster during the late ’60s. Believing that the Booster Club void had never been filled, Strege was enthusiastic when the students asked him to serve as faculty advisor.

“They had done their homework and they were really connecting with the main themes of Booster traditions,” says Strege. “I also thought that the new leaders were wise in understanding that you can’t replicate the past. They wanted to move forward and write a new chapter for the Boosters.”

In October more than 10 percent of those on the club’s alumni mailing list turned out for a Booster Club reunion breakfast during Homecoming. Including spouses and new Boosters, a crowd of nearly 100 squeezed into Kane Dining Room to sing the club song, or, as Boosters have coined the phrase, “heist the tune.”

In addition to “heisting the tune,” the newest Boosters were introduced — and to a rousing ovation.

“I’d have to say it was a turning point when they erupted into applause,” says Joel. “I think the guys seemed more inspired and more excited about the club than before.”

Another highlight was a “keynote” address from charter member and 1938 Booster president and AU president emeritus, Robert Reardon, who actually heisted, or adopted, the Booster tune from a Nelson Eddy song that was featured in a Hollywood movie.

“When we started to sing, the old spirit came back,” he said, noting that the song has been sung at Booster gatherings since his student days.

Reardon is excited about the rebirth of his humble Boosters. “These guys have a sense of idealism and people are attracted to idealism,” he said. “If they can get pointed in the right direction — and with the right goals — it could become a good club again.”