We Crimson
Vol 62 No. 12
March 18, 1977
Jerry Clower to appear on Campus March 31
Jerry Clower is his real name.
The stories he tells really hap¬
pened.
The laughter that greets these
stories is the real thing. Not can¬
ned.
Jerry Clower is a humorist with
albums which tickle the nation’s
funnybone. He’s made guest ap¬
pearances on top shows in
television and radio, and requests
pour in for engagements as
Samford captures 1 7th
Freedoms Foundation Award
Samford University has won its
17th consecutive award from the
Freedoms Foundation of Valley
Forge.
In awarding the plaque and
George Washington Honor
Medal, the Foundation com¬
mended Samford for its multi¬
phase program of “outstanding
accomplishment in helping to
achieve a better understanding of
America and Americanism.”
The theme of this year’s
presentation was “For Our Third
Century-Resolute American
Citizenship, Deep Faith, Loyal
Hearts, Hard Work.”
The Samford University School
of Music received special praise
for its vast accomplishments
during the past year. The Bicen¬
tennial year found Samford’s
Hear and Now Singers and the A
Cappella Choir performing in a
variety of patriotic programs
across the country. The Hear and
Now Singers represented
Alabama in a salute to the states
and territories program in
Philadelphia. The A Cappella
Choir was cited for its per¬
formance at the President's
Breakfast in Washington, D.C.,
and for its participation in
musical programs at the
Alabama Baptist State Con¬
vention and Veteran's Awards
Dinner in Birmingham.
The Foundation saluted Dean
Margaret Sizemore, President’s
Assistant for Community Affairs,
for her involvement in enriching
University-Community relations.
As Chairman of the Bicen¬
tennial Committee, Dean
Sizemore was cited for her efforts
in Samford being the first univer¬
sity in the nation to be designated
a Model Bicentennial Com¬
munity.
Other Samford programs cited
by the Foundation were the
School of Business, which spon¬
sors a chair free enterprise and a
model training agency for
teachers of business and
economics, a citizenship seminar
for high schoolers which is co¬
sponsored by Civitan In¬
ternational, various religious ac¬
tivities, Cumberland School of
Law for its outstanding Student
Bar Association and Law Day
program, the championship
debate team, the School of Phar¬
macy for its community service
programs, the Colonial Dames
essay contest, outstanding con¬
vocation programs, and
seminars conducted at Valley
Forge, Pa., for Samford faculty
members.
speaker and professional en¬
tertainer. But there’s more.
Jerry Clower is a salesman. He
sells the really good
life— laughter, remembering the
fun you’ve had, the friends, the
simple things you enjoyed, the
humorous side of even the bad
times. Listening to Jerry’s
stories of life in Amite County,
Mississippi may just be the most
delightful entertainment you can
recall.
Listening to Jerry is not merely
listening, because Jerry does
more than tell a story funny: he
carries his audience along with
him, on that coon hunt or
whatever. The locale may be
regional, but the humor is univer¬
sal.
What is it that makes Jerry a
good entertainer? What it is can
be seeen surfacing in his
background: His mother says
that he was always talking. It’s
as natural for Jerry to tell a story
as it is for a politician to make a
promise. In school he made
straight A’s in subjects involving
reading and remembering, such
as history and civics. At the drop
of a quotation, Jerry will launch
into a biography of Shakespeare,
giving dates, places, plays. He
can remember exactly how that
page of his literature book
looked. This unique ability to
remember now brings to his mind
in living local color the events of
his younger days. Jerry is not
delivering material conjured up
by a staff of writers. TTie basic
part of every story is, to quote
him, “something real that has
happened to me or almost hap¬
pened!”
Jerry’s growing up was typical
of country boys all over America.
He loved sports and with his
friends, sat glued to the battery
radio listening to ballgames. His
favorite food was french fries
with molasses, but home-raised
groceries included hog meat,
biscuits, chicken, sweet potatoes,
and don’t knock it if you’ve never
played tackle in the line. He
fairly enjoyed going to school and
did not miss a single day from the
first grade through the twelfth.
Catching a school bus for more
than two thousand mornings
wasn’t easy, but it was important
to Jerry to be with the other kids,
to see who was there and to play
with them at recess. Jerry loves
people, you see. And to take a
small liberty with Will Rogers’
saying, Jerry never met a man
who didn’t like him.
At home Jerry and an older
brother, Bill (Sonny), shared the
chores. Jerry did the milking and
’tended to the cattle and took his
turn building the fire each mor¬
ning — one in the summertime (in
the kitchen stove), two in the win¬
ter.
The fertile imagination
received early cultivation: Jerry
and his friends were resourceful
at developing their own en¬
tertainment. A Saturday af¬
ternoon when they were not
working would find them in the
pasture having a rodeo, which
meant rounding up a bunch of
calves and riding them. Or down
at the creek playing ’gator. Or
Tarzan. Or they might go to coon
or rabbit hunting. They didn’t sit
around waiting for a recreation
director to come and organize a
game.
Jerry finished high school one
night and joined the Navy the
next day. Afterwards, he got his
college education at Southwest
Mississippi Junior College and
Mississippi State University,
where he resumed his love affair
with sports and played football.
Since that time the romance con¬
tinues with Jerry as spectator,
booster, active alumnus,
president of Touchdown Club and
Youth Baseball, and the loudest-
mouthed parent in the stands.
Receiving his degree in
Agriculture, Jerry was an
BIRMINGHAM— Dr. George
K. Schweitzer, Distinguished
Professor of Chemistry, Univer¬
sity of Tennessee, will be at Sam¬
ford University March 21-22 as
this year’s Thomas F. Staley
Foundation lecturer.
Dr. Schweitzer will lecture
Monday, March 21, at 10:10 a.m.
in the Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts
Center Concert Hall on the topic
“Cosmic Drama”, and again at 8
p.m. in Reid Chapel speaking
about “Life On Other Planets”.
He will lecture Tuesday, March
22, at 11 a.m. in Reid Chapel
abouthe “The Christian Clue”.
The public is invited.
The Thomas F. Staley Foun¬
dation is a private, non-profit
organization established to fur¬
ther the evangelical witness of
the Christian Church, with a par¬
ticular concern for college
students.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa,
Dr. Schweitzer holds doctor’s
degrees in chemistry,
philosophy, and science history.
He has over 120 publications to
his credit and has served as
scientific consultant to numerous
academic, industrial and govern¬
ment agencies. Dr. Schweitzer is
a lecturer in the University
Seminars in Religion program at
the University of Tennessee.
Assistant County Agent for a
couple of years. Then, main¬
taining his close ties with the soil,
he began selling fertilizer to far¬
mers. For 18 years he was em¬
ployed by Mississippi Chemical
Corporation, a manufacturer of
chemical plant foods, where he
rose to the position of Director of
Field Services. The most unique
crop from that fertilizer peddling
was a whole new career for Jerry
himself.
To improve the selling he
began the telling. The audince
response was so great that a
record album was inevitable.
Through the suggestion and help
of friends, who saw the potential
entertainer in his strapping
salesman, the first album was
produced, “Jerry Clower from
Yazoo City, Mississippi,
Talkin’.”
A second album followed, and
Jerry’s career gathered momen¬
tum. Today, he is one of the
leading album sellers for MCA
Records, with six chart-busting
LP’s.
When Jerry was old enough to
hold up his head and focus his
eyes, he fastened them on
Continued on page 2
Dr. Schweitzer
Dr. Schweitzer has made ad¬
dresses on science, philosophy,
and religion on over 400 univer¬
sity campuses, and is a popular
speaker for service, professional
and religious groups. A Missouri
native, Dr. Schwietzer is a mem¬
ber of First Baptist Church,
Knoxville, Tenn.
Besides sponsoring a speakers
bureau, the Foundation offers
scholarships and promotes
Christian programs at colleges
and universities.
Dr. Schweitzer to lecture
iamfQEd
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