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“Old ladies aren’t supposed to know anything about sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll, and motorcycles,” says 84-year-old Marian “Mattie” Hersrud (B.A. ’44). With a delighted laugh, she points out that the two romantic suspense novels she has written—Sweet Thunder and Spirits in Black Leather—prove otherwise. “I had a friend who refused to read my first book,” Hersrud says. “I said, ‘Oh, Mae. I’m sorry. What’s the matter?’ And she said: ‘Well, the language is so terrible!’ And I said: ‘Well, Mae, if you’re hit by a motorcycle, you don’t say, “Oh, darn!”?’?”

Hersrud began writing Sweet Thunder at age 76 and self-published it four years later. Spirits in Black Leather followed in 2006. Both take place at an annual motorcycle rally in the fictional town of Sweet Thunder, South Dakota. In real life, Hersrud and her husband, Morry (B.A. ’43), have lived in Sturgis, South Dakota, home of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, since the mid-1980s. The rally is legendary; last year, its 67th, drew nearly a half-million bikers and their “hogs”—an affectionate term for Harley Davidson motorcycles—to the city of 6,500 nestled at the foot of the Black Hills.

“I didn’t like the rally at first,” Hersrud says. “It was noisy. I couldn’t get to the grocery store. I didn’t like the people who came. But after I stayed awhile and talked to the people, I realized that it was wonderful—a real potpourri of everybody under the sun.” Even better, Hersrud realized that the Sturgis Rally was great fodder for a first novel.

Hersrud, a Twin Cities native, met Morry at the University of Minnesota. After graduation they moved to South Dakota, where Hersrud raised their four children and volunteered on state educational and cultural boards. She did a bit of freelance writing, but mostly she wrote for friends and acquaintances. “People would say, ‘Oh, Joe is having a birthday party. Why don’t you write a skit? It’s so easy for you!’?”

The Hersruds winter in Naples, Florida, where they are active in the UMAA chapter there. Hersrud belongs to the Southwest Florida Romance Writers, and she rises at 6 a.m. every day to write. “I do my best writing then,” she says. “I lose complete track of time; it’s exhilarating! It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to do it—and then you go back and read it, and some of it is pretty good, and some of it is terrible! Writing is rewriting. Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.”

She’s now writing a murder mystery set in Maine and a cookbook. She recently sent Spirits in Black Leather to Jay Leno, a Sturgis Rally regular, and he called to thank her personally. Next summer will find her back at the rally, where she’ll be signing books at a nearby campground, a bookstore, and maybe some Harley-Davidson dealerships.

“Last year I made a big sign that said, ‘Yes, Virginia, hogs can read,’?” she says. “That was fun!”

—Patricia Kelly

Member Spotlight: Valerie Jo Oliver, Strings Attached

Like most kids who pick up a yo-yo, Valerie Jo Oliver (B.S. ’81) learned a few classic tricks: walk the dog, rock the baby, around the world. But unlike most kids, she didn’t stop there. Oliver was a state champion yo-yo player before she finished high school and for more than a decade has used her yo-yo skills to build two successful businesses.

Growing up in Edina, Minnesota, Oliver was introduced to the toy when she was 5 years old by a yo-yo salesman who traveled around to drugstores to sell his wares. She and her older brother followed him from store to store, watching his presentations and trying to learn his tricks. “It’s a self-motivating toy,” Oliver says. “You can carry it around in your pocket, and with just a little instruction you can succeed fairly quickly.”

Oliver put the yo-yo down after a few years, but picked it up again in high school when the toy skyrocketed in popularity. Oliver won top honor at Minnesota’s state yo-yo competition in 1972 before setting the yo-yo down again.

When the toy’s popularity rebounded once again, in the mid-1990s, Oliver used her yo-yo skills to develop a presentation for schools called “The Science of Spin.” Using toys like yo-yos, spinning tops, Frisbees, and gyroscopes, she teaches math and science concepts to elementary- and middle-school kids while also entertaining them. She has found eager audiences in classrooms as far away as Australia; indeed, science teachers loved the program for introducing kids to complex physics principles, and physical education teachers were able to incorporate the activity into their gym classes to teach hand-eye coordination and catching skills. “It’s a way to build confidence and show the benefits of practice,” Oliver explains.

She points out that it’s also an affordable hobby, even for a demographic whose primary income is a weekly allowance. While some of the more sophisticated yo-yos (ball-bearing, rim-weighted, or aluminum) cost more than $100, a perfectly serviceable yo-yo costs about $6.

It’s been more than a decade since Oliver began offering Science of Spin presentations, and she attributes a measure of her success to the business degree she earned from the University of Minnesota.

“There are a lot of people who can yo-yo, but you’ve also got to manage the business,” she says. “You’ve got to get contacts, call schools, make bookings, do the accounts receivable. There are so many hats.”

While performing shows, she connected with Dale Oliver, another presenter, who later became her husband. Together, they started Spintastics, a business that makes and sells yo-yos and other spinning toys. “The Science of Spin” is now a program of Spintastics, and Valerie Jo is vice president of the company, which is based in Euless, Texas.

With business booming and her spin presentations a hot ticket, what’s next for Oliver? Whirled domination may be a safe bet.

—Erin Peterson

Two Brilliant Stars, One Special Night
National President, Dennis Schulstad, B.A. '66

This is the time of year when we purchase new calendars and begin penciling in important events we don’t want to miss. Tuesday, May 8, is a date you should circle in ink. That’s the evening of the 2007 Alumni Association Annual Celebration, and I know you’ll want to be there.

Every year, the UMAA national president plays a major role in planning the program for the annual meeting. Last year, my predecessor, Bob Stein (B.S. ’60, J.D. 61), invited his friend Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to speak to 4,200 alumni and friends in Northrop Auditorium. It was a memorable evening. For the 2007 annual meeting, my goals were to feature University of Minnesota alumni as headliners and to celebrate the construction of a new on-campus stadium.

Who among our alumni better epitomizes everything good about college athletics and has achieved greater football fame than Tony Dungy (B.S. ’78)? He was the starting quarterback for the Gophers (1973–76) and was selected as the team’s most valuable player twice. After graduating from the University, his professional football career included a Super Bowl win playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has been an assistant coach for both the Gophers and the Vikings, and as a highly respected and successful professional head coach—first with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now the Indianapolis Colts—he has the second-best regular season winning record of any current NFL coach. When we needed a final push at the Minnesota State Legislature to approve the stadium, it was Tony Dungy who returned home, stood on the capitol steps, and articulated the value of being connected to our campus. Tony is a popular and compelling speaker and has graciously agreed to be the keynote speaker at our annual celebration.

Since the football stadium will also be home to our magnificent marching band, I wanted our annual celebration to include a star graduate of the School of Music too. My wife, Pam, suggested Stan Freese (B.S. ’67).

Have you ever heard a performance of the “Flight of the Bumblebee”? It’s a fast and difficult piece to play on any musical instrument and nearly impossible on the tuba. I will always remember Stan doing just that when we were students at the University and he was in the concert band. Many considered him to be the best tuba soloist in the nation (some would say in the world). When the University of Minnesota Concert Band was invited to tour the Soviet Union in 1969, during the Cold War, Stan had already graduated but was invited along as the featured soloist, and they made headlines throughout the U.S.S.R.

Upon returning home, Stan joined the Walt Disney Company and, in the past 35 years, has served as director of bands, musical show director, and talent booking and casting director—his current role. Music runs in the Freese family. One of his sons plays drums with Sting, the other plays keyboards with Green Day, and both of Stan’s parents taught music in the Twin Cities. Who better to represent our band than Stan Freese? Stan will speak about his music education and career and perform with members of the University of Minnesota Marching Band at the annual celebration.

This year, the annual celebration dinner and program will be held in Mariucci Arena, right across from the football stadium site. For event details and ticket information, watch Minnesota magazine, visit www.alumni.umn.edu, or call 612-624-2323. In the meantime, mark your calendar now. Save May 8, 2007, and plan on a very special evening.

Alumni for a Lifetime
UMAA CEO Margaret Sughrue Carlson, Ph.D. '83

“Lifetime commitment.” It’s an expression commonly associated with romantic relationships or personal goals like staying fit. Increasingly, membership organizations—including the University of Minnesota Alumni Association—are embracing this concept as well. Our goal is to increase UMAA life members by 5 percent by this June, and we need your help.

Why is this such an important goal? Life membership ensures a constant and continuing connection to the University. It’s an emphatic declaration of loyalty, pride, and support. The more life members we have, the more influence we have advocating for the University.

Life memberships are especially important because those dues are invested in an endowment whose dividends provide a stable source of support for key initiatives such as legislative advocacy, mentoring, collegiate support, geographic programs, and alumni, faculty, and student recognition.

Life members never have to worry about annual dues, dues reminders, or dues increases ever again. They receive the same benefits as annual members, plus a unique gift and special recognition in Minnesota magazine and on our Web site.

Perhaps you’ve considered becoming a life member but the lump sum payment and the installment plan aren’t feasible. We’re now offering a new method of payment: electronic funds transfer. You may already use automatic transfers from your bank account to pay your mortgage or monthly bills. Under this payment method, a single life membership costs $20 for 29 months ($25.50 for a joint membership). If you’re 65 or older, a single life membership costs $18.50 for 20 months ($21 for a joint membership).

I asked a handful of UMAA life members why they stepped up and made a lifetime commitment. Here’s what they said:

Marcia Carthaus (Ed.D. ’73), a retired Edina special education director, adjunct professor, and “snowbird” in Florida: “Carrying the gold UMAA life membership card gives me a sense of commitment, because I believe in the UMAA’s mission, and a sense of joy, because it reminds me of the outstanding education that I received at the U and the fulfilling career that it brought me.”

Matt Clark (B.S. ’01), who works in the Twin Cities banking industry: “I want to help ensure that many more generations of U students have the opportunities that I’ve had, and life membership makes my long-term commitment to this possible and easy.”

Joel Bergstrom (B.A. ’96), a fundraiser for diabetes research at the U: “I became a life member because I wanted to ensure that I would always be in touch with the University. At the time I joined, I lived in New York and valued the very real connection to the University and Minnesota that the UMAA provided through Minnesota magazine, the New York alumni chapter, and other important programs.”

And Bob Calmenson (B.S. ’71, M.S. ’73), a California human resources consultant: “The University made an indelible, positive impression on my life, and I take great pride in supporting such a premier school.”

If you already are one of the UMAA’s nearly 13,000 life members, I sincerely thank you. If not, I ask that you consider making this commitment. Visit www.alumni.umn.edu/life to see how easy, affordable, and satisfying a life membership is. You are alumni of this eminent university for a lifetime, so why not make a lifetime commitment to its greatness?