65 Comments

Thank you so much for covering our Coach. Aum was truly a giant among men and 1 in 7 billion. We will rename this stadium after him and every kid that ever goes to MHS will know his name.

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I love this!!!

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Thanks John. Another gem of an article. I really love how you sprinkle in these personal accounts of real people, in the midst of all the national sports topics that need to be covered. Never met or heard of coach Aum, but I feel like I'm a better person now that I know about him.

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Well said.

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Mr. Fahey was right - take nothing for granted.

I had a wonderful high school football coach - Dick Brown, Canby High School. A great man. He did more for me than I could ever describe...and I wasn't alone, he gave everything for every student he knew. I had not spoken with him for many years - probably decades - after graduating. I called him out of the blue one day and we had an absolutely wonderful conversation. I could hear the excitement in his voice as he hollered my name to his wife in the other room. We spoke for quite some time, and I told him how much I appreciated all he had done for me. Two weeks later he had passed away. Far too often I've been too late making these calls and expressing my feelings. I give thanks often that I wasn't too late with Coach Brown.

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Rich, it’s so great you made that call to your coach Brown. Mrs. Fahey remembered that too

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Both of these gentlemen sound like the kind of people we need way more of. RIP to both.

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I knew coach Roland A. for the entire time he coached Football at Milwaukee. As a current FB official I had many encounters with him in the last 30 years and marveled how he always strolled the sideline in shorts and a T-shirt regardless of the weather..He always put the kids first ahead of the game ..many times he simply told me if any player gives you any issues you tell ME and I'll take care of the problem...He will be truly missed from this day forward...RIP coach.

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Robb, like you, I got to know Coach Roland by officiating Milwaukee games. In my younger official life, I worked the sidelines, and as you said, he told me the same thing. Let me know if you have any problems and I will take care of them. Always in shorts and T-Shirt.

He loved the school and those kids. I so admired him. God bless him and my thoughts and prayers are with his family.

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We lost a good guy for sure...nice to hear from you Dave...take care of yourself in retirement

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You to!

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Awesome story Robb!

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Your very kind to say so...Thank you

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You are such a gifted writer and are able to provide your readers with personalized stories. By the end of each of these columns, we feel we know the people! Today’s story is another excellent piece. Thank you, John.

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In my years growing up, back in the 50’s,

I too had the experience of some one who cared, my Mom and my Twin Sister. They were not Coaches, but the encouragement I got from them was like Aum.

May they all RIP and never be forgotten 🙏

JOE M

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Damn it.

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Thank you for writing about our school district's beloved coach at Milwaukie High. As the district's Community Relations Director, it's my job to share district news with the media. Sometimes it's heartwarming to share all the positives, and then there are devastating events like last Friday night. Thank you, John, for helping a grieving community see the bright light hidden within dark times. Coach Aum always made time for everyone around him, and made Milwaukie kids feel like they were the most important people in his life. That was his parting gift, and his spirit will live on forever in the MHS community.

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Thank you for recognizing such a good man. I wonder how many kids he kept on the straight and narrow just through being such a strong positive example?

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Great Column John

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Another excellent article. Teachers and coaches are, arguably, the most important people in this country who don't get nearly the credit they deserve.

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It's pretty cool how you talk about Coaches who are always there for kids in high school. When you mentioned Cal Poly and the crash in 1960, it reminded me of my High School Counselor, a man by the name of Lew Gentry, who played Football and Baseball at Cal Poly about the time of that crash. He had teammates like Bobby Beathard, Ted Tollner, and John Madden, who all went on to bigger and better things. Mr. Gentry was drafted by the Dodgers, but it didn't pan out, and ended up moving to my town of Tulare, and became a teacher and "Guidance Counselor" and affected hundreds of students, including me. I later found out through his brother that he played with legends and was affected by the crash. He would never talk about it much, but he did say that Cal Poly didn't play a road away game for almost ten years. Later, I had become a Dentist and Mr. Gentry came to me as a patient, and insisted I call him "Lew." I never could, and I never did, because he was always "Mr. Gentry." He passed a few years ago, but thanks for the article and the memory of people like like Coach Aumueller and Fahey. It sounds like Coach Aumeuller passed away right where he was supposed to be.

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I had forgotten that Ted Tollner was part of the Cal Poly team and a survivor of the plane crash. He was the head football coach and PE teacher when I went to Woodside High in California.

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One of your admirable talents, John is sharing with your readers the essence of a person's life in your stories. Its the human values and character of the subject that enhances the individuals value. Keep em up.

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Fantastic column. I Recently retired and am scaling back paid subscriptions but this is one I will always keep. Great journalism - beyond simply great sports journalism. Keep it up!

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What a blessing JC to have access to your close-to-daily writing on this great site.

Far more than just sports.

Thank you.

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as always a genius comment Jon!!!

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Thank you. But there are many on this great site who would justifiably, demur.

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