On and Off the 'Ave.'

A Lighter Look at Life in and around the UW

By Jon Marmor

Farewell to the "Mayor"

For the most part, Wednesday, Oct. 16, was a pretty normal day in the "U" District. The Ave. was hopping with the eclectic mix of students, panhandlers and shoppers. The Farmers Market was getting ready for another festive Saturday. But there was sadness in the air: word came that Cal McCune, '36, the "U" District's unofficial "mayor", died following heart surgery.

For the past 50 years, McCune was one of the area's biggest boosters. He maintained a law practice on N.E. 45th Street for the past five decades, gave legal advice and help to local businesses, tried to turn the Ave. into a pedestrian mall in 1969, and was a calming influence when rioting occurred following the 1970 Kent State shooting. When anyone wanted to find out about the "U" District, they were told to speak to Cal. While fully aware of the Ave.'s problems and the in-fighting among all the interest groups trying to make the Ave. a better place, he preferred to rejoice in all the district had to offer. He's no longer with us, but his legacy lives on.

Who is That Man?

No, he isn't former President Gerberding. Or the current UW president. Or a regent. Or an undercover police officer. But Frank Seabeck, a former marine paratrooper and community consultant, is asked that all the time. No wonder. Standing in the lobby of Odegaard Undergraduate Library from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, he is seen by the 15,000 people who come into the library every day.

As the library monitor, his job is to see to it that a proper atmosphere for study and research is maintained. "I've been telling people to be quiet for 16 years," he says. He also has foiled thefts, helped with the lost and found and stopped vandals in the act. "Once I caught some people throwing roosters off the third deck of the library," he says. "I feel education is so vital to people's lives. I am glad to contribute any way I can."

Soundbite

"If Oprah says a book is good, it immediately becomes a best seller. Authors ... are pathetic sluts to get onto Oprah."--Dave Barry, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald humor columnist, speaking at Kane Hall to promote his newest book, Dave Barry in Cyberspace

Name This Team

Leave it to student teams in intramural sports to come up with some of the best team names around. Here's a sampling of some of the championship teams in the UW intramural program during the past year:

Volleyball: Floor Burns, Alien Autopsy, Holy Hand Grenade, Math Geeks, PB & J, Gopher & Mole

Innertube Basketball: Bad Buoys

Flag Football: Chapter Eleven

Softball: Flyin' Chickens in a Barnyard, Leaping Watermelons

Basketball: Negative Pregnant

Send a letter to the editor at columns@u.washington.edu.

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