Category Archives: “Cloddy” Stories

The recollections and stories of those who knew Dwane “Cloddy” Clodfelter.

CLODDY OFFICIALLY RELEASED

Posted on by
Reply

The biography of Dwane “Cloddy” Clodfelter is now in stock and available for purchase. A limited number of copies (1,000) of this First Edition of CLODDY are available. To ensure you receive a copy of this first printing of CLODDY, visit the “Store” page by clicking here. Those who pre-ordered the book will receiver their copy(s) shortly.cloddyfinal

This sports biography is a 6” x 9” hardcover with dust jacket. The book is 306 pages long (370 pages with the 1460 endnotes) and includes 49 photos. The dust jacket was designed by Laura Drew and the book’s interior was designed by Colleen Sheehan of Ampersand Book Interiors. Dr. Brent Froberg and Dr. Evelyn Schlenker, former USD professors, assisted with the editing of the manuscript.

FacebookLinkedInGoogle GmailPrintFriendlyShare

THE CLODFELTER COLLECTION

Posted on by
Reply

In researching for the biography “CLODDY,” I have conducted roughly 50 taped interviews. Early on in the process, it was suggested that I one day donate this collection of audio interviews to the USD Oral History Department. I attended a class at USD on how to conduct an oral interview. The instructor recommended taking photos of the person being interviewed along with several other pointers on how to conduct a good interview.

IMG_6995

In order to donate the interviews to USD, I needed to get authorization forms signed by the interviewees. I started sending them out four weeks ago and have received about 25 of them back. I am still in the process of sending the remainder of the forms out.

Receiving these forms and encouraging notes from the interviewees was an exciting event for me. THE CLODFELTER COLLECTION is now becoming a reality and I believe it will be a very special collection. I have interviewed several of Cloddy’s former players, two former coaches who competed against him in the North Central Conference, a former basketball official, friends, neighbors, and several former students from his high school teaching/coaching stints in Forestburg, Fedora, Alpena, Centerville, Yankton and Huron. Many of these students are now in their eighties and nineties. These were interesting conversations!

I have another 50 or so interviews to conduct. It seems each interview provides some interesting anecdotes, information and insight which are of great help to me in putting together the life adventures of Dwane Clodfelter.

A special thanks to all who have taken the time to share their recollections and stories and experiences!

CLODDY STORY #5

Posted on by
Reply

In 1958, a ten year old boy heard of the news of the Coyotes winning the national championship in Evansville, Indiana. He watched those glory years at the New Armory and has recollections of how the teams played.

photo

The boys name is Wayne Everson, a Vermillion native and in the VHS Class of 1965. Wayne submitted a “Comment” today on the “Cloddy Stories” page. This is the fifth story submitted so far. Below is the link:

Wayne Everson’s story.

Do you have a “Cloddy” story you’d like to share?

If so, visit the “Cloddy Stories” page on the website and go to the very end of the page to the “Comments” box.

Transcribing Interviews for “Cloddy”: It’s a Lot of Work

Posted on by
Reply

The journey writing continues…

As I am writing the first three chapters of “Cloddy,” I have also had to transcribe to text the interviews relevant to each of the chapters. I purchased “Dragon Naturally Speaking” software to accomplish this task.

However, in researching how to best use this software, I have learned Dragon Software is best suited for one particular person’s voice. Therefore, it is recommended that the transcriber (me) listen to the interview on a PC using head phones – with a microphone device – and repeat the words of the interview into the mic. A sort of “parroting” of the interview.

Photo Courtesy of Renee's IPhone

Photo Courtesy of Renee’s IPhone

Today, I attempted this new task and found success. I listened to my interview of Vernon Andersen, who I interviewed along with Sheree Schmidt in Centerville in Febrary of 2013, and simultaneously spoke into the head phone mic. (I don’t need to transcribe every word of the interview for the purpose of writing the book, so I transcribed selected portions of the interview.)

I was able to pause the interview at times and edit the transcribed text on the Word document (the DragonPad). The interview of Vernon lasted about an hour. It was useful, and interesting, and at times entertaining to listen to this interview – which took place 14 months ago. There were several moments during the interview when Vernon, Sheree, and I burst into laughter as Vernon shared his recollections of Cloddy coaching the boys in Centerville from 1943 to 1949.

I was exhausted after an hour of intense listening and transcribing. To date, I have about 50 interviews taped – totaling about 90 hours. I will need to listen to the other interviews as well – some lasting over 3 hours. On top of that, I hope to have 50-100 more interviews by the time I’m done. So I have my work cut out for me.

If Dad could read this blog, he’d ask, “Kim, are you bragging or complaining?!”

It’s all just a part of the process and will yield some good material for “Cloddy.”