Brigitte Galauner
Greetings, Oilers!
We have just recently uploaded the first recording of our information literacy workshop series. This week's session focused on obtaining and understanding health information. Feel free to check out the video recording here. If you have any trouble accessing the video or content from this session on our Canvas page, don't hesitate to reach out!
Our next workshop is on using Zotero, which will be held on February 21st at 2:00PM in the Learning Commons. We hope to see you there!
This is a reminder that our FIRST information literacy workshop in our spring series is TODAY at 2:00PM! Stop by the Learning Commons for a session on increasing your health literacy skills. The workshop will be recorded for those who cannot attend. We hope to see you there!
Welcome back, Oilers! We would like to begin our first Flashback Friday of 2023 with something we recently discovered in the University Archives. The photos below feature a bobblehead of previous head basketball coach, Ron Niekamp. He was the head men's basketball coach for the Oilers for 26 years (Buck, 2011) and he led the men's basketball team to over 500 wins! This bobblehead was meant to commemorate and honor Mr. Niekamp's success. While we cannot identify the origin of this bobblehead, we suspect that the bobbleheads were given out at a special event game or athletics ceremony.
Ron Niekamp was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. Click here to learn more about the induction and his time at UF!
Bobblehead Box (Front)
The front of the box features a real photo of Coach Niekamp taken at a basketball game. Compare this to the photo of the bobblehead below!
Ron Niekamp Bobblehead
After comparing bobblehead and the real photo, do you think the bobblehead looks like the real Coach Niekamp?
Bobblehead Box (Back)
The back of the bobblehead box lists the honors and accomplishments of Coach Niekamp during his time as the head basketball coach. It is quite a long list!
References
Buck, D. (2011). Findlay’s Niekamp retires after successful 26-year run. https://www.gliac.org/sports/mbkb/2010-11/news/Niekamp_Retirement_11
Ron Niekamp: 2013 : Inductees : Hall of Fame : Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. (2013). Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. https://ohiobasketballhalloffame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/2013/ron-niekamp.html
As winter continues this month, it's important to stay warm on those cold days! While blankets can help with the cold, Shafer Library has one blanket that serves a better purpose...preserving our history!
The photo below is of a large blanket featuring the 2009-2010 University of Findlay Dance Team. It is a team photo that shows their uniform as well as the names of team members. The team consisted of 10 to 20 dancers, who were selected at annual tryouts during the fall semester. They provided entertainment and school spirit at basketball games and other indoor athletic events. Judging by their shoes (jazz shoes) the team may have also performed at football games and other outdoor events. They also participated in outreach events in the community, such as fundraisers and sports camps (see their Facebook page here for more information). Based on their social media presence and information available online, the dance and cheerleading teams appear to have merged at one point to become a comprehensive cheerleading & dance squad. This likely occurred sometime between 2013 and 2015, be we have no definitive date for this event.
If you want to see the UF dance team in action, click here to watch a short video of one of their 2016 performances!
University of Findlay Dance Team Blanket (2009-2010)
Team members (left to right): Dana, Danielle, Kylee, Brittany, Katie, Lauren, Kim, Chelsea, Brailley, Traci, Kelly, Meghan, Danie, Bridget, and Victoria