The article on Bill Bowerman contained a number of errors, and I wanted to offer a correction of the ones pertaining to the waffle iron and the Condon High School track. I called Jon Bowerman to verify my recollection of the facts.
There were several waffle irons over the years, because Bill’s running shoe sole experiments were a little tough on Barbara’s appliances. Years later, one of the waffle irons found on the Bowerman place along the McKenzie River fundamentally changed the local Condon-Wheeler track program.
Jon and Melissa Bowerman had volunteered to begin rebuilding the program in 2009, and it grew dramatically over the next few years. By 2011, it became clear the aging facility in Condon was hampering the growing program. Track team members were dealing with shin splints that were the result of the existing track surface becoming degraded down to the asphalt base. Thanks to the efforts of Jon and Melissa Bowerman, Nike agreed to resurface the Condon High School track with the innovative Nike Grind cushioned surface in exchange for the rusted waffle iron. The new CHS facility with regulation field event areas was completed in time for the 2012 track season. The rusted waffle iron is displayed in an illuminated case in the Steve Prefontaine Hall on the Nike campus in Beaverton.
For anyone who wants to learn more about his life, Bill Bowerman And The Men of Oregon is a fascinating, comprehensive history of the man who changed competitive running.
Respectfully submitted,
Jordan B. Maley, Condon
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