First Date

From left: Ingrid Jung, Michael Spencer, Patrick Fosdick, Eric Riddle, Amy Reese, Jon Myers

Friends,

The Local Drafts and the Foreigners (Dizzy was not available) met at noon on Friday, July 25 at The Columbus Bar. Despite the lack of black bean burgers, we all enjoyed our leisurely lunch. As requested, we got to know each other over our meal. Ingrid Jung is self-described as being "pretty awesome." Ingrid works for Jeff Finke realty and recently got back from a 2 week trip in Germany. Michael Spencer works for Cummins as a warranty guy. Michael recently went to a Foo Fighters concert which he thorougly enjoyed. He also has a nice apartment that he shares with a roommate. Amy Reece went out for a beer with members of The High Strung, the rock band that played at the Bartholomew County Library on 7/14. Amy loves photography and she enjoys beer cheese. We missed our teammates Ben Stilson and Craig "Dizzy" Dismore.

We look forward to a future rendevous. Perhaps a trip to the Irwin Gardens followed by a picnic at Mill Race?

End of Leg 1

Friends,

The dark horse four freshman local drafts finish leg 1 on top of the world. Despite Ben's RV travels to New Hampshire, we are able to rally to finish with a third event completion.

We're excited to already have a date set with Diz and the Foreigners to do lunch on the first day of leg 2. Perhaps we can figure out where that croquet court is located in this eclectic town...

The Four Freshman

(From left: Ben Stilson, Patrick Fosdick, Eric Riddle and Jon Myers)

Q: Who are Ross and Don Barbour?

A: One of the most influential vocal groups of the 1950s, The Four Freshmen pioneered a revolutionary new style of close-harmony vocals that set the stage for bands like the Beach Boys, Spanky & Our Gang, the Hi-Lo's, the Manhattan Transfer and countless others. In 1948, brothers Ross and Don Barbour formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers at Butler University's Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indiana. The band also featured Marvin Pruitt and Hal Kratzch. Later that year the group switched to a more jazz-oriented repertoire, and the quartet was renamed the Toppers. Pruitt soon left the group and was replaced with Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan.

The group remained popular throughout the 50s and early 60s, releasing a wide array of successful albums, movie and television appearances and performing countless sold-out concerts. The band eventually lost mainstream attention with the emergence of the British pop bands of the 60s. Though, they managed to stay together even after the retirement of final original member Bob Flanigan in 1992. New lineups of the Four Freshmen have continued the legendary vocal tradition of the original band, while adding new touches. In 2000 the group won Downbeat Magazine's reader's poll award for Vocal Group of the Year, proving the quartet's timeless appeal and securing their role as one of the most important vocal groups in jazz history.

Ross and Dan Barbour are originally from Columbus, IN.

White and Nerdy

To our blog friends,

We are not sure why Eric is smiling, because this was indeed a dirty job. What is difficult to convey in the picture is just how bad that trash smelled. We were happy to get our first Leg 1 challenge in before the impending Thursday deadline. At this point, we want to claim the title of dark horse of the competition. Watch your backs, we know how to get dirty!

Steppin' it up

Alas, The Local Drafts have begun participating in the Amazing Race. It's a short walk from Columbus Bar to our first destination, the Eos sculpture. A friendly neighborhood skateboarder was kind enough to take our picture in front of this magnificent PG-13 statue. Our journey has begun.


We walked down 5th St. to the observation tower of Mill Race Park. After taking 131 steps to the top of the tower, the mother of young Jorge Rodriguez was kind enough to take our picture from the highest point in Mill Race Park. We were happy to hang with the family of Mr. Rodriguez. I think Jorge was happy to hang with us. Cheers.

Introduction

Ladies and Gentleman,

We have arrived. We would like to introduce ourselves. First, Mr. Patrick Fosdick is a recent Purdue graduate who moved to Columbus in June 2006. Patrick currently works at Cummins. Second, Mr. Jon Myers is from Columbus, a Ball State graduate, and the husband of the beautiful Robin. Jon is also the keeper of the beer. Third, Mr. Eric Riddle is the proud father of Isaac and Nela. He works for Columbus Regional Hosptial and enjoys lending a hand in flood relief. Fourth, Mr. Ben Stilson works for Hanover College and is a proud father of a 2 year old son, Cavan.

When asked how we know each other at the Amazing Race kick-off, Ben stated, "We are just four guys who have an affinity for fine (local) brews."