'Just a typical high school romance'
KU life gains yardage in Mrs. Rodgers' eyes
15y MARCIA MITCHELL
Kansan Staff Writer
Theirs was the typical high school romance. She was a bouncy cheerleader and he was the dashing football quarterback. Only this romance "scored" with the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pepper Rodgers.
After a brief acquaintance in grade school, Pepper and Mrs. Rodgers began "going together" their senior year at Brown High School in Atlanta. Two years of Georgia Tech. University football for Pepper marked a victory at the 1951 Orange Bowl and the winning of Mrs. Rodgers' hand the following summer.
Upon graduation and other coaching positions at various universities, Pepper and family became Jayhawks three years ago. The family now consists of Ricky, age 16, Terri, 15, Kyle, 12 and Kelly. 6.
The Rodgers moved to Kansas from California and naturally arrived during a typical white winter. Two of the boys had never seen snow.
"I'll never forget seeing them play in the snow after we got off the plane," said Mrs. Rodgers.
The mother of three sports-minded boys and wife of the KU head football coach, Mrs. Rodgers has one constant subject on her mind—football. Ricky plays for Lawrence High School while Kyle supports a little league team called the "Hill Billies." Kelly is too young for organized football but manages a few punts in the house.
Mrs. Rodgers is not particularly superstitious about games, but being a woman, she wears a good luck charm on her bracelet, just in case. She also discovered last season that if she wore a navy blue suit given to her on her birthday in January, 1968, the team would always win.
"The only times I didn't wear my suit was to the Oklahoma
game because it was in the cleaners and to the Orange Bowl," said Mrs. Rodgers.
But the native Georgian always manages to be dressed in blue, especially at the Nebraska games.
War tank criticized by Accounting Office
The GAO said the Army invested huge sums of money in mass production of the Sheridan at a time when "no acceptable ammunition was available" and field tests raised a serious doubt whether the combustible cartridge would ever work.
WASHINGTON (UPI) — The General Accounting Office (GAO) charged Wednesday the Army had wasted money, endangered lives and impaired the combat effectiveness of U.S. forces in Vietnam through mismanagement of a major weapons procurement program.
The Sheridan is a tank-like weapons carrier intended to fire a missile called the Shillelagh. It is also equipped with a 152mm gun turret designed to use a radically new type of ammunition with a completely combustible cartridge case.
"Those people wear so much red, the stadium looks like a barn," she said.
In an official report to Congress, the government's audit agency criticized top Army officials for their handling of the so-called Sheridan Weapons System, on which $1.3 billion had been spent or obligated during the past 10 years.
The Army acknowledged that the GAO report was factually correct, but said it gave a "distorted picture" because it failed to point out that the Sheridan was rushed into production when
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officials feared the enemy might have tanks that would completely outclass existing U.S. weapons.
"Decisions made by the Army were arrived at using the best information available at that time," the Army said. "The view there was an urgent requirement to counter the threat of a superior enemy tank was the basis for many of the Army decisions."
"The restrictions placed on this ammunition seriously limit its potential effectiveness for use in combat, and failure by the weapon crew to fully comply with these restrictions could represent a serious safety hazard," the GAO report said.
Some of the weapons were finally sent to Vietnam this year, but the Army has found it necessary to place severe restrictions on their use because the 152mm ammunition is still hazardous under certain conditions such as high heat and humidity, which are commonplace in Vietnam.
Commenting that "Pepper" doesn't lean toward superstition much either, Mrs. Rodgers said he does have a favorite tie he wears to games.
GAO contended the Army knew as early as 1966 the Sheridan was in deep trouble and said it should have reevaluated the whole program "with a view toward decreasing or terminating production."
6 KANSAN
Nov. 20
1969
Instead, the Army proceeded to invest another $250 million in special turrets for the existing M60 tanks, to adapt them for use with the still-functioning Sheridan weapons.
Kickoff is earlier
The kickoff time of the Kansas-
Missouri football game has been
changed from 1:30 p.m. to 12:20
p.m. Saturday.
Some people are also known to eat various special foods for good luck. But Mrs. Rodgers said she doesn't have much trouble catering to her husband's whims because he eats all of his evening meals at the training table.
The earlier kickoff time is a result of the American Broadcasting Company choosing the game for its regional "wild card" telecast. The stadium gates will open at 11:00 a.m.
Outside of her home life, Mrs. Rodgers is a volunteer at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital, entertainer and keeper of a scrapbook.
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"I always cut out the good articles, but right now I'm three years behind," laughed Mrs. Rodgers.
As for entertaining, the Rodgers' house is filled with people after every game "because we feel it's better to stay at home and celebrate than go out somewhere." The coaches, assistant coaches and wives are often served chili, one of Pepper's favorites, while everyone "hashes and rehashes" the game.
Well-known company at the Rodgers' house include most of the coaches and wives in the Big 8 with whom the Rodders are good friends. Mrs. Rodgers is also active in a sewing club, formed by the KU coaches' wives.
Contact with the football team for Mrs. Rodgers occurs most during recruiting season when prospectives come to the house. However, some of the players are
Photo by Dennis McFall
Mrs. "Pepper" Rodgers and her son Kelly
often seen at 520 Pioneer Road.
"Emery Hicks is Kelly's idol because he often plays pool with him," said Mrs. Rodgers. "And one funny thing that happened this summer was that Dave Aikins worked for the company that painted our house and ended up doing it."
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