Weismann, John J.

https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/stc:7405#/kaltura_audio

Biographical Information: John Weismann was born on January 13, 1901, on a farm on Golden Lake, Minnesota, near Rockville. His ancestors emigrate from Bavaria and Luxembourg. The fifth of nine children, Weismann attended grade school in a one-room public school, then went to Tech High School in St. Cloud, from which he graduated in 1920. He decided to attend the St. Cloud State to become an industrial arts teacher and to play sports, particularly football. After graduating from the two-year program in 1922, Weismann taught industrial arts and coached in Appleton, Minnesota, for one year. He decided he wanted to get his degree, so he majored in Education at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating in 1925, he taught in Iowa City, Iowa until 1927, when John Talbot offered him a position teaching and assisting George Lynch coaching at St. Cloud State. While at St. Cloud, he was involved in several programs, from athletics to housing to civilian training for the Air Force. He was also Dean of Men for several years. In 1933, he went to Los Angeles to get his master's degree, then returned to St. Cloud State. Weismann retired 1969 from the university.

Transcript Summary: Weismann briefly discussed his family background, then explained what motivated him to attend high school and later college. He fell in love with football his senior year of high school, then was inspired to attend St. Cloud State after hearing the St. Cloud State president Joseph Brown talk about the possibilities in industrial arts and coaching. Weismann remembered many teachers, including Helen Hill and Dora Perry. He described the buildings that existed on campus in the 1920s, as well as football and basketball.

Weismann chronicled his life after leaving St. Cloud State. He discussed his teaching jobs, and then the offer he received from St. Cloud State president George Selke to return to the university and assist in coaching as well as teaching industrial arts. Weismann described the various programs he was involved in, from student personnel and being Dean of Men, to the Civilian Training Program, where they prepared young men prior to World War II. Weisman described how St. Cloud State became a very different school after World War II.

Weismann talked about how much St. Cloud State and the students have changed. He claimed that students today (in 1980) had much more money to spend on things like eating out, shopping, drinking, and other things. He believed the construction of so many new buildings caused a lot of controversy at the time. Weismann discussed the St. Cloud State presidents and held Joseph Brown and John Headley in the highest regard.