tuesday, September 9, 1980 daily nebraskan page 7 Smiley the clown's contagious cheer is ageless By Patti Gallagher I could see his paintedon teardrop from the audience. Then he pushed the little button on his electric wheel chair and took center stage. He crooned out "Four Leaf Clover" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and the woman in back of me started to sing along. When he finished, his fans, most of them elderly, gathered at the edge of the stage to talk with him. "Why don't you go on TV?" they asked. "Have you been on the stage?" 4i just love your singing." Turning on his trademark. Smilev the Clown shakes a round of hands and asked, "What should 1 do for an en core?" Smiley, born Bill Bready 55 years ago in Tennessee, has been a professional clown for 18 years. He has toured the country with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's circus, as well as state fairs. The 10 days at the Nebraska State Fair.mostly wheeling around "talking to the kids," has earned Smiley enough to pay his debts, he said. , But he prefers the circus schedule to the fair. Circus is only a couple of hours per day, performing an afternoon and evening show, he said. Smiley said his entire face - self designed and applied -is patented in Washington. The oversized white lips, tri angular red nose, black rimmed teardrop and double-sized brows peek out from under a silver-glittered derby. When he's asked "Why you call yourself Smiley," he puts on a chin-drooping frown, and laughs. But, Smiley says, the smile doesn't stay on permanently. "I put it on every morning and take it off every night. I'd sleep in it, but it's too messy. If by chance, the namesake fails, Smiiley carries around his "little smile maker," a rubber ink happy face to stamp bit smiles on little hands. In 1978 a stroke left Smiley's right hand unusable. Last December gangrene started in his toe and continued upward, requiring several operations. Smiley's right leg is now amputated above the knee. While in a Lincoln hospital for the amputation, the Lincoln Journal ran a contest at last year's state fair to "make Smiley smile again," he said. He received 400 letters from his patrons, "the kids," to plaster the walls of his room. Ag econ prof gets teaching award After his stroke, Smilev lived at Lancaster Manor. He :said the county would not let him stay after his leg opera tion because he was not a resident of the county. Though he now lives at Maple wood Nursing Home, 4405 Normal Ave., Smiley said he wants to return to his former home and friends. Smiley has been without a family since he was 12 and has traveled most of his life. He worked burlesque in about 1947 where he picked up some of his crooning tunes, he said. He also spent four years in the Marine Corps. "But maybe you shouldn't say anything about the Marines," he cautioned. He got a bad conduct discharge when he failed to return from leave on time. That mistake, he said, cost him veterans' privileges and use of Lincoln's Veterans Hospital. He said he has been around the world three times but now would like to-make Lincoln his permanent home. Are the kids one of the things that make the clowning life worthwhile? "Oh, yea, they're the thing," he says. "The only thing." By Njoku Julius A UNL associate professor of agricultural economics received his profession's highest honor for distinguished teaching this summer. Last July, the American Agricultural Economics Associa tion gave Ronald Hanson the Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. The annual award recognizes excellence in agricultural economics teaching. One award is given to an instructor with less than 10 years of undergraduate teaching experi ence, and one to an insturctor with 10 years or more years experience. m Hanson said he pays attention to what students say, reads their comments and tries to understand their problems. ( "In this way I have made substantial changes in my teaching methods over the past six years," he said. Also helpful, Hanson said, are various instructional programs which the College of Agriculture offers. Hanson was on the faculty of Southern Illinois Univer sity for two years. He said he came to UNL because it places heavy emphasis on high-quality teaching, "1 saw that Nebraska is a place where a person could come and develop teaching skills and be recognized for those," he said. "Dr. Hanson is an exceptional student adviser," accord ing to Charles H. Adams, professor of animal sscience and assistant dean of the College of Agriculture. "His advising doesn't stop with their academic progress, but he also follows through to see if they are placed in jobs after graduation." Former student Janie Kisker also praised the professor. "Hanson is not content with knowing that his teaching abilities are highly regarded, but he is constantly looking for ways to improve upon them," she said. In a letter recommending Hanson to the AAEA Teaching Awards Committee, AAEA Director R. Arnold wrote, "His.visibility as an expert in agricultural finance is evident by numerous invitations to speak at meetings and work shops." Hanson earned his bachelor of science degree in agri cultural economics from Western Illinois University (1968) and received his master's degree (1970) and doctorate (1972) in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois. n PAD to be yourself. Participate in the clinical evaluation of pharmaceutical products. All studies fully explained and medically supervised. You get good pay, plus a free physical exam. Most studies require males, 19 or older in good health. Call 474-0627 weekdays. o W O El VySX o HARRIS INC. 624 Peach St.. Lincoln, NE 68508 PI 45 Years Experience in Medical Rostnurh I""! U m 111 m B I :y m :: BUS SERVICE "v mum greyhound. Special student buses will depart from the Nebraska Union on R St. on Friday and return to the Union on Sunday evening. Bus leaves for Omaha at 3:20 pjn. and returns at 7:45 pjn. on Sunday. Departure time from Omaha is 6:30 p.m. Bus leaves for Grand Island and points West on Hwy. 30 at 3:40 pm. and returns at 6:10 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. O Sign up at the magazine counter in the Union at the R Street entrance before Friday. O Tickets will be on sale at 2:30 Friday afternoon. m m o 1 o 11 mmmmmammmX 1-nnr.n.r , ,. mm mm, - ,- Kv.j A V K1 Ml mm Harper Schramm Smith residents and Triangle, Chi-Phi, Phi-Mu and Alpha Delta Pi residents! To ocruo you bettor starting Monday, September Oth, pleoea call our Belmont location for deliucry ceroice. 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