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April 25,
Vol. 82, Wo. 143
Univcr:ity of Webraska-lincoi
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Staff photo by Joel Sartore
Three blind mice belly
up to the bar at Saturday's
Storie Booke BaHe. The
mice are Julie James, left,
Angie Bonnes and Andy
Bailey; Carol "Goldielocks"
Chmelka pals around with
Pete 'The Bear" Balerud
next to a "Song of the
South" background.
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:awtev feosres from Alice to Zoirro
By Christopher Galen
Cinderella was there, along with Robin Hood, Hansel
and Gretel, Zorro and several of Winnie-the-Pooh's
friends. Later, the Three Blind Mice showed up, and a
few of King Kong's cousins also made their appearances.
All these famous fantasy figures, and dozens more,
were part of the Storie Booke Balle, a unique and
extravagant dance put on every two years by Alpha Tau
Omega fraternity.
The Balle was Saturday night at the Ramada Inn in
Omaha. More than 200 people attended, dressed in the
costumes of their favorite characters from the likes of
"Mother Goose" and "Alice in Wonderland."
The tradition of the Storie Booke Balle began in
1926, when Lincoln hosted the first Balle. NU alumnus
W. Joyce Ayres was on the committee that created the
Balle, and he said the ceremoney that surrounded it
still stands out in his mind.
"Invitations to the dates of the guys were in the form
of scrolls written in Old English," he said "There was an
awful lot of work that went into it. I think we spent all
of $ 100, which was a lot of money back then.
Alpha Tau Omega Social Chairmen Bill Claussen and
Kif Ward sought to maintain the tradition of the Balle
when they designed this year's edition.
"It took four or five months of unbelievable hard
work, but we've done it," Claussen said.
He guessed that it took 50 hours of planning a week
to prepare for the Balle, which was cloaked in an element
of surprise to preserve its magical image.
"The main thing to make it special is the length we go
to for this," Ward said. "You're really back in a story
book land." Ward estimated that more than $3,000 was
spend in preparation for the Balle.
Part of that money was spent painting two 66-foot
murals depicting nearly every notable character
imaginable.
Because of the extensive cost in time and money, the
Balle is presented every other year, making Saturday
evening's the 28th bi-annual Balle. Many of the previous
Balles were in the old Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln,
which Ayres recalled as the perfect place for such an
event.
One of the features of the Balle - the slide - has been
a tradition since the dance was at the Cornhusker. Party
goers must descend the slide to get into the ballroom.
"When we moved the dance to the Cornhusker, we '
added the slide," Ayres said. "It was an instant hit. I
remember one year we had an Ail-American football
center dressed as Gandhi, and he brought a goat with him
on a tether. He slid down the slide and landed on the poor
goat."
And the Balle went on.
By Jan n Nyffclcr
"Agriculture is a long way from going down the
tubes," Larl Bulz, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
said during a public lecture Sunday afternoon in the
East Campus Union. His visit was sponsored by UPC
East Sights and Sounds Committee, the Faculty
Convocation Committee and Alpha Zeta.
Butz, who was a cabinet member from 1971-76,
said that it is easier for the media to portray American
agriculture in a negative light by focusing on failures
rather than successes : "It's the American system - the
right to succeed is accompanied by the right to fail,"
Butz said .
By publicizing foreclosures and other problems, the
media makes it easy to "forget about the guy who's
sensible, who's paying up at the bank," Butz said.
Half of American farmers have no debt, Butz said. Of
those who are in debt, half owe less than 20 percent of
their assets; half of the remaining group owe between 20
and 40 percent of their assets.
"Some won't make it, some shouldn't," he said.
"We're going to come out of this stronger than we
went into it," he added.
"I've got some good news and some bad news," Butz
continued. "The good news is that the bad news is
running out. The bad news is: As farm prices rise, food
prices will rise and farmers will be blamed for it . We need
to work on positive public relations now, when nobody's
mad at us."
In commenting about the PIK program, Butz said the
plan was both a political and economical necessity. "They
had to do something," he said. He is frightened, he said,
by the "lu'gh degree of acceptance all over the country."
Continued on Page 9
Mayora! candidates
explain advantages
of past experience
By Chris Welsch
Experience in city government or experience in state
government : Wliich is more important for the mayor of
Lincoln to have?
A debate between mayoral candidates Roland Luedtke
and Joe Hampton Thursday centered around past
government experience and views on local issues. The
debate was sponsored by the Near South Neighborhood
Association and the South Salt Creek Community
Organization.
Hampton said his day-to-day experience as Lincoln
City Council Chairman and his success as a Lincoln
businessman make him the better candidate.
"In 35 years of business, when I made a decision I
put my money out, and if that decision was wrong, I
lost the money," he said. "That is a strong discipline on
you. When a career politician makes a decision, it's with
your money, and if that's wrong, you pay."
Luedtke said his career as a lawyer supplemented his
work in the Legislature and as Lieutenant Governor,
Accentuating the positive instead of playing
"opposition politics" would make him a better mayor,
Luedtke said.
"We must avoid confrontation," he said. "All parts
should work together."
Luedtke proposed a round table discussion, where
as many neighborhood organizations and other groups
as possible could meet to discuss community issues. He
said such a table would have to include a broad mix of
people in order to provide a balance.
Both candidates agreed that neighborhood
organizations are a new political force in Lincoln and
that input from these groups is important to city
government. Both candidates said they would give the
whole-community need precedence over the needs of a
single neighborhood.
Continued on Pae 2 ,
