100 Years of Raider Football, Chet ROED
ROED, KNAPP, MCNEILL, WIMMER, HENDERSON, MCFARLAND, HANSEN, STILL
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 10/3/2012 at 13:56:18
Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, September 25, 2003100 Years of Raider Football
Chet Roed remembers Raider coaching years
by H. Alan SmithWhile there have been many football coaches over the 100 years of Raider football, there have been three coaches who have served for 55 years of that period.
Harry KNAPP had a long string of years from 1928 through 1943, Joe McNEILL coached the Raiders for 22 years between 1948 and 1982 and Dave STILL had a 19-year run from 1979 to 1997.
The oldest coach still living from the rich Raider coaching tradition is Chet ROED, who served as an assistant coach for Joe McNEILL and Gary WIMMER for 17 years from 1959 to 1974.
"It's kind of spooky to think of myself as the oldest living Raider coach," ROED said in an interview this past week in the wood shop at his home in Mount Ayr where he has projects underway all the time.
ROED came to Mount Ayr in the fall of 1958 after having taught and coached at Bagley.
"When I coached at Bagley I had 21 kids out for football one year and we always had a few hurt," ROED said. "I remember one game we played with 13 kids."
When he came to Mount Ayr he felt he was probably hired as much for his willingness to coach track as his football coaching.
"Back in those days new teachers visited each of the school board members as part of the interview process," he said.
"Milt HENDERSON was on the school board, as well as people like Royce DAVIS and John McFARLAND," ROED remembers. "Milt was always a supporter of the track program and he was pleased when I said I would coach track."
ROED was hired as an industrial arts teacher, assistant football coach and track coach.
After 45 years ROED is still a Mount Ayr resident and pleased that he made the decision to teach and coach in the district here.
"When superintendent C. Arthur HANSEN moved on from Mount Ayr to be the superintendent at Fort Madison he wanted me to fill a spot on the faculty over there," ROED said. "I went over for an interview but we ultimately decided to stay here in Mount Ayr."
ROED'S wife Anne was the school nurse for many years as well.
As part of the coaching staff for Joe McNEILL, ROED had charge of the freshmen and sophomore program. He "did what I could" along the sidelines on varsity game night and also did some scouting as well.
"I had a good working relationship with Joe," ROED said. "He would always listen to my suggestions though he didn't always decide that was what he wanted to do."
ROED came in to replace a coach who had come in with a play book an inch thick, expecting players to learn all of them.
The Raiders have gone from the Bluegrass conference to the Tall Corn conference and finally the Pride of Iowa conference over the years ROED has been in the community, with different rivalries developing with the changes.
"In the early 1960s Bedford was one of our good rivals," he said. "We knew the coaches well and they had some good ball clubs. The whole town would pack up and travel to some of these games and it made for a good atmosphere."
Only five years of the 17 years ROED was an assistant coach the Raiders did not have a winning season and they were unbeaten two times and conference champions four years during that time.
One of the athletes who came through the program during ROED'S years was Dave STILL, who eventually came back and was head coach for the Raiders for 19 years and presided over the five trips to state playoffs the teams have made over the years.
"Dave was one of those people that you knew even in high school that they were destined to become a teacher and coach," ROED said. "It was a pleasure to watch him play and then to see him come back and be such a successful coach. He's part of the rich tradition of Raider football."
"We had a lot of good players come through the team over the years, and its really good to see that so many of them have also become very successful citizens," ROED noted.
He enjoyed following the football careers of many of the players who went on to college as well.
"Sometimes you would be sitting at a game where you had a player on each team so you just pulled for your kids and not so much for one team or another," ROED said.
After 17 years of assisting Joe McNEILL and Gary WIMMER, ROED decided to retire from football coaching after the 1974 season. He taught for 32 years in industrial arts and decided that it was time to retire from that too.
"I think I quit coaching and quit teaching at just the right time," he said. "I hadn't burned out of either and they still interested me, but I thought it was just the right time."
ROED said he was looking forward to seeing all the players planning to return for the celebration of 100 years of Raider football this homecoming.
"I may not remember everyone's name because they have changed in appearance much more than I have since I saw them last, but it will be good to see renewed acquaintances," he said.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2012
Photographs courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News
100 Years of Raider Football
Ringgold Biographies maintained by Tony Mercer.
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