My Dad

dad and mom at Doug and Pam's wedding May 1980
dad and I in Grandma Mary's garden about 1981.
Nancy and Thom's wedding September 1979.
mom and dad 1980

Uncle Junior, Grandma, Aunt Ikey and my dad August 1981.
Mike, Dad, me and Doug in front of Doug's 1957 Chevy, September 1986. My dad started wearing these hats after his hair fell out from the chemo and radiation treatments. He was always really particular about his hair!!
Mike, Dad, Nancy holding John, me, and Doug, September 1986.
My dad in front of his old Harley Davidson. This photo was taken about 1948, the Harley I think is his 1942 knuckle head.
My Dad, 1929

August 1980. Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Colorado. My dad was stationed in the army during the 1950's at Camp Carson, Colorado Springs. We drove out there to visit some of the places my mom and dad stayed while he was in the army there. In April 2006, Mindy the kids and I stopped her on our drive back from our California, Arizona trip. I took a picture of the girls and I in the same place as my dad and I 26 years earlier. That picture is in our Spring Break 2006 photos.

http://www.cmzoo.org/shrine.html

mom dad and I 1973
my dad and I in Chicago 1972. We use to go to Chicago a lot when I was a kid. My dad liked to go to Chicago, a few times we ended up there just on a ride.
My dad during about 1950. He served with the 11th Armored Cavalry "Blackhorse Regiment" and the 126th infantry during the Korean War.

http://3how12-11acr.tripod.com/id8.html
August 1981
dad, Doug, and I on my 1st birthday, Feb. 14, 1969
dad mom and I
Dad, Doug and I at Grandma Mary's house about 1974.Grandma Mary's house about 1976 .
A picture I took of my dad leaving home June 20, 1981. he drove the company van delivering parts for Lear Siegler Inc. He worked there 30 years. In the summer I use to go with him sometimes to drop off parts in Mendon, MI. and Spring Lake, MI. We use to stop and meet some his work friends at the old Norm's cafe on 44th and Division. Sometimes he would pick me up for lunch and we would go up to the Red Lion on Division and 36th.



Just some photos of my dad and I. he would have been 79 on Oct. 12th. He died on March 19, 1987 from Esophageal cancer, he was 58. Not a day has gone by since he died that I don't think about him. I often wonder what he would think about different things that I am doing, or I'll remember little things he said or did.

SWIMMING IN LAKE MICHIGAN IN OCTOBER!!

On October 7, the temperature was in the mid 80's. I took the girls out to Grand Haven state park to enjoy one last day at the beach until April when we go Florida. The water temp was in the upper 60's perfect for swimming!

Back to school...school sports...nostalgia...etc..

Me thowing the shot put at the 1994 National Weight Pentathlon at MSU. The weight pentathlon is a one-day multievent competition involving decathlon-style assignment of points to the thrower's best performances in five events: shot put, 35lb. weight throw, discus, hammer, and javelin.
Throwing the shot put at the 1993 John Powell Throws Camp at Denison University, Dennison, Ohio. This was week long camp ran by former olympic athletes for coaches and athletes. Jerry Bowersox and I attended the camp. Seated is Brian Oldfield, 1972 Olympian in the shot put and former World Record holder in the shot put.

http://www.brianoldfield.com/

1985 11th grade, 100 yard dash at Godwin Heights.
1986 100 yard dash at Godwin Heights. 4rd from the left.
1986 100 yard dash at Godwin Heights.

Caber toss Kalamazoo Highland Games 1999

The caber is a section of tree that had been skinned of its bark and is 12-18 feet in length. They can weigh between 110-140 pounds. The goal is to lift the caber and attempt to flip the caber completely over. Scoring is based on the angle the caber lands. A perfect score is between 11:00- 1:00 angle from where your standing at the time the caber is released.

http://www.kalamazooscottishfestival.org/ksf/athletics.htm

Caber toss Kalamazoo Highland Games 2000

http://www.ancientathletics.com/

Hammer throw Alma Highland Games 1999.

Shelby and Rena, Shelby's 3rd year of cheerleading, Rena's 1st. year. They are both on the same squad for Allendale's rocket league.

Shelby and Rena rocket night for the varsity football game at Allendale.

September 4, the girls first day of school. Shelby is in 6th grade and in the middle school this year, Rena is in 3rd and Chloe is in 1st grade.
Grandpa and Grandma Konieczny with Chloe.
Rena and her Cheerleading friend Emily.


Shelby and Rena cheering at the Allendale varsity football game.


#99 Matt Miller

My nephew, Matt Miller # 99 plays J.V. Football for Rogers H.S. He is already 6'1 205 pounds at 15 years old! He was playing for Godwin Heights high school last year, where my family all played going back 3 generations to my uncle Bill DeBruyn who played football at Godwin in the 1940's. My brother Doug moved Matt and Katie to Rogers which they like much better. Matt plays middle linebacker on defense and fullback on offense. he had 16 tackes the first game! he is averaging around 10 tackles a game. At fullback he had over 70 yards rushing on 6 carries. Oh, he also has a lot of hair!!!! Looks a lot like his dad's did when he was younger



Matt when he played for Godwin J.V. last year as a freshman.

Jerry Bowersox and I in our kilts, 2001 Springfield Illinois Highland Games. I met my good friend Jerry Bowersox, also a Godwin graduate in 1965,while coaching. He coached the throwing events at Hudsonville high school. We both decided to take up the Scottish Highland Games in 1997. from about 1992 until 1997 we competed in college invitationals and USATF track and field meets. Jerry still competes in the highland games at 59 or 60 years old...I can't recall...who's counting though. I competed until about 2002.
1993 Denison University John Powell Throwers Camp. Jerry and I went down to Ohio and spent a week at camp with Olympic athletes John Powell and Brian Oldfield. This is Jerry Bowersox, Dan Johns from Utah and me. Dan Johns is a renowned coach in Utah in the throwing events and weight training. A link to his website and the John Powell Throws camp are below.

http://www.johnpowellassociates.com/

http://danjohn.org/

Kalamazoo Scottish Highland Games 1999. This is me throwing the #22 pound heavy hammer. I was the record holder in the class B men's hammer at the Kalamazoo games for a few years. This and the stone throw was probably my 2 best events. Jerry has competed in the men's masters division all over the country in track and field and Highland Games.
I'm #48 in the black. 1995 Muskegon Blackhawks. I started at outside linebacker. #7 for Grand Rapids is quarterback Sparky McEwen, former coach of the Grand Rapids Rampage arena football team. I liked playing football again but after not playing for nearly 10years it was pretty tough, didn't quite move like I did when I was younger!! That year we lost in the 1st round of playoffs to the Kalamazoo Tornados who when on the win the national championship in Semi-Pro football that same year.

This is me in the 200 meter dash 1986. I was the league champion and all conference in the 200 meter dash and the shot put, regional runner up and 8th in the state in the shot put my senior year. I also went to state 3 years in a row as a member of the 400 meter relay team. For about 10 years, I held the record at Godwin for most points scored in a season in track and field. I was an assistant coach for Godwin varsity track for 8 years 1988-96.

first game on varsity 1984.
Wow, I had hair!! Can't believe I use to tell the barber to thin it out a little!!! This was me in 1984. I played running back and linebacker at Godwin. I lead the team in tackles at linebacker with over 80 tackles in 8 games as a sophmore. I also played one year of semi-pro in 1995 with the Muskegon Blackhawks
My brother Mike Miller played football at Godwin high school from 1967-71. This photo was also taken at the old field on 36th St in 1970. Mike also played at GRJC and over 15 years with various semi-pro teams around Grand Rapids. IN 1993 while playing for the Grand Rapids Crush he was recognized for playing in over 250 football games in he career. my brother Doug played football at Godwin on and off in the 1970's also. Doug was a really good player, but..he was more into hotrod cars then playing sports.
Besides playing football, my uncle Bill DeBruyn also ran track for Godwin. This is him in 1945 finishing the mile run. This photo was taken at the old Godwin field on 36th St and Buchanan Ave. You can see the GM factory in the background. Uncle Bill held the record at Godwin in the mile run from 1945-48 he also was 5th in the state in the mile, his best time was under 5:00 minutes, I want to say like 4:44.

double click the arrows above to start

These clips are from when I played outside linebacker with the Muskegon Blackhawks in 1995. This was a semi-pro team in the MFL. I'm number 48 in the yellow jersey. This is from a game against the Flint Falcons. http://www.semiprofootball.org/mfl.htm#menu

me throwing the shot put at the Open Men's State Championships at Michigan State University 1994.