California man shares fond memories of growing up in Laurel

LAUREL — Jon Ericson has written a long love letter to his northeast Nebraska hometown.

The Laurel native has authored a new book titled “Laurel Boy: Lessons Learned,” which was published on March 31.

“It is a thin volume revisiting the virtues of growing up in a small town, along with leaving to discover much of our problem in society is the ‘need’ to pound on those who are different from us,” Ericson said.

The blurb on the book’s back cover says, “Lessons learned about love growing up in a small town, and a lesson learned about love by leaving the small town.”

“The first half is a tribute to Laurel and appreciation for the values I was taught,” Ericson said. “The second half addresses what I later came to see as the tendency to hurt those different from us, and that maybe it is worth writing and thinking about.”

The Coronado, California, resident’s 63-page book contains five chapters of anecdotes, plus a dedication, a reflection, an introduction and an epilogue.

He was inspired to write the book based on two times he was given the opportunity to express his appreciation to his Cedar County hometown – in 1987 on Memorial Day and in 2005 at the Laurel Alumni Banquet.

“I thought I might build on that by asking readers to think about why we tend to pound on those different from us,” Ericson said.

He started writing the book in January and completed it in about four months with the help of Nancy Thomas and Velma Bass, whom he described as “two very talented women.”

“As she recounts in her introduction, Nancy Thomas – then Pickering – spent summers in Laurel where her mother grew up,” Ericson said. “Nancy was raised in Scarsdale, New York, so that is a story: Scarsdale family vacations every summer in Laurel, Nebraska.

“Nancy and I met when her family would visit Laurel, then renewed our acquaintance when students at the University of Nebraska, then later again as we shared careers as college professors,” he said.

He noted the former Velma Huetig – who is married to their fellow 1954 Laurel High School classmate Larry Bass – “is an all-around incredible person.”

“Multi-talented, she joined our class as a freshman and soon was our class leader, and she remains so to this day,” Ericson said.

Book designer Gary Rosenberg of Boca Raton, Florida, who owns a small company called The Book Couple with his wife, Carol, handled the entire publication process for Ericson’s book.

“He was recommended to me by Nancy’s daughter,” Ericson said. “Great guy and talented.”

The 84-year-old retired educator’s book is not the first one he has authored. He has also written numerous articles and op-eds.

He is the original author of “Notes and Comments on Robert’s Rules,” which was first published in 1982 and now is on its fourth edition.

The book guides users through the intricacies of the latest edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order,” the standard guide to parliamentary procedure.

“For the fourth edition, I offered the book to two colleagues; now we will begin work on the fifth edition,” Ericson said. “In question-and-answer format, the book makes ‘Robert’s Rules’ readable – and understandable.”

He has also written a book called “While Faculty Sleep,” which features the subtitle of “a little book on big corruption.” It was published in 2015.

“The book argues the only way to address the academic corruption in college sports is to face it – disclose what goes on behind the closed doors of the university,” Ericson said.

The topic of academic corruption in college sports led the former professor and provost at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, to co-found The Drake Group in 1999.

According to its website, “The mission of The Drake Group is to defend academic integrity in higher education from the corrosive aspects of commercialized college sports.”

While he has never officially left the national activist organization, he has not been interested in being involved in The Drake Group as its purpose has evolved.

“My purpose in creating the group was to address the academic corruption in college sports by disclosing the academic records of the athletes,” Ericson said. “The purpose now is to advocate for athletes’ rights – an entirely different purpose.”

He retired from Drake University in May 2000 after a 33-year career that included time as a professor of rhetoric and communication studies.

In addition to working in education, he served as a parliamentarian for large conventions until he retired from that position at the age of 82.

“My life as a parliamentarian was a separate ‘business,’ although I taught a course at Drake on parliamentary procedure,” Ericson said. “I did conventions for 45-plus years.”

Writing has kept him busy as his main hobby in retirement. He also spends time with his wife, Mary; they have two adult children and one grandchild.

He credited his enjoyment of writing to a distant relative who was a well-known Swedish children’s book author whose series included Pippi Longstocking.

“My sister insisted I had a bit of Astrid Lindgren in me,” Ericson said. “Her father and my grandfather were brothers, so I guess that makes Astrid and me third cousins or close to it.”

HOW TO PURCHASE A BOOK:

Laurel native Jon Ericson’s new book, “Laurel Boy: Lessons Learned,” is available for sale online at Amazon.com.

Limited copies are also available at the Laurel Advocate office.

The Coronado, California, resident had the book for sale in Laurel during last week’s annual school alumni reunion.

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