The Purdue Varsity Glee Club spent fall break in Iowa and Nebraska this year. We did many shows for how few days we were there. It was also a special trip because Nebraska is Director Brian Breed's home state.
October 7, 2006
We met at PMO at 3:30am in preparation for our 4am leave time. Most of us didn't even bother going to bed. After we left, we were off for a 6 hour bus ride to the Iowa 80, the world's largest truck stop. We refueled and got a quick snack, then we were off to the Purdue vs. Iowa football game. It only took 30 minutes from the truckstop and the pregame festivities had already begun. It was Iowa's homecoming, and they were all pretty pumped up. The Boilers sufferred a 17-47 loss. We left a few minutes early in the 4th quarter to head to our final destination in Nebraska.
It was another 4.5 hours to Nebraska, and we went straight to Valentino's, a fantastic buffet where they had famous cheeseburger pizza. It was delicious! Brian told us that we had a full 2 hours to "graze," and the guys made full use of it. After gorging ourselves at dinner, our host families met us in the Valentino's parking lot where we left with them and retired for the night.
October 8, 2006
Our first stop today was a morning service at Vine Church. We had lunch with the congregation immediately following worship, and Brian's parents dined with us. It was such a pleasure to see him interact with his family. Mrs. Breed seemed so pleasantly entertained by the site of her son and the group he energetically commands.
After we finished eating and serenading Mrs. Breed, we changed from our church attire into our travel attire and were bussed to First Presbyterian Church (FPC) where we enjoyed a few hours of free time. Some of the guys went for a walk to the Capital Building, some napped, and some picked berries off the trees in a near by lawn and threw them at the others napping.
We had a show at FPC that evening. They had a glorious pipe organ that Jay just couldn't keep his hands off of. We concluded our show with Battle Hymn of the Republic with Jay playing the enormous organ. Some of our hosts were there for the show, others came after it was over to pick up the guys and take them home for the night.
October 9, 2006
This morning we met at Vine Church and headed to Southeast High School for a morning convocation. We had a lot of fun peforming for the kids and mingling with them after the show. After tearing down, we went to East High School, Brian's alma mater, for another convocation. We didn't realize Brian was so famous back in his younger days! He even has his own picture up in the "Hall of Fame" in the school. We couldn't resist not having a photo opp., so we took a picture together.
For lunch today we ate at the famous Runza's. The only way to describe the food that we ate there is to imagine eating a White Castle sandwich, but have it be a foot long. It was pretty tasty, and a very interesting treat. While eating, Brian decided we should begin rehearsing a song we were to perform at a show later in the evening. During our rehearsal, Brian's high school homecoming queen just happened to drop in! It was a delightful surprise for Brian, neat for us to see a another glimpse of his past.
Having our hunger satisfied, we went to UNL for our evening show and did a quick soundcheck. We were to perform with another 300 guys that evening from a high school choir. A kids choir and the University of Nebraska Men's Vocal Group was also there. Each of the groups got to do a few songs, then we all joined together on stage for the finale. We even got 3 standing ovations during that show! Afterward, we changed back into our travel attire and met our homestays and returned to them homes for some much desired sleep.
October 10, 2006
This morning we went to Elkhorn High School for a convocation. Brian's brother, G.E., is the superintendant for that school system and was present for the show. Once we finished mingling with the students after the show, we got back on the busses and headed home. We stopped again at the Iowa 80 for a quick dinner and arrived back in West Lafayette around 1:30am Wednesday morning after a 10 hour bus trip.
After meeting nearly all of Brian's family, it became obvious to us that he came from a very successful, well-respected family. We were so glad to share in these times of such a meaningful trip with Brian. After we said our goodbyes at that school, we got on the busses and headed home.