1978 (February) Several VIPs Visit Nissen Corp. ~ Employees Recognized with Service Citation Awards & Scholarly Achievements

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1977 (July) Nissen Women's Softball Team Wins Again ~ Nissen Hosts Safety Certification for Trampoline Instructors ~ VIPs Visit this Month

"Nissen's - It's a great place to work!"

1974 (May) Trampolines - Softball - Bowling - Gymnasts - Mini-Tramps - and More!

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1972 (June 8) Historic Nissen Family 1911 Treadle Sewing Machine - - Quite a Story!

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1968 (July 4) Gary Erwin on the Mike Douglas TV Show & Nissen Employee Profile: Bob Hanna

 

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1967 (Feb 16) Gary Brecht Joins Nissen Sales Dept - - 2nd World Professional Trampoline Championships - - Employee Profile: Larry Kolsto

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1967 (Feb 1 & 2) Nissen Third Quarter Financials & Employee Profile: Ronnie Knight

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1966 (July 14) Nissen Employee Profile: Gary Erwin & Service Committee News

"Nissen's - - It's a great place to work!"

1965 (April 1) The Peace Corps Bounces on Nissen Trampolines

This month's newsletter begins with a few April Fool's Day jokes shared among the Nissen employees, but the real front page news is about the Nissen trampoline being used in
Venezuela by the Peace Corps volunteers!

The Peace Corps, established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, is a volunteer program run by the U.S. government with the intent to promote world peace and friendship - - - and in the country of Venezuela, trampolines from America certainly added an element of fun!

Below, you'll read about Steve Knaebel, a Stanford University gymnast who while serving in the Peace Corps, put his trampoline skills to good use. A Nissen trampoline was on hand at the local YMCA facility so Steve jumped up and gave a few lessons. Steve and his Peace Corps partner Rodney Napier taught physical education to Venezuelan children in Barinas at O'Leary High School and in Moron.

In a photo on the page below, we catch three top trampoline champions clowning around 

in the Nissen gym: Ed Cole, John Hamilton and Gary Erwin.

All three bounced for the University of Michigan - - and coaching icon: Newt Loken. To refresh memories, here's a quick run down of their achievements:

• Ed Cole (on the left), was Big 10 Trampoline Champion in 1957, 1958 and 1959 plus, the 1959 NCAA Trampoline Champion.
• John Hamilton (in the middle) tied with Gary Erwin for the 1964 Big 10 trampoline title.
• As for Gary Erwin (far right), he won the recent 1965 Second World Trampoline Championships in London . Adding that spectacular win to his current titles of Big 10 & NCAA Trampoline Champion in both 1964 (tie) and 1965.

With mention of the 1965 Big 10 Championships held a month ago (March) in Campaign, Illinois, apparently there was quite a squabble over "who" actually won the team title. Both the Iowa Hawkeyes and Michigan Wolverines claimed they won but according to officials of the Western Conference "no one did." For a fun read, check out the interview HERE with Coach Newt Loken.

"Nissen's - - It's a Great Place to Work!"

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Vol 3. #5 (June 1961) Japanese Gymnasts Visit Cedar Rapids

The Japanese men's gymnastic Olympic team won the team gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Now less than a year later, the all-star team was on a tour throughout the U.S.A. and you can bet that my father, George Nissen made sure the entourage made a stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Everyone pitched in; from rolling out the red carpet at the airport, to a round of golf at the country club, to the traditional tour of the new Nissen Trampoline Company!

A crowd of 1500 packed into the Washington High School gym to watch a stellar gymnastic exhibition which included a special trampoline and tumbling show by several top U.S. athletes.

Here we have a great photo of the U.S. champions relaxing during the show. The photo includes:

            Ed Cole, University of Michigan (1959), 1959 NCAA Trampoline champion.

            Larry Snyder, University of Iowa (1963), 1960 National Trampoline Champion. 

            Dick Kimball, University of Michigan (1959) 1959 National Trampoline Champion

            and the Diving Coach at Michigan.

            Judy Wills, thirteen year old tumbling "wunder-kind" who was in Cedar Rapids just

            four months earlier touring with the Russian Olympic gymnastic team.

  

Bud Beyer (in the photo with George Nissen below) was an ace tumbler from the late 1930s and had been teaching at the University of Chicago. Now, in 1961 he joined the Nissen Company as Director of Promotions & Public Relations. Here is a LINK to nice article about Bud Beyer.

We also have a photo of a young 18 year old Gary Erwin. Gary became an athlete for the University of Michigan where he went on to win the 1963 & 1964 NCAA titles for trampoline. Following graduation, Gary won the 1965 World Trampoline Chapionships and then joined the Nissen Trampoline Company as a District Sales Manager.

Don't miss the small article on the page below that describes an exciting Nissen employee softball game. The pitcher, Paul Krider was my father's grade school P.E. teacher and was responsible for teaching Dad how to do a handstand. Years later, when Paul finally left the field of teaching, Dad hired him to work in sales and and as a liaison with the national school associations.  

But, what would YOU pay to have seen the "George Nissen front drop slide into first base?"

 Absolutely priceless!

 Do these newsletters spark a memory? You are invited to share your own stories and comments below.

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"Nissen's - - a great place to work!"