Growing up on a farm before the age of automation gave Don Penner the strength he needed to become a top-notch athlete at Bethel College and beyond.
That strength led him to numerous titles for the Thresher track and field team, as well as football honors and a place in the inaugural class of the Bethel College Hall of Fame.
That class will be inducted Saturday night at the halftime of the Bethel Fall Fest football game against Bethany.
"I was quite surprised," Penner said. "I consider it quite an honor to be chosen, especially chosen for the first class."
Penner, of Hillsboro, is best known as a long-time coach in Kansas. His coaching stops included Walton, Windom and eventually Hillsboro, where his football teams were perennial Mid-Kansas League powers and a regular in the state playoffs.
He still serves as an assistant track coach at Hillsboro, working with high school and middle school shot put and discus throwers.
Penner said he was a late bloomer as an athlete. He didn't start playing football until his sophomore year at Newton High School and he didn't receive many accolades in high school. His biggest athletic accomplishment at Newton was 3,000 situps in an hour and 45 minutes.
He said after high school, he was recruited by Bethel, Kansas State and McPherson. He spent a few days at Kansas State, where he was supposed to operate the campus fire truck, before deciding to come back home and attend Bethel. To help pay for his college work, he returned to working on a farm.
"... I was able to improve continuously in college in a day when we had no weight lifting program," Penner said. "We just went out and worked. Being on the farm, I was probably pretty strong doing farm work and toting a lot of bales. I tried to do things in track, repetitions, but I can only remember lifting a set of barbels once, because there was no weight room."
Penner said he is somewhat amazed that without much in the way of sophisticated training, his school shot put record of 51-0 1/2 still stands and his discus record of 160-1 1/2 stood from 1955 to 1981.
"It was just so much different than it is today," Penner said. "I used to go home at the farm. I would keep my shot put next to the stove. I would go out in my work shoes and throw the shot put. Today, there is no excuse for a shot putter who is interested not do pretty decent. They have indoor shot puts. At Hillsboro, I built a toe board and you could throw on the gym floor."
He didn't have much time to himself while at Bethel. When not studying or in class, he was on the athletic field or working.
He said one of the highlights of his football career was a win over Ottawa his senior season. It was one of Bethel's first wins over the Braves.
"They were one of the biggest powers around," Penner said. "We hadn't beaten them in like 13 years. Back then McPherson was also very strong and then there was College of Emporia. Teams like Bethany, Friends and Baker were only so-so ballclubs. They weren't the powers like they are today."
He said in track, he often had to work on technique on his own. He spent time reading and researching. One of his early idols was Perry O'Brian, who he would later get to compete against at the Kansas Relays. He also competed against Olympian Al Oerter.
"The KU Relays then was the meet," Penner said. "Today, KU Relays isn't as big a meet. Today, you have all these big relays. And the NAIA, we had to compete against Emporia State and Fort Hays State. Billy Tidwell was the world champion from Emporia State. We had Pepperdine and San Diego State. Today, the NAIA is a lot more watered down."
Competing in track gave him a chance to travel out of the state.
"I got to go to the Missouri Valley meet with (Newton coach Curtis) Fischer," Penner said. "I was getting to go to the nationals in Abilene Christian and then in San Diego. I traveled with Emporia State. I went out there and rode on the El Capitan and that was quite something. It was the chance to meet all the other good competitors around."
He said it was at Bethel he decided to go into teaching. His first start didn't last long. After a year at Walton High School, he was drafted into the Army. That short-circuited the start of his coaching career, but extended his athletic career.
"I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and I heard there were going to be football tryouts," he said. "I went out with three friends and we all three ended up making the team. I looked at the roster and everybody else said, 'Where's Bethel?' There were guys from LSU, Arizona State, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Auburn, Holy Cross. I just felt fortunate that I got my orders and was able to make that squad."
He played primarily defense and special teams in the Army.
He said one of the toughest teams he faced in the Army was Fort Dix, where nine players later signed pro. Penner said the Fort Dix team was kept loaded because it was at an induction center.
His football career was extended in Germany.
"Play there was a lot weaker than in the states," Penner said. "I had to play both offense and defense. I've had people ask me, 'How good was that service football?' Back then, it was mighty good. ... Those teams could easily beat the Kansas Conference teams."
He returned to Kansas and began his coaching career at Windom, a six-man team at the time. He coached six-man, eight-man and 11-man football, with a career record of 205-136-2. He also coached track, basketball and cross country.
"To me, coaching is really teaching," Penner said. "I have problems with those who say, "He's a great coach but a lousy teacher.' If he's a lousy teacher, it must be something. ... If you're great in one place, you must have some of those same characteristics somewhere else."
Of all his years coaching, and the number of athletes he sent to colleges, he said wished he could have gotten a player selected to the Shrine Bowl.
He said at Hillsboro, his squads were power teams without much speed, numbers and size.
Today, Penner is retired from teaching. He spends much of his time "grandparenting" -- he has six grandchildren -- and doing volunteer work. He used to compete in masters meets, but still walks four miles a day.
