60s music and basketball

After my recent column that mentioned I played in a rock band in high school, I received this from a Times Pilot reader.

MY NAME is Rick Davis, age 80, a native of Laurens, now living in San Antonio, Texas.

As a student at Iowa State 1963-67, I spent those summers back in Laurens working. In the summer of '65, I went to the Roof Garden at Lake Okoboji often. I remember that Friday nights at the Roof were reserved for "The Battle of the Bands" in which two bands from somewhere in NW Iowa would play at the Roof on each Friday night and compete.  The winning band (based on voting/applause) then advanced to the next round of competition. There were three or four rounds of competition to determine the eventual winner.

The band I most admired and whose sounds I liked best was from Storm Lake — the Jags — or the Jagmen. I believe they were known by both names at one time.

There were four members. I knew none of them personally. They were college guys. I recall some of their names. Ron Mitchell, lead guitar, vocals (a stellar athlete in football, basketball and baseball at Storm Lake High); Jeff Stock, base guitar; I think Jeff's younger brother on drums (I don't recall his first name). I can't recall the fourth member's name.

I believe the Jags made it all the way to the final round, but then they lost the final to another band.

For an unknown reason, today, I was thinking about that magical summer of '65 and those dances at the Roof. And the Battle of the Bands. And the Jags from Storm Lake.

So, I Googled the Jags on the internet, hoping to find some info on them. I found none. But I chanced to find your March 6 column in the Storm Lake Times Pilot on your old band, the Gladiators. It intrigued me. I figured, too, you would remember the Jags and its members. So, do you recall them? I think they were 3-5 years older than you. Besides summer nights at the Roof at Okoboji, I went to Sunday night rock dances at the Cobblestone Ballroom in Storm Lake. A band I saw there several times was "The Fabulous Flippers,” a rock show band from Oklahoma City. (Remember the 50,000-watt Oklahoma City radio station KOMA?)

John, I wish you all the best with your newspaper venture. It is a tough market these days.

By the way, after Iowa State graduation, my career was in newspapers in California, mostly the San Diego Tribune. I enjoyed a great ride newspapering during the 1970s-80s-90s.  It was a golden age for the industry: travel budgets, advertising, huge circulation. A great time to be involved.

But nowadays? Well, not so much.

DO ANY of our readers remember the Jags? Rick would like to know and so would we.

Here are some more memories from Rick Davis.

HOPEFULLY, SOME of your readers will remember that Storm Lake High's boys basketball team went to the 1963 state basketball tournament. During that era, there was only one class/division. So, all 500+ schools in the state of Iowa were in one division. It was quite a feat to be one of the eight teams who won a substate tournament to then qualify for a ticket to The Big Dance in Des Moines. Storm Lake's Tornadoes wound up finishing fourth in the state tournament, winning its first game, then losing in the semifinals and also the consolation championship game.  

Your readers should remember that the team's starting five included Jags lead guitarist Ron Mitchell, Greg Swenson, Don Middlestadt, maybe a guy named Robbie Couch. Sixth man was Howie Harper. Jeff Stock (another member of the Jags/Jagmen) also may have been on the team? The Storm Lake coach in 1963 was Barry Holtgrewe, who directed Storm Lake High to a state basketball championship five years later, in 1968. Holtgrewe passed away in Mount Pleasant in 2022.

My alma mater, Laurens High, went to the state tournament in back-to-back seasons, 1962 and '63. We got to the championship game against Cedar Rapids Regis in '62, but lost 76-64.  

In 1963, we lost to Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln in the first round.

I still have the 1963 state tournament program at home, with team photos of Storm Lake and Laurens. I will check it when I am home later today to see who else was a member of the tournament-12 squad for Storm Lake.