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Gene Harris: On the spot.
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Gene Harris was put on the spot at a memorial service for former Columbus City Council president Jerry Hammond. At the public event in the Southern Theatre, Hammond’s former legislative aid, Ako Kambon, urged the Columbus City Schools superintendent to override tradition and name a school after Hammond, who died of Parkinson’s disease in late August. In reality, however, Kambon was calling out the wrong person. The school board, not the superintendent, approved the policy in 1982 that all schools must be given geographical or descriptive names. The policy even bans naming stadiums, hallways, libraries or other parts of schools after someone. What’s more, Kambon doesn’t need to look far to find someone to address his concerns. His wife, Hanifah Kambon, is a member of the Columbus Board of Education. Columbus schools spokeswoman Kim Norris said in early October that no board members have suggested changing the policy.
The recent death of Andy “Andyman” Davis has galvanized a few of the iconic bands of recent Columbus rock-and-roll history to reunite to honor the popular CD101 deejay. Both Howlin Maggie and The Toll—part of a wave of Ohio rock groups signed to major record labels in the late 1980s and early 1990s—will play at a benefit for Davis’s family and CD101 for the Kids, the charity Davis raised money for during his annual Andyman-a-thon. Also on the bill are Watershed (which has been on hiatus as well in recent years), Earwig, Willie Phoenix and the X-Rated Cowboys. The Nov. 24 gig at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion will be the first one for The Toll in about 17 years. “The ironic thing is the guy who would have reveled in this bill the most won’t be sitting in the room with us,” says Greg Bartram, the band’s bass player and a freelance photographer who contributes to Columbus Monthly.
Buckeye fans have a chance to win a motorcycle this month with a fascinating back story. At the Nov. 27 Ohio State-Michigan game, Ohio Motorcyclists for Children will raffle off the so-called Legacy Bike, a motorcycle that began with Jim Underwood, the beloved principal trumpet player for the Columbus Symphony who died of cancer in 2006. Underwood started to build the bike in 1998 in his living room, of all places, but the project stalled four years later when Underwood was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland. After his death, the unfinished bike remained in the Underwood family’s living room until Jim’s wife, Marti, met Mark Beckner, a custom motorcycle builder in Newark, earlier this year. Beckner agreed to finish the bike, and Ohio Motorcyclists for Children hopped onboard to raffle the vehicle once it was completed to raise money for cancer research at Ohio State. People can buy tickets for the bike, which is autographed by Archie Griffin, at the remaining OSU home games or at ohiomcforchildren.org.
Longtime car dealer Bob McDorman plans to auction off his renowned collection of 90 Corvettes in November. The assemblage, expected to net several million dollars, includes models from the early 1950s to today. Highlights include a 1953 Corvette (only 300 were made) and cars formerly owned by celebrities, including John Mellencamp, George Strait, Burt Reynolds and Dinah Shore. Tom Christmann, the marketing manager for Mecum Auction Company of Marengo, Illinois, says McDorman has sold off most of his car collection twice previously. “With Bob, he tends to go in cycles,” Christmann says. “Bob is knocking on the door of 80. He’s been nose to the grindstone for 45 years, and I think he would like to take a little time away from the cars.” The auction, slated for Nov. 5 and 6 at McDorman’s dealership in Canal Winchester, also includes 60 other vehicles and memorabilia such as neon signs and die-cast models.
