Graceland's Gadgets: A Rich History and a Promising Future

By Melissa Shephard, Campus Writer
 The Gadgets dance team has a long history at Graceland. Not becoming a varsity sport until 2009, the team’s success was often heavily dependent upon the team’s captain(s). Students were challenged to make time for choreography, practice and academics in their hectic schedules.

Yet, despite adversity the Gadgets have continued as an organization for over 50 years. And now, since transitioning to a Varsity sport, the Gadgets have excelled. With the support of an experienced coach, the promise of an ideal practice facility in the new Shaw Center and a growing team of quality dancers, the coming years promise to be a great time to be a Gadget.

Present: Katie Persall Leads Gadgets to Prominence

When Stephanie Williams ‘12 joined the Gadgets in 2009, the team wasn’t considered a varsity sport. The team had seven active members and they were rewarded only with applause for their talent and time. Three years later, a lot has changed.

“Early on, it was a struggle, but we began to climb and we haven’t looked back. I can tell that next year is going to be bigger and greater,” said Williams, who now serves as Gadget Lieutenant.

Since becoming a varsity sport, the team has grown to 14 members offering both a JV and a varsity squad, and rather than being completely student-run, they now have the experience of Dance Coach Katie Everett ’80 Persall leading them.

While a student at Graceland, Persall herself was a Gadget. After graduating she taught physical education in Texas for 29 years, eight of which she spent coaching her high school’s dance team. Now, with Katie at the helm, the Gadgets have established a strong presence, both on Graceland’s Lamoni campus and in the region. Like always, the Gadgets have performed at football and basketball games, but they’ve also extended their reach, performing at soccer games and even a cross-country meet. The team is active outside the athletic realm as well, performing at campus events like COSA’s annual talent show and helping with occasional fine arts events. The team put on a great show with Lamoni’s Living Arts Studio. They have received requests for performances from area communities like Mt. Ayr.

The Gadgets also compete in contests.

They recently attended the HAAC Cheer and Dance Championship and captured second place in the Open Dance Division. Kailia Leipard ’13 competed as ‘Sting’ in the mascot competition, finishing in first place.

The Gadgets also competed in the Iowa State Dance Competition – the largest state association dance team competition in the nation. Though the HAAC competition allowed the Gadgets to compete against conference rivals, the Iowa State competition gave them exposure to a wider range of competitors. They competed in the Jazz Dance category and received a Division I rating, the highest rating possible, placing them in the top five of their category.

Though the team failed to clinch a top-three trophy, their jazz routine, choreographed to the song “Ruby Blue,” proved that the team has become a competitor of note. “We were very happy with our finish. It was our goal to get the Division I rating. For this team, without a ton of experience competing at dance contests and never competing in the Iowa State competition before, to get a Division 1 ranking was great,” Katie said.

And while the Iowa State competition gave the women vital exposure to a wider dance world, it also gave them exposure to someone in particular that they weren’t expecting to meet: Melba Harrison ‘62 Murken.

While walking around the competition area, Katie had strangers stop her and say, ‘You must meet Melba, she’s the woman who founded the Gadgets and she’s here.’ Though Katie suspected these strangers may have the wrong dance team, she quickly realized that the Gadgets founder was indeed in attendance.

Past: The Gadgets 1958 All-or-Nothing Try Out

Melba Murken came to Graceland College in 1958, mainly to please her grandparents. However, within her first hour in Lamoni, she says you couldn’t drag her away from Graceland. “I knew I was in the right place. It was a great four years,” said Melba. She was hooked. And 54 years later, the Gadgets are a team because of Melba’s actions her freshman year at Graceland.

Up until 1958, dancing was strictly forbidden on Graceland’s campus. But then something happened that changed those strict regulations – a four-year degree program in Physical Education. Because PE teachers needed to teach folk dance, a small amount of dancing had to be permitted. And that’s what opened the door for Melba. Growing up in West Des Moines, Melba had a background in dance, performing with the Valley High School Drill Team for four years. After serving as the team’s choreographer, she said dancing had become something that was “in my blood.”

It was that passion that prompted her to go to Graceland’s esteemed coach, Associate Professor Richard A. Carter, pitching the idea of a Graceland Dance Team. While the coach’s initial response was ‘no’, Melba returned with more details about the potential team and Carter agreed to give the team a try out. They would be allowed to perform during halftime of the first football game. He would decide then whether the team was appropriate for Graceland or not.

With a glimmer of hope, Melba traveled to Kansas City to purchase 16 wool pleated skirts, white blouses, and gold satin. Melba and her potential teammates set to work sewing double-G insignias on the blouses (for Graceland Gadgets) and making satin cummerbunds. Their try out was performed to “West Point March” which was piped over the PA system.

“We didn’t do any type of leaping or thrusting or anything like that. Dancing hadn’t been allowed, but I got as much of a little dance in as I possibly could. We did a lot of pinwheels and passing through each other and drill routines, different combinations. It was fun,” said Melba. After the performance, the women received a standing ovation. Monday morning, Melba stopped by Carter’s office to hear these three words: “You may continue.”

And so Graceland’s first Gadgets team was formed. The name Gadgets came from Melba – taken from the sharp, formal movements of a cadet, with a Graceland ‘G’ in front of the word. The first team had 16 members from 14 states. Though the team was new and student-run, they found opportunities to travel, even performing at the half time of an NAIA basketball tournament in Kansas City.

Future: Continuing a Tradition of Passion for Dance

Melba, now retired from teaching, keeps busy working at the Iowa Legislator in Des Moines and the Des Moines Civic Center. Though she returns to Graceland when possible, it was by chance that she saw Katie and the Gadgets at the Iowa State tournament.

“Meeting Melba and hearing her story made the team feel so good. It made them feel like a part of Gadget history and it gave them a real feeling of how the team continues to impact you throughout the rest of your life. It showed me and the women that we’re part of a lifelong team,” said Katie. Melba is a living piece of history for the university. She reports that the first-ever Iowa State Drill Team contest was held at Graceland College, just after the Closson Center, or “the Wave” as Melba affectionately calls it, was built. Melba says she’s excited to see the team continue to progress, remembering times when the team’s membership shrank to as low as five members.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it was for me to meet Katie and the Gadgets. I thank the Lord every day for the gifts He’s given me that I have so enjoyed sharing,” said Melba. “I guess it was meant to be. Fifty-four years later, wow, I feel so confident in the group’s success with Coach Katie Persall at the helm. She has passion!”

Katie has been holding on-campus and video try outs via the internet (video performances) for next year and she is hoping the team will have 16-20 women. Her ultimate goal for the team is to have 20 dancers performing at competition level. She emphasizes that the team is looking to increase both quality and quantity in approaching years.

And for the team’s seniors, like Stephanie: they are confident that the team will continue to grow stronger, remaining an important part of the Graceland Experience. “I really appreciate what Katie has done,” said Stephanie. “I’m going to miss this so much. I love the team.”

Horizons, 2012, Vol. 28, No. 1, Page 5, Lamoni, Decatur County, Iowa, Summer
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, November 2015
 
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