‘What you see is what you get’

Herald and News
Klamath Falls, Oregon
August 12, 2006
By LEE JUILLERAT
Bob Freirich is a long-time Klamath Basin coach who helped found the Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon (which are being run today for the 31st straight year)
He works for the Klamath County School District, and is the cross country coach at Henley High School. Freirich also works with Henley’s pole vaulters during the spring track and field season.
With his wife, Beverly, Freirich will serve as race director for the Crater Lake races for his 29th consecutive year.
Who are your heroes?
Ralph Hill, the 5,000-meter silver medalist in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, who was a member of our community. In my mind, he represented what athletics were all about – a dedicated competitor and sportsman who kept things in perspective. I can remember when I was running in high school and college I kept thinking, “Wow, an Olympian right here from Oregon.” Then, years later, I found myself coaching at Ralph’s alma mater, Henley High School. I feel very fortunate to have met him and worked with him on community projects in person.
If you could choose to go anywhere (past or present) and do anything, where would you go and what would you do?
I would like to have been standing at the finish line when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, and I would have cheered the loudest. So much for not being able to do the “impossible.”
What is the last book you’ve read?
“The DaVinci Code,” unless you count rule books, then it’s the upcoming track and field/cross country rule books.
If you could change one thing about the Klamath Basin, what would it be?
Beverly and I moved here in 1961, had ample opportunities to move somewhere else to change, but we chose to stay and raise our family here. This is home.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
What you see is what you get.
What is your most embarrassing moment?
I had just been elected the president of the Ferguson School PTA and was being introduced. I was dressed to the hilt – you know, suit, white shirt and tie, shiny shoes, etc. (no sweats, shorts and t-shirt). I was wearing a clip-on tie, and, at my “thank you,” my tie unclipped. So much for trying to be what your aren’t.
Is there anything you’ve wanted to do and never been able to?
Write a book. Getting close, though. It might be: “Runnin’ the Rim.”
What is your greatest fear?
People and governments who act first, think and talk later.
What do you most admire in others? What do you most abhor in others?
Just being themselves, upfront and honest. I really don’t look for those types of qualities (abhorrent) in people. For the most part, I look for the good in people.
What question do you not want to be asked?
“How come you’re still working?”
You can send a one-line message to your forebears. What do you say? Same for your grandchildren? What do you tell them?
In many ways, I say pretty much the same thing, “It’s a small planet … be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Other pages in this section
- Crater Lake Symposium Convenes Researchers – Fall/Winter 2006
- Brian Smith plans to answer call of world’s highest peak – December 31, 2006
- Survey says: Snow level ‘nearly normal’ – December 29, 2006
- Fatal crash closes Highway 97 – December 29, 2006
- Under proposal, Crater Lake entry fees would double – December 22, 2006
- Oregon Neutral In Shift From National Parks – December 15, 2006
- Big fee hikes at national parks are a bit too big – December 21, 2006
- Proposal would increase Crater Lake fees – December 18, 2006
- America’s Largest Bald Eagle Festival is President’s Day Weekend 2007 in the Klamath Basin of South Central Oregon – December 19, 2006
- Since You Asked: how much snow does Crater Lake get each winter? – December 14, 2006
- Volunteers become Park Service’s public face – November 28, 2006
- Pacific Crest Trail journey is a repeat performance – November 28, 2006
- Remembering a little boy lost – November 23, 2006
- Memorial Service Scheduled for Boy, 8, Lost at Crater Lake – November 18, 2006
- See old-growth, National Creek Falls on short trail – November 17, 2006
- Pine Beetles Can Set Stage for Disastrous Forest Fires – November 6, 2006
- Mom hopes to use dogs to find son – October 25, 2006
- Search for boy winds down – October 21, 2006
- Ceremony honors missing 8-year-old – October 21, 2006
- Search, hope for Portland boy all but over – October 21, 2006
- Searchers scour woods in vain – October 19, 2006
- Crater Lake Highway Renamed – October 18, 2006
- ‘Frustrating’ search – October 18, 2006
- Boulders, brush and bravery, but no boy – October 18, 2006
- Missing boy faces snow, wind – October 17, 2006
- Searchers continue to look for Portland boy missing near Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Snow slows search for boy missing at Crater Lake – October 17, 2006
- Massive search underway for Portland boy missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Boy still missing at Crater Lake – October 16, 2006
- Mount Scott rewards hikers with a peak experience – September 29, 2006
- ‘The Good Fire’ – September 25, 2006
- Block Island will be featured on ABC show – September 22, 2006
- Bybee Complex Fires – September 14, 2006
- Snow job at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon – September 7, 2006
- Trees of heaven – September 7, 2006
- WebCam now available to view Crater Lake fire – September 7, 2006
- Natural end sought for Crater Lake fire – September 06, 2006
- Bybee Fire Complex Fact Sheet – September 2, 2006
- Crater Lake science and learning center opens – August 28, 2006
- Scientist to lecture about pines threatened by rust – August 27, 2006
- Lightning-stoked burns still growing – August 27, 2006
- Grand Opening of Science and Learning Center – August 24, 2006
- Newest Puzzle Fire near Mt. Jefferson tops 4,100 Acres – August 22, 2006
- Roving the Floor of Crater Lake – August 21, 2006
- Weather makes firefighters work harder – August 20, 2006
- Found in the ashes – August 20, 2006
- Crater Lake due for odd visitor – August 18, 2006
- Army veteran finally gets to run – August 14, 2006
- Crater Lake hosts marathon – August 13, 2006
- Tourists watch fire left to burn at Crater Lake – August 7, 2006
- Terry Richard picks Oregon’s best mountain hikes – August 6, 2006
- Bybee fire use update – August 3, 2006
- Crater Lake will help clear brush – August 1, 2006
- John Carl Owings – August 1, 2006
- Finding their place in the sun – August 1, 2006
- Building improvements, relocation of the primary parking lot – July 28, 2006
- ‘Vets’ highway’ idea reaches impasse – July 26, 2006
- The essence of Oregon summer: visiting Crater Lake – July 23, 2006
- Bill would boost size of Upper Klamath Refuge – July 10, 2006
- History into stories – July, 2006
- Find haven of coolness along Red Blanket Creek – July 14, 2006
- U.S. considers closer watch on volcanoes – July 13, 2006
- Lack of cash strains national parks – June 24, 2006
- Volcano Man: New Superintendent Enjoys Craters of the Moon – June 23, 2006
- Can bicycling be Oregon’s Maine event? – June 16, 2006
- Annie Creek Restaurant set to open at Crater Lake – May 25, 2006
- Rouse to mark 50 years – April 23, 2006
- Gerald L. ‘Gary’ Hathaway – December 12, 2001
- Senator Boxer announces National Scenic Byway grants for northern California All-American Road – March 31, 2006
- Walking on Crater Lake – February 21, 2006
- Dispute swirls around geothermal project – January 14, 2006
- William Arthur ‘Bill’ Bloom – January 13, 2006
- Crater restaurant-gift shop nears completion – January 05, 2006
- Crater Lake: preserved in all its glory –