Going...Going...Gone!

Turtle Auction Raises Funds for Scholarships

The now famous Fear the Turtle Sculptures found new homes, and the University of Maryland raised nearly $300,000 toward student scholarships during an October auction at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

Of the 50 original Fear the Turtle Sculptures, 38 were auctioned off, including fan favorites “Kertle” and “Terps Basketball Legends.” Bidders unable to attend the live auction took their chances online, where “Reach for the Stars” and “My Maryland” were auctioned.

The Fear the Turtle Sculptures made their debut on Maryland Day 2006, April 29, as part of the university’s 150th Anniversary celebration. Many graced the University of Maryland campus while others were on display in Baltimore, along the I-95 corridor and even as far as the Eastern Shore.

Admirers young and old posed with the sculptures and shared their pictures—more than 7,000!—with the Maryland family on a special Web site. Some die-hard fans participated in the Fear the Turtle Sculpture Scavenger Hunt, attempting to pose with all 50 sculptures by the October 1 deadline. A total of 106 individuals met the challenge, but it was Russell Meyer ’99 and his wife, Stephanie, who took home the grand prize—the “Maryland, My Maryland” sculpture—when their entry was drawn.

Cameras continued to click as the sculptures starred in their own parade, making their way through campus aboard trailers until they reached the auction location in the Riggs Alumni Center. By the evening, the center’s Orem Alumni Hall was filled with bidders eager to make their favorite sculptures their very own.

All 38 of the Fear the Turtle Sculptures placed on auction now have proud owners (11 more were sold prior to the auction). Today, many of the sculptures can still be found on campus, while others are on display in the homes and businesses of Maryland fans, constant visual reminders of their Terp pride and commitment to Maryland. —BAM

Band Strikes a New Sound in New Orleans

Band members attach a barge rafter to a house in Musicians' Village in New Orleans.

Shortly after playing in the Champs Citrus Bowl, 238 members of the university’s Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band loaded tools, musical instruments, work clothes, band uniforms and sleeping bags into five black University of Maryland buses and rolled south to New Orleans, to help Habitat for Humanity build new homes for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

For a week of their semester break, the students volunteered as construction workers in Musicians’ Village, a project conceived by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis to help New Orleans musicians return to the city famous for its music.

They found a city still showing the devastation of Katrina. “The bus I was on went completely silent as we saw the piles of debris and wrecked homes, many of which still have spray paint on the side from when the National Guard searched for bodies,” says trumpet player Robert Gardner.

But they also found hope and gratitude. “I can’t tell you the number of times people asked what we were doing and then thanked us for our help. It was sort of overwhelming,” says saxophone player Mike Loveless.

When they weren’t building, the students played music, sometimes scheduled, sometimes spontaneous. They helped the mayor launch Carnival season, then marched in the Krewe of Alla’s parade later that day.

A Maryland alumna who teaches at New Orleans’ Holy Cross High School, destroyed by Katrina, asked band director L. Richmond Sparks if the band could play for her students, who had lost all of their instruments in the storm. Their concert, in work clothes and tool belts, was a hit. “One of the students came up to me and said ‘This was the most fun that I have had in a long time,’ ” says drum major Charlotte Tubman.

The band members raised the more than $50,000 they needed for the project by passing the hat at football games and with donations from family, alumni and friends.

One of clarinetist Amy Allen’s best memories was from the last day in the village. “As I looked back at the site I noticed the subflooring that we had put in, the walls we had constructed and raised, and the formation of a house that someone would one day call home.We did that, together.”

“This was one of the best experiences of my life,” says drummer Adam Boorstein. “We got to travel across the country and actually make an impact on someone else’s life.” I have already begun planning a trip back to do it again soon.” —ET

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