Woman of Iron

by Peter Vuono

     In my life time I've seen some incredible women of iron. I was fortunate to see the very first women's national powerlifting tournaments in the early 70's in Nashua and the first women's world powerlifting championships at the Univ. Of Lowell. I saw woman raw bench press 250lbs and do squats and deadlifts of over 400lbs. This inspired me to write about women of iron that I had not seen in Powerlifting USA Magazine. I wrote about Princess Aiyaruk, a 15th century Tarter Princess who wrestled and pinned over 100 men. I wrote about Barnum and Baily circus performer Katie Sandwina who could juggle small cannonballs and I wrote about Dr. Cindy Reinhoudt, the first woman to ever enter a weightlifting contest.
Indeed, I've seen women perform amazing feats.  However, the strongest woman that this author had ever met was a teacher who never picked up a weight in her life.
     I graduated from Massasoit CC in 1974. At the time I graduated, Massasoit had hired Professor Laura Yellen to teach English. She later would gravitate toward helping children who had the most needs in both the LATCH and Helping Hands Program. I continued to work for the athletic department up to 1995 and that is where I had the good fortune to meet this extraordinary woman.
     Laura was a great sports fan but more than this, a fan of her students and students in general. She attended every men's and women's soccer and basketball games with few exceptions. This is how I got to know her and one of the easiest things that I've ever done in my life and certainly one of the most rewarding was becoming Laura's friend.
    As time went buy, Laura, without my ever having to ask her,  afforded a miasma of kindnesses toward me which spanned decades. As I was scoring for the soccer team, I would watch Laura read a children's book to my young daughter, Amy and then give it to her as a present. She mentioned in the school magazine, The Associate, about my having an entertainment business and then proceeded to book me for at least 3 magic shows at the college. She wrote references  to secure for me a teaching job with adults in night school. She even invited me to the school to lecture to all her classes about some of the techniques that I used while teaching. The list is endless and  what is equally amazing is the fact that Laura constantly did these things not only for me; but for everyone she knew!
     At a recent memorial in her honor, a former athlete, Christopher Horn, retold the tale of how he had broken his arm in a soccer game that Laura had attended. Horn, a foreign student, had no family living close by  and it was Laura who spent the 5 hours with him at the emergency room. Some people say that acts like these write one's name in heaven. If this be true, there is a billboard in heaven with Laura Yellen's name on it the size of Mount Rushmore.
    One may ask then, why is this woman the strongest woman that I've ever met? The answer is quite simple. Laura had the power to make smile every single person that she came in contact with and the ability to make that same person instantaneously achieve better self esteem. She had the magical charm of making a person's most somber day become bright.
    When I last spoke to Laura, she told me that something was going on inside her that needed attending to. I had no idea that she was fighting leukemia. When she didn't show up at my son's graduation in early June of 2010, I knew that something was seriously wrong.
     In Laura's final hours she decided that she did not want to partake of certain treatments which would help to improve her condition. She wanted those treatments to go to someone who was younger than she  and who had children. Her last act of kindness was selflessly given to someone that she would never even meet.
     I tried to think if just a few words that would encapsulate Laura's life. Thanks to my cousin Stephanie, it was obvious that Mother Teresa's words were the perfect choice."Three things in life are important; the first is to be kind, the second is to be kind and the third is to be kind". I never met anyone who more passionately lived this creed than Laura Yellen; and it is doubtful that I ever will. She was truly, a woman of iron.
    

The World's Strongest Man in More Ways Than One
by Peter Vuono

     I've been lifting weights since 1967 and I competed in powerlifting from 1973-2017   I've seen a lot of impressive sights and have met some amazing, godlike people. I spotted for Ted Arcidi in Nashua when he bench pressed a raw world record of 630. I spotted for Steve Sanderson when he, in Boston, squatted a rock bottom 920 squat. I saw many men and women who could have easily inhabited Olympus but what I really wanted to see was one athlete who possessed character in proportion to great strength. For 25 years, I had displayed in my classroom a poster which read."Strength on the outside comes only after strength on the inside". I wanted to meet the person who exemplified this combination and I did so when I met Frank Ciavattone Jr.
    When he was in his teens he worked on  a construction sight where he on a whim pushed a fully loaded dump truck! He then took this prodigious strength to the Olympic lifting platform where he won both the state championship and New England Championships at least 10 times each! When I witnessed him winning the New England Strongest Man contest, he did so while suffering torn psoas muscles and a strep throat!
     From here, Ciavattone entered  the Scotland based world's strongest man contest winning a plethora of times and setting up record after record. His 500lb plus ONE  HANDED deadlifts were legendary not to mention his lifting, without straps of the famed Donald Dinnie Stones. Dave Prowse, eat your heart out!
    The Ciavattone basement is a Smithsonian Institute of trophies and memorabilia commemorating an amazing career. Everywhere are hundreds of sparkling trophies, magnificent medals and stunning excalibers
all won for exhibiting his great strength. The irony of the whole thing, however is the fact that there IS NO trophy or medal for Frankie's greatest victory other than his essence.
   On two occasions in his life, he faced, took on and defeated cancer giving him the distinction of being THAT athlete who had an equal proportion of strength and character.  Frank serves as a beacon whose shining star can be looked up at by the rest of us mere mortals  to tell us that we too can face, take on and defeat both physical and emotional oppression to a point where we  have become just like the world's strongest man.


"A hero is judged not by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart"- Zeus

 Hi, I'm Pete.
     On Sept. 22, 2012 a beautiful 22' high 4,000lb. statue of Rocky Marciano which was a gift of Mexico's WBC was proudly unveiled at Marciano Stadium. Rocky was a deserving recipient of this award as is his family and the citizens of Brockton whose pride swelled at this event which drew 7,000 people. I couldn't help but think, however, about an old friend of mine from Brockton who was equally successful in his chosen sport but somehow escaped receiving any accolades.
     The last time I saw Al Turner was at Shaw's supermarket and I went over and happily shook his hand. I said"Al, how are you?" He responded, "I have leukemia." Both my jaw and demeanor dropped. Sensing this, Al said"It's all right; I can still kick your ass!". That's how I like to remember Al; tough and defiant in the face of one of nature's worst killers- leukemia.
    This obituary was previously published in Iron History.com and in Denis Reno's Weightlifting Newsletter.

Arm Wrestling Legend, Al Turner Passes Away
by Peter Vuono
     Arm wrestling has always been a dichotomy. It never achieved the type of notoriety that other sports have gotten and yet it's practiced by everyone from school children to pro athletes. On June 4, 1998, one of arm wrestling's greatest legends, Al Turner passed away at the age of 67 from a year long battle with leukemia.This unique sport which he dominated for so many years spawned only a few legendary figures. Mac Batchelor, Moe Baker, Cleve Dean and Jim Dolcini were among them. Al was certainly part of this prestigious list. The former Marine who sparred with Rocky Marciano, won the world arm wrestling championships 11 times! Just amazing was the fact that he did not start competing until he was 41!. Al was by no means s "back yard" competitor. Many of his titles were won outside New England and the United States. In 1979 his world title was won in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1980- Brazil and in 1981- back in Canada. Al won hundreds of titles and hosted the nationals in Brockton in the late 70's. Also, in 1978, Al had a full length feature published on him in Sports Illustrated.Although Al is sadly gone from us he left behind the memory of his unparalleled raw strength and courage.

BOB BACKUS- The Olympic torch Forever burning


  . In 1676, Isaac Newton wrote to Robert Hooke,"I f I have seen further it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants."
This story is about a friend of mine who was a giant of body and character who passed on in 1999. I hope you like it. It was first published in the Assoc. of Old Time Barbell and Strongmen Newsletter


The strength world was saddened on June 30th 1999 by the passing of Bob Backus who succumbed to a lengthy illness at age 72. Backus, a Tufts graduate, competed in the hammer throw in the 1952 Olympics. He was also Pan American champion in the same event in 1955. Bob will also be remembered for an extraordinary career in weight throwing.
     He held the world record in the 56lb. weight throw from 1954 to 1965. After finishiing this reign with a toss of 46ft. 6in., he had garnered 9 national titles!  He was equally proficient in the 35lb. weight throw. Here Backus accrued 8 national titles and held the world record from 1954 to 1960 finishing with a distance of 68ft. 2in.
     In a survey conducted of track and field coaches in April of 1982 by the Mobil Oil Co., Backus was selected as the greatest weight thrower of all time. He was also mentioned in strength historian, David P. Willoughby's book The Super Athletes.
     Bob Backus mentored and befriended true kings of strength in his Pembroke, Ma. gymnasium such as Dave Draper, Ken Patera, Harold Connolly, George Frenn and Steve Sanderson.
     The one quality of Bob Backus that this writer will most remember, however, was that Bob had a sincere and genuine enthusiasm for even the smallest gain made by the youngest neophyte at his gym. Bob would be every bit as delighted with a 5lb. gain made by a youngster as he was by a 100lb. increase made by many of the saurians who trained under his auspices.
     This caring and enthusiasm is a special kind of love which has stayed with me and countless others ever since. In this way, Bob's spirit will live forever.

"Out of the strong, came what is sweet". Samson from Judges 14:14
    

Swifter, Higher and Stronger with God
by Peter Vuono

     I've always been a fan of the Olympics ever since I saw 4 time Gold Medal winner, Al Oerter carry the American flag into the stadium in Mexico City in 1968. The games left such and impression on me that watching it became a staple of my training regimen in my quest for improvement in the little known sport of Powerlifting. I often thought about some of the great names and performances that I have seen and thinking about them, it spurred me on to train all the harder. However on a warm Friday night in August of 2012 at the London Olympics, I watched a diminutive Ethiopian athlete who could not have weighed more than 100lbs. make a statement that contained more ins

piration and emotion than any Olympic event that this author had ever seen.
     The broadcasters frequently talked about the Kenyan runners in the women's 5,000 meter run and I was about to keep an eye on them until I noticed that in lane one, the petite Ethiopian runner, Meseret Defar, made the sign of the cross three times. The Kenyans led the pace for much of the race but toward the end in the last 100meters Defar pulled away from the pack and crossed the finish line first in a stunning upset to win the Gold Medal.
     Defar was overcome with emotion  with tears and sobs streaming down like rain. However, she struggled toward the camera and made it clear that she had a statement to make. With the sobs continuing, Defar took from beneath her team shirt a folded photograph of Mary, the Mother of God with the Infant Jesus and displayed it to the TV cameras not saying a word. She didn't have to. This tiny Olympic champion very plainly showed the world where every talent and every gift whether it be Olympic sized or small, emanated from. The Olympic motto had never been expressed so perfectly.