Johnny and Mary Majors with Carlene and Keith Dorpinghaus of Coon Rapids

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FEATURED STORY · November 20, 2008
Johnny and Mary Lynn Majors of Nashville, TN were weekend visitors at Whiterock Conservancy.
Huh?! Johnny Majors, longtime college football head coach who coached at Iowa State University from 1968 to 1972? Who coached at the University of Pittburgh where he won the national championship in 1976 and coached Heisman trophy winner Tony Dorsett?
Yep, it’s a fact. The College Football Hall of Famer (as a player) and his wife were guests of Mary Garst, Liz Garst and Darwin Pierce, who met the Majors several years ago on an ISU sponsored cruise on the Amazon River in Peru.
“Darwin and Johnny got along great on that trip,” explained Liz. “They told us they come to Iowa once a year for an ISU event so we invited them to come for a visit.”
The Majors visited the Garsts briefly a year ago but promised to come back for a weekend. This past weekend they made good on their promise, spending Sunday night in the Roswell Garst Suite at the Whiterock Resort. They also enjoyed dinner at Liz’ home, where they visited with Coon Rapids Mayor Keith Dorpinghaus and his wife, Carlene.
“It was fun to meet the coach,” said Mayor Dorpinghaus. “We talked about his career, his players and his days at Iowa State,” said Dorpinghaus. “Majors said recruiting at ISU was easier in those days because Iowa wasn’t very good,” Dorpinghaus laughed.

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