Away from the rink and out of context, even the veteran captain of the Waterloo Black Hawks can still enjoy a degree of anonymity in the Cedar Valley.

Reid Morich and teammate Brock Schultz blended right in as they worked parttime hours last season at a large retailer in Cedar Falls.  Some of the responsibilities were behind-the-scenes.  A truck full of merchandise would arrive, then Morich, Schultz, and other employees would unload it and organize the contents to be moved up front.  Extra stock would be arranged in back so it could be rolled to the sales floor later.  And at times during the approximately three days per week when they were on the clock, Morich and Schultz would inevitably encounter customers with questions about where to find an item or whether the store carried a particular product.

"I never did have a fan recognize me," says Morich.  "One thing that Brock and I got laugh out of when we saw customers wearing Black Hawks merchandise was walking up to them and asking if they needed help finding anything in the store. This happened a few times, but not one person recognized us.

"I guess it's hard to recognize us without having a number and a helmet on."

Not many other Black Hawks spent their "free time" away from Young Arena involved in gainful employment.  The two 19-year-olds were not taking online high school classes.  They also found a manager willing to work with their tricky – sometimes unpredictable – schedules. 

"I wanted to keep myself productive," Morich explains. "I liked that it gave me structure to my days. It also made me appreciate the afternoons that I had off, because I could stay longer at the rink with my teammates or relax at home."

Being "on the clock" may be noteworthy for a Waterloo hockey player in 2025, but it is nothing new.  As the Waterloo Courier explained while introducing local readers to the United States Hockey League in October 1962, "In the U.S. circuit the teams only play twice a week and all the members of the squads have other fulltime jobs…The majority of the players who come here for the training camp come with the understanding that if they make the team a job will be found for them."
 
Waterloo's earliest hockey players provided a boost to the local workforce.  Multiple members of that team worked at Powers Manufacturing or Hawkeye Steel or John Deere.  Some who chose to remain in the community put college degrees to use and established long careers.  For example, goalie Jim Coyle joined Iowa Public Service and rose to an executive position as that utility company evolved to become MidAmerican Energy.  Defenseman Bernie Nielsen found a job as an industrial engineer for a company which made valves and industrial controls in Marshalltown.  Into the early 1970s, Nielsen made a 100-mile loop from Marshalltown to Waterloo and back for games and practices.

Dave Swick had been involved in a monumental project while he was approximately the same age as today's Black Hawks players.  As a young iron worker in the 1950s, Swick was part of the 3,500-man crew building the Mackinac Bridge, which carries Interstate 75 for nearly five miles while connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.  Coming to Waterloo in 1963, the forward found work with Jens Olesen Construction, working at project sites like Crossroads Mall and other major building efforts.  He became a supervisor, applying some of the lessons he learned to later stints as head coach for the Black Hawks and the Waterloo Warriors high school team.

"Iron workers are rough. They work hard, but they play hard too. So you know, you got to keep on your toes, because they were good bunch of guys, but you got to watch them," says Swick.  "Hockey players may be a little like that…You really can't show [iron workers or hockey players] the true side of you. They have to think that you're a little ornery sometimes."

The Hawks' original player/coach was an entrepreneur.  Oakie Brumm operated a concrete construction business in Marquette, Michigan.  The seasonal nature of construction – especially so far north – allowed Brumm to manage his work crews in the summer and the Black Hawks in the winter with limited conflicts.  Bud McRae took over from Brumm as player/coach at the rink and also worked in a management role for Continental Western Life Insurance's Waterloo office.  He later went into business for himself as proprietor of the Hat Trick Lounge.  Jim Smith (Smitty's) and Paul Johnson (Paulie's Place) also opened popular watering holes, often connecting with local hockey fans in new ways.

Brian "Duke" Dutkowski connected with some of the Black Hawks' younger fans.  The education major at Colorado College didn't arrive early enough in the winter of 1962/63 to put his teacher training to use in a classroom of his own, but he was leading a world history class at Columbus Catholic High School by the following fall, as well as working as an assistant football coach.  A few years later, John Lesyshen would represent the Hawks in Waterloo's public school system.  The University of North Dakota graduate went on to a long career as a principal and administrator.  During the 1970s, defenseman Charlie Brown and forward Cam McGregor took short term positions moving from class to class as substitute teachers.

Goalie George McPhee was also a Waterloo educator in the 1970s, a novel use of his accounting degree from Boston College.  McPhee decided that work as an accountant wasn't for him, so he taught the subject at Hawkeye Institute of Technology, today's Hawkeye Community College.

"I was very familiar with performing on the ice but was unprepared for having to be prepared to 'perform' as a teacher," says McPhee. "My learning curve was pretty difficult that first year. I wish I had done a better job for my students. However, with each subsequent year of experience, I became a more competent teacher. Those long hockey bus rides became teaching prep time for the classroom.

"Over these last 50 years as a Black Hawk alum, I have really benefited from the teaching experience I acquired while living in Waterloo…I eventually became a residential painting contractor. I found my teaching experience valuable in training new employees."

Defenseman Paul Wormith was one of McPhee's teammates and also came from a prestigious eastern school.  Perhaps Wormith's philosophy degree from Brown helped him to better appreciate his sometimes-cushy work as assistant maintenance man at the Ramada Inn.

"I mostly fixed things and painted rooms," Wormith says. "The job was great, because I had a master key for all the rooms, so if I needed a nap, I had lots of quiet places to rest during the day, and the unlimited, free lunch buffet was even better for a young 22-year-old with a big appetite for food.

"The general manager of the hotel and the maintenance supervisor were very good to me, because they were big fans of the hockey team, and they seemed to really like me.  Despite my naps and big appetite, they knew they could trust me to always get my assignments done each day.  It also turned out to be good training for my later career as a restoration contractor back in Canada."

Forward Stan Blom knew precisely what he wanted to do after hockey.  Playing for the Black Hawks - then working for the team as an assistant coach - helped him bide his time until he came to the top of the hiring list for the St. Paul Fire Department.

"You've got to learn to live with people, and everyone has got a different personality, and that's just how it is in hockey," explains Blom.  "My whole life in hockey has taught me those benefits, getting along, and everyone is a little different, and just accepting it.  It's helped me out through life."

Blom's time with the Black Hawks corresponded with the transition to junior hockey in the late 1970s.  Coach Jack Barzee helped to scout out jobs for the young players coming to town, including Ron Milardo, who worked for Palace Clothiers.

"There were 12 of us that lived at 408 Vermont Street, and we had a blast in 78/79. I had one of the few cars, so I was always the one taking everyone to work," explains Milardo.  "Working was a way of life for all of us to support ourselves, and we shared cooking duties and cleaning the house. I will say that we had a booster club that supported us with dinners and food occasionally. We also had the Hat Trick Lounge that was a frequent spot to have a beer" [Note: the legal drinking age at that time was still 18].

Bill Grillo followed Milardo to both the Black Hawks and Palace Clothiers, but didn't have his own car during the 1979/80 season.

"I would have to take the bus to work and back. There was this really nice female co-worker who had a boyfriend. The two of them would often give me a ride home at night after we closed. Problem was, he had a Chevy Corvette and fitting three people in that vehicle was next to impossible," Grillo remembers, adding, "Every time you are thrust into a situation with complete strangers, such as a new bunch of teammates or a new group of work associates, it makes us a little uncomfortable, but that's when we learn and grow."

The 1980s and early 90s came with economic challenges in the Cedar Valley which made it difficult for Black Hawks players to find even parttime jobs.  Coupled with an increased focus on college prep, work away from the rink became rarer, but never disappeared completely.  Andy Roach spent two seasons with the Hawks in the early 1990s.

"I remember working with Ben MacLennan at an office furniture store called Kirk Gross every morning from about 8 to 12 before practice," says Roach.  "Ben had to deliver some office furniture one morning with the big delivery truck.  I asked him to stop at the drive-through at Burger King on his way back and pick me up some breakfast. 

"Now Ben was not the type of guy who would do something personal while he is supposed to be working.  Well, to make a long story short, Ben came back to the warehouse with my breakfast, but also explained to me that he drove the work truck into the overhang at the Burger King drive-thru."

If Roach's teammate Todd Steinmetz ever drove the big box trucks for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Steinmetz kept their vehicles out of the drive-thru.  He spent most of his time putting together pallets of food and supplies which were delivered to food pantries throughout the region.

"I would go straight to practice at 1 p.m. after work. Our coach, Scott Mikesch, encouraged us to work or go to school when we played," remembers Steinmetz.  "I really enjoyed working at the Food Bank. The people were great to work with. I used to give tickets to an older fellow named Vern that also worked there."

Into more recent decades, the willingness to work has continued, although sometimes with snags.  One Canadian player accepted an offer to move behind the counter at a favorite sandwich shop.  He liked the job and it went well for several days until the store manager needed to process payroll.  The player did not have a social security number, nor did he have a visa allowing him to accept paid employment.  That player and the restaurant mutually agreed to part ways and avoid any entanglements with federal labor rules.

On the other hand, forward Paul Weisgarber successfully navigated two different jobs during his two seasons with the Black Hawks.  After a year washing cars for minimum wage as a local dealership's 'Automotive Exterior Maintenance Specialist,' Weisgarber enjoyed a relative windfall the next year as part of a construction crew.

"That job paid something like $9 per hour, which at the time felt like I'd hit the lottery. I typically worked from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. for both jobs, which fit well before our practice schedule," notes Weisgarber, who can also share a cautionary story which is funny in hindsight, "I was still wearing our team-issued gym shoes to work (not exactly OSHA compliant), and one day I stepped on a rusted nail that went straight through the sole and into my foot. TK [Trainer Todd Klein] wasn't thrilled, especially since it meant a tetanus shot right before a game. The silver lining? I showed up Monday morning to find a proper pair of work boots waiting for me, courtesy of the site manager.

"Those jobs taught me how to manage time and energy: juggling early mornings, physical work, and the demands of high-level hockey," added Weisgarber. "Just as important, they gave me a sense of what real work feels like. That perspective stayed with me, especially as I moved into academic and professional roles where effort still determines progress."

Morich echoes those feelings about getting a so-called real job.

"It forces you to have structure and discipline outside of the rink," he says. "Maybe wait until October or November so you can enjoy the warm weather, but once it's cold and there's not much to do, it gets you out of your room and off of the video games…I met a ton of great people that I'll never forget, and they made my junior hockey experience that much more enjoyable."

And he met a few Black Hawks fans with no idea who was helping them cross off the items on their shopping list.

This story is collected with others in a forthcoming book about the Black Hawks, which is expected to be released this fall.