Father Bob Humitz is reliving his experiences as a volunteer chaplain at the 2002 Winter Olympics in a new book now available.
The pastor of St. Daniel Catholic Community in Clarkston has written “Reliving the Glory,” which is a book of his experiences in Salt Lake City.
“I feel it is an important story to tell,” Humitz said. “It is about the relationship of sports and religion at the Olympics. It is something that you won’t find in “Sports Illustrated” or the sports section of the newspaper.”
Humitz did not travel to Salt Lake City with the idea to write a book about his experiences. However, he was journaling the events that took place while at the Olympics.
“I was journaling in Salt Lake City because I wanted to make sure I remembered all my experiences. Also, I was e-mailing the information back to the parish so they could keep up with what was going on,” Humitz said.
Upon his return to Clarkston, Humitz told the story to many in the area. He had a power point presentation with some of the many pictures he took. The pastor spoke to groups such as other churches, the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce and the Optimist Club.
The idea to write a book started with one of his parishioners.
“Harry Knitter runs a publishing company and he came up to me one day and said he thought it would make a good book,” Humitz said. “Without his suggestions and help I definitely would not have done the book.”
They needed to take the journal entries and make a book out of them. The information was traded back-and-forth between them before the final product was established.
“When we started this project a year ago, I considered Father Bob a friend. Now, after dozens of meetings and encounters, we feel that we have become closer friends as we pooled our talents and experiences to produce a unique look at the Games – held in a setting that no one can reproduce, since much of it has been dismantled and given to the University of Utah,” Knitter said.
The two combined Knitter’s experience in publishing and Humitz’s experience in media. Humitz served as the director of the Office of Television for the archdiocese of Detroit prior to coming to Clarkston.
Humitz has always enjoyed writing and had previously written a book on reading scripture.
This book has more than 100 photos taken from the nearly 700 photos Humitz took while in Salt Lake City. Humitz, an avid skier, long dreamed of participating in the Winter Olympics. His dream came true when he was accepted as a chaplain at the age of 67. Humitz’s adventure chronicles his activities and also those of Deacon Archie Noon who accompanied him on his trip and served as an assistant during liturgical ceremonies.
“This is a personal story,” Humitz said. “It is a great story of how people from different cultures, faiths and backgrounds came together and worked together.”
“Reliving the Glory,” is a 156 page book that costs $19.95. You can order a copy by calling (248) 922-9400.