Flashbacks

The state basketball tournaments have just been completed.  The Bobcats were one of the better teams in the state this season, and were seeded number three in the tournament.  Unfortunately, they lost to Sioux Falls Lincoln (whom we defeated 45 years ago for the championship) in the first game.  However, they came back to win their next two games, defeating Rapid City Central (who defeated us for the championship our senior year) and Huron to win the consolation championship.  History was made in the Rapid City game, as reserve Konner Beste came off the bench and had an unbelievable game.  He scored 40 points by making six two-point field goals, eight three-pointers, and four free throws.  He was on fire.  As far as we know, this is the school record.  The previous high was 38, set by Lee Colburn at Pierre during the last regular season game of our senior year.  In looking at old newspapers, he also had two other regular season games in which he scored thirty or more points.  Both came against Huron.  He had 34 when we played there (and suffered our only conference loss by two points), and followed that up with a 30 point effort when Huron came to our gym.  Lee's offensive prowess continued during the post-season tournaments.  He had 33 in the section championship against Madison, and then had 30 in the semi-final game with Belle Fourche. 

It was intriguing to view all of those old newspaper articles.  Basketball and wrestling (the wrestlers were state champs that year) may have received a great deal of attention, but there were so many other articles that highlighted the talents our classmates and others of the student body.  The debaters had an outstanding season, as they were also state champions.  There were numerous articles that showcased the contributions we made to the community.  Job's Daughters, Demolay, music, and community service are just a few that stand out.  During the Christmas season, Spies Super Valu had an ad with the pictures of all of their workers.  Included were six seniors:  Nanette Schroeder, Tom Salonen, Dave Helfinstine, Bill Ramey, Greg Koenders, and Diane Sturdevant.  For our 20th reunion, someone (Mark Kratochvil?) put a number of these articles on tagboard.  Might it be a good idea to expand this collection?  It would be time consuming, but I have some free time available for the next few months to pursue such a project.  It might be fun to scan the papers from the time we entered school through our senior year.  There could be articles and stories from Little League to 4-H to church that would make for interesting reading and conversation at our next reunion.  Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.