Monday, March 27, 2017

March Madness and Sadness

This computer may have seen better days.  Thus, the few postings lately.

Basketball seems to be a popular topic at this time of year.  The Bobcats boys team was ranked #2 heading into the State "AA" tournament.  They had a stellar season, winning the conference championship.  In the tournament, however, they lost their first game in overtime to Aberdeen Central, 56-52.  They played Rapid City Stevens in the their next game, and came up short by one point, losing 54-53.  They earned 7th place by defeating Harrisburg 71-70 in double overtime.  The senior dominated team, much like ours back in 1969, finished the season with 20 victories, a feat that has been seldom accomplished by any Bobcat team.  The Bobcat girls were in a tough district and region, and were unable to qualify for the state tournament.  There was, however, an interesting article in a recent edition in the Argus-Leader that had connections to the the girls program.

In the mid-80's, the Bobcats had a powerful girls basketball program, achieving national recognition.  A key member of those teams was Amy Mickelson, whose father George was a lawyer in town, and would later become governor.  Amy's two daughters followed in their mother's footsteps, and became talented players, also.  This link -- http://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/high-school-sports/2017/03/25/brecht-sisters-found-love-basketball-family-connection/99584540/    may allow you to view the article.
 The state champion Brookings Bobcats.

Amy is #52 in the picture above, taken after they had won their second consecutive state tournament.  Her daughters bear a striking resemblance to her.

On the sad note, another one of our beloved parents has gone to her eternal reward.. Janette Perso's mother passed away on St. Patrick's day. http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=06854465_GPerso


A couple of nice comments have been received concerng Mrs. Perso.  One classmate noted

Our family grew up with the Perso’s who lived next to Midway Phil Peterson’s dad.
Often walked June and Jeanette to school.
Their block was the “girls block”: Perso’s, Larson’s, and the McCone’s.
Our block was the “boys block”: Meske’s, Bumgard’s, Foerster’s, Kingley’s, and Boggs’.
We did everything together.

Another email expressed similar thoughts.  "The Perso family lived down the alley from me and I have many fond memories of them.  Appreciate you letting us all know."    

 Mrs. Person was a highly visible member of the community.  Many of her grandsons and great-grandsons were active in athletics at BHS.  She, along with just about all of her daughters and sons-in-law and their children, was a regular spectator at those athletic contests in which they were participating, whether it be basketball, wrestling, football, or track and field.

On behalf of the class of 1969, our thoughts and prayers go out to the Perso family at this time.
On a related note, Arne B. Larson was an institution at BHS.  He arrived here in the mid-1940's, and did wonders for the instrumental music program.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Music_Museum describes the museum he developed after he left Brookings.  Is it a coincidence that his middle name is Baldwin, as in the piano? https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEViNRQdlYYiQAyIUnnIlQ;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwNARncHJpZANLaTZqOGxvSFI1dXJsWXRMd1Z1NW5BBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDMARxc3RybAMzOQRxdWVyeQNhcm5lJTIwYi4lMjBsYXJzb24lMjBtdXNpYyUyMGNvbGxlY3Rpb24EdF9zdG1wAzE0OTA2MzMzMjM-?p=arne+b.+larson+music+collection&fr2=sb-top&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004  Andre Larson, one of Arne B's sons, became the first director of the museum.  Unfortunately, he, too, recently passed away.  http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/argusleader/obituary.aspx?n=andre-larson&pid=184707354  This link is a wonderful story on the origins of the museum.  http://www.startribune.com/national-music-museum-in-south-dakota-is-a-world-class-trove-of-rare-instruments/401776565/#1