Physical
whiplash, with its injuries to the neck, is not good. A brief medical
visit with the all-knowing Dr. Google will show that to be true. But
what if you get together with classmates from high school, and bounce
back and forth between high school memories and more recent years?
That's MENTAL whiplash, and it's both safe and fascinating.
The
last couple of years I have used many excuses to drive out to Brookings
from my home in the Twin Cities. Whenever possible, I set up a meal at
Pizza King or Nick's or McDonald's to get together with as many friends
as possible. If I know that a friend from the 1960s will be stopping
in Brookings --or already lives there-- he or she is invited.
The
conversations slide in an instant from "Remember when?" to "Where are
you now?" Memories of 50 years ago compete with current circumstances.
Topics flow from old classmates ... to young grandchildren, between past
reflections ... and recent retirements. Questions like "Why did you do
that back then?" are answered with reasons that tell The Rest of the
Story, as Paul Harvey used to say. Some memories are incorrect, some
are repressed, many are exaggerated, others just plain wishful
thinking. Corrections and clarifications are sometimes flattering,
sometimes painful, often hilarious. The past illuminates the present,
and a person is thankful for the opportunity to look back. After all,
not all of our friends and classmates are alive, able to do what we are
doing in these moments. This Replay Machine is one of the gifts of
growing older. We are given a small dose ... of wisdom ... and we are grateful.
If
you are given the opportunity, gather friends from the past and play Mental
Whiplash. It's good for the soul.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Monday, September 4, 2017
A Day of Contrasts
The funeral for Tom Anderson was held on Friday morning, Sept. 1, 2017. Tom was a couple of years older than we were, and has been a well-known optician in Brookings since the early 70's. He was also the brother-in-law of Teresa Steen, who is married to Russ Anderson of the class of 1964.
A few local members of our class, Mark Kratochvil, Jim Kohler, Dennis Audus, and I were in attendance at the funeral. Many local members of the class of 1964 were also in attendance. Additionally, many members of the class of 1967 were on hand to pay their last respects. Coincidently, that class was holding a 50th class reunion this weekend. It appeared that many of Tom's loyal clients were also at the service.
The minister noted how generous Tom was in his profession. Oftentimes, he stated, individuals might have difficulty paying their bills. Tom generally absorbed the loss, knowing that forcing them to pay would create even more hardships for them. He also mentioned how generous Tom was with the use of his lake home and the "toys" that he had amassed, and the enjoyment Tom had when his family made use of them.The minister informed us of a side of Tom that most people were unaware of.
My last appointments with him were a couple of years ago. We had some nice talks, and I developed a great respect for Tom and his approach to life. He lived at Lake Poinsett, and went to church in Estelline, even preaching there on occasion. Having had some experience in that department, I was greatly impressed.
Our prayers and thoughts are with Tom's family at this time.
As mentioned above, Tom's funeral was held on a Friday morning. That evening, the class of 1967 had a gathering at Lee Kratochvil's home, and enjoyed pizza, just as our class did last year at his brother Mark's home. Those two, along with others such as George Ross (also class of 1967) and Paula (Hoffman) Platz of our class, prepared a variety of delicious pizzas for those members in attendance. Bob Adams, class of 1968, was on the athletic teams with many of those boys, so he was also there. I agreed to tag along, and was glad I did; I had a great time.
Even though most of them did not know me personally, there was frequently a connection between us. Earl Haddow, for example, was a neighbor to Ken Beckman. When we shot baskets in Ken's driveway, Earl would frequently join.us. Earl also played Little League baseball with us. We had a comical time reminiscing about those days.
It was truly enjoyable making acquaintances also with: Neal Asper, Ron Borchardt, Judy Gile, Denny Glaim, Pete Hauff, Sue Horn, Laurie Klinkel, Tony Koenders, Jay Leibel, Terry Liebing, Jon Lundeen, Jerry Martinson, Carol May, Jeanne Ness, Kris Olson, Sheila Parsley, Margaret Pearson, Gary Steen, Jim Steen, Linda Stuerman, Bob Sturdevant, Tim Thorne, Brian Walsh, Dan Wheeler, Lorna Weise, and Jim Wright. For a shy guy like me, that was not too bad. Just off-hand, at least two of our classmates have spouses in this class. Jim Wakeman is the husband of Carolyn Freyberg, and Mary Moulton is the wife of Gary Steen. Jim and Mary did not escape my attention, nor did Paula. They represented the class of 1969 quite respectably.
Others that were there (at least I believe I saw their name tags), but with whom I did not converse, were: Joyce Berge, Lowell Bortnem, Ralph Bortnem, Dan DeWitt, Carolyn Freyberg, Vicki Hillyer, Les Kampen, Carol Langner, Kenneth Myers, Fran Oseby, "Butch" Oseby. JoAnn Perso, Vickie Podgornick, and Ron Thompson. Bob and I did not stay until the end of the party, so others may have shown up after we left.
A number of familiar names appeared while browsing through the seniors of the 1967 annual: Ahlers, Allison, Baker, Berge, Berkland, Bjordahl, Bortnem, Bozied, Brown, Cavanaugh, Darnall, Hamilton, Hauff, Hendricks, Herrig, Hoekman, Holm, Ishmael, Johnson, Kallemeyn, Kratochvil, Kruse, Leibel, Liebing, Linder, Marshall, Mehegan, Person, Quincey, Robish, Simmons, Sloat, Steen, Sturdevant, Thompson, Thysell, Vick, Walsh, Wakeman, and Wright. Some of these are probably cousins, but most of these, I believe, are siblings of our classmates.
The class of 1967 is perhaps best remembered as the last class to graduate from the "old" high school located at 601 4th Street. They were also state champs in wrestling, a rather remarkable feat considering that wrestling only started in Brookings a few years previously.
These past few weeks have been rather busy, but extremely enjoyable. Unless something important comes up, there may not be any posts for a while. As always, we will have to just wait and see if anything is worth noting.
A few local members of our class, Mark Kratochvil, Jim Kohler, Dennis Audus, and I were in attendance at the funeral. Many local members of the class of 1964 were also in attendance. Additionally, many members of the class of 1967 were on hand to pay their last respects. Coincidently, that class was holding a 50th class reunion this weekend. It appeared that many of Tom's loyal clients were also at the service.
The minister noted how generous Tom was in his profession. Oftentimes, he stated, individuals might have difficulty paying their bills. Tom generally absorbed the loss, knowing that forcing them to pay would create even more hardships for them. He also mentioned how generous Tom was with the use of his lake home and the "toys" that he had amassed, and the enjoyment Tom had when his family made use of them.The minister informed us of a side of Tom that most people were unaware of.
My last appointments with him were a couple of years ago. We had some nice talks, and I developed a great respect for Tom and his approach to life. He lived at Lake Poinsett, and went to church in Estelline, even preaching there on occasion. Having had some experience in that department, I was greatly impressed.
Our prayers and thoughts are with Tom's family at this time.
Even though most of them did not know me personally, there was frequently a connection between us. Earl Haddow, for example, was a neighbor to Ken Beckman. When we shot baskets in Ken's driveway, Earl would frequently join.us. Earl also played Little League baseball with us. We had a comical time reminiscing about those days.
It was truly enjoyable making acquaintances also with: Neal Asper, Ron Borchardt, Judy Gile, Denny Glaim, Pete Hauff, Sue Horn, Laurie Klinkel, Tony Koenders, Jay Leibel, Terry Liebing, Jon Lundeen, Jerry Martinson, Carol May, Jeanne Ness, Kris Olson, Sheila Parsley, Margaret Pearson, Gary Steen, Jim Steen, Linda Stuerman, Bob Sturdevant, Tim Thorne, Brian Walsh, Dan Wheeler, Lorna Weise, and Jim Wright. For a shy guy like me, that was not too bad. Just off-hand, at least two of our classmates have spouses in this class. Jim Wakeman is the husband of Carolyn Freyberg, and Mary Moulton is the wife of Gary Steen. Jim and Mary did not escape my attention, nor did Paula. They represented the class of 1969 quite respectably.
Others that were there (at least I believe I saw their name tags), but with whom I did not converse, were: Joyce Berge, Lowell Bortnem, Ralph Bortnem, Dan DeWitt, Carolyn Freyberg, Vicki Hillyer, Les Kampen, Carol Langner, Kenneth Myers, Fran Oseby, "Butch" Oseby. JoAnn Perso, Vickie Podgornick, and Ron Thompson. Bob and I did not stay until the end of the party, so others may have shown up after we left.
A number of familiar names appeared while browsing through the seniors of the 1967 annual: Ahlers, Allison, Baker, Berge, Berkland, Bjordahl, Bortnem, Bozied, Brown, Cavanaugh, Darnall, Hamilton, Hauff, Hendricks, Herrig, Hoekman, Holm, Ishmael, Johnson, Kallemeyn, Kratochvil, Kruse, Leibel, Liebing, Linder, Marshall, Mehegan, Person, Quincey, Robish, Simmons, Sloat, Steen, Sturdevant, Thompson, Thysell, Vick, Walsh, Wakeman, and Wright. Some of these are probably cousins, but most of these, I believe, are siblings of our classmates.
The class of 1967 is perhaps best remembered as the last class to graduate from the "old" high school located at 601 4th Street. They were also state champs in wrestling, a rather remarkable feat considering that wrestling only started in Brookings a few years previously.
These past few weeks have been rather busy, but extremely enjoyable. Unless something important comes up, there may not be any posts for a while. As always, we will have to just wait and see if anything is worth noting.
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