Thursday, November 29, 2018

Brookings Roots

Recently, our class lost another esteemed and respected woman with the passing of Orpha Leibel, mother of Alan, and whose siblings are Jay, Kent, and twins Becky and Kathy. (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=13941858_OLeibel#).  As the obituary states, she was born in rural Brookings County, grew up on the family farm south of Aurora, where she attended country school before entering Brookings High School and graduating in 1940.  That she graduated from BHS was news to me.  Looking through the 1940 Bobcat gave a hint of the wonderful qualities she would display as a wife, mother, and nurse. 

As was the case back then, the activities and organizations of the seniors during high school were listed by their graduation pictures.  There was a little twist to the 1940 annual, however.  In addition to their given name, nicknames were also used to identify the seniors.  Since Mrs. Leibel's maiden name was Sandbeck, her nickname was "Becky."  Her list of activities during high school was vast and varied, including:  Chorus 1,2,3; GAA 1,2,3,4; Homemaking Club 1,2,3,4 (vice president her senior year); Latin Club 2,3,4 (there were 54 members in 1939-40); Dramatic Club 3,4; Orchestra 4 (she was a second violin); Publications Club 4; Declam 3; Junior Play 3; Operetta 1; SSS 4; Broboca Staff 1; Bobcat 4; and Play Production 1. 

SSS (Seniors Strive to Serve) was a group of about a dozen senior girls with a goal of "promoting all school activities and to create pep in our school."   Since 1940 was a Leap Year, they sponsored a Leap Year dance, which was the "most profitable of all the school dances." 

They were naturally at all of the home contests, but also traveled to the football game at Huron, and to the basketball game in Sioux Falls.  This was at a time when very few people traveled out-of-town to support their team.  In addition, they sponsored the "Christmas Basket," "presented assembly programs,"  and organized pep meetings. 

Other pictures in the annual indicate that the basketball games were played in the Jr. Hi. gym, which would later become Central Elementary.  Intramural basketball was played in the high school gym  "The Pit."  It appears that the football games were played at Bobcat Field at Pioneer Park.  There are cars parked near one of the sidelines, whereas State Field had bleachers on both sides.

The Junior Class play that year was "Foot Loose" (sic) (https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/footloose-6803).  Could that have been the inspiration for the 1984 movie "Footloose?"  There were a number of juniors that year who were parents of students of our era.   A trip to the historical section of the Brookings Public Library will reveal those individuals. 

In addition to Mrs. Leibel, there were numerous seniors who may be familiar to members of our class.  Some of those names are:  Art Anderson; Hugh Barnett; Lorraine Berge; Marie Berkland; Eivor Birath; Dennis and Duane Braley; Lorraine Buckley; Mary Connelly; Evelyn Derdall; Phyllis Dokken; Cleo Duff; Tom Durland; Zerl Frie; Olin Gile; James Grommersch; Ruth Harding; Virginia Kjenslee; Floyd Lakeman; J. Walters McCarty; Roger McMillan; Cecilia Moriarty; Phyllis Morrison; Norma Niklason; Jorine Opdahl; Faye Pittenger; Marlys Ponto; Evelyn Rossman; Nina Mae Sanderson; Lyle Seas; Oswald Schock; Calvin Steen; Stafford Steen; Lloyd Sterud; Clarence Sturdevant; George Sundet;  Margaret Trygstad; Eugene Waltz; Phyllis Wheeler; and Florence Wilber. 

At the visitation and at the funeral, we were able to have some wonderful conversations with Alan and other family members.  As a lawyer, Alan is gradually reducing his workload.  He and his wife Kay have a "retirement" home where they hope to spend some more time in their golden years.

Alan's older brother Jay is also a lawyer and has practiced in Madison, SD, for many years.  During college, Jay worked summers at the Bug Lab north of town, along with a number of other BHS grads.

Kent has remained in Brookings, and has been associated with Central Business Supply, an office supply company that is located in the old Beckman Implement building on third street a couple of blocks west of the courthouse.  A few years ago, he bought the O'Connell house on 8th street and rented it out.  However, the expansion of SDSU resulted in that house being moved so the area could become a parking lot. 

The twins Becky and Kathy were 8th-graders my first year of teaching (1973-4).  Becky was in my homeroom, and, with her sister, was as active as middle-schoolers could be.  One fond memory is that they were Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee when the music department performed "Alice in Wonderland" in the spring of 1974. 

The school allowed me to teach long enough so that a few of Alan's nieces and nephews were also in my classes and/or activities.  At the visitation, we had some fond memories of those days. 

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Alan and his family at the loss of his mother.  As one of the concluding prayers at her funeral said: "Eternal rest, grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her."






Thursday, November 15, 2018

One Talented Mother

Our class lost another wonderful person when the mother of Patty Vick passed away recently (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=27335301_DVick). She was employed at the "Bug Lab" when some of us worked there, but since we were usually out in the fields in the "back 40" and she was working "up front", we seldom crossed paths.

As one reads her obituary, it is readily apparent that she was like so many of these ladies who grew up on the farm.  They knew what hard work was, and they knew how to devote their time to helping others when their own work was done.  They truly recognized that "a woman's work is never done."

A number of other classmates also attended the visitation to offer their condolences to Patty, her brother from the class of 1966, and his son Michael (Patty's nephew).  She even suggested that we should hold a "mini-reunion" right there.  Sandy (David) Meisenheimer made some delicious pumpkin bars that were so good they disappeared rapidly.  The meatballs, too, were extremely tasty.  The fruit selection was superb; some of the strawberries were almost as big as apples, yet still retained their distinctive flavor.  



 

Our condolences go out to Patty and her family at this time.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Another "Iron Horse"

"ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. " (http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html).  It is also referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease,  "named after New York Yankees baseball player Lou Gehrig, who was diagnosed with this illness in the 1930s." (https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-lou-gehrigs-disease-or-als.htm). 

Lou Gehrig was the durable Yankee first baseman in the 1920's and 30's who played in 2,130 consecutive baseball games before ALS hastened his retirement.  As a result of his durability on the baseball field, he was nicknamed "The Iron Horse"  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig). His "record that stood for 56 years and was long considered unbreakable until surpassed by Cal Ripken, Jr., in 1995. "

Our class lost another parent recently, a father and a veteran who was an "Iron Horse" in many respects, as he passed away in his 97th year.   Coincidentally, he also shares the same first name as Mr. Gehrig.  That man was Lou Skubic (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=83029617_LSkubic), the father of Stan of our class.  This has been a  difficult year for Stan and his family, as they lost their mother only eight months ago (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2077397). 

Stan's daughter gave a wonderful tribute to her grandmother at that funeral.  She proclaimed similar accolades for her grandfather last Saturday, Nov. 10, 2019.  Stan and his wife Blanche can be very proud of their daughter for her noble testimonials to Stan's parents during such difficult emotional and stressful times.   

There were a number of notable people at the funeral.  Rodney Koehn and his wife came all the way from the Twin Cities to pay their respects.  Carroll Cole from the class of 1968 was also there.  She and her husband have recently moved back to Brookings after retiring from their positions in New York City.  Her father was Mr. "Vic" Cole, who taught social studies in the Jr. Hi and middle school for a number of years.  Some of us may have been his students in 1963-1965. Carroll mentioned that her family lived next door to the Skubics,  attended the same church, and thus had common bonds with them.  Another individual attending was a fellow by the name of Chuck Tiltrum.  He worked at the "Bug Lab" during his college years, along with Jay Leibel (Al's brother) and me.  He was a few years older than we were, but received his  B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering  at SDSU.  Undoubtedly, he came under the influence of Mr. Skubic.  Mr. Tiltrum eventually became a faculty member at SDSU, specializing in the teaching of  surveying.  He was also an advisor to the civil engineering club that did very well in national competitions. He proudly knew Mr. Skubic as both a teacher and a colleague. 


It was unusually cold at the cemetery (temperatures here have been well below normal recently).  Since Mr. Skubic had been in the Navy during WW II, there was on honor guard on hand to pay their proper respects.  There were also two Naval officers who retired the flag and presented it to the family after the committal service. 

At the reception afterwards, a college student who is the son of David Moriarty, who was a year behind us in school, told me that Mr. Skubic was also a photographer while he was stationed in the Pacific.  He actually took a photograph of General MacArthur landing ashore somewhere out there (the Philippines?).  However, the picture did not turn out because it was taken into the sun.  As a result, another photograph of Gen.  MacArthur taken at the same time but at a different angle made the magazines and newspapers, and became rather famous.  Could this be that famous picture?
Seven men in uniform wade through the surf.

Mr. Skubic was a well-respected member of the faculty and the community of Brookings.  Our condolences and prayers go out to Stan at the loss of his wonderful father. 

Monday, November 5, 2018

Stepping Up to Catch Up


Fifty years and a few months after walking out of the Brookings High School gymnasium for the last time as students, the BHS class of 1968 got together last September for a class reunion.  Joining approximately 68 classmates were friends and spouses, bringing the total attendance to just over 100.  Events included a Meet & Greet on Friday the 21st, followed by a  Brookings, 50 Years Later  bus tour the following morning.  A banquet wrapped up the festivities that Saturday night.


The two days went off surprisingly well, considering that Sandy Frie-Smith and I were trying to organize it from California and Minnesota, respectively.  The secret to the success was how some classmates stepped up big time to fill needed gaps just in time for the event itself.  Jeff Neuberger was the greatest Stepper Upper: He managed the excellent Class of '68 Facebook page, as well as taking countless reunion photos throughout the two days.  In addition, Jeff created the In Memoriam tribute to our 30-plus departed classmates.  Rick Wahlstrom used his skills as a certified Methodist Lay Pastor to lead a full-group Memory Lane session that was sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant and always fascinating.  Mike McClemans narrated the bus tour with all of the candor that a long-time real estate agent and former city council member can deliver. Mike pulls no punches with his opinions; no one slept on THAT bus ride!  Steve Hayes and Linda Moe and Randy McClagan stepped up locally to take care of several late-breaking issues.  Craig Steen again took care of the financial matters for us.  Julie Brchan took on the reunion-booklet publishing task.

Many thanks to all who attended a very successful reunion.  We were able to Catch Up because so many classmates Stepped Up.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

"The Reports Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated"

Many of us may recall this quote from Mark Twain after he heard that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal.  It appears that the demise of Igloo, South Dakota, mentioned in a previous post about former BHS teacher Leon Friend, may also be somewhat exaggerated.  A loyal follower, who has relayed to me many useful websites dealing with the history of Brookings and South Dakota, sites that I did not even know existed, has forwarded another fantastic site.  He writes, "Facebook has several SD history groups where people post pictures and stories about Igloo and other towns. It looks like some survivalists are making use of the bunkers at Igloo:  https://www.terravivos.com/secure/vivosxpoint.htm?fbclid=IwAR3Xa6vB5PLofQoe3a3y0cijL_DNXBD7zWo1xVdPE5c0RyLZq2BV2Dlu8u4"

Will these grand plans come to fruition?  It might make for an interesting trip out there to see how the landscape has changed since some of us were last there over 50 years ago.  Since the elevation there is higher than in Brookings, one of our coaches jokingly teased  one teammate that he should stay there as long as he could, since that may be as close to heaven as that player may ever get. 

On a rather sad note, we send our condolences to Stan Skubic, whose father recently passed away (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=83029617_LSkubic).  Like so many of our parents, Mr. Skubic was a truly outstanding individual.  He was a scholar (engineering professor) and patriot, seeing "... action in many of the major landings in the Asiatic and Pacific Theater.."  He and his wife Mary Ann were well-known, respected, and admired, too, for their devotion to their faith. 

Mary Ann passed away just about 10 months ago on February 26, 2018, so this must be a truly difficult time for Stan and his family.  Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he mourns the loss of his father. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

A Friend Indeed

Many of us may recall a teacher by the name of Leon Friend. Perhaps he even taught some of us.   He first came to Brookings in the fall of 1964, and according to the 1965 yearbook, taught chemistry and English II.  In the 1966 and 1967 yearbooks, he is listed as teaching chemistry and Algebra II, in addition to being a senior advisor (could there have been a misprint in the previous annual, English II instead of Algebra II?).  At the new high school in 1967-8, he taught chemistry and Algebra I.  In 1968-69, intramurals were added to his classroom duties.  He continued to teach in Brookings for a couple of more years before moving on (Lake Benton?).   He is listed in the 1971 annual, but not in the 1973 yearbook.  The library is missing the 1972 edition of The Bobcat, so I was unable to note the year he left Brookings.  The Brookings County Museum likely has that edition of The Bobcat, so when it reopens next Memorial Day, we will check it out. 

I recently learned of Mr. Friend's passing when a  follower of this blog sent me a link to his obituary (http://www.isburgfuneralchapels.com/obituary/leon-friend).  A number of items in that obituary were rather stunning.  It appears that Mr. Friend taught at Igloo, SD, just before coming to Brookings.  Igloo is located in the far southwest corner of the state.  It was known in the 1940's through the early 1960's as the home to the Black Hills Ordnance Depot (BHOD), and "... provided livelihoods for thousands of workers and their families here — as well as a sense of community, and solidarity of purpose, unlike anything that many Igloo alums feel they’ve ever seen since." (as quoted in http://www.sdpb.org/blogs/arts-and-culture/igloo-south-dakota-the-utopia-that-war-built/).  This article, although somewhat long, tells the history of the rise and demise of  Igloo, SD. 

The connections to Igloo concern our Teener baseball team that earned a berth in the National  Tournament in Hershey in the summer of 1965.  To qualify for the Hershey trip, we had to first win our district tournament (the other teams were Milbank, Watertown, and Sisseton) held in Brookings that year.  After beating Watertown for the district championship, we played in the state tournament at Madison.  We won that, so we earned a trip to the area tournament that would be held in Igloo.  Since only a few nearby area states had teener baseball, the only other teams there were from Miller, SD, and Chadron, NB (I think it was Chadron anyway).  Little did we realize that in a few years, Igloo as a town would cease to exist.  Perhaps Mr. Friend was wise enough to see the writing on the wall, and realize that there was no reason to remain in that desolate section of the state.  My vague recollections are that we stayed in a barracks-like structure.  Perhaps this is why Igloo was host.  Since the people were moving out, there were some barracks that could house the teams at very little cost.  The article above mentions some of the entertainment venues in Igloo.  The swimming pool is about the only one I remember.  Anyway, we had success out there, and thus earned the trip to Hershey. 

The guest book entries for Mr. Friend were also intriguing.  Of the eight responses, five were from  his former students at Brookings, while one was from a former colleague.  Anita Sloat Parkin,  Jim Steen, Wayne Tanke, and John Wood graduated in 1967, while Pam Vockrodt Diaz graduated in 1971.   Anita and Jim had sisters in our class, Donna and Susan respectively.
The teacher was Mrs. Schaak, who, along with Nancy Webbbenhurst's sister Joan Donaldson, was one of our sophomore English teachers.  Incidentally, Nancy's brother Bob was one of our teener baseball coaches the year we went to Hershey.  He also coached us again the next year. 

Our belated condolences to Mrs. Nancy Friend, her son Edwin, and her granddaughter Ellise.

Headed For The Hall

A few posts back, we mentioned that SDSU alum Adam Vinatieri was closing in on the all-time record for the number of points scored in the National Football League.  This past Sunday, October 28, 2018, he kicked a 25 yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to surpass Morten Andersen's total of 2,544.  He added three extra points in the fourth quarter to give him an even 2,550 points for his career.  How long will that career last?  He is 45 now, and has been in the NFL for 23 years, over half his life, and seems to be getting better with age.  Perhaps that is a reflection on his South Dakota upbringing.  His teammate, quarterback Andrew Luck, seems to sum up Adam's attitude:  "I really don't think we fully appreciate what just happened, or really playing with Vinny.  He doesn't make a big deal out of anything.  He approaches everything with such a professionalism and humility and deflects attention, that I think we get blinded to how great--truly great--he is.  I love playing with him.  He's taught me so much about how to handle yourself and about how to be a pro." 
If you read the caption carefully, you will notice that the picture was taken by Matt Kryger of the Indianapolis Star.  Matt's father Ted was a finance officer for the city of Brookings for a number of years.  Matt, then,  like Adam not only attended SDSU, but was a student of ours, graduating from BHS in 1988.  He became interested in photography when one of his middle school teachers offered a photography class during the noon hour.  After he graduated from college, we ran into each and talked about job prospects.  He noted that it was rather difficult to find employment because he was a white male.  It seemed that in his field, he felt that reverse discrimination was a common practice.  Itwould appear that Matt has distinguished himself in his chosen field. 

A link to Adam's record-breaking achievement can be found at http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25110059/adam-vinatieri-becomes-nfl-all-leading-scorer.  An internet search will yield many more results.  One interesting find was a game in which Herschel Walker was returning a kick-off.  It appeared that Walker was going to return the kick for a touchdown, but Adam chased him down and tackled him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WooPp3UVCp8 --the comments are especially enlightening).  In his prime, Walker was fast, so Adam showed that his athleticism was not solely confined to his kicking responsibilities.  That South Dakota work ethic paid off then, and it has continued to reap dividends.

Assuming that Adam is elected the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he will join Jim Langer (https://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-langer/) as the only other alumnus of SDSU to be enshrined in this elite circle. 

Congratulations to Adam Vinatieri, and may he have a few more seasons of greatness so that he may put that scoring record out of reach.   


 

Thursday, October 18, 2018

A Chip Off The Old Block and Big Yellow Taxi

To accommodate the growing population in Brookings, many new homes, apartment buildings, and businesses are being built and enlarged.  The area south of town has seen much growth in recent years.  To the north, the SDSU campus has undergone numerous changes in the past 15 years, largely due to its upgraded status as a Division One university. 

These changes, however, have resulted in the demolition of a number of older houses and properties.  The SDSU expansion, for example, has resulted in the loss of a number of homes in that neighborhood.  The house in which Kevin O'Connell and his family lived is now a parking lot.  (Shades of Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell-"They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot" http://www.metrolyrics.com/big-yellow-taxi-lyrics-joni-mitchell.html

The expansion of city and county government offices has caused a similar demise of the old neighborhood just south of the former Central Elementary building, which is now the Children's Museum of South Dakota. 

During the 1950's, Tom Bozied and I lived two blocks south of the school, separated by one house.  I would often go his house (part of a duplex) before school so we could watch "Captain Kangaroo" until about 8:55.  Then we would hurry off to our third grade class with Mrs. Peterson (her husband was our Jr. Hi science and shop teacher, who was often referred to as "Uncle Petey"). In the house between us lived an old geezer by the name of Harry Kennard.  He did not seem to appreciate our presence.  Dr. Seuss must have made a trip through Brookings some time in his life, and used Mr. Kennard as his inspiration for "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

In later years, the duplex had become a rental property, mainly used by college students.  Perhaps 15-20 years ago, it burned down, likely because of faulty wiring.  From my house just across the street, it looked like a big oven that had flames shooting out the windows. 

Next door to Tom was the Revell apartments on the corner of 6th avenue and 3rd street, later to become the Hendricks apartments.  Mr. Hendricks was a long-time custodian at the high school just a block away.   To the west were the Tonsager house (their son Stan was a year ahead of us, while their daughter Stella was a year or two behind us); the Clarence Goodroad house (their daughter married Ralph Myers, more of which will be said later); the Homer Dwiggins house (he was a long-time mayor of Brookings); the Lamster house (their children Linda and Ron were a few years older than we were); and on the corner of 5th avenue and 3rd street was the residence of an older lady.  One memory of her house was that she had lilac bushes, which were quite fragrant and beautiful in the spring.

As an aside, Tonsager's had a rather large backyard with a nice apple tree.  We held many athletic contests there.  In the summer, we often had to stop ball games because someone hit the ball into the apple tree, resulting in a number of bruised apples.  We could not let them go to waste, so we took a break and ate them.  In the winter, we would shoot many baskets in that backyard, H-O-R-S-E and 21 being some of our favorite games.  In the spring, that backyard became our own version of the summer Olympics track and field competition. 

To the south of the elderly lady's residence, next to the alley, was the Mittan Ford implement dealership.  Previously, it had been the Bishman Studebaker garage.  Across the alley was Marshall Produce.  Every so often  a load of chickens would be delivered here.  The were kept in wooden cages, which would occasionally break.  The chickens would then start running around.  The owners did not seem to be in great hurry to round them up.  Rather, they seemed to be pleased that we boys had energy to chase them down.  They rewarded us by letting us  take them home to our mother, who, being an old farm girl, would butcher them.  That was our introduction to one of the idioms of the English language, as we understood what it meant to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. 

Heading back east from Marshall produce, there was an old house that seemed haunted to us.  We never did know who lived there, but we were scared to even get near it.  If you recall "To Kill a Mockingbird," it was reminiscent of the Radley house.  To the east of that haunted house was the Herb and Phyllis Lakman home.  Their son Doug was in the class of 1963, while their daughter Patty was a year ahead of us.  We lived to the east of the Lakmans, on the corner of sixth avenue and second street, but in between us was a large lot that was our mother's garden.  In the summer, before we could go out and play ball, we usually had to do some chores (hoe weeds, pick peas or carrots, etc.) to improve the productivity of the plants growing there.  In the 70's, that garden spot became a new house.  However, that house was removed last fall. 


Ralph Myers, who was mentioned above, had a number of entrepreneurial experiences in Brookings.  He had the "Quick Lunch" cafĆ©, just to the west of Ray's Corner, for a time.  He was customer of mine for the Minneapolis Tribune in the early 60's.  When the Mittan Ford implement dealership moved shortly thereafter, Mr. Myers then opened a grocery store in that building.  That would have been when we were in the 6th grade.  Tom Osterberg, Jerry Moad, and I would often stop there on our way home from school.  A few years later, during our sophomore year, he had a pool hall type of business called "The Cue," I believe.  It was not the same as the one down in the basement by Quail's and the former Northwest bank on Main.  Was the nickname of his business "Ralph's Gyp Joint?"  It seems that someone painted that logo on the side of the building, as is was right beside an alley.  This building would later house the White Rabbit and the Irish Shanty.  Ralph even had his hand in the pizza business.  Below is a picture of Ralph and, I believe, Gus Kakonis, who started Pizza King's. 

 
On the block to the north of us, where the current library is, lived Jim Egeberg and his family.  That house , along with a few others, was removed when the VFW built there in the late 50's.  On the west end of that block was a laundry.  Eventually, Clyde Calhoon's law office was located there.  Upstairs was an apartment.  One of my brothers lived there during our 8th grade year.  They had a new-born daughter, for whom I baby-sat quite often.  On the north side of that block was the power plant with its big smoke stack. To the east of the power plant was the Elks club, which was mainly a basement type structure.  The old Carnegie library was on the corner of 4th street and 6th avenue.  Just to the south of the library was a yellow duplex.  Did Bill Sherman and his family live there for a while before moving to South Main where Indian Hills now is?  Across the ally was a small wooded area where we had our forts and could pretend we were Robin Hood or Daniel Boone.  This "forest" would later be uprooted to become a gravel parking lot. 
 
What do these two blocks look like today?  About the only places still in their original location are the Elks club, although it is now above ground rather in the basement, and the old Carnegie library, which has now become the Community Cultural Center, somewhat like a miniature art gallery.  The Sherman residence was removed to be replaced by a law office, and is now home to  Flaskey Chiropractics. The expanded library and its parking lot now occupy the south half of that block.  The power plant, too, has been replaced by a parking lot.  The four or so houses that used to be there are long gone.
 
The block to the south, where Tom Bozied and I grew up, has none of the original buildings left.  The Marshall produce building was torn down a number of years ago and replaced by a similarly sized office building.  The house of the elderly lady with the lilac bushes on the corner was also removed and replaced by The Donut Barn, which itself was later removed.  The Goodroad house was moved to the county museum in Volga, as it was one of the oldest houses still in existence in the county.  The big apartment building on the corner was also moved to 2nd Street South, where it has been refurbished as an updated apartment complex.  Ralph Myers' grocery store became the home to Harold's Printing.  That building, too, was torn down a few years ago.  Thus, one house and the apartment have been moved.  All of the other structures have been torn down.  Why?
 
As mentioned above, government office space is expanding.  A few years ago, the city and county undertook a joint project to build a new government center, as the courthouse space was insufficient.  This new center was built about where the apartment building, the Tonsager residence, and the duplex had been.   The houses to the west and the Harold's Printing building were torn down and/or moved to make way for a parking lot. 
 
Up until a few days ago, our old house on the corner and the Kennard house were still standing.  This week, however, they, too, were demolished, as the city had bought the property to, you guessed it, make more parking available for the city-county building.  The old block has finally been chipped completely away, and our youthful paradise of a playground has literally been replaced by a parking lot.     

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Class of 1968 Reunion

The BHS class of 1968 is planning a 50th reunion in a couple of weeks. That was the first year of classes at the then "new" high school.  It was also the year the school earned a number of awards, including a state "A" basketball championship.  Received this note from one of their committee members who played a vital role on that team:

In conjunction with the BHS Class of '68  50th reunion, Mr. Thury is planning on attending the Saturday evening (September 22) gathering at the EconoLodge, starting around 5 PM.  You non-68ers are all invited, too.  In addition, the class will also meet as a group on the day before, Friday the 21st, at the Innovation Village Community Room for a Meet-&-Greet session, starting at 4 PM. Stop in there, too, if you like...Stop by and say Hello to lots of folks, if you can.

If any of you  reading this happen to be in the area on Sept. 21 and/or 22, you may want to follow this advice and reacquaint yourselves with some of the students who were part of the first graduating class of that new high school.  Hope we can see a number of you there. 

Sadness for our Classmates

Received word recently that the mother of Deanne (Hietbrink) Jacobs passed away (http://m.arkansasonline.com/obituaries/2018/sep/08/agnes-hietbrink-2018-09-08/).  Deanne lost her husband a short time ago, so the loss of her mother is undoubtedly another situation to face.  Deanne's two youngest siblings, Laura and Bernie, were students of ours in the late 70's.  Laura, in fact, was in the class 10 years behind us, while Bernie was perhaps two years younger.  They were both talented athletes.  Laura was a key player on some rather good basketball teams, while also being a key runner on the track and field teams that set a number of school records.  Bernie, too, had similar success.  He was also on a record-setting 4 x 800 relay team. 

Another parent who passed away recently was Esther Meyer-Anderson (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=45349688_EMeyerAnderson).  As the obituary states, her first husband Peter Meyer passed away in 1976.  Their son Darwin was in the class of 1965.  A number of our classmates had siblings or cousins in that class.  A quick look at the Bobcat for that year shows a Paul Adamson, Bernadette and Bernadine Ahlers, Judy and JoAnn Berkland, Bob Bozied, Zoell Colburn, Mitchell Egeberg, Richard Graff, Linda Ishmael, Carol and Earl Kallemeyn, Kandace Kortan, Ann McCone, Connie McKeown, Michael O'Connell, Janeane Perso, Darlene Prussman, George Rickerson, Galen Roberts, Kathy Schroeder, Patrick Skubic, Gloria Simmons, Gerald Sloat, Donna Smith, Elizabeth Steen, Roy Taylor, Rosalie Wilson, and Dorothy Workman. 

Her second husband was Verner Anderson, father of Tom and Russell, the husband of Teresa Steen.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Deanne and Teresa at this difficult time.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Chasing Vinatieri

After reading the last post, a faithful follower informed us that there are a couple of other NFL players with connections to Brookings.  They happen to be brothers, Kevin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_McDermott_(American_football) and Conor McDermott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conor_McDermott).  Their father Kevin graduated from BHS in 1971, while their mother Deb (Kneip) graduated a year later.  Kevin's family moved here in 1968 when his father Bill became head of the South Dakota Press Association.  Kevin was a sophomore when he sat beside me in typing class our senior year.  His mother passed away in March of 2017  (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1931946).  Conor was in attendance at the funeral, while Kevin the younger was unable to attend.  Conor is one big boy, but yet seems very humble.  It was enjoyable talking to him, his parents, and other relatives.   Kevin the father was a key player on the 1971 BHS basketball team that placed third in the state "A" tournament that year (incidentally, in those four years from 19968-1971, BHS placed first, second, and third in the tournament.  Not a bad run.).  He earned a basketball scholarship at SDSU, but unfortunately blew his knee out after a few seasons.  He and his wife Deb have had much success in Nashville, and have raised two fine young men who are blessed with outstanding athletic ability.  Congratulations to the whole family.

The Sunday edition of the August 26, 2018 Argus-Leader had a special section on the upcoming college football season.  One article highlighted the kicker for SDSU, junior Chase Vinatieri.  He is not the son of Adam Vinatieri, but his nephew.  He grew up in Sioux Falls and player for Roosevelt High School. His coach at Roosevelt was Kim Nelson, nephew of Roger Nelson (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1753454), who graduated from BHS in 1954 and was a member of the 1958 USD national small-college basketball champion team.  Kim just happened to be the coach at Rapid City Central when Adam Vinatieri was on the squad.  In addition to being a kicker in high school, Chase was also a gifted receiver.  That skill came in handy in an exciting game about a year ago, as  he scored his first collegiate six-pointer when he "took a pitch from holder Brady Hale on a fake field goal and raced 31-yards (sic) for the game-winning touchdown."  Chase has picked his uncle Adam's brain about the mental approach to kicking, as Chase has aspirations of following in Adam's footsteps.  "His strong leg and name alone will almost certainly draw interest from NFL teams when his career is over.  But he wants to earn an NFL gig, and eventually have a long career similar to Adam's."  Best of luck to Chase in pursuit of his goals.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Rest Of The Story

 
Was this phrase the trademark of radio commentator and personality Paul Harvey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harvey)?  According this this article,  "Harvey added The Rest of the Story as a tagline to in-depth feature stories in 1946."

As promised, below is the article that appeared in Register from November 25, 2017.  It was written by Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star.

 

 
 
 





 
 
 
 
 
 
I hope I haven't broken any laws by copying this.  I haven't meant to.  

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Revisiting Those Knee "Injuries"

Recently a follower of this blog sent me a picture about the previous post concerning the passing of David Steen.  The picture he sent was from Facebook. The original picture was somewhat cropped and used as the introductory page to the Junior High section of the 1966 Bobcat yearbook.  In the yearbook, only one dancer (Jean McCone) is shown.  The individual on the left is not shown, nor is the other "go-go" dancer.  It appears that the cropped picture in the annual is meant to highlight the boys playing:  Marty Johnson on drums, David Steen in the middle, and Gordie Bortnem on the other guitar.  Patty Mehegan is the other dancer on the left.  This dance would have been held in the "Pit."  A previous post  (http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-pit.html) gave a little history of that gymnasium.
 
 
While looking at some old Registers for some other information, this picture also came up.  Pete Retzlaff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Retzlaff) played at State in the early 50's, and then went on to become a stellar receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Incidentally, another receiver for State, Dallas Goedert (https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-dallas-goedert-is-the-nfls-next-mismatch-weapon), was selected by the Eagles in the recent draft.  He was greatly sought after for his receiving abilities.  He did not even have a scholarship when he arrived on campus as a freshman, but obviously earned one for his last few seasons.
 
The picture below shows Pete Retzlaff on a return trip to Brookings after making the Eagles' roster. This issue of the paper was dated Jan. 12, 1958. 
 


 
 
 It appears that Dallas Goedert (2014-17) has an extremely good chance of making the Eagles' roster.  If you're a fan of the NFL, you may have to keep his eye on him.  Today's Register had its second in a weekly series of articles on Jackrabbits in the league.  In addition to Goedert, Jake Weineke 2014-17 and thus Goedert's teammate) is another rookie receiver trying to make the Minnesota Vigings roster.  There are three other Jackrabbits who have NFL experience.  Zach Zenner is a running back for the Detroit Lions (Wayne Rasmusses of State played for them in the 60's, and actually had a very brief appearance in the film Paper Lion).  Bryan Witzmann (2010-2013) is an offensive lineman (left guard) for the Kansas City Chiefs.  (Is there a Left Guard deodorant, or would he have to use Right Guard?).  Adam Vinatieri (1991-94) is still alive and kicking (literally) for the Indianapolis Colts.  Adam became well-known when he kicked for the New England Patriots.  He has played in 337 games since he made the Patriots' squad after playing a couple of seasons in Europe, which indicates the determination he had to make it to the pros.  There was an article in the Nov. 25, 2017 Register entitled The kick that saved Adam Vinatieri's career.  Briefly, the coach (Bill Parcells) gave him a chance to make a meaningless field goal in a pre-season game in which the Patriots were easily defeating the Arizona Cardinals.  Parcells "wanted to know if Vinatieri was clutch."  He made the field goal, and was able to stay around another week.  Had he missed that attempt, he would have been released, and may never have played in the NFL again.  Supposedly Vinatieri had been told by Parcells that if he missed the kick, there would be no reason for him to return to the locker. 
 
That one successful field goal led to a career in which Vinatieri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Vinatieri) has been: a four-time  Super Bowl winning place kicker; two-time all-pro selection; nomated as the NFL's 2000's All-Decade team; and several NFL records.  His name is in the record book for: most seasons with 100-plus points (20-1996-2008, 2010, 2012-2017); most post-season field goals in a career (56); most consecutive games in a single post-season with three or more field goals (4); most career points in post-season (234); most points in a single post-season (49); most field goals in a single post-season (14); most field goals in Super Bowls (7); most extra points in Super Bowls (13); most field goals in overtime (12); most consecutive field goals in NFL history (44); most Super Bowl wins by a place kicker (5); most Super Bowl appearances by a place kicker (5); and most play-off games by a place kicker (30), which also ranks second of any position (Tom Brady has 37).  When I get the time, perhaps I will be able to figure out a way to copy that half-page article and post it on here.   
 
At his age (he will be 46 in December), does he still have the ability to function at the levels demanded by the rigors of pro football?  He recently tied his longest field goal ever with a kick of 57 yards, so it appears that still has plenty of power and strength in that right leg of his.  He needs only 58 points to become the all-time scoring leader in NFL history (https://www.thefalcoholic.com/2018/8/22/17766108/patriots-kicker-adam-vinatieri-will-try-to-dethrone-falcons-alumnus-morten-anderson-in-2018).  Here's hoping that Adam, Dallas, Zach, and Bryan can all have successful seasons this fall. 
 

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

The Unhappy Triad of O'Donoghue

When taking a Prevention and Care of Injuries class in college, we were introduced to the term "The Unhappy Triad of O'Donoghue."(https://radiopaedia.org/articles/odonoghue-unhappy-triad-1)It's a fancy way of saying that an individual blew one's knee out.  Recently, the Brookings community was hit by the loss of three well-known individuals who were quite active and respected in their efforts to make Brookings a special place. 

The first individual to pass away was Leroy Voss, the brother of Doug Voss of our class.  http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=80876628_LVoss  Although I did not know Leroy personally, he was known by some of my older siblings, and it was my privilege to have his three children as students when they were in the 6th grade.   

Emmett Early had told me that Leroy had not been in the best of health recently.  He was rushed to the heart hospital in Sioux Falls, where he was resuscitated a few times.  However, he succumbed after a day or two. 

Leroy was a regular at the Brookings Speedway in the late 60's, early 70's, as the picture below indicates.   Many of the "old-timers" recall him as doing quite well and holding his own against the more well-financed cars. 

It was great visiting with Doug after not having seen him since graduation.  He seems to have overcome some health problems, and is still keeping quite busy working for a number of engineering firms in the Denver area.  Perhaps we can see him next year at our 50th reunion. 

Our condolences go out to Doug and his family at this time. 
 
The passing away of the second individual was quite unexpected and shocking to the community.  That person was David Steen (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=87596644_DSteen), who was a year behind us in school.  His brother Craig was a year ahead of us, while his brother Gary was two years ahead of us, and is married to Mary Moulton of our class. 
 
Craig and David ran Steen Bookkeeping, and had numerous clients, including my oldest brother, who had them do his taxed every year.  When Bob Adams and I were at the visitation, the lines extended out the doors of Rude's Funeral Home, an indication of the respect that the Brookings community had for David
 
Dave and his wife Julie also had three children, and it was not only my privilege to have them as students, but it was also rewarding to me to have Julie as a colleague in the science department at the middle school. 

 
The fisherman's prayer above is the same one that was on the obituary for the father of Stan Lorenz (http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2018/01/big-northerns.html#comment-form)
 
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dave's family at this time. 
 
The third individual that had a large impact on the Brookings community was LaRayne Wahlstrom (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2122212).  Her eldest son Rick was year ahead of us, but was among the younger students in his class, as he played on the same little-league baseball team, the Dodgers, as Jim Kortan, Lonnie Heeren, Jim Egeberg, and John Iverson when they were all 12 years old.  Brian Johnson was also on our team, but he was only 11, even though he was in our class.  Like Rick, he was one of the younger ones in our class. 
 


 
We had a really good team that year, and had good chance to win the championship.  When the play-offs started, we played the pirates in the first game.  They, too, had a talented team.  Jerry Tordoff and Tom Roe were two players who readily come to mind, probably because they were two really good pitchers.  We started off by getting some timely hits off Jerry, and built a rather substantial lead after only a couple of innings.  However, with the bases loaded and Jim Kortan coming up to bat, the rains came, cancelling the game and wiping out the score.  The game was rescheduled for the next day.  We had to start all over with the score 0-0. 
 
Knowing that we were able to score a number of runs with Jerry Tordoff pitching, the Pirates' coach, Marv Hochstetter, started Tom Roe instead.  Perhaps because Tom was a lefty, we were unable to get any runs in the three innings that he could pitch (a pitcher could only pitch three innings, according to the rules).  Jerry matched Tom's performance.  Our pitchers almost equaled their efforts, also.  However, we allowed one run, thus losing 1-0.  The Pirates would go on the win the championship. 
 
What is memorable about that game is that one of the players on the Dodgers was a sore loser.  He could quickly excoriate his teammates when they were failed to live up to his expectations and made a mistake (he learned that behavior from some of his older brothers).  After the game, Mrs. Wahlstrom rightfully let that player know that his sportsmanship was atrocious, and that he acted like a spoiled brat, which he may have been at the time. 
 
When we started college in the fall of 1969, Jim Egeberg became good friends with Mrs. Wahlstrom's nephew (Rick's cousin) Rob, also a freshman.  "Wally," as he became known, was an outstanding quarter-miler on the track team.  At the visitation, Rick told Bob Adams and me that he still had the school record for the 440 yard dash.  Rob was also on some gifted mile-relay teams that placed high nationally in the championship meets.  A few years later, the schools in the United States joined the rest of the world and switched over to the metric system for all track meets.  All the records set in imperial distances (yards) back then are still standing because they are not run anymore.  Officially, all track records are now listed only for metric distances (the only exception is the mile, which is contested in some select competitions:  https://www.bringbackthemile.com/home)
 
After college, I was fortunate to be hired to teach and coach in the middle school here.  On a few occasions, Mrs. Wahlstrom was the substitute when I had to leave for an athletic contest.  She always did a fine job and handled the classes exceptionally well, probably even better than the regular teacher.
 
You may have noticed that the visitations and funerals for Dave Steen and LaRayne Wahlstrom were scheduled for the same time.  Fortunately, we went to Dave Steen's visitation before the crowds gathered, and were able to talk with some of the family (Dave's mother is still around).  By the time we arrived at Mrs. Wahlstrom's visitation, we had to stand in line for quite some time, again indicating the respect and admiration that the community had for her. 
 


Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wahlstrom family at this time. 
 

 

Monday, July 9, 2018

The Brookings Summer Arts Festival

This coming weekend will see Pioneer Park teeming with people as the town is host to the annual Summer Arts Festival.  A few classes generally have a reunion, which seems rather appropriate.  We have had a few during this time, also.  One never knows who may be walking around the park during the festival.  We here in town are often surprised by those who are in attendance.

This weekend also marks the 90th birthday of Erling Engstrom, the band instructor for many years at the Jr. Hi./Middle School. An Open House is scheduled for him on Saturday, July 14 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at Meadow Green Clubhouse.  Meadow Green is located on 22nd Avenue near Edgebrook Golf Course.  Both the Register and Argus-Leader noted this occasion, and indicated that "Former students, student teachers, colleagues and friends are invited to bring your instruments and a music stand.  Music will be provided."   If you happen to be in town this weekend, and you were influenced by Mr. Engstrom's expertise, it may well be worth the time to stop by and express your appreciation to him for his efforts.

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Is that The Way It Was?

Last Saturday, a few of the members of the 1968 Bobcat basketball team convened at Nick's to recall, among other episodes of our lives, that glorious year of our championship.  Steve Hayes, Bob Ishmael, Bob Adams, Bob Jostad, Skip Webster, and John Iverson had slightly different versions of life some 50 years ago.  Stew Linn, however, straightened us out about some facts that were in dispute.  Stew's mother compiled a diary of sorts with a magnificent scrapbook of those initial two years of basketball in the then new high school. 

We knew, for example, that Lee Colburn had set the single game scoring for the Bobcats with an effort of 38 against Pierre our senior year.  But Stew also showed us three other  games in which Lee scored at least 30 points.  Two of those games were against Huron during the regular season, while the third game was against Belle Fourche in the state tournament. 

Our research has shown that Lee likely has four of the top twelve scoring efforts in BHS basketball history.  I believe the school record is 40, set by Konnor Beste in the state tournament about five years ago. http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2013/03/flashbacks.html#comment-form.  That performance broke Lee's record of 38.  The previous high had been set in 1954 by Roger Nelson, who, in 1958, was a member of the national small college championship team at the University of South Dakota.  Roger was in attendance at that game, as he was living in Onida then, and had refereed the "B" Pierre game.  Stew mentioned that Roger came in the dressing room after the game and congratulated Lee for his fine effort, adding that he had always wanted to witness personally the breaking of his record.  His wish had come true. 

Roger's record was first threatened in 1957, when Bob Shelden scored 36 against Watertown.  Incidentally, the Watertown coach at that time was Jim Marking, who later became the head coach at SDSU in 1965.  Lee's effort of 34 Against Huron just before Christmas in 1968 places him number five on the list.  The 37 that Nelson scored against Mitchell in 1954 broke the previous record of 31 by Arnold Ginn vs. Huron in 1950 (Just after Christmas in 1955, George Iverson also scored 31 against Rapid City Central.).  Ginn was on a hot streak, as his 31 broke his previous record of 30 set just the week before against Webster.  His father was Ralph Ginn, the football coach at the college.  Ralph actually coached at BHS before accepting the State job, and coached the basketball team to the 1946 State "A" title. 

Four other 30 point efforts have also been found.  Nelson scored 30 against Yankton in December of 1953, just a couple of months before his monstrous effort of 37.  The game was somewhat of a blow-out, so Roger sat out much of the last quarter.  In the Register, coach Harold White of the Bobcats said if he had let him play a few more minutes, he may have scored more than Ginn's 31. Breaking the scoring record, however, was not a priority in Coach White's mind at the time. 

Lee had two 30 point games.  As indicated above, they came against Huron (again) a week before Valentine's Day of 1969, and against Belle Fourche in the second game of the state tournament, three days before St. Patrick's day of 1969. 

The final 30 point effort that our research has found was from Bob Shelden vs. Huron just a few weeks after his 36 point outburst vs. Watertown. 

By our count, then, there have been 12 individual efforts of 30 or more points scored by an individual Bobcat basketball player in the history of BHS.  More may be discovered as we continue to dive into the archives of the Brookings Register.

We also recalled those 100 and 105 points games against Pipestone.  While we thought those would be the most points ever scored by a Bobcat basketball team, we were mistaken.  While searching the papers from the mid-60's to find out if Eric Bundgaard , an all-state performer his freshman and sophomore years before moving to Northfield, Minnesota, had ever scored more than 30 (his best efforts appear to be 28), we discovered that in 1965, in a game played at the Central gymnasium, the Bobcats scored 116 against the Flandreau Indians.  The smaller court at Central may have facilitated the ease of scoring in that game.  coincidentally, four of those players had brothers in our class:  Bozied, Kallemeyn, O'Connelll, and Iverson.



One of the players for Flandreau was a freshman by the name of Victor Herford (the paper had it "Hereford").  At Nick's, we all remembered him, because he was what we called a ball hog.  He did not to think about passing to his teammates.  He threw up some really long shots when he played.  If there had been a 3-point shot in his era, he likely  would have scored 10 more points per game. 

The question that we had was if Victor played against us when we played the Flandreau Indians in the district tournament in 1968.  If he was a freshman in 65, he would have been a senior in 1968.  We did recall playing against him in the 1967 districts.  However, he did not play against us in 1968.  Stew's scrapbook proved that he was no longer playing, as his name was not listed in the box score. Was he ineligible because he was too old?  High school athletes lose their eligibility when they turn 20 years old. According to some, it was not uncommon for situations such as this to arise at some schools. 

We sat around Nick's for perhaps four hours and reminisced not only about those days, but also about some of the adventures we have experienced since high school.  Bob Ishmael, especially, had some interesting encounters in his law-enforcement career.  We hope we  can continue these meetings on an irregular basis. 

ANOTHER SORT OF REUNION

Last night, the class of 1978 had the first night of their reunion weekend.  This class was in the 8th-grade when I first started teaching.  Perhaps one-third of them were students of mine.  Seeing some of them for the first time since they graduated was truly enjoyable.  It gave me a sense of what we have to look forward to next year.  So many of them commented how great it was to see old classmates (and one really old teacher), and they were looking forward to tomorrow, when even more of their classmates were planning to show up.  For all of those in the BHS class of 1969 (or anyone else  that has ties to our class) who are reading this, please try to make every effort to come to our class reunion next Aug. 1-4, 2019, to recall that half-century since our graduatuon.  The entire event promises to be a wonderful, enlightening, and enjoyable time. 

There were even some connections to our class.  David Evenson, a member of the class of '78, told me he lives in Marshall, Minnesota.  When I mentioned that Gary Vincent also lives there, David said that he knew Gary very well, that they used to work in the same place, and that he still sees Gary about once a month.  David indicated that he would mention our visit to Gary the next time they see each other.

 

WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK, KEEP IT!


Sadly, it seems that the grim reaper is making his appearance more frequently than we would like.  Our condolences go out to Marilyn (Allison) Gisi on the passing of her brother Duane http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=84394233_DAllison.  He was a couple of years ahead of us in school, and was in the last class to graduate from the "old" high school, now known as the 1921 Building (the date of its construction).  It was heartwarming, at the visitation, to see a number of our classmates express their sorrow to Marilyn at the loss of her brother.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her during this difficult time. 



Did you take the time to read The Fork in the Casket?  If not, please do; much food for thought in that little gem. 

GOT MILK?


The Register of Friday, July 6, 2018, had a front-page article relating to the Bibby-Kallemeyn dairy that was so well-known when we were in school.  The Brookings County Museum in Volga has  "(a) new display of old milk bottles and other paraphernalia related to the history of dairying and creameries in South Dakota."  Featured in the article are comments by Monte Harming, husband of Marsha Hokanson of our class (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341775).  Monte was a popular and well-known deliveryman for B/K Dairy for about 20 years. 


If anyone is in the area this summer, it may be fun and enjoyable to make a little day trip to Volga to visit this display.  The Museum is open 1-4 from Memorial Day to Labor Day.