A recent article in the Brookings Register noted the 50-year anniversary of the marriage of Henry Nelson and Merri Lynn Schoepf, which took place at the First Lutheran Church on Jan. 27, 1968. They were a few years older than we were, and Henry was a key player on the State "A" basketball champions of 1962. Coincidentally, or perhaps providentially, less than two months after their marriage, we duplicated that championship feat. Some familiar names were in the wedding party: Nancy Felt was a bridesmaid; Bob Bozied was an usher and also lit the candles; Anne Westbrook registered the guests (every once in a while, her name still appears in the paper, as she seems to be a talented bridge player). Just below this article is a short notice that there will be an open house to be held on Feb. 11 at the First Methodist Church honoring Mr. and Mrs. Russell Adams on their 25th wedding anniversary. The reception will be hosted by their two sons, Bill and Bob. Bob was a steadying influence on our 1968 state championship team. Again, coincidence or providence?
Seeing these articles was a somewhat of an inspiration to look back at some of the Registers when Henry was a sophomore. That year was chosen because he was named the most valuable player for the Bobcats basketball team that year. There were a number of items that were related to our classmates. A brief summary of them appears below, along with the date they were published. It may bring us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear, as Bill Sherman would find out.
Jan 13, 1960
Glenn Baird Buys Burdett Implement.
This was the father of Diane. Mr. Baird would manage the Case Implement dealership that was then located on West Sixth Street. He had been the Case implement dealer in New Castle, WY.
Brookings Music Sets Grand Opening
The store was located at 319 Main Avenue, and was owned by Robert Madson, father of Tom of our class.
City Jaycees Open Athletic Project
This new project was the installation of basketball hoops at the Armory-Auditorium, where many of us played basketball in the winter on the weekend, unless there was Guard drill. The Armory was much warmer than Fishback's barn.
Jan. 17, 1960
Mike's Slogan Wins $100
There is picture of Art Sogn presenting Mike O'Connell (brother of Kevin) a check for $100 for creating a slogan for the Prairie States Life Insurance Company. The firm is South Dakota's newest life insurance company.
Survey Probes Teeners.
The Brookins League of Women Voters (LWV) polled over 600 teenagers of Brookings in an attempt "to arrive at some conclusions about the teenage population of the city." The questions asked concerned families doing things together, after high-school plans, mothers working outside the home, time spent at home, time spent watching TV, dating frequency, etc.
Jan. 20, 1960
Mailman's Canine Pal Makes the Daily Rounds
There is an article and a picture showing Wayne Simmons greeting his "friend." A weimaraner dog has been accompanying Wayne Simmons (Brenda's father) for the past six weeks on his mail route near South Side Park. The dog "knows all the alleys I turn and often goes right up to the house ahead of me," Simmons said. It seems that around this time, one of my older brothers brought a weimaraner dog home. Could this have been the same animal?
Karnes Speaks at White
Mr. Guy O. Karnes spike at the Jan 11 PTA meeting in White. His topic was "What Adolescents Fear."
Jan. 24, 1960
Class Adopts 'Kitty'
An article with an accompanying picture of some of Mrs. Donald Parker's third-grade class at Hillcrest and their "adoption" of a stray cat that was browsing around the school grounds during cold weather. The class "adopted" it, and it seems quite at home in its new habitat. The students in the picture include Danette Starman, Vicki Scannell, Teresa Steen, Stan Skubic, Jim Antonides, Kevin O'Connell, Diane Sturdevant, Theresa Buckbee, Kris Lyons, Kathy Groethe, Carol Bork, Steve Odegaard, Joe Ulmer, Karen Nielsen, John Puncochar, Pat Collins, and Dorothy Frost. The article states that there are 26 students in the class, but only 17 are listed. Anyone know who the missing students are?
Linns Honored on 50th Sunday
The Rainbow café hosted a dinner honoring Mr. and Mrs. K. K. Linn on their 50th wedding anniversary. Would these be grandparents of Stewart of our class? A guest was Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Culey from Castlewood. Would this be Mr. Culey who was a guidance counselor at BHS in the mid-60's?
Guild Divisions Meet Recently
Many of our mothers were members of the ladies groups at our respective churches. This article mentioned some of the groups that met at St. Thomas More recently. Some names are familiar. Mrs. Rudy Foerster was assisted by Mrs. Marvin Iverson, with the next meeting at the home of Mrs. Loren Wolter. Another division was hosted by Mrs. George Erger, with Mrs. Sturdevant as program leader.
Jan. 27, 1960
City Gets Shelter House
A picture and an accompanying article show the newly-constructed warming house at the Hillcrest Park skating rink. The structure was financed by the Brookings Legion post. In the summer, it will be used as a picnic shelter.
Jan. 31, 1960
They Traveled, Got Card
Another picture accompanying a story about Billy, Tom, and Bobby Sherman, who possess "real, honest-to-goodness 'Have Gun, Will Travel' cards presented them by 'Paladin' himself." The boys and their parents, relatives of Joseph Iverson (no relation to me that I know of), were recently visiting the Iverson Movie Ranch in Southern California. The ranch has been the background for numerous western-themed movies and programs. From Wikipedia on Iverson Movie Ranch:
"Karl and Augusta Iverson owned a 500-acre family ranch in the Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass above Chatsworth.[5] They allowed a movie to be shot on the property as early as 1912, with the silent movies Man's Genesis (1912), My Official Wife (1914), and The Squaw Man (1914) among the features cited as the earliest films shot on the site. A long and fruitful association soon developed between Hollywood and the Iverson Movie Ranch, which became the go-to outdoor location for Westerns in particular and also appeared in many adventures, war movies, comedies, science-fiction films, and other productions, standing in for Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and any number of exotic locations.
"Buster Keaton's Three Ages (1923), Herman Brix's Hawk of the Wilderness (1938), Laurel and Hardy's The Flying Deuces (1939), John Wayne's The Fighting Seabees (1944), and Richard Burton's The Robe (1953) are just a few of the high-profile productions that were filmed at the ranch. The rocky terrain and narrow, winding roads frequently turned up in Republic serials of the 1940s and were prominently featured in chases and shootouts throughout the golden era of action B-Westerns in the 1930s and 1940s.
"Hollywood's focus began to shift to the medium of television in the late 1940s, throughout the 1950s, and into the 1960s, and Iverson became a mainstay of countless early television series, including The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show, The Gene Autry Show, The Cisco Kid, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Zorro, and Tombstone Territory.[6]
"An estimated total of 3,500 or more productions, about evenly split between movies and television episodes, were filmed at the ranch during its heyday. The long-running TV western The Virginian filmed on location at Iverson in the ranch's later period, as did Bonanza and Gunsmoke.
"By the 1960s, the ownership of the ranch was split between two of Karl and Augusta's sons, with Joe Iverson, an African safari hunter married to Eva Iverson, owning the southern half of the ranch (the Lower Iverson) and Aaron Iverson, a farmer married to Bessie Iverson, owning the northern half (the Upper Iverson). In the mid-1960s the state of California began construction on the Simi Valley Freeway, which ran east and west, roughly following the dividing line between the Upper Iverson and Lower Iverson, cutting the movie ranch in half. The waning popularity of the Western genre and the decline of the B-movie as an important business model for the studios coincided with the arrival of the freeway, which opened in 1967, and greater development pressure, signaling the end for Iverson as a working movie ranch.
"It was during this period that part of the ranch (known as the Spahn Ranch) was occupied by the notorious murderer Charles Manson and was the base for his followers known as The Family.
"In 1982, Joe Iverson sold what remained of the Lower Iverson to Robert G. Sherman who almost immediately began subdividing the property. The former Lower Iverson now contains a mobile home park, the Rocky Peak Church and a large condominium development. The Upper Iverson is also no longer open to the public as it is now a gated community consisting of high-end estates along with additional condos and an apartment building.
"Part of the ranch has been preserved as parkland on both sides of Red Mesa Road, north of Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth. This section includes the famous "Garden of the Gods" on the west side of Red Mesa, in which many rock formations seen in countless old movies and TV shows are accessible to the public. Also preserved as parkland, unmarked, is an area on the east side of Red Mesa that includes the popular Lone Ranger Rock, which appeared beside a rearing Silver, the Lone Ranger's horse, in the opening to each episode of the "Lone Ranger" TV show.
The property that includes the site of the original Iverson homestead on the Lower Iverson is owned and is being respectfully maintained by Phyliss Murphy and Jim Ansley who occupy Joe Iverson's home which is located on Iverson Lane. The bulk of the former Iverson Ranch has been developed.
The location of the ranch was in the northwest corner of Chatsworth, Calif., along the western side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard where it currently intersects with the 118 Freeway.[7] "
If anyone is interested, other information can be found at these two sites:
http://iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com/2011/09/middle-iverson-ranch-set-history-in.html
http://movielocationsplus.com/IVERSON.HTM
Advisory Group Suggests Buildings, Reorganization
This article deals with the school reorganization that was occurring at the time. The emphasis was on more elementary school construction, as the country schools were closing, and not on high school construction. "Specifically, the subcommittee suggested two new elementary buildings, each to house about 400 students and each costing approximately $400,000." Superintendent Horrigan, however, noted that this would not solve problems at the high school level. Facilities there were generally considered inadequate for science, foreign language, industrial arts, business education, guidance programs, and athletics.
Feb. 3, 1960
Derscheid Named to SDSC Extension Agronomist Post
President Briggs announced that "Lyle A. Derscheid has been named Extension agronomist at South Dakots State college (sic)." At the time of this appointment, Craig was listed as being 8 years old. This article also listed other staff changes, including the resignation of assistant professor of agronomy Donald E. Kratochvil, father of Mark.
Feb. 7, 1960
Athletic Club Organizes For New Rec Facilities
"The purpose of the club is to enroll members who wish to use new recreational facilities installed at the Brookings Armory-Auditorium in project sponsored by Brookings Junior Chamber of Commerce." Officers elected Wednesday included president Warren Starman (father of Danette in the "Kitty" article above?), secretary Jim Emmerich (longtime SDSC track and field coach), and treasurer Norman Johnson (BHS athletic director). Other members included Tom Lyons and Harvey Watson, parents of Kris and Roch of our class.
The purpose, it seems, is to provide opportunities for adult participation in activities that would appeal to them, such as volleyball, handball, and badminton. Children are to be excluded "ON THE GROUNDS THIS GROUP PRESENTLY HAS FACILLITIES AVAILABLE, and there was no desire to interfere with an existing organized school recreation program." (emphasis in original)
My recollection, though, is that they did start a basketball program for elementary boys on Saturday afternoons at a later date. I believe it was under the direction of Don Jacobsen, an outstanding basketball player for SDSC from 1957-1961. Eventually, an adult basketball league was added to program. Did the handball, volleyball, and handball programs ever come to fruition? Volleyball is quite popular now, but was it back then?
Martin Kamstras Celebrate 58th
Accompanying a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Kamstra is this brief caption. "Mr. and Mrs. Martin Kamstra will celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary Friday. The former Annie Starkenbert, 76, and Martin Kamstra, 83, were married at the Starkenberg farm near Orange City, Iowa, Feb 12, 1903.
The Kamstras have 10 living children, Lewis, John, Mrs. Melvin (Mattie) Larson, Ray, Henry, Mrs. W. C. (Irene) Sweet, Leslie, Mrs. Lawrence (Jean) Frank, Kenneth and Mrs. Norman (Phyllis) Erickson; 27 grandchildren, and I great grandchild.
Residing the past 14 years at 908 Third street in Brookings, Mr. and Mrs. Kamstra have been Brookings county residents, with the exception of about 10 years, since 1903.
Feb. 10, 1960
C. A. Skinner, Pioneer Businessman, Dies at 97
Mr. Skinner came to Brookings in 1882 and "opened a mercantile business...in what is the present Masonic Temple. In 1902, he built the present Montgomery Ward store on Main avenue." That building is now known as Skinner's Pub.
After Montgomery Ward went left in 1967, a number of businesses were located there. Most of them, however, stayed only a short while. In 1995, it was remodeled to become Skinner's Pub, name in honor of C. A. Skinner.
Hillcrest to Get More Classrooms
Seven more classrooms were to be added to Hillcrest Elementary at a cost in excess of $100,000.00.
Friday, February 23, 2018
"The Pit"
Many of us, especially the males of our class, remember "The Pit." For those of us who attended Central, it was the site of many of our gym classes. Once we began attending junior high and up through our sophomore year, it remained the home for gym class, as well as becoming a locker room for a few sporting activities.
One distinguishing feature we noted as elementary students in the fall is that the odor down in that subterranean cavity soon became rather obnoxious. The reason, if memory serves correctly, is that the varsity football team (did the "B" also dress there, or did they dress at Central?) hung up their equipment in an adjacent room to dry. Since those pads, pants, and jerseys were not laundered on a regular basis, the odor soon became rather objectionable. Varsity basketball then practiced at Central, so they did not use the pit on a regular basis. However, intramurals had their games there, as did the Junior High and JV teams on occasion. In the spring, the track and field teams dressed there, and worked out if the weather was not conducive to outdoor practice.
Mr. Dolan was out gym teacher in elementary school and up through 8th grade. It seems that at the start of every class, we lined up on the sideline and counted off in fours (1-2-3-4,1-2-3-4, etc.). The ones took one step forward, the twos took two steps forward, etc. We warmed up by doing calisthenics such jumping jacks, regular push-ups, 8-count push-ups, sit-ups, toe touches, and others. The toe touch exercise was done by standing tall with feet shoulder width apart, then bending over and touching your right foot, bounce up a little bit and then touch the floor between your feet, another bounce and then touch your left foot, and then return to a standing posture. Instead of always counting one-two-three-four, he sometimes called out "Let's bounce nice and high."
As Mr. Dolan was the Junior High basketball, coach we did our share of basketball drills. Other sports, though, were not neglected. We wrestled, and played volleyball and softball. One of our favorites was dodgeball. We used volleyballs, not those foam balls that are used today. Some boys could really heave that thing, and it stung when you got hit.
Every once in a while we would line up under the basket and see how many chin-ups or pull-ups we could do. Some of us struggled, but there were some who were strong and specially gifted. The talented ones who stick out in my mind were Arlan Meske and Vern Olson. Whereas most of us strained to do five or even 10, those two could bounce up and down on that chinning bar like pinball going around an arcade game. They were capable of doing as many as 20. Mr. Dolan also mentioned that Steve Odegaard at Hillcrest was also quite proficient in this endeavor.
Another recollection is that pep assemblies were held there at noon. One time Tom Klinkel was giving the pep talk. The basketball team was playing Sioux Falls Washington that night. They had an outstanding player named John Eggers, who later starred at Augustana. I seem to recall Tom referring to him as "Fly-trap" Eggers. I think it was because Mr. Eggers had rather large lips, and his mouth always seemed to be wide open, perhaps gasping for breath.
Many school pictures were also taken there. All of the annuals up through 1967 show numerous clubs and associations having their pictures taken with the pit as the background. Additionally, a few dances were also held there. The pit was even used after we moved to the new high school in 1967. The new cross-country coach was also a teacher at the middle school, so he had us meet there for practice after school.
Why was it called the pit? The logical reason is that you had to go downstairs to get to it. The ceiling of the pit was just a few feet higher than the ground floor.
The pit as we remember it began a transformation in the mid-70's. A three-phase remodeling project was begun to make the old high school more conducive to the needs of middle school students. Do you recall what the old pit looked like? Below is a picture taken during a 7th grade "B" basketball game against Huron sometime in January or February of 1974.
The front entrance to the school would be to the right. Standing up in the left-hand corner is "Lefty" Johnson, middle school principal. The middle gentleman seated in top row (in the dark suit) is Dr. Crosswait, superintendent of the school system. His son is #30 in the top photo, while #14 is the son of Mr. Mohlenhoff, our driver's ed teacher (Mr. Mohlenhoff was the 7th grade "A" coach. They were playing in Central at the same time). The "bench" for the players is the ledge, where those not playing at the moment are resting. As you can see, the wall comes right up next to the court. The "bleachers" were built in. They were concrete with some kind of coating (or was it just paint?) on them. The other side of the pit had the same lay-out. On the other end of the pit were stairs on both sides. If you did not want to jump off the ledge to get down, you could always take the stairs. Also on that end were locker room and storage area.
The out-of-bounds line is only a foot or so from the court. The mats under the basket are there for a reason. Also under the basket you can see the infamous "chinning " bar mentioned above. Not seen is the climbing rope. We often had to tighten that up so it did not interfere with the game.
When the remodeling phase of the pit was finished, about the only thing that remained was the basketball floor. The locker room and equipment room were gutted to make room for separate boys and girls locker rooms. The bleachers on both sides were removed. The pillars had to stay, though. The east side (the side shown in the photos) was made into an office and storage area. A stairwell was added where the one boy is seated on the ledge. A curtain was added so that the pit could be divided up for different activities. One reason it was added was that the east side would contain portable racquetball courts. They could be folded up against the wall when not in use. The curtain would serve as a back wall. Obviously the ball would not bounce off the curtain, but it saved time because the players would not have to be chasing down the ball so often.
On top of the office and storage area was the middle school wrestling room. Because it was a long drop to the floor from the wrestling area, a strong fence enclosed the wrestling room.
The west side was left completely open to allow for more space. Baskets were put up on the pillars on both sides to allow for cross-court games.
Although there has been much remodeling of the old high school into apartments and office space in the last few years, remnants of the pit can be still be seen. If you are in town sometime, you may want to stop in. The building is usually open weekdays from 8-5.
One distinguishing feature we noted as elementary students in the fall is that the odor down in that subterranean cavity soon became rather obnoxious. The reason, if memory serves correctly, is that the varsity football team (did the "B" also dress there, or did they dress at Central?) hung up their equipment in an adjacent room to dry. Since those pads, pants, and jerseys were not laundered on a regular basis, the odor soon became rather objectionable. Varsity basketball then practiced at Central, so they did not use the pit on a regular basis. However, intramurals had their games there, as did the Junior High and JV teams on occasion. In the spring, the track and field teams dressed there, and worked out if the weather was not conducive to outdoor practice.
Mr. Dolan was out gym teacher in elementary school and up through 8th grade. It seems that at the start of every class, we lined up on the sideline and counted off in fours (1-2-3-4,1-2-3-4, etc.). The ones took one step forward, the twos took two steps forward, etc. We warmed up by doing calisthenics such jumping jacks, regular push-ups, 8-count push-ups, sit-ups, toe touches, and others. The toe touch exercise was done by standing tall with feet shoulder width apart, then bending over and touching your right foot, bounce up a little bit and then touch the floor between your feet, another bounce and then touch your left foot, and then return to a standing posture. Instead of always counting one-two-three-four, he sometimes called out "Let's bounce nice and high."
As Mr. Dolan was the Junior High basketball, coach we did our share of basketball drills. Other sports, though, were not neglected. We wrestled, and played volleyball and softball. One of our favorites was dodgeball. We used volleyballs, not those foam balls that are used today. Some boys could really heave that thing, and it stung when you got hit.
Every once in a while we would line up under the basket and see how many chin-ups or pull-ups we could do. Some of us struggled, but there were some who were strong and specially gifted. The talented ones who stick out in my mind were Arlan Meske and Vern Olson. Whereas most of us strained to do five or even 10, those two could bounce up and down on that chinning bar like pinball going around an arcade game. They were capable of doing as many as 20. Mr. Dolan also mentioned that Steve Odegaard at Hillcrest was also quite proficient in this endeavor.
Another recollection is that pep assemblies were held there at noon. One time Tom Klinkel was giving the pep talk. The basketball team was playing Sioux Falls Washington that night. They had an outstanding player named John Eggers, who later starred at Augustana. I seem to recall Tom referring to him as "Fly-trap" Eggers. I think it was because Mr. Eggers had rather large lips, and his mouth always seemed to be wide open, perhaps gasping for breath.
Many school pictures were also taken there. All of the annuals up through 1967 show numerous clubs and associations having their pictures taken with the pit as the background. Additionally, a few dances were also held there. The pit was even used after we moved to the new high school in 1967. The new cross-country coach was also a teacher at the middle school, so he had us meet there for practice after school.
Why was it called the pit? The logical reason is that you had to go downstairs to get to it. The ceiling of the pit was just a few feet higher than the ground floor.
The pit as we remember it began a transformation in the mid-70's. A three-phase remodeling project was begun to make the old high school more conducive to the needs of middle school students. Do you recall what the old pit looked like? Below is a picture taken during a 7th grade "B" basketball game against Huron sometime in January or February of 1974.
The front entrance to the school would be to the right. Standing up in the left-hand corner is "Lefty" Johnson, middle school principal. The middle gentleman seated in top row (in the dark suit) is Dr. Crosswait, superintendent of the school system. His son is #30 in the top photo, while #14 is the son of Mr. Mohlenhoff, our driver's ed teacher (Mr. Mohlenhoff was the 7th grade "A" coach. They were playing in Central at the same time). The "bench" for the players is the ledge, where those not playing at the moment are resting. As you can see, the wall comes right up next to the court. The "bleachers" were built in. They were concrete with some kind of coating (or was it just paint?) on them. The other side of the pit had the same lay-out. On the other end of the pit were stairs on both sides. If you did not want to jump off the ledge to get down, you could always take the stairs. Also on that end were locker room and storage area.
The out-of-bounds line is only a foot or so from the court. The mats under the basket are there for a reason. Also under the basket you can see the infamous "chinning " bar mentioned above. Not seen is the climbing rope. We often had to tighten that up so it did not interfere with the game.
When the remodeling phase of the pit was finished, about the only thing that remained was the basketball floor. The locker room and equipment room were gutted to make room for separate boys and girls locker rooms. The bleachers on both sides were removed. The pillars had to stay, though. The east side (the side shown in the photos) was made into an office and storage area. A stairwell was added where the one boy is seated on the ledge. A curtain was added so that the pit could be divided up for different activities. One reason it was added was that the east side would contain portable racquetball courts. They could be folded up against the wall when not in use. The curtain would serve as a back wall. Obviously the ball would not bounce off the curtain, but it saved time because the players would not have to be chasing down the ball so often.
On top of the office and storage area was the middle school wrestling room. Because it was a long drop to the floor from the wrestling area, a strong fence enclosed the wrestling room.
The west side was left completely open to allow for more space. Baskets were put up on the pillars on both sides to allow for cross-court games.
Although there has been much remodeling of the old high school into apartments and office space in the last few years, remnants of the pit can be still be seen. If you are in town sometime, you may want to stop in. The building is usually open weekdays from 8-5.
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