Does anyone recall the Junior Class play when we were freshmen in 1965-66? If not, it was the title of this post, Cheaper By The Dozen (https://www.supersummary.com/cheaper-by-the-dozen/summary/) My vague recollection of the play was that Lefty" Johnson's son Chuck played the father of a large family. He seemed obsessed with time management, even going so far as to time how long it took for his 12 children to come out of their rooms and gather for a family function.
Recently our class lost another one of our beloved matriarchs when Louise Beckman, mother of Ken, passed away at the age 93.
The obituary notes that Mrs. Beckman had six sisters and five brothers, thus making her one of 12 children. Growing up in the depression with numerous siblings, the family definitely learned how to conserve their resources and cherish what little they probably had. Many our our parents likely experienced similar difficulties during that time.
For a number of years, Ken's father had the John Deere Dealership in Brookings. It was located on 3rd Street between Main and 5th Avenue. They also had a lot near the viaduct on 6th Avenue, which was across the street from our house. It seemed like used machinery was stored there, and it was surrounded by a white picket fence. Right next to that lot, near the railroad tracks, were some gasoline storage tanks that were used by the Sinclair station on Medary and 8th Street, near the college campus. That station has been torn down, and that block is now part of the SDSU campus. A little further to the west was a large coal pile that held coal for the power plant at the corner of 4th Street and 5th Avenue. In the wintertime, that provided a good sledding hill for us. In between the gas tanks and the coal pile was a wide gravel road. In the summertime, that space became a small baseball field for some of us in the neighborhood. Next to the coal pile was Sokota Hybrids. In the fall, our neighborhood would be rife with the little pink remains of the corn cobs from their plant.
Ken was, and still is, one of the brightest students in our class. As a senior, he and Helen Sheimo were National Merit Scholarships winners. Since he went to Hillcrest, I never knew him until we went to Junior High in 1963. I learned very quickly how smart he was, as we were in the same classes every period. We were also on the same baskeball teams in 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, and on the cross-country teams when we moved out to the "new" high school. Also in Jr. Hi, we had track practice at Hillcrest. I would often stop at Ken's house afterwards, which was about a block from Hillcrest, and we would shoot baskets in his driveway.
One incident from our senior physics class with Mr. Karnes remains etched in my mind. After we had written up and hadned in our lab reports, Mr. Karnes would often critique our results. One time he had high praise for Ken's observations, but what impressed me was that Mr Karnes lauded him for giving a very thorough explanation of the experiment, yet using a minimum of words. Somewhat reminiscent of the "Dragnet" television show: "Just the facts, ma'am."
It was wonderful to visit with Ken and recall some of those earlier years. It was also pleasant to visit with his uncle Eugene, who graduated in 1958. Some of my siblings were about his age, so we had a few things in common to discuss. He recalled having to paint that white picket fence on the lot near the viaduct.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ken at the loss of his mother.
Speaking of the "new" high school, there will be a school bond issue in an upcoming election. Hillcrest may be torn down, and a new school erected just to the east, on the playground. To renovate the school to safety standards and to accomodate more students would be just as expensive as building a new facility. A similar situation exists at Medary Elementary, but the board has decided to renovate and expand there. According the Brookings Register:
School bond, Amendment C
The Brookings School District bond election asks all district voters, regardless of political affiliation, whether they approve of $32.4 million in school bonds, not to exceed 20 years after the date of issuance, to pay for a new Hillcrest Elementary School and a renovated and expanded Medary Elementary School.
The total cost for both projects will be approximately $43 million, which means the bond will not be the sole source of funding. The remaining $10 million will be paid for through capital outlay certificates, capital outlay cash, and other cash that the district has on hand.
The projected levy is 85 cents per thousand dollars in property tax valuation, which would be a universal levy for all property taxpayers (regardless of property size and type of property).
School bonds require a super-majority vote of 60% to pass.
Do you recall the cost of the "new" high school when it was built in the 1960's?
