Coincidence?

 Yesterday, March 30, 2026, I happened to be riding my bike to Ron's Auto Repair (across from the old Sawnee Hotel) to check on my car that was getting serviced. While at the stoplight by Skinner's (the old Montgomery Ward's building) I happened to see a familiar face across the street.  It was Brian Johnson.  He and his wife were in town for a few days for their grandson's 16th birthday.  After talking for several minutes, he invited me to join him, his wife, and Paula Plaatz for hamburgers at Nick's.  I accepted, and met them about an hour later.

After enjoying our burgers and conversation, I had to take care of some business at the bank.  After my bank appointment, I realized that I had walked out of Nick's without paying, so I went back there.  Paula and Brian were still there, sitting outside on the gorgeous day.  I mentioned my predicament, and Brian indicated that he had taken care of my dilemma.  We then continued our conversation, during which Paula mentioned that she had heard of Marv Sherrill's passing.  I had not heard of that, so it seemed incumbent to check it out on the internet.  A quick search found it: 

 https://www.wightandcomes.com/memorials/marv-sherrill/5698783

The obituary indicates that Marv taught/coached in Brookings for two years,  However, he was actually here for three years, from the 1965-66 school year until the 1967-68 school year.  He assisted Mr. Gibbons with wrestling for the first two years, and then became head coach for the 1967-68 season.  A few other head coaches were new that year, also, as was the long-awaited new high school.  Mr. Thury was the new basketball coach, replacing Mr. Mohlenhoff, and Mr. Gary Henriksen, who taught at the new middle school, was the new head cross-country and track and field coach, replacing Mr. Rykhus. 

In Mr. Sherrill's first year, the high school was still down by the courthouse.  On the block to the west, where the public library is now located, there was a gravel parking.  This lot was kitty-corner from our house.  For a few days, there was an old, green army bus sitting on that lot.  When it was gone for a while it came back in a bright yellow color, the color of a normal school bus.  That bus was what we called the "Yellow Submarine."  We took it to some track meets that spring. When we went to one of those meets (was it in Sioux Falls"), Mr. Sherrill actually drove the bus.  Whether it was his inexperience as a bus driver, or if it was the faulty transmission, the gears seemed to grind whenever he shifted.  In any case, we arrived safely to our destination. 

When we moved to the new high school the next year, Mr. Sherrill and Mr. Thury were our history teachers.  If memory serves me correctly, that first semester was no different than any previous year.  We just had a better facility.  The second semester, however, presented a different scenario.

Instead of classes being arranged on an hourly schedule, classes were now arranged on a 20 minute modular schedule.  Some classes could be 20 minutes long, while others could be 40 or 60 minutes long.  The English classes were broken into smaller class sizes that would meet for 20 minutes.  Remember reading such classics as Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby?  In those short classes, we were supposed to discuss these noted novels or novellas. However, at least in my case, it seems that the teacher (Mr. Walder) gave more of a soliloquy on the importance, meaning, intent of the author.  This style of instruction was not very helpful to me.  Our geometry class met for 40 minutes.  Miss Hell and used those 40 minutes very wisely, and made the class quite interesting. Our antics and somewhat immature behavior did not seem to cause her distress, as she had probably seen even worse in her long tenure. Chemistry and other science classes, were 3 mods, or the whole 60 minutes, because of frequent experiments that took extended period of time.  

Mr. Sherrill was my history teacher.  When we switched to the modular schedule, I believe the class was scheduled for 2 mods or 40 minutes.  He indicated to us, though, that if he covered his lesson in less that 40 minutes, class would be dismissed.  Sometimes, then, class would only last for 30 minutes or even less.  

Towards the end of the year, we learned that Mr.Sherrill had resigned, and accepted the position at Watertown, where he would become a legend, as the obituary indicates.  When asked why he would leave Brookings, he said that he would not have to compete with SDSU, meaning that some people supported SDSU without showing the same enthusiasm for Brookings High School activities. That statement is certainly true.  Those who follow high school activities in the area know that the Watertown people exhibit great loyalty to the "Arrows" in all of their endeavors.  He also stated that the school system would provide a position for his wife. I believe she was an elementary teacher.    

For whatever reason, my appreciation for history was greatly affected.  When the guidance counselor visited with me about college plans, he advised me to avoid history in college, as my scores on the college entrance exams for history were weak.  Consequently, I never took a history course in college.  That advice and my adherence to it was a big mistake.  

I seem to recall that when some of us went to the library when we had a free mod, Mrs. Tabor would have to scold us because we were conversing too loudly.  

During our conversations at Nick's, Paula mentioned that the schedule at the high school is even more confusing than the modular scheduling we had.  It almost sounds as if the high school schedule is similar to a college schedule.  Some classes may only meet on a M-W-F schedule, while others may adhere to a T-Th schedule.  Not all classes may meet for he same length of time, either.  

As his obituary states, Mr. Sherrill was the long-time girls' track coach at Watertown.  For many of those early years, the Arrows were the friendly rivals of the Bobcats.  Many of the comments on the "Tribute Wall" testify to his influence on the girls that he coached (One comment is from Kay Stormo Freund    https://www.sdshof.com/inductees/kay-stormo-freund /, who still owns the state record she set in 1978), He had great success with his teams, especially in the early years.  One   reason his teams were so powerful is that they trained not just after school, but also before school.  The family of one of his top athletes in those early years moved to Brookings for her junior and senior years.  She was recently inducted into the BHS Hall of Fame for her prowess in basketball, gymnastics, and track and field (in those years, girls basketball was played in the fall, thus the basketball and gymnastics combination).  She herself did not like those morning workouts, but the comments in the obituary stress the importance of the discipline and work ethic that those sessions instilled in the athletes.  It seems to me that much of Mr. Sherrill's success as a coach lies not only in his knowledge but in his ability to motivate the athletes, who then respect him for his own discipline and dedication.  He leads by example, and humbly gives credit to the athletes for achieving their potential.  

Much more could written about what a wonderful person Mr. Sherrill was.  Not only was he my teacher in high school, but he became a respected rival when my teaching/coaching career started.  He established and helped to contribute to the wonderful tradition of Watertown athletics.  RIP, Marv.