A number of BHS grads have become well-known and nationally recognized in their field. Were you aware that the former director of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding, is an alumna of BHS? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Gerberding, http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Gerberding-Julie.html). Her mother Bette was a student teacher in English for Mrs. Donaldson (Nancy Webbenhurst's sister) during the fall of our sophomore year. She later taught at the high-school for a number of years. Not only was she a gifted teacher in the classroom, she was even more appreciated for her leadership in the drama department. As director of the school plays, she had high expectations from the students; they seldom, if ever, left the school and the community disappointed.
While our class may not have anyone with the nationally known laurels of Dr. Gerberding, some of our classmates have left their mark in their field of expertise, and have earned the utmost respect of their peers. It has been brought to our attention recently that Stew Walz of our class has been recognized as a "master in the courtroom" (https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/03/08/master-in-the-courtroom-longtime-utah-federal-prosecutor-retires-after-decades-of-fighting-frauds-and-scams/). It is not surprising that Stew turned out to be the re-incarnation of Perry Mason.
Stew was a key member of the debate squad that captured the State "A" Debate championship, qualifying "them to participate in the national in Washington, D. C." during the summer of 1969. Undoubtedly the skills he learned slaving many long hours profited him greatly in his law practice.
We all knew how intelligent Stew was during his school days in Brookings. As the article states, his attention to detail and his memory, as well as his knowledge of the law, have served him well. The fine teachers we had undoubtedly had a role in shaping those characteristics. More importantly, though, were the influences of his family. Stew's mother was a highly-respected English professor at SDSU. She was my teacher for a drama class that I needed to satisfy my humanities requirement. She made the class enjoyable and relevant. My main recollection was reading some of the morality plays of the Middle Ages.
Stew's father also had a prominent in the community. I believe he was director of the Chamber of Commerce or had a position similar to that, and was rather influential in helping to shape the future of Brookings.
One vivid memory of Stew in high school was our time in Driver's Ed. In gym class, Stew was not known for his speed. However, he possessed an extremely quick reaction time when Mr. Mohlenhoff tested us on the driver's ed simulator. That contraption had a gas pedal and a brake pedal, just as a typical car would. It also had a light and a timer. When the light flashed on, the timer would display how long it took you to take your foot off the gas and step on the brake. Stew was amazingly quick to react. That quickness unquestionably helped him achieve so much success as an attorney.
Congratulations, Stew, on your achievements, and the contributions you have made and are making to BHS.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Magnificent Mothers
A recent article in the Register highlighted the local efforts of the Mission Interest Quilters of First Lutheran Church who have for 50 years sewn quilts to "provide warmth and comfort to those in need, whether it be abroad or within our community." A number of those ladies, including Signe Anderson, mother of Marilyn Anderson of our class, have been involved for quite a few years.
If you read carefully the entire article, you may have found that Marilyn's mother is 95, and still going strong. According to another recent Register article, Maureen Westbrook, mother of Nancy of our class, also celebrated her 95th birthday recently. Congratulations to Signe and Maureen for continuing to live such wonderful, productive, and influential lives.
On a sad note, we recently lost another nonagenarian. Maxine Darnall, mother of Sharon in our class, passed away (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2106721). Her obituary indicates how active she (and her husband) had been in the community.
Our condolences go out to Sharon and her family at this difficult time.
Looking Towards 50
Next year will be the 50th year since we graduated from high school. As one classmate quipped, "My math must be wrong. At most, it's only been 30 years since we graduated." Plans, though, are underway to have our big reunion next August 1-4, 2019, here in Brookings, which is not the Brookings it was in 1969..
We want as many as possible to attend, so we are trying to contact everyone who graduated with us. Paula (Hoffman) Platz has a facebook page for this reunion. If you are familiar with facebook, you will probably have little trouble finding information for the Brookings, South Dakota class of 1969 upcoming 50th high school reunion.
We have lost at least 18 members of our class. We have seemingly lost contact with a few others. These include Dan Holm, Bob Lee, Patsy McKeown, Eugene Mueller, Wayne Nelson, Donna Rieck, Joanne Sauer, and Jackie Walsh. We could use your help in locating these classmates.
We have sent out an email to all of those for whom we have email addresses with the above invitation. Additionally, we have sent out a list of lodging establishments and a class list of last known contact information. There are undoubtedly some errors on our class list, as people have retired and moved. Again, if you can be of assistance in correcting any information on our class list, it would be greatly appreciated by the committee.
Our last gathering a few years ago was well-received, but we think we can make this "Golden One" even better. We are hoping that everyone can pitch in and do a little bit to help this milestone. Thanks in advance.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Two Months Worth
Oftentimes during the spring of the year, it is almost impossible for me to post anything. Now that those days have passed, it is time to spread some news that may have gone unnoticed.
In April, we had some nasty weather. There were a couple of big snowstorms in the middle of the month. The middle of April is also the time when the South Dakota rock and Roll Music Association inducts bands into their hall of fame. However, one of the storms occurred during that time, likely hurting attendance. One of the bands inducted was formed by some BHS students in the wonderful year of 1969. That band is "Cocoon." A link to their biography is(http://www.southdakotarockandrollmusicassociation.com/inductee?id=240#Cocoon).
Last summer, Cocoon played at the Summer Arts Festival. They drew a really nice crowd, with many of their classmates in attendance. Eric Adams proved to be about as nimble as Mick Jagger. He seemed quite agile for someone in his 60's. He commented that he hoped the band would be inducted into the hall of fame in the coming year, as he and the others were getting too old to wait another year. His and the band's dream came true. Below is the article as it appeared in the Register of April, 28, 2018.
In April, we had some nasty weather. There were a couple of big snowstorms in the middle of the month. The middle of April is also the time when the South Dakota rock and Roll Music Association inducts bands into their hall of fame. However, one of the storms occurred during that time, likely hurting attendance. One of the bands inducted was formed by some BHS students in the wonderful year of 1969. That band is "Cocoon." A link to their biography is(http://www.southdakotarockandrollmusicassociation.com/inductee?id=240#Cocoon).
Last summer, Cocoon played at the Summer Arts Festival. They drew a really nice crowd, with many of their classmates in attendance. Eric Adams proved to be about as nimble as Mick Jagger. He seemed quite agile for someone in his 60's. He commented that he hoped the band would be inducted into the hall of fame in the coming year, as he and the others were getting too old to wait another year. His and the band's dream came true. Below is the article as it appeared in the Register of April, 28, 2018.
Perhaps some of those band members received their start under the tutelage of Mr. Erling Engstrom. Mr. Engstrom was the instrumental music teacher when we were in grade school and junior high, and remained there when the new high school was built. He comes to the public library just about every day, often arriving early and taking a walk around the block before the facility opens. He recently had his 90th birthday on June 1. If anyone cares to send him a card, his address is 2042 Arbor Ridge, Brookings, SD 57006.
Does anyone recall the Jr. Hi pep band under Mr. Engstrom's direction? They would set up on the stage of the Central gym, playing the school song to the tune of the "Minnesota Rouser", the pep song for the University of Minnesota. The pep band was discontinued in the mid-70's when girls' athletic programs became a regular part of the extra-curricular schedule.. Since most of the band members were also involved in an athletic activity, only a few were left to play in the pep band. Thus, the discontinuance of pep band at the middle school level. At our last reunion, the question was asked if anyone remembered the words to the school song from our high school days. Can anyone recall the words to the Jr. Hi pep song?
When we were in the 5th grade, a new student by the name of Jeff Jager moved into town. He lived on the corner of 2nd Street and 8th Avenue, two blocks east of me, and just across the street from Jim Egeberg. He only went to school here that one year (or part of the year). About 20 years ago, there was an article in the Register concerning the new owner of the grocery store in Volga. His name was Jeff Jager. Curiosity got the better of me, so I finally went over there a couple of months ago to ask if he had ever gone to school in Brookings. He said he had, but he remembered very few of the students in his class. About the only he remembered was Jim Egeberg, likely because they lived so close to one another. We had a nice little visit, and he indicated that he was ready to retire from the grocery business, so he was looking for someone to buy him out. It doesn't appear as if anyone has offered to take it over, so the store closed about six weeks ago (May 25). The Register of May 23 had a nice article about Jeff and his career. His retirement plans include working on old cars, so he would fit right in with those numerous classic car lovers in our class.
While scanning the minutes of the school board meeting in the May 31 Register, it jumped out at me that two of our classmates made a donation the school's NFL fund. NFL is not a reference to professional football. Rather, NFL is the National Forensic League, an organization working to improve debating and speaking skills , such as declam and oratory, for high school students. According their website (http://www.forensicscommunity.com/index.php?q=league/national-forensic-league), "The National Forensics League is a nationwide organization that gives high school students the opportunity to polish their speaking/acting skills, compete in regulated National tournaments, and be a part of a lifelong organization that promotes solid speaking skills and intelligence." Their efforts are often unrecognized by many students and community folks. How many of us realize that in our senior year, the debaters were State "A" champions? Of those eleven debaters, all but three were from the class of 1969. Those classmates who participated in the state declam contest also experienced much success. The skills that they learned toiling those long hours have remained with them to this day.
Sixty years ago, this First Communion picture below appeared in the July 16, 1958 edition of the Register. While this picture has appeared on this blog before, not all of the students were identifiable. The Register listed their names, but did not identify them individually. Can you match these names with the individuals? The girls are: Cherylin Ahern, Patricia Bates, Robyn Connelly, Kelly Dolen (sic), Patricia Erger, Catherine Funk, Delores and Mary Heeren, Sarah Hoy, Judy and Robyn Howell, Cecilia and Margaret Mary Kellogg, Theresa Meierbachtel, Mary Pearson, Debra Shirley and Catherine Wilber. The boys are: James Antonides, Douglas Biggar, Steve Braley, M. Coughlan (sic), Pat Durland, Gregg Graff, James Herrig, Dan Holm, John Iverson, Joseph Jensen, alan Leibel, Ronald and Thomas McTague, Mike McClemans, John (sic) and Jerry Martinson, Rickie Thompson, Rolland Vostad, James Wakeman, rock (sic) Watson, and Tim Serlet. The priests are Fr. F. X. Dooley and Fr. John Garvey. Jeannette Abby, who took many of our senior pictures, also took this photo.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Good News!
Too often, it seems, that information dispensed from this blog is rather unpleasant. This post is a reversal of that trend, and is an attempt to recognize two of our classmates who have been providing a wonderful service to the community. Oftentimes their efforts may receive a brief mention in the local newspaper, but the stories are frequently tucked away in the bowels of the Register so that many readers may not even realize the stories were published. Below is a picture and an article recognizing the efforts of the VFW Auxiliary and just one of their projects that have benefitted the local community. If you are able to read the article and view the picture (sometimes our scanner does not always produce a quality product), you will note that Nanette Schroeder and Sandy (Davis) Meisenheimer are actively involved in that organization. Congratulations to them and to their fellow auxiliary members for helping Brookings to maintain, uphold, and strengthen its reputation as an outstanding community and a wonderful town in which to live.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Is Don's Done?
Yesterday's Register was highlighted by a front-page article on Dennis Kruse, an esteemed members of the BHS class of 1969, and the present owner of Don's Body Shop. As Dennis states in the article, his father Don worked for other shops in town before starting his own business. This website http://explore.digitalsd.org/digital/collection/Norby/search has numerous pictures of businesses that have been in Brookings since the early 50's. If you have some time, you may find it enjoyable to browse these pictures and see if you can recall many of them. There are numerous connections to members of our class, as our parents owned some of these businesses or we may have worked there. Below is a picture labeled Dale's Alignment Service and Don's Body Shop mechanics, Brookings, South Dakota
Don Kruse is the man standing under the hood (if it appears that part of the picture is cut off, left-click on the image and it should show up full size. The same applies to the other pictures, also. Doing so will make it easier to read the newspaper article below about Dennis. To return to the blog, click on the white X in the upper right corner.). Their shop was located on South Highway 77, perhaps half-way between the Purple Cow and the Sioux Drive-in. Below is a picture of their location in the late 50's.
When we were in high school, there was a softball jersey found in our house that had the name Dale and Don's stitched on the back. One of my older brothers played on that team in the late 50's, early 60's. At that time, fast-pitch was quite popular in the area. Those were enjoyable nights watching those games at Southside Park. What was intriguing (and distracting) to me as a little kid was the numerous moths that were hovering around the lights when it was dark. There surely were a lot of them.
I hope I am not violating any copyright laws by showing the following pictures. I was unable to find a link to the story on the Register webpage, so the article about Dennis is copied below.
Don Kruse is the man standing under the hood (if it appears that part of the picture is cut off, left-click on the image and it should show up full size. The same applies to the other pictures, also. Doing so will make it easier to read the newspaper article below about Dennis. To return to the blog, click on the white X in the upper right corner.). Their shop was located on South Highway 77, perhaps half-way between the Purple Cow and the Sioux Drive-in. Below is a picture of their location in the late 50's.
When we were in high school, there was a softball jersey found in our house that had the name Dale and Don's stitched on the back. One of my older brothers played on that team in the late 50's, early 60's. At that time, fast-pitch was quite popular in the area. Those were enjoyable nights watching those games at Southside Park. What was intriguing (and distracting) to me as a little kid was the numerous moths that were hovering around the lights when it was dark. There surely were a lot of them.
I hope I am not violating any copyright laws by showing the following pictures. I was unable to find a link to the story on the Register webpage, so the article about Dennis is copied below.
As Dennis state in the article, their present location just east of the airport was built in 1967. Prior to that, I believe they were on 6th Street West, out by Pioneer Park and Sandy's White Spot. They had to find a new location because construction was being done to widen and re-route somewhat Highway 14, which was also 6th Street. Mr. Rykhus had a blue 1959 Chevy when he was our Jr. Hi science teacher (I used to walk by it every day when I went to school, as it was usually parked in front of the Courthouse). One day, there was a good sized dent in the hood. He naturally took it to Don's out by Pioneer to have it fixed because his wife Shirley was Don's sister. Don's brother Gordon worked at the Post Office with, among others, the fathers of Stewart Linn and Teresa Steen. He had a Suburban-type vehicle that they used to deliver packages. During the summer of my employment there (1968), they let me use it to deliver catalogs such as JC Penney's, Sears, or Montgomery Ward's.
Congratulations on your retirement, Dennis. As Mr. Bell may have said, "You done good!" We are confident that you will enjoy your leisure time fishing, hunting, and camping.
Monday, March 19, 2018
Procrastination
Have been meaning to post about this for a while. However, other important matters seemed to have taken precedence.
It was about 50 years ago this month that we had much reason to celebrate. We were getting quite comfortable in our new high school, and we celebrated it in grand style by winning the State "A" basketball title. What a fitting tribute for a new school and a new coach.
A couple of other "firsts" that come to mind during that school year are the introduction of an all-school play to replace the junior and senior class plays, and the production of "Oklahoma," the first musical in the school's history. We had a new language lab that improved our communication skills, although a little bird told me that said communication was not always approved by the teachers. There was also a new scheduling system, with some classes only meeting 20 or 40 minutes, while others met for the full hour.
For some of us, those memories may be faint reminisces of days long past. As someone once said, "If you remember the 60's, you weren't there." However, that reference does not seem to refer to activities that had the blessing and sanction of the local authorities. An achievement as worthy as a state championship is a life-long dream for many, and the result of much hard work and practice. That attitude symbolized our entire class. While it is true that it seems that athletics receives more publicity than other school activities, our class and the class of 1968 also had numerous students equally skilled in areas that receive little public notice. A quick look through the 1968 Bobcat would prove the truth of that statement.
It has been a profound experience perusing the old Registers with others and recalling all of the accomplishments of the BHS students and their families during that school year of 1967-68. While many of those events are probably forgotten, they undoubtedly helped shape us into the people we are today.
Sadly, there have been a few members of our class who have been dealing with the loss of a loved one. On February 26, the mother of Stan Skubic passed away at the age of 94 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=94258197_MSkubic). Stan had come back last summer for his the 71st wedding anniversary of his parents. He had brought along one of his daughters, and Jim Kohler and his wife had them (and yours truly) over for a barbecue. It was not only an enjoyable visit, but also educational. We learned much about his daughter, as she was very gracious to us and reflected well on her parents.
Stan's mother, as her obituary indicates, was quite active in church activities. Below is a picture from the 1960's of the teachers at St. Thomas More. While it may be difficult to read the names, some of them were mothers of our classmates: Mrs. Shirley (Debbie); Mrs. Iverson (John); Mrs. Wakeman (Jim); Mrs. Skubic (Stan); Mrs. Bates (Patsy); Mrs. Sturdevant (Diane); and Mrs. Kellogg (Cecilia). Several other teachers were parents to those who were a little older or younger than we were. They include Mr. Bechtold, Mr. Cole (anyone have him as a teacher in Jr. Hi?), Mrs. Patt, Mrs. Serlet, Mrs. Kosse, Mrs. Finn, Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Quass, Mrs. Walta (I believe she and Mrs. Quass were sisters), Mrs. deBoise, Mrs. Kenner, Mrs. McAdaragh, Mrs. Foerster, and Mrs. Gill.
Another classmate saddened by death of a family member was Emmett Earley. (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=14852830_REarley). Rich was a few years younger than we were, and was a fine basketball player while in high school. His sons were students of ours. In fact, his oldest son Austin could almost be Rich's twin.
A third classmate who lost a family member was Jim Kessler, whose sister Susan passed away on the same day as Emmett's brother Rich. (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=53345310_SBartscher).
A couple of other name that may be well-known to us also passed away recently. Bob Reimers (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=30497401_RReimers), who helped start KBRK in 1955, passed away on Feb. 7. We all may have heard him numerous times reading the news on the radio, but he, along with Grant Peterson, also announced the Bobcat basketball games when we were in school. They would often ride along on our away games. If the trip took longer than an hour, we usually were on a chartered Jackrabbit bus. The chairs in the middle could turn around, and a table then could be set up between the facing seats so that the occupants could play cards. I seem to recall our coaches and the radio announcers doing just that on virtually every trip.
Another well-known resident, Roger Carpenter, passed away on March 9 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=09099381_RCarpenter). While he was about 10 years older than we were, he was still active in some recreational sports even after we graduated from high school. In city league basketball, for example, he played into his 30's. I believe Tom Osterberg played with him while Tom was in college. "Carpy." as he was known, could be a force to be reckoned with. Mr. Walder, our junior English teacher, and he would have some fierce battles when they competed against each other. Both liked to get rather aggressive, and tempers could easily flare when those two went head-to-head. I seem to recall in his younger days that "Carpy" would frequently play on an independent team against the college freshman team (Bunnies) before freshmen were eligible to play on the varsity. If SDSU played a team that came in from a distance, they would not bring their freshman, so the Bunnies would play a local amateur team. Some of those independent teams were quite good. "Carpy" was also known as a fine fast-pitch softball pitcher. When fast-pitch died out in Brookings, he took his talents to Sioux Falls. At his visitation, there was a picture of him and his teammates after they earned a trip to the national tournament.
"Carpy" was also a fine bowler, and there were several pictures of him and his bowling teammates and their trophies on display at the visitation.
A couple of other pictures at his visitation caught my eye. There was picture of his junior baseball team that won the city championship in 1951. Also on that team were my two oldest brothers. Another picture showed him fishing with a man named Iver Iverson, age 83. Iver was a cousin to my father.
Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers are with their families at this time.
It was about 50 years ago this month that we had much reason to celebrate. We were getting quite comfortable in our new high school, and we celebrated it in grand style by winning the State "A" basketball title. What a fitting tribute for a new school and a new coach.
A couple of other "firsts" that come to mind during that school year are the introduction of an all-school play to replace the junior and senior class plays, and the production of "Oklahoma," the first musical in the school's history. We had a new language lab that improved our communication skills, although a little bird told me that said communication was not always approved by the teachers. There was also a new scheduling system, with some classes only meeting 20 or 40 minutes, while others met for the full hour.
For some of us, those memories may be faint reminisces of days long past. As someone once said, "If you remember the 60's, you weren't there." However, that reference does not seem to refer to activities that had the blessing and sanction of the local authorities. An achievement as worthy as a state championship is a life-long dream for many, and the result of much hard work and practice. That attitude symbolized our entire class. While it is true that it seems that athletics receives more publicity than other school activities, our class and the class of 1968 also had numerous students equally skilled in areas that receive little public notice. A quick look through the 1968 Bobcat would prove the truth of that statement.
It has been a profound experience perusing the old Registers with others and recalling all of the accomplishments of the BHS students and their families during that school year of 1967-68. While many of those events are probably forgotten, they undoubtedly helped shape us into the people we are today.
Sadly, there have been a few members of our class who have been dealing with the loss of a loved one. On February 26, the mother of Stan Skubic passed away at the age of 94 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=94258197_MSkubic). Stan had come back last summer for his the 71st wedding anniversary of his parents. He had brought along one of his daughters, and Jim Kohler and his wife had them (and yours truly) over for a barbecue. It was not only an enjoyable visit, but also educational. We learned much about his daughter, as she was very gracious to us and reflected well on her parents.
Another classmate saddened by death of a family member was Emmett Earley. (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=14852830_REarley). Rich was a few years younger than we were, and was a fine basketball player while in high school. His sons were students of ours. In fact, his oldest son Austin could almost be Rich's twin.
A couple of other name that may be well-known to us also passed away recently. Bob Reimers (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=30497401_RReimers), who helped start KBRK in 1955, passed away on Feb. 7. We all may have heard him numerous times reading the news on the radio, but he, along with Grant Peterson, also announced the Bobcat basketball games when we were in school. They would often ride along on our away games. If the trip took longer than an hour, we usually were on a chartered Jackrabbit bus. The chairs in the middle could turn around, and a table then could be set up between the facing seats so that the occupants could play cards. I seem to recall our coaches and the radio announcers doing just that on virtually every trip.
Another well-known resident, Roger Carpenter, passed away on March 9 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=09099381_RCarpenter). While he was about 10 years older than we were, he was still active in some recreational sports even after we graduated from high school. In city league basketball, for example, he played into his 30's. I believe Tom Osterberg played with him while Tom was in college. "Carpy." as he was known, could be a force to be reckoned with. Mr. Walder, our junior English teacher, and he would have some fierce battles when they competed against each other. Both liked to get rather aggressive, and tempers could easily flare when those two went head-to-head. I seem to recall in his younger days that "Carpy" would frequently play on an independent team against the college freshman team (Bunnies) before freshmen were eligible to play on the varsity. If SDSU played a team that came in from a distance, they would not bring their freshman, so the Bunnies would play a local amateur team. Some of those independent teams were quite good. "Carpy" was also known as a fine fast-pitch softball pitcher. When fast-pitch died out in Brookings, he took his talents to Sioux Falls. At his visitation, there was a picture of him and his teammates after they earned a trip to the national tournament.
"Carpy" was also a fine bowler, and there were several pictures of him and his bowling teammates and their trophies on display at the visitation.
A couple of other pictures at his visitation caught my eye. There was picture of his junior baseball team that won the city championship in 1951. Also on that team were my two oldest brothers. Another picture showed him fishing with a man named Iver Iverson, age 83. Iver was a cousin to my father.
Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers are with their families at this time.
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