Success?

 My niece's husband gave me some advice to fix the sign-in problem we are having.  We used it to make this post.  When the opportunity arises, we will see if it works better than the suggestion on the previous post.  

There's Something's Happening Here

 Many of us may remember that those words are the beginning of the song "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. recorded in Dec of 1966 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_What_It%27s_Worth).  The next line, "But what it is ain't exactly clear," seems to apply to our lost post about the winter of 2024-25.   

After publishing that post, we wanted to make some additions.  However, we were unable to sign in as we usually do.  After some experimenting, we were able to do so.  Normally, when the cursor is put on the title of a post, the cursor become a pointed finger.  Clicking on that will redirect one to that post only.  However, placing the cursor on the title "Winter News 2024-25" results in no change.  To make the additions necessary we had to scroll down to the next post "Harry and the Aurora Body Shop Softball Team."  Then we could sign in and get access to the winter news post and make the additions.  

This post is mainly a test to see if the winter news post is just an anomaly or if something has changed with the blog configurations.  

By the way, the above song is often thought to be a protest about the Vietnam War.  However, that idea is incorrect. According to https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TDMyMykzNCo2YPQSTssvUijPSCxRyCxRL1Yozy8qyQAAu0kLIQ&q=for+what+it%27s+worth&rlz=1CAVHDQ_enUS956&oq=For+what+it&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggBEC4YsQMYgAQyDQgAEAAY4wIYsQMYgAQyCggBEC4YsQMYgAQyBggCEEUYOTIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIGCAcQRRhB0gEINTI2NWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8, the song “For What It's Worth,” by Buffalo Springfield is often mistaken for an anti-Vietnam War song, but really the song reflects group's stance on anti-loitering laws and the Sunset Strip Riots of 1966. "Another source says "

“FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH,” BY BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD IS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR AN ANTI-VIETNAM WAR SONG, BUT REALLY THE SONG REFLECTS GROUP’S STANCE ON ANTI-LOITERING LAWS AND THE SUNSET STRIP RIOTS OF 1966." (https://musicpolitics.as.ua.edu/timeline-entries/for-what-its-worth-by-buffalo-springfield-is-often-mistaken-for-an-anti-vietnam-war-song-but-really-the-song-reflects-groups-stance-on-anti-loitering-laws-and-the-sunset-strip-riots-o/#event-_8220-for-what-it8217-s-worth-8221-by-buffalo-springfield-is-often-mistaken-for-an-anti-vietnam-war-song-but-really-the-song-reflects-groups-stance-on-anti-loitering-laws-and-the-sunset-strip-riots-of-1966)

The problems still exist.  We cannot sign in as we usually do.  If anyone has the solution, please let us know in the comment box below (if that even still works).

Winter News 2024-25

There have been many newsworthy events during these past winter months that may concern members of our BHS class of 1969.  The previous post was dedicated to the memory of classmate Harry Rossow.  This post will also be dedicated to the memory of other BHS grads that are connected to our class, while mentioning two tragic fires that have occurred in Brookings this past winter.

In late December, a fire destroyed Brost's Fashions, 318 Main Avenue in downtown Brookings (https://brookingsregister.com/stories/blaze-destroys-brosts-fashions-displaces-residents-in-downtown-brookings,116560)  When we were in grade school, it was home to a Marshall Wells hardware store, run by Jack Walta.  The adjacent building to the south was the old Gamble's store.  The adjacent building to the north was at one time the State Cafe, while adjacent to that was Beatty's Jewelry Store.   These buildings also had apartments on the second floor.  As the article states, “The biggest thing is, is all the businesses are all displaced — but it’s not so much that, it’s the apartments up top,” he said. “(There are) seven one-bedroom apartments up there. The smoke damage and/or possibly the water — we don’t know yet, because we haven’t been able to go in the building to assess what is actually going on in there.”

Late in the evening on Thursday, March 13, 2025, another fire broke out at 217 South Medary Avenue (Just a block south from the railroad crossing on Medary Avenue)  https://brookingsregister.com/stories/teen-helps-save-his-brookings-family-during-fire,126754.  The next day, I happened to be jogging by there, when a young lady was across the street taking pictures.  She asked me if I had heard the explosion the night before.  I had not, so she told me what had happened.  She lived just down the street in the Medary Trailer Court.  What fascinated me was that this area of town was my first Minneapolis Tribune paper route in the early 1960's.  The route was from south of the railroad tracks from Main to Medary and the few streets east of Medary, such as Forest, Vine, and Birch.  Archie Telgren was a customer, and his family lived on Forest.  At the time, 8th Street south was still farmland.  Mrs. Flittie, another customer, had a dairy farm in the areas where Casey's and the United Church of Christ are presently located (about one quarter mile west of Medary Acres, started by Pat Mehegan's father, and now owned by Sharon Darnall's brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Lynn Darnall). 

The fires spread north to the 215 South Medary Avenue home.  That was the home of another customer, Elton Shank.  From 1959-1964, he was the Clerk of Courts for Brookings County (https://ujs.sd.gov/uploads/pubs/ClerkOfCourtHistory.pdf).   This website also lists Robert Waltz as Brookings County Clerk of Courts from 1975-78.  The father of Stewart Walz, I believe, was named Robert.  Because the spelling is somewhat different, is this Stewart's father, or is this the correct spelling?

If you are wondering what the responsibilities of a Court clerk are, you can check out this site-https://www.clio.com/blog/what-does-a-court-clerk-do/ 

Another article concerning this tragedy (https://brookingsregister.com/stories/brookings-family-on-emotional-roller-coaster-after-thursday-night-blaze-destroys-home,125620?) indicates that Duane Larson of our class is the grandfather of one of the residents of the home at 215 ("It’s certainly been rough going, even before the Thursday night’s fire. The second owner of Nick’s Hamburger Shop in downtown Brookings was Jaimye’s grandfather, Duane Larson, and he had a stroke right before New Year’s Day and is currently in a nursing home, Kelley told the Brookings Register. He sold Nick’s to Dick Fergen in late summer 2004.")  That Duane had a stroke was news to us.  We checked with the nursing homes in Brookings, but Duane was not in any of them.  We eventually found out from his brother Darrell, who was instrumental in arranging the 60's reunion last August, that Duane was in a Hendricks, Minnesota, nursing home, as there were no vacancies in Brookings.  We called that home in Hendricks, but were informed that there was no Duane Larson there.  Walter Osterberg joked that Duane was probably listed under an alias.  Walt was not far from wrong.  Duane was there, but he was listed as Duane Nelson. 

On the first day of spring a week ago, Emmett Earley and I drove over to Hendricks to visit Duane.  He looked to be in rough shape.  He had very little movement on his right side.  He could move his fingers on his right hand somewhat, and had a sponge ball so he could squeeze it every so often.  His speech was rather soft and somewhat slurred.   He is hoping to be moved back to a home in Brookings, but that may not happen very soon.  

On St. Patrick's day, March 17, 2025, we lost another friend in Tom Roe, BHS class of 1968, the first to graduate from the "new" high school (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/thomas-tom-roe).  Although Tom was a year ahead of us, he was only a few months older, as his birthday was just before the cut-off date for entering school.  My memories of Tom go back to little league baseball in the early 1960's.  He was good left-handed pitcher.  

In the summer of 1963, Tom was on the Pirates, one of the best teams in the league.  My team was the Dodgers.  Some of the players on our team, which was also pretty good, were Jim Kortan, Brian Johnson, Jim Egeberg, Rick Wahlstrom, Lonnie Herron, and Jim Uken.  Doug and Dan Herold may also have been on our team.  

At the end our season, we had a tournament to see who would play in the championship game under the lights at Southside Park.  To play under the lights would be the highlight of the summer.  In our first game, we, the Dodgers, played the Pirates  (it does not appear that they seeded teams like they do for March Madness and other basketball tournaments).  Jerry Tordoff was pitching for the Pirates, but we were knocking the cover off the ball, getting numerous hits, and beating the Pirates quite badly. Then the rain came pouring down, wiping this game off the books.  Since we had only played two innings, the game would have to start over from the beginning the next day.  

Tom was chosen to pitch first for the Pirates (pitchers were only allowed back then to pitch for three innings, unless the game went into extra innings).  We were unable to score any runs against him.  We were also unable to score any runs when Jerry Tordoff pitched.  The Pirates also had trouble scoring runs against us.  They were, however, able to score one run, defeating us 1-0.  At the time, I was a sore loser, and displayed an unsportsmanlike attitude.  My attitude was so reprehensible that Mrs. Wahlstrom, Rick's mother, scolded me quite severely for behaving so childishly in our loss.  In retrospect, she proved wise in her assessment.  Since I was a slow learner, it took me another year to learn how sagacious she was.

As Tom was a professor at SDSU, I was fortunate to have some of his children as students.  His son Jay was rather quiet during his middle-school years, but developed into a well-known individual as he began a career on KBRK.  He had a great radio voice, and has been compared to Bert Getz.  The radio has an oldies format, and Jay seemed to know quite about the music that was popular in our day.  He was quite aware that there was a popular singer with the same name as his father, Tommy Roe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Roe). About a year ago, the station went to an automated format, resulting in the loss of many of the employees.  Fortunately, Jay was able to be hired at the Brookings Register, where he has become a fine reporter of local news.

At Tom's funeral, Jay gave an impressive tribute to his father, and spoke very highly of him.  He noted that Tom had a wry sense of humor, and could extemporaneously make ups crazy songs for the appropriate occasion.  What impressed me most, however, is that Jay spoke for perhaps 10 or more minutes without using any notes.  To do that takes a great deal of preparation.  A great speaker once said that, in order to speak without a script, he prepared about an hour for every minute that he talked. 

Tom's youngest brother Andy was in 7th grade when I first started teaching.  That class was 10 years behind us, graduating in 1979.  Also in that class was Lee Colburn's brother Jon, and Susan Redmond's sister Teresa, who married Randy McLagan, a classmate of Tom's.  Mark Crosswait, son of Bruce Crosswait, who was the superintendent when we were in high school, was also in that class for a few years.  Dr. Crosswait accepted another position in the mid-70's, so Mark graduated from another high school (Rapid City Stevens?).  Mark came to the funeral, along with a few other of Andy's friend and classmates.  We had an enjoyable time together.  

Tom's youngest sister Katey graduated in the early 1980's (1982?).  While she was not a student of mine, she did play on the basketball team that I was privileged to coach.  We also recalled pleasant memories at the visitation. 

Our condolences go out to Tom and his family.

Unbeknownst to most of us, on March 20, 2025, Mary (Moulton) Steen of our class lost her husband Gary (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/gary-steen-obituary?id=57991590).  Thanks to Steve Odegaard's wife for finding his obituary, as it has not appeared in the Register yet.  Gary was in the last class to graduate from the "old" high school.  In the yearbook, he is listed as a member of Cue Club 3,4; Kinetic Club 4; Monogram Club 3,4; Student Council, 2,4; Football, A,B; Basketball, B, JV; Track, 2; Golf, 4; Class Play Cast, 4; Class Officer, 2,3; Student Body President; Home Room Officer, 3; Rotarian; Kiwanian; Boys' State.  

My most vivid memory of Gary was during track season of our 7th grade year.  We practiced at Hillcrest.  After doing our warm-up exercises, Mr. Dolan sometimes had us jog around the neighborhood.  I had been running on my paper route, so jogging did not seem too strenuous to me.  It was not that difficult to keep up with the 9th graders who were leading us.  Chuck Broadbent once said "What are you doing up here, 7th grader?"  

Gary's premier event was the 880 yard run.  It seems that he won every time he raced.  He received high praise from Mr. Dolan when we were given our ribbons.  Gary was a very smooth runner who seemed to glide effortlessly over the cinders (there were no all-weather tracks back then). 

Gary also had a connection to Pete Retzlaff, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles football team.  In 1957, Pete gave an autographed football to Gary and his brothers Craig and David. 

One of Gary's teammates recalls this football play, in which the Bobcats spoiled the homecoming of their nemesis, the Watertown Arrows:  Regarding the mention of Gary Steen being a good athlete, I remember throwing a pass to him in a 1966 high school football game, he a senior and I his junior quarterback. The pass was on an all-important extra-point try. I led him more than necessary, but he reached out farther than I had thought him capable, holding on to the ball as his next step took him out-of-bounds through the side of the end zone. The point counted and became the one-point game-winning difference over our arch rival Watertown, SD. Spoiled their homecoming. Great catch, great teammate, great guy.

As an aside, Mary's mother and my mother both were born in Faulkton.  Mary's mother was born  on May 22, 1917, while my mother was born on February 6, 1911 (the same date as Ronald Reagan).  In their later years, they would often get together for an afternoon visit.

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

Harry and the Aurora Body Shop Softball Team

A year after we graduated from high school, Dave Johnson convinced a number of us guys to form a slo-pitch softball team that would be sponsored by his employer, Aurora Body Shop.  Aurora sponsored us for three years, while the Townhouse sponsored us for our fourth and last year.    If memory serves me correctly, in addition to Dave, some of those who played were Dan Liebing, Jim Kortan, Brad Rufer, Craig Derschied, Jim Kessler, Jim Egeberg, Bob Kallemeyn, Lee Colburn, Bernie Hendricks, Tom Bozied, Walt Osterberg, Tom Hoffman, and Harry Rossow.  A few others, such as Glenn Carlson and Dave Thomas, player for a year.  My apologies for forgetting anyone.  (Stew, let me know who is missing.  Thanks for reminding me that Steve Odegaard was a valuable utility player, filling in for Harry behind the plate or giving an outfielder a break, while Walt played when he was on leave while serving his country in the Navy) 

Our stalwart catcher was Harry Rossow.  Dave Johnson and Dan did most of the pitching, while Walt filled in when possible.  Jim Kortan played first, while Dave Thomas replaced him when Jim was unable to play.  Brad Rufer usually played second, while Craig Derscheid or Glenn Carlson were his replacements.  John Iverson was at short, and Jim Kessler was at third.  The outfield was patrolled by Tom Hoffman, Bernie Hendricks, Bob Kallemeyn, Jim Egeberg, Tom Bozied (?), and Craig Derscheid.  Stew Linn was our reliable scorekeeper.  

We were not very good when we started.  Our first-ever game was against the powerhouse Spies team.  We lost badly, something like 44-5.  However, we only improved.  In our second season, we even won the "B" division of a tournament.  Lee had developed and matured into a power hitter, which we desperately needed, while the rest of us were slapping singles around.  By our fourth year, we had good battles with the top teams in the state, generally losing by only a few runs rather than the double-digit losses we incurred in our first season.  

As a catcher, Harry made many sacrifices.  There might be some foul balls that produced a few bumps and bruises, as catchers had no protective equipment as they do in baseball.  There might also be a few collisions on close plays at the  plate.  Harry also displayed exceptional speed on the basepaths.  Catchers are generally thought to be rather slow, but Harry disproved that notion.  

After college, Harry served his country in the Peace Corps for a few years.  When he returned, he began a long and rewarding career at Falcon Plastics, retiring less than two years ago.  While he preferred his solitude, most people in Brookings knew Harry as the guy who rode his bike in all kinds of weather.  He and Bernie Hendricks were the focus of a story in the Brookings Register a few years ago concerning their avid bicycling habits.  They rode year round, perhaps only resting their bikes during a blizzard or a downpour.  

Sadly, we lost Harry on Dec. 26, 2024. (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/harold-harry-rossow) We met two of Harry's sisters and their husbands, Ken Fiscus and George Jongeling, at the visitation, and had a lengthy conversation with them.  Ken  mentioned that Harry's health had been deteriorating in the past year or so.  He was even on oxygen for a while.  That was bewildering, as one would think that the great amount of bicycling he had been doing would have great cardio-vascular benefits.  Ken noted that when Harry visited them in the Twin Cities area, he would hop on his bike and be gone for hours.  

One of his brothers-in-law was Robert Lytle, whom we did not see at the funeral.  Would that be the same Robert Lytle from the BHS class of 1968?  Dementia must have prevented me from asking that question. Does anyone out there know?   

While Harry was part of our class for only two short years, he made a lasting impression on all of us.  He was one of the smartest people in the class, as evidenced by the tributes paid to him on his obituary page and at his funeral.  His vast knowledge was a result of his voracious reading.  Many of his acquaintances marveled at the amount of reading that Harry had done.  It appears that he read more in a week than most of us read in a year.  Also noted that Harry always seemed to have a smile, as shown on his obituary above and the picture below.  Our condolences go out to Harry and his family.

Remembering Carol

We were all saddened this past August that a week after our reunions on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of that month, our beloved classmate Carol (Bork) Johnson passed on August 17 (https://brookingsregister.com/stories/carol-johnson,113358?)  She had planned to attend the festivities, but her health made it impossible for her to be there and enjoy the friendship of her classmates and others who graduated from BHS in the 1960's. 

Even though Carol attended Hillcrest, some of whose students I never met until Junior High, I knew of Carol from catechism class in elementary school, as we both attended St. Thomas More.  Her brother Bob was on our Little League baseball during one or two of those years.  If memory serves me correctly, he was a fine player.  He was one of the better outfielders in the league.  In Little League in those days, the more skilled players usually played in the infield.  Those with less skill usually played in the outfield.  Consequently, there were few outfielders who could actually catch a fly ball.  Bob, though, possessed fine skills, and caught just about everything that was hit his way.  He was really an asset on our team.  Many times he prevented the opposition from scoring numerous runs by catching fly balls that would have been missed by most players.  Her brother Colin was a few years younger than we were, graduating in 1976.  He was an extremely talented golfer.  The 1975 annual states "BHS Golfers Rate Number One Seat (sic) in State."  (Should that have been "Number One Seed"?) The 1976 annual notes "The boy golfers won at the ESD and Regional meets and took second at the State Tourney."  I also believe Colin had much success after high school, and placed high in some of the state amateur tournaments in South Dakota.  One of our classmates indicated that he ran into Colin at a golf qualifier in Utah a few years ago.  

 As one our classmates commented, "Carol was so smart and talented in so many ways."  In Junior High, she was in the so-called "honors" class.  (I think that "Lefty" Johnson was opposed to such classes, and eventually did away with them a few years afterward).  Other classmates were also generous in praise of Carol. 

Carol's parents were well-known in the community, and lived long, productive, and exemplary lives.  Her mother Bonney was a nurse who helped deliver many babies in her 40 year career at the hospital. (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/bonney-bork) Her father Les was a respected and popular audio-visual instructor at SDSU. (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/6111276) 

Our condolences and prayers go out to Bob and Colin at the loss of their sister Carol.     

November 22

 Today is Friday, November 22, 2024.  61 years ago to the day, November 22, 1963, was also a Friday.  Almost everyone who was alive that day remember what happened around 12:30 PM Central time.  We were in 7th grade, and had just come back to our first class in the afternoon when we heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot.  I believe he was declared dead at 1:00.  The nation suffered a tragic loss, and still today questions remain as to who actually assassinated him.  

On a brighter note, our class has reasons to celebrate.  Recently, Nanette Schroeder (on the left) was one of the costume winners at the Brookings Activity Center Halloween party.  As one our classmates said, "She looks as beautiful as ever." The other winners were Cindy Fernholz, Theresa Bennett, and Carmen Niemeyer.  (https://brookingsregister.com/stories/october-a-busy-month-at-brookings-activity-center,104941)

Nanette stays quite active in the community.  SDSU has had a a beautiful indoor track and field facility since about 2014.  I have seen Nanette working the ticket counter at many of those meets.  She is also involved in many other volunteer activities that provide assistance to the people in town.  

Another classmate who has connections to an honored employee is Stew Linn.  His sister Sandy was recently name SDSU employee of the month (https://brookingsregister.com/stories/sandra-linn-named-sdsu-employee-of-month,112186)

Our classmate Patty Vick worked alongside Sandy at the Briggs Library.  My connections with the local running group "Prairie Striders" stretches back to its origin in 1969, so it was gratifying to see that Sandy has a close relationship with that respected organization.  She also served as the point person for processing, binding and cataloging a large donation — 17 boxes — of magazines and journals to be added to the Prairie Striders Running Club Library,” Biondo said. (Michael Biondo, electronic resources and scholarly communications librarian.)

Our congratulations to Nanette and Sandy for their outstanding contributions.

More Reunion Photos

Thanks to a classmate for the following pictures. These were taken at the Pizza Party held at Mark Kratochvil's residence on August 9, 2024.

                                      Jim Kortan and Sharon Darnall's husband (?).

                                                    Mark Kratochvil addressing the crowd

                   Gary Vincent and his wife in matching shirts and Sharon (Darnall) Fetzner

Brenda Andersen (?), Bill Sherman, Teresa (Steen) Anderson, Mike Andersen.  ??? in the black cap

Pete Egart facing the camera; Mike and Bernie Hendricks in the background.  Cannot identify the others.

                                                            Larry Boggs and John Iverson

                                                Jon Lundeen, class of 1967, making a pizza.

                                                    Walter Osterberg relaxing for a while.

                                     Bernie Hendricks and Brian Johnson enjoy the memories of the good old days.

In the background, John Iverson (in the hippie vest) talking with Steve Odegaard;  Jim Kortan taking with Sharon Darnall's husband?  Seated are Roch Watson (talking with Robyn (Connelly) Kortan, Dan Liebing, and Emmett Earley, while Tom Salonen looks on.

Pat (Felt) Berge, Georgia Wright (in hippie attire), and Marilyn (Anderson) Johns in the black sweater.

                                    Mark Kratochvil, Barb (Hauff) Koenders, Emmett Earley.

                                          Paula (Hoffman) Plaatz, Gary Vincent and his wife.

Dan Liebing and Roch Watson seated at the table (can't identify the lady in pink); Cheryl Crase and Paula Hoffman in the background, along with John Iverson and  Emmett Earley.

                                Paula Hoffman, Mark Kratochvil, Bill Sherman, and David Martin.

Emmett Earley, Laurie (Dunlap) Johnson, and Brian Johnson.

Roch Watson, John Iverson, Marilyn Anderson, Patty Vick, Kayla (Baker) Soleglad, Emmett Earley, Dan Liebing, with Mike Andersen (?) standing guard.

Mark Kratochvil, Larry Boggs, Paula Hoffman, and David Martin.

Just guessing on this one.  Unknown lady in the black, but it looks as if the others are Brad Rufer and wife talking to Walter Osterberg.  Can't identify the others.

Jon Lundeen perfecting his culinary skills.

Lee Kratochvil adds his own personal touch to the pizza, while Pat and Jim Egeberg enjoy the fruits of Lee's efforts.

Looks like Jim Kortan is fueling up for the big game.

Mike Andersen, Bill Sherman, and David Martin.