Photo gallery: The Wall That Heals arrives in Brookings

The above title refers to a smaller version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that is found in our nation/s capital (https://www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/).  This exhibit appears in various cities across the country, and Brookings is the only city in South Dakota where it will appear this year (https://cityofbrookings-sd.gov/908/The-Wall-That-Heals-2026).  Recently, the Register had a short article and several pictures promoting its arrival at the Fishback Soccer Complex (https://www.brookingsregister.com/2026/06/11/photo-gallery-the-wall-that-heals-arrives-in-brookings/).

Since there were two BHS students (Jay Bibby and Bill Sturdevant) who lost their lives in that conflict, the organizers were thoughtful enough to place little flags and pictures where their names were located on the wall.  

One other prominent casualty who was recognized was Joe Thorne.  The Gojacks website (https://gojacks.com/news/2026/6/12/general-jackrabbit-heroes-remembered-through-wall-stop) states "A graduate of Beresford High School, Thorne was a rugged fullback on Jackrabbit football teams from 1959-61. He earned all-North Central Conference recognition in both 1960 and 1961, and finished his career with a then-school record 2,156 rushing yards. During his senior season in 1961, Thorne was named the NCC Most Valuable Player and was a second-team All-America selection.

"First Lt. Thorne was killed in action when the UH-1B Army helicopter he was commanding was shot down by Viet Cong small arms ground fire on Easter Sunday, 1965 (April 18). He was 24 years old and was the first South Dakotan to die in the Vietnam War.

"His name is inscribed on panel E1, line 105."

An internet search indicates that Joe Thorne was drafted by Green Bay Packers in 1962 (https://www.sdshof.com/inductees/joe-thorne/#:~:text=Thorne%20was%20a%2012th%2Dround,in%20the%201962%20NFL%20draft.)

Joe's younger siblings were brother Tim, BHS grad of 1967; sister Julie, class of 1971; and brother Tracy, class of 1978.

A volunteer explained how to find a name on the wall.  The panels are numbered, and a mark is made every 10 lines.  Each line has (I think he said) six names on it.  There is a website (https://www.vvmf.org/wof-search/) that helps to locate where each name is inscribed.

Two other Jackrabbit players are mentioned:  Darrell Spinler and Richard Larson.  Darrell Spinler played basketball in the late 1950's.  Although I recall some of those players of that era, I have no recollection of him.  Richard Larson, on the other hand, played both basketball and baseball during the mid-1960's, so we may be familiar with his career.  On the basketball roster, he was often listed as R. A. Larson, as there was another Rich Larson on the team.  These are the statistics that can be found for the 1964-5 season.  Can you identify the three BHS graduates on the roster?

                                    |---TOTAL---| |---3-PTS---|               |----REBOUNDS----|
Player              GP-GS  Min--Avg  FG-FGA   Pct 3FG-FGA   Pct  FT-FTA   Pct  Off Def  Tot  Avg  PF FO   A  TO Blk Stl  Pts  Avg
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BJURSTROM, Larry... 16-0     0  0.0   5-17   .294   0-0    .000  10-15   .667    0   7    7  0.4   5  0   0   0   0   0   20  1.3
FISCHER, Dave...... 23-0     0  0.0  54-178  .303   0-0    .000  16-35   .457    0 135  135  5.9  30  1   0   0   0   0  124  5.4
GAMBLE, Bill....... 15-0     0  0.0   8-26   .308   0-0    .000  12-24   .500    0  28   28  1.9   9  0   0   0   0   0   28  1.9
IVERSON, Bill...... 17-0     0  0.0  66-184  .359   0-0    .000  38-70   .543    0  94   94  5.5  59  2   0   0   0   0  170 10.0
LARSON, R.A........ 22-0     0  0.0  82-173  .474   0-0    .000  32-45   .711    0 129  129  5.9  37  2   0   0   0   0  196  8.9
LARSON, Rich....... 22-0     0  0.0  68-158  .430   0-0    .000  61-84   .726    0 122  122  5.5  49  4   0   0   0   0  197  9.0
MEYER, Ron.........  6-0     0  0.0   4-24   .167   0-0    .000  15-20   .750    0  17   17  2.8   3  0   0   0   0   0   23  3.8
OTTERNESS, Ron..... 21-0     0  0.0  74-186  .398   0-0    .000  51-67   .761    0 125  125  6.0  54  5   0   0   0   0  199  9.5
PENNER, Vern.......  5-0     0  0.0   1-4    .250   0-0    .000   2-6    .333    0  15   15  3.0   4  0   0   0   0   0    4  0.8
SISSON, Gary.......  9-0     0  0.0   2-8    .250   0-0    .000   1-1   1.000    0   6    6  0.7   4  0   0   0   0   0    5  0.6
SMITH, Gary........ 23-0     0  0.0 100-261  .383   0-0    .000  45-67   .672    0 136  136  5.9  68  4   0   0   0   0  245 10.7
TIMPONE, Tom....... 21-0     0  0.0  85-197  .431   0-0    .000  65-86   .756    0  78   78  3.7  61  2   0   0   0   0  235 11.2
TJADEN, Dave....... 20-0     0  0.0  24-58   .414   0-0    .000   7-12   .583    0  49   49  2.5  27  0   0   0   0   0   55  2.8
WHITE, Maurice..... 15-0     0  0.0  55-128  .430   0-0    .000  41-53   .774    0  46   46  3.1  45  1   0   0   0   0  151 10.1
Team totals........ 23       0      628-1602 .392   0-0    .000 396-585  .677    01113 1113 48.4 455 21   0   0   0   0 1652 71.8
Opp totals......... 23       0      697-1690 .412   0-0    .000 402-596  .674    01237 1237 53.8 451 16   0   0   0   0 1796 78.1

The BHS class of 1959 will be holding a reunion this coming August.  This may seem to be an odd year (67 years since graduation) to have a reunion, as most reunions seem to occur on a five year plan.  The reason they did not want to wait until a 70th was that their numbers were rapidly dwindling.  Over a dozen have passed away in the last few years, so they decided to reunite while the remaining members of the class were still alive.    

Since our last post two months ago, there have been many people that we may have known that have passed away.  Rather than write extensively about them, it seems appropriate to post a link to the obituaries and make brief comments about them.  

In December, 2025, Bob Fishback (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/robert-fishback) passed away. Most of us know Bob as the banker.  When we boys were in younger and wanted to play basketball in the winter, we often went to the Fishback barn to play when it was too cold to play outside.  It wasn't the warmest up there in the hayloft, but at least we were out of the wind.  On a personal note, Bob graduated with one of my brothers, and coincidentally was born exactly two years before another brother, and died exactly 30 years after my father.

Also passing away that month were Orv Smidt (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/orv-smidt) and Mike McCann (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/michael-mccann).  Both of them were in the same class as two more of my brothers.  Orv started on the basketball team with one of them, while Mike played on the football with both of them.  Mike's son Dalyn was in my homeroom the second year I was teaching at the middle school. 

On Christmas Day, 2025, Jerry Fiedler (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/jerome-fiedler) passed away.  His wife was one of our senior English teachers in 1969-69, and had long and distinguished career at BHS.  Their daughter Janet was a cheerleader in high school and at SDSU.  I had always thought that she was hit by a dead coyote at a basketball game when "State" was playing the "U" in Feb. 7, 1976 (https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2012/jan/15/frozen-coyote-incident-follows-woman-for-36-6/).  However, that was a different Fiedler. Their son David was in 8th grade my first years of teaching, and later became a principal at Central Elementary in Brookings.   When Central closed down and became a children's museum, he was the principal at Camelot, the school that replaced Central.  

January was cruel to a number of people that we may have known.  On the 5th, we lost Dave Quam (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/dave-quam).  Dave was in the last class to graduate from the "old" high school on 4th Street.  He was the manager for the athletic teams.  He had a booming auto-body repair business, and restored a 1957 Chevy BelAir for me.  We may remember his mother, as she was the long-time secretary for Mr. Bell.

I was shocked to hear of Todd Schamp's passing (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/todd-schamp).  He was  a student of ours many years ago.  I recall him as being rather small when he was in middle school, but he appears to have grown quite a bit.

Robert Kneip (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/robert-kneip) owned the Kneip Implement dealership in Arlington, and was one of the many Kneip brothers.  

In February, we lost Alice Gehrke (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/alice-gehrke).  She was one of the first women runners in the area, and was the husband of Henry Gehrke, a chemistry professor at SDSU.  Many of us had him as an instructor when we were at "State."  Sadly, her son Karl, a former student of ours, passed away on June 9, 2026 (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/karl-gehrke).

Joyce Bailey (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/joyce-bailey) also passed away this past February.  She was little younger than we were, and had twin sister Janet.  One of her sisters married Dave Ulmer, brother of Joe of our class.  Her son David Hock was a student of ours in the 2001-02 school year.  

March took Jerry Moad's nephew Travis Moad (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/travis-moad),  He, too, was a former student of ours many years ago.  

We also lost Mason Wheeler (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/mason-wheeler) in March.  He was the husband of Janie Wheeler, one of our freshman English teachers and a colleague of mine for many years.  Mason also happened to be in one of my brother's class, the BHS class of 1956.  This is the brother that was born exactly two years after Bob Fishback.  He was named George because their birthdays were both February 22, the traditional date of George Washington's birthday.  Also in that class was Art Wilber, oldest brother of Cathy of our class.  In the old high school, now the "1921" building (that was the year it was built), there is a frame on the wall just to the left as one enters the building that has the individual pictures of those class members.  Other similar class photos are scattered throughout the building.  Mason's younger brother Dan was two years ahead of us, and in the same class as Dave Quam.

Harold Poppen (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/harold-poppen) passed away on April 17.  Harold worked at the post office, as many or our parents did.  I was fortunate to work there part-time during 1968, and got to know Harold rather well.  I believe his brother was the sophomore basketball coach in Watertown.  When girls' basketball started in the 1970's, he and I coached against each other a few times at the middle school level.  Some of his children were students of ours, while his grandson Riley was on our cross-country team.  

Some of us may remember Vernon Rude from the BHS class of 1968.  His mother, Marian, passed away on April 26 (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/marian-rude)

Frank Kurtenbach (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/frank-kurtenbach) passed away on May 16.  I became acquainted with Frank through mutual friends.  He would claim that  Lincoln High School should have won the state wrestling tournament in 1969, which is the year the Bobcats won it, as juniors Rod Distad at 120 and Jan Sanderson at 145 were state champs, while  seniors Craig Knock and Craig Derscheid were 3rd and 4th respectively.  Why did Lincoln not come out on top?  If we remember the winter of 1968-69, we may recall that there was a great deal of snow then, and bad weather prevented the Lincoln team from arriving in Huron, the site of the tournament, for weigh-ins on time (https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/2016/08/08/caught-wrong-side-snowdrift/85032322/).  Jan Sanderson, however, disputes that assertion, as he believes the the Bobcats would have won it even if Lincoln had shown up.   

Jerry Danielsen (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/jerry-danielsen) was another family friend.  I have known him since I was in grade school, as he and my brothers were hunting and fishing buddies.  Jerry's wife was also a colleague for a number of years, as she was an English teacher at the middle school.  

Jeremy Deutsch (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/jeremy-deutsch) was extremely well-known in town for his entrepeneurship with Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill as well as The 9 (was it our 50th reunion we had there?).  He was also a former student-athlete of ours.  According to some historical records, The 9 building was built in 1936.  It was a Council Oak grocery store in 1937 to 1950.  For a few years, it was Aeilts Appliances and Brookings Bru Coffee.  From 1953-1962, it was Sandy & Elmers Recreation Room (a pool hall and beer joint).  For the next two years, it was Mac's Recreation Room.  In 1964, my brother George (mentioned above) owned it and named it George's Recreation.  Some of us spent quite a bit of time in there playing pool.  Tom and Walt Osterberg, as well as their father, were really good pool players.  The Cubby's building was built in 1926, and has been home to a variety of businesses, especially those affiliated with insurance.  Some of them were:  O'Brien Insurance Agency; Jim Long and Associates; Wayne Hawley; Farmers Union; Spencer Hawley; Art Anderson; Art WilberCathy's brother); and Security Mutual Life of Nebraska.  

Mike Filholm (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/michael-filholm) suddenly passed away on May 30.  His father was the chief of police in Brookings for many years.  He, too, was former student of ours.

June 4 was a sad day for many of us, as Tom Fergen (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/thomas-fergen) went to his eternal reward.  Although Tom was a year behind us, he and his family were well-known throughout the area.  His father had Fergen's Menswear, and for a few years, the Varsity Shop on the SDSU campus.  His brother Richard (usually referred to as Dick), had Nick's Hamburger Shop after Duane Larson had owned it.  His brother Mike ("Tank") owned Ray's Corner for many years.  His brother Tim restored many older cars, and was an extremely skilled carpenter.  He built a huge garage for my brother perhaps 20 years ago.  Because we live in the historical district, the garage had to meet many rigorous standards and variances.  

Also on that day, Terry Olson (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/terry-olson).  He was a history teacher at the high school for several years, as well as the athletic trainer there.  He was very well-respected by his colleagues and by the athletes.  He even treated me on occasion.  

Lastly, another BHS alumna whom we may remember passed away on May 10.  Linda Moe (https://www.brookingsregister.com/2026/05/15/linda-moesioux-fallsapril-7-1950-may-10-2026/) was a year ahead of us in school, and was a key individual for organizing their class reunions.  Her daughter Kalli married Josh Reisetter, a former student of ours.  Josh's mother was Marci Gottschalk, a few years older than we were, and the brother of Mark "Butch" Gottschalk, a classmate of Linda's.  Wasn't Mark an important character in the musical "Oklahoma" that was performed our junior year?  

The Life Of Brian

 Many of us may remember the movie Monty Python's Life of Brian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Life_of_Brian).  Brookings recently lost a more memorable Brian in Brian Darnall  (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituaries/brian-darnall) , brother of Sherry of our class and the longtime owner of Medary Acres, beginning his career there in 1971.  (If part of the picture is not visible, just click on the picture and it will show up by itself, I think and hope)

 Medary Acres is a well-known greenhouse in the area, and supplies an untold number of local and perhaps some no-to-local residents with numerous plants, flowers, and vegetables for their beautiful gardens.  For a few months every spring, the greenhouse is a beehive of activity as people are trying to design their garden plots for the maximum beauty and productivity.  As Brian was known to say, "Plant early and plant often."

Medary Acres began in 1952.  This link tells of its origin and its growth:  https://siouxfalls.business/business-blooms-as-medary-acres-greenhouses-enters-third-generation/ 

Their website can be viewed here:  https://medaryacres.com/.  Many other sites can be accessed by an internet search, such as https://medaryacres.com/about-us/.  A recent article in the Brookings Register had a brief story highlighting the opening of the business for the 2026 growing season:   https://www.brookingsregister.com/2026/04/07/medary-acres-preps-for-new-season-in-brookings/

Although my personal connections to Brian were rather few, his daughters were students of mine when they were in middle school.  They seemed to have inherited the same traits that made Brian such a well-respected person.  He always seemed to have a smile and was very compassionate and caring in his relationships with others.  I believe his daughter Samantha (Sam) is a physician, while daughter Sarah will inherit the business.  

The links above express better than I can what a wonderful man Brian was.  His influence in the Brookings community was portrayed by the overwhelming number of people who attended his funeral.  The Methodist Church was practically standing room only.  The eulogies by Calla Hogue, a longtime friend of Brian and the family, and by his daughter Samantha were touching and heartfelt, and brought more than a few laughs from the congregation. 

Our condolences to Sherry on the loss of her wonderful brother.      

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.

 

In Memoriam

 October has been a rather sad month for many of us.  On October 7, Norma Ganter, the sister of Rod Koehn, passed away.  Originally, the visitation was to be held on Sunday, Oct 12, with the funeral the next day.  However, extenuating circumstances resulted in a delay of one week, with the visitation and funeral being held on Oct. 20.  

Members of our class have extended their condolences to Rod on the loss of his sister.  Rod thanks especially Walt Osterberg, Robyn Kortan, and Vern Olson for their hospitality and graciousness.  

Norma Koehn graduated from BHS in 1961 (we were in 4th grade that year).  Other  names in that class that may ring a bell were Donna Bozied, Karen Derscheid, Jim Felt, Vivian Gustafson, Don Iverson, and Diane and Larry Kallemeyn, Judie Shirley, and Bob Webbenhurst.  The superintendent at the time was Mr. Horrigan, with Mr. Bell serving as the high school principal, while "Lefty" Johnson manned the helm at the Jr. Hi. Mr. Webbenhurst was the business manager.  

On the school board were Mrs. Flittie, Mr. Sundet, Mr. Shirley (Debbie's father), Mr. Christensen, and Mrs. Masson, the board president.  (Mrs. Flittie happened to be a customer on my Minneapolis Tribune paper route at the time.  She was quite generous with her tips at collection time.)

Some of the high school faculty that we might know were Mr. Karnes, Mr. "Biology Bob" Stewart, Miss Helland, Mr. Klassen, Mrs. Sheimo, Miss Malmstrom, Mr. Culey, Mr. Hauschild, Mr. Gibbons, Mrs. Madson, Mr. Serlet, Mr. Kleinsasser, and Mr. Norman Johnson.  Listed for the Jr. Hi faculty were Miss Briscoe, Mr. Dolan, Mrs. Doris Larson, Mr. Paul Johnson, Miss LaChance, Mrs. Etta Olson, Mrs. Rodee (she also directed the Sr. and Jr. class plays), Mr. Engstrom, Mr. Leslie Peterson, and Mrs. Maxwell.  

Rod's family had just moved to Brookings from Centerville in 1960.  I believe Mike Marshall also lived in Centerville during the 1950's, as his father was a teacher and coach there.  Even though Norma Koehn only attended BHS for one year, she was active in numerous school clubs.  The 1961 Bobcat lists her extra-curricular activities as FHA, FNA, GAA, Sr. Play Production, FTA, Radio Club, and Pep Club.  She certainly was not one to confine her schooling to only the classroom.  Also of interest that year was a picture with the eight senior scholarship winners.  Today, perhaps ten or fifteen times that number of seniors may earn some type of scholarship.  

 

https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/norma-ganter

Our condolences to Rod and his family at the loss of his sister.  

Those of us who had Mrs. Walker for a 6th grade teacher may fondly remember how much we learned from her, particularly in the area of grammar.  I believe she had previously been an English teacher, perhaps at the Jr. Hi level.  In any case, we learned almost as much grammar as the Sr. Hi students.  About the only aspect she did not cover was the difference between dependent and independent clauses.  Diagramming sentences summarized so well what we learned about grammar.  (In the 1961 yearbook, Mrs. Sheimo is shown with a couple of students.  On the blackboard is a diagrammed sentence.)  We had to know the parts of speech of each word, and how those words related to each other.  Everything had to fit logically together. That knowledge came in handy in high school, not only for English classes, but also for Latin and German class.    

She also introduced us to the art of public speaking.  It seems like in the second semester, we were to give speeches on Friday afternoon.  Lee Colburn gave one that will remain forever etched in my mind.  He had a live minnow in a jar filled with water.  It was swimming around rather calmly.  He then emptied the tobacco from a cigarette into the jar, and the minnow started to spin wildly in circles.  Lee wanted to show the harmful effects of smoking.  It was an impressive and informative for our young minds.  

Our history for the first nine weeks focused on the history of South Dakota, from the early native tribes and the first white explorers and traders (the Verendrye brothers?),  https://www.southdakotamagazine.com/verendrye-plate; 

the formation of Minnesota Territory, then Dakota Territory, entry into the union with North Dakota, and other events that happened up until the 1950's. One of the highlights at the conclusion of those lessons was building out of bread dough a topographical map of the state of South Dakota.  Different food colors were used to form the land masses and bodies of water:  blue for lakes and rivers, green for lower elevations, fading into yellow for higher elevations, and then into brown for the Black Hills.   

A few members of our class were even pictured in the 1963 annual.  Some of the boys are standing at a display on the bulletin board that reads "IT TAKES TOOLS TO BUILD A FUTURE." 

She told us one story about her pheasant hunting (last Saturday, Oct. 18, was the opening of the season in South Dakota).  After she thought had shot a rooster that had been sitting on a fence post, she went over to pick it up.  Just as she was going to grab the bird, it flew away.  At least that's how I remember the story.  Perhaps age has dimmed my memory.  Like that rooster, has it flown away?  

Thanks to Mrs. Walker for having the patience deal with some rather unruly students for that year.  

A number of years ago, we invited Mrs. Walker to one of our reunions.  She had moved to Miller, SD, after her one year of teaching in Brookings.  Her husband, who was also the 7th grade health teacher, had accepted a principal job in Miller (some of the members of the class of 1968 remember him).  Thus, the move there.  I believe he then became a principal in Platte, SD.  (Dellas Cole, long-time sportscaster for KBRK, grew up in Platte, told me he knew Mrs. Walker.  He may have even been one of her students.)  While she was appreciative of our invitation, she was unable to attend.  Her husband had passed away, and she would be unable to obtain transportation to Brookings.   She did, however, send best wishes to us, fondly remembering her short stay in Brookings.  

Sadly, she passed away this past summer (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/audrey-walker-obituary?id=59020177).  One member of our class thought that one of their children was born around 1963, the spring of our 6th grade year.  However, the obituary seems to suggest otherwise. Could that be a misprint, misreading a 3 for an 8 when the obituary was published?  

Another shock to us in Brookings was the sudden passing of Steve Berseth.  He was a teacher, coach, and activities director in the school system for 39 years.  He arrived here in 1972 to replace Mr. Dolan, who had become the assistant principal to "Lefty" at the middle school.  I became acquainted with Mr. Berseth because he and I refereed the sophomore basketball games that season.  For the 1973-74 school year, Mr. Berseth's wife was hired to teach middle school PE, while I was also fortunate enough to start my career in the school system.  

Mr. Berseth became activities director in 1992, and held that position for about 20 years.  He started the BHS athletic hall of fame, and strove greatly to promote the Bobcats, not only in athletics, but in all extra-curricular activities, hence the title of "activities director" and not "athletic director.  https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/steven-berseth

Steve, other teachers (did you know that Mr. Walder, our junior English played a mean game?) and coaches, and I played city league basketball for many years.  Steave and I also worked numerous track and field meets together, especially since the indoor facility at SDSU was built about a dozen years ago.  He will be greatly missed in the community.  The comments in the guestbook indicate what w truly fine man Steve was.  We add our condolences to the family, as they have lost  a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.  

Finally, October, as mentioned above, is the opening of pheasant season.  It is often the month for Hobo Day.   Oftentimes Hobo week festivities get somewhat rowdy or even riotous.  This certainly happened 35 years ago, as this Collegian article recalls:  https://brookingsregister.com/stories/fewer-shenanigans-seen-during-hobo-day-weekend-in-brookings,158217

However, things were a little calmer this year:  https://brookingsregister.com/stories/fewer-shenanigans-seen-during-hobo-day-weekend-in-brookings,158217

To cap the week off, the football won and maintained a perfect record:

https://gojacks.com/news/2025/10/11/football-defense-takes-center-stage-in-hobo-day-win

BHS Athletic Hall of Fame 2025 Inductees

 Perhaps 20 or more years ago, Brookings High School started an athletics "Hall of Fame."  The purpose was to recognize outstanding athletes, teams, coaches, and contributors who have played huge roles in the success of the athletic teams at BHS.  The athletic director at that time, Steve Berseth, researched to the best of his ability the records of coaches and athletes from the early 1900's to the present.  Virtually all of the stellar athletes that have appeared in a Bobcat uniform and the coaches that have guided them have received this prestigious honor.  Our own class of 1969 has contributed Lee Colburn, Jim Kortan, and Tom Osterberg,  Four other notable athletes that are familiar to us are Bob Adams, Jan Sanderson, Jackie Ramey, and Marty Johnson.   A partial listing can be found at https://www.brookings.k12.sd.us/o/brookings/page/bhs-athletic-hall-of-fame.  The inductees for the last few years do not appear.  However, an internet search can find most of them. For example, this year's inductees can be found at https://brookingsregister.com/stories/five-to-be-inducted-to-bobcat-sports-hall-of-fame,151648.

Three of those honored inductees have connections to our class of 1969.  Tim Ramey's brother Bill was in our class in the 9th grade.  Tim graduated in 1978, and was a student of mine during my first year (1973-4) in the system.  He had a great deal of energy in the classroom, and channeled that vigor into his extra-curricular activities of football, wrestling, and track and field.  Tim was fearless as an athlete.  He was a tough-nosed football player, a tenacious wrestler, and a competitive weight man in track and field, even though he was not as large as most of the other throwers.  He has become quite the realtor in his older years, and seems to have lost some weight since high school, as this picture indicates   https://www.facebook.com/1288039572/posts/10231522305142588/?rdid=DxX6kPEGPWToxvbe#

Laura Hietbrink was in 7th grade in 1973-4.  Her older sister Deanne graduated with us in 1969, and sat to my right in Mr. Karnes's physics class our senior year.  A few other classmates of ours also had siblings in Laura's class.  Perhaps these names may ring a bell:  Jon Colburn, Joey Odegaard, Teresa Redmond, Paula Sloat, and Jeanne Ulmer.  

Deanne's father was a professor in the pharmacy department at SDSU.  Deanne took after her father and earned her pharmacy degree after high school.  She worked as registered pharmacist in Oklahoma.  Laura indicated that Deanne still works part-time as a substitute pharmacist there.  

Laura was in 8th grade when we started girls athletics in the school system.  She was notably a fine high jumper that year, and continued to have success in that event in high school.  As her biography indicates, she also became a key runner on some of the high school relay teams.  Those BHS girls track and field teams of that era were powerhouses.  Additionally, she helped propel the Bobcats volleyball and basketball teams to much success during those early years when girls were finally getting the chance to compete athletically. 

Phil Workman has won more letters than any other male athlete in Brookings High School.  Lettering as an 8th grader is practically unheard of.  It has happened before.  In the latter 1950's, one Duane Thompson lettered in track at that young age.  Phil not only lettered in track that year, but also in basketball.  I believe Judy of our class is a cousin.

What is most admirable about Phil is that he was an all-around athlete.  Too many youngsters today seem to concentrate on only one sport.  Doing so can result in overuse injuries and loss of interest ("burn-out). https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/04/427421/children-specializing-one-sport-more-harm-than-good  and  https://www.sportsmed.org/membership/sports-medicine-update/fall-2024/the-fallacy-of-falling-behind-the-realities-of-early-sports-specialization

I was fortunate enough to coach Phil in the 800 in track, and could recall many of his races for this post.  However a few stand out in my mind.  First, he won the conference 800 as an 8th grader.  Girls have achieved that honor, but it's doubtful if a boy had ever done that.  He would go on to win that race three more times, thus making it four in a row, a feat that may never have been done before, nor will probably ever be done in the future.    

Phil qualified for the state meet that 8th grade year.  At the state meet, there were two heats of the 800.  Since he did not have one of the eight fastest time during the year, he was placed in the slow heat, so his chances of placing were rather remote.  He started off perhaps a little too fast, but was able to tough it out and finish with a nice time.  His time was good enough to beat all but three of the finishers in fast heat, so he placed 4th.  Not bad for an 8th grader.  

As a sophomore, Phil had times that earned him a spot in fast heat.  Our strategy was to run at a fairly even pace.  Too often, high school runners start off too fast for their ability.  So Phil hung back.  He was almost last after the first 200.  He gradually started to move up.  With about 200 to go, he appeared to speed up.  In reality, everyone else was slowing down, and Phil was just maintaining.  With about 80 meters to the finish he took the lead and won by a comfortable margin of five meters or so.  A parent of a runner from Sioux Falls Washington asked me "Where did he (Phil) come from?"  His race was somewhat reminiscent of the 800 at the 1972 Olympics, although not nearly as close at the finish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k)

Because Phil had to run many races during a meet. he was often a little bit tired when his 800 was run. Thus, his times during the year were not that impressive.  He would just run fast enough to win so he could be competitive in his other races. Since times during the year determine seeding  at the state meet, Phil did not get a top seed, but he had a time that placed him in the fast heat.  He peaked at the right time. 

As a junior, Phil had two other teammates that were also respectable 800 runners.  For the conference meet, we wanted to put together a good 4 X 800 relay team, as we had a chance to win the meet.   We had to find another runner, though.  Our 300 intermediate hurdler felt he up to the challenge. During those years, Yankton had a powerful cross-country team, and were highly confident they could win the 4 X 800, as they had a number of quality cross-country runners from which to choose..  Our four runners, Ben Fairbanks, Ty Nelson, Andrew Winterboer, and Phil Workman, all played football.  While the Yankton runners trained all year round, our runners only trained hard for two months in the spring.   Our boys ran exceptionally well, and won the race, while Yankton seemed devastated  David had defeated Goliath.

As a senior, Phil was unable to repeat as champion in the 800.  He finished runner-up to a Pierre runner who had also been running cross-country for a number of years.  That training eventually paid dividends, as the Pierre runner was also strong in longer races.  When it is considered how few miles Phil actually covered during the year in comparison to his competitors, one could say he overachieved.  'Truly Phil was on of the most outstanding all-around athletes to ever come out of BHS.  

I was fortunate enough to assist Jerry Kluess, the coach who was inducted this year.  The girls track team of 1989 that was under Mr. Kluess's guidance was chosen as the team to be recognized for their achievement, which entitled them to be included in the Hall of Fame.   

Perhaps because the Brookings Register had ceased publication for a few weeks, and when it resumed publication on only two days of the week. there was little publicity for this year's Hall of Fame recognition.  We hope this glitch can be overcome in future years.  

 

"July Is Dressed Up And Playing Her Tune"

 The above phrase is from the August, 1972 song "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts.  (https://genius.com/Seals-and-crofts-summer-breeze-lyrics;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQbjpomexo)  Brookings was fortunate this year, as a nice summer breeze kept the temperature pleasant on Saturday, July 12, 2025, for the arts festival held this past weekend.  It was also an opportunity for some members of our class to gather at Skinner's (the old Montgomery Ward building at 3rd and Main) that evening  and rehash old times. In attendance were Emmett Earley, Mark Kratochvil,  Robyn Connelly, Sue Cavanaugh, Sue Kattke, Jean McCone, Roch Watson, Mark Denton, Jim Antonides, and Walt Osterberg.  My apologies if I have omitted anyone.  

One topic that arose concerned a red-haired English teacher in 7th grade.  A check of the 1964 annual indicates that this teacher could have been one of four women:  Sharon Gustin Nina Schmelling, Lyle Voorhees, or Linda Wright.  Anyone care to state which teacher fits the description?  

Many text messages indicated that getting together was a great idea, and that everyone had a great time.  Looks like a 60th formal reunion in 2029 is likely.  Wow! Where has the time gone?  

Today, July 15, 2025, the summer edition of STATE magazine (for SDSU alumni and friends) arrived in the mail.  Of the many current articles written, a few caught my attention.  One of my cousins, who graduated in 1960, passed away.  We had heard a rumor that he had died, and this confirms that fact.  Also unbeknownst to us, a couple of other deaths were surprising.  

A 1966 SDSU graduate was Dorothy (Hanson) Trumm.  She passed away on Jan. 31, 2025.  Some of us may have had her for sophomore English.  In the 1967 annual, she is listed as teaching English II, III, and IV, while the next year, she is listed as teaching only English IV.   https://andersonandsonsfh.com/dorothy-trumm/

A 1967 graduate of BHS and a 1972 graduate of SDSU was Pete Hauff, brother of Barb of our class.   https://www.dingmannandsons.com/obituary/Peter-Hauff   In the 1967 annual, his activities were listed as Monogram Cl., 4; FB., B, A; Track, 3,4; Rotarian.  As his obituary states, he passed away Dec. 23, 2024.  Pete was an extremely friendly person, as some of us experienced during our sophomore track season.  

Their obituaries express better than I can the qualities that made them such wonderful individuals.  

Our condolences to the families of Mrs. Trumm and Pete Hauff.  

Another Centenerian

 The July 10, 2025 edition of the Brookings Register had a short article highlighting the upcoming 100th birthday of Grace Linn, mother of Stew in our class.  Originally, I thought she might be the only on of our parents still living.  However, thanks to a couple of classmates, I stand corrected. The mother of Mark Denton is also still going strong.  My apologies to all concerned.  Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.  

She has been very active in writing about the history of Brookings and Brookings county.  since the early 1990's, he has helped compile the obituaries of numerous residents of the area.  Eight years ago, she was honored by the VFW for her more than 25,000 hours of volunteer service.

Congratulations to Grace on for her wonderful life.