Rodney Koehn's Mother Passes Away

Doris Koehn, the mother of Rodney Koehn, passed away recently.  Her obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=16248&page=80.  If memory serves right, the wife of Jim Marking, the SDSU basketball coach from about 1965-1975, was Rodney's aunt.  Her maiden name was Carola Emilie Koehn (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=595703Marking).  Rodney went to Hillcrest, so those of us who went to Central never knew him very well until perhaps high school.  He was in Guy O.'s physics and chemistry classes, and then later earned his degree in civil engineering at SDSU, I believe.  Rodney was also on our basketball teams up through our junior year.  We had a good time on the JV team that first year at the new high school.

Interestingly,  Rodney's nieces, Deanne and Dawn Ganter, were students at the middle school during my early years of teaching there.  They inherited some of Rodney's height, and were excellent students.  I never knew they were close relatives of Rodney. 

Our condolences and prayers go out to Rod and his family. 

The Wife of Don Mohlenhoff Passes Away

Many of us may remember Mr. Don Mohlenhoff, as he was the classroom instructor for driver's ed when we were sophomores in our last year at the old school.  He was also head varsity basketball coach from 1963-1967.  Russell Anderson, Teresa Steen's husband, was one of his players.  Some of us had older brothers who played for him:  Mike O'Connell, Bob Bozied, Zoell Colburn, Jim Iverson are some who come to mind.  Jim Kortan and Tom Osterberg from our class were on his last team our sophomore year.  The best player during his tenure was undoubtedly Eric Bundgaard.  He was one of those rare players who started as a freshman, and as a sophomore was an all-state player.  Unfortunately, he moved after that year (his father Axel was athletic director at SDSU, and took a similar position at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.  An interesting article on Dr. Bundgaard can be found at http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/120156569.html?refer=y)  If you are interested, you can do a web search and find some other good stories about him.

When we started at the new high school in the fall of 1968, Mr. Mohlenhoff became a health/PE teacher  and coach at the middle school, the former high school.  My first year of teaching at the middle school was 1973-4.  Mr. Mohlenhoff was the head 7th grade basketball coach, and I was his assistant.  One of his sons, Joel, was in that class.  Lee Colburn's younger brother Jon was also in that class. 

Mr. Mohlenhoff passed away about 10 years ago (http://www.millerfh.com/index.php?option=com_obituary&task=details&oid=2946.  Another intriguing site is http://www.fanbase.com/Don-Mohlenhoff  He played basketball at then South Dakota State College in the late 1940's, and was selected for the all-NCC team in 1947, 48, and 49--scrool down about a thir of the way on this website--http://northcentral.prestosports.com/Record_Book/mbb.pdf.  (You can also find Lee's name there for 1971, 72, and 73, and Jim Fergen, who started Fergen's Men's Wear in Brookings, who earned honors in 1938 and 1940.)    Among his teammates were Duane Colburn, Lee's father, Herb Bartling (of the Bartling family that owned Bartling's Furniture downtown), and Harry Forsyth, whose father owned the Dairy Queen (before Beth Billings' father did), and who himself later became athletic director at SDSU.  Mr. Mohlenhoff's wife Betty passed away on Oct. 20, 2012.  Her obituary can be found at http://www.argusleader.com/viewart/20121024/OBITUARIES/210240302/Betty-Mohlenhoff?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CLIFE and at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15939&page=80

Does anybody remember those films we saw in Mr. Mohlenhoff's drivers ed class?  One vivid memory, not from the films, but from the class was that he had a machine that could test our reaction time.  It had a gas pedal and a brake.  When a red light came on, we had to hit the brake.  There was a timer in there somewhere, and it would display the reaction time. One of the boys who had an exceptionally fast reaction time was Stewart Walz.  In gym class, he wasn't exactly one of the speediest ones on the playing field, but he was quicker than most of us when it came time to hit the brakes. 

Also passing away recently was Grace Sanderson, mother of Reed, Mark, Kwen, Laun, Jan, Terry, Dell, and Joy.  Some of us had older siblings that were in their class.  Laun was a year ahead of us, and Jan a year behind us, so we knew them better than the others.  He obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15905&page=80

The Father of Pat Collins Passes Away

Our prayers and condolences go out to Pat Collins on the recent passing of her father, Paul Everett Collins, 95,  who died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at Brookview Manor in Brookings. The obituary from the webpage of the Register reads:

Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Ascension Lutheran Church in Brookings. Burial is at First Lutheran Cemetery in Brookings. Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Memorials may be directed to Ascension Lutheran Church or to the Collins Scholarship in HFLP administered by the SDSU Foundation.

Paul was born on Feb. 22, 1917, on a farm near White Rock, Minn., to Eric and Mary (Wiberg) Collins. He attended Goodhue County rural school through the eighth grade and graduated from Cannon Falls High School in 1934. He was captain of the football team and Senior Class president in 1933-1934. He received American Legion medals for leadership and scholastic achievement. He graduated magna cum laude in 1939 from Gustavus Adolphus College with educational degrees in history, social science, and chemistry. He taught high school at Bigfork, Minn. in 1940.

Paul enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1941 and graduated from photo school. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1941. He served at Salt Lake City Air Force Base, Geiger Field (Spokane), Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (Tucson), Alamogordo (NM) Air Field, Ephrata (WA) Army Air Base, and Great Falls Air Force Base. He was deployed to North Africa with the Second Bomb Group in April 1943 as group photo officer. He later served in Foggia, Italy until the end of the war. He was awarded the Air and Bronze Star Medals. He returned to the States in September 1945 and separated from the Air Corps in January 1946. He stayed in the Air Force Reserve until 1972, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

In 1946, Paul returned to college at the University of Minnesota and studied forestry, earning a BS degree in 1948, MS in 1949, and Ph.D. in 1967. He worked at Kansas State University as an Extension forester from 1949-1951. He moved to Brookings in 1951 and joined the faculty of the Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape and Parks Department at South Dakota State University. He taught and conducted research in forestry until retiring in 1983 with emeritus status.

Paul married Mildred (Mickey) Johnson on Sept. 4, 1948. They were married for 48 years until Mickey’s death in 1997.

Paul was a charter member of Ascension Lutheran Church and served as its first president from 1962-1966.. He enjoyed singing and was a choir member until age 90. He was also a soloist and sang in a men’s quartet at the church.

Paul was a member of the Brookings Lions Club for 55 years, serving as its president in 1965-1966, leading the club in singing until age 93. He was also a member of Sigma Xi scientific research society and Gamma Sigma Delta (honor society of agriculture). In addition, he remained active as a volunteer driver for the Brookings Volunteer Service Bank and Meals on Wheels, logging more than 500 service hours and more than 25 years.

Paul was an avid early morning long distance walker. He enjoyed photography, gardening, and crossword puzzles. Until late in life, he took pride in maintaining an impeccable lawn. He loved history. His children struggled to keep him in stock with fresh history books. He and Mickey liked to travel, especially to Civil War sites, and in the process managed to visit every state except Hawaii.

He is survived by his children Patricia Collins (Dan Cherryhomes) of Minneapolis and Michael (Isabel) Collins of Elm Grove, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his wife Mickey, and two sisters, Mildred and Ethel Collins.

Another recent article from home concerned the daughter of Sue (Cavanaugh) Ribstein.  Her daughter has been diagnosed with MG, myasthenia gravis.  The complete article can be accesses at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15704&page=76

Mr. Tlustos Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Mr. Tlustos came to Brookings as the wrestling coach and junior history teacher when we were seniors, replacing Mr. Sherrill.  Some of us had him for economics class that year.  His career got off to a fantastic start at BHS, as the wrestlers were state champs in those first two seasons of 1969 and 1970.  He was a very well-known and respected wrestling coach throughout the state. At BHS, he also coached 9th grade football.  He even agreed to coach varsity football one year when there were some difficulties finding the right individual for that position.  This link will take you to the story from the Register's on-line edition:  http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=77&story_id=15370 

On a more somber note, Don Rykhus, the brother of Mr. Duane Rykhus passed away recently.  Mr. Rykhus was the ninth-grade science teacher when we were still in the old school.  Some of us even had him for 8th grade science.  He was also the track coach for a few years.  He had a roofing business that kept him busy during the summers.  He retired from teaching in 1975 to devote full-time to shingling.  Yours truly replaced him, but after two years, I moved back to the middle school.  Teaching the younger kids was more enjoyable to me than teaching the older ones.  This link:  http://kirkfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/KirkFu1/obit.cgi?user=685644Rykhus is the obituary for Don Rykhus.  Ken Kirk is one of the managing partners at this funeral home.  He is 1971 graduate of BHS:  http://kirkfuneralhome.com/?page=kenkirk  His sister Kathy was a year ahead of us, I believe.  Their father worked at the "Bug Lab" near Sunnyview north of town.  Jim Kortan's mother was also a secretary there.  With Jim's help, I was able to land a summer job there after high school graduation.  That employment for the next few summers paid for most of my college education. 

1964-65

Was doing some research on amateur baseball in Brookings during the years 1964-65 by looking at old microfilm copies of the Brookings Register.  The end of summer is not only the end of the baseball season, but also is the time for 4-H Achievement Days.  Many members of our class were notd for doing so well at this county-wide event.  In 1964, Pam Johnston, along with her brother Greg, had their picture in the paper as they displayed their Angus cattle.  Pam had been a member of the Sterling Satellites 4-H club for four years, while Greg had been a member of the Prairie Farmers for five years at the time the picture was taken. 

Another article noted that Pam Lindsey (I beliveshe was a year ahead of us) was awarded top honors in horse showmanship, but our Janice Briggs was second.  Other class members winning honors in this category were Pggy Bush and Gay Miller. 

In local news, Wesley Bugg, Ed McComish, Wesley and Dennis Audus rode motorcycles to Sturgis for what is now the well-known Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.   Celebrities from all over the country and even the world make this event a popular attraction during the first part of August.

August also brings news about the upcoming school year.   An article on new teachers indicated that Mr. James Klassen and Mrs. Doris Larson were returning to the school sysem after a year's leave of absence.  New teachers to the school system that some of us may have had were Mrs. Eleanor Cochrane in home ec; Mr. Dennis Graber in vocal music;  Mr. Robert Jostad in Jr. Hi science; Mr. Leon Friend in chemistry and English II; Mrs. Joan Tabor as librarian; Mr. Stuart Webster in Jr. Hi. science; Mr. Lloyd Wesche in art; and Mrs. Janie Wheeler in Jr. Hi. English.  In the elementary grades, Jackie Walsh's mother was new to th system.  Mrs. Behrend was the new secretary for Lefty Johnson.  Another new face that year was Mr. Kent Kiepke.  When we movd to the new high school, he remained in the building and became a well-respected math teacher, as the old high school was converted into the first middle school in the state.  He was wondrful mentor to me when my career began there in 1973. 

There were also a number of articles on the upcoming fall sports seasons, especially on the local football teams at BHS and SDSU.  One of the football players on the high school team was Jim Horak.  His younger sister Carol was a year behind us in school.  One reason for mentioning them is that their mother, Margaret,  recently passed away in Dell Rapids, where Carol lives.  Our prayers and condolences go out to Carol and her family.  The complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15188&page=80

In 1965, some of the new teachers that we may have had were Mrs. Myrth Rae Brchan for business education; Mrs. Joan Donaldson (Nancy Webbenhurst's sister) for Jr. Hi English (some of us had her for sophomore English); Carole Huwe (Fraulein Huwe) for German I and Eng. II; Mr. LeRoy Klavetter for math; and Mr. Marv Sherrill for social studies.  At the elementary level, Mrs. Lois Wells was new.  I believe she was Howard's mother. 

A few other notable events that year were Jim Felt (I believe he is Patty's brother) becoming the first student to win all four events at the South Dakota Intercollegiate Forensics competition. Those four events were listed as extemporaneous, peace extemporaneous, oratory, and peace oratory.  Secondly, the water carnival held at the pool at the end of summer must have been a big event, perhaps becaue there was no competitive swimming at that time.  Anyway, Rocky Watson placed second in the 13-14 age divsion.  1965 was also the year our Teener baseball team earned a trip to the National Teener Tournament in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  There were some nice write-ups in the paper about that team and their experiences out east.  Finally, there were numerous articles about the need for a new high school in Brookings.  Gawain Roberts' father was on the school board at the time, and wrote a series of articles outlining the reasons why the present building was inadequate.  The  artist renditions of the new school  turned out to be quite similar to the final result.

There were many articles of interest in those papers, and one could spend countless hours poring over all that happened during those days.  Feel free, as always, to comment on your impresion of those years.

On a somewhat related note,  this website http://www.mariahpress.com/products-page/videos/ has some films of BHS basketball when we were in high school.  A number of years ago, they the athletic storage area at the high school was getting cleaned out.  The coach was friend of mine, and asked if I wanted any of these old films.  Of course! When Lee Colburn was inducted into the South Dakota basketball hall of fame, the fellow running this operation asked me for any films of Lee.  I gave him these to transfer to DVD.  Stew Linn had kept a scrapbook of our junior and senior years.  Stew was kind enough to lend those to him, also.  I would guess the quality is not real good.  Our game films were somehat grainy and  in slow-motion.  Unless you had a real passion for those games, my suggestion would be to not purchase them. 
Below are some pictures of some teams that may have been notable for us.  These were scanned in from some old baseball programs.  If anyone knows how to enlarge them, please let me know. 

The above photograph is the 19969 Junior Legion baseball team.  Notable among them is the batboy, our own Tom Bozied. 

Above is the picture of our Teener team from 1965. 

Above is our Legion team from 1967.

This is our Legion team from 1968

                          

                                                     

Remembering Mr. Blocker

When we started classes at the "new" high school in the fall of 1967, one of the classes was building trades.  The newly-hired instructor for that course was Mr. Blocker.  That was a very practical class, and he taught 34 years, retiring in 2000.  The students would actually build a house, and then auction it off at the end of the school year.  I believe many of his students later used those skills to begin their own construction businesses.  Mr. Blocker passed away recently at the age of 71.  Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to his family.  His daughter was one of our students when she was in Middle School.  She always seemed to be so cheerful and positive, and had an ever-present smile.  A complete obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=684746Blocker or http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15198&page=80

The high school has been remodeled extensively since we have graduated.  There are additional classrooms, a new lunchroom, new music rooms, a new girls locker room, a new weight room, and an auxiliary gymnasium.  The auditorium has recently been remodeled, also. The entire school must be at least twice as big as when it first opened.  We should be able to arrange for a tour at our next reunion in 2014.

Catching Up, The Sad And Glad

Summer has been busy, so now that there is some time to relax, we can catch up on some of the latest.  Had dinner with Carol Bork last night.  Had not seen each other in a long time.  It was enjoyable to find out what we have each been up to over the years.  Sadly, she informed me that Connie Lee's son was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.  His obituary was in the local papers, but I never made the connection.  His complete obituary can be found at http://www.skrochfc.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1534185&fh_id=13431 

Jason's father, Dana Elston, was a year ahead us in school.  Dana's dad, Wayne (Slush), was a long-time baseball coach in town.  He coached Little-League, and then was Legion coach for a number of years.  His older brother Danny was in my brother's class, and they played a great deal of baseball together under Slush.  I even hung around Dana one summer, and spent much time at the Elston house. 

The mother of Mike McClemans, who was also a year ahead of us in school, also passed away recently.  Her obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670625McClemans  Mike was in our Cub Scout troop.  If memory serves me right, also in that troop were Jim Wakeman, Greg Graff, Lynn Roberts, Arnie deBlonk, Jim Egeberg, and perhaps one or two others.  Mike has been very active in Brookings, and has served on the city commission. 

A couple of other people who have passed away are Quentin Kingsley (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675357Kingsley) and Gary Omodt (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670423Omodt).  Mr. Kingsley was the father of Gary, who was a few years ahead of us in school.   I believe he was a lifeguard at the pool.  When they used to have the water carnival at the pool, one of the contests was to see who could do the best cannonball.  Gary seemed to be rather good at that.  Another competition was to see who could swim the longest under water.  Sue Quass was also a lifeguard, and she could swim almost the whole length (from the deep end to the shallow end).  She was standing there marking her distance, when Gary came swimming by, and she just smiled and waved as he continued on, made the turn, and started back toward the deep end.  He didn't get much farther, but he made over a length of the pool under water.  Perhaps I remember these two because I would often see them in church.  Mr. Omodt was in the pharmacy department at SDSU.  Undoubtedly, he knew Bernie Hendricks rather well.  Deanne Hietbrink's father was also in the pharmacy department, so they were likely close colleagues.  I also saw the Omodts quite frequently in church. 

Another local who passed away was Hartley Nordbye (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675254Nordbye).  Some of my older brothers worked for him laying block.  I believe Mr. Nordbye was pall-bearer at my brother George's funeral in 1965.  His son Don helped me to get my old Chevy restored. 

Also passing away was Gary DeKraai (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=656758DeKraai).  He was little older than we are, but was also quite a fixture around town.  His younger brother Gordon was a year older than we were, but they must have moved in jr. hi.  I remember Gordy and his younger brother Randy from grade school and little league baseball, but have no recollection of them much after that. 

Just saw in the Argus-Leader that Tom Bates passed away.  He was a couple of years older than we were, and was the older brother of Patsy Bates.  His obituary can be found at http://www.georgeboom.com/sitemaker/sites/George3/obit.cgi?user=677584Bates

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to to Connie Lee, Mike McClemans, Patsy Bates, and to the Nordbye, Omodt, Kingsley, and DeKraai families.

David Hanson, class of 1968

David Hanson, a year ahead of us in school, passed away recently.  He was in the first class to graduate from the new high school.  He was a rather fine catcher on our Little League team, the Dodgers, in 1963.  Other than that, I really did not know him very well. 

Sometime in my teaching career, perhaps in the early 80's, Shawn Eidsness was a student of mine.  In David's obituary, Shawn Eidsness is listed as one of David's sons.  At the time, I made no connection between the two.  In retrospect, though, there was some physical resemblance between them.  It could have been possible, then, that David's son was in my class and I was not even aware of it.

His sister is married to a Richard Brandsma.  I believe there used to be a family by that name that lived in Brokings, also in the 80's.  I also remember a girl named Brandsma that was a student of mine; maybe it was Heidi.  I will look the next time I am in Brookings.  Again, I was clueless at the relationship between the Brandsmas and the Hansons.
 
Our prayers and condolences go out to the family.  If anyone has any more information to add, feel free to do so.  The complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14763&page=80

What's Been Going On?

It's been a while since there has been anything to report.  My access to a computer has also been limited these last few months.  One notworthy item that may be of interest to some of us is that Marvin W. Iverson passed away recently.  He was the automotive instructor when we started at the new high school.  His complete obituary can be found at http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=649665Iverson My father's name was also Marvin W. Iverson.  Every once in a while, we would get each other's mail.  We were, however, not related.  Please do not hesitate to inform us of anything that may be of interest to mmbers of our class. 

Our Condolences and Prayers for Carol Bork and Doug Voss

Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to Carol Bork on the loss of her father, Les.

The complete obituary can be found at http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=611575Bork. 

LaVerne Leslie Bork, 90, of Brookings, SD, passed away Friday, April 20, 2012 at Brookview Manor, Brookings, SD. Memorial Services have been set for 11:00am, Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at Rude’s Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the Memorial Services at Rude’s Funeral Home.

Laverne Leslie Bork was born October 12th, 1921, to Laverne L. and Mable (Woodman) Bork in Aberdeen, SD. They later divorced when he was five years old. He spent his growing up years in Utah and Watertown, SD where he graduated from Watertown High School.
He spent one year at Northern State College in Aberdeen, before joining the U.S Navy during WWII. He spent most of his service years in the Pacific arena as a Naval Photographer. When the war ended he returned to South Dakota and resumed his education at Northern State College.
After graduation he spent a year running a photography business in Henderson, NV. He then returned to Aberdeen to work for his friend Herb Clinton at Clinton Farm Implement. There he met Bonney Anderson an R.N. at St. Luke’s Hospital. They were united in marriage on September 22nd, 1949 in Dupree, SD. They had a daughter Carol who was born on November 12, 1950.
Les returned to Northern State College to further his education, when he finished he and the family moved to Clear Lake, SD where he taught Math and Science. He also served as the Assistant Coach in various sporting activities. He also refereed many area sports.
They had a son, Robert J. who was born February 15, 1952. In the spring of 1952, Les was offered a position in the photo lab at SDSU. That gave him the opportunity to pursue his masters degree in education. He also worked toward his PH. D. at Stanford.
The family then made the move to Brookings, where they have resided since. Les became director of Audio-Visual Services and taught related courses. He was very instrumental to bring educational television into the school room. Their son Colin was born in 1958.
Les enjoyed his work, his family, his coffee and golfing group, winters spent in Edinburgh, TX, their lake cabin near Detroit Lakes where he loved hearing the Loons. He took the family to every state on summer vacations, often connected to Audio and Visual meetings, during their growing years. He was a collector of cameras coins, post cards and stamps. He also enjoyed being a 3rd grade mentor at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Les is survived by his wife, Bonney, of Brookings, SD; his daughter, Carol Johnson and her daughter, Shauna of San Jose, CA; two sons, Bob (Linda) Bork of Sioux Falls, SD and Colin and his daughters, Brianna and Sydney of Fargo, ND and one sister Lila Long of Eau Claire, WI.
He is preceded in death by his parents and one sister Betty Poston.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be directed to the Volunteer Service Bank, Brookview Manor, Brookings VFW or the Elks Club Youth Programs.

In reading over his legacy, a couple of items stood out.  He worked for a year in Henderson, NV.  At that time, Henderson must have been rather small.  My niece lives in Las Vegas.  Her husband's parents live in Henderson.  Las Vegas has grown exponentially since she moved there 30 years ago.  Also, Carol is five days older than I am. 

In the elementary years, I knew Carol only from catechism classes.  She attended Hillcrest, which, for me, was a long ways from Central.  When we went to Jr. High, she was in the same class section. Except for gym and perhaps chorus, we had the same classes together all day.  I don't recall much about Carol, excpet that she was, and still is, very intelligent.  The only class in which  I really remember her was Mrs. Olson's history class, probably because she sat near me. 

Her brother Bob was on my little league team one year.  If memory serves me correctly, he made a great catch in the outfield to win a game one time.  Her younger brother Colin was about eight years younger than Carol.  He was an outstanding golfer in high school. 

I seem to recall that Mr. Bork was a very avid sports fan.  He knew many of us because of our success on the basketball court.  He always seemed to have a camera strapped around his neck. Carol's mother was a nurse.  It seems that there was an article about her in the Brookings paper when she retired from that profession.  Did she work in the maternity ward and help to deliver most of the babies born in Brookings during her time there?  Perhaps some of you are more informed about this than I am.  If so, don't hesitate to chime in. 

Our thoughts and prayers also go out to Doug Voss, who has just lost a sister-in-law.  Jeanette Langland passed away on April 12, 2012 after a battling cancer.  She was a year behind us in school.  I seem to recall seeing them at church on Sundays when we were younger.  Her complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14291&page=80

Mike Kohl's Mother Passes Away

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Mike Kohl on the recent passing of his mother.  The complete obituary can be found at http://www.albertleatribune.com/2012/03/25/sylvia-kohl-90-albert-lea/  If memory serves me right, Mike was one of the numerous bright people in our class .  My yearbooks are not handy, but I seem to recall him in Latin with Miss Briscoe our freshman year.  Was he also in German I with Fraulein Huwe our sophomore year?   I also believe he was involved in debate and declam.  Wasn't our debate team our senior year quite talented, in part due to Mike's efforts?   Didn't Dan Scanlan also live with the Kohls around our sophomore year?  Dan was quite a talented athlete.  He was a fine football player, as I recall.  I believe he played basketball, and I know he ran track.  I thought they lived near Lincoln Lane and Elmwood.  Jim Kessler lived nearby on Lincoln Lane.  I would often ride my bike up to his house, and then we would go over to Hillcrest to shoot baskets. 

If you remember Miss Briscoe, she was quite serious all the time.  Do you recall how she would pass her red pencils out when we had to correct our papers?  One time in Latin class, she scolded us for writing some smart-aleck answer on a test when we didn't have any idea what the correct answer was.   She had asked a question like "Why did so-and-so become a shepherd?"  One student, who shall remain nameless, replied "Because business was bad in the coal mines."  She didn't like that answer very well. 

My school year is coming to a close.  Perhaps in the summer I can spend more time posting, but I could use some help.  If you have any ideas, stories, or news items that should be on here, do not hesitate to let me know. 

1967

The article about the 1962 basketbal team brought to mind the year 1967.  One connection is the Central Gymnasium.  That 1962 team practiced in the Central Gym, yet played their games at the fieldhouse (the "barn") at SDSU.  1967 was the last year the Bobcats practiced in Central Gym.  We were sophomores that year, and we would practice there after the varsity.  Mr. Hauschild had us run up and down those bleacher stairs 10 times after virtually every practice.  Many other memories of the Central gym are memorable, but we can save them for other posts. 


1967 was the last year in the old high school building.  One of the members of that graduating class was Laurie Klinkel.  That name may not mean much to most of us, but after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, she began working for Sen. James Abourezk (D-SD).  Also working for Sen. Abourezk was Tom Daschle from Aberdeen, whom she subsequently married.  He himself was elected to the House of Representatives in 1978, and then to the Senate in 1986.  He was chosen Senate minority leader in 1994, and for two brief weeks in January, 2001, was Senate majority leader.  He then returned to Senate minority leader.   However, in the unpredictable world of politics, in June of that year, he again became Senate majority leader, a position he would hold until the elections of 2002. Laurie worked for her husband until 1981.  Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and they divorced in 1983 (http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Ambassador_to_Denmark__Who_is_Laurie_Fulton_90709; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Daschle).

Recently, the Brookings Register had an article on Laurie's return to Brookings (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=79&story_id=14044). 



This looks to be a fairly recent picture. 

The 1967 annual has a similar picture.  I couldn't copy that photo, but the annual can be found on this link:  http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/24964?dsource=pub5856promotion1542115613&hitwiseSegment=free&checkCookie=1335120903104.
Her picture is on page 21.  Underneath the word "Yearbook" are forward and backward scroll signs.  You can also use the scroll bar at the right.  Coincidentally, Bob Kallemeyn's sister Beth and Mark Kratochvil's brother Lee can also be seen, while right below is Alan Leibel's brother Jay.  Beth Kallemeyn was my German tutor for a week in the fall of 1966.  Three weeks after school started, I dropped out of Miss Briscoe's Latin II class to take German I.  Since I was behind, I needed to catch up quickly.  Every day for a week, we met in the back room of the library and I tried to learn a few German basics, and nothing else.

Also that year, some of us had Nancy Webbenhurst's sister Joan for English.  She was Mrs. Donaldson to us.  I know Ed Dimit was in our class, and maybe Iris Clauson, Janice Briggs, and Mike Kohl.  Mrs. Donaldson would frequently scold Ed, as he sat next to me and never seemed to quit talking.  We had some skills on parliamentary procedure early in the year.  I was elected class treasurer.  When it came time to give the first treasurer's report, I just made up some figures.  The next week, there was less money in the treasurey, so someone (Iris?) wanted me impeached because I was losing money.  But someone came to my defense (Janice?), saying something like "Since we started with nothing, we're not doing too badly."  We also had to give speeches that first quarter.  One of our talks concerned Bobcat Day and homecoming.   It happened that Bobcat day fell on the same day as the conference cross-country meet.  I was not involved in a fall sport that year, and really had not gotten interested in running, so I poked fun at the cross-country runners.  The speech began by stating that it was a rare happening, so it is not even worth talking about.  There was something in there about the band playing at half-time, but some of the musicians (again, maybe Iris?) are behind about three or four notes, so the music doesn't sound very good.

Mrs. Donaldson's student teacher was Mrs. Gerberding.  She lived in Estellline at the time, but a few years later (mid 70's?), she would move to Brookings and  become one of the sophomore English teachers at the high school.  She truly did an excellent job in the theater department there.  She was a magnificent director of the fall and spring plays and musicals.  Her productions were almost grandiose.  She would choose plays that needed a large cast, and then recruit ordinary students, in addition to those that were exceptionally gifted, to be involved in those plays, whether in the cast, the crew, the designs, choreography, lighting, or the promoting and marketing.   People came from all over to see her productions. 

She had a couple of children, Tom and Julie.  If the name Julie Gerberding sounds familiar, it may be because she was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2002-2009  (http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Gerberding-Julie.html). 

 
There are many other memorable tales concerning Central Gym, but those can wait for another time.  Feel free to comment if you have some good ones.

50 Years ago

Fifty years ago, we were in the fifth grade.  Do you remember who your teacher was?  Some of had Miss Neubauer.  I believe Lee Colburn, Bob Kallemeyn, Janice Briggs, Barb Hauff, Kim Hamilton, and Emmett Earley were in the same class.  They were the ones that sat near me, so they stick out in my mind.  Another classmate was a girl by the name of Kathy (Cathy?) Ahrendt.  She had an older brother that was on Mr. Dolan's freshman basketball team.  They were only here a short time.  Some of us were rather mean to her.  It seems that we treated her quite cruelly at Valentine's Day, and Miss Neubauer gave us a scolding. 

That was also the year we started the SRA reading program.  Anybody remember that?  The difficulty levels were color-coded.  We took a pre-test, and then started at the appropriate level.  We then worked our way up the color ladder.  Did we have this program for part of the year up through the 8th grade?  Also that year,for the first time since 1952, the Bobcats won the state "A" basketball tournament.

The 1962 team after they won the championship

Front:  13--Jim Nelson  43--Gary Schutjer  31--Bill Iverson  5--Henry Nelson  45--Ron Otterness

Back:  Mr. Hauschild, Dave Sogn (Mgr.)  21--Reed Sanderson   Dave Brust  35--Bill Gamble   Doug Lakman   Don Dahl (glasses)   John Murphy   Bruce(?) Milfs (Mgr.)  Head Coach Dal Eisenbraun

It looks to me that the players who did not play in that game still have on their warm-up shirts (they are black with a big red B).  When we were in 8th grade, we wore old Bobcat uniforms from the 1950's.  I think we were also given these same warm-up shirts for that season.


We boys looked up to many of those players.  Promininet were Ron Otterness, Henry Nelson, Gary Schutjer, Jim Nelson, Bill Gamble, and Reed Sanderson.  Other members were John Murphy, Don Dahl, and Doug Lakman.  Otterness was a big guy, about 6" 7'.  He also had big feet, about size 16.  Word was that from the age of six through sixteen, his shoe size matched his age.  I believe he was a second team all-state selection.   He played at SDSU when Jim Marking was coaching.  Coach Marking told us that he was criticized by the SDSU students so much that he played poorly at home when he started.  Thus, he was a substitute at home.  When they played out of town, however, he was much more relaxed, so he was given a starting position.  Bill Gamble also played some at SDSU, but was not as successful on the court as he was in the classroom.  I believe he was really smart.  His father was an electrical engineering professor on campus.  Both of them were juniors that year.  They returned next year to earn second place.  Henry Nelson probably would have scored four or five points more each game if the three-point shot were in effect back then.  He could shoot from way out there.  He was also a fine baseball player for the Legion team.  Jim Nelson was the other junior that started.  When we were on the JV basketball team in 67-68, Skip Webster, our coach, would sometimes bring in alumni for us to practice against.  Jim came in one time, and Skip had me guard him.  He was almost quick as Tom Osterberg.  I did a terrible job defending him.  Gary Schutjer is still around town.  He could really jump.  If memory serves correctley, he was first team all-state.  Reed Sanderson was the oldest of the Sanderson brothers.  Laun was a year ahead of us, and Jan was a year behind us.  Mr. Hauschild once told us that Reed had been struggling with his free throws, so they altered his technique.  It came in handy, as he made 7 out of 7 in that championship game, which the Cats won by three, 42-39.  John Murphy was also a talented musician.  He played with The Talismen, who were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame a few years ago.  Kevin O'Connell's brother Pat was the drummer for that group.  Don Dahl's brother Doug was couple of years ahead of us.  Perhaps our association with him came from Little League baseball.  Doug Lakman (pronounced lake-man) was my family's next-door neighbor.  His nickname was skin-head because he had short hair.  Her sister Patty was a year ahead of us in school.  Doug's dad and my dad worked together.  At suppertime, Mr. Lakman would generally come outside and whistle very loudly, signaling Doug and Patty to get home and eat.  Mrs. Lakman was very instrumental in preserving the old high school a number of years ago.  Some developers wanted to raze the building, but she and others believed it should be saved and used for commercial purposes.  An election was held, and since the building is still standing, you can figure out the results.  Our own Mark Kratochvil has his office in what used to be the 9th grade science room of Mr. Rykhus.  When the school system hired me in 1973, my first room was the former sophomore biology room.



The players on that 1962 team were role-models in a way for some of us boys.  We wanted to do the same thing when we were seniors.  Fortunately, we were able to achieve that goal a year earlier.  Unfortunately, we were unable to duplicate that feat as seniors.  Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time and provided some entertainment for the students and fans. 

The Brookings Register had a nice article on this 1962 team.  http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=77&story_id=14249
The two members that were missing from the reunion in Las Vegas were junior Dave Brust and senior Tim O'Connor.  One of my brothers married a girl in Dave Brust's class.  She thought he was very handsome.  When they had a reunion in 1987, she said he still was as handsom as ever.  Tim O'Connor had a brother John, who was  a senior when we were sophomores.  The first basketball game for us that year was at Huron.  John was one of the better players on that team, but they only won a couple of games all season.  We won a close game with the Huron sophomores, but the varsity was soundly beeaten.  Since we got on the bus first, we decided that the best thing we could do was to console them and tell them that they played hard.  I think Lee inparticular singled out John for his performance.  His older brother Tim seldom played for that 1962 team.  He never seemed to get relaxed out on the court.  He was quite small, but quick.  He's not in the picture after they won the championship.  Was he bitter about something?  We also scrimmaged against him our JV year, and he ran circles around me.  He was much better than I remember him from six years earlier. 

The 1962 team at their Las Vegas reunion

Front: Bill Iverson, Ron Otterness, Bill Gamble, Gary Schutjer, Doug Lakman

Back: Don Dahl, Jim Nelson, John Murphy, Henry Nelson, Reed Sanderson and coach Dal Eisenbraun

If you read the article, they had a 25-year reunion in 1987. That was also the last year that the Brookings boys team won the state tournament.  I was fortunate to have coached them when they were 8th graders.  The juniors on that team made me look like a good basketball coach.  We only lost one game that season.  Had I not made a coaching blunder, it may have been even better. 

A key member of that championship team of 1987 was a boy named Pete Leiferman.  At 6"8', he was a force.  Not only was he big, but he was strong.  Working on the farm will do that.  This Pete was the nephew of  Pete Leiferman, who was a few years younger than we were, and whose family farmed near Aurora.  His mother was Kathy Leiferman, a year behind us in school.  His father was our Joe Jensen.  Pete had gone to school in Elkton, but transferred to Brookings in the fall of 1986 for his junior year. Thus, Pete only attended school in Brookings for two years, just as his father did.  An interesting sidelight to that 1986-87 season is that, because of scheduling changes, the team was playing one less game than it was allowed.  To make up for that lost game, an alumni game was scheduled.  Younger alumni would play the varsity, while older alumni would play the JV team.  Tom Osterberg and Bernie Hendricks returned from our team.  Bill Gibbons' son Bill played, as did Wayne VandenBerg.  They were in their late 20's, were part of some strong Bobcat teams in mid-70s, had size to match up with Pete, and had respectable college careers.  The alumni won.  Even though Tom was past his prime, he put on a dazzling display of quickness, speed, agility, dribbling, and passing.  He impressed everyone  in attendance, especially the high school players.  They were in awe that someone "that old" could display so much athletic ability.

This story brings to mind many tales of our elementary years.  Do you remember all of your teachers at Hillcrest or Central?  How about the principals?  Did you ever get sent to the office?  Did anybody faint during music concerts?  Anyone ever get hurt seriously during gym class or at recess?  As always, feel free to inform the rest of us.

BHS News

The Register webpage has a couple of  nice articles on BHS.  The debate coach is retiring after 32 years.  I didn't get to know her very well during my tenure at the school.  Our paths rarely crossed, as she was at the high school and I was at the middle school.  She had phenomenal success.  Debate has always been strong at BHS.  Didn't our class have a rather strong showing as seniors?  Here is the link to the article:  http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14241&page=76

The other story concerns the new lunchroom.  In my last two years in the system, I would frequently make it out to the high school around noon.  The lunchroom was the same one as we had in our days there.  It was crowded enough that students were allowed to eat out in the halls.  They would just sit on the floor in the main hall or wherever there was an open space.  Seemed rather strange to me.  With the remodeling that took place in the last year, it appears that the new lunchroom is a big success.  There is not enought time at the present to recall some good lunchroom tales.  If anyone has some to pass on, feel free to do so.  The lunchroom article can be found with this link:  http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=76&story_id=14239

In a couple of years, maybe we can take a walk through and see how much different it is compared to the early years.

Mistakes Have Been Made

Do you know that the 1967 Brookings High School annual is on the web? http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/24964?dsource=pub5856promotion1542115613 In a way, it does seem appropriate, as that was the last year that building was a high school. Every page has been photocopied, including the autographs. It may be rather easy to identify the owner of this yearbook. Anyway, I have made some errors in the post below. There was a Barb Johnston at BHS, but she was in the class ahead of us. The girl I was thinking of is Patricia (Patty?) Johnson. Is this an indication of Alzheimer's ?

We have been given some great information from an unknown poster. However, in looking at this yearbook, there is a student who seems to fit the profile of this individual. We welcome you to this blog; you have certainly educated me. Feel free to share your wealth of information with us. Would you have had a couple of older sisters, one of whom was in our class? Would another have been a senior in this yearbook? I can understand if you would rather not divulge that information. I am fortunate to have had a number of direct and indirect associations with some of your classmates.

Thank you for the link to the businesses. From 1964-66, George's Recreation was located at the address for 303 Main Avenue. George was one of my older brothers, and ran this pool hall for a year. I also had a paper route (Minneapolis Tribune) in this part of town. Seeing what businesses were located on Main back in the 50's-60's brought back many memories. thanks again.

Rambling Thoughts

Leola Lampy
Lorraine Wilson

On the webpage of the Brookings Register, there were a couple of obituaries that caught my eye. The first was Lorraine Wilson, who passed away at the age of 87

(http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14130&page=80) and http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=605946Wilson She was married in 1948 to John Johnston, who passed away in 1961. She remarried and lived in Aurora until 1994. She had two children, Barbara and David. There was a Barbara Johnston in our class. Are these Barbaras the same person? Would anyone know where to find the answer to that question?

The second obituary was that of Leola Lampy, aged 96(http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14167&page=80). She and her husband moved to Brookings in 1969. Her husband "Dutch" was the equipment manager at SDSU. I became acquainted with Mrs. Lampy when she was the secretary for Frannie Dolan at Central because our 8th grade basketball teams practiced at the Central Gym. I also believe she helped out as an aide at the Middle School Library. Incidentally, Mrs. Brchan was the Middle School librarian for a number of years. Some of us may have had her for typing class in the old high school. Mrs. Lampy's connection with our class is actually through her daughter Karon. We would have known her as Mrs. Schaack, the English teacher. I seem to recall that some of us had her for sophomore English at the old high school and then for junior English at the new high school. There was a story going around during our sophomore year that one of our better basketball players on the sophomore team, coached by Mr. Hauschild, was in danger of losing his eligibility because of a failing English grade. After Mr. Hauschild had a friendly conversation with Mrs. Schaack, the grade was no longer failing. Some of you may react adversely to that intervention. I think Mr. Hauschild was more concerned with what would happen to that student if he flunked and could no longer play basketball. Experience probably taught him that basketball may have been the student's motivation for staying in school. If he could not play, he could become a drop-out. My older siblings told me a number of stories of kids who were talented athletes that dropped out of school, and then just kind of drifted around the country. What would be in store for this student if he dropped out? What kind of a chance would he have then? Our basketball team was talented enough that if we lost this player, we would still be a respectable team. Mr. Hauschild's concern, I think, was more for this individual than to have a winning basketball team. This student did graduate, and I believe became a parole officer after high school. He even officiated some basketball games in the area.

Anyway, I did not have Mrs. Schaack for either sophomore or junior English (I had Nancy Webebenhurst's sister for sophomore English-she was Mrs. Donaldson then, and Mr. Walder for junior English). He later told me this story. That spring, we had to do a book report, either Book A or Book B. Since some students had different English teachers, they thought they could copy each other's papers and not get caught. Let's say Veronica was in Mrs. Schaack's class, and Betty was in Mr. Walder's, and that Betty copied Veronica. They thought their respective teachers would grade the reports. However, Mr. Walder graded all of the reports on Book A, and Mrs. Schaack did all those on Book B, even though some of those students were not in their classes. Thus, any similarities could be noted. Sure enough, there were enough likenesses in a few reports to indicate that some students copied from each other. Mr. Walder related to me that some students were mature enough to admit that they had copied, while others vehemently professed their innnocence.

The post just below, about Phil Peterson's father, has some comments. One poster supplied this link: http://www.sdstate.edu/sdsuarchives/collections/upload/Brookings-Businesses-Avenues.pdf

It lists the names of numerous business that have been in Brookings from 1879-2003. A clarification is listed below. I lived at 205 6th Avenue during elementary school. At one time Kabrud Brothers Insurance Agency was located at that address. There has to be a connection to Harley Kabrud, our 7th grade geography teacher and 8th grade football coach, and father of Chip, who was a year ahead of us in school. When I get some time, I would like to examine this site and see if  I can remember some of these businesses.

Phil Peterson's Father Passes Away

Our condolences, thoghts, and prayers go out to Phil Peterson. His father, Leonard Peterson, passed away on April 1, 2012. His complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14098&page=80
and http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=604422Peterson.
I was unaware that he owned Midway Grocery Store. Brookings has one true grocery store today, Hy-Vee. Wal-Mart also has a grocery store in its big complex, so that makes two places to shop for food. There are also the convenience stores at the gas stations, but they don't deserve the name grocery store.

If memory serves me right, there were a number of grocery stores in Brookings when we grew up. The ones that come to mind are (1) Spies, which started at the corner of 3rd St. and 5th Avenue, right across from the John Deere dealership run by Kenny Beckman's father. I believe Tom Bozied's uncle, N. T., lived above the Spies building, and had a store of some kind there before Spies moved in. They then moved to their 6th St. location, perhaps in the early 60's. Isn’t there a picture of David Helfinstine in our yearbook when he worked there? They changed their name to County Market and moved out east past the swimming pool, maybe in the 80's. They ceased operations about ten years ago. Also on 5th Avenue and 5th St. was a (2)Council Oak store, kitty-corner from the playground at Central Elementary. West of there a couple of blocks, at 5th St. and 3rd Ave was a (3)National Tea store. (4)Red Owl at one time was on Main Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets, before moving to Main and 7th St. There was also a (5)Service Grocery store that delivered to homes. That store, too, sponsored a women's fast-pitch softball team. I only know that because my sister played for them. At one time, they were located in the 300 block of Main, a few doors from the Red Owl store. Close to the softball park where they played on 2nd St. South and Main was another store run by Vern McCord, I believe. I just remember it by the name of the (6) "Little Store" or "South Side Grocery." A comment below does mention a Serve-Well store on the south side. That was the actual name of the store. Across from the swimming pool was (7) Chris's Market. On the college campus, on Medary near 8th St. was (8) Austin's. Our family often would go there because milk was 3 (half-gallons) for one dollar. At Spies, it was 40 cents a half-gallon. When we were in 6th grade (1962-63), Ralph Myers had a store in the old Ford Implement dealership, just east of Beckman's. I had a paper-route at that time, and would often treat myself to their Dolly Madison Boston Creme Pies. They were a dime or maybe even 12 cents, but I thought they were better than Twinkies. Midway, at 6th St. and Medary, makes the ninth grocery store in Brookings in the 50’s. Things have really changed since then, but who would have thought we would pay for a bottle of water, or buy milk and bread at the gas station, instead of gas and oil?

When my mom did her grocery shopping in the 50’s, she would take me and/or my younger brother along. She would have prepared her list so she could get the best prices, and we would walk to the neighborhood stores. Spies, Council Oak, National Tea, and Red Owl were the ones we seemed to frequent most often. We would walk from one to the next (my folks had no car). If our arms grew weary from carrying the grocery bags, we would stop and place the sacks on a fender of a car to let our arms rest. When we were refreshed, we started back on the journey again. If we ran out of milk, she might send my little brother and me to Spies, only two blocks away. We had a metal holder for six one-quart glass milk bottles. That was pretty heavy for two scrawny little kids, so we carried a belt with us. We wrapped the belt around the holder. I held on to one side of the belt, and he held on to the other. We may have had to set it down and rest once in a while, but we never broke one bottle.

Many thanks to the poster below, who provided this link for the businesses listed in the city Brookings from 1879-2003: http://www.sdstate.edu/sdsuarchives/collections/upload/Brookings-Businesses-Avenues.pdf

Donna Sloat's Mother Passes Away

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Donna Sloat on the recent passing of her mother. A complete obituary can be found at

http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=13585&page=80

My first memories of Donna go back to the 6th grade. That was about the time many of the country schools were closing. Since they lived on the farm, that may have been her first year at Central Elementary. That was a memorable year for many reasons.

Our teacher was Mrs. Walker. She was fantastic. We had South Dakota history during the first quarter. She had us make a relief map of the state out of bread dough. We used food coloring to indicate the different features. Blue was for bodies of water, green was for the lower elevations, yellow for the higher elevations, and brown for the Black Hills. Because it was made out of bread dough, some of us actually ate parts of it (and lived to make it to junior high)

Later on in the year, she had us give speeches. We had to put our ideas in out-line form on a note card so that we didn't just read it like a report. Lee Colburn gave a demonstration that left a lasting impression. His speech was on the effects of smoking. He had a minnow in a jar of water. He took a cigarette and unrolled it, spilling the tobacco into the jar of water. Almost immediately the minnow, instead of swimming in a leisurely fashion, started to swim crazily, as if it was scared and a larger fish were trying to swallow it. He put it into a clean jar of water so it didn't die.

She also taught us a great deal of English grammar, and had us diagram some rather complex sentences. That foundation proved to be beneficial later. Grammar in Junior High and High School was easier because of her work with us.

She opened up her classroom to some of us in those cold winter months. Lunchtime was actually an hour long, whereas today, it may only be 40 minutes for the elementary and middle grades. She went home for lunch, but would leave her room unlocked so some of us could come up there and play whist, a card game. However, we had to sneak by the teacher on hall duty. We would wait until she walked down to the other end of the hall, and then quickly and quietly run up the stairs to Mrs. Walker's room.

After I started teaching, a couple of Donna's sisters were my students. Her sister Paula was about 10 years younger, and was in the first group of students that I taught (or tried to teach). Also in that class were Sue Redmond's sister Teresa, and Lee Colburn's brother Jon. I went ice-fishing with Lee and his dad a few times our sophomore year. Jon always came along, even though he was only about six at the time. Whenever the Monkees' song "I'm A Believer" was playing, Jon would chime in when they sang "Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer." Incidentally, Davy Jones of the Monkees just passed away yesterday. He was only 66.

I believe Paula was an athletic trainer for the Brandon school system, just outside of Sioux Falls. I would run into her occasionally when our teams played there. I think her children were very talented swimmers. Donna's youngest sister Sharon was also a student of mine.

Up until a few years ago, Donna's parents were regular attendees at Bobcat sporting events. At basketball games, they liked to sit near the team bench and scorer's table. They were frequently accompanied by Ed and LaVonne Fuller. All four of them were very loyal Bobcat backers, and liked to show their support by wearing red and black. They liked to keep the officials on their toes, too. They were very vocal when they referees made a call that they thought was inappropriate.

Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna and her family. She informed me that her parents started dating when they were in the 9th grade, and just recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last December. They truly were a special couple.

Sue Redmond's Mother Passes Away

Our condolences go out to the family of Sue (Redmond) Zimmerman on the death of her mother, Mary Jean (Collins) Redmond. She passed away on January 29, 2012. Her complete obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=564858Redmond.

I first knew Sue when we were in catechism classes together at church. I then got to know her younger brother Mike when we were seniors. He was a sophomore on our basketball team that year, one of the few non-seniors on the team. We played alongside each other at practice. During games, we frequently sat near Coach Thury in case one of the starters needed a break. We knew that was our role. Even if we didn't get to play much during the game, the coaches emphasized that all of us on the bench were important to the success of the team. Once in a while, we would have a relatively easy victory, so the subs would get to play more than we normally would. One such game was at home against Pipestone, when we won 105-55 (I think).

The athletic department had just purchased reel-t0-reel video camera and monitor. Now we could watch the replay of the whole game right after it was completed. We didn't have to wait for the game film to be processed at Harold's in Sioux Falls, then mailed back to the school so we could watch it five days later. Nor would we only get to view selected parts of the game, as there was only enough film on a reel for about half of the game. It was also relatively to rewind the tape to watch the best scenes again. Stew Linn and Eugene Mueller became rather proficient at using that machine. It's unfortunate that we no longer have copies of those games around. They would make for some enjoyable entertainment today, and certainly would bring back many pleasant memories.

My memory of that Pipestone game is that the subs played much of the game, and played well because we wanted to score 100 points. The varsity had done so the year before at Pipestone, so we felt we could do it again. I believe Mike may have been our leading scorer with 20 points. A year or two ago, the BHS boys basketball team scored maybe 101 points in a game. The present coach thought that might be a school record. He had no sense of history, nor any idea just how talented our team was, and that we had not just once, but twice, scored 100 or more points. And this was before the advent of the 3-point shot! My guess is that we would have averaged at least 5-8 more points per game if the 3-point shot had been in use in our day.

I also believe we four, Mike, Stew, Eugene, and I were roomates during the state tournament. Those were some fun times and some of the most memorable and exciting moments of our high school years.

In that first Pipestone game, in our junior year, I was not on the varsity at that time. I seem to recall that Larry Boggs, Warren Strubbe (anyone remember him? He was only here a short time, but I believe he was a good football player. He was also on the JV basketball team, but he may have moved during the school year), I, and maybe someone else (Walter Osterberg?) drove over to that game, and everyone went nuts when we scored 100 points. Does anyone remember who scored the 100th point? Was it Chip Kabrud? We later heard that on the way home that the bus (the infamous "Yellow Submarine") had some problems, and that another bus had to come and bring the players back home. The "Yellow Submarine" was an old green army bus when the school had purchased it a year or two earlier. I remember taking it to some track meets in the spring of 1967. Marv Sherrill (Cody, to some of us) even drove it. He had a somewhat difficult time, as the gears would frequently grind when he shifted.

Mrs. Redmond was very helpful to my own mother before she passed away nine years ago on Feb. 6, 2003 (incidentally, she was born on Feb. 6, 1911, the same date as Ronald Reagan). Mrs. Redmond would frequently stop over to see how my mom was doing and to keep her company. I'm sure they discussed church-related items, as our parish, St. Thomas More, had just built a new church. My younger brother Rich was in Mike's class, and played on the some of the same baseball and basketball teams. Their baseball team also went to Hershey, PA two years after ours did, and their basketball went to the state tournament, also two years after ours did, and finished third. In the four years, then, from 1968-1971, the Bobcats earned first, second, and third in the state "A" basketball tournament. Can any other school match that feat in the same time period?

Rich was also partners for a while with Don Salonen, Tom's brother. Don is married to Mike's sister Becky. All of those connections probably provided those ladies with many prime topics for conversation.

During my teaching career, I had Sue's children in class. Toby was the name of her son, but the name of her daughter escapes me at the moment. Both bore a strong resemblance to Sue. Particulary striking was their reddish hair. Mike played football and baseball at SDSU, and then taught and coached for a few years in Brookings, marrying June Perso, the sister of Jeanette. Their two boys were also fine athletes. It was a privilege for me to coach them at the middle-school level.

In case anyone is interested, limited hometown news is available at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_main_page.php

Walter Osterberg's Wife Passes Away

Our condolences and prayers go out to Walter Osterberg. His wife Beverly passed away on January 20, 2012. Her complete obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/rudesF1/obit.cgi?user=558162Osterberg

Walter must have been, and still is, one of the most-liked members of our class. No one could not appreciate him. We were on the same JV basketball team our junior year, and had a great deal of fun, both in practice and in games. Walter was also a fine baseball player, and played on our teener team that went to Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1965. If memory serves correctly, some of the more frequently played songs that spun on the jukebox when we stopped along the way were "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher, "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, "I'm Henry The VIII, I Am" by Hermans' Hermits, "Catch Us If You Can" by The Dave Clark Five, "Baby, The Rain Must Fall" by Glenn Yarbrough. Walter's favorite, though, was "Down In The Boondocks" by Billie Joe Royal.

Stew Linn and I were reminiscing last fall, and when he mentioned that he runs into Walt every once in a while in the Hy-Vee grocery store, we both immediately said "Down In The Boondocks." It won't be too long before we can all get together and catch up on what we've been doing these past few years and also to remember the fun times we had growing up in Brookings. In the meantime, feel free to post any comments here. They are most welcome.

Tom Bozied's Mother Passes Away

On January 12, 2021, Leona Bozied, mother of Tom, Donna, Bob, and the late David, passed away. In the 1950's, Tom and I grew up just one house apart from each other a block south of the courthouse. The courthouse lawn and the ball fields at Central Elementary were our playgrounds. Before Tom could play after supper, though, his mother would lead the family in devotions. Her strong faith was highlighted in her obituary. http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidnse1/obit.cgi?user=551870Bozied

When we were in second grade, I broke my arm toward the end of the school year. Fortunately, the cast came off just before the start of the Little League baseball season. However, on that same day, I believe, Tom broke his arm, and had to miss all of the baseball season.

In third grade, we had the same teacher, Mrs. Alma Peterson. Her husband was the science and shop teacher in the junior high. I often would stop at Tom's before school and we would watch Captain Kangaroo until about 8:50, as school started at 9. She told us we could probably watch another five minutes and still get to school on time, so we did.

When we got a little older, Tom may have been one of the first to drive (his dad did have the Conoco station at 6th and Main). When we played teener baseball, I believe he had an old jeep that was started with a hand-held crank. That was about 1965, and that baseball team won the state tournament. One of our coaches, by the way was Nancy Webbenhurst's brother Bob. Winning the state tournament qualified us for the area tournament at Igloo, South Dakota. Igloo was a small town in the southern Black Hills near the Nebraska-Wyoming border. Winning that tournament qualified us for the national tournament in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Tom's dad and a few other fathers were chaperones on that trip. That excursion was quite an experience. Hershey Park had some amazing rides and amusements that were unlike anything that was offered by the carnivals that appeared in Brookings during those years.

There are more stories that could be told, but they can be mentioned at a later time. For those of you who read this, feel free to add your own.

Our condolences go out to Tom and his family at this difficult time.