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
