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
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
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
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
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