Sherwood Berg

The name Sherwood Berg probably means little to most of us.  There is, however, an indirect connection to the BHS class of 1969.  You may recall that Dr. Hilton Briggs, the father of Janice Briggs of our class, was president of the college/university during our Brookings school days.  He was named president of South Dakota State College in 1958.  It became a university in 1964 under his leadership, and he served until 1975.  His 17-year presidency equaled the tenure of Charles Pugsley, who served from 1923-1940, as the longest at the school.  The second-longest tenure was that of Dr. Robert Wagner, who served for 12 years (1985-1997).  Dr. Wagner had been a professor in the sociology department before being named president, and likely had some of us in his classes (I was one of them.  Brian Johnson's older brother Jeff sat next next to me.  I think he was returning to school after serving his country.).  The president who succeeded Dr. Briggs was Dr. Sherwood Berg.  He may have been the first graduate of SDSC to become its president. I think the current president, Dr. David Chicoine, also graduated from SDSU, perhaps in the late 60's.

Most of us probably never knew Dr. Berg.  I believe he remained in Brookings after his retirement from the university, and was active in many civic organizations.  He passed away on Feb. 16, 2014 in Brookings.  While he may not have had much personal influence on us, his life story is fascinating.  One common promotional slogan for SDSU is "You can go anywhere from here."  If you read the obituary for Dr. Berg at
http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=1247228Berg, you will find out what a storied life he led.  It truly is inspirational and reflects the quality of the leadership that SDSC/SDSU has had over the last 130 years.

Update

A couple of other notables also have recently passed away.  "Doc" Masson, long-time veterinarian, died on Feb. 21 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=1250326Masson).  Those of you who grew up on the farm probably had some contact with him at some point during your younger days.  His son Bob was an excellent golfer, and was selected to the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame in 2007 (http://sdga.org/championships/hall-of-fame).  Doc's wife Delpha was one of the few women who served on the school board pre-1970.

Also passing away was Allyn Frerichs, director of parks, recreation and forestry for 51 years (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=1228926Frerichs).  Those of us who had summer jobs at the park and rec likely were well-acquainted with him.

Our condolences and prayers go out to both the Masson and Frerichs family.