1939 Bobcat

A couple of interesting features stand out in the 1939 Bobcat (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/62447?page=0).  On page 13, there is a color photograph of the front of the high school.  The picture is facing northwest.  The photographer must have been standing near the corner of 7th Ave. and 4th St., or just south of the Presbyterian Church, perhaps on the northeast corner of the courthouse lawn.  Another color picture can be found on page 37.  It appears to be a close-up taken from the same general vicinity.  A few students are shown exiting the front doors and having a pleasant conversation.  We thought it was rather innovative when, in the 1967 Bobcat, there was supposed to be a two-page color picture of the BHS band standing on the west courthouse lawn, with the front of the High School in the background.  However, there was some mishap when the annuals were printed, and the picture was in black and white.  As a correction, we were given the actual color photo (11' X 17'?) as an  insert to place into our annuals.  It was thought this may have been the first time a color photograph had appeared in one of the annuals.  Little did we know how wrong we were.

The school board members were rather well-known throughout the town.  Dr. Doner, for whom the Doner auditorium on campus is named, was the president.  He was also the registrar at SDSC.  Did Brian Johnson's father become registrar when Dr. Doner retired , perhaps in the early 60's?  Another member was R. R. Blauert, a local businessman.  I believe he was one of the owners of B and J Wholesale, where my father worked when our family moved to town in the late 40's.  It later became James Wholesale.  Perhaps the most interesting member was Mrs. C. D. Shea.  It was rather uncommon for women to be elected to office back then.  In the early 70's, there was much publicity when Ruth Alexander was elected to the school board.  Finally, a number of people proclaimed, a woman was elected to the school board, and Brookings was overcoming its sexist attitude..  A number of people thought she was breaking new ground.  Many of those people, however, had not done their homework.  Mrs. Shea was not a lone exception.  In the 50's, a number of women served on the school board.  Some names that come to mind are Mrs. Farnham, Mrs. Flittie, and Mrs. Masson.  Some of them even served as president.   It seems that Brookings has recognized the abilities and contributions of its females citizens longer than some would want to admit.

In addition to Mr. Horrigan, another member of the faculty that year was Mr. Virgil Bell.  He was not listed in the last annual of 1935, so was this his first year at BHS?  In addition to teaching general science and biology, he was also an assistant football coach and freshman basketball coach.

Some of the 1939 seniors who may have some connection to those in our class or our friends may be  Betty Alexander, Lynn Allison, Edwin Berkland, Marshall Biggar, Robert Bishman, Wayne conn, Lawrence Duff, Claire Eclov, John Flittie, Delbert and Dolores Gustafson, Mildred Hill, Glen Lerass, Richard Lindsay, Hazel McCord, Robert Madson, John Moriarty, Harold Niklason, Vernon Norris, Paul Prussman, Clarence Steen, Robert Stewart, and Robert Vessey..

Paul Prussman is the father of Dennis in our class, while Lynn Allison is the father of Marilyn. Bob Vessey is a name few, if any, may know.  He was the father-in-law of Coach Lynn Frederick.  Coach Frederick has been a highly-respected basketball coach in the state for almost 40 years.  He came to Brookings as the head boys coach and middle-school science teacher in 1983.  He was another one of my mentors in both the teaching and the coaching professions.. The 1986 Bobcats were runners-up in the boys state tournament,  the 1987 team were champions, and the 1988 team finished third. At that 1987 tournament, the 1962 state champion Bobcats had a 25 year reunion, so it was very gratifying for them to personally witness another championship effort. 

Robert Stewart is the same Robert Stewart that taught biology and coached at BHS for a number of years.  In the latter part of his career, he was a guidance counselor (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341374).  John Moriarty is still around.  His family had the Ben Franklin store when we were younger.  He also had the Campus Pharmacy and the drug store in the Red Owl building when Red Owl moved to Main and 7th Ave.  His son Greg was a year ahead of us, and was in the same Cub Scout troop that a few of us were in.

Is Harold Niklason connected to Nick's Hamburgers?  Was his father the one who started the shop, and then later turned the reins over the Harold? (http://www.johnsonhenryfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=301858&fh_id=11672) Would Robert Madson be the father of Tom, Bill, and Dave Madson? (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341896)  Vernon Norris struck a note with me.  There was a custodian at Central Elementary named Ezra Norris.  When Tom Bozied's dad had the Conoco station at 6th and Main, one of the guys who worked there for a few years was a Roger Norris, a brother to Ezra, I believe.  Tom used to pick on Roger rather unmercifully.  Steve Odegaard may also have treated Roger rather playfully.  Would Vernon have been a brother to these two?  Would Marshall Biggar have been the father to Dave and Doug Biggar.  Dave graduated in 65, while Doug was a year ahead of us. 

As usual, the activities of the seniors throughout their high school years are listed.  What is rather intriguing, though, is that there is a personal touch added to their list of accomplishments.  Is there a hidden meaning to some of them, such as "They raise nice blondes in Volga, don't they;" "One of our rural sheiks," "Footprints in the sands of time, if they are big, you'll know they're mine," "No man ever became extremely wicked at once."

A number of music pictures were taken on the stage over at the new Junior High  building (later to become Central Elementary, and now the Children's Museum of South Dakota).  The JHS insignia on the stage curtain is clearly visible.

The Broboca, the school newspaper, was under new management this year, and was published weekly in the Monday edition of the Brookings Register.  One organization that escaped my attention in previous years was the Latin club. It appears that Latin was not offered until 1935, when a Mrs. Mauch was listed as the Latin teacher.  Did it take a few years to gather up enough interest to form a club?

Some other interesting facts are that school started Sept. 6, 1938, and enrollment was about 500 students.  The population of Brookings  is considerably greater today, perhaps four or five times larger, but enrollment now is not quite 1,000.  FFA had about 80 members (the largest in the state?), and won state and national honors.  There was an alumni basketball game, which the alumni losing for the first time.  There was also a "B" squad state basketball tournament.  Results were not listed.   A Passion Play was held on Sept. 28-29. 

The 1987 Bobcat basketball who were state champions also played an alumni game that season.  There was an opening in the schedule, so the AD arranged an alumni game as the first game of the season.  "Older" alumni played the sophomores, while "younger" alumni played the varsity.  I believe Tom Osterberg; Bernie Hendricks, and Lorre Colburn from our era played.  The alumni came out victorious against the future state champs.  Good thing the game was the first one of the season.  If it had been played later in the year, it's doubtful if the older generation could have prevailed.   

A Passion Play was presented at the high school in the mid-50's.  It may have been about 1957 or 58.  I distinctly recall watching it in the Central gym.  When Jesus arose from the tomb, the actor portraying Him pushed a heavy slab to the stage floor.  A booming sound echoed throughout the gym, and still rings in my ears yet today.  It seems to me that they even had brought live animals for the performance.