Was getting some minor work done on my car and ran into Pete Leiferman at the garage. Pete is a younger brother of Kathy, who went with Joe Jensen during our high school days. We had a good conversation, and were joined later by Ron Dobesh, the owner of the shop. When Ron first came to town about 40-45 years ago, he had a gas station on the by-pass and the interstate just north of town. He then moved to the Mobil station at 6th and Medary, just north of Midway Grocery. Perhaps about 30 years ago he moved to his present location at 316 3rd Avenue, just across from the old Sawnee Hotel.
Ron has a number of older cars, and Pete was teasing him a little about their status. One of those Ron has is a 1956 black two-door Ford station wagon. That car ignited two thoughts for me. The first car that Stew Linn had was a 1956 green Ford. Seemed to me that it was a manual shift, but can't remember if it was a two or four door model. The second memory it brought to mind is the summers of 1966 and 67. During those two summers, Jim Kessler and I worked at the college seedhouse for Dr. Phil Price. He was the barley expert. We spent most of the summer hoeing weeds on the test plots about a mile east of the seedhouse. The seedhouse was just north of the dairy bar on Medary. Our foreman was a college student named Rodney TeKrony, who was a cousin of Bob Kallemeyn. We would meet at the seedhouse and then we would ride with Rodney to the farm. Our vehicle was a 1956 black two-door Ford station wagon. I believe Dr. Price was actually part of the USDA.. A few years later, while working at the Bug Lab north of town, I noticed that same vehicle. The Bug Lab was also a Department of Agriculture program, so it would have been relatively easy for that vehicle to be transferred out there without a great deal of red tape.
For some reason, it seemed logical to me that the station wagon Ron Dobesh now owned was the same vehicle that Jim Kessler and I rode in almost daily during those two summers of 1966 and 67. When we asked Ron where he had gotten the wagon, he said he had gotten it out of the trees at the Bug Lab. It had been "retired" because the engine had failed. When he inquired about the possibility of purchasing it, he was told that he would have to put a bid in. His bid of $75.56 was successful, and he was the new owner. He was able to eventually put a big, powerful engine in there, and it now goes really fast.
On a sad note, our thoughts and prayers go out to Paula Hoffman. Her husband, Bill Platz, passed away just a few days ago (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/argusleader/obituary.aspx?n=william-platz-bill&pid=174253364). I had recently seen them on a TV commercial. Can't recall exactly, but it may have been their endorsement of and satisfaction with a car dealership in Mitchell (Vern Eide?).
A couple of other notables have also passed away recently. Mary Kay Coughlin (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=23730&page=80) passed away on Feb. 12. She was a sister of Francis ("Franny") Dolan, long-time teacher and coach for many of us. Her husband Frank, whom she had married in 1946, lost his life in the Korean War. He had also served in World War II (http://koreanwarmemorial.sd.gov/SearchEngineForm/profiles/13.htm).
Also passing away recently was Joan Beckman Smith (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=23701&page=80). She was a BHS graduate of 1952, and an aunt of Ken Beckman. Just last fall, Ken's father passed away (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=22232&page=80). Our thoughts, condolences, and prayers go out to Paula and Ken during these difficult times.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
"Red Castle" Remnant Returned
The cornerstone of the Children's Museum of South Dakota, formerly Central Elementary, reads 1936. Previously, the site was the home of Brookings High School, affectionately known as the Red Castle because of its architectural style. This view is from the southwest
A feature of all schools from that era is the traditional school bell. Many people had wondered what had become of the bell from the old school. The mystery was solved this past summer, when the Superintendent, Roger DeGroot, "received a hand-written letter from Beverly Bergman, a resident of White, telling him that she had an old bell from the original Brookings high school." (Brookings Register, Jan. 30, 2015). Rather than quote the story from the paper, this link http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_e_edition.php?toc_id=3351 will take you to the original article. The print is rather small. Some computers allow you to increase the print size by hitting Ctrl + . Ctrl + may also be used to increase the size of this print. That may help if you are experiencing difficulty, as I was. Those who are more computer-savvy than I may have better methods.
In the background in the lower right hand corner appears to be what we called the primary building. Here is better view, again from the southwest.
Some of us went to first and second grade in there, as Central only had classrooms for kindergarten, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. In junior high, we had 7th and 8th grade art in the basement. If we took art later on as freshmen or sophomores, we also had to journey outside to get to class. My first and second grade classes were in the same classroom in the northeast corner on the first floor. The small playground had swings, a merry-go-round, monkey bars, teeter-totter, and a climbing contraption we called the rocket ship because it resembled a skinny pyramid made out of thin pipes. On the west side of the building was a metal tube, perhaps four feet in diameter, that extended from the second floor diagonally down to just a few feet above the ground, where it leveled off. It was the fire escape, and was just a giant tubular slide.. It was a favorite place to play when school was not in session. It could get rather warm in there in the summertime. It was also somewhat slippery, so we frequently removed our shoes and socks to scale its inner walls when we wanted to slide down it.
Since my classrooms were always on the first floor, there was no reason to go up the stairs to see the second floor. We may even have been instructed not to go up there. The only time I recall being on the second floor was when some student in our class had gotten sick and had thrown up in our room. The smell was quite potent, so we had class upstairs until the stench had cleared.
One year, probably in the first grade, someone brought in a Monarch caterpillar. Our teacher, a Mrs. Jensen, put it in a jar with a milkweed stem and leaf, as that is their only food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly and https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVi1LUdFUkkMAohEnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzbWVldTlmBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA0FDQkMwXzE-?_adv_prop=image&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&va=monarch+butterfly+caterpillar&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001). During one of our reading sessions, one of the girls (Helen Snow?) happened to be looking at the jar and exclaimed with astonishment, "It broke!" or "It popped!," or something like that. Mrs. Jensen euthanized it, and then mounted it for us. During my teaching career, a number of students brought in some caterpillars, though not Monarch ones. We put them in a jar with some twigs and leaves and waited for them to spin their cocoon or chrysalis. Only one of them ever matured into an adult, and that was a Cecropia moth (https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrB8pnzU9FUiEQA6iGJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsZ29xY3ZzBHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEc2xrA2J1dHRvbg--;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRiY2sDYWZmOGljOTh1dHNkdSUyNmIlM0Q0JTI2ZCUzRExyNF83N1JwWUVLU3FVMjZoZjdjV210Um9FeXdocUtFTldrNVpDSFBSS3M0JTI2cyUzRGxpJTI2aSUzRFY5UHpBalo1aFJ3S1hMb0ZLNV9BBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMQRncHJpZANPRVRGRGJfYVJqeVFXS0pJNmhhZjFBBG10ZXN0aWQDbnVsbARuX3N1Z2cDMTAEb3JpZ2luA2ltYWdlcy5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwM5BHBxc3RyA2NlY3JvcGlhIG1vdGggBHBxc3RybAMxNARxc3RybAMzMgRxdWVyeQNjZWNyb3BpYSBtb3RoIGNhdGVycGlsbGFyIGNvY29vbgR0X3N0bXADMTQyMzAwNDY4MgR2dGVzdGlkA251bGw-?gprid=OETFDb_aRjyQWKJI6haf1A&pvid=tcnjPDY5LjGnvRJiUe7xvgupNjYuMQAAAAAXPczt&p=cecropia+moth+caterpillar+cocoon&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com&ei=UTF-8&n=60&x=wrt&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla). Whereas Monarchs mature from caterpillar to adult rather quickly (no more than two weeks), Cecropias spin their cocoon in the fall and do not emerge until spring. Our Cecropia emerged on a Sunday afternoon, when I happened to be in my room. Its wings appeared quite delicate, almost like tissue paper, and were hanging straight down rather loosely. It moved its wings back and forth slowly, until the wings became stiffer. Since the adults only live about two weeks, we let it go in hopes it might "smell out" a mate (http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Cecropia-Moth.aspx).
Robyn Connelly was in my first grade class. If girls' athletics had been around when we were younger, she may have been one of the best. We had a game somewhat like tag. We would run between the primary building and the high school annex (by the lunchroom). One person was it, and would try to catch someone before he or she could run from one wall to the other. I could never catch her. In fact, I seldom caught anyone. Should have known that sprinting would not be my cup of tea.
Do you remember flash cards? The teachers used them not only for arithmetic, but also for reading. Mrs. Jensen would sometimes place them on her desk so that they could be seen if one was observant. Since we were in first grade, most of us did not know how to read (at least I didn't). I knew the alphabet, though, so when I went home, I would ask my mom what word a certain combination of letters, such as c-a-t, would spell. Some students learn how to cheat at an early age. Remember what reading series we had? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_Jane or http://www.bing.com/search?q=fun+with+dick+and+jane+books&qs=AS&pq=fun+with+dic&sc=8-12&sp=1&cvid=632d21d8c17e4ea6bbef933ee80682a1&FORM=QBLH)
In second grade, our teacher was Mrs. Jeglum. She was very slender, small, and old. She may have retired after she had taught us (it seems that a number of teachers retired after having us in class. Any connection?). In the 1959 annual (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=0), (at the top of page 62) there is a picture of the club for Future Teachers of America. Two of our classmates had sisters in that picture (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=62). Can you identify them? In the bottom right-hand corner of the same page, there is picture of some students pouring coffee for Mrs. Jeglum. . She is the one in the middle with a big smile and holding a napkin in her left hand. To the left of that picture is a high-school student acting as if she is assisting a second grader with his assignment. That picture is staged because the student she is assisting is yours truly. My guess is that she chose me because one of my sisters was also in the class of 1959. I may have been chosen because of that connection, or I may have been just plain lucky. Can you recognize the boy in front of me, or the girl in the background? I once had the original, which is larger than this one, and shows, I think, who is seated behind me. If I can find it, I'll let you know the answer to those two questions: whose sisters were in the Future Teachers, and who is also in the picture with me? An added question might be what other classmates had older brothers or sisters who were seniors that year? We might have to get an actual copy of this annual to find that out, as pages 20/21 (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=20) appear to be missing from this copy.
The primary building was torn down in the late 70's, early 80'sm as it was becoming structurally unsound. I believe someone or some outfit actually saved the bricks to be used for some other project. Only the first floor may have been used in its latter years. The site was a playground for a few years after the building was torn down. In our 6th grade science classes one year, we brought in an engineering professor who taught surveying at SDSU. He gave a surveying demonstration, after which we went out and discovered that the playground there sloped about 15 feet toward 5th Street. When gym space became critical for the school district, a large gymnasium, appropriately called the 5th Street Gym, was built on the site in the mid-80's. There are three full-length basketball courts running east and west, plus bleacher space on the east side. It is used a great deal by the community. The Middle School and Central had used it for gym classes and basketball and volleyball practices, but classroom use has declined since Central Elementary and the Middle School are no longer next door. It is still used for Middle School basketball and volleyball practice. This site has a picture of the exterior and the interior: http://visitbrookingssd.com/directory/fifth-street-gym The old high school is visible in the background to the south in the first picture. The interior photo is looking to the southwest. The old Central gym would be behind the flags and the black scoreboard on the right. Can you see the geometric "Bobcats " prowling along the walls? The playground and outdoor portion of the Children's Museum is to the right on the exterior photo. If you look carefully, you can see the head of the T. Rex at the height of the greenery (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=76&story_id=8875). This video shows both the old Central gym and the 5th Street gyms in the background https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f7psz7U9Os This video shows the installation of mama T. Rex about five years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXxo6Hmjqz4 Here is one following the exploits of a youngster as she visits the exhibits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTv0EDWl0gc (To see the videos, copy and paste the site in the address box of the URL) You may find some of the other videos listed at these sites rather interesting, also.
Lastly, does anyone remember Miss Papritz? She began teaching before a bachelor's degree was required, and taught in the primary building for a number of years. She was so memorable because she was hardly taller than her students. Later on, she was involved with special education. She was a very enthusiastic teacher, and was well-respected by students and staff alike. She was helpful to me when I first started in 1973. Sadly, she passed away about ten years ago (http://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=1252_HPapritz243).
In the background in the lower right hand corner appears to be what we called the primary building. Here is better view, again from the southwest.
Since my classrooms were always on the first floor, there was no reason to go up the stairs to see the second floor. We may even have been instructed not to go up there. The only time I recall being on the second floor was when some student in our class had gotten sick and had thrown up in our room. The smell was quite potent, so we had class upstairs until the stench had cleared.
One year, probably in the first grade, someone brought in a Monarch caterpillar. Our teacher, a Mrs. Jensen, put it in a jar with a milkweed stem and leaf, as that is their only food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly and https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVi1LUdFUkkMAohEnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzbWVldTlmBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA0FDQkMwXzE-?_adv_prop=image&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&va=monarch+butterfly+caterpillar&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001). During one of our reading sessions, one of the girls (Helen Snow?) happened to be looking at the jar and exclaimed with astonishment, "It broke!" or "It popped!," or something like that. Mrs. Jensen euthanized it, and then mounted it for us. During my teaching career, a number of students brought in some caterpillars, though not Monarch ones. We put them in a jar with some twigs and leaves and waited for them to spin their cocoon or chrysalis. Only one of them ever matured into an adult, and that was a Cecropia moth (https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrB8pnzU9FUiEQA6iGJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsZ29xY3ZzBHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEc2xrA2J1dHRvbg--;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRiY2sDYWZmOGljOTh1dHNkdSUyNmIlM0Q0JTI2ZCUzRExyNF83N1JwWUVLU3FVMjZoZjdjV210Um9FeXdocUtFTldrNVpDSFBSS3M0JTI2cyUzRGxpJTI2aSUzRFY5UHpBalo1aFJ3S1hMb0ZLNV9BBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMQRncHJpZANPRVRGRGJfYVJqeVFXS0pJNmhhZjFBBG10ZXN0aWQDbnVsbARuX3N1Z2cDMTAEb3JpZ2luA2ltYWdlcy5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwM5BHBxc3RyA2NlY3JvcGlhIG1vdGggBHBxc3RybAMxNARxc3RybAMzMgRxdWVyeQNjZWNyb3BpYSBtb3RoIGNhdGVycGlsbGFyIGNvY29vbgR0X3N0bXADMTQyMzAwNDY4MgR2dGVzdGlkA251bGw-?gprid=OETFDb_aRjyQWKJI6haf1A&pvid=tcnjPDY5LjGnvRJiUe7xvgupNjYuMQAAAAAXPczt&p=cecropia+moth+caterpillar+cocoon&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&fr2=sa-gp-images.search.yahoo.com&ei=UTF-8&n=60&x=wrt&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla). Whereas Monarchs mature from caterpillar to adult rather quickly (no more than two weeks), Cecropias spin their cocoon in the fall and do not emerge until spring. Our Cecropia emerged on a Sunday afternoon, when I happened to be in my room. Its wings appeared quite delicate, almost like tissue paper, and were hanging straight down rather loosely. It moved its wings back and forth slowly, until the wings became stiffer. Since the adults only live about two weeks, we let it go in hopes it might "smell out" a mate (http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Cecropia-Moth.aspx).
Robyn Connelly was in my first grade class. If girls' athletics had been around when we were younger, she may have been one of the best. We had a game somewhat like tag. We would run between the primary building and the high school annex (by the lunchroom). One person was it, and would try to catch someone before he or she could run from one wall to the other. I could never catch her. In fact, I seldom caught anyone. Should have known that sprinting would not be my cup of tea.
Do you remember flash cards? The teachers used them not only for arithmetic, but also for reading. Mrs. Jensen would sometimes place them on her desk so that they could be seen if one was observant. Since we were in first grade, most of us did not know how to read (at least I didn't). I knew the alphabet, though, so when I went home, I would ask my mom what word a certain combination of letters, such as c-a-t, would spell. Some students learn how to cheat at an early age. Remember what reading series we had? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_Jane or http://www.bing.com/search?q=fun+with+dick+and+jane+books&qs=AS&pq=fun+with+dic&sc=8-12&sp=1&cvid=632d21d8c17e4ea6bbef933ee80682a1&FORM=QBLH)
In second grade, our teacher was Mrs. Jeglum. She was very slender, small, and old. She may have retired after she had taught us (it seems that a number of teachers retired after having us in class. Any connection?). In the 1959 annual (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=0), (at the top of page 62) there is a picture of the club for Future Teachers of America. Two of our classmates had sisters in that picture (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=62). Can you identify them? In the bottom right-hand corner of the same page, there is picture of some students pouring coffee for Mrs. Jeglum. . She is the one in the middle with a big smile and holding a napkin in her left hand. To the left of that picture is a high-school student acting as if she is assisting a second grader with his assignment. That picture is staged because the student she is assisting is yours truly. My guess is that she chose me because one of my sisters was also in the class of 1959. I may have been chosen because of that connection, or I may have been just plain lucky. Can you recognize the boy in front of me, or the girl in the background? I once had the original, which is larger than this one, and shows, I think, who is seated behind me. If I can find it, I'll let you know the answer to those two questions: whose sisters were in the Future Teachers, and who is also in the picture with me? An added question might be what other classmates had older brothers or sisters who were seniors that year? We might have to get an actual copy of this annual to find that out, as pages 20/21 (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/4182714492?page=20) appear to be missing from this copy.
The primary building was torn down in the late 70's, early 80'sm as it was becoming structurally unsound. I believe someone or some outfit actually saved the bricks to be used for some other project. Only the first floor may have been used in its latter years. The site was a playground for a few years after the building was torn down. In our 6th grade science classes one year, we brought in an engineering professor who taught surveying at SDSU. He gave a surveying demonstration, after which we went out and discovered that the playground there sloped about 15 feet toward 5th Street. When gym space became critical for the school district, a large gymnasium, appropriately called the 5th Street Gym, was built on the site in the mid-80's. There are three full-length basketball courts running east and west, plus bleacher space on the east side. It is used a great deal by the community. The Middle School and Central had used it for gym classes and basketball and volleyball practices, but classroom use has declined since Central Elementary and the Middle School are no longer next door. It is still used for Middle School basketball and volleyball practice. This site has a picture of the exterior and the interior: http://visitbrookingssd.com/directory/fifth-street-gym The old high school is visible in the background to the south in the first picture. The interior photo is looking to the southwest. The old Central gym would be behind the flags and the black scoreboard on the right. Can you see the geometric "Bobcats " prowling along the walls? The playground and outdoor portion of the Children's Museum is to the right on the exterior photo. If you look carefully, you can see the head of the T. Rex at the height of the greenery (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=76&story_id=8875). This video shows both the old Central gym and the 5th Street gyms in the background https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f7psz7U9Os This video shows the installation of mama T. Rex about five years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXxo6Hmjqz4 Here is one following the exploits of a youngster as she visits the exhibits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTv0EDWl0gc (To see the videos, copy and paste the site in the address box of the URL) You may find some of the other videos listed at these sites rather interesting, also.
Lastly, does anyone remember Miss Papritz? She began teaching before a bachelor's degree was required, and taught in the primary building for a number of years. She was so memorable because she was hardly taller than her students. Later on, she was involved with special education. She was a very enthusiastic teacher, and was well-respected by students and staff alike. She was helpful to me when I first started in 1973. Sadly, she passed away about ten years ago (http://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=1252_HPapritz243).
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