The War is Over--The 1946 Bobcat

The 1946 Bobcat contains this dedication:  "With their lives, those boys, and thousands others like them, secured for us the privilege of living in peace.  To them, we are deeply grateful.  As a tribute to those boys who died on the field of battle, we dedicate the 1946 Bobcat to the task of preserving peace."  Was not able to find a listing of those boys, but will keep digging.

New faculty members were Mr. Bell and Mr. Karnes.  Mr. "Nig" Johnson was  listed on the faculty roster for the first time, although he was pictured as a coach the previous year.  Perhaps he taught at a lower level.   Also shown as coaching for the first time at BHS was Mr. Francis "Franny" Dolan.

Some of the seniors may be familiar to us.  These include Lyle Allison, Fern Bortnem, Stan Corlett, John DeWitt, Ray Dorn, Jack Earley, Ruth Eclov, Horace Fishback, Elizabeth Fuller, LeRoy Kellogg, Don Liebsch, Floyd and Loyd Minor, Marvin Peters, Beverly Rude, Stan Rymerson, Rueben Steen, and Marlys Trudell.

Would those whose names are in red be related to those of the same name in our class?  Would Ruth Eclov be related to Mark Eclov, who was a year ahead of us, or his younger brother Dan, two years behind us?  I seem to recall them being associated with Donny Dorn, brother of Ray Dorn mentined above.  Donny worked at SDSU and was a little league baseball coach for a number of years.  Mr. Ray Dorn is still active around the community.  Horace Fishback is a member of the Fishback banking family.  He became an extremely accomplished musician (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=16164&page=80).  Would Elizabeth Fuller be a relative of Ed (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/memsol.cgi?user_id=338844), who owned Ed's Laundry for about 15 years, and whose wife Lavonne (http://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=1252_LFuller571)worked at the radio station for a number of years? Mr. Fuller laundered all of the towels the school system provided for the athletes and PE students.  "Nig" Johnson told us on the first day of gym class not to "snap " anyone with a wet towel, or we would be the recipients of one of his "snaps" on our gluteus maximus (or might that be glutei maximi?)  Wasn't there a Mr. Peters who owned or ran the Sinclair gas station on 8th and Medary near campus?  There was a Mike Peters a couple of years behind us, but he is not shown in any annual after 1967.  Beverly Rude was a member of the Rude family that had the furniture store and funeral home.  She married Rich Craddock, a member of the talented 1950 Jackrabbit football team that also featured Bill Gibbons, Warren Williamson, and Bob Durland.  She was a long-time substitute teacher at the Middle School during my tenure there.  Stan Rymerson was a brother-in-law to Cathy Wilber's older brother Art (http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1)/obit.cgi?user=908460Rymerson).
Rueben Steen had an insurance business in town; his son Brett followed in his footsteps.  Is he an uncle to the Steen boys who were about our age, and who still have a bookkeeping service in Brookings?
Would Marlys Trudell be an aunt to the Trudells who were also about our age, and whose brother had Esco Metalworks, located right next to Beckman's Implement on Third Street?  She married Galen Kelsey, whose children were a little younger than we were (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=338967).

Stan Corlett (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?page=profile§ion=info&user_id=1395069)was a long-time postal worker in Brookings and at SDSU.  He was also very active in the VFW, and was a strong supporter of VFW baseball ("Teeners"--http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=77&story_id=11865).  It was 50 years ago this summer that our Teener team earned a trip to Hershey, PA to play in the national tournament.  

Don Liebsch also spent most of his life in Brookings.  He, too, worked at the post office before he became very active selling insurance (http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=1261_DLiebsch798).  My first life insurance policy was purchased from him.

Floyd ( http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=1261_FMinor189)  and Loyd (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341380) Minor had a number of children who were a few years younger than we were.  Most of the boys were talented wrestlers, and, along with two of the Sandersons, contributed greatly to the success of Mr. Tlustos's wrestling teams of the 70's and 80's. 

Many of theses same students were involved in the senior class play  "Headed For Eden" (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/17034?page=32).  This production is not about a snake crawling around seeking someone to devour, but there does some to be some type of criminal element involved.  Perhaps the suspense is the reason for the record attendance.The junior class play was entitled "Are You Mrs. Butterworth?"  (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/17034?page=32).  The play is described as a mystery-comedy, not some syrupy tear-jerker.

The football and basketball squads had very successful seasons.  The football team had a rough start, but by the end of the year, was rated by the critics as the strongest team around (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/17034?page=66).  It was difficult to tell by the pictures where the games were played, but the background does look remarkably similar to Pioneer Park.   Home basketball games seem to have been played at Central gym.  That environment proved to be beneficial as the basketball team did even better, winning the state tournament (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/17034?page=68).  However, the tournament results do not appear to be posted. 

The usual number of clubs and organizations are pictured and described.  Band, under the direction of Arne B. Larson , continued to grow, having again a record number of participants.