The prior post, entitled 1967, mentioned the selection of the JV and varsity basketball teams in the first year of operation of the new BHS in 1967. One of the key members of our JV squad that year was Steve Odegaard.
I did not even know of Steve until we were in Jr. Hi. In elementary school, Franny Dolan would frequently mention him in gym class because he could do numerous pull-ups/chin-ups. Since we were placed in the same homeroom as 7th graders, we were in the same classes all day. A similar situation occurred in 8th grade. In 9th grade, we only had a few classes together, but by then we had gotten to know each other rather well.
Since we were now the elder statesmen of the Jr. Hi, we could run for Student Body President. Each homeroom was allowed to select one candidate to run. Homerooms were assigned alphabetically. Mysteriously, my homeroom selected me. During the frenetic week before we had to make our speeches in front of the entire student body in the Central gym, we spent much time at Steve's house on Wisconsin Street in preparation for the big event. In addition to Steve, Stan Skubic and perhaps Kenny Beckman assisted.
After we had all given our speeches, it took a few hours to tally the votes. I seem to recall "Lefty" Johnson knocking on Mrs. Wheeler's door to ask me, Kevin O'Connell, and Tom Bozied to step into the hallway to learn the results. At best, my tally was four votes, about what I expected. Kevin won the presidency, while Tom was vice-president.
During our secondary school years, much time was spent at the Odegaard house. Steve's mother was an exceptionally talented and accomplished artist. It seems to me that she was able to transform a black-and-white picture into a magnificent colored one.
There was also a ping-pong table in the basement. Steve was quite talented, and had no trouble putting me away.
In the summer of 1968, Steve and Tom Bozied purchased the driving range, just to the south of the drive-in. Stew Linn and I spent much time out there that summer. Although I had a summer job, my afternoons were usually free, so I could hit a few golf balls if business was somewhat slow.
Steve's dad was also a wonderful person. He had numerous clean jokes that made us all laugh.
His younger brother Joe was ten years younger than we were, and was a 7th grader my first year of teaching. Lee Colburn also had a brother (Jon) in that class, while Susan Redmond had a sister (Teresa) in that same class.
Steve's wife informed me today that Steve's mother passed away on Sunday, Jan. 14. http://www.osheimschmidt.com/m/?p=memorial&id=2060028 The Register also had a short obituary https://www.brookingsregister.com/article/shirley-odegaard-rapid-city
Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve, his wife Mary, and the others in the family at this sad time.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
1967
1967 is fondly remembered as the year we moved into the new high school. There were still a few bugs to be worked out (remember the library situation?). There were also a number of changes in the make-up of the future BHS class of 1969. No longer on our class roster (according to the 1967 and 1968 yearbooks) were: Margaret Albright, Barbara Allstot, Danny Brown, Randy Christensen, Cheryl Clarin, Donna Duenwald, Sandee Gabel, John Gorman, Nancy Josephson, Russell McCuen, Barb Milic, Leonard Otkin, Bill Ramey, Dan Scanlan, Christaina Shaw, Sandra Skallerud, Margaret Smith, Steve Smith, and Susan Stamp.
New students in our class were: Ronald Anderson, Dennis Baumgaard, Joe Jensen, Craig Knock, Mike Larscheid, RogerMarken, Melvin Sanders, Charlene Tramp, Carl Young, and Rosa Young.
My association with most of these classmates was rather minimal. Mike Larscheid became most familiar because we were in the same catechism class, and were both on the cross-country and JV basketball teams. My initial connection with Roger Marken was minimal, but memorable.
There was a brief time after cross-country season was over, but football was still in session. The gym was open after school, and Mr. Thury and Mr. Jostad were watching some of us play. Roger, in my mind, showed promise. He was pretty quick, quicker than I was. My recollection is that he liked to play really close on defense, so he was able to shut me down offensively. He did, however, seem somewhat undisciplined overall.
When official try-outs started a week or so later, Lee said he like being guarded by Roger because it was easier for Lee to drive to the basket because Roger played him so close. In other words, Roger was quick to stop me, but not quick enough to stop Lee (who was?). Perhaps that was rather depressing for Roger, as he did seemed to have lost interest in playing basketball after that.
When the results were posted, we discovered who had made the squads. If a senior was not thought good enough to make varsity, he was let go. There was no school team for him to play on. Intramurals were his only option. We juniors who were not so talented at least had a JV team to be on. Since there was a pretty good group of seniors, a number of us juniors were able to form a nucleus for a decent JV team. roger likely could have been a key contributor for our JV team. However, he chose other options.
The reason for mentioning all of this is that Roger's mother recently passed away (https://www.brookingsregister.com/article/martha-marty-marken-brookings or http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=52780292_MMarken). It appears to have been a private service, and was only published in the Register today (Jan. 16). Up until a few years ago, I was unaware that Roger's sister Jan Seeley was a colleague of mine at the middle school. She was a long-time vocal music teacher, beginning in the 1970's and teaching until the year 2000. She and her colleagues did a wonderful job with all of the vocal music groups at the school. Their concerts truly were outstanding.
Our thoughts go out to Jan and roger at this difficult time.
As a footnote, does anybody remember, without looking at an old annual, what the senior class play was when we were sophomores? Today's date is a hint.
New students in our class were: Ronald Anderson, Dennis Baumgaard, Joe Jensen, Craig Knock, Mike Larscheid, RogerMarken, Melvin Sanders, Charlene Tramp, Carl Young, and Rosa Young.
My association with most of these classmates was rather minimal. Mike Larscheid became most familiar because we were in the same catechism class, and were both on the cross-country and JV basketball teams. My initial connection with Roger Marken was minimal, but memorable.
There was a brief time after cross-country season was over, but football was still in session. The gym was open after school, and Mr. Thury and Mr. Jostad were watching some of us play. Roger, in my mind, showed promise. He was pretty quick, quicker than I was. My recollection is that he liked to play really close on defense, so he was able to shut me down offensively. He did, however, seem somewhat undisciplined overall.
When official try-outs started a week or so later, Lee said he like being guarded by Roger because it was easier for Lee to drive to the basket because Roger played him so close. In other words, Roger was quick to stop me, but not quick enough to stop Lee (who was?). Perhaps that was rather depressing for Roger, as he did seemed to have lost interest in playing basketball after that.
When the results were posted, we discovered who had made the squads. If a senior was not thought good enough to make varsity, he was let go. There was no school team for him to play on. Intramurals were his only option. We juniors who were not so talented at least had a JV team to be on. Since there was a pretty good group of seniors, a number of us juniors were able to form a nucleus for a decent JV team. roger likely could have been a key contributor for our JV team. However, he chose other options.
The reason for mentioning all of this is that Roger's mother recently passed away (https://www.brookingsregister.com/article/martha-marty-marken-brookings or http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=52780292_MMarken). It appears to have been a private service, and was only published in the Register today (Jan. 16). Up until a few years ago, I was unaware that Roger's sister Jan Seeley was a colleague of mine at the middle school. She was a long-time vocal music teacher, beginning in the 1970's and teaching until the year 2000. She and her colleagues did a wonderful job with all of the vocal music groups at the school. Their concerts truly were outstanding.
Our thoughts go out to Jan and roger at this difficult time.
As a footnote, does anybody remember, without looking at an old annual, what the senior class play was when we were sophomores? Today's date is a hint.
Tlhe Farmer Takes A Wife
One of the songs that we probably learned in elementary school was The Farmer In The Dell (https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6014279578600544084#editor/target=post;postID=6025605457651146501). When we were in high school (in both buildings), the agriculture teacher and Future Farmers of America advisor was Mr. Jerome (Jake) Kleinsasser. His first year at the high school was in 1953-54. He would remain there until his retirement in 1983. I believe he had a couple of sons that were a few years younger than we were. He led a long and active life until passing away just about two years ago (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1782398). He lived on Circle Drive. A couple of other teachers, Harley Kabrud and "Lefty" Johnson were neighbors, as were Leibels and Kortans. Stewart Walz lived just a half0block or so away.
Recently, his wife Harriet passed away (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2058621). In my early years of teaching, and even during my stint as a student teacher while at SDSU, she was somewhat of a mentor to me. In the newly created middle school in 1967, she taught both science and math to 6th graders. As a student teacher in the fall of 1972, most of my classes were with the 6th grade science teacher, but an afternoon class was generally reserved for one of her math classes. A few years later, when the 6th grade teacher retired, I was fortunate enough to take his place. All full-time teachers taught six class periods then, so my sole responsibilities were to try teach six classes of science. Mrs. Kleinsasser had three math and three science classes, so we tried to coordinate our science classes as much as possible. Her math colleague was Joyce Pedersen, whom some of us had for a 6th grade teacher in 1962-63. She is the one in the back row on the left. Can you identify the students? My guess is at the end of this post. Feel free to correct my mistakes.
It appears that a number of 6th grade teachers in the newly formed middle school of 1967 were previously elementary teachers. Some, like Miss Pedersen, came from either Central or Hillcrest; others had come from the rural schools that were closing. Did Mrs. Kleinsasser teach at a rural school before her middle school tenure? It never occurred to me to ask her that question when we taught together.
I have been under the weather recently, so did not want to infect anybody by attending the visitation or the funeral. Thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Mrs. Kleinsasser and her family.
My take on the on the picture:
Front row left to right: Tom Salonen, David Hajek, David Helfinstine, Tom Madson
Second row: Larry Boggs, Emmett Earley (who gave me this to copy), Dennis and Danny Kruse (?), Darwin Beynon, Larry Noland, Steve Wobbema (in front of Larry), Bob Lee, Jim Kortan (in front of Bob)
Third row: Mary McMillan, Diane Heath, Barb Henry, Barb Allstot, Margaret Travis, Patsy McKeown
Fourth row: Miss Pedersen, Iris Clauson, Nancy Webbenhurst, Marilyn Anderson
The only question marks are the twins. Am very confident the others listed are correct.
Recently, his wife Harriet passed away (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2058621). In my early years of teaching, and even during my stint as a student teacher while at SDSU, she was somewhat of a mentor to me. In the newly created middle school in 1967, she taught both science and math to 6th graders. As a student teacher in the fall of 1972, most of my classes were with the 6th grade science teacher, but an afternoon class was generally reserved for one of her math classes. A few years later, when the 6th grade teacher retired, I was fortunate enough to take his place. All full-time teachers taught six class periods then, so my sole responsibilities were to try teach six classes of science. Mrs. Kleinsasser had three math and three science classes, so we tried to coordinate our science classes as much as possible. Her math colleague was Joyce Pedersen, whom some of us had for a 6th grade teacher in 1962-63. She is the one in the back row on the left. Can you identify the students? My guess is at the end of this post. Feel free to correct my mistakes.
It appears that a number of 6th grade teachers in the newly formed middle school of 1967 were previously elementary teachers. Some, like Miss Pedersen, came from either Central or Hillcrest; others had come from the rural schools that were closing. Did Mrs. Kleinsasser teach at a rural school before her middle school tenure? It never occurred to me to ask her that question when we taught together.
I have been under the weather recently, so did not want to infect anybody by attending the visitation or the funeral. Thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Mrs. Kleinsasser and her family.
My take on the on the picture:
Front row left to right: Tom Salonen, David Hajek, David Helfinstine, Tom Madson
Second row: Larry Boggs, Emmett Earley (who gave me this to copy), Dennis and Danny Kruse (?), Darwin Beynon, Larry Noland, Steve Wobbema (in front of Larry), Bob Lee, Jim Kortan (in front of Bob)
Third row: Mary McMillan, Diane Heath, Barb Henry, Barb Allstot, Margaret Travis, Patsy McKeown
Fourth row: Miss Pedersen, Iris Clauson, Nancy Webbenhurst, Marilyn Anderson
The only question marks are the twins. Am very confident the others listed are correct.
Guns and Saws
As promised, a little update on Henry Mar, who had a gunsmithing and saw sharpening business on first street, just a couple of houses down from Brenda Simmons.
Unbeknownst to me, he is buried in the Catholic Cemetery. On my numerous trips out there, I have never noticed his grave.
As youngsters, we speculated that because of his peculiar gait, he was perhaps 70 years old. We were, fortunately, mistaken, as we did not know that he had muscular dystrophy. The obituary of his wife noted that she helped him with his business because of that difficulty. His affliction undoubtedly caused him much distress. A search at the library disclosed that he was born on March 27, 1913, and died on February 18, 1987. The library made that search relatively easy. They have virtually all of the obituaries that have been listed in the Brookings County newspapers listed alphabetically by year in a well-organized card catalogue. If one knows the approximate year of an individual's death, it is not too difficult to find out the exact date, assuming that the obituary is in the paper. While finding his obituary, we also came upon the obituary of his mother, who passed away eight years earlier on May, 13, 1979. She was born on August 12, 1889, just a few months before statehood was granted to South Dakota on November 2, 1889.
The reason that we had trouble finding the obituary of Jerry Johnson last summer was that his obituary was not listed in the card catalogue. By going to a local funeral home, we were told of the date of his death and even the location of his grave in the First Lutheran Cemetery. When we found his obituary in the Brookings Register, we informed the library so they could include his name in their card catalogue.
Unbeknownst to me, he is buried in the Catholic Cemetery. On my numerous trips out there, I have never noticed his grave.
As youngsters, we speculated that because of his peculiar gait, he was perhaps 70 years old. We were, fortunately, mistaken, as we did not know that he had muscular dystrophy. The obituary of his wife noted that she helped him with his business because of that difficulty. His affliction undoubtedly caused him much distress. A search at the library disclosed that he was born on March 27, 1913, and died on February 18, 1987. The library made that search relatively easy. They have virtually all of the obituaries that have been listed in the Brookings County newspapers listed alphabetically by year in a well-organized card catalogue. If one knows the approximate year of an individual's death, it is not too difficult to find out the exact date, assuming that the obituary is in the paper. While finding his obituary, we also came upon the obituary of his mother, who passed away eight years earlier on May, 13, 1979. She was born on August 12, 1889, just a few months before statehood was granted to South Dakota on November 2, 1889.
The reason that we had trouble finding the obituary of Jerry Johnson last summer was that his obituary was not listed in the card catalogue. By going to a local funeral home, we were told of the date of his death and even the location of his grave in the First Lutheran Cemetery. When we found his obituary in the Brookings Register, we informed the library so they could include his name in their card catalogue.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Big Northerns
It is always enjoyable when we locals happen to converge for some function. Recently, Mark Kratochvil, Vern Olson, Patty Vick, Paula Hoffman, John MacComb, and I have had a chance to engage in niceties, conversation, and the latest news that may concern us (my apologies if I have omitted someone). Oftentimes, though, it seems that we meet under circumstances that are bittersweet. These past few weeks have provided such conditions. Previous posts have mentioned the passing of three parents recently. We were surprised this week to learn of the passing of another parent, and even more stunned when the brother of a classmate was stricken unexpectedly.
On December 31, 2017, Terry Liebing passed away. Terry was in the class of 1967, which just held a class reunion this past September. As Terry's obituary says, he was an avid fisherman. South Whitlock (a very popular resort near Gettysburg on the Missouri River) was a favorite spot. Incidentally, Tom Osterberg has also fished there, and told us that he ran into Mr. Thury, who also used to make an annual trip there. Terry's brother Dan of our class, along with grandsons Devyn and Jordyn, were Terry's "fishing buddies." As you can see in the picture below, Terry caught some nice fish out there. He is holding an esox lucius (voracious piscivorous pike of waters of northern hemisphere), which we commonly call a "northern", "northern pike," or just plain "pike," (although there are other species of pike, such as the muskellunge, various types of pickerels, and hybrids).
Like any other true South Dakota outdoorsman, Terry also enjoyed pheasant hunting.
My connections with Terry were rather indirect. Some of his children were students of mine when they were in middle school. His obituary also says he owned Schoon Auto Supply for many years. He purchased the business from John "Red" Schoon. During my first two years of college, I worked with "Red" at my summer job at the Insect Lab (another connection to the Insect Lab is mentioned at the end of this post). He left there to pursue his dream of being his own boss when bought an auto supply business, which he later sold to Terry. I have been able to visit with "Red" occasionally these last few years. In fact, as I was working on this post, he gave me a phone call to inform me that a dilemma he had encountered at home had been solved.
Our condolences go out to Terry's family at this mournful time.
Just a few days later, on January 3, 2018, the father of Stan Lorenz passed away at the age of 95. It seems as if many of our parents have longevity genes. Not only have many of them lived well into their 90's, a number of our parents are still going strong even at that age today.
Mr. Lorenz was also an avid outdoorsman. In his picture below, he is holding a northern just about the same size as Terry's. My memory of Mr. Lorenz in my younger days is that he was a splendid and accomplished taxidermist. One of my older brothers was also a passionate outdoorsman. I believe he was well acquainted with Mr. Lorenz and his skills.
As you can see, Mr. Lorenz is also displaying an "esox lucius." Can you tell if his is larger than Terry's? I cannot. Would that I could be so skilled as to catch one that size. As an aside, the backgrounds for both of their obituaries on the Rude's Funeral Home webpage are exactly the same.
http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=34194455_TLiebing
http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=06962771_ELorenz
This poem, too, speaks for itself.
My connections to Stan were limited mainly to sophomore driver's education. Remember those days? It seems that Mr. Mohlenhoff was the classroom teacher, while Mr. Keller was the driving instructor. We drove perhaps twice a week, alternating a free period, say on Monday and Wednesday, with an hour of driving Tuesday and Thursday. Stan and I drove right after lunch. However, Mr. Keller had an open spot on the other two days at the same time, so we were able to drive four days a week instead of two. Since the building was so crowded as it was the last year as a combined jr.-sr. high, we were able to skip study hall. Since we had completed the driving portion of the class somewhat early, we had, in essence, a two-hour lunch break instead of the usual one-hour break for the rest of that semester.
On the driver's ed car, there was an extra brake pedal on the passenger side, where Mr. Keller sat. It was there for obvious reasons. He had to use it the first time I drove, as I was extremely raw behind the wheel. Even though I was a slow learner, I did manage to avoid any accidents, pass the class, and get an adjustment on my parents insurance rates when I earned my license.
Was unable to talk with Stan at the visitation or funeral, but did manage to talk with his sister Sharon. She was about six years older than we were, and was a friend of my sister-in-law, the former Janet Norton. Her husband was a year older than she, and was in my brother Bill's class. We had an enjoyable time exchanging pleasantries.
Also had an extended conversation with former student Kevin Harvey. Mr. Lorenz's wife was a Harvey, but it did not occur to me to ask if there was a connection. Kevin's father had Stub's Meat Market, a well-known Brookings business for a number of years. Kevin was in the 8th grade my first year of teaching. Even though it was almost 45 years ago, some of those memories are still vivid for me.
Was unaware that Mr. Lorenz worked at Sokota. In the 50's, the business was located just across the street from our house. Often times during the summer we could see the trucks hauling numerous high-school girls to their detasseling jobs. In the fall and even into the winter, the ground would be covered with some of the pink stuff (chaff?) that came off the corncobs. In the early 60's, the company moved to 2nd St. South. They were customers on my Minneapolis Tribune paper route. In fact, I reported to Marion Johnston, father of Pam of our class, to receive payment for their subscription.
Our thought and prayers go out the family of Mr. Lorenz during this difficult time.
Lastly, another funeral that surprised me was that of Carolyn Grace Mar (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=54320901_CMar). That name likely means nothing to any of you. Her family lived a couple of houses down from Brenda Simmons on First Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. Her husband had a gun smithing and a saw sharpening business there, called Mar's Gun Shop. I thought that was just a nickname, but it truly was his name. Since Arnie deBlonk and Lynn Roberts were in our cub scout troop and also lived on First Street, although a couple of blocks east of Brenda, I would often walk past his gun shop when we had a scout meeting at either of their houses.
When we were younger, those of us in the neighborhood would often see Mr. Mar walking from his home to the downtown area. He had a distinctive gait, somewhat like a bouncy shuffle, and always seemed to have a smile on his face. He was generally very pleasant, and seemed to wave whenever he went by. We sensed was really old, perhaps in his 70's. More likely, he was 20 years younger. We did not know, as her obituary indicates, that he had muscular dystrophy, the cause of his distinctive gait. It would be interesting to know when Mr. Mar passed away. The library might have that information.
A couple of the comments in her obituary guestbook are from a Brett Gustin. Had to look this up, but he was student of mine exactly 40 years ago. An additional connection is that his father was a scientist at the Insect Lab mentioned above. Dr. Gustin must have been a talented athlete in his younger days. When the Insect Lab picnic was held, we generally had a touch football game. He could outrun everyone else except Glenn Carlson, a top-notch sprinter and hurdler at SDSU. Brett's mother also taught in the school system. Was it Bob Adams that told me of an interesting episode in her class one year?
Even though these gatherings may have been bittersweet, they are enjoyable, and do recall memorable moments in our lives.
On December 31, 2017, Terry Liebing passed away. Terry was in the class of 1967, which just held a class reunion this past September. As Terry's obituary says, he was an avid fisherman. South Whitlock (a very popular resort near Gettysburg on the Missouri River) was a favorite spot. Incidentally, Tom Osterberg has also fished there, and told us that he ran into Mr. Thury, who also used to make an annual trip there. Terry's brother Dan of our class, along with grandsons Devyn and Jordyn, were Terry's "fishing buddies." As you can see in the picture below, Terry caught some nice fish out there. He is holding an esox lucius (voracious piscivorous pike of waters of northern hemisphere), which we commonly call a "northern", "northern pike," or just plain "pike," (although there are other species of pike, such as the muskellunge, various types of pickerels, and hybrids).
.
The two poems speak for themselves; they seem truly appropriate for a man of Terry's characterLike any other true South Dakota outdoorsman, Terry also enjoyed pheasant hunting.
My connections with Terry were rather indirect. Some of his children were students of mine when they were in middle school. His obituary also says he owned Schoon Auto Supply for many years. He purchased the business from John "Red" Schoon. During my first two years of college, I worked with "Red" at my summer job at the Insect Lab (another connection to the Insect Lab is mentioned at the end of this post). He left there to pursue his dream of being his own boss when bought an auto supply business, which he later sold to Terry. I have been able to visit with "Red" occasionally these last few years. In fact, as I was working on this post, he gave me a phone call to inform me that a dilemma he had encountered at home had been solved.
Our condolences go out to Terry's family at this mournful time.
Just a few days later, on January 3, 2018, the father of Stan Lorenz passed away at the age of 95. It seems as if many of our parents have longevity genes. Not only have many of them lived well into their 90's, a number of our parents are still going strong even at that age today.
Mr. Lorenz was also an avid outdoorsman. In his picture below, he is holding a northern just about the same size as Terry's. My memory of Mr. Lorenz in my younger days is that he was a splendid and accomplished taxidermist. One of my older brothers was also a passionate outdoorsman. I believe he was well acquainted with Mr. Lorenz and his skills.
As you can see, Mr. Lorenz is also displaying an "esox lucius." Can you tell if his is larger than Terry's? I cannot. Would that I could be so skilled as to catch one that size. As an aside, the backgrounds for both of their obituaries on the Rude's Funeral Home webpage are exactly the same.
http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=34194455_TLiebing
http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=06962771_ELorenz
This poem, too, speaks for itself.
My connections to Stan were limited mainly to sophomore driver's education. Remember those days? It seems that Mr. Mohlenhoff was the classroom teacher, while Mr. Keller was the driving instructor. We drove perhaps twice a week, alternating a free period, say on Monday and Wednesday, with an hour of driving Tuesday and Thursday. Stan and I drove right after lunch. However, Mr. Keller had an open spot on the other two days at the same time, so we were able to drive four days a week instead of two. Since the building was so crowded as it was the last year as a combined jr.-sr. high, we were able to skip study hall. Since we had completed the driving portion of the class somewhat early, we had, in essence, a two-hour lunch break instead of the usual one-hour break for the rest of that semester.
On the driver's ed car, there was an extra brake pedal on the passenger side, where Mr. Keller sat. It was there for obvious reasons. He had to use it the first time I drove, as I was extremely raw behind the wheel. Even though I was a slow learner, I did manage to avoid any accidents, pass the class, and get an adjustment on my parents insurance rates when I earned my license.
Was unable to talk with Stan at the visitation or funeral, but did manage to talk with his sister Sharon. She was about six years older than we were, and was a friend of my sister-in-law, the former Janet Norton. Her husband was a year older than she, and was in my brother Bill's class. We had an enjoyable time exchanging pleasantries.
Also had an extended conversation with former student Kevin Harvey. Mr. Lorenz's wife was a Harvey, but it did not occur to me to ask if there was a connection. Kevin's father had Stub's Meat Market, a well-known Brookings business for a number of years. Kevin was in the 8th grade my first year of teaching. Even though it was almost 45 years ago, some of those memories are still vivid for me.
Was unaware that Mr. Lorenz worked at Sokota. In the 50's, the business was located just across the street from our house. Often times during the summer we could see the trucks hauling numerous high-school girls to their detasseling jobs. In the fall and even into the winter, the ground would be covered with some of the pink stuff (chaff?) that came off the corncobs. In the early 60's, the company moved to 2nd St. South. They were customers on my Minneapolis Tribune paper route. In fact, I reported to Marion Johnston, father of Pam of our class, to receive payment for their subscription.
Our thought and prayers go out the family of Mr. Lorenz during this difficult time.
Lastly, another funeral that surprised me was that of Carolyn Grace Mar (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=54320901_CMar). That name likely means nothing to any of you. Her family lived a couple of houses down from Brenda Simmons on First Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. Her husband had a gun smithing and a saw sharpening business there, called Mar's Gun Shop. I thought that was just a nickname, but it truly was his name. Since Arnie deBlonk and Lynn Roberts were in our cub scout troop and also lived on First Street, although a couple of blocks east of Brenda, I would often walk past his gun shop when we had a scout meeting at either of their houses.
When we were younger, those of us in the neighborhood would often see Mr. Mar walking from his home to the downtown area. He had a distinctive gait, somewhat like a bouncy shuffle, and always seemed to have a smile on his face. He was generally very pleasant, and seemed to wave whenever he went by. We sensed was really old, perhaps in his 70's. More likely, he was 20 years younger. We did not know, as her obituary indicates, that he had muscular dystrophy, the cause of his distinctive gait. It would be interesting to know when Mr. Mar passed away. The library might have that information.
A couple of the comments in her obituary guestbook are from a Brett Gustin. Had to look this up, but he was student of mine exactly 40 years ago. An additional connection is that his father was a scientist at the Insect Lab mentioned above. Dr. Gustin must have been a talented athlete in his younger days. When the Insect Lab picnic was held, we generally had a touch football game. He could outrun everyone else except Glenn Carlson, a top-notch sprinter and hurdler at SDSU. Brett's mother also taught in the school system. Was it Bob Adams that told me of an interesting episode in her class one year?
Even though these gatherings may have been bittersweet, they are enjoyable, and do recall memorable moments in our lives.
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