An Admirable Alumnus Attorney

A number of BHS grads have become well-known and nationally recognized in their field.  Were you aware that the former director of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding, is an alumna of BHS?  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Gerberding, http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Gerberding-Julie.html).  Her mother Bette was a student teacher in English for Mrs. Donaldson (Nancy Webbenhurst's sister) during the fall of our sophomore year.  She later taught at the high-school for a number of years.  Not only was she a gifted teacher in the classroom, she was even more appreciated for her leadership in the drama department.  As director of the school plays, she had high expectations from the students; they seldom, if ever, left the school and the community disappointed.   

While our class may not have anyone with the nationally known laurels of Dr. Gerberding, some of our classmates have left their mark in their field of expertise, and have earned the utmost respect of their peers.  It has been brought to our attention recently that Stew Walz of our class has been recognized as a "master in the courtroom" (https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/03/08/master-in-the-courtroom-longtime-utah-federal-prosecutor-retires-after-decades-of-fighting-frauds-and-scams/).  It is not surprising that Stew turned out to be the re-incarnation of Perry Mason. 

Stew was a key member of the debate squad that captured the State "A" Debate championship, qualifying "them to participate in the national in Washington, D. C." during the summer of 1969.  Undoubtedly the skills he learned slaving many long hours profited him greatly in his law practice. 

We all knew how intelligent Stew was during his school days in Brookings.  As the article states, his attention to detail and his memory, as well as his knowledge of the law,  have served him well.  The fine teachers we had undoubtedly had a role in shaping those characteristics.  More importantly, though, were the influences of his family.  Stew's mother was a highly-respected English professor at SDSU.  She was my teacher for a drama class that I needed to satisfy my humanities requirement.  She made the class enjoyable and relevant.  My main recollection was reading some of the morality plays of the Middle Ages.

Stew's father also had a prominent in the community.  I believe he was director of the Chamber of Commerce or had a position similar to that, and was rather influential in helping to shape the future of Brookings.

One vivid memory of Stew in high school was our time in Driver's Ed.  In gym class, Stew was not known for his speed.  However, he possessed an extremely quick reaction time when Mr. Mohlenhoff tested us on the driver's ed simulator.  That contraption had a gas pedal and a brake pedal, just as a typical car would.  It also had a light and a timer.  When the light flashed on, the timer would display how long it took you to take your foot off the gas and step on the brake.   Stew was amazingly quick to react.  That quickness unquestionably helped him achieve so much success as an attorney. 

Congratulations, Stew, on your achievements, and the contributions you have made and are making to BHS. 

Magnificent Mothers

A recent article in the Register highlighted the local  efforts of the Mission Interest Quilters of First Lutheran Church who have for 50 years sewn quilts to "provide warmth and comfort to those in need, whether it be abroad or within our community." A number of those ladies, including Signe Anderson, mother of Marilyn Anderson of our class, have been involved for quite a few years. 

If you read carefully the entire article, you may have found that Marilyn's mother is 95, and still going strong.  According to another recent Register article, Maureen Westbrook, mother of  Nancy of our class, also celebrated her 95th birthday recently.  Congratulations to Signe and Maureen for continuing to live such wonderful, productive, and influential lives.

On a sad note, we recently lost another nonagenarian.  Maxine Darnall, mother of Sharon in our class, passed away (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2106721).  Her obituary indicates how active she (and her husband) had been in the community. 

Our condolences go out to Sharon and her family at this difficult time. 

Looking Towards 50

Next year will be the 50th year since we graduated from high school.  As one classmate quipped, "My math must be wrong.  At most, it's only been 30 years since we graduated."  Plans, though, are underway to have our big reunion next August 1-4, 2019, here in Brookings, which is not the Brookings it was in 1969.. 

 

We want as many as possible to attend, so we are trying to contact everyone who graduated with us. Paula (Hoffman) Platz has a facebook page for this reunion.  If you are familiar with facebook, you will probably have little trouble finding information for the Brookings, South Dakota class of 1969 upcoming 50th high school reunion. 

 

 

 

We have lost at least 18 members of our class.  We have seemingly lost contact with a few others.  These include Dan Holm, Bob Lee, Patsy McKeown, Eugene Mueller, Wayne Nelson, Donna Rieck, Joanne Sauer, and Jackie Walsh.  We could use your help in locating these classmates. 

 

We have sent out an email to all of those for whom we have email addresses with the above  invitation.  Additionally, we have sent out a list of lodging establishments and a class list of last known contact information.  There are undoubtedly some errors on our class list, as people have retired and moved.  Again, if you  can be of assistance in correcting any information on our class list, it would be greatly appreciated by the committee. 

 

Our last gathering a few years ago was well-received, but we think we can make this "Golden One" even better.  We are hoping that everyone can pitch in and do a little bit to help this milestone.  Thanks in advance. 

Two Months Worth

Oftentimes during the spring of the year, it is almost impossible for me to post anything.  Now that those days have passed, it is time to spread some news that may have gone unnoticed.

In April, we had some nasty weather.  There were a couple of big snowstorms in the middle of the month.  The middle of April is also the time when the South Dakota rock and Roll Music Association inducts bands into their hall of fame.  However, one of the storms occurred during that time, likely hurting attendance.  One of the bands inducted was formed by some BHS students in the wonderful year of 1969.  That band is "Cocoon."  A link to their biography is(http://www.southdakotarockandrollmusicassociation.com/inductee?id=240#Cocoon). 

Last summer, Cocoon played at the Summer Arts Festival.  They drew a really nice crowd, with many of their classmates in attendance.  Eric Adams proved to be about as nimble as Mick Jagger.  He seemed quite agile for someone in his 60's.  He commented that he hoped the band would be inducted into the hall of fame in the coming year, as he and the others were getting too old to wait another year.  His and the band's dream came true.  Below is the article as it appeared in the Register of April, 28, 2018.

 

 

Perhaps some of those band members received their start under the tutelage of Mr. Erling Engstrom.  Mr. Engstrom was the instrumental music teacher when we were in grade school and junior high, and remained there when the new high school was built.  He comes to the public library just about every day, often arriving early and taking a walk around the block before the facility opens.  He recently had his 90th birthday on June 1.  If anyone cares to send him a card, his address is 2042 Arbor Ridge, Brookings, SD  57006. 

 

Does anyone recall the Jr. Hi pep band under Mr. Engstrom's direction?  They would set up on the stage of the Central gym, playing the school song to the tune of the "Minnesota Rouser", the pep song for the University of Minnesota. The pep band was discontinued in the mid-70's when girls' athletic programs became a regular part of the extra-curricular schedule..  Since most of the band members were also involved in an athletic activity,  only a few were left to play in the pep band. Thus, the discontinuance of pep band at the middle school level.   At our last reunion, the question was asked if anyone remembered the words to the school song from our high school days.  Can anyone recall the words to the Jr. Hi pep song? 

 

When we were in the 5th grade, a new student by the name of Jeff Jager moved into town.  He lived on the corner of 2nd Street and 8th Avenue, two blocks east of me, and just across the street from Jim Egeberg.  He only went to school here that one year (or part of the year).  About 20 years ago, there was an article in the Register concerning the new owner of the grocery store in Volga.  His name was Jeff Jager.  Curiosity got the better of me, so I finally went over there a couple of months ago to ask if he had ever gone to school in Brookings.  He said he had, but he remembered very few of the students in his class.  About the only he remembered was Jim Egeberg, likely because they lived so close to one another.  We had a nice little visit, and he indicated that he was ready to retire from the grocery business, so he was looking for someone to buy him out.  It doesn't appear as if anyone has offered to take it over, so the store closed about six weeks ago (May 25).  The Register of May 23 had a nice article about Jeff and his career.  His retirement plans include working on old cars, so he would fit right in with those numerous classic car lovers in our class.   

 

While scanning the minutes of the school board meeting in the May 31 Register, it jumped out at me that two of our classmates made a donation the school's NFL fund.  NFL is not a reference to professional football.  Rather, NFL is the National Forensic League, an organization working to improve debating and speaking skills , such as declam and oratory, for high school students.  According their website (http://www.forensicscommunity.com/index.php?q=league/national-forensic-league), "The National Forensics League is a nationwide organization that gives high school students the opportunity to polish their speaking/acting skills, compete in regulated National tournaments, and be a part of a lifelong organization that promotes solid speaking skills and intelligence."   Their efforts are often unrecognized by many students and community folks.  How many of us realize that in our senior year, the debaters were State "A" champions?   Of those eleven debaters, all but three were from the class of 1969.   Those classmates who participated in the state declam contest also experienced much success.  The skills that they learned toiling those long hours have remained with them to this day. 

 

Sixty years ago, this First Communion picture below appeared in the July 16, 1958 edition of the Register.  While this picture has appeared on this blog before, not all of the students were identifiable.  The Register listed their names, but did not identify them individually.  Can you match these names with the individuals?  The girls are:   Cherylin Ahern, Patricia Bates, Robyn Connelly, Kelly Dolen (sic), Patricia Erger, Catherine Funk, Delores and Mary Heeren, Sarah Hoy, Judy and Robyn Howell, Cecilia and Margaret Mary Kellogg, Theresa Meierbachtel, Mary Pearson, Debra Shirley and Catherine Wilber.  The boys are:  James Antonides, Douglas Biggar, Steve Braley, M. Coughlan (sic), Pat Durland, Gregg Graff, James Herrig, Dan Holm, John Iverson, Joseph Jensen, alan Leibel, Ronald and Thomas McTague, Mike McClemans, John (sic) and Jerry Martinson, Rickie Thompson, Rolland Vostad, James Wakeman, rock (sic) Watson, and Tim Serlet.  The priests are Fr. F. X.  Dooley and Fr. John Garvey.  Jeannette Abby, who took many of our senior pictures, also took this photo.