This coming weekend will see Pioneer Park teeming with people as the town is host to the annual Summer Arts Festival. A few classes generally have a reunion, which seems rather appropriate. We have had a few during this time, also. One never knows who may be walking around the park during the festival. We here in town are often surprised by those who are in attendance.
This weekend also marks the 90th birthday of Erling Engstrom, the band instructor for many years at the Jr. Hi./Middle School. An Open House is scheduled for him on Saturday, July 14 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at Meadow Green Clubhouse. Meadow Green is located on 22nd Avenue near Edgebrook Golf Course. Both the Register and Argus-Leader noted this occasion, and indicated that "Former students, student teachers, colleagues and friends are invited to bring your instruments and a music stand. Music will be provided." If you happen to be in town this weekend, and you were influenced by Mr. Engstrom's expertise, it may well be worth the time to stop by and express your appreciation to him for his efforts.
Monday, July 9, 2018
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Is that The Way It Was?
Last Saturday, a few of the members of the 1968 Bobcat basketball team convened at Nick's to recall, among other episodes of our lives, that glorious year of our championship. Steve Hayes, Bob Ishmael, Bob Adams, Bob Jostad, Skip Webster, and John Iverson had slightly different versions of life some 50 years ago. Stew Linn, however, straightened us out about some facts that were in dispute. Stew's mother compiled a diary of sorts with a magnificent scrapbook of those initial two years of basketball in the then new high school.
We knew, for example, that Lee Colburn had set the single game scoring for the Bobcats with an effort of 38 against Pierre our senior year. But Stew also showed us three other games in which Lee scored at least 30 points. Two of those games were against Huron during the regular season, while the third game was against Belle Fourche in the state tournament.
Our research has shown that Lee likely has four of the top twelve scoring efforts in BHS basketball history. I believe the school record is 40, set by Konnor Beste in the state tournament about five years ago. http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2013/03/flashbacks.html#comment-form. That performance broke Lee's record of 38. The previous high had been set in 1954 by Roger Nelson, who, in 1958, was a member of the national small college championship team at the University of South Dakota. Roger was in attendance at that game, as he was living in Onida then, and had refereed the "B" Pierre game. Stew mentioned that Roger came in the dressing room after the game and congratulated Lee for his fine effort, adding that he had always wanted to witness personally the breaking of his record. His wish had come true.
Roger's record was first threatened in 1957, when Bob Shelden scored 36 against Watertown. Incidentally, the Watertown coach at that time was Jim Marking, who later became the head coach at SDSU in 1965. Lee's effort of 34 Against Huron just before Christmas in 1968 places him number five on the list. The 37 that Nelson scored against Mitchell in 1954 broke the previous record of 31 by Arnold Ginn vs. Huron in 1950 (Just after Christmas in 1955, George Iverson also scored 31 against Rapid City Central.). Ginn was on a hot streak, as his 31 broke his previous record of 30 set just the week before against Webster. His father was Ralph Ginn, the football coach at the college. Ralph actually coached at BHS before accepting the State job, and coached the basketball team to the 1946 State "A" title.
Four other 30 point efforts have also been found. Nelson scored 30 against Yankton in December of 1953, just a couple of months before his monstrous effort of 37. The game was somewhat of a blow-out, so Roger sat out much of the last quarter. In the Register, coach Harold White of the Bobcats said if he had let him play a few more minutes, he may have scored more than Ginn's 31. Breaking the scoring record, however, was not a priority in Coach White's mind at the time.
Lee had two 30 point games. As indicated above, they came against Huron (again) a week before Valentine's Day of 1969, and against Belle Fourche in the second game of the state tournament, three days before St. Patrick's day of 1969.
The final 30 point effort that our research has found was from Bob Shelden vs. Huron just a few weeks after his 36 point outburst vs. Watertown.
By our count, then, there have been 12 individual efforts of 30 or more points scored by an individual Bobcat basketball player in the history of BHS. More may be discovered as we continue to dive into the archives of the Brookings Register.
We also recalled those 100 and 105 points games against Pipestone. While we thought those would be the most points ever scored by a Bobcat basketball team, we were mistaken. While searching the papers from the mid-60's to find out if Eric Bundgaard , an all-state performer his freshman and sophomore years before moving to Northfield, Minnesota, had ever scored more than 30 (his best efforts appear to be 28), we discovered that in 1965, in a game played at the Central gymnasium, the Bobcats scored 116 against the Flandreau Indians. The smaller court at Central may have facilitated the ease of scoring in that game. coincidentally, four of those players had brothers in our class: Bozied, Kallemeyn, O'Connelll, and Iverson.
One of the players for Flandreau was a freshman by the name of Victor Herford (the paper had it "Hereford"). At Nick's, we all remembered him, because he was what we called a ball hog. He did not to think about passing to his teammates. He threw up some really long shots when he played. If there had been a 3-point shot in his era, he likely would have scored 10 more points per game.
The question that we had was if Victor played against us when we played the Flandreau Indians in the district tournament in 1968. If he was a freshman in 65, he would have been a senior in 1968. We did recall playing against him in the 1967 districts. However, he did not play against us in 1968. Stew's scrapbook proved that he was no longer playing, as his name was not listed in the box score. Was he ineligible because he was too old? High school athletes lose their eligibility when they turn 20 years old. According to some, it was not uncommon for situations such as this to arise at some schools.
We sat around Nick's for perhaps four hours and reminisced not only about those days, but also about some of the adventures we have experienced since high school. Bob Ishmael, especially, had some interesting encounters in his law-enforcement career. We hope we can continue these meetings on an irregular basis.
There were even some connections to our class. David Evenson, a member of the class of '78, told me he lives in Marshall, Minnesota. When I mentioned that Gary Vincent also lives there, David said that he knew Gary very well, that they used to work in the same place, and that he still sees Gary about once a month. David indicated that he would mention our visit to Gary the next time they see each other.
Sadly, it seems that the grim reaper is making his appearance more frequently than we would like. Our condolences go out to Marilyn (Allison) Gisi on the passing of her brother Duane http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=84394233_DAllison. He was a couple of years ahead of us in school, and was in the last class to graduate from the "old" high school, now known as the 1921 Building (the date of its construction). It was heartwarming, at the visitation, to see a number of our classmates express their sorrow to Marilyn at the loss of her brother. Our thoughts and prayers are with her during this difficult time.
Did you take the time to read The Fork in the Casket? If not, please do; much food for thought in that little gem.
The Register of Friday, July 6, 2018, had a front-page article relating to the Bibby-Kallemeyn dairy that was so well-known when we were in school. The Brookings County Museum in Volga has "(a) new display of old milk bottles and other paraphernalia related to the history of dairying and creameries in South Dakota." Featured in the article are comments by Monte Harming, husband of Marsha Hokanson of our class (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341775). Monte was a popular and well-known deliveryman for B/K Dairy for about 20 years.
If anyone is in the area this summer, it may be fun and enjoyable to make a little day trip to Volga to visit this display. The Museum is open 1-4 from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
We knew, for example, that Lee Colburn had set the single game scoring for the Bobcats with an effort of 38 against Pierre our senior year. But Stew also showed us three other games in which Lee scored at least 30 points. Two of those games were against Huron during the regular season, while the third game was against Belle Fourche in the state tournament.
Our research has shown that Lee likely has four of the top twelve scoring efforts in BHS basketball history. I believe the school record is 40, set by Konnor Beste in the state tournament about five years ago. http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2013/03/flashbacks.html#comment-form. That performance broke Lee's record of 38. The previous high had been set in 1954 by Roger Nelson, who, in 1958, was a member of the national small college championship team at the University of South Dakota. Roger was in attendance at that game, as he was living in Onida then, and had refereed the "B" Pierre game. Stew mentioned that Roger came in the dressing room after the game and congratulated Lee for his fine effort, adding that he had always wanted to witness personally the breaking of his record. His wish had come true.
Roger's record was first threatened in 1957, when Bob Shelden scored 36 against Watertown. Incidentally, the Watertown coach at that time was Jim Marking, who later became the head coach at SDSU in 1965. Lee's effort of 34 Against Huron just before Christmas in 1968 places him number five on the list. The 37 that Nelson scored against Mitchell in 1954 broke the previous record of 31 by Arnold Ginn vs. Huron in 1950 (Just after Christmas in 1955, George Iverson also scored 31 against Rapid City Central.). Ginn was on a hot streak, as his 31 broke his previous record of 30 set just the week before against Webster. His father was Ralph Ginn, the football coach at the college. Ralph actually coached at BHS before accepting the State job, and coached the basketball team to the 1946 State "A" title.
Four other 30 point efforts have also been found. Nelson scored 30 against Yankton in December of 1953, just a couple of months before his monstrous effort of 37. The game was somewhat of a blow-out, so Roger sat out much of the last quarter. In the Register, coach Harold White of the Bobcats said if he had let him play a few more minutes, he may have scored more than Ginn's 31. Breaking the scoring record, however, was not a priority in Coach White's mind at the time.
Lee had two 30 point games. As indicated above, they came against Huron (again) a week before Valentine's Day of 1969, and against Belle Fourche in the second game of the state tournament, three days before St. Patrick's day of 1969.
The final 30 point effort that our research has found was from Bob Shelden vs. Huron just a few weeks after his 36 point outburst vs. Watertown.
By our count, then, there have been 12 individual efforts of 30 or more points scored by an individual Bobcat basketball player in the history of BHS. More may be discovered as we continue to dive into the archives of the Brookings Register.
We also recalled those 100 and 105 points games against Pipestone. While we thought those would be the most points ever scored by a Bobcat basketball team, we were mistaken. While searching the papers from the mid-60's to find out if Eric Bundgaard , an all-state performer his freshman and sophomore years before moving to Northfield, Minnesota, had ever scored more than 30 (his best efforts appear to be 28), we discovered that in 1965, in a game played at the Central gymnasium, the Bobcats scored 116 against the Flandreau Indians. The smaller court at Central may have facilitated the ease of scoring in that game. coincidentally, four of those players had brothers in our class: Bozied, Kallemeyn, O'Connelll, and Iverson.
One of the players for Flandreau was a freshman by the name of Victor Herford (the paper had it "Hereford"). At Nick's, we all remembered him, because he was what we called a ball hog. He did not to think about passing to his teammates. He threw up some really long shots when he played. If there had been a 3-point shot in his era, he likely would have scored 10 more points per game.
The question that we had was if Victor played against us when we played the Flandreau Indians in the district tournament in 1968. If he was a freshman in 65, he would have been a senior in 1968. We did recall playing against him in the 1967 districts. However, he did not play against us in 1968. Stew's scrapbook proved that he was no longer playing, as his name was not listed in the box score. Was he ineligible because he was too old? High school athletes lose their eligibility when they turn 20 years old. According to some, it was not uncommon for situations such as this to arise at some schools.
We sat around Nick's for perhaps four hours and reminisced not only about those days, but also about some of the adventures we have experienced since high school. Bob Ishmael, especially, had some interesting encounters in his law-enforcement career. We hope we can continue these meetings on an irregular basis.
ANOTHER SORT OF REUNION
Last night, the class of 1978 had the first night of their reunion weekend. This class was in the 8th-grade when I first started teaching. Perhaps one-third of them were students of mine. Seeing some of them for the first time since they graduated was truly enjoyable. It gave me a sense of what we have to look forward to next year. So many of them commented how great it was to see old classmates (and one really old teacher), and they were looking forward to tomorrow, when even more of their classmates were planning to show up. For all of those in the BHS class of 1969 (or anyone else that has ties to our class) who are reading this, please try to make every effort to come to our class reunion next Aug. 1-4, 2019, to recall that half-century since our graduatuon. The entire event promises to be a wonderful, enlightening, and enjoyable time.There were even some connections to our class. David Evenson, a member of the class of '78, told me he lives in Marshall, Minnesota. When I mentioned that Gary Vincent also lives there, David said that he knew Gary very well, that they used to work in the same place, and that he still sees Gary about once a month. David indicated that he would mention our visit to Gary the next time they see each other.
WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK, KEEP IT!
Sadly, it seems that the grim reaper is making his appearance more frequently than we would like. Our condolences go out to Marilyn (Allison) Gisi on the passing of her brother Duane http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=84394233_DAllison. He was a couple of years ahead of us in school, and was in the last class to graduate from the "old" high school, now known as the 1921 Building (the date of its construction). It was heartwarming, at the visitation, to see a number of our classmates express their sorrow to Marilyn at the loss of her brother. Our thoughts and prayers are with her during this difficult time.
GOT MILK?
The Register of Friday, July 6, 2018, had a front-page article relating to the Bibby-Kallemeyn dairy that was so well-known when we were in school. The Brookings County Museum in Volga has "(a) new display of old milk bottles and other paraphernalia related to the history of dairying and creameries in South Dakota." Featured in the article are comments by Monte Harming, husband of Marsha Hokanson of our class (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=341775). Monte was a popular and well-known deliveryman for B/K Dairy for about 20 years.
If anyone is in the area this summer, it may be fun and enjoyable to make a little day trip to Volga to visit this display. The Museum is open 1-4 from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Confirmation
One of the highlights of our Sunday School/catechism/religious education was our confirmation date. In days past, these events were even pictured in the Brookings Register. Pictured below is the confirmation class of our classmates who attended the Methodist Church. Can you identify them?
While many of them are readily identifiable, a few of them may be puzzling. some thoughts (after consulting the 1965 and 1966 yearbooks) are:
Row 1 appears to be (from left to right) Patty Mehegan, Bob Pape, Brad Rufer, Mary Moulton, Jill Wheelborg (Weelborg? There were different spellings in the annuals), Barb Hauff, Connie Lee, Jim Kohler, Dan Liebing, David Hajek, and Dennis Audus
Row 2: Donna Sloat, Pam Johnston, Diane Baird (?), Peggy Christie (?), Kayla Baker, Nancy Westbrook, Carol Schulz (?), Cheryl Clarin (?), Margaret Smith, Janice Briggs, Peggy Bush, Stew Linn, Phil Peterson, and Lee Colburn
Row 3: Nancy Hendricks (?), Mary McMillan, Diane Buller, David Buller, Patty Hauschild, Janette Perso, Rev. Pittenger, Donna Rieck, Kris Lyons, Sharon Darnall, Steve Wobbema, Jim Kortan, and Bernie Hendricks
The individual who lent me this picture also knew most of these students, but was somewhat unclear, as I was, about the identity of a few of the girls. Anyone out there who can clear up the fog in our minds is to be commended. Will this picture be a topic of discussion a year from now at our 50th class reunion?
Shortly after posting the above, a couple of papers fell out of the frame of the above picture. One item that fell out was the picture as it appeared in the Register. Since the Confirmation service took place on April 11, 1965 (Palm Sunday), the picture may have appeared in the April 14th edition. In any case, here is the picture as it was shown in the Register:
The program for the Confirmation Liturgy is printed below.
The only misidentified student was Cheryl Crase. 36 out of 37 (37 out of 38 if the pastor is included) does not seem to be too bad, especially for someone who was not even a Methodist. The only misidentified individual was Cheryl Crase, who was identified as Diane Baird.
While many of them are readily identifiable, a few of them may be puzzling. some thoughts (after consulting the 1965 and 1966 yearbooks) are:
Row 1 appears to be (from left to right) Patty Mehegan, Bob Pape, Brad Rufer, Mary Moulton, Jill Wheelborg (Weelborg? There were different spellings in the annuals), Barb Hauff, Connie Lee, Jim Kohler, Dan Liebing, David Hajek, and Dennis Audus
Row 2: Donna Sloat, Pam Johnston, Diane Baird (?), Peggy Christie (?), Kayla Baker, Nancy Westbrook, Carol Schulz (?), Cheryl Clarin (?), Margaret Smith, Janice Briggs, Peggy Bush, Stew Linn, Phil Peterson, and Lee Colburn
Row 3: Nancy Hendricks (?), Mary McMillan, Diane Buller, David Buller, Patty Hauschild, Janette Perso, Rev. Pittenger, Donna Rieck, Kris Lyons, Sharon Darnall, Steve Wobbema, Jim Kortan, and Bernie Hendricks
The individual who lent me this picture also knew most of these students, but was somewhat unclear, as I was, about the identity of a few of the girls. Anyone out there who can clear up the fog in our minds is to be commended. Will this picture be a topic of discussion a year from now at our 50th class reunion?
SERENDIPITOUS ADDENDUM:
Shortly after posting the above, a couple of papers fell out of the frame of the above picture. One item that fell out was the picture as it appeared in the Register. Since the Confirmation service took place on April 11, 1965 (Palm Sunday), the picture may have appeared in the April 14th edition. In any case, here is the picture as it was shown in the Register:
The program for the Confirmation Liturgy is printed below.
The only misidentified student was Cheryl Crase. 36 out of 37 (37 out of 38 if the pastor is included) does not seem to be too bad, especially for someone who was not even a Methodist. The only misidentified individual was Cheryl Crase, who was identified as Diane Baird.
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