The Greatest Generation

While this year has been memorable for a number of reasons, the passing of a number of dear and beloved people has reminded us that those individuals were part of what Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation.  Mr. Brokaw, perhaps best known for his role as an anchor on the evening news, was born in Webster, South Dakota, and graduated from Yankton High School and the University of South Dakota.  Our parents were members of that generation, a generation that experienced a great depression, a dust bowl, and many other trials that seem extremely difficult and practically insurmountable if viewed by today's standards (would they have "demonstrated peacefully" as so many young people did this past summer in numerous cities throughout the country?).  If we have listened to or read their stories, as so many of us have, we have marveled at how they survived those horrific times.  Survive they did, and that made them stronger in their faith, valor, fidelity, discipline, dedication, and morals.  Their struggles allowed them to become "...united, not only by a common prupose, but also by common values--duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family and country, and, above all, responsibility for oneself.  In this book (The Greatest Generation), you will meet people whose everyday lives reveal how a generation persevered through war, and were trained by it, and then went on to create interesting and useful lives and the America we have today."  Many of our fathers (and perhaps mothers) served honorably in World War II.  Some have even been mentioned on this blog previously.  This summer Brookings lost a few more individuals from the greatest generation.  Some of these wonderful people were our parents or teachers, while others were good friends and employers.  

This list includes Mavis Neuberger and Harold Neuberger; Ruth Lee (mother of Bob Lee of our class);  Dorothy Kratochvil; Harvey and Midge Mills.  Also passing away this summer was long-time teacher and coach Jerry Kluess.  As is so often the case (e.g.- Harvey and Midge Mills), one spouse passed away shortly after the other spouse had died. Jerry's wife passed away one month before he did Closer to home, Lynda Bailey from the BHS class of 1968 passed away. My connections with her during our school days were virtually non-existent, but many of you likely had close contact with her in your fine arts activities, in which she exhibited great talent, notably that of Laurey in the first BHS all-school production of  the musical "Oklahoma."   Her father was a prominent figure at SDSC/SDSU, first in the pharmacy department, and later as Dean of Academic Affairs, Dean of the Graduate School, and Vice-President. He wrote a book about his years of service at "State," which I browse through when I visit the barber. Very enlightening is this work, and it brings back fond memories of "the good old days."

Closer to home, we lost another classmate when Janette (Perso) Quail passed away on November 29, 2020.  My associations with Janette were minimal during our Brookings school years.  During college, however, they became more pronounced.  Janette majored in medical technology in college, which required her to take a couple of chemistry and physics classes.  Those disciplines can be difficult for many people, so she asked me to give her a little extra help.  We would meet regularly in the old union and go over the areas that needed refreshing.  It really benefited me, as I was planning to become a science teacher.  I could try out some different strategies to see if they were useful.  As her obituary states, she was a medical technologist at the VA hospital in Sioux Falls for over 20 years. 

Thanks to Robyn for encouraging us to send birthday wishes to Janette this past summer.  At the visitation, her husband Don told me that receiving so many cards brought a big smile to her face.  

 

The day before Christmas, one of our Jr. Hi teachers and coaches, Paul Johnson, passed away.  For many of us, he was our 8th grade math teacher as well as our 8th grade basketball coach.  He also coached Jr. Hi track and field, so he may have coached some of us for three years.  Before he became the Jr. Hi "B" team basketball coach, he supervised the intramural basketball program for 5th and 6th grades.  The teams were members of the individual classrooms.  There seemed to be a competition between Hillcrest and Central as to which school had the better teams.  We played the games in the lunchroom, which had a small court marked on it.  The "locker room" was in the basement below the 8th grade history room (Mrs. Etta Olson's room), the 7th grade English room, and Mr. Kabrud's room.  Do you remember having to go up a short flight of stairs to get to those rooms?  The stairway going down between the history and English rooms went to that "locker room."  That was also the dressing room for our 8th grade football year.  

One incident remains vivid during those elementary years.  Since Mr. Johnson was usually in the lunchroom supervising the games, the locker room was generally unsupervised.  Since the floor was slippery from the showers, a few brave souls, promptly after exiting the shower, would try to perfect their baseball sliding skills on the nearly frictionless floor.  It seems that Mr. Johnson caught a few of them, and they had to sit out the next game.  

In Mr. Johnson's homeroom, a couple of events were memorable.  We started 8th grade in 1964, which was an election year.  He allowed his homeroom students to debate the merits of the presidential candidates, Lyndon Johnson or Barry Goldwater.  Can't recall which students actually participated, but Kenny Beckman seems to stand out.  The other noteworthy occasion occurred during the winter, perhaps February.  In class one morning, he wrote "Tami" and "John" on the board.  (Tami George and John Iverson were in the same class).  It seems that everyone looked around and  thought "OK, what did those two do wrong?"  After pausing a few moments, he wrote "son" on the end of "John."  His wife, perhaps the night before,  had just given birth to a daughter named Tami.  By the time she was in the 8th grade, she had become a fine basketball player on a team that I was fortunate to coach.  She was also a skilled gymnast, and used those skills once during a basketball game.  There was some commotion during a game, and instead of falling down, Tami did a cartwheel.  A number of years later, we saw a similar incident at a track meet.  A girl was running the 300 intermediate hurdles and hit the second hurdle.  Instead of putting her arms in front of her to break her fall and sprawling all over the track, she did a somersault and acted as if nothing had happened.  Even though she obviously slowed down somewhat, she was talented enough to win the race rather handily.  Tami's son was later a student-athlete during his middle and high school years in Brookings, and presently is the 9th grade boys basketball coach.   

In later years (perhaps 1979-1995?), Mr. Johnson was the assistant girls varsity basketball coach. In the mid-1980's, the BHS girls basketball was nationally ranked, reaching as high as number three in the USA Today poll.  Their head coach, Jim Holwerda, was named national girls high school coach of the year in 1986. From the Brookings schools website:  Coach Jim Holwerda became athletics director at BHS in 1973 and served for 19 years. He was a graduate of Kansas State University – playing tennis and basketball – including three Big 8 basketball titles and a #1 ranking in 1958. Holwerda came to Brookings from Yankton College where he was AD and basketball coach. With the start of girls’ sports, Holwerda assumed a leadership role; starting the first girls’ conference and introducing the small ball that was eventually adopted by the NFHS. Jim also resumed coaching basketball, leading the girls to three ESD Championships, a 49-game win streak and State Titles in 1984 and 1985. Holwerda’s 1985 team was ranked #3 in the USA and selected as the SD Girls Team of the Year and he was honored as National Coach of the Year. Holwerda also guided the Bobcat girls to State Tennis Championships in 1990 and 1991. While this release says "1985", girls basketball was played in the fall at that time.  This honor, then, was awarded in the spring of 1986 after all states had concluded their season.

On a positive note, the BHS football lost only one game all season.  Unfortunately, that loss occurred in the championship game for the 11AA title.  Second place is not too shabby.  The team had a great year,  and surpassed all expectations, as they had a new head coach and many new assistants.  Congratulations on a wonderful year.  

As we await a new year, let us hope and pray that it, too, will be memorable, but for the right reasons.   

 On a good note, the BHS football team is undefeated thus far. The last game of the regular season is against Yankton on Oct. 22. Most of their wins have been rather convincing, but last week's victory against Pierre was a tight game, as the Bobcats made some big plays to eke out a 21-14 win. They play at Spearfish tonight. While Spearfish is struggling, we hope the trip will not impair the Cats' performance.

 

Remembering Another Wonderful Mother

 Now that some difficulties have been ironed out, it seems appropriate to memorialize another outstanding mother of one of our classmates.  That remarkable matron is Leona Steen, (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/leona-steen),  and mother of Teresa. The expressions of sympathy expressed by Teresa's classmates verify Leona's outstanding qualities, and reflect on her life better than anything  that I could write.  Our condolences and prayers go out to Teresa and her family at this difficult time.

This Is Only A Test

 Recently, our home computer, on which most of these posts are written, died.  It was using an older version of Windows, and was no longer supported by Microsoft.  This post is being typed on a small, hand-held Lenovo tablet.  This device is rather slow and awkward to use for this purpose.  Until changes are made, this may be the last post in a long while. 

 One positive item, though, is that the Brookings Register had a nice article about Margaret Denton, Mark's mother, who is 94 and has been a member of a privileged women's organization for some 75 years, which is half of the lifetime of that organization's existence.  The name of the organization escapes me at the moment, but if one goes to the Register's website fairly soon, one can read the article before it is taken down. Don't know how to post a link to the story on this device, but will try various strategies to remedy the situation.  Any advice or suggestions would be most appreciated. https://brookingsregister.com/article/75-years-of-service 

After trial and error, success may have been achieved.  The above is the link to the Register tribute to Mrs. Denton.  Congratulations to a wonderful mother.

Mr. Gibbons: Teacher, Coach ... and more

 

We BHS students of the 1960s note with sadness the passing of Mr. Gibbons, teacher and coach and innovator who dedicated so many years of his life to our quality education in the Brookings school system.  There is no better summary of a Life Well Lived than his obituary. Here is a link: https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/harry-gibbons?fh_id=16086 .  May we all live a life filled with even a fraction of his contributions to our society!

Under the category of "innovator," back in 2014 I wrote an entry in this blog that recalled just how innovative Mr. Gibbons could be on a football field when the situation demanded creativity.  Did you know, for example, that he performed improv theater while on the sidelines?  True story! Read on...

In the waning seconds of a hard-fought 1966 Watertown football game (their homecoming!), we Bobcats were leading 7-6, which turned out to be  the final score...but just barely.

Watertown was driving, 4th down on the Brookings 20-yard line. They called a timeout with about a minute to go.  If they could get a first down, they could sustain the drive.  In those days, only ONE player per team could come to the sideline and talk to the coach during a timeout.  More than one would be an unsportsmanlike penalty, and such a penalty against the Bobcats would give Watertown a first down on the 10-yard line.  Sure enough, right on cue, TWO of our defensive players headed for Mr. Gibbons for instructions.  Yes, TWO ... as in one too many.  Mr. Gibbons saw the problem and started waving and yelling for one to go back to the huddle.  Both guys kept a-comin'.   An official was nearby, hand on flag, ready to toss.

Mr. Gibbons the Innovator came up with a plan.  He randomly grabbed some startled player from the bench, shoved him onto the field of play, and told him to go join the huddle.  When the other two players got to the sideline, Mr. Gibbons grabbed one of them and wordlessly tossed his surprised butt onto the bench.  Mr. Gibbons was  --see, Mr. Official, see?--  making a SUBSTITUTION during that timeout. Honest, Mr. Official, honest!

Mr. Gibbons then calmly went back to that second guy who had come to the sideline, chatting with him for the rest of the timeout.  The official either bought the substitution subterfuge,  or just plain enjoyed the comedy routine.  He took his hand off the flag and walked away.  Close call, no penalty, we stopped the drive, and won the game, in large part due to Mr. Gibbons' improv-theater skills. 

Do you suppose there is an acting-class credit somewhere on Mr. Gibbons' college transcripts?  If so, it paid off that night in Watertown.

We are thankful to have known him, and will miss him.

After A Long Absence

The format for this blog has been changed, and I am unable to type a post out so it is easily readable. It seems that this post will be one long paragraph with no line breaks. Very frustrating, but will play around and see if I can make it more user-friendly. (Did find a way to separate paragraphs. It appears, though, that the links to the articles need to be copied and pasted to direct you to the article ).  With the help of a much smarter teammate, it appears that links have been fixed.   

It's been a while since there has been a post here. Could it be due to a certain virus that is causing havoc worldwide? In any case, there have been some items of concern that may be of interest to us.

July, 20, 1969, was an historic and some might say "looney" day. That was the day that man first landed on the moon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11). July 20, 2020 was also a memorable day (not because of the three 20's) here. A number of BHS grads from the class of 1969 were able to "loosen the bonds of self-quarantine" so to speak and gather at Hillcrest Park for a few hours of socializing. Those locals in attendance included Anne (Aanderud) Luthy, Peggy Bush, Emmett Earley, Paula Hoffman, Jim Kohler, Mark Kratochvil, Vern Olson,Darlene (Sanders) Kuechenmeister, Nanette Schroeder, and Patty Vick. A couple of surprise members were Tom Salonen, who left the beautiful shores of Lake Poinsett to meet with us and the surprise guest named at the end of this paragraph, while Roch Watson tooled up the interstate from his Flandreau abode. Most surprisingly, though, was the classmate who traveled some 1,500 miles to grace us with his presence. David Helfinstine had made arrangements to spend a week or so with Tom at Lake Poinsett, and was thus able to join us for a most enjoyable time. Plans are in the works to have another such gathering in the near future.

In March, just about everything shut down. Classes at the schools went on-line, and all extra-curricular activities were eventually cancelled. Many of the local businesses were forced to close temporarily, some of which never reopened. It was eerily quiet around town for many weeks.

After much discussion during city council meetings, some activities have been taking place this summer. Baseball for all ages started in early June, and concluded by the middle of August. One of the activities that was not opened up this summer was swimming. No one was able to enjoy the water slides, the diving boards, and the open water at the Hillcrest pool this summer. Hence, many portable pools were seen in backyards around town.

Lastly, on a sad note, some noteworthy people have passed away. Among them are Laurie Ness, Harold Neuberger, Molu Zarpeleh, Midge (Mary Lou) Mills, Kristi (Voss) Houtman, Ron Thompson, Les Tuma, Betty McAdaragh, Roger Julian, Tom Davis, Clayton Sloat, John Miller Dwayne Kruse, Bernie Stewart, Dolores Ostroot, and Claudia Dinkel.

Laurie Ness (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/laurie-ann-ness) was an 8th grader in my homeroom my first year (1973-4) of teaching at Brookings Middle School. At that time in the middle school, homerooms consisted of roughly equal numbers of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It did make scheduling for conferences somewhat easier, as siblings were in the same homeroom.

Harold Neuberger (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/harold-neuberger) was a long-time highway patrolman stationed in Brookings. His son Jeff was a year ahead of us, and was a student trainer for many of the athletic teams. His son Cliff was a few years behind us, and was a fine hurdler for the track and field team. After retiring from the patrol, Harold was a substitute teacher, and filled in for me on a number of occasions.

Molu Zarpeleh (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/molu-zarpeleh) was a young boy who, on July 3rd, tragically drowned in a pond near his residence by the Boys and Girls Club.  My niece works at First Lutheran Church in the education department, and knew Molu quite well. The whole community, not only at First Lutheran, but also in Brookings, grieved his passing.

Midge (Mary Lou) Mills (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/mary-lou-midge-mills) was the wife of Harvey Mills. In the late 1940’s, Harvey started building houses. He eventually constructed many of the houses in the Hillcrest area. Was it then referred to as “East Acres?” In the 1960’s, he began developing what is now known as “Indian Hills.” In grade school, Bill Sherman lived in one of the few houses in that area. It seems that there were two other homes out there, including that of Scott Julian’s family. Those corn-fields have now been replaced by numerous dwellings, including some monstrous houses. In the 1970’s, we had a small group of men that met just about every morning to get in a run of about seven miles. On Sundays, work schedules (or lack of) permitted a few more to join us. Sometimes we had as many as 20 there. Depending on the time of the year, our runs would be 10 to 20 miles. Harvey was a Sunday regular. Although he was about 25 years older than I, we were about the same caliber. We ran a couple of marathons together back then. My youth allowed me to best him by a minute or two. I had always thought that if I continued to run regularly, I could maintain those performances when I reached Harvey’s age. How wrong I was. My times at age 50 could not even come close to what Harvey ran. I am still in awe of what he accomplished those many years ago. When his marathon days were over, Harvey turned to biking, and had great success at the national level.

Kristi (Voss) Houtman (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/kristi-houtman) was born just a few days after we graduated from BHS. She was a niece of Doug Voss of our class, and was a student of ours in the early 1980’s. She was real sweetheart then, and remained so for the rest of her life.

Ron Thompson (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/ronald-thompson) was a couple of years older than we were. Was he a cousin of Rick Thompson of our class? Some of our older siblings may have been in Ron’s class. My recollection of him is that he was quite a baseball pitcher. We were able to reminiscence a few years ago at a funeral for one of his cousins.

Les Tuma (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/leslie-tuma) may be familiar to many of us as his years SDSU coincided with our years there. He was an outstanding fullback on the football team, and was inducted into the SDSU Athletics Hall of Fame last November 9, 2019, just four days after his 67th birthday. Two of his teammates that were present recalled some college moments for me. One of those players was Randy Roth. We were in the same first-aid class, and often practiced techniques on each other. We were about the same height, but he was much more massive than I. His arms and legs were twice as big as mine. In the fall of 1972, I was student teaching for a man named Terry Schwenk. On weekends, he and his band played at local venues and also for weddings. One member of the band was this same Randy Roth. Evidently, he had a fine voice, and knew just about every popular song of that time period. Les’s other teammate was Jim Decker. He was a fierce running back who had great speed and power. The football programs at the time described his as “a slashing runner” who could easily break tackles.   During our college years, Bernie Hendricks organized an intramural team, and asked me to be on it. Of course, I readily agreed. I believe our name was “Sex Life Zero,” an indication of Bernie’s wit. We had a pretty good record, and in the play-offs, drew a team made up of football players. We gave them a good game, but came up short. They must have scouted us or heard about us, because Jim Decker guarded me and stuck on me like a cold sweat. He was much quicker, faster, and stronger than I, and really exposed my lack of talent. I did happen to be at that Hall of Fame banquet and also the ceremony at half-time of the football game, and had a nice time reminiscing with those two, with Jim Decker reminding me that his main responsibility was blocking for Les.

Les taught at BHS for a few years after graduating from SDSU. He was a PE teacher, and assisted in gymnastics, track and field, and of course, football, where he eventually became the head coach. For personal reasons, he left the profession and went into farm equipment sales. He eventually returned to Brookings in the 1990’s and managed the Case implement dealership.

Betty McAdaragh (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/elizabeth-betty-mcadaragh) may not be a familiar name to most of us, but her son Dan was two years behind us in school. He was good basketball player on the team that placed third in the 1971 State “A”Tournament. That meant that in four years (1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971), the Bobcats were 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the state. Not a bad record.

The name of Roger Julian (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/roger-julian) may ring a bell. He was part of Julian’s bakery in downtown Brookings for many years. Someone once told me that Nick’s Hamburgers were so tasty because of the bun, which came from Julian's. Anyone know if that is true?

Tom Davis (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/thomas-davis) was about five years older than we were, and graduated in 1964. His father had been a vocational ag teacher at BHS in the 1940’s and played an instrumental role for Sokota Hybrid seed corn ("Sokota Hybrid Producers, Inc. made available to farmers in South Dakota and the surrounding states hybrid seed corn.
Sokota began in 1924, when Clifford Franzke, a South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station agronomist, started inbreeding local varieties of corn in an effort to produce a hybrid which could withstand the Dakota weather. In 1942, a new hybrid seed was released to farmers by the experiment station. Fred Baldridge, a retired farmer, began to standardize grading of the hybrid seed. In 1944, Sokota Hybrid Producers incorporated as a cooperative and 24 farmers purchased certificates of equity to get the organization going with E.G. Sanderson as president.
W.L. Davis, who was a vocational agricultural instructor at Brookings high school, became manager in 1945 and the cooperative was able to erect its own plant in south Brookings. Davis served as the manager of Sokota for nearly 35 years." From the website https://www.sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/sokota-hybrid-producers-inc-records)

As his obituary indicates, Tom was well-known as a classic car buff. When we were younger, it seems that he was always driving around in a high-powered Chevy of some kind.

Clayton Sloat (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/clayton-sloat) was familiar to just about everyone in Brookings. He was the father of eight wonderful children, including Donna of our class. He has been featured on our blog before: https://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2015/01/1941-yearbook.html; https://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2014/01/; https://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2013/11/. After we graduated, he, his wife, and Ed and LaVonne Fuller were regular attendees at Bobcat athletic events. At basketball games, they enjoyed sitting a few rows behind the scorer’s table and politely reminding the officials that they may have been mistaken in their judgments.

John Miller (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/john-miller) is probably not familiar to us, as he began a teaching career at SDSU in 1974. He was considered an expert on South Dakota history, and wrote several books on that subject. His children were students of ours in the late 1980’s, and his daughter Ann was inducted into the BHS Hall of Fame last year.

I believe he was working on or wanted to update a history of South Dakota that could be used in the grade schools as part of the curriculum. We had that brief course in 6th grade for the first quarter of school (is it now taught in the 4th grade?). In our class (Mrs. Walker), some of us made a map of South Dakota out of bread dough. We used food coloring for the different features: blue for water, green for lower elevations; yellow for medium elevations; brown for the Black Hills. I seem to recall that some of the map was actually quite tasteful in more than ways than one. Below is our 6th grade class. Are they all readily identifiable?

My recollection: 1st row Stew Linn, Lee Colburn, Brian Johnson, John Iverson, Larry Wilson

2nd row Tom Osterberg, Leannd Hirschman, Barb Hauff, Duane Larson, Jerry Moad, Janice Brigs, Donna Sloat, Brad Rufer

3rd row Gerry Albright, Susan Stamp, Ginger Thompson, Cecilia Kellogg, ???, Robyn Connelly, Sonia Miller, Barb Heeren, Dan Holm, Arlan Meske, Jim Egeberg, Mrs. Walker

John’s children played on our 8th grade basketball teams, and if he would pick them up after practice, he and I would have pleasant conversations, especially about baseball in the 1950’s and 60’s. Religion, too, was not a forbidden topic.

Dwayne Kruse (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/dwayne-kruse) was the brother of Ron in our class. His children were students of ours at the Middle School, and his brother just lived a house away from me and right next door to the mother of Brad Rufer.

Bernie Stewart (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/earl-bernie-stewart) was a couple of years ahead of us, and was in the last class to graduate from the old high school downtown. Bernie was the groundskeeper for the athletic fields at the Park and Rec department, and later for SDSU. The baseball fields at the high school were acclaimed as some of the best in the area, indicating Bernie's great pride in having a well-manicured playing surface.

Dolores Ostroot (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/dolores-ostroot) perhaps has no direct connection to our class, but her daughter Linda was a year behind us in school, so many of us may have become acquainted with Linda through our classes or extra-curricular activities. A distant connection for me is that her granddaughter Stephanie is married to Matt Bebensee, a former student of mine.

Claudia Dinkel (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/claudia-dinkel) was the mother of Sharon, also a member of 1967 class that was the last to graduate from the old high school. The annuals from those years indicate that Sharon was quite the athlete. Had interscholastic for girls been around back then, she would have likely been one of the best.

Picky, Picky, Picky

Those of us who had Mr. Karnes for a teacher may well remember his famous sayings:  " I'll be a cow kicked into Texas; my sainted aunt; if you don't tell me the answer, I'll kick you in the shins; if you don't tell me the answer, I'll cut your gizzard out with a dull knife."  We all knew he was trying to inject some humor into the class, but can you imagine how some of those would be interpreted today?

For some people, today is thought to be the last day of this decade.  However, since there was no year 0, a new decade will not start until after the ten years are up.  That means each decade ends in a multiple of 10; the first decade was the years 1-10, the second covered the years 11-20, etc.  We may ring in the new year tonight in our chosen way, but we should remember that we are not ringing in a new decade.  We should wait one more year for that event. 

The members of the BHS Hall of Fame committee are selected by the decades they were in high school.  There are members from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's.  One member of the 70's group actually graduated in 1970.  He should, though, be in the 60's group.  However, as Mr. Karnes used to say, "Picky, picky, picky." 

Our class had some memorable moments this year, including a wonderful reunion.  We hope we have another joyous year in 2020.  Belated thanks to a certain follower for some kind words in the comments section on a previous post a couple of months ago.  I evidently forgot to post this on Dec. 31, 2019, so this is finaly getting published, seven months late.

"Lefty's" Right Hand

It is said that behind every man is a great woman.  Perhaps no better example of that adage is Elnore Johnson, otherwise known as Mrs. "Lefty" Johnson.

Many of us may remember Floyd "Lefty" Johnson, our Junior High principal.  He was a rather towering figure, and perhaps instilled fear in some of us because of his stature and the fact that he had a large paddle in his office.  Undoubtedly, that paddle was seldom, if ever used, but its presence may have helped some of us behave a little bit better than we normally would have.  "Lefty" came to Brookings in 1948 as a science teacher and "B" squad coach.  He was a talented at Augustana College in Sioux falls, and I believe is in their Hall of Fame.  Not only was he a fine basketball player, but he was also an outstanding tennis player.  He was still playing competitive tennis in the 1960's, and introduced many Brookings youngsters to the sport during his years in Brookings.  He also led the summer recreation program for many years during the 50's and 60's for the city of Brookings.  For his athletic  accomplishments,  "Lefty" was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Augustana, into the South Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame, into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and into the Northern Section Tennis Hall of Fame. He was also honored with the Liberty Bell Award. (http://www.sdshof.com/inductees/floyd-lefty-johnson/; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123639923/floyd-arnold-Johnson; http://www.sdtennishall.com/leftyjohnson.htm' https://goaugie.com/honors/hall-of-fame/floyd-lefty-johnson/98).

I was fortunate to begin my teaching career under "Lefty" in 19973 when he was principal at the Brookings Middle School, the first middle school in South Dakota, which started in 1967.  He helped me immensely, and guided me through some difficult situations, since we were both science teachers.

Knowing how busy teachers, coaches, and principals can, it takes a very devoted wife to participate and enjoy her spouse's commitments.   Their trust in each other must be infinite for their marriage to be successful.  It would be fair to say the "Lefty"s commitment to his wife Elnore, and her commitment to him, were just that, infinite and everlasting, "till death do us part." 

While "Lefty" passed away in 2003, his wife continued to live a productive life in Brookings, as indicated below.  Sadly, she passed away on March 8, 2020.  The visitation was held shortly after the warnings about the corona virus were all over the newscasts.  Consequently, there were very few people at the visitation, and the funeral was restricted to only a few people.  I was able to visit with "Lefty's" daughter Mary Ann and son Chuck.  It was great to reminiscence with both of them. Mary Ann was in the class with one of my brothers, and told me a few things of which I was unaware.   Their other son Marty, one year behind us in school, was not yet present.

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to the Johnson family at this time.  Thank you, "Lefty" and Elmore, for all you have done for the city of Brookings and its youth.

 

Good News: 95 and 40

The 95

Recently Yvonne (Trapp) Dietterle informed us that her mother turned 95 years young.  What a fantastic and exciting life she has led and experienced!  It is amazing to think of all the history that she has lived through.  It is our hope that Mrs. Trapp has left those memories not only in her children's hearts, but also in some way so that others may want to cherish them, whether in a written or oral format.  Congratulations to Mrs. Trapp on her long and blessed life. 

The 40

About 20 years ago, a young man by the name of Marty Wennblom enrolled at SDSU.  He became a very good runner for the Jacks' cross-country and track and field teams.  He was also a student teacher for one of the history teachers at BHS.  That history teacher was also the head track and field coach for BHS. One of my extra-duty assignments was as an assistant coach in that sport, so I became acquainted with Marty.  He was quite well-known around town because of his involvement with the local running club, the Prairie Striders.  After graduation from SDSU, Marty made a career in the military, but he continued his running career wherever he was stationed.

A few years ago, SDSU built an indoor practice facility that contains a 300-meter track (most indoor tracks are 200 meters) and an 80 yard practice field.  Many large meets have been held there, including the Summit League championships (of which SDSU is a member) and the National NAIA meet last year.  They are again hosting the NAIA meet again in a few weeks.  At one of the big meets regularly scheduled in January, there is a 5K run for the public.  On this track, that means almost 17 laps have to be covered.  To relieve the congestion, there are two sections of the race:  one for those who are likely to run under 25 minutes, and the other for those slower than 25 minutes.  This year, at the age of 40, Marty Wennblom from Alabama ran the race and set a record (16:30) for his age-group, shattering the previous record by almost two minutes.  Unbeknownst to me, this was the fourth time he has won the race.  His previous wins were in 2015, 2016, and 2018. His 2018 win set a record time of 16:05.  The Brookings Register had a nice article on Marty's achievements.  It seemed like a proper gesture to email Marty's mother, who is one of our classmates, Pat (Robish) Wennblom.   Marty will be soon transferred to Rapid City, so he will be closer to Elk Point, SD, where his parents live.  Congratulations to Pat and her husband.  They are proud of the achievements of their children and grandchildren. The BHS class of 1969 shares in their happiness.

The Loss Of A Classmate

The Brookings Register today, Jan. 7, 2020, listed the obituary of classmate Doug Voss (https://brookingsregister.com/article/douglas-voss-colorado-springs-colorado).  Like so many members of our class, he accomplished many amazing feats in his life.

I did not realize that he was married while still in high school.  It was a wonderful marriage, as it lasted over 50 years and produced some fine children.  Some of us here were able to talk to him a couple of years ago when he was in town for the funeral of his brother Leroy. He seemed to be in good spirits, as he was recovering from some health problems.  Doug's son Shane was a student here through 8th grade, after which they moved to Colorado. 

My most vivid memories of Doug are from 7th grade.  He was a really good runner in the half-mile for us.  There was a boy from Watertown that was perhaps Doug's equal.  If Doug was not able to defeat him, he would always be a close second.  Doug's efforts always impressed Mr. Dolan.  After 7th grade, Doug developed other interests, and chose not to participate in track and field.  While his decision may have hurt the track and field team, it certainly paid off for him in his career after high school.  He shouldered many responsibilities while taking great pride in his career in construction management. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family at this difficult time.