Remembrance, Reunions, and Homecoming

 Last week on September 24, 2021, funeral services were held for Leona Steen, mother of Teresa of our class.  She passed away about a year ago, but services were delayed because of the pandemic.  It seems that our parents' funerals have fewer people attending, as there do not appear to be very many people still alive who were acquaintances of our beloved parents.  Although the turnout for Leona's funeral and visitation may have been small, our class was well-represented with Barb Koenders and Mike Andersen in attendance.  Also attending were Ted and Lou Eggebraaten.  Lou was secretary to the athletic director during my tenure as an employee of the Brookings school district, so we were well acquainted.  

At the funeral, Teresa gave an eloquent tribute to her mother.  At the visitation, she explained that her husband Russell had some health problems that kept him from attending.  

It just so happened that last weekend was also the 50th reunion for the class of 1971.  Teresa's sister Marci was a member of that class, as was my younger brother Rich.  Fortunately, Rich arrived in time to attend the visitation, and had a good visit not only with Marci, but also with Teresa's brother Randy.  Some of us also had siblings in that class:  Steve Anderson (Marilyn), Bill Antonides (Jim), Helen Beckman (Ken), Phil Boggs (Larry), Gary Buller (David and Diane), David Bush (Peggy), Annette Clauson (Iris), Kay Crase (Cheryl?), Dale Gabel (Sandy), Cheryl Havermann (Ron), Dwight Hajek (David), Tom Hoffman (Paula), Tim Kattke (Sue), Patty Knock (Craig?) Becky Linn (Stew), Lyle Mueller (Eugene), June Perso (Jeanette), Mike Redmond (Sue), Gareth Roberts (Gawain), Bill Robish (Pat), Kathy Rossow (Harry), Kim Rufer (Brad), Fred Sauer (Joanne), Stan Sloat (Donna), Denis Taylor (Kathy), Dave Ulmer (Joe), Dale Vincent (Gary), Gary Voss (Doug), Clark Walz (Stew), Alan Wells (Howard), and Mary Young (Carl).  Also, Joy Christie and Dale Berkland, but they may be cousins to Peggy Christie and Arlo and Arlys Berkland.  My apologies if I am in error or have omitted anyone.  

BHS  this year began a "new" tradition of a homecoming parade.  "New" because, to the best of my limited knowledge, homecoming parades were held in the early 1950's.  The 1951 "Bobcat" states "Homecoming activities got off to a colorful start with the traditional Red and Black Day on October nineteenth.  Almost everyone appeared in various combinations of red and black clothing.  Eight of the most original were awarded prizes.  For the first time in the history of Bobcat Day, coronation, the pep skits, and the parade were held in the morning... In the afternoon, the student body were guests of the State Theatre at a free movie.  That night, at the high school field, the Bobcats met the Yankton Bucks for the homecoming game.  The Bobcats played a wonderful game, to make homecoming a big success, with a 61-0 victory over the Bucks, the largest homecoming score in history.  Everyone enjoyed the fall harvest theme and the music of the Collegiates at the Bobcat dance, the final Bobcat Day activity."  It appears that the parade was held for the next three years, as the 1952, 1953, and 1954 annuals have pictures of the homecoming parade, while the 1955 annual does not, indicating that the short-lived tradition had died out.  The 1950 annual indicates that coronation was held in the evening of October 6.  "A diversified program consisting of introduction of players, skits, pep speeches and awarding of gifts was presented for the enjoyment of royalty.  After that the whole student body had a snake dance to the football field where the band and the cheerleaders led the students in a pep fest around a huge bonfire."

This year's parade was very large, and lasted about  50 minutes.  Most of the entries seemed to be student organizations and athletic teams: football; basketball; soccer; golf; tennis; cross-country; track and field; hockey; swimming; gymnastics; marching band; and dance and cheer teams.  I am probably forgetting some.  Most of those squads have both boys and girls teams.  The middle school and elementary schools even had some entries, as did some of the industries and organizations around town.  The parade seemed to bring the town and schools together and to increase school spirit.  The weather cooperated, which made for a pleasant viewing.  It is hoped that this revived tradition will continue in the future.  

Homecoming has undergone numerous changes since we were in school.  Coronation is now held on Monday.  Each day of homecoming has a theme, such as pajama day or backwards pants day.  The football game is the highlight, but other activities, such as soccer, volleyball, and cross-country also receive prominent exposure.  

For homecoming in the fall of 1973 (my first year in the system), the freshman students were in charge of collecting wood and other combustibles for the bonfire.  They asked me to help them, as I had a pick-up to haul the materials.  They topped off the huge pile with an outhouse they had located somewhere out in the country.  It seems that in later years, outhouses were difficult to locate, so the tradition of having an outhouse on top of the bonfire ceased.  The bonfire tradition, too, had to cease a number of years ago, as it was considered too dangerous.  In its replacement is the burning of the "B," in which a large metal "B"  is covered with oily rags and then lit.  Doesn't quite compare with a huge bonfires of days past.   

As Tears Go By

 Many of us may remember the song "As Tears Go By" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Tears_Go_By_%28song%29) from the mid-60's.  It was first made popular by Marianne Faithful, and then about a year later by The Rolling Stones.  This summer it seems that many tears were shed, as our class members lost not only parents, but siblings and nephews.  Previous posts have mentioned some of these influential and wonderful people.  Sadly, a few more have passed away since then.

Jason Kidwiler, nephew of Mary of our class, and son of Mike from the class of 1968, passed away on August 25, 2021.  Mary and I had a nice visit at the visitation, and caught up on the latest with each other.

  While Mark Kratochvil's mother passed away about a year ago, the funeral services were held September 4, 2021,  Mark has been the motivating force behind our class reunions.  He gets us all organized well ahead of time so we can have some wonderful gatherings.  His sister Ann was an eighth-grader in the 1973-74 school year, and one of my stalwart students my first year of teaching in the Brookings school district.  

It is quite evident Dorothy led a rich and beautiful life, and, along with her husband Don, helped raise a wonderful family.

Randi Luverne (Holden) Behrend was about five years older than we were, graduating from BHS in 1964, just as we were finishing seventh grade.  We probably knew her best as a cheerleader, as we usually saw her at the football and basketball games.  We may have seen her in the hallowed halls of the Jr.-Sr. High school, although our classes were generally confined to the first floor, while the second floor contained mostly senior high classes.  She married Don Behrend, who was in the class of 1965.  Don's mother Barb was "Lefty" Johnson's secretary for a number of years, and likely knew more of what was happening in the school than anyone else.  Barb helped me out greatly during my years at the Middle School, and straightened me out on some of the procedures that made the school function so well.  Don and Randi's children also were students of mine, and it was memorable to visit with them after so many years.  They also chose a beautiful poem in remembrance of a beautiful mother.  

Yesterday, Sept. 2, 2021, I was stunned to read in the Brookings Register that Bob Bozied had passed away. Bob graduated in 1965, the same year as Don Behrend mentioned above.  They, and numerous others in that class, served as inspirations for many in our class, not only because of their artistic and athletic abilities, but also because they were our older siblings.  In that class were these familiar names:  Paul Adamson, Bernadette and Bernadine Ahlers, Judy and Jo Ann Berkland, Eileen Bortnem, Keith and Kermit Bortnem, Bob Bozied, Zoell Colburn, Mitch Egeberg, Richard Graff, Linda Ishmael, Carol and Earl Kallemeyn, Cheryl Kohl, Kandace Kortan, Ann McCone, Connie McKeown, Mike O'Connell, Janeane Perso, Darlene Prussman, George Rickerson, Galen Roberts, Kathy Schroeder, Pat Skubic, Gerald Sloat, Donna Smith, Elizabeth Steen, Roy Taylor, and  Dorothy Workman.  (My apologies if there are any omissions or errors; some of these individuals may be cousins and not siblings)

In grade school, the Bozied lived one house away from our house.  During third grade, Tom and I had Mrs. Peterson for a teacher (her husband was a science and industrial arts teacher in the junior high).  I would frequently stop at Tom's before school so we could watch Captain Kangaroo.  Perhaps about 8:50 we would then walk to school.  When we relayed that information to Mrs. Peterson, she suggested we could wait until 8:55 before walking to school, as we were less than two blocks away.  

Bob was one of those older boys we respected since we were old enough to know what athletics was. He taught us much about the games as we played baseball at the Central School ball fields or football on the Courthouse lawn.  He had to hold back while he was playing, or else we probably would have had to make numerous trips to the hospital emergency room.  For me, he was an outstanding little league baseball player, whose pitching style I tried to emulate, but without much success.  I believe when he was 13, he skipped teener ball (or the equivalent) and went straight to the legion team, whose players were usually 16-18 years old.   His senior year, he was named to the All-State football team of 1964 after leading the Bobcats to 4-3-1 record.   He was also a key player for the basketball team, earning the Hustler Award for a squad that finished 11-8.   The annuals in those days listed the activities that the seniors had been in during their high school years.  Bob's extra-curricular activities were FTA 4; Cue Club 3,4: Monogram Club 2,3,4; Football 2,3,4; Basketball 2,3,4; Track 2,3; Bobcat Staff 4; Class Officer 4; Kiwanian 4: Bobcat Day Attendant 4; Stage Cre 3,4; Vocal Soloist 3; Inst. Ensemble 3.   It's interesting that FTA (Future Teachers of America) is listed first.  In his college days at SDSU, he began preparing for his future, as he was one of the few multi-sport athletes, excelling both in football and baseball.  He then used that knowledge to teach and coach.  (I believe he even helped out Mr. Gibbons one year). As his obituary states, he spent over 50 years in the teaching and coaching profession in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.  He not only taught his students and players, as he also was a great influence on his own children.  I believe his son Tagg played professional baseball.  One time Tagg was playing a minor-league game in Sioux Falls, and a number of locals went down to watch, including yours truly and one of my brothers who had played high school ball with Bob.  It seems appropriate that his funeral would be held at the Aurora Public Schools Stadium at Kinkley High School, 1250 Chambers Rd., Aurora, CO 80011. Our condolences to Tom and Beth and the family on their loss.  https://brookingsregister.com/article/robert-bob-bozied-aurora-colorado