December 1962, January 1968, June 2022

Anyone remember where you were in December 1962?  We were in 6th grade.  The two photos below show a couple of the 6th-grade classes at Central.  

The above picture is Mrs. Walker's class.  To the best of my knowledge, the first row is Stewart Linn, Lee Colburn, Brian Johnson, John Iverson, and Larry Wilson.  The second row is Tom Osterberg, Leanne Hirschmann, Barb Hauff, Duane Larson, Jerry Moad, Janice Briggs, Donna Sloat, and Brad Rufer.  The third row is Gerry Albright, Susan Stamp, ginger Thompson, Cecilia Kellog, ??? (Debbie Shirley?), Robyn Connelly, Sonia Miller, Barb Heeren, Dan Holm, Arlan Meske, Jim Egeberg, and Mrs. Walker.  If you recognize the girl between Cecilia and Robyn, please let us know.  

There are many fond memories of those days.  Mrs. Walker was previously a language arts teacher, so she taught us a great deal of English grammar. In addition to learning all of the parts of speech, she taught us to diagram sentences.  About the only thing we did not learn was the difference between dependent and independent clauses.  That knowledge proved beneficial not only in later high school and college English courses, but also in learning foreign languages, particularly Latin.

Another benefit of her class was that we were taught how to give a speech.  Perhaps in the second semester, Mrs. Walker devoted part of Friday afternoons for this activity.  One that is clearly memorable is a speech that Lee Colburn gave on the dangers of smoking.  He had brought in a jar with a live minnow swimming casually in the water.  He then dumped the tobacco from a cigarette into the jar; immediately the minnow began swimming crazily in circles, like a car doing donuts in a parking lot. I believe he made his point about how tobacco affects our bodily systems.

Mrs. Walker also was quite trusting.  Oftentimes, especially during the cold winter months, she would allow some of us boys back into her room during the noon hour so we could play cards, usually whist.  While she went home for lunch, many of us ate hot lunch in the high school annex.  If it was too cold to play outside, we were allowed to come back up to her room to engage in our card-playing.  I don't recall if we had to sneak by any teacher who was on hall duty.  It does seem, though, that a certain Mrs. Keller was our nemesis, and that we had to wait until she had gone to the other end of the hall before we quietly hurried up the stairs to our destination.  

There are undoubtedly many other fond memories of that year.  Another highlight was learning about South Dakota history during the first quarter.  We finished off the unit by making a relief map of the sate of South Dakota out of bread dough, and then using food dyes to color in the rivers, lakes, prairies, mountains, and other topographical features.   

This picture is Mrs. Pedersen's class.  Is the first row Tom Salonen, David Hajek, David Helfinstine, and Tom Madson?  Is the second Larry Boggs, Emmett Earley, Dennis and Danny Kruse(???), Darwin Beynon, Larry Noland, Steve Wobbema, Bob Lee, and Jim Kortan?  Is the third Mary McMillan, Diane Heath, Barb Henry, Barb Allsltot, Margaret Travis, and Patsy McKeown?  Is the fourth Mrs. Pedersen, Iris Clauson, Nancy Webbenhurst, and Marily Anderson?  If those two boys in the second row are not the Kruse twins, who might they be?  If you have an idea, please let us know.

Mrs. Pedersen actually lived in Colman, and had an apartment downtown where she stayed during the week.  When we were in junior high, I would often see her walking to school from the west.  When the middle school started in 1967-68, she was a 6th grade math teacher.  I was fortunate enough to be her colleague for many years, teaching 6th grade science for about 20 years.

In 1968, Sonia Miller (from Mrs. Walker's class above), married Jim Rasmussen, BHS class of 1967.  I seem to recall that in the 6th grade, Sonia had mentioned that her sister(s?) had married at a relatively young age.  Sonia followed in those footsteps.  Although Jim and Sonia were both young, their marriage thrived.  

Below is the picture from the Brookings Register of their wedding.  It was copied from the microfilm at the public library, so the quality is not the greatest.

The Kiddie Matinees were still being held in 1968.  Notice the "Uncle Charlie Fun Show" promotion below the picture.  Was the cost still only 25 cents, or had the price increased to 35 or 50 cents by then?

Jim Rasmussen was a cousin to my sister-in-law Janet Norton.  Janet's mother was Mabel Rasmussen, a sister to George Rasmussen, Jim's father.  Mabel was married to Bob Norton, who worked at Fergen's.  Janet married one of my brothers in January of 1965.  They had four children, so their children would be first cousins once removed to Jim.  Jim's father George was head custodian for the Brookings School District for a number of years, so I became acquainted with him, too, during my tenure at the school.  George also built a number of homes in Aurora.  His son Jim must have inherited that trait, as he was also an outstanding carpenter. In any case, there is an indirect connection between me and Sonia.

I was over to my niece's a couple of weeks ago  (She and her husband have a daughter who will be a senior and a son who will be a junior).  She was notified that a terrible accident had taken the life of Jim Rasmussen.  More information would be available later, so we were not to disclose any information.  Jim certainly looks to be in great shape in this picture. 

James Gordon Rasmussen, age 73, of Boyceville, WI, passed away in an accident on June 26, 2022 doing what he loves, taking care of his land.  James was born in Brookings, SD to parents George and Virginia Rasmussen. After graduating from high school he was drafted into the United States Army where he proudly served for 2 years. In 1968 he married the love of his life Sonia Gay Miller – it was the love of a lifetime. He went on to work construction building many houses, a family, and later took a position at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater as a carpentry instructor where he worked for over 29 years in the educational program.

 

James was most commonly known as “Rass”, but could also be heard being called, “The Bull” on an occasion or two.  He loved being outdoors, woodworking, hunting and he loved his horses and dogs. Horseback riding was a great passion of his that he enjoyed doing with his wife. A favorite place to ride was in Arizona where they would spend the winter and made many friends.

 

Family was everything to Grandpa Rass.  He loved attending every event his grandkids had and could always be found helping his sons.  He was Dad, Grandpa Rass and Uncle Jim to a lot of kids who love him dearly to this day.

 

He will remain in the hearts of his wife Gay; sons Brock (Janell) Rasmussen and Jerad (Nikki Wenisch) Rasmussen; grandchildren Raelyn, Rhett, and Camille; siblings William (Nancy) Rasmussen and Donna (Randy) Risch; sisters in laws Sharon, Sheila, and Barbie; as well as many close nieces and nephews.  He will be sorely missed by many.

 

He is preceded in death by his parents, sister Marilyn (Dale) Thompson, and sister in law Beth.

 

A celebration of life gathering will be held on Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at O’Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, WI, at 3 p.m. with a visitation prior from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.. In lieu of flowers please donate to your favorite charity. 

For those of us who knew Sonia in grade school and junior high, words cannot adequately express the heartbreak that she and her family are feeling right now.  The death of a loved one is always devastating, but is especially traumatic when that death comes unexpectedly.  Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences go out to Sonia and her family at this time.