Erin Go Bragh

 One of the most likable and enjoyable teachers most of us boys had during our elementary days was Mr. Francis "Franny" Dolan (did he teach girls in PE?).  Not only was he an elementary PE teacher (he even taught math and/or science in some years) and Jr. Hi. basketball and track field coach, our supervisor for flag football in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades, he was also very proud of his Irish heritage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ncmuhNEUxg).  His wife was also an educator, an art teacher whom many of us may have had when we were in high school.  

Many of us boys probably could recall many instances in which Mr. Dolan had a big influence in our lives.  I personally benefited from his tutelage and mentorship while a college student.  He asked me to help out with the elementary intramural programs in the early 70's.  That allowed me to become somewhat acquainted with a few of the teachers in the school system.  When a couple of openings occurred in the spring of 1973, he encouraged me to apply.  Did his lobbying help me get one of the positions?  I am sure he had more than just a little input.  He was also the assistant principal to "Lefty" Johnson at the middle school for my first few years, and helped me with some classroom management difficulties.  

Fran's two daughters were a little older than we were.  Kay Frances was in the class of 1966, while Kelly was a year ahead of us.  (She was in my chemistry class in 1967-68).  Some questions were directed to us a few weeks ago about Mr. Dolan's tenure in Brookings, so they were able to supply us with the following brief summation of his career:  

Francis “Franny” Dolan : General Beadle State Teachers College(now Dakota State University)

(BS), SDSU (MEd)

38 years in Brookings as a teacher, coach and administrator (1944-1983). Taught math,

science and health, as well as P.E.

26 years coaching basketball, track and football in South Dakota (1943-1968); Brookings

(1944-1968)

Received lifetime award from the SD Coaches Association (1968)

Assistant coach of BHS football, basketball & track (1944-? ; until the 1950’s teachers were not

paid for coaching, often had practices on Saturdays and drove the “Red Rocket” bus to away

games)

Assistant coach of 1944 Madison High School basketball team - won the Class B State

Championship

Assistant coach of 1946 BHS basketball team - won Brookings’ first Class A State

Championship

25 years Freshman/Jr. High Coach (basketball, track, football)

Basketball - 6 undefeated seasons, never a losing season, winning 83% of games

Champions of the state YMCA basketball tournament in 1963

Track - Frequently had 75-100 boys out for track. Co-Coach of the S.D. team which

competed in the National Junior Champ Track and Field Tournament in Minneapolis (1964),

sponsored by the Jaycees and broadcast on national television

After retiring from coaching, Franny scouted other teams for BHS coaches, kept stats, manned

the scoring table, recruited volunteers, whatever was needed to support BHS athletics.

Other

Founding member of the Brookings Education Association (BEA) which negotiated pay for

coaching and other duties beyond the teaching day

Developed the intra-mural program for grades 5-8 that involved 75-80% of all boys in those

grades

Organized the local Punt, Pass & Kick competition and coached numerous Brookings

participants in the Regional Punt, Pass & Kick competitions in Minneapolis

Host of “Coaches Corner” on KBRK radio (during the 60’s) where he interviewed BHS coaches

and players

City park was named Francis Dolan Park upon his retirement as Principal of Central Elementary

School in 1983. His memorial fund purchased new playground equipment for the park.

Francis Dolan loved sports, but he loved supporting students more. He was the first

professional coach for many of the BHS Hall of Fame athletes of his era. He excelled at

teaching the basics and encouraging each student athlete to be the best they could be. He

also helped standout athletes develop their talents and mentored them to continue in sports.

Mr. Dolan's last year of coaching was in 1967-68.  Notice that his last name is misspelled.

Appropriately, his last basketball team was undefeated.

In 1976, he and his wife were still employed in the school system.  The Brookings Register featured an excellent tribute to their decades-long career as educators.  This article encapsulates their lives better than anything yours truly can compose.  Reading it may bring back many memories.

I believe that when Medary Elementary opened, Mr. Dolan became principal at Central Elementary, and served there until his retirement in 1983.  The playground at Central was named "Francis Dolan Park" in his honor.  Central has now been converted into the Children's Museum of South Dakota (https://prairieplay.org/)

While visiting his daughter Kelly in Arizona a few years later, he unexpectedly passed away.  

Recently, another student and athlete of Mr. Dolan's was in town, so we went over the family burial plot in Elkton, South Dakota.

Much more could be said about Mr. Dolan.  If you have a compelling story concerning him, please feel free to comment below.  

"The Day The Music Died"?

 For those of us who may have played a musical instrument in school, our first lessons may have come from Mr. Erling Engstrom.  He was the instrumental music director in the Junior High and Middle School (elementary, too?) from 1957-1989.  

It seems that those taking lessons from Mr. Engstrom would be excused from class for about 20 minutes to practice in the band room.  So that the students would not be excused from the same class for their lessons, they would miss part of a different class each week.  Planning for these lessons also had to take into account school-sponsored activities, such as athletic contests or field trips.  Scheduling these lessons must have been a nightmare, yet Mr. Engstrom managed to pull it off masterfully.  If a student inconveniently "forgot" that a lesson was schedule, Mr. Engstrom might come into a classroom to frequently remind said student about the scheduled lesson.  

Our careers overlapped by about 15 years, so I became better acquainted with him in the 70's and 80's.    When grades were due, he evaluated each student rather carefully.  Those musical words were rather foreign to me, as I had very little music knowledge or talent.

The annuals from our Jr. Hi. days show three bands:  regular band, orchestra, and pep band.  According to the 1966 annual, "The band and orchestra, under the direction of Erling Engstrom, climaxed the year with the annual spring concert.  Another important spring event was the Madison Music contest.  The eight-two participants received fifty-seven superior and twenty-four excellent ratings."  57 + 24 =81.  Who did not receive either a superior or excellent?

Did the pep band play at some of the Jr. Hi. basketball games?  It seems that they were seated on the stage at the Central Elementary gym.  Wasn't the Jr. Hi. school song played to the tune of "Minnesota Rouser" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kyIYVNC0-4)?  Anyone recall the lyrics?  An old program we found under the bleachers had these words (or something similar; if anyone has a more definitive version, let us know):

You rah rah for our Junior High (Or was it ...for old Junior High?)

Red and white our colors are flying

So we'll show that team 

Some of our fight

We're behind you

All the way

So you rah for Junior High

When the Jr. Hi. became a middle school, the last line became "So you rah for Middle School."

When Title IX (giving girls the opportunity to play athletics) was implemented, pep band died out.  There were very few students to form a band anymore, as most of them were playing a sport.  

These last few years Mr. Engstrom seemed to be a daily visitor to the library, where he could read the daily papers and catch up on the latest news.  There were times he would arrive before the library even opened, and he could be seen walking around the block or waiting patiently in his car.  

Mr. Engstrom definitely touched numerous young lives and left his mark upon them (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/erling-engstrom).  If you scroll down to the guestbook entries (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/guestbook/erling-engstrom), you can readily see the influence he had on so many students and colleagues.  

Our condolences to his daughters Elaine and Nancy, on the loss of their father.  

Does any one recognize the reading from the book of Ecclesiastes?  It's the basis for the 1965 song "Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOJla2vYx8), although it was originally written by Pete Seeger in 1959  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn!_Turn!_Turn!).  His version is on this site--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPl91kTFro, but a version by The Limeliters was released earlier (according to Wikipedia:  "The song was first released by the folk group the Limeliters on their 1962 album Folk Matinee, under the title "To Everything There Is a Season".^[2][10] The Limeliters' version predated the release of Seeger's own version by several months. One of the Limeliters' backing musicians at this time was Jim McGuinn (aka Roger McGuinn), who would later record the song with his band the Byrds and, prior to that, arrange the song for folk singer Judy Collins on her 1963 album, Judy Collins 3.^[2] Collins' recording of the song was retitled as "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)", a title that would be retained by the Byrds, though it was shortened to "Turn! Turn! Turn!" on the front cover of the album of the same name and the song became generally known by the shorter version, appearing as such on most later Byrds compilations.^[11] " Another version has him accompanying Judy Collins--(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qURAnrk30ng).  Again Wikipedia states, "Since Ecclesiastes is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon in the 10th century BC, the Byrds' 1965 recording of the song holds the distinction in the U.S. of being the number 1 hit with the oldest lyrics."