Rodney Koehn's Mother Passes Away

Doris Koehn, the mother of Rodney Koehn, passed away recently.  Her obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=16248&page=80.  If memory serves right, the wife of Jim Marking, the SDSU basketball coach from about 1965-1975, was Rodney's aunt.  Her maiden name was Carola Emilie Koehn (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=595703Marking).  Rodney went to Hillcrest, so those of us who went to Central never knew him very well until perhaps high school.  He was in Guy O.'s physics and chemistry classes, and then later earned his degree in civil engineering at SDSU, I believe.  Rodney was also on our basketball teams up through our junior year.  We had a good time on the JV team that first year at the new high school.

Interestingly,  Rodney's nieces, Deanne and Dawn Ganter, were students at the middle school during my early years of teaching there.  They inherited some of Rodney's height, and were excellent students.  I never knew they were close relatives of Rodney. 

Our condolences and prayers go out to Rod and his family. 

The Wife of Don Mohlenhoff Passes Away

Many of us may remember Mr. Don Mohlenhoff, as he was the classroom instructor for driver's ed when we were sophomores in our last year at the old school.  He was also head varsity basketball coach from 1963-1967.  Russell Anderson, Teresa Steen's husband, was one of his players.  Some of us had older brothers who played for him:  Mike O'Connell, Bob Bozied, Zoell Colburn, Jim Iverson are some who come to mind.  Jim Kortan and Tom Osterberg from our class were on his last team our sophomore year.  The best player during his tenure was undoubtedly Eric Bundgaard.  He was one of those rare players who started as a freshman, and as a sophomore was an all-state player.  Unfortunately, he moved after that year (his father Axel was athletic director at SDSU, and took a similar position at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.  An interesting article on Dr. Bundgaard can be found at http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/120156569.html?refer=y)  If you are interested, you can do a web search and find some other good stories about him.

When we started at the new high school in the fall of 1968, Mr. Mohlenhoff became a health/PE teacher  and coach at the middle school, the former high school.  My first year of teaching at the middle school was 1973-4.  Mr. Mohlenhoff was the head 7th grade basketball coach, and I was his assistant.  One of his sons, Joel, was in that class.  Lee Colburn's younger brother Jon was also in that class. 

Mr. Mohlenhoff passed away about 10 years ago (http://www.millerfh.com/index.php?option=com_obituary&task=details&oid=2946.  Another intriguing site is http://www.fanbase.com/Don-Mohlenhoff  He played basketball at then South Dakota State College in the late 1940's, and was selected for the all-NCC team in 1947, 48, and 49--scrool down about a thir of the way on this website--http://northcentral.prestosports.com/Record_Book/mbb.pdf.  (You can also find Lee's name there for 1971, 72, and 73, and Jim Fergen, who started Fergen's Men's Wear in Brookings, who earned honors in 1938 and 1940.)    Among his teammates were Duane Colburn, Lee's father, Herb Bartling (of the Bartling family that owned Bartling's Furniture downtown), and Harry Forsyth, whose father owned the Dairy Queen (before Beth Billings' father did), and who himself later became athletic director at SDSU.  Mr. Mohlenhoff's wife Betty passed away on Oct. 20, 2012.  Her obituary can be found at http://www.argusleader.com/viewart/20121024/OBITUARIES/210240302/Betty-Mohlenhoff?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CLIFE and at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15939&page=80

Does anybody remember those films we saw in Mr. Mohlenhoff's drivers ed class?  One vivid memory, not from the films, but from the class was that he had a machine that could test our reaction time.  It had a gas pedal and a brake.  When a red light came on, we had to hit the brake.  There was a timer in there somewhere, and it would display the reaction time. One of the boys who had an exceptionally fast reaction time was Stewart Walz.  In gym class, he wasn't exactly one of the speediest ones on the playing field, but he was quicker than most of us when it came time to hit the brakes. 

Also passing away recently was Grace Sanderson, mother of Reed, Mark, Kwen, Laun, Jan, Terry, Dell, and Joy.  Some of us had older siblings that were in their class.  Laun was a year ahead of us, and Jan a year behind us, so we knew them better than the others.  He obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15905&page=80

The Father of Pat Collins Passes Away

Our prayers and condolences go out to Pat Collins on the recent passing of her father, Paul Everett Collins, 95,  who died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at Brookview Manor in Brookings. The obituary from the webpage of the Register reads:

Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Ascension Lutheran Church in Brookings. Burial is at First Lutheran Cemetery in Brookings. Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Memorials may be directed to Ascension Lutheran Church or to the Collins Scholarship in HFLP administered by the SDSU Foundation.

Paul was born on Feb. 22, 1917, on a farm near White Rock, Minn., to Eric and Mary (Wiberg) Collins. He attended Goodhue County rural school through the eighth grade and graduated from Cannon Falls High School in 1934. He was captain of the football team and Senior Class president in 1933-1934. He received American Legion medals for leadership and scholastic achievement. He graduated magna cum laude in 1939 from Gustavus Adolphus College with educational degrees in history, social science, and chemistry. He taught high school at Bigfork, Minn. in 1940.

Paul enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1941 and graduated from photo school. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1941. He served at Salt Lake City Air Force Base, Geiger Field (Spokane), Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (Tucson), Alamogordo (NM) Air Field, Ephrata (WA) Army Air Base, and Great Falls Air Force Base. He was deployed to North Africa with the Second Bomb Group in April 1943 as group photo officer. He later served in Foggia, Italy until the end of the war. He was awarded the Air and Bronze Star Medals. He returned to the States in September 1945 and separated from the Air Corps in January 1946. He stayed in the Air Force Reserve until 1972, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

In 1946, Paul returned to college at the University of Minnesota and studied forestry, earning a BS degree in 1948, MS in 1949, and Ph.D. in 1967. He worked at Kansas State University as an Extension forester from 1949-1951. He moved to Brookings in 1951 and joined the faculty of the Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape and Parks Department at South Dakota State University. He taught and conducted research in forestry until retiring in 1983 with emeritus status.

Paul married Mildred (Mickey) Johnson on Sept. 4, 1948. They were married for 48 years until Mickey’s death in 1997.

Paul was a charter member of Ascension Lutheran Church and served as its first president from 1962-1966.. He enjoyed singing and was a choir member until age 90. He was also a soloist and sang in a men’s quartet at the church.

Paul was a member of the Brookings Lions Club for 55 years, serving as its president in 1965-1966, leading the club in singing until age 93. He was also a member of Sigma Xi scientific research society and Gamma Sigma Delta (honor society of agriculture). In addition, he remained active as a volunteer driver for the Brookings Volunteer Service Bank and Meals on Wheels, logging more than 500 service hours and more than 25 years.

Paul was an avid early morning long distance walker. He enjoyed photography, gardening, and crossword puzzles. Until late in life, he took pride in maintaining an impeccable lawn. He loved history. His children struggled to keep him in stock with fresh history books. He and Mickey liked to travel, especially to Civil War sites, and in the process managed to visit every state except Hawaii.

He is survived by his children Patricia Collins (Dan Cherryhomes) of Minneapolis and Michael (Isabel) Collins of Elm Grove, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his wife Mickey, and two sisters, Mildred and Ethel Collins.

Another recent article from home concerned the daughter of Sue (Cavanaugh) Ribstein.  Her daughter has been diagnosed with MG, myasthenia gravis.  The complete article can be accesses at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15704&page=76

Mr. Tlustos Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Mr. Tlustos came to Brookings as the wrestling coach and junior history teacher when we were seniors, replacing Mr. Sherrill.  Some of us had him for economics class that year.  His career got off to a fantastic start at BHS, as the wrestlers were state champs in those first two seasons of 1969 and 1970.  He was a very well-known and respected wrestling coach throughout the state. At BHS, he also coached 9th grade football.  He even agreed to coach varsity football one year when there were some difficulties finding the right individual for that position.  This link will take you to the story from the Register's on-line edition:  http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=77&story_id=15370 

On a more somber note, Don Rykhus, the brother of Mr. Duane Rykhus passed away recently.  Mr. Rykhus was the ninth-grade science teacher when we were still in the old school.  Some of us even had him for 8th grade science.  He was also the track coach for a few years.  He had a roofing business that kept him busy during the summers.  He retired from teaching in 1975 to devote full-time to shingling.  Yours truly replaced him, but after two years, I moved back to the middle school.  Teaching the younger kids was more enjoyable to me than teaching the older ones.  This link:  http://kirkfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/KirkFu1/obit.cgi?user=685644Rykhus is the obituary for Don Rykhus.  Ken Kirk is one of the managing partners at this funeral home.  He is 1971 graduate of BHS:  http://kirkfuneralhome.com/?page=kenkirk  His sister Kathy was a year ahead of us, I believe.  Their father worked at the "Bug Lab" near Sunnyview north of town.  Jim Kortan's mother was also a secretary there.  With Jim's help, I was able to land a summer job there after high school graduation.  That employment for the next few summers paid for most of my college education. 

1964-65

Was doing some research on amateur baseball in Brookings during the years 1964-65 by looking at old microfilm copies of the Brookings Register.  The end of summer is not only the end of the baseball season, but also is the time for 4-H Achievement Days.  Many members of our class were notd for doing so well at this county-wide event.  In 1964, Pam Johnston, along with her brother Greg, had their picture in the paper as they displayed their Angus cattle.  Pam had been a member of the Sterling Satellites 4-H club for four years, while Greg had been a member of the Prairie Farmers for five years at the time the picture was taken. 

Another article noted that Pam Lindsey (I beliveshe was a year ahead of us) was awarded top honors in horse showmanship, but our Janice Briggs was second.  Other class members winning honors in this category were Pggy Bush and Gay Miller. 

In local news, Wesley Bugg, Ed McComish, Wesley and Dennis Audus rode motorcycles to Sturgis for what is now the well-known Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.   Celebrities from all over the country and even the world make this event a popular attraction during the first part of August.

August also brings news about the upcoming school year.   An article on new teachers indicated that Mr. James Klassen and Mrs. Doris Larson were returning to the school sysem after a year's leave of absence.  New teachers to the school system that some of us may have had were Mrs. Eleanor Cochrane in home ec; Mr. Dennis Graber in vocal music;  Mr. Robert Jostad in Jr. Hi science; Mr. Leon Friend in chemistry and English II; Mrs. Joan Tabor as librarian; Mr. Stuart Webster in Jr. Hi. science; Mr. Lloyd Wesche in art; and Mrs. Janie Wheeler in Jr. Hi. English.  In the elementary grades, Jackie Walsh's mother was new to th system.  Mrs. Behrend was the new secretary for Lefty Johnson.  Another new face that year was Mr. Kent Kiepke.  When we movd to the new high school, he remained in the building and became a well-respected math teacher, as the old high school was converted into the first middle school in the state.  He was wondrful mentor to me when my career began there in 1973. 

There were also a number of articles on the upcoming fall sports seasons, especially on the local football teams at BHS and SDSU.  One of the football players on the high school team was Jim Horak.  His younger sister Carol was a year behind us in school.  One reason for mentioning them is that their mother, Margaret,  recently passed away in Dell Rapids, where Carol lives.  Our prayers and condolences go out to Carol and her family.  The complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15188&page=80

In 1965, some of the new teachers that we may have had were Mrs. Myrth Rae Brchan for business education; Mrs. Joan Donaldson (Nancy Webbenhurst's sister) for Jr. Hi English (some of us had her for sophomore English); Carole Huwe (Fraulein Huwe) for German I and Eng. II; Mr. LeRoy Klavetter for math; and Mr. Marv Sherrill for social studies.  At the elementary level, Mrs. Lois Wells was new.  I believe she was Howard's mother. 

A few other notable events that year were Jim Felt (I believe he is Patty's brother) becoming the first student to win all four events at the South Dakota Intercollegiate Forensics competition. Those four events were listed as extemporaneous, peace extemporaneous, oratory, and peace oratory.  Secondly, the water carnival held at the pool at the end of summer must have been a big event, perhaps becaue there was no competitive swimming at that time.  Anyway, Rocky Watson placed second in the 13-14 age divsion.  1965 was also the year our Teener baseball team earned a trip to the National Teener Tournament in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  There were some nice write-ups in the paper about that team and their experiences out east.  Finally, there were numerous articles about the need for a new high school in Brookings.  Gawain Roberts' father was on the school board at the time, and wrote a series of articles outlining the reasons why the present building was inadequate.  The  artist renditions of the new school  turned out to be quite similar to the final result.

There were many articles of interest in those papers, and one could spend countless hours poring over all that happened during those days.  Feel free, as always, to comment on your impresion of those years.

On a somewhat related note,  this website http://www.mariahpress.com/products-page/videos/ has some films of BHS basketball when we were in high school.  A number of years ago, they the athletic storage area at the high school was getting cleaned out.  The coach was friend of mine, and asked if I wanted any of these old films.  Of course! When Lee Colburn was inducted into the South Dakota basketball hall of fame, the fellow running this operation asked me for any films of Lee.  I gave him these to transfer to DVD.  Stew Linn had kept a scrapbook of our junior and senior years.  Stew was kind enough to lend those to him, also.  I would guess the quality is not real good.  Our game films were somehat grainy and  in slow-motion.  Unless you had a real passion for those games, my suggestion would be to not purchase them. 
Below are some pictures of some teams that may have been notable for us.  These were scanned in from some old baseball programs.  If anyone knows how to enlarge them, please let me know. 

The above photograph is the 19969 Junior Legion baseball team.  Notable among them is the batboy, our own Tom Bozied. 

Above is the picture of our Teener team from 1965. 

Above is our Legion team from 1967.

This is our Legion team from 1968

                          

                                                     

Remembering Mr. Blocker

When we started classes at the "new" high school in the fall of 1967, one of the classes was building trades.  The newly-hired instructor for that course was Mr. Blocker.  That was a very practical class, and he taught 34 years, retiring in 2000.  The students would actually build a house, and then auction it off at the end of the school year.  I believe many of his students later used those skills to begin their own construction businesses.  Mr. Blocker passed away recently at the age of 71.  Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to his family.  His daughter was one of our students when she was in Middle School.  She always seemed to be so cheerful and positive, and had an ever-present smile.  A complete obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=684746Blocker or http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15198&page=80

The high school has been remodeled extensively since we have graduated.  There are additional classrooms, a new lunchroom, new music rooms, a new girls locker room, a new weight room, and an auxiliary gymnasium.  The auditorium has recently been remodeled, also. The entire school must be at least twice as big as when it first opened.  We should be able to arrange for a tour at our next reunion in 2014.

Catching Up, The Sad And Glad

Summer has been busy, so now that there is some time to relax, we can catch up on some of the latest.  Had dinner with Carol Bork last night.  Had not seen each other in a long time.  It was enjoyable to find out what we have each been up to over the years.  Sadly, she informed me that Connie Lee's son was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.  His obituary was in the local papers, but I never made the connection.  His complete obituary can be found at http://www.skrochfc.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1534185&fh_id=13431 

Jason's father, Dana Elston, was a year ahead us in school.  Dana's dad, Wayne (Slush), was a long-time baseball coach in town.  He coached Little-League, and then was Legion coach for a number of years.  His older brother Danny was in my brother's class, and they played a great deal of baseball together under Slush.  I even hung around Dana one summer, and spent much time at the Elston house. 

The mother of Mike McClemans, who was also a year ahead of us in school, also passed away recently.  Her obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670625McClemans  Mike was in our Cub Scout troop.  If memory serves me right, also in that troop were Jim Wakeman, Greg Graff, Lynn Roberts, Arnie deBlonk, Jim Egeberg, and perhaps one or two others.  Mike has been very active in Brookings, and has served on the city commission. 

A couple of other people who have passed away are Quentin Kingsley (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675357Kingsley) and Gary Omodt (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670423Omodt).  Mr. Kingsley was the father of Gary, who was a few years ahead of us in school.   I believe he was a lifeguard at the pool.  When they used to have the water carnival at the pool, one of the contests was to see who could do the best cannonball.  Gary seemed to be rather good at that.  Another competition was to see who could swim the longest under water.  Sue Quass was also a lifeguard, and she could swim almost the whole length (from the deep end to the shallow end).  She was standing there marking her distance, when Gary came swimming by, and she just smiled and waved as he continued on, made the turn, and started back toward the deep end.  He didn't get much farther, but he made over a length of the pool under water.  Perhaps I remember these two because I would often see them in church.  Mr. Omodt was in the pharmacy department at SDSU.  Undoubtedly, he knew Bernie Hendricks rather well.  Deanne Hietbrink's father was also in the pharmacy department, so they were likely close colleagues.  I also saw the Omodts quite frequently in church. 

Another local who passed away was Hartley Nordbye (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675254Nordbye).  Some of my older brothers worked for him laying block.  I believe Mr. Nordbye was pall-bearer at my brother George's funeral in 1965.  His son Don helped me to get my old Chevy restored. 

Also passing away was Gary DeKraai (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=656758DeKraai).  He was little older than we are, but was also quite a fixture around town.  His younger brother Gordon was a year older than we were, but they must have moved in jr. hi.  I remember Gordy and his younger brother Randy from grade school and little league baseball, but have no recollection of them much after that. 

Just saw in the Argus-Leader that Tom Bates passed away.  He was a couple of years older than we were, and was the older brother of Patsy Bates.  His obituary can be found at http://www.georgeboom.com/sitemaker/sites/George3/obit.cgi?user=677584Bates

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to to Connie Lee, Mike McClemans, Patsy Bates, and to the Nordbye, Omodt, Kingsley, and DeKraai families.