One Hundred Years Ago

In our 1969 annual, there is an aerial photograph of the high school. To the north is the east side of Brookings, with some SDSU buildings and the rural landscape in the distance.  So much of that is now changed.  The next page is the table of contents, followed by a two page picture of a young man standing in a hallway, hand on hips, just in front of an entrance/exit, and looking away from the camera and out the doors.  The caption reads "This is BHS...Not the Biggest But the Best."  This picture seems to be symbolizing our graduation from high school while yet remembering "the joys, the anxieties, the loves, and the expectations of the year...a reminder of these days."   Rumor had it that the student was Jim Bortnem.    In today's Brookings Register, there is an announcement on the Local page that "Sadie Bortnem (Jim's mother) is celebrating her 100th birthday, Saturday, Dec. 12.  Help her celebrate by sending her a card to 727 Third Street, Brookings, SD  57006."  Wouldn't it be neat to surprise the Bortnem family by taking a moment to send her a card on the centennial anniversary of her birth?  Wouldn't this also be a great show of support for our classmates and their parents for all that they have done for us?  The poem below is often a reminder of how frequently in life we take people and things for granted, and do not express our appreciation for them until it may be too late. 

                     I shall pass this way but once; 

                     any good that I can do or any 

                      kindness I can show to any 

                      human being; let me do it now. 

                      Let me not defer nor neglect it, 

                      for I shall not pass this way again.

                                                                                                           Etienne de Grellet
                                                                                                           Quaker Missionary

On a rather sad note, a couple of long-time residents of Brookings that may have some connection to us have passed away.  Sylvia Broadbent passed away on November 19, 2015 (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=45041397_SBroadbent).  Her daughter Susan graduated in 1968 , while her son Chuck graduated in 1967.   Their family used to live just a block and one-half east of us on 2nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue.  Next door to the east lived the Rossmans, where Steve Rossman, also in Susan's class, resided with his family.  To the west was a vacant lot, where the neighborhood boys would occasionally gather to play baseball.  Since the lot was rather small, we may have played more wiffle ball there so that no windows were destroyed.  Some years after her husband passed away, Mrs. Broadbent lived in a small house on 6th Avenue that was between the houses where Tom Bozied and I lived in the 50's.  Since my residence was still in the neighborhood, I was able to get re-acquainted with her.

The other well-known matriarch of Brookings who passed away is Hazel Little (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=80688614_HLittle).  Her son Dennis graduated in 1961.  Also in that class were Donna Bozied, sister of Tom; Jim Felt, brother of Patty; Judie Shirley, sister of Debbie; and Bob Webbenhurst, brother of Nancy.  Reyna Reidesel, too, was a member of that class.  She married classmate Jim Martin, becoming Mrs. Martin, the phys ed teacher at the "new" high school.  Her daughter Linda was in the class of 1965.  A number of our siblings were in that class:  Paul Adamson, Bernadette and Bernadine Ahlers, Judy and Jo Aann Berkland(?), Eileen Bortnem (?), Bob Bozied, Zoell Colburn,  Mitchell Egeberg, Richard Graff, Linda Ishmael (?), Cheryl Kohl (?), Kandace Kortan, Ann McCone, Connie McKeown, Mike O'Connell, Janeane Perso, Darlene Prussman, George Rickerson, Galen Roberts, Kath Schroeder, Patrick Skubic, Gerald Sloat, Donna Smith, Elizabeth Steen (?), Roy Taylor (?), and Dorothy Workman.  My apologies if I have omitted someone.  Linda married Chuck Matson, also from the class of 1965.  Would Chuck have been a son of the owners of Matson Drug?  Her husband was quite active in the community.  Was he on the city or county commission?  Did he have a Standard Gasoline Station, or am I confusing him with Norm Martin?  

Hazel graduated from BHS in 1934.  She appears to have been somewhat shy, as the saying accompanying her senior  picture was "Silence does not indicate a lack of wisdom." (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/228487?page=22).  Others in that class that may be familiar to us are  June Adamson, Ruby Berge, Bert Rude, Archie Vick and Helen Wilber. 

Veterans Day

The Brookings Register issue of Nov. 11, 2015,  has a supplement "honoring all who have served in times of was,in times of peace." A number of men who served in World War II are featured in such articles as "Rolling with Patton," "Pharmacist serves in both Europe, the Pacific," "Tales of a tin-can sailor," "Veterans and veterinarians," "Present for the first post-war big bangs,"   "Gunnery to dentistry," and "Getting his start in the Seabees."  For these men and women, whose lives were disrupted, World War II, to quote The Register,  "made them part of what Tom Brokaw called, in his book by the same, 'The Greatest Generation.' "   Many of these men are the fathers of our friends and classmates.  The articles described what the men were doing when they went into the service, where the were stationed, what they did during the was, and what they did after the war. 

Richard Wahlstrom is the soldier who rolled with Patton.  His son Rick was a year ahead of us in school.  (Rick was first baseman on our  Dodgers little league team in 1962 and 1963).  Mr. Wahlstrom fought in the Battle of the Bulge "on the 16th of December, which is a day to be remembered," he stated.  The "weather was terrible.  Feet got wet and cold and frozen, sleeping in foxholes."  He mentioned that they traveled at night, and noted the carnage that had taken place.  After returning home, he resumed his education at the University of Nebraska, where he also met his future wife.  She taught for four years in a rural school when he had been in the service.  He later went on to earn master and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois.  They came to Brookings in 1952, retiring in 1988.  They have been marrried for 68 years, and both he and his wife are still active in their church and in the community.

The pharmacist is Harold S. Bailey, Jr.  He served both in the Pacific and in Europe,  He was a medic in Italy in early 1945.  As he was pharmacist, having earned his degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, he was assigned to a ship that was headed to New Guinea, although the ship never arrived there.  Instead, they ended up in Okinawa.  He eventually set up a pharmacy and operated it there until the Army took it over.  Early in 1946, he was transferred to Sasebo, Japan, serving as chief pharmacist.  In August of that year, he returned to the States.  After marriage, he earned his doctorate from Purdue, eventually coming to Brookings in 1951.  From 1961 to 1985, he was chief academic officer, dean of academic affairs, vice president of academic affairs, and dean of the graduate school.

The tin-can sailor is George "Dale" Wagner, who graduated from BHS in 1941. He was in the Navy, and was at Pearl Harbor a couple of years after the initial attacks.  He later had duty on just about every island in the Pacific.  "Every island out there, we hit," he is quoted as saying.  He was discharged in 1946, having hauled troops back from Calcutta and Karachi after the war.  I believe Mr. Wagner is the father of George, who was a couple of years ahead of us.  He was on the state championship team of 1967.  Did he place fourth in 120 lb. weight class? 
Another Bailey also later associated with SDSU served in WWII.  James Bailey came to Brookings and "served for 17 years as Extension officer at SDSU, working with other veterinarians on their continuing education requirements and holding meetings with ranchers."  After retiring in 1985, he was named Extension veterinarian emeritus.  James entered the service in 1943 in the midst of his veterinary studies at Iowa State.  He did not see any action, as he was ironically sent back Iowa State because the tests he took at Riverside, CA qualified him for the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP).  He was able to study veterinary medicine while enjoying a little taste of the Army.  In 1944, the SSTP program was discontinued, so James continued on with his schooling.  What was fascinating about his experience with the Army is that his father was also a veterinarian, and served in France the last few months ofWorld War I.  At that time, veterinarians were necessary because mules and horses were a vital component of the war effort.  The ship on which the elder Bailey sailed to France carried not only soldiers, but also about 700 horses and mules. 

A local dentist also contributed to the war effort.  Dr. Phil Blackford  served in the Army Air Corps, having joined in 1943 right out of high school.  He received training in Las Vegas, but it appears that the cadets were given the option of leaving the program, as the war effort was winding down in Europe in 1945.  He chose to return to college and then continue on with dental school at the University of Minnesota.  He came to Brookings in February of 1952.  Of his fellow veterans, he said, "We were raised in the Depression years.  We weren't affected like our parents were.  But once you've been through something like that, it never leaves you.  If gives you a different slant on things.  Life can be messy.  It was a different mindset." 

Does anybody remember the Junior High Newspaper "The Wildcat"?  It probably came out at quarter time.  The last issue usually contained a last will and testament of the 9th graders in which they willed something to the 8th graders.  It is likely that the editors of the paper concocted up theses stories.  Any way, one that comes to mind is Chip Kabrud passing on his basketball shooting abilities to Tom Bozied.  There was also a column in one issue that was a little on the "punny" side.  In that column was this statement:  We have a Blackford, but no White Chevy, or something similar.  The reference was to Nancy Blackford, who was a 7th grader when we were 9th graders.

Another Brookings resident who contributed to the war effort was Lloyd Darnall.  His article can be found in the pictures below.  It's in rather small print, but if you click on the image, will it be enlarged enough to read it more easily?

 

Lives Worth Living

Recent months have witnessed the passing of a former teacher (and colleague),  and a father and a mother of our classmates.

The former teacher who passed away was Joyce Pedersen (
http://www.skrochfc.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3324799&fh_id=13431).  It seems that her first year of teaching in the Brookings school system may have been  1962-63.  Below is a picture of that class.

It appears to me that the first row of boys is Tom Salonen, David Hajek, David Helfinstine, and Tom Madson.  The second row boys are Larry Boggs, Emmet Earley, Dennis and Danny Kruse?, Darwin Beynon, Larry Nolan(d?), Steve Wobbema (in front of Larry), Bob Lee, Jim Kortan (in front of Bob).  The third row of girls is Mary McMillan, Diane Heath, Barb Henry, Barb Allstot, Margaret Travis, and Patsy McKeown.  The top is Miss Pedersen, Iris Clauson, Nancy Webbenhurst, and Marilyn Anderson.

When the old high school became a Middle School in 1967, Miss Pedersen remained as a 6th grade math teacher until retiring in 1992.  In the fall of 1972, my student teaching assignment was in 6th-grade math and science.  I was fortunate to make her acquaintance at that time.  A few years later, my teaching assignment was 6th grade science, so we became even more familiar with each other.

Miss Pedersen lived in Colman, but did not drive back and forth each day.  She had a small apartment,  perhaps on Main, just a few blocks west of Central Elementary.  It was not uncommon for me to see her walking from that directions, as we would often arrive before school at about the same time.

On October 11, Lee Colburn's father passed away (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=03838202_JColburn).  As the obituary states, the family moved to Brookings in 1957.  If memory serves right, that was in the spring when we were in kindergarten.  Lee had a little red bike that he rode to school.  Some of us did not even know how to ride a bike at that age.  At that time, the family lived on west 8th street, with Sexauer Creek just about in their back yard.  A few years later they moved near the campus, just a block west of the Campanile.

A few times during our sophomore year, Lee invited me to go ice-fishing  with his dad and brothers.  Usually, it was after an away basketball game.  As we had to get up early, we were probably somewhat sleep-deprived.  Lee's youngest brother Jon was about six at the time.  What sticks in my mind is that if the Monkees' song "I'm A Believer" came on the radio, Jon would know when to sing the line "Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer."

Lee undoubtedly inherited much of his athletic ability from his father, who was also an accomplished basketball player, not only in high school, but also in college at SDSC (as it was then known).  I believe one of his teammates at State was Don Mohlenhoff, who later became the basketball coach at BHS in the mid-60's. 

Mr. Colburn was an avid outdoorsman, and an accomplished bowman.  While looking over some old Registers from our highs school days,  both he and his wife won numerous awards in archery.

Mr. Colburn also had a way with words.  At his funeral, this poem that he had written was on the back of his obituary.
 

Another parent who recently passed away was Lillian Workman (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=52858226_LWorkman), mother of Judy.  Mrs. Workman seems so typical of the women of her generation:  very generous with her time, skilled in sewing and baking, and devoted to her family, her church, and her neighbors.  The poem below summarizes what a wonderful person, wife, mother, and neighbor she truly was. 

Another individual that many of us may have known also passed away recently.   She was "Lefty" Johnson's secretary for about twenty years (her first year appears to be our first year of junior high), and continued in that position for another ten years after he retired.  It was my good fortune to be one of the teachers on the staff during her tenure as Junior High and Middle School secretary.  Not only was Mrs. Barb Behrend  (http://eidsnessfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Eidsne1/obit.cgi?user=80549529_BBehrend) an outstanding secretary, she volunteered much of her time to the Hospital Auxiliary and to other local charitable causes.  However, she may be best known for her genealogical expertise.  Her obituary explains that work better than I can.  She was truly an amazing person, and contributed greatly to the history of Brookings County.  She, Miss Joyce Pedersen, J. Duane Colburn, and Lillian Workman will be truly missed.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families. 

Reunions

As many may know by know, our  class reunion, or 65th birthday party, is scheduled for July 16, 2016.

This summer, the basketball team of 1967-68 (and a few other classmates)  held a couple of informal reunions at Nick's, courtesy of the efforts of Bob Adams (BHS class of 1968).  These tales can be viewed at http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2015/07/re-acquainting.html#comment-form and http://classof69bhs.blogspot.com/2015/06/gus-adams-sad-and-glad.html#comment-form.  Those two preceded a wonderful reunion held on Sept. 26, 2015, at The Depot, a local eating establishment run by Mike McClemans (BHS class of 1968) and his family. Players in attendance were Bob Adams, Steve Hayes, Bernie Hendricks,  Barry Howe, John Iverson, Jim Kortan, and Tom Osterberg.  Stew Linn, our manager also attended, and we eagerly read through the scrapbooks he and his mother had compiled during our junior and senior years.  Coaches attending were Mr. Jostad, Mr. Webster, Mr. Klavetter, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Tlustos, all of whom still live in Brookings, and Mr. Thury, who, that morning, drove all the way from the Twin Cities area (Lakeville?), and then returned later in the afternoon when he we had finished swapping stories with each other.  Many of us had not seen Mr. Thury since high school.  He may be almost 20 years older than we are, but still exhibits the energy and vitality that made him such a dynamic person, teacher, and coach.  His stories seem to be never-ending.  He claims to be the only coach to take teams to the state tournament in three different states.  He even stated that we could do a web search to prove his veracity.  My web search could not confirm his statement, but did turn up a few interesting tidbits.  From the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan, of Tuesday, April 15, 2008 12:00 am:

50 YEARS AGO

Tuesday, April 15, 1958

 

• Coach Floyd Mitchell at Southern State Teachers College awarded 10 basketball letters to Jon Westling, Centerville; Bill Pistulka, Fairfax; Bill Belitz, Armour; Arlo Mogck, Parkston; Dennis Sudbeck, Parkston; Don Guthmiller, Menno; Jan Mitchell, Springfield; Ervin Ptak, Tabor; Ken Thury, Parkston; and John Adel, Tyndall. 

A couple of other interesting items can be found at these sites:  http://sdbbhof.com/2015-inductees/lee-colburn-2015/  (this article is about Lee Colburn's induction into the South Dakota Basketball Hall of Fame, but mentions Mr. Thury)

http://shop.yankton.net/media/pubs/517/1978/13870-74252.pdf  (this article notes that Mr. Thury played in a seven-overtime basketball game against Black Hills State when he was playing for Yankton College),  Evidently, he had transferred from Southern State College to Yankton College.

We revisited those youthful days while we were able to watch somewhat four old films of portions of some of our games from that bygone era.  The original films were just that, 16 mm film.  One reel of film  lasted about 12-15 minutes, so Mr. Thury had Mr. "Nig" Johnson, the athletic director, just film selected portions of the game.  One week might be devoted to defense, while the next week may have more emphasis on the offensive end.  Not every game was filmed, either.  We were able to save these films from destruction several years ago.  The custodians were cleaning up the equipment room upstairs by the swimming pool.  They were discarding old uniforms and equipment that was thought to be no longer needed.  Fortunately, the equipment manager (Bob Ritter) knew that those films had sentimental value.  He had actually attended Southern and knew Mr. Thury, so Mr. Ritter made sure that they were given to us.

This little reunion was a great way to end summer and "kick off" the fall football season.  The night before, the homecoming game was held, and the Bobcats defeated Huron quite handily 54 to 12.  That win was especially nice for Bob Adams and Barry Howe.  When they were juniors, the Bobcats played at Huron  n the last game of the season.  A win would give the conference championship to the Cats.  Hopes were high, as the Cats had some talented players:  Whitmore, Broadbent, Beneke, Wheeler, Thorne, et al.   However, it was not to be.   

The Wayback Machine

In the Brookings Register recently, mention was made of a Steve Braley, age 65.   Also listed was his address.  Some of us may remember a Steve Braley who was a year ahead of us in school.  He had an older brother Mike, who was a talented athlete, and who graduated in 1959, along with "Skip" Webster and Bob Shelden.  Went for a bike ride today by the address listed in the paper, and a man was retrieving mail from his mailbox.  Politely asked him is he was Steve Braley ,and he replied that he was.  We had a good time reminiscing. 

My memories of him are from Little League baseball.  He played on the Yankees, maybe the best team in 8-10 year old division those years.  The first game our team (Phillies) played in our first year was against them.  They slaughtered us.  They may have scored 20 runs in the first inning against us.  May have to check some old Registers to find out the actual result.


He  moved to Huron about 1961. He recalled some of the basketball players we played against, such as Jim Drake , Perry Danforth, and Bob Martin.  After high school, he lived in Sioux Falls for about 25 years, and has been in Brookings for about 10-15 years.  My other memory of him in our elementary days is that he was in our First Communion class (1959?), pictured below. 

I believe Steve is in the third row, second from the left, between Rick Thompson and Mike McClemans. 

The "Wayback Machine" is a reference to the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show from the 1960's.  If your memory needs refreshing, perhaps this website may help:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Peabody

From Sea to Shining Sea

Have you Baby Boomers exercised yet today?  How about on a regular basis every day?  Tough, aerobic exercise?  Me neither.  At least not as much as I should.  Below is an update from Jim Arndt, class of '68.  Jim is biking cross country with a friend from Oregon.  Jim has my respect and admiration.  I bike once or twice a week to the tune of about 25-30 miles, but to do more than twice that...every day...for over two months?  It's not in my mental skill set.  Way to go, Jim!

From Jim:
Update 4, rest day 3, Sept 6 On the Colorado and Kansas plains.... We have left the cool and elevations of the west and in its place are the hot windy plains. The updated statistics since Update 3 include: total mileage 2430 miles or 83.8 miles/day on riding days (have ridden 29 of 31 days, or 32 days if I include today's rest day). We are averaging 2846 feet of climb/day and average 6:25 min/day of actual spinning each day and the average speed is 13.06 mph. In the time period since the last update, the mileage per day was higher at 88.29 miles/day (including 3 century days) given the flatter terrain 1193/day. However, we were hopeful of greater mileage in this section with hoped-for prevailing west winds. It never happened. Our route has taken us southeast and stiff south winds make every day a grind. We generally head the south component of the ride as early as possible to take advantage of lesser winds to head into. Winds were 10-25mph through the day....difficult when headed straight into them (8-10mph) and better with side winds at 11-13mph. After a particularly tough day of 118 miles with winds (toughest day of the trip?) and promised stiff south winds, we rethought our next few days and reduced mileages to accommodate the winds. 10 phone calls later ( 5 new motel reservations and 5 canceled reservations) we had our new schedule. It was disappointing to not make the time and add relatively easy miles on the road which had a gentle elevation drop from el 5300 to 800. But such are the vagaries of bike travel. On the plains, especially with adverse winds, you only make progress when spinning....absolutely no coasting...so the hours of travel are relentless...progress based on how much you wanted to challenge the conditions...or in my case, how I could get to the destination and have a scotch (should I be worried about this reoccurring theme??). Our ports of call included Ordway, CO, Tribune, Dighton, Great Bend, Hutchinson, El Dorado, and Chanute, Kansas. Unlike the last update there were no notable towns we rode through (sorry Kansas)...unless you liked expanses of land with no services. We did plan carefully to ensure we had fluids, but frankly, warm grape Gatorade and water at the temperature of coffee just are not very appealing. I find myself drinking water virtually non stop from arrival at day's end until bedtime (8:30-9:00). The terrain started as bleak in Colorado and gradually returned to civilization in eastern Kansas with trees and farm crops. Note: Kansas highways are GREAT!...our roads have 8-12' shoulders and great pavement surface! (Colorado roads, conversely were terrible). Each day seemed to include something of note (well, at least to a biker who grasps at any little morsel of change to the pedaling). In Ordway, we had no choices for dinner. However, when at the grocery restocking for munchies the next day, the manager of the adjacent local bar, Black Bart, said he was "throwing meat on the grill...stop by after 5." We went in about 5:30, ordered a Coors draft (all draft microbrews have given way to Bud, Coors). The bartender said the drafts were $3.50 each. True to his word, there was a huge pan of bbq pork chops....sides were two bags of potato chips from the grocery store. When I asked to pay for the chops, and did he have plates, silverware, I got a perplexed look. "No plate or silverware...just use paper towels and eat with your hands...no charge for the chops and chips, just $3.50 for the drafts." So Ed and I and the flies dug in and the circulating German Shepherd remained respectful, if not envious. In Dighton, talked with the 77-year-old former City Manager of 27 years who proclaimed himself fit. Took three pills a day. "One for blood pressure, one for dementia, and the third....aw I forget." Perhaps, I thought, he could skip the second pill. We almost stayed at a "B&B and exotic animal farm" which included zebras, llamas, and camels! Reviews noted that rooms had farm animal smells, but what the heck, the animals shared the building. We passed. The smells gave way from timber to warm smell of the farm....silage and cattle mixed with occasional scent of sweet crude oil. Gas prices were as low as 2.19/gallon. Consistent with the oil derricks on western Kansas and eastern Colorado fields...all seemed to have 3 or 4 pumping into small storage tanks for pickup. I physically still feel fine....sleeping better out of the higher elevation. Long riding days make me mindful of my bottom! General fatigue from wind made this a welcome day to rest. Next week we pass into Missouri and the Ozarks headed to Illinois. No planned rest yet.

Preparations Are Underway

Some of us were wondering why we had no class reunion last year, 45 years after graduating from BHS.  Sixteen years ago, rather than plan a 30th reunion, it was decided to have a 50th birthday party.  Similar logic led to the idea of having a reunion in honor of our turning 65, which happens to be next year for most of us.  Hence, we have begun to commence (in the words of Guy O. Karnes) with plans for the next reunion of the BHS class of 1969.  Our small committee, however, could use  a little help.  Since we are trying to use email and social media to notify everyone, we need emails or residential addresses of everyone.  We presently have email addresses of 88 classmates.  Some of these, though, may no longer be active.  Coincidentally, we are also lacking 88 emails.  We recently sent out an email on August 25 with information on the proposed dates for next summer's reunion.  Those dates are June 25, July, 2, and July 16 of 2016.  We have traditionally met during the Brookings Summer Arts Festival, which next year is on the weekend of July 9-10.  However, we felt that there would be too many obstacles and distractions for us to have a convivial gathering.  In any case, early responses indicate that the July dates are preferable.  Seven  people have indicated that June 25 is satisfactory, while July 9 is okay with nine people.  July 16 is okay with 11 people.  Some individuals have no preference, so they are fine with whatever date we decide.  We still would like to hear the wishes of the rest of you, preferably by Sept. 4, as we will be meeting shortly thereafter. 

If you have addresses of any of our classmates, whether email or residential, please respond to the email we sent out on August 25.  We would like to, if possible and with your help, contact every member of our class to invite them back for a wonderful experience.  Thank you to those who have already responded, both with addresses and their preferred date(s).   We have added eight new email address to our mailing lists.  Let's see if we can add those missing 88.  For those of you who are proficient and active on other media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Classmates, Pinterest, etc., feel free to inform those users of our plans.