Growing on trees?

Grandma and Grandpa Korkowski (Bev Roers) just got back from Florida where they built a tree fort for the grand kids. Here's her note:

Stan: Since I’ve got recent pictures of additional grandkids, here are a couple for you in case you need some “fillers” for the blog one day. These are our Florida grandkids, living in Boca Raton. They are Joseph, almost 9; Ellie Grace, 7; and Andrew 3-1/2. Cliff and I just got back from a 5-day visit last week. The second picture shows the super-duper tree fort that Cliff and their dad built….800 lbs. of cement and over $500 of materials! The kids absolutely love their new second home!

Bev

A grandson in camos

Sandy Bonesteel writes: 
This is my new grandson, Aiden, who is now almost 6 weeks old. We love this picture, taken when he was 10 days old. Doesn't he look tough?

Ain't grandkids great?

These three belong to Bev Roers Korkowski and were found on her family blog.They are Isaac, Abby, and Evan Oxentenko.
Isaac is 5-1/2, Abby is almost 4, and Evan is 7.

Margaret Nokes, 60

We are saddened to learn of the death of the wife of our classmate Paul Nokes. Margaret Jeanne Nokes, aged 60, passed away Jan. 29. She had been ill for several weeks.

She leaves a devoted husband and two sons, Paul Jr, 35, his wife, Jennifer, and granddaughter, Kayla, of Oak Harbor, Wash.; and Ryan, 28, of Bellevue, Neb. 

She was preceded in death by her father, Archie Gann, mother, Eileen, and brother, Archie Jr. 

The funeral was held Feb. 2 in Bellevue with interment following at the Bellevue Cemetery. 

Memorials to the Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation. 

Paul and Jeanne would have been married 42 years this coming June.

Stan's dog likes New Orleans

In a scientific poll of K9 Super Bowl fans, this morning Stan's dog went with the sentimental, if not mathematical, favorite. Without hesitation, Birdie walked directly to the sheet of paper marked "Saints."
Anyone wishing to wager a dog biscuit on the Colts may do so by emailing Rolfsrud@gmail.com

"Tex" Rolandson takes a turn

Saturday afternoon Rusty Rolandson (JHS Class of 1964) joined performers Bruce Kelly and Annie O'Flynn in a stirring rendition of "Navajo Rug" during a break in the entertainment at the Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria. (Photo by Tom Obert)

Bud's girl in winning Cardinal clash

The hated Willmar Cardinals face the beloved Alexandria Cardinals tonight to decide the conference basketball championship. Both teams are 11-1. Among the warriors will be our classmate Bud Bruzek's daughter, Gracie, driving hard in this photo supplied by Tom Obert.

Obert won't be attending -- he'll be at the last home girls hockey game tonight, doing the announcing for Senior Night.


Update from Obert:
In the 2nd meeting of the year between the 5th-ranked Willmar Cardinals and the 6th-ranked Alexandria Cardinals (I think I got that right), our girls basketball team prevailed at Willmar on a layup with 3 seconds left by Kate Gearman. We weren't there, but it sounds like it was another barn burner. We got in the car just as Dave Harris was announcing the final 15 seconds of the game on the radio. Our Cards had lost three players to fouls, two of our bigs, Angela Christianson and Alli Haar, and player-of-the-game, Lauren Trumm. Without having heard the game, I assume it was again a game of contrasting styles - our speed v. Willmar's size (a 6'4", 6'2", and 6'1" front line, which is a lot bigger than the boys Alexandria team in 1965.).

Third eatery gone

Will there be a place left to eat in Alex when the Class of 1965 gathers in August? Not at this rate. Another restaurant has closed. Trophy's. We held our 25th class reunion there when it was known as the Colonial Club. Wasn't a previous one held there as well? 15? Seven year? Help. We ran a picture of everyone out front in a previous post on this blog that we can't find at the moment. But here's a couple closeups taken from that photo showing some good-looking 42 year olds. 

John Herdan sends this clipping from the EchoPress:
Trophy's shuts its doors
Celeste Beam - 02/05/2010

Another area restaurant is no longer open. 
Trophy’s Restaurant, which has been owned by Scott Larson and Penny Trenne since October of 2005, closed its doors for good on January 1. (The newspaper held off doing a story until the owners could be interviewed.) 
The restaurant, located along Highway 27 near Nelson, has held several names over the years. 
Larson said in the 1950s, it was known as The Colonial Club. It was also known as the Blue Goose and Santa Fe. Larson and Penne bought the restaurant from Kenny and Donna Berscheid. They did some work on the building, remodeling the volleyball courts and changing the name of the bar portion of the restaurant to Willy B’s Sports Bar and Grill. But it wasn’t enough. 
Larson cited the economy as the main reason for the restaurant’s closing. “It all started with the $4 a gallon gas,” he said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “People stopped going out after that.” He added that people become creatures of habit and even after gas prices started going down, people were used to staying home instead of going out.
 “The smoking ban also didn’t help,” he said, adding that in the summer it would be OK, but not in Minnesota winters. When the restaurant was operating at full staff, Larson said there were up to 33 employees. As time went by and the economy soured, Larson said he stopped replacing staff if anyone quit. 
In December, when the restaurant closed, he was down to six employees, not including himself or Trenne. The restaurant is up for sale and his hope is that someone buys it and turns it back into a restaurant. 

Trophy’s is the third restaurant to close in Alexandria since the start of the year. Others included Bug-A-Boo Bay and Time Square.

Bagels bites the dust

Class blog correspondent Donna Podratz passes along this item from the EchoPress. Another Alexandria business closing. There's also a rumor about Trophy's. Any word on that?

By Celeste Beam - 02/03/2010

After nearly 13 years, Time Square Bagels on 22nd Avenue West in Alexandria is closing. 
The owners, Wally and Roxanne Tischer, have posted a sign on the door stating the restaurant’s last day has been set for this Sunday, February 7. 
However, in a phone interview Monday, Wally Tischer noted it would likely be Friday or Saturday that the doors will close for good because he doesn’t think there will be enough product to get through Sunday. The Tischers owned the restaurant for the past seven years. They bought it from Rose Virnig, who opened the coffee and bagel shop in 1997. During their time with Time Square, the Tischers changed things up a bit by adding new food options to the menu, including Chicago-style hot dogs and New York-style pizza. 
As for why they decided to close, Tischer said it had everything to do with economics. “Time Square, just like many other restaurants, faced challenging times,” he said. He added that it’s hard for a restaurant, which makes fresh-baked goods daily that cost a little more, to compete with other restaurants.
“You can’t buy fresh-baked goods for a dollar,” said Tischer. The restaurant employed up to 24 workers, which made it hard to shut its doors. “This is very painful because it’s a part of this community,” Tischer said of the restaurant. “We want to thank our wonderful employees and our fantastic customers.” He added that everyone – his employees, his customers and the community – helped make Time Square what it was – a great restaurant. “That’s really the toughest part for Roxanne and I.” He commented on the location of the restaurant, which he called “absolutely awesome,” because it’s in one of the highest-count traffic areas in Alexandria. “Our vision is to have someone come in and buy it and keep it going. That would really please us,” he said. “It would be ideal.”

Manhunt over; Foss located

Thanks everybody!
The keys to the hunt were Charlie Olson and Roger Foss, Mike's younger brother, an attorney in New Jersey. Sara now has Mike's phone number (he's in Tucson) and we'll doubtless hear details soon.
Stan

Trying to locate Mike Foss. . .

We're trying to track down Mike Foss. We have an expired email address and now a poor confused "Mike Foss" from South Dakota who is not OUR Mike Foss who went to school in Alexandria.

Can you help us locate him? There's a party involved, we'd like him to attend. You know, the same one you are invited to in Surprise, Arizona.

Stan and Sara

Rolfsrud@gmail.com