Tragedy ended reunion plans for Andersons

Douglas and Diane Anderson planned to attend our 40th Class Reunion Aug. 6 in Nelson. They ordered their tickets and sent a cheerful note to the blog, telling of their 31 years of marriage and the wonderful family they had raised. "We'll see you at the reunion!" they promised.

Tragically, that was not to be. On July 31, their eldest son, Douglas E. Anderson II, was killed in a car crash in the Alexandria area.
Doug was born December 28, 1974 in Fridley to Douglas and Diane (Anderson) Anderson. Doug was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Robbinsdale/Cooper High School in 1993. After high school he married Kathryn Wilson on September 8, 1995 in Brooklyn Park. Together they had two daughters.

Excellent father, son and friend.
Doug worked in construction, water proofing basements and making cabinets in Lino Lakes. He moved to Lowry and began his own business – Douglas Anderson Dry Wall. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and the outdoors. He loved spending time with his daughters and family. He was an excellent father, son and friend. He will be sadly missed by those who knew him.
He is survived by his parents, Douglas and Diane Anderson of Crystal; significant other, Kathryn Anderson of Lowry; daughters; Kayla and Amanda Anderson of Lowry; maternal great-grandmother, Evelyn Gibbs of Sacramento, California; paternal grandmother, Mary Anderson of Alexandria; brothers, Brian Anderson of Lowry and John Anderson of Crystal; sisters, Kimberle Anderson and husband, Lance Brainard of Glenwood, and Shannon Anderson of Las Vegas, Nevada.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
Funeral services were held August 5 at Zion Lutheran Church in Alexandria with the Rev. William F. Moeller officiating. Organist was Irma Brockberg and soloist was Dan Olson. Interment was at Geneva Cemetery. Casket bearers were Brian Anderson, John Anderson, Tim Conner, Bill Rawlings, Chad Abts and Alexander Brainard.
Few members of our class have experienced the loss of a child. Only those who have can know of the profound sense of loss the Andersons must experience now. Our deepest sympathies go out to them and their families as they endure this sorrow.
(Obituary information taken from EchoPress web site)

Hold the Mayo! It's Greg Johnson's Birthday too!

According to Cub Reporter Tom Obert, today is Greg Johnson's birthday, not just Harland Hoffland's. Harland is 59 today. He's not sure if it is Greg's 58 or 59th. That's significant, because if Greg is 59, he, like Harland, can start cashing in his 401(k) in six months. "Egads!" Karen Schjei Benson seems to say in the photo, above.

It's Harland C. Hoffland's Birthday Today!

Yes, Har is 59 today, Sunday, August 28, 2005. He's down there in the Land of Enchantment, where there are no mosquitos and there is no humidity, because THERE IS NO WATER. Sadly, there are also NO CLASSMATES in The Land of Enchantment. So do old Harland a favor. Drop him a note at hchoffland@aol.com and wish him a Happy Birthday. It'll make you feel real good, and it might perk him up too.

Big News from The STATE FAIR!, says proud pop

Stan, Big news! My son's band, The B Team All-Stars, won the first round of competition at the Minnesota State Fair Thursday night. They now move on to the finals against 5 other acts on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. again at the Teen Fair at Baldwin Park. If they finish in the top two that night they will perform in the Main Grandstand on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. Fun stuff! -- John Herdan

(The photo above is an archive shot of John playing with his son in a backup band for the Crickets. Hope this is the same son that won at the State Fair. We're absolutely certain that it is the same proud, thrilled daddyo. -- TB)

Men harder to recognize than women, she says

Hi Stan,
It has taken me a couple weeks to get around to commenting on the reunion. What a good time! In my opinion, the guys were much harder to recognize than the women. (What are ya saying, here, Paula? - TB)
We started off the weekend by having dinner at the Bug-a-boo on Friday night and while we were eating we were people watching and trying to decide if any of the "older" looking people were someone we should know. As soon as we walked out on the deck we ran into a whole bunch of classmates - some easier to recognize than others.
Saturday night was great, I thought that I had seen and talked to most people but from the pictures on the blog I can see that I missed a lot of people. Are you sure the Steinmetz twins were really there? (Look what you started, Meyer -- TB) I just wanted to take a minute to thank you, Karen B., Lorlee and everyone else involved in putting together the reunion and the blog.
The pictures that are coming in are great to see - Lorlee did a great job. I hope we can keep the blog going as I really enjoy seeing all the photos and also reading all the bio's. In the few short hours of the reunion night it was awful hard to talk to everyone and find out what has happened in their lives and the blog really helped with that.
I have to agree with Bev Roers that the "clichishness" was much less notable at this reunion than at previous ones. I sincerely hope that we do this again in five years. Stan, thanks again for all your work on the blog and keep it going, there are a lot of us out here logging on every week.
Paula (Widstrom) Hanson

Ellen Van Kempen, Teresa Wadsworth Widstrom, Paula Widstrom Hanson, Claudia Johnson Brown, LaVonne Feda Andres Photo by Lorlee

Zillions of turtles and turtle eggs spawn name

Kathy Sherry Skadsberg sent us a beautiful photo and this note: "We found Robin Movold Niedenfuer, and husband Terry, living the good life at Turtle Ridge on Lake Chippewa, or 'Big Chip' as the locals call it, in Brandon. They sold on Carlos about two years ago and bought a hobby farm with 25 or 45 acres (numbers, numbers) on the north end of the lake. Had a farm house they lived in until they built a beautiful south-facing home, They named it Turtle Ridge due to the zillions of turtles and turtle eggs they saw this spring on the property."

Paul and Margaret Nokes drove from Bellevue, Nebraska.

Photo by Lorlee

LuAnnHammerschmidt and Jerry Lanigan

Just one more reason to have your colon checked

Stan:
Yes, Bev Roers Korkowski gets the free cigar. That is my wife, Beth, and Robin Kochie's wife, Gayle. Many thanks again to all the classmates that made the reunion possible and to those that attended. My wife met new friends and I was reacquainted with old ones. We are both looking forward to the next gathering in five years.
Glad to hear the Bensons are OK after the storm in Stoughton.
I also learned that Bev and her husband have a place on Lake Osakis that is very close to ours and we are making plans to get together soon.

Now, the really BIG news
Yesterday, Aug. 22, I went in for a 5-year colon physical and the nurse that assisted the surgeon was our long-lost classmate Michael Schultz! He was in the Class of 1965, of course. He now has a place on Pocket Lake, west of Alexandria and resides in Burnsville. He did not know of the reunion, BUT said he will be at the next one. I do wish I could have met him at a different time and place and circumstance. . . but at least we have found another classmate.
Joe Drexler

About Joe's colonoscopy. Clean as a whistle, he reports. Way to go, Joe. And please note that the trailboss hasn't made any stupid remarks, despite obvious opportunities to do so. -- TB

No, and he wasn't in the choir either

"What do you mean? So my Bobby wasn't the secretary of the Library Club after all?"
In the excitement of the evening, some classmates forgot their pledge to be gentle when informing Mrs. Watson about the actual details of her husband's high school career.

Hold your mice, we have a winner!

ID these two cheerful ladies, all you sharp-eyed bloggers. (Hint: don't look in the Alexian)Trailboss@swpub.com (Photo by Lorlee)

Hi Stan,
As far as the ID of the 2 gals, I didn't know either but recalled seeing the one on the right from another photo. That's Robin Kochie's wife Gayle. I've scanned thru other pictures and didn't spot the other gal with a spouse/65 classmate so far, but there are probably more pictures to go through that will solve the mystery if someone doesn't come forward to ID her.
Glad to hear Karen and Mark are OK! I had heard about tornadoes in Wisc. but didn't realize it was their hometown. Guess our monsoons are nothing compared to that, but we came home to some storm damage (trees down, etc.), and we had a huge hailstorm today! Arizona isn't the Sahara Desert many think it is.
Sandi Pennar Bonesteel

Good one, Stan!

……."no looking in the Alexian." That’s because these two gals weren’t in our class; the one on the left is Beth Drexler (she sat with us at dinner), Joe Drexler's wife; the other is Gayle Kochie, Robin's wife.

Bev Roers Korkowski

Judy (Roers) and Earl Anderson love to dance, but just talking with old classmates seemed to suit them just fine. Paul Strandberg was in charge of getting a ballroom dance band scheduled for the evening. We don't yet know what he did with the money.

John and Marilyn Rudd, now of Bloomington, Minn. Photo by Lorlee

Bill and Jeanne (Affeldt) Guenther Photo by Lorlee

Kathie Krebs says it's Jeri and Peter

Jeri Lee Salt Hillemeier and her husband, Peter.
We forgot Peter's name and asked blog readers for help, and guess who volunteered the info? Kathie Krebs! Wow. Here's her note:
"Jeri's husband's name is Peter. I have been following this web site for months. Really enjoying hearing about everyone and how they are doing. Would you pass my e-mail address to Dave Erickson? I don't think I have talked to him since he stood up for Roger Kostman when we got married in 1968. Thanks so much and please keep doing what you're doing. Kathie."
Really great to hear from you, Kathie. I will pass along your email address to Mr. Erickson on just one little condition -- that you write back with some words about yourself and your brother, Butch Krebs. All we know is that he's in Hutchinson -- he never writes, you know. You both have a lot of friends in the Class of 1965 and we sure want to know about you and yours.
Stan

Mark and Karen Benson, family, OK in Stoughton

Karen Benson and Tom Kiehne line up a putt

Tornadoes ripped through Stoughton, Wis., last week making some of our blog readers wonder about the welfare of residents Mark and Karen Benson. Emails inquiring into their situation went unanswered until Sunday night. Everybody in the family is fine, but the town is in tough shape, Karen writes. Here's her note:

"Mark and I were at the lake, and have just gotten home. We and the kids did not have any damage from the tornado. It went about a mile north of us. Pretty humbling, the force of mother nature. You have probable heard that one person was killed, about 20 people were injured, some hospitalized, I guess one individual is pretty serious.
Houses - about 15 destroyed and 59 significantly damaged. The roof of the Country Club was taken off. A number of new expensive homes along the country club were completely destroyed.
The day before the tornado, our church burned down. It was a new church that we built about eight years ago. It started in the school in the middle of the night.
I am sure there must be a lesson in all of this, however I am not sure what it is.
We and our family are all fine. Will keep you posted."

Karen

Roger Brown and company

Nice picture here of Claudia Johnson Brown, Roger Brown, Ellen Van Kempen, and Patty Peterson. Thanks, readers, for the assist on Roger. Should have known.

Fan mail for the blog! Your support is appreciated!

August 20, 2005
Stan,
It looks like everyone had a great time at the Reunion. Even though I wasn't able to be there, I look forward each day after school, coming home to read the Web Page. Looking at all the pictures is great, too!
Promise, my husband and I will be there in 2010! Kathy Sherry wrote me that you would have another one in 5 years and said, "Be there or be square!" Surely do not want to be considered as a Square!
Thanks for keeping the website going!
Sincerely,
Diane McCarthy Hendricks

August 20, 2005
Stan,
Harland and I enjoy your web site very much. We click on it at least twice a day, and you guys are very clever with your pictures and words -- and who can forget Mr. Ording! Thanks for the daily updates and pictures. You are doing such a great job.
Harland had such a great time at the reunion, wish I could have been there too. Just wanted to give you an extra boost for you to continue with your fine work, that must take some time out of your daily routine to organize. (This is better than the Echo, that is for sure!)
Once again, very much appreciated by all, even the 1965 spouses!
Carolyn
(Harland Hoffland's other half!)

Thanks, Carolyn. Harland was an organizer of the very first class reunion. Recently he turned over some material from oh so long ago. Some of that material will likely find a spot on the blog soon. Actually, Bev Roers is busy identifying little Catholic girls as we speak, so keep logging on.

Judy Blanchard, are you back yet?

Judy Blanchard was leaving on a trip shortly after the reunion if memory serves (and it often doesn't). Are ya back yet? How about a travel report from the old Echo news editor? And an update on that beautiful daughter of yours would be appreciated as well. Saw her photo at the reunion, but so little time for details.

Friday we had fish sticks

Roast beef, chicken, baby potatoes, green beans, salad and rolls, the Class of 1965 knows how to eat. The spirit of Sugar Ray Reuter kept the lines straight and tidy and the ladies reclaimed their purses from Ted Ording in the office when they were through.
(Photo by Lorlee, before she filled her own plate)

Did you hear the one about Paula! Pass it on. . .

Ken and Teresa (Wadsworth) Widstrom with Lynn (Joni Hopfner) Nordstrom

Photo by Lorlee

Yes, we're enjoying ourselves

Joyce Okerlund and Marlene Trousil Dynda
Photo by Lorlee

Jerry and Vicky (Karrow) Roquette

The trailboss and the photographer went to country school with Vicky. She is a younger woman. (Photo by Lorlee Bartos)

So it's a date. Just give us a jingle.

Tom Obert and Jim McPhee

McPhee writes:
Stan, I am still hooked on the blog, checking out the new stuff everyday. Obert, I was in Alex on Tuesday and found your place. I would have stopped, but you have a gravel driveway. I didn't want the dust on my truck.
I would like an invitation to play the country club, especially the back nine, they are great looking fairways.
Dave Serie, are you in every photo with your arm around some great-looking '65 classmate? I would love to play your course, my calender is open.
When I think about the people I went to school with, my perception is of everyone being 16,17,18 years old. Forty years makes a lot of difference in all of our lives. WOW- at all the successful people this class has produced.
The blog was really a great idea, I have read every bio and many of them more than once. It was a wonderful tool to get a glimpse at what has happened the last 40 years.
Thanks to all of you who worked hard on the reunion.
Jim McPhee

Obert responds: Stop in anytime - don't let a little dust get in the way, we can always hose you down. But seriously, you have an open invitation to play to country club (though we're re-seeding the back 9 right now) - just give a jingle at tomobert@rea-alp.com or 759-6571. Bring Sara and Susan, and we'll challenge anyone!
p.s. And don't worry about Serie - Kathy Sherry returned to Alex shortly after the reunion when she realized there was nothing to do in Minnetonka as exciting as a Saturday afternoon at Carlos Creek Winery!

Robin Kochie on tilt

Hey, is this how we sat for the Alexian senior picture?

Photo courtesy Vernon Studios

Busted

Karen Meyer Bird and Barb Vendel Floding

Karen Meyer Bird writes:
Hmmmm, busted in less than 2 days, thanks to super sleuth Lorlee. She's right; the Steinmetz twins weren't there. Just yankin' your chain.
Karen

.. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

The warden threw a party in the county jail.
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing.
You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock.
Everbody in the whole cell block
was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock.

Betty Larson and John Herdan were joined by Class of '66 refugee Rick Beresford in the photo above. Class members who know about John's son's band ("B Team All-Stars") and want something fun to do at the State Fair, here is the scoop:

Event: County Fair Winners talent contest
Performance Date, Time: Thursday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
Site: Teen Fair, Baldwin Park
Background: The "B Team All-Stars" won the Benton County Fair talent contest to get to the State Fair. If they win the 25th they go on to the county finals on Sept. 3 at the same location. If they finish in the top two they move on to finals in the main grandstand on Sept. 4. Got that? Be there or be square.
(Photo by Lorlee)

The photographer pauses to pose with friends

This photo of Kathy Josephs, Lorlee Bartos, and Bev Roers was not taken by Lorlee. Lorlee took about 100 photos of classmates and finally handed her new digital camera to an unnamed assistant for this dandy picture of herself with chums. Lorlee says that she can make prints available at a special site if there is a demand for them, but for now the photos will just appear sporadically on the blog for everyone's enjoyment. Lorlee continues: "Now I made a point of taking a picture of everyone there and those Steinmetz twins were not among the crowd. I actually was looking forward to seeing them since 40 years ago, we seemed to delight in needling each other. For that same reason, it was nice to see John Kusske with whom I had a similar relationship. He and I shared a delightful conversation. Amazing that in a mere 40 years, one mellows out."

Thanks for your unselfish work in providing a great photo documentary of the event, Lorlee. It means a lot to all of us.

...and probably just an innocent misunderstanding

Judy, Judy, Judy. Whatever you are accusing Mr. Benson of doing, there is no doubt a very logical explanation for it.
Photo by Lorlee

Pete Hintzen's Dad, D-Day survivor, old Cardinal

Carl Hintzen, 88, owned Steakhouse
Carl L. Hintzen, 88, Apple Valley, long time resident of Alexandria, died peacefully August 9, 2005, surrounded by his family. Carl was born in Shelby, Montana on October 6, 1916.
He was a standout athlete at Alexandria High School and an academic scholar. He was a Normandy invasion survivor and a proud American.
Carl and his wife, Kitty, owned and operated the Fireside Steakhouse in Alexandria until 1969. He was a great cook who dearly loved his grandchildren.
He is survived by his children, Peter, Kathleen (Patrick) Brannick, Michael (Sheila Haeg); grandchildren, Eric, Carl, Olivia, Kellie and Michael.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Kitty.
His son, Peter, was a member of the Alexandria JHS Class of 1965. The family lived in Victoria Heights for a time.
A memorial service was held August 15. Interment was at Fort Snelling.
(Thanks to John Herdan for providing this notice.)

Blog cub reporter Tom Obert, scooped again by John Herdan, adds this:
Herdan is beating me to the obit notices. But a few words about Carl Hintzen and the Fireside Steakhouse.
Carl thought his restaurant parking lot would be a good place for Pete to practice driving, as he was coming of age to get his license - wide open spaces with no traffic to deal with. Except for the one telephone pole . . . and Pete hit it (or so the legend goes).
Being best buddies with Pete growing up in the Heights had the super fringe benefit of having cheap (well, "free") access to Carl's great chefing. Whenever Pete and I would show up at the steakhouse before opening, Carl would whip up a big batch of his great french fries . . . and since we were both growing young bucks, Carl would comment that we ate "like the Russians were in Osakis."
Carl used to have the greatest poppy-seed hard rolls. I have never had a dinner roll, anywhere, that were as good as those rolls. No one seems to know where Carl got those rolls. I have sent out national surveys, hired private investigators, Googled the world of rolldom, but have been unable to find out. Anyone?

Charles and LaVonne Braunschweig

Posted by Picasa

"Hey John, tell Jerry I don't care if the drinks are a little overpriced, I want his hand out of my pocket."
Photo by Lorlee

Back from their excellent adventure on the lakes

Bonita Olson Gilbertson and Diane Hoffman O'Brien joined Kathy Sherry Skadsberg for an excursion on Alexandria's famous Chain O' Lakes last week. Like intrepid Viking explorers of old, they docked at points of interest along the fabled coastline, including the Obert log cabin estate where Tom and Ruth were easing themselves atop loungers set out for that purpose. Sherry hailed the napping couple on her cell phone, inquiring ahead about the whereabouts of her lost golf socks, abandoned in an earlier visit. This drew a roused Obert to the top edge of his fjord, then sent him clopping down the embankment in his flip-flops. Obert's neighbor, who had just returned from a trip to Switzerland and was now playing loud polka-like music, also appeared. As if to shrug off any danger his elder neighbor might pose to the approaching landing party, Obert shouted, "He's a DEMOCRAT!" This seemed to make Obert feel better, if only serving to confuse the explorers as to the gist of the bizarre lakeside behavior unfolding before them. Nonetheless, the mission continued without incident and eventually the golf socks were made fast in the hold. We shall let Obert pick up his version of the story from here:

Tom writes: We knew Kathy and Will Skadsberg were up here this week for vacation - at Betsy Ross Resort on Lake Ida. So, as we have done in the past, we waited for them to call us -- when they needed a little break from the grandkids! This afternoon, as Ruthie and I were fading in and out of nap time after another tough morning on the golf course, Kathy called . . . to say she was down below at our lakeshore (and here to pick up the golf socks she had left behind during her reunion stay with us).
She had boated over with fellow Lake Darling-ites Diane Hoffman O'Brien and Bonita Olson Gilbertson, neither of whom had I seen since I moved back to Alex four years ago (though I did see Bonita at the reunion). I hiked down our 78 steps to the lake to help Diane tie-up, and then we all walked back up the 78 steps for a little repast and chat. And then we all walked down the 78 steps again to say and wave good-bye. A lovely time was had by all (does this sound like the old society page in the Heckler?). Unfortunately, my cub reporter instincts have lapsed, and I forgot to get photos of the event -- maybe next time.

By the way, Mr. "Land of Enchantment"
I remind Harland Hoffland that the reason there is no humidity or mosquitos in the Land of Enchantment is that . . . THERE IS NO WATER THERE EITHER!

Blog's new ace, Karen Meyer, cops Stark story

Read all about it!

Hi Stan,
As a matter of fact, I did get the 'skinny' on Charley's beard. He's had it ever since graduation. In fact, he grew it out each summer during high school and had to shave it off for football (after much protest). He claims his wife has never seen him without a beard. I'd guess it's now about 5 inches long, and he's had it longer than that, but I don't know by how much. (He probably told me, but I have these "senior moments", you know.) Do I win a bottle of wine or anything?
I'm sorry, but was I the only person to recognize the guys in the photo below at the reunion? FYI, that's Richard on the left, Robert on the right.
Karen Meyer Bird
(Nice job on the beard story, Ace, but did you find out if he ever takes a part-time job at the mall around Christmas time? And the Steinmetz twins. Just where were they? Hanging with Schulke?)

Was Karen Meyer Bird the only one to recognize the Steinmetz Twins, Rich and Rob?
Posted by Picasa

Here's a fine young man... and good sport too

Ruth Ryding Yamaguchi and her son, Mykael, flank LaVonne Feda Andres.

Wedding crashers? We've got our own blog crasher

Stan,
You probably already know that more than just the 1965 alumni access and enjoy your blogsite. I have accessed it weekly for almost a year and daily since the reunion.
I think I was the one who contacted David Kochie to get Robin’s address last spring to get to you and/or Sara Smith Sevey. So I was so thrilled to see Robin’s picture today! I haven’t seen him since ’63 when I graduated.
Knucklehead nails quiz handily
And you have acknowledged many for all that they have contributed toward the reunion, etc., but it is David Serie who has gotten the biggest hand (if you know what I mean, Vern). It was not hard to finger him as the man with the ubiquitous hand.
Thumbs up to you for letting me eavesdrop.
David Erickson
Class of 1963
(Thanks for the note, David, and "high fives" for the helpful items and encouragement during the past year. The blog belongs to those who contribute to it. TB)

So now we know.

Dear Tom Obert:
Carol Gaffaney forwarded your request for the number of graduates in the Class of 1965 to me in the Guidance Office at Jefferson. I went back and counted the names on the program for commencement and it came to 262. Hope this number helps you win the argument you had at your class reunion!
Sue Luedtke
Registar

(Somebody else won a Bobblehead Ole for getting this number right at the reunion. Obert, intransigent perpetual font of misinformation that he is, still maintains his number of graduates is correct at 279. Oh well. TB)

Sharing memories of lost classmates is a big deal

Stan,
Just wanted to let you know that the blog had an impact beyond our immediate class members. I think I might have told you that we live next to Rallie Kvilhaug (Rick Kvilhaug's brother) at the lake. He lives right behind his mother-in-law and father-in-law who own the resort next to us.
The day of our reunion, his father-in-law passed away. I didn't find out about it till I saw the Alex paper on line on Wednesday. Yesterday I went over with cards for both his mother-in-law and for him and his wife. I saw him and gave him the card but got tied up with his mother-in-law and didn't get a chance to talk with him.
Remembered Rick
Later on he tracked me down and brought up the blog and how we had recognized Rick and the others on line. I also told him about the board we put up at the reunion. Rallie had gotten his whole family together, his mom, and his sister to look at the blog. He said they were all very moved and were grateful to know that people still remembered and cared about Rick. He was very emotional when he was telling me about it. They all send on their thanks to everyone who helped make that happen. It was appreciated!
John Herdan
(Thanks for the note, John. The only thing left of our deceased classmates are the memories we have of them. We honor these classmates by sharing these memories. When we do this, our classmates live on. Our class members own a treasury of these memories, many that are not known even by their own families. So the more we speak of our lost classmates, the more value we add to their legacy and the importance of their time on earth. We had hoped to formally share some stories of our 18 lost classmates at the reunion, but it didn't work out. We hope now to get some small measure of those memories emailed to us, by those who have valuable assests to share. John -- your note helped explain why this is important. Thank you. -- Trailboss)

If you know HIS name, you probably had too much fun.
Posted by Picasa

Lynn Nordstrom (Joni Hopfner) and Karen Schjei Benson. Karen is the treasurer of the class reunion, entrusted with thousands in cash receipts. Has anyone seen Karen lately?

Robin and Gayle Kochie

Greg Schmidt, Karen Meyer Bird, Charles Stark. Yes, about the beard. Did anyone find out how long he's had it? How long is it? Is this as long as it has ever been? Charley? Karen? Greg? Bloggers want to know.

Victoria Heights rules!
Here's Kathy Sherry Skadsberg and Johnny Seim. John Seim may have had the first stereophonic system in our class. He had two speakers hanging in his bedroom looped to a turntable. He had this long play recording of trumpeter Al Hirt, and wonder of wonders, you could hear Al playing Tijuana Taxi or something on one side of the bedroom, and then, damn, he was suddenly playing in the other corner. John invited me up to his bedroom to hear it. I'll never forget it. Amazing. Don't know if Kathy Sherry ever got invited. -- Trailboss

From the forensic files

Mystery hand. This hand has appeared on numerous shoulders in blog reunion pictues. Whose hand is it?

Bev Roers, Kathy Sherry, Paula Widstrom, Teresa Wadsworth and the trailboss.

Socioeconomic factors don't separate us any more

Bev Roers Korkowski writes:
Hey, Stan:
Just a belated thank you for a great weekend for the class of ’65! (We left very early the next morning for a week at a resort in the Brainerd area and just got back this afternoon so wasn’t able to access email during that time.) The two days were a wonderful chance to visit with so many of our fellow classmates.
One of the comments I heard from a lot of the people I visited with, and something that showed we’ve aged gracefully, is that the socioeconomic factors that may have separated us as teenagers has become a non issue. I think people were just happy to be “alive and well”! It was a good time for all.
I had to laugh when I looked at the pictures that have come in so far, as I’m sure there will be questions as to who the one “couple” is: my husband Cliff is pictured with Charlie Olson’s wife. Let’s see who figures that one out!! The two of them happened to be sitting next to each other at the dinner table so it probably looked like they were a couple. A good “mystery” couple!!
Thanks again, Stan, for a great weekend, and “let’s do it again in 2000 and 10”!
Bev

Have we bogged down your dial-up yet?

More of Lorlee's pix: from the top left, Mark Benson, Tom Obert, Karen Schjei Benson, Greg Johnson, Perry Butcher, Betty Larson Butcher, John Kusske; more to come if your desktop will take them.

People kept coming in until late, Herdan observes

John and Judy Herdan write: Thanks again for a wonderful reunion. It was great to see people keep coming in until late. Unfortunately, many people had left before we tracked down Gary Schulke out in the hall.
It was great seeing everybody. I was especially thrilled to see both Robert and Ruth Helie since we had grown up within a block of each other. I did go around and talk to all of the twins that showed up to tell them that, as the parent of 15-year-old twins, I now know what their parents went through, especially teaching them how to drive. What a project. After seeing the pictures of the twins, I know why I didn't recognize the Steinmetz twins. I was looking for people who actually look like them.
It amazed me how many people have found their way back to Alexandria. I think we'll have to get those Alex people together next summer at our cabin. Ruth Helie lives close enough to us that we were able to identify her dock just from her description. Marlene Zimmel actually lives on Lake Cowdry within a couple of houses of friends of mine from college.
Thanks to you and your wonderful wife, the Oberts, Betty Larson and Rick Beresford for the music, Karen for registration, Lorlee for the photos, Sara and Lynne and everyone else who helped.
John and Judy

The shy kid from Miltona and the women's togs

Charming as ever, Miltona-bred David Serie captured the attention, however brief, of Sara Smith Sevey at a recent patio party. Dave not only charms, he writes:

Stan-
As others have said, you and the committee are to be commended. The Roundup blog was a fantastic idea that prepared us for the weekend. Great work again keeping up with all the postings and doing it quickly, it was great!
Tom Lehman next time
The weekend exceeded my expectations, primarily because of the people. Making contact and seeing and talking with my good friends Harland Hoffland, Kathy Sherry and Sara Smith-Sevey and many others was indeed a treat. We had a great time on the golf course and I think it was one of the most enjoyable rounds I've ever played, although I really hated losing to McPhee, Olson and Sevey by one stroke. I will invite my good buddy, Tom Lehman, to play with my team in 2010!
Pigeons at the Parkers Prairie Prom
The stories that were re-told could have gone on for another week or so. It was just too short.
I was really ready with some of my good stories concerning the "Pigeon" incident at the Parkers Prairie Prom, the beer parties at Lake Irene (where my Dad woke me up one morning with this plastic bag with an entire, complete set of womens clothing that he had found in the woods and wondered what in H_ _ went on the night before!!?? Of course, me being a shy kid from Miltona, I knew nothing about it and I think I blamed that one on Donny Urness or Gary Schulke or Butch Krebs. (We missed you, Butch!!).
Give me a call, classmates
Again, thanks everyone for sharing the memories and hopefully we all can keep in touch through the web-site and e-mails until the next one in 2010. I'm hoping to see some of my old baseball buddies at the next one like McCabe, Larry Olson, as well as Krebs etc. If you're ever in the Minneapolis area give me a call and we'll play Edinburgh or just have a cold one. My phone numbers are listed on the BLOG with my BIO or e-mail me.
Regards,
Dave Serie

Another batch of sweets from Lorlee's digital oven

Here's the latest collage of funseekers from the Class of 1965. Are you getting the i.d.'s correct? Who has 100 percent? Trailboss has these 80 percent figured out. Please help. Trailboss@swpub.com.

More photos from Lorlee. We'll ID these later. Have fun picking out your classmates.

Lorlee's pictures are here!

Lorlee Bartos took dozens (actually over 100) photos of our classmates Saturday. They're great! Here are just a few. She's uploading more to the trailboss and we'll add them here as they become available. Above are cropped montages. The originals will be available at another site eventually, if Lorlee and the trailboss can get it coordinated. But for now, have fun identifying this group of fine folks!

Don Wilkie: "The whole time next time"

The Rev. Don Wilkie had two class reunions Saturday night, ours and his wife's. He split the difference, leaving for Long Prairie at about 5:45. Here's his note today:
Greetings Stan,
Just wanted to write a short note and say thank you for a job well done. I am sorry that I had to duck out early. By the looks of things it was going well; folks were really enjoying themselves and revisiting old times. It was great to meet several of the old classmates and have some good discussions.
I will definitely stay the whole time next time. Anyway, I want to say that I felt you did a terrific job in locating people, putting up the website so we could keep in touch and hear the stories of many, and steering to process. It was a wonderful idea to have the old yearbook pictures on the nametags; and to have the memorial poster for those who have left us so young. So...once again THANKS!!!!!
Don

Harland Hoffland talks frankly about his First Time

Harland Hoffland's golfing buddies. Harland, left, played his first full 18 holes Saturday. His training team included Dan Nagy (Serie's brother-in-law), Dave Serie and Kathy Sherry.

Stan,
Having returned to the "land of enchantment" safely, (Albuquque, New Mexico, for those of us who don't know what that is -- TB) I want to "thank you" personally again for such a successful class reunion "Round-up". There were many fond memories lassoed over the course of the weekend.
I am also grateful to Jim and Sara Smith Sevey for allowing me to register late and experience my "first" full game of golf, and how fortunate I was to have played with two pros such as Kathy Sherry and Dave Serie!
To my friends, Robin Kochie (wife, Gayle) and Dave Serie, time was just too short. I hope that in the NEAR future our paths will cross again -- maybe a golf game in the "land of enchantment" where there are no mosquitos, low humidity, and there's the fresh smell of mountain air.
Trusting that by this time everyone has arrived home safely and reflected back on the "65Round-Up" in Nelson, I am looking forward to the next reunion in 2010.
Regards,
Harland Hoffland

Just in case, we had Betty and Dave

Just in case things started to get dull Saturday night, these two stalwarts were on standby. Betty Larson had a bunch of smokey favorites for us to sing by the piano and Dave Serie was ready with country kids vs. city kids, bus students vs. town students tales. But things just didn't get dull, in fact, the crowd paused in its non-stop gaiety only grudgingly -- for grace and for golf gifts. Our thanks anyway to Betty and Dave for being there for us. In the photo, above, Dave has just told Betty his story about a beer party near Miltona. We don't know if Betty sang David a tune.