Class of '66 luncheon at le Hotel Sofitel

At high noon, Tuesday, a half dozen courageous members of the Jefferson High Class of 1966 gathered at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington for a nosh and a visit. The gathering would have been twice the size, but a mild snowfall caused half of the intendees to wimp out.
Survivors included Sheri Platto, Al Verpy, Ric Beresford, Jerry Teeson, Sam Rolfsrud, Sharon Cassida, Carol Engstrom, Bob Lange and this noteless reporter.
Historic photos of the special event were captured in Beresford's skinny digital camera, but so far none have been submitted, so apparently they're still being developed at Beresford's drug store.
Snow fell outside the windows of this exclusive, snotty French hotel in suburban Minneapolis, creating a parking lot of nearby I-494. Nonetheless, the brave class alumni soldiered on, telling tales of adventures past (the identity of Ole's accidental arsonist was revealed), speculating on the whereabouts of some classmates and memorializing those who have passed on.
A few, like Bobby Johnson, simply called in with their regrets, he with serpentine explanations of why he hadn't joined these hardy folks who had just barely missed out on being members of the vaunted "Class of 1965." The cellphone with his voice on it was politely passed around the table, much like the bread, butter and rolls.
Jerry Teeson shared his heartwarming story of being reunited with his birth parent; Sharon Cassida said that reuniting with her child was no Oprah Winfrey experience, but satisfying, nonetheless. Verpy, a honcho now with UPS, gave his best assessment of current market conditions and an estimate of the return of real estate values. Beresford, the banker, struggled to reconcile the Sofitel bill, despite his French-Canadian advantage. In the spirit of the season, a large tip was left for the service person.
Carol Engstrom told of her delightful family Christmas with her sister Linda in Alexandria, also revealing that she favors pre-buttered and pre-sugared lefse on a holiday buffet.
The class came to order just long enough to move that this humble JHS Boomer Blog be declared to be the official web site of the Class of 1966. There being no objections, or alternative possibilities, the motion carried.
The Class of 1966 is most wistful and hopeful that a reunion in its honor will somehow materialize at some future undetermined date, they're just not sure how that is going to happen.
Solveig started telling a tale about a younger brother running barefoot in the snow, but was interrupted by her prideful elder who was concerned that the diners might get the impression that the Rolfsruds grew up without owning shoes.
Lang left for the law office, vowing to attend the next such gathering.
These events occur with great regularity. Should you desire to attend one yourself, you're most welcome, just contact the trailboss, as he is now the official Class of 1966 blogmaster and stenographer, and he'll put you in touch with the Messers Beresford or Teeson.
Oh. And have a very Happy New Year.

Karl's pick to click

Stan,
This video is pretty long by Internet standards (10 minutes or so), but it is a charming and sentimental look back at the 1950s. Much of it reminded me of growing up in Alexandria. I'll leave it up to you, but you might want to include the link at the JHS blog.
Karl Tegland
http://oldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheFifties.htm

Treasure from the Congo. . .

Dave Overly writes:

Stan, I just ran across this pic and thought it might be worth posting. This is the Confirmation Class of 1962, First Congregational Church, Alexandria, MN. (Click on the image to enlarge it - it has great detail. The bow-ties are stunning, Watson's waxed, and there's but one word for Herdan: precious. -Ed.) Front Row, Billie Jo Jones, Kathy Sherry, Teresa Wadsworth, Jeri Salt, Judy Seppanen, Bruce Rolfe, John Herdan, Larry Olson, Rev. Paul T. Dahlstrom; back row, Sue Gorham, Sue Graves, Pat Foth, Bob Watson, Tom Tessmer, Dave Overly, Scott Fee, Russel Bey.

I forgot I even had this picture, so it will be fun to share.

Dave

(Trailboss says: Have you got any treasures in your attic? Send them to trailboss@swpub.com for immediate posting.)

Burke Kiger '66, sends greetings

Wishing you all the joys of Christmas time,
Jack is finishing his Masters in Architecture at NDSU. He accepted a new job with the Air Force as a civilian architect. He will start June 1, and be in the Pensacola, FL at Eglin Air base. Whoopee! Christmas 2009 in Florida.
Tom is working on his PhD at the U of M. He loves watching Gopher basketball. He plays golf, lives near campus and rides his bike most days. His mom is so impressed that he is presenting 2 papers at the national conference. (She wonders why she didn’t learn to publish or perish?)
Katy is still working at North Central University as an assistant registrar and event planner. But, not for long. . . Jan 19, 2009 she will begin a new journey to South Africa. She will spend eleven months in missionary leadership, with field training with Thrive Africa.
Nancy is still employed at Douglas County Hospital. There is a rumor that a non-profit agency will be taking over in the spring, but she is going with the flow. She is hoping to visit Katy during family week in Africa. Plans for parents include a Safari.
I am still working, but it is nice to know I can quit whenever! My actual retirement date will be sometime in the next six months, so this is my last Christmas at the Post Office. Nancy likes my three pronged retirement plan golf, golf, and more golf.
The Kigers
May the joy of the season be yours the whole year through.

Greetings from the Overly family

David Overly writes, and encloses his annual Christmas letter.

Hi Stan:

This picture of Brenda and me was taken at Disneyland last Spring when we went to visit our daughter Sherry and family. Brenda continues her work as an RN Unit Manager at Heritage Living Center in Park Rapids, and I am still working as a Painting Contractor. Trust you and the family are all well. Remember those great Christmas Concerts we did at JHS....big combined efforts between the Art and Music Departments?

Thanks for posting the video of the Carolers and the pic from our era. Brought back good memories.

Blessings on you,

David

This is from Dave and Brenda's Christmas letter:

Mike and Sherry and family are in California. Mike works for Signature Fundraising and Sherry is an RN with Hospice. Sianna, 14, Olivia, 13, Elijah, 10, and Micah, 8, are all part of a Home School Co-op. We got to visit them twice this year.

Josh is in Bend, Ore., working road construction and loving all the outdoor activities available to him in that beautiful part of the country. We spent a few days with him in late September while on a road trip. We had a great time watching him kayaking.
Phil is the Youth Pastor at our church where Anna serves as Worship Leader. She also gives piano lessons to about 17 students. Tori, 8, Anika,6, and Trey 5, love their dog and cat. The girls love dance and music and Trey is all about boy stuff.

Seth and Lizzy still live in Otsego, Minn. Emma, 8, Abe, almost 5, Kayley, 3, welcomed baby brother Stephen David the end of July. Seth is looking forward to a change in employment and Lizzy keeps things running smoothly on the home front. Seth was a great blessing as he installed a new electric boiler in our house this fall.
Caleb lives and works in the Twin Cities. He is still at the same computer company. He has been working on writing music. He is currently recovering from ACL surgery on his left knee. He is looking forward to resuming some favorite activities when he recovers totally. Caleb put this letter together in no time. We would still be looking at each other in bewilderment?
Ezra is still living at home and working as a Paraprofessional in our local school system. He enjoys music and is part of a local ministry team. He keeps threatening to move into his own apartment (Ha!)
Ben and Joanna are also in Park Rapids. Ben has been working for his Dad and Jo is currently enrolled in a local cosmetology school. Ben and Jo are very creative and love music and art.
Seth is finishing his last year at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, and is in the process of deciding where to transfer to finish his BS in Business. He loves sports and was delighted to have gained 7 pounds on Thanksgiving Day.

Papa Har under the knife; no mouse

Harland Hoffland will undergo rotator cuff surgery tomorrow, according to a new post on Nolan's Network. See link to his blog, below right. Harland is a '65 classmate and we wish him well.
Here's a note from his wife, Carolyn:

Har is the "rock" of our family and it is hard to see him down, but he is hopeful, as usual.
We continue to pray for his continued health now and in the future. Keep him in your prayers!
His surgery is tomorrow at noon. Recuperation lasts six weeks with no driving. It is his right shoulder and bicep. This also means no use of a computer "mouse" as well, strict orders from the doctor. I will be home for the next two weeks, so we are hoping that in that time we can adjust to a schedule. He does not know how long he will be off work, tomorrow will tell the story.
Our Christmas will be quiet, and we accept that. Nolan said he would come and take care of his PaPa, so that will give me a reason to get out of the house. Nolan is so worried about his PaPa, too, because Nolan has been through so much.
We will march on with the help of God. When my Mom called tonight to wish Harland well, she said, "I am sorry I can't be there to hold your hand, but I am sure the good Lord will."
.........what more could I say!
Love, Carolyn

Greg Schmidt checks in

Greg Schmidt says he's busy, so he doesn't write very often, but it's Christmas time and that's when we catch up. We're glad to have the news.
Greg writes:
Here is my annual Christmas letter and a photo or two. I used to run a photo business in Alexandria called Gemini Photos, so you would think I should take a lot more pictures than I do. I had that business in Alex for over 10 years and took pictures at over 500 weddings.
I might get back into taking pictures once I retire. I am still working for IBM out of my home on Lake Irene, across the road from Chet’s.
I read the blog every now and then and enjoy it, keep it going. It is fun to hear about our classmates and Alexandria.
Mary and I are members of the Garden Club in Alexandria and enjoy that a lot.
My Dad and Mother are still living in Alex and, if you remember, he had Schmidt’s Electric and Furniture.
Dad still fixes Electric Shavers in Alex.

My sister, Valerie Hockert, who is three years younger than me, moved to Alex about a year ago and has purchased a new home. She has a Doctor's Degree in writing and used to own the Writers' Journal. She now teaches college classes online from Alexandria.

Here's the text of Greg's annual letter:

----
Christmas greetings to all of you.
We had a wonderful and full year. We hope you did too.
We spent January in Florida and took a cruise out of Miami before getting back in February. It was so cold after getting back that we decided to spend two months in Florida this coming winter.
We spent a lot of time after getting back on our gardening, and just puttering around the house. We did get to do a little more fishing this year, but not golfing, which we want to do, but just did not have time.
In May we drove out to Colorado to visit Scott and Lilia and we toured a little in the Denver area and also in the black hills a little bit on the way back.
We also celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in August and we had a lot of friends stop in for the open house.
We spent a somewhat more quiet year than the year before or so it seems, but we still were very busy. We would have liked to do more and made plans to do more, but just did not get everything done we wanted to, but there is always next year.
Greg is still working for IBM and is on call more often as there have been some reduction in staff. Greg is still having fun with his stamp collecting and helping Mary with the gardening.
Mary did a lot of canning this year from results of the gardening, and also is making Jam including from our first crop of grapes. Mary also started working one day a week or so at the Alteration Shop in Alexandria to pay for her new Sewing machine.
We are very busy with the family and watch the 11 grandkids once in awhile, but not all at the same time.
Our current family is now 23 people when we all are together which is not very often. We are lucky if we can get them all together once a year. We were not able to get them all together this past year, so hopefully we will be able to do so this next year.

All of the families are healthy and doing fine.
Here are a few tidbits about our children’s highlights for the year.
Terry spends about 6 months a year in China now, and this is very difficult for them. I think the rest of them Nesh, Logan Griffen, Katyia miss him very much when he is over there. They still live in Dayton. We wish we could see them more than we do.
Dave and Allison, Isaac, Wyatt and Kaycee are all enjoying their new addition to the family –Cooper who was born in October. They still are very busy with the L Motel in Alexandria.
Scott and Laila are still in Denver and Lilia has a new job.
Mike, Kara, Corey and Lilly moved to Alexandria about a month ago Lilly was born last December. Mike just started a new job in Alexandria.
Jenny, Simion, Tori and Amilia are still in Coon Rapids. Both Jenny and Simion are at the same jobs. We still have beds that we never brought to Alexandria at their house so we have a place to stay when we go to Minneapolis. Have a good Christmas and a happy new year.
We will think of you as we bask in the sun in Florida in January and February.
Have a good New Year.

Greg and Mary

Connect with Sharon Cassida Shaw

Sharon Cassida Shaw, a 1966 Jefferson High grad now living in Watertown, Minn., contacted the trailboss recently and said she'd like to re-connect with old friends. She submitted this brief biography, outlining a bit from her past and hopes that old acquaintances may see it and send her an email or note.

I moved to Alexandria in 1958. Loved Miss Zeller, who taught me cursive writing at Washington Elementary.

* best friend at Jefferson High: Kay Fladwood.

* attended small Christian College near the U of M for a couple of years before moving to Anaheim, CA.

* May 15, 1968, gave birth to my first daughter, Sarah. Made the difficult choice to give her up for adoption. Reunited in 1993, Sarah is a precious part of our family.

* Sept. 1968, my best friend and I moved to San Diego in her flower-painted car for sun, sand, surf and sailors. Found them ALL.

* Gave birth to my second daughter and again gave up the child as the best decision for her. Though we have never met personally, we were reunited by telephone in 1993. She and I, as well as our family, have built a strong relationship over these past years and look forward to meeting this spring.

* Dec. 27, 1969. Married my sailor, Michael Shaw from Lakeland, Fla.

*1970, moved back to Alex and Michael went to Tech School for welding.

*April 1, 1971, we had our first daughter, Heather Marie.

* June, 1971, moved our mobile home from Alexandria to Watertown, Minn. When we drove into town, I instantly hated this rural community. Small, rural, boring!

*April 26, 1974, our second daughter, Heidi Lee, was born.

*March 25, 1986, our "bonus baby" Christopher Michael, was born.

*Jan. 31, 1978, I began working at the Ridgeview Medical Center in nearby Waconia. I am still there and I love my job as a HUC on a Medical/Oncology floor.
*Oct. 1978, we bought our home in Watertown.

I feel blessed to have lived such a long life. I think of two young men, Carlyle Guenther and Michael Colton, who were killed in Vietnam and never had the opportunity to see 21 or have a family or grow old. I have rubbed my fingers over their names engraved on the memorial in Washington, D.C. and thanked them for the sacrifice that allowed me to live a life in freedom.

Life has been good and I look forward to my "winter years." I hope I will be able to connect with friends from the past through this web site.

Sharon Cassida Shaw

PO Box 1148

Watertown, MN 55388

gracealone@charter.net

Some advice from Lorlee in Dallas:

Stay inside and drink hot liquids!
And keep that *&^%$%^$$% cold weather up there.
26 degrees last night with patches of freezing rain and sleet -- made for a real mess. Today we will have a high of 31 and a low of 31 with the possibility of freezing fog in the morning.
This is just a personal note -- I had my 4 year checkup this morning and all is well. HOORAY!!!
Merry Christmas.
Lorlee

Merry Christmas from Bonita and Kathy

Bonita Gilbertson writes:
Kathy Skadsberg and I got together for "lunch" at Doolittles in Alexandria this month. We met at 1:00, laughed, talked (and yes, ate ) until 5:00. We maybe would still be there but I had to go to a Cookie Bake, and she to meet up with Cubby and then Robin! We just never run out of things to talk about. Old memories, and even though we email almost daily, what's new!
My granddaughter, Brittney took the photo. (She's a hostess at Doolittles.) Keep warm...Bonita

After the wind chill, you get a sun dog

Obert writes from Alexandria:

Well, we really dodged a bullet. Not a lot of snow, but a lot of wind. There is plenty of drift shoveling to do. Still about 40 below wind chills when I dashed out to take these photos of the sun dogs over Lake Darling.

Here it is!

The Oberts' Annual Christmas letter
In Memoriam: Maryann Rollie, Suki, June Kiehne, Mona Green, Hank Guzda, Bill Seal, Tom Spangrud, Chuck Bundy, Jackie Hawkins. We miss them all.

JAN 10 – The political season began with a visit to the Daily Grind by Senator Amy Klobuchar. Poor people from all over the country banded together, through the secret underground poor people’s network, to “trick” the nation’s major financial institutions into giving them mortgages they knew they couldn’t afford.

FEB 2 – The political season continued with a visit to the Daily Grind by senatorial candidate, Al Franken. If you like this posting, please completely fill in the oval with a No. 2 pencil.

FEB 14 – Our 7th anniversary – apparently we had no conflicts with girls’ hockey this year. Poor people from all over the country banded together, through the secret underground poor people’s network, to “trick” international hedge funds into buying their bad mortgages from the nation’s major financial institutions.

FEB 20-23 – The Alex girls’ hockey team won the Minnesota Class A tournament!! The team finished with a 27-1-2 record and had five players named to the all-state team. We’re such proud “grandparents!”

MAR 29-APR 8 – Spring trip to Florida and Texas. We stayed with the Owens and McMullens in Sarasota; visited the Kiehnes in Austin; obtained free lodging, again, from the Dushes in San Antonio; and ate Texas bar-b-q with Basketball Dan at The Salt Lick. Thanks again to all!

APR 17-29 – Ruthie went home to Terre Haute, Indiana, to help care for her ill mother. Well, Grandma Callecod is still going strong at 91. This in spite of exorbitant pensions negotiated by the UAW.

MAY 1 – Ice out on Lake Darling – the latest in 29 years. Poor people from all over the country banded together, through the secret underground poor people’s network, to “trick” international hedge funds into selling their bad mortgages to other international hedge funds, many times over.

MAY 17 – Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party district convention was held in Alex at Arrowwood Resort. In keeping with party stereotype, we forgot to introduce Alex’s mayor, Dan Ness, who had been patiently standing by to greet the assembled masses. The UAW was actually determined to be at fault.

MAY 18 – We Super Fans treated our state champion girls hockey team – the players, parents, and coaches - to dinner at the Alexandria Golf Club. Striking UAW workers failed to spoil the event.

MAY 20 – The political season continued with a visit to the Daily Grind by Minnesota house candidate, Bruce Campbell. Poor people seem to like Bruce.

MAY 31 – We began attending a series of graduation open houses for the senior members of the girls’ hockey team. They all went on to college so they could afford future mortgages and American automobiles.

JUN 6-8 – We attended the DFL state convention in Rochester. We nominated Al Franken for Senate. They’re still counting the ballots from the general election.

JUN 8-14 – Obert family reunion at Arrowwood. Cousin Mike came all the way from South Africa. Ruthie and I came from 1.1 miles away.

JUNE 10 – The political season continued with a visit to the Daily Grind by Al Franken. I believe we mentioned Tina Fey would make a great Sarah Palin.

JUN 16-30 – We went on an Alaska cruise! You can see Russia from there! In fact, we had a Russian tour bus driver in Juneau. He is a high school teacher and was giving us a geography lesson as he drove. He obviously never taught in Wasilla.

JUL 3 – Grandson Tom arrived from Indiana for his annual July visit. He will not want to do this for much longer. He has his driver’s permit.

AUG 3-9 – We went to Camp Brosius, an alumni camp for Indiana University (IU) in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the 2nd year in a row. We canoed around the lake twice – we have both been seeing chiropractors for back problems ever since.

SEP 4 – Tom’s birthday – we hosted an Al Franken fundraiser at the house. Al couldn’t make it.

SEP 10 – We hosted a pizza and hockey party for all the snowbirds who missed all the excitement of the state champion girls’ hockey team. Al would have preferred coming to this.

SEP 26-27- Homecoming weekend and the Hall of Fame luncheon sponsored by the Education Foundation. Tom Lehman, Hall of Fame inductee, noted it was the first Alex football game he had attended in over 25 years. The political season continued with a Bruce Campbell fundraiser at the K of C. Former Iowa governor, Tom Vilsack, was the featured speaker. We left the Alex homecoming game to attend. In our absence, the Cards scored two touchdowns in the final minutes to win the game.

OCT 2-7 – Anne and Bill Gross visited from D.C. We spent two spectacular days in Itasca State Park and Stillwater, and two crappy days sitting inside watching the rain. Sarah Palin, still not willing to write-off Michigan, joined the UAW.

OCT 12 – The political season continued with a visit to Dunn Bros. Coffee by Thomasin Franken, Al’s daughter. Poor people from all over the country, abetted by the UAW, are blamed for the recession.

NOV 4 – An old white guy is not elected president for the first time in history! Head election judge, Ruthie, worked 18 hours missing our Election Night Party but still celebrated. The UAW is blamed for forcing CEO’s from the Big 3 automakers to travel in private jets.

DEC 25 – The Oberts, the UAW, and poor people all wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

- Ruth and Tom Obert

Blizzard!!

Tom Obert writes:
It's early Sunday and it's just begun. Ruthie wanted to get a jump on it - we haven't received much snow yet. As late as yesterday afternoon, our snowfall amounts were predicted to be 2 - 4". Then this morning they placed us in the 12 - 18" range! So, while Ruthie challenged the elements, I headed out in the big Expedition to go a mile and a half down the road to the convenience store to re-stock the necessities in case we get socked in for a while. I would have been more comfortable going by dogsled. Interstates 29 and 94 are already closed in the Dakotas - I'm sure 94 will be closed here soon. Shoveling out will not be fun - the temperature is predicted to stay below ZERO until Thursday. After the girls basketball game yesterday (we won), we met friends at Weston Station for dinner. We had a long visit with Mark. He is going to work for his brother in Green Bay. But he said the restaurant will continue on - without even advertising, he has had a couple of interested parties contact him about buying it and continuing its 50-year history (through three owners) of excellence. Whew!