Reply from Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND

Gary and Friends,

In response to the picture of our friend Bill Grimme, Bill—being
conservative is good, but you could upgrade your wardrobe to something
with a little more color! Drab is out! Come on, get with it!

Dick

Dick, Bill’s outfit reminded me of the song “My clothes of many Colors”. I’ll have to say Bill looked pretty sharp in that outfit. Gary

Memories from Dick Johnson:

Gary,

I too can remember an incident involving your brother, Allen. We were
all down at Rendahl sledding on a hill to the east of the church, on a
Luther League gathering. I had driven a bunch of kids up in my old ’47
Plymouth. I had grips on the back that I bought from George and Lela
Cota for $5.00. I told Allen that with those grips and the weight of
that car I could go damn near anywhere I wanted without getting stuck.
He said he didn’t think that car was so heavy after which he backed up
against it and grabbed the rear fender and then lifted the tire off the
ground. We were pretty impressed that he could lift that much for a big
skinny kid like that! That was in the winter of ’64-’65. I remember the
year because that was when I drove that car.

Dick

Dick, Allen was noted for having a lot of muscle power. Nobody wanted to mess with big Al. Allen in his day was pretty well known by the local police too, for his driving habits. I remember one time he had a pretty noisy car that he was cruising around Bottineau in. He was warned by the local police to get that thing out town. A week or so later he was back in town with that same noisy car. When they pulled him over again, the officer said to him, “I thought I told you to get this thing out of town” and Allen’s reply to the officer was, “I did get out of town, but I’m back”. With all of the traffic violations that Allen had he lost his licenses, but still continued to drive. It became quite a game for the local sheriff’s and highway patrol to try and catch him. They always had reports that he was on the road, but were never able see him. He always saw them first and was able to dodge them. Those were the days. Gary

Picture from Aggie Casavant (69): Fort Mill, SC

Hey Gary, To some of the people who have e-mailed me and requested a picture cuz I didn’t make it to the class reunion…this would be me…taken last August,and getting older…LOL… Hope you all have a Blest Day!

Aggie, This is a mighty fine picture. You look great! I think I remember you telling me that you are a correctional officer for the state prison system. Did I remember that correctly? Gary

Reply from Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND

Gary and Friends,

All the mentions of fireworks reminded me of the 4th of July in ’63. I
asked Ronnie ‘Big Chip’ Johnson to come along to Lake Metigoshe for the
weekend. We bought a few packs of firecrackers and some other stuff and
were ready for dark. Ronnie had a brand new sweatshirt with the pocket
across the front. He had it full of his firecrackers and some of the
lighters called ‘punks’. We were lighting a few firecrackers off the
punk and decided we would wait for a while to do some more. He snuffed
out his punk and stuck it in his big pocket with the firecrackers.
Well—it wasn’t out and for the next five minutes he jumped around the
yard screaming while the entire works went off in his new sweatshirt. I
remember him holding his sweatshirt out as far as he could and jumping
around like a wild man! I don’t remember him being burned but the
sweatshirt didn’t look to good when it was over! Thanks Gary!

Dick

Fishing trip to SD with pictures from Sharron Gottbreht Shen (59): Everett, WA

Dear Family and friends,

Victor and I just returned from lunch and I thought I would share news and a few pictures of the week in Mobridge, SD from June 13/19. Fishing could have been better, but the time and place and folks were splendid. We has the use of 2 fishing craft that had seen years of service and 2 owned by Bob and Jeff Gottbreht that are really on the cutting edge. Great food each night provided from fresh catch of the day prepared in Rick Gottbreht’s portable kitchen. Nora and Ivan were an excellent fit to the group; Nora has surely won the hearts of all the family.

Love, Vic and Sharron

Gottbreth fishing trip phote L to R:
Cheryl Bailey, Ernie G, Rick G, Ivan Shen, Ryan G, Sharron Shen, Jeff G, Bill G, George G, Will G [son of Bill], Marc G, Victor Shen, Nora Obringer Shen

Folks, with these pictures I would like to comment that Cheryl Bailey, Ernie’s friend, is a real sweatheart of a lady. We met her at our class of 65 reunion and then we saw her several times in Bottineau following the reunion. Cheryl is so friendly and nice. Gary

Cheryl Bailey, Ernie Gottbreht, Ivan Shen & Victor Shen

Sharron Gottbreht Shen’s letter:

Fishing News

Early plans for Gottbreht fishing derby kicked off by Bob Gottbreht late 2008. Bob’s wife Connie was the only female attendee at previous meets. This year, all comers were welcomed. Uncle and cousin Gottbrehts were eager to meet our daughter-in-law Nora and pressed Ivan to abandon Wall Street for some serious fishing and evening “fish” stories and other lies in Mobridge, SD. Nora said she would go if Victor and I would be there, and so it was.

Nora and Ivan, Victor and Sharron rendezvoused in Bismarck, ND. Food first happened at Dave’s Amazing Barbeque and was voted commensurate compared to the best in NYC’s Righteous Urban Bar-B-Queue or the Shack in Dallas, TX. The drive south on the west side of the Missouri was amazing. Rolling hills so green, studded with clusters of cattle and buffalos with their young. America, America. Digs at the Wrangler Inn were OK because of pool and hot tub; next time we opt for the park cabins; excellent rustic comfort.

We were four boats on the Missouri, 5 persons/boat; captains were Jeff, Bob, Ernest and Marc Gottbreht. Long hours and few fish that first day out for myself; Nora was first to catch in Jeff’s boat – a 22” Walleye! All boats did well, but Ernie’s. This changed on day two when we stayed on the water till limit maxed, four per person. I quote Blake Gottbreht ”Sharron had first and last catch today.” Day 3, good fishing interrupted by fierce rain – all parties drenched; returned to camp early. Plenty of fresh catch for Fish Tacos. Leisure day for me Day 4 – prepped for Asia Night: Moo Shoo Pork; Sweet and Salty Shrimp; Beef Noodles. Sous-chefs de cuisinewere Nora and Ivan who found the Mobridge golf course excellent and price unbelievable. Day 5, fish not biting, enough caught for fish/steak fry. My tartar sauce received high praise from all especially Rick and Sandy’s son Ryan who is big on homemade. Day 6 Marc and Dennis with derby mascot Jasper and the Shen party of four enjoyed grand brkfst served forth by George for our send off. We later learned the fishing was awesome that day; catch and release after the first 2 hours for love of the sport.

There were plenty of fireside stories in the evening.Of course, it goes without saying a lot of VO and Bud Light.The best story was probably about 10 years old Marc drove the family truck into the ditch and George was assessed a $ 20 fine by the Sheriff by giving his permission.

Special credit to Rick who brought the outdoor kitchen – two deep fryers and grill from the former Dale’s Drive Thru plus two big circular tables and lots of chairs.

I never did hear results of evening Texas Holdum games; sleep too sweet each night.

Picture L to R: 1945

Back Row: Glen Shelver, Coach, Norman Haagenson, Wayne Molgard, Bill Hosmer, Ralph Thiel, Derrald Dion
Front Row: Leo Murray, Allison Fiske, Darrel Fassett, Don Johnson, Bob Molgard.

Harvey Halvorson & Floyd Dion