Mildred Parrill Celebrated her 91st Birthday
Posting from LeaRae Parrill Espe (’67): Bottineau, ND
I think it finally stopped snowing. Most of the state was at a standstill since Monday. It seems like we use to have these three day storms when we were kids, but not really many since.
My mother, Mildred Parrill, celebrated her 91st birthday yesterday (12/6). She turned 16 the day before Pearl Harbor was bombed. She remembers it so vividly. Superintendent Castleman had a radio in the assembly room which would be the room where Jess Hosmer taught our class in 5th grade. The next day they listened to President Franklin Roosevelt give his speech that they were declaring war on Japan-the Day that would live in Infamy. Little did they know that two Dunseith boys had perished in that attack. One was a Gillis, I think Frank Gillis, and the other was a Carpenter. The Gillis was an older brother to Pete, John and Cliff.
A fellow named Harold Brushwein (SP) is a survivor. Harold’s son Dave is a friend of my son Brady. Harold was back to Pearl Harbor for past celebrations but was unable to attend this one. He is 100 years old and is in a long term care facility in Bismarck and still has a sharp mind. His son Dave and granddaughter Sarah are attending the festivities there today.
Harold was featured on the news for the 70th anniversary. He has a great story. He served as an aide to Dwight Eisenhower later in the war. Harold taught at Wahpeton State School of Science for many years.
Gary’s comment
Please wish you mother happy birthday from us. She is doing very will for her age too. Remarkable lady.
Snow Storm
Message & Pictures from Dick Johnson (’68): Dunseith, ND
Thursday 12/8/2016
Gary,
We’re in the middle of one of the worst storms we’ve had in several years. Last week we got hit with well over a foot and now it looks like more than even that again! I spent two days with my blade on the loader tractor and then the Bobcat and then the shovel and now you would never know I cleared a shovel full? The wind is howling like a hurricane too so it’s a real old ND blizzard. I did get down to the shop at the old place and spent part of the day working in there. Tonight I walked through the banks back down there and put more wood in the furnace and then brought my tractor up to my house so I can start digging out in the morning if it lets up? I had it plugged in at the shop and now have it plugged in to the garage. Just like the old days, as it’s getting a little less windy the temperature is dropping and it’s supposed to be below zero for the next several nights and just barely above during the days. The old Farmer’s Almanac said we would get lots of cold and lots more snow than usual and maybe they’re right. We did have a long warm fall and now we are going to have to pay for it. I don’t think I ever sent a picture of the quick attach blade I made for the loader tractor?
I made it out of a big oil field pipe. I’ll attach a picture of it here. It really works well.
Dick
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Blog (530) posted on August 25, 2009
Posted on August 25, 2009
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Email address update for Bill Awalt (61): Lincoln, NE
Hi Gary,
We received your message on the phone and here is our e-mail address:
Bill & Eunice
Email address update for Kenny Nerpel (65): Devils Lake, ND.
Gary,
Just wanted to let you know our new email address:
Kenny
From LeaRae Parrill Espe (67): Bottineau, ND
Gary, Just wanted to thank you for planning the awesome Alaska Cruise. Terry & I loved every minute. When we set foot back on shore we visited a whole string of relatives and continued to have a wonderful vacation. When we were on Whidbey Island with my cousin Ardis Metcalfe Steggal and her husband Harley we received word that our uncle Thurman has passed away. That was the only cloud over our otherwise great three weeks. The wedding plans of Thurman’s grandson Troy Jordan in Spokane did continue on pretty much as planned for August 8. (He is the son of Lynda Parrill Jordan.) Clayton & Linda and Marie had just started out for Spokane and were somewhere between Velva and Turtle Lake when they got the call that Thurman has passed away. They turned around and planned the funeral and I believe it was about 24 hour delay for them. Clayton was scheduled to take pictures at the wedding which he did. Mike Nero of Nero Funeral Home encouraged Marie to go to the wedding as most of her family was there and it would have been even harder for her to stay back alone. Marie did pretty good.
One of the relatives we visited was Terry’s first cousin Donna Striker Neumeyer. She is the daughter of Mabel Espe and Elmer Striker. Mabel, Elmer and Art Espe were the three children of Ivar Espe and Martha Mikkelmayer. Two of Ivar’s sisters are Bertha Myer and Ingrid Seim. We also spoke by phone to another cousin Pat who is a sister of Donna. Pat is the older in that family and I believe she said she was 78 years old. I was telling them about some of the Striker information that has been on your emails and they are interested in learning more. This family left ND in the early 40’s.
Request for Help When you have time. I would like to know if all the emails are on a website, and if so could you give that to me. I do believe you gave that out before and I am sorry I don’t know if I can find it. Another request is if you could do the search of your emails for Striker and I could forward those to them. I have all of the emails, but I don’t know how to search them. I don’t believe I have mine set up for that, but I believe you told me you did. Thanks again for everything. LeaRae LeaRae, I was saddened to hear of the Thurman’s passing shortly after we returned from the cruise. I was also told that his family attended and continued with the wedding plans of his grandson, Troy. We all know that would have been Thurman’s wishes and yes I believe Marie did the right thing by attending the wedding. The Nero’s at Nero’s funeral home are wonderful folks. The were close friends of my dads. He’d wander through their funeral home on a regular bases just to shoot the breeze. He’d always take me along with him when we were in the area.
Lynda, Janet & Clayton, please give my regards to your mother. She has been through a lot emotionally. It’s tough. Your parents, Thurman and Marie, are my godparents. I believe I was baptized in Salem church in the early 50’s. My baptismal certificate is locked up in our bank safety deposit box in Bremerton, WA, so I can not reference it. I’ll bet Marie remembers though.
LeaRae, It’s time for another posting with an updated email list of which I have attached. I will do a find for the Striker’s in the past blogs and give you those numbers that can be viewed on our Dunseith Alumni WEB site http://garystokes.net/default.aspx
Gary
Thurman & Marie Parrill Family:
Terry & LeaRae Espe and Bill Leonard
Master Email List:
Folks, It’s time for another posting with an updated Dunseith Alumni email list. I have attached an Excel copy of the master email list that I have. It is sort by both total name and by class year. Click on the desired sort tab at the bottom left of your screen when opening the file. For those of you that are unable to open this attached file, please let me know so I can sent you a copies pasted directly into the body of an email message. Gary
Those that have been added to the master email list since the last update posted in April
Neola Kofoid Garbe’s reply to Audrey Hanson Aitchison: Minot & Bottineau, ND. Neola, Mensville Larson Jr. the gentleman you called and reference in your letter, I believe is also known as Norman Larson. He I believe is Diane Sjol (70) and Cheryl Dakin’s (71) father. Their mother was Verdellis Richard (Deceased). Norman is on our distribution list. I have pasted a copy of Norman’s Bottineau HS class of 43 reunion picture. You also reference other former Dunseith folks in your letter too. Gary
Hi Audrey,
I read your news with interest last night/this morning, especially when I saw Martin Larson’s name. I was quite sure Dad had bought the land by the creek (where we lived after September 1949) from Martin Larson. He lived on the same corner as we did. I wasn’t 100% sure Dad bought the land from Martin Larson, so I checked with Mom. She was quite sure it was Martin Larson, too. BUT, to be 100% sure, I called Mensville Larson, Jr. Martin was his grandfather. He verified Dad bought the land from him. Dad moved a house from, I think, a Roen farm, onto the corner of the lot.
Apparently, about the time Dad bought the land from Martin, Martin became ill/sold his house/moved to 5th St. Mensvil said the house Martin/his daughter, Emma, lived in, was the small gray house on the south side of the street, just west of the bridge. The house is empty now, but several families have lived in it, such as Shirley Sjule Osborn, Scott Dolbeare, one of the Klingbeil boys, etc.
Martin apparently sold his house next door to us, to Almer/Bertha Moe, as they are the family who moved into this house. Later, when Alvin married Jeanette Hahn, Alvin/Jeanette lived in the east end of the house. I’m not sure how many years after Almer died, the Moe families lived there. I think they sold the house to ? and Norma, Pierson, Clarence Lee’s in-laws (Gail’s parents). Piersons completely remodeled the house. Norma Pierson’s husband died; Norma remarried. She now lives at Good Sam. I don’t know if she has sold the house. If so, I don’t know who bought it.
Mensvil and I had a good visit–rather long, too. We both enjoyed the visit. I learned can now “place” more people/make more connections between people, than I could before. He said if I have other questions, to just give him a call–which I said I would.
Mensvil didn’t know where Patrina/Hagrop lived. He thought they might have lived in Minnesota at one time, but he wasn’t sure about this.
You probably know this, Audrey, but Mensville said Patrina stayed with Cora when Cora lived in the hills.
To me, it’s interesting that, when Cora moved to Bottineau, she/my family lived a few houses apart. Corbin Pritchard/his mother and nephew, lived “kitty-corner” from us. I think there was one house between Corbin’s and Jim Stevenson’s family (Jane Stevenson was married to Darryl Moum–Darryl passed away today.). I think Cora lived next to Stevenson’s–the memory dims somewhat. I went with Jean to visit Cora one time; it was a fun visit.
Again, I started to write a short note and ended up writing a “book”.
Neola
Eileen Brudwick’s reply to Audrey Hanson Aitchison: Fargo, ND.
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