1/28/2014 (1951)

No Blog yesterday
For the record I did not get a blog posted yesterday. With Bernadette not being well and having our monthly Cebu Expat dinner last night, I wasn’t able to get a blog posted.
For the first time ever, Bernadette was not well enough to attend our monthly Expat dinner. Novie and Mirasol were giving her pain pills yesterday in hopes that she would feel better and be able to attend, but they didn’t help. They too wanted to attend the dinner, but without Bernadette they were not able to attend. They had to take care of her. Bernadette is feeling much better today, but still not good. She felt so bad not being able to attend our dinner.
Gary  
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Rodney D. Evans (DHS ’51)

Obituary

Evans, Rodney D. age 80, of Osseo. Survived by wife of 60 years, Helen; children, Jackie (Mike) Fair, Cherie (Jack) Bender, Mary (Jon) Flor, Matthew Evans, and Bill (Dena) Evans; sister, Helen (Charlie) McCrossan; 17 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends. Proudly employed by C.S. McCrossan, and a member of the 49ers for decades. He was an active member of AA for over 32 years. He was a humble, loving man who had a contagious personality for all. We know he’s looking down with his sparkling blue eyes, tilted cap, and signature grin. Celebration of Rodney’s life is Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 9-11 a.m., followed by Mass of Christian Burial 11 AM at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. Interment at St. Vincent’s Cemetery, Osseo. Evans-Nordby 763-424-4000 www.evansnordby.com

Rodney Evans (DHS ’51) Funeral
Posting from Bonnie Awalt Houle (’56):   Becker, MN
Rodney Evans funeral was help in Osseo, Minnesota where Rodney worked and lived for over 50 years.  It was a very large funeral because Rodney, Helen and their had a large family of friends.  Rodney was very active in his church and community.
Hope the attachment comes through okay. (You did well Bonnie)
Bonnie Awalt Houle
Evans, Rodney 1951
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Our condolences to the Anderson family!!_ 
From Jay (’66) & Lola Metcalfe (’68) Vanorny:  Dunseith, ND
Gene fought a brave and long siege with cancer!!-  But is now at peace with his Lord  !!!–  
 
Our prayer is for Peace and comfort for his family that is left to mourn -what a time – with this storm in our area – !!-  Hopefully the winds will die down!!!-
 
-Jay and LOla Vanorny
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Blog posted on February 18, 2008

2/17/2008

Folks, There is a lot of history with these messages today.  It’s great!  Future generations will love us.  Gary

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From Ron Longie (65):

Gary,

I too have fond memories of K.C. my kid brother Donnie and I went into K.C.’s store on report card day, Donnie said he had received his report card but didn’t know what all the letters were for so K.C. asked Donnie to see his card, he started off with

A- Excellent

B- Very Good

C- Average

D- Not so good

F- FINE

needless to say Donnie was very excited to show his report card to dad after he got done reading him the riot act my brother couldn’t understand all the ruckus over his grades cause K.C. said the “F” meant fine. We laugh about it now but it wasn’t to funny then.

Ron Longie (class of 65)

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From Dave Slyter (70):
REMEMBER WHEN,
Mr. Nagel would yell,  Ok please get out your typing books.�

Dave Slyter
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From Diane Larson Sjol (70): 
Remember Mrs Conroy and those arithmetic tests she used to have me�
write out during recess.  Then she would put them on the mimeograph�
machine and we would have the test in the afternoon.  I never once�
thought about cheating..Mrs. Seim cured me of that in the first grade.�
We had a think and do workbook with three questions at the end of�
the story.  I wasn’t sure so I copied Debbie Morinville’s paper and we�
both got it wrong and got F’s….Remember delivring May baskets and�
making bowls out of 78 records and spraying them and cigar boxes�
covered with macaroni with bronze colored spray paint.  I can’t�
remember how many macaroni boxes my mom got from us kids.  I also�
remember sitting out in the middle of the gravel street in Dunseith�
before the roads were paved making mud pies.  I think we lived in that�
green and white barn house by the Fontaine’s and the Sister’s convent.�
I also remember playing with the hoola hoop with the Grossman kids�
and wearing sunsuits when Sister (the crabby one) came out and told us�
we were sinful and were moving our bodies in sinful ways.  We didn’t�
have a clue what she was talking about.  so next time we played with�
the hoola hoop, we made sure she couldn’t see us so we wouldn’t go to�
hell.
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From Bonnie Awalt Houle (56): 
Dear Gary,
    The small Creamery on the South end of town was first owned by Clint and Hattie Anderson (Hattie Bailey Anderson Related to Vance Bailey) when they retired and moved to Rockford, Illinois they sold to Minnie Alvin who ran it for many years.
    The lumber yard that was behind the bank, hardware store and postoffice, was owned by Mr. Schwab. (We used to crawl under the boards at the bottom of the lumber yard and play on the lumber.  Mr. Schwab would chase us off and 10 minutes later we were all back in there again.)
    Behind the Hardware store they kept a large flatbed trailer all one summer.  We used to play on it like it was a huge tee-ter-tatar we’d run all to one end and it would come down and then we’d run to the other end and let it bang back again, back and forth until someone from inside (usually Bill Evans) would come out and yell for us to scram. He must not have been very scary because everyday we were back doing it again.
  Joy Nordquist’s mother ran the confectionary for awhile when they first moved to Dunseith.
Ed and Edna Leonard had the Peace Garden Cafe when it was on the South end of town not far from the little creamery.
    Do you remember Jackie Spaeth and his little pony and cart that he delivered the newspapers from?
    What about Rowena Godfrey, her dad was the barber next to the Drug Store.  They lived behind the Barber shop.  I haven’t heard from her since they moved from Dunseith.
Bonnie (Awalt) Houle 1956
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From Dave Slyter (70): 
I remember Minnie Alvin   The sweet little lady that ran the Rugby creamery.  She sure was a strong little lady.   Always look forward to seeing her farm customers come into town when we had to deliver the cream to her. �

Dave Slyter
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From Gary Morgan (54): 
Hi Gary & All,
In answer to Gary Metcalf, Mr. Schwab was the manager of the Great Plains Lumber Yard, owned by Farmers Union.  Apparently, about the time that Mr. Schwab retired, Farmers Union decided Dunseith was only big enough for one lumber yard and brought in Harry Adams to manage
Great Plains.  They dropped their prices to rock bottom. I remember for a while they were selling cement for ten cents a bag less than cost.  At this time there was a Great Plains lumber yard in about every town (sort of like (Cenex) so they could make up their loss someplace else.  One thing we know about Farmers Union….they don’t like private enterprise and will eliminate it anytime they can.
Those were lean years for the Morgan Lumber Co. and the only way my Dad survived was by going into the construction business.  By being able to offer the complete package (materials & labor), he was able to hang on.  Eventually, Farmers Union gave up and in the middle 50s offered to sell their lumber yard to Dad.  Dad bought them out, tore down the lumber sheds and rented the lot to Harvey Hobbs.

Gary Morgan
Class of 54
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From Bill Hosmer (48): 
 Hello again, Dunseithers.   The names on main street mentioned by Gary
Metcalfe ring a few bells.  Pete Richard early on had  gas station,
south of Hassen’s store.  He had a son Pete Jr. about the age of my
brother Don Hosmer, class of 52 or 53.  Later on he had the variety
store a few doors south of McCoys bar wich was just south of Hosmers
Store.  I have seen Pete Jr. in Dunseith , probably at the Dunseith
Centennial in 1982. 

      Bill Schwab owned the lumber yard which was east, across the alley
from the bank building.  The current post office is on the southeast
corner of the lot which was included in that property.  The building
was shaped like an L.  One leg of the L was on the north side of
that lot, and the other leg was on the west side, backed up to the
alley. This structure held most of the lumber stock and was open.
On rainy days, if we had been on that part of town we took shelter
under the roofed areas, until Mr Schwab would politely tell us to
leave.  There were not many cranky people, except the occaisional
streak KC had.  Kids were all over town and in the hills, and down
at the creek.

    One time when we were in our younger teens one summer a few of us were
driving around one night after dark.  Went up to the San, and up to
the water tower which still stands there.  Three of us guys went up
the ladder to the walk way around the bottom of the tank to impress
the girls that were with us.  The guys were Chuck Johnson, Leo Murray,
and me.  Then two of us went up the ladder which rolled around the
lower guard fence, and went to the top of the tank where  the red
blinking light was installed.  Don”t remember who the other high
climber was, but I touched the light, and waited for a cheer, but it
never happened.  The girls probably couldn’t see it, or they didn’t
care.

 My Uncle Bob Hosmer told me that when he was a kid he did  things like
that in the 1920s.  He walked around the bottom row of shingles which
were on top of the wooden water tower down by the depot.  It was for
watering the steam engine which pulled the train out every morning
enroute to York, and then back in the evening.  It was pretty high as
well.  Later on we got a diesel engine on that line and we called it the
“Galloping Goose”.  We grade schoolers used to ride it to Rolette for
Young Citizen League meetings as well as spelling bees, etc.  Al Mogard
was the conductor on that line for along time.  His family included
Gerald, Dean, Bob, Wayne, and Marlene (who was at Q125 with Wayne).
Gerald married Miss Evinrude who was my teacher in sixth grade during the
early 1940s.  I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world
then.  She took away a handful of marbles which spilled out of my pocket
in class, which was a NO NO. I never got them back at the end of the
school year.  So I used to tell the other kids “she was Evinrude to me”.
Sad tale.

    Sometimes these mailings really trigger a flood of remembrances.
Cheers, Bill Hosmer

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Allen Richard’s (65) Reply to Gary Metcalfe (57):
To Gary Metcalfe–

About my relatives on Main Street.  The gas station is a very old building.  One of the oldest still standing on Main Street–similar time frame as the Red Owl, Gambles and stone garage.  I’m not sure who built it, but Dad’s Uncle Joe Richard ran it until his death in the early 50′s.  Then Vernon and Norman took it over.  Vernon lived in the back part — it was pretty run down even then.  Part of it included a couple small apartments, but they were so bad they didn’t rent it to anyone and it was finally torn away from the rest of the building.  Vernon left first.  He moved with his family to Seattle in the summer between my 2nd and 3rd grade.  He had two kids in school at that time, Sandra was a year older than me and Sam a year younger.  Ron Richard, Nolan “Skip” Vandal, whose mother Lorraine was Vernon’s sister, and I were all in the same grade.  Norman Richard was Ron’s dad and he operated the station until Orphela Robert took it over.  Skip’s dad, Norman Vandal ran the dray service.
Dad had two other uncles in the area as well as his grandparents in Dunseith around that time.  Pete ran the Dime Store.  He moved to Seattle before his son Pete Junior graduated from high school, shortly after his folks died.  “Junior” in the Seattle area and is in land investment.  He also owns farm land in several areas in ND.  I was hoping he was in the market when I sold mine, but it didn’t work out.
Pete’s house was where Roland Mongeon’s house is now–right west of the Stone Church.  Between the church and his house was a little house where my great-grandparents spent their last years.
The other uncle, Albert, I think was the maintenance man at the San until Erling Berg took over.
On the other side of the family, My Grandma Pigeon had the little house across the street from the gas station built for her.  Unfortunately she died before it was finished.  Dad and a couple of my uncles finished the house and it was rented it out for a few years before being sold as I recall