Allen Richard says Gary Pigeon had a ‘four door’ ’38 Ford. So it is–my memory failed me. The only time I really remember the car, it was sitting on the south side of the street across from the school (grade school now–high school then) during a dance. The reason I remember it is because Gary had a date with my aunt Joy’s younger sister, Sharlotte Nordquist, and had taken her to the school dance. That would have been in about ’60 as Cliff and Joy and Sharlotte, who Joy raised, moved to Glenfield, ND where Cliff became superintendent of schools in about ’61. Sharlotte (it’s spelled with an S ) would have been with the class of ’63, had she continued in Dunseith. Gary came up to the farm to visit her when she was staying with us, my grandparents actually, and I was staying there too. I was just a bit too young yet to really dig old cars. I still remember when older guys were talking about how great it would be to have a 327 in their cars instead of a 283. This sounded Greek to me. What did those numbers have to do with a car? I learned. Thanks Gary!

Dick

In reply to Allen Richard about Pigeon’s cars, I seem to remember that Gary Pigeon had a black ’38 Ford two door sedan before he got the dark blue ’52 Ford Victoria with the Packard tail lights. I had not thought about that car in years until you mentioned it. When the Pigeon brothers operated the Standard station on north Main street, they hauled in a dark blue ’38 coupe and had it behind the station for a while. I used to walk up there and just look at it and dream! I don’t know what ever happened to that car? I do know what became of the flathead speed parts that Gary had on his ’52. He was in town one day in the later ’60s and had removed all the fancy heads and three deuce setup etc. from the old Ford and I asked him why? He said he put on a new set of Rah Jah red plastic spark plug wires and the heat from the aluminum finned heads melted his new wires. He said he didn’t think you could use those heads on a car with a hood on it as they dissipated too much heat. I asked him what he did with the parts and he said they were all back in the boxes they came in and stored in the back of an old ’56 Chevy station wagon out at the farm. Of course my next question was if he wanted to sell the stuff? He had me follow him out to the farm and showed me everything. I asked him the magic question–how much? He said he would sell me everything for $65. This included the carburetors, linkage, generator offset bracket, triple fuel line block, heads, and even his new race cam! While today $65 sounds like chump change, in the late ’60s my cars were costing me about that much TO BUY! I wanted that speed equipment so bad that I paid him with nearly every cent I had to my name. Anyway, the good part—I still have all the stuff in the original boxes just as I got it from ‘Shakey’. Hopefully I can get to building one of my dream cars, which is a ’29 Ford Roadster on ’32 rails, with a late flathead engine and the speed parts from Gary Pigeon. I had everything but a frame and last summer one of my Minot car buddies found one for me so now it’s just a project waiting to happen. In fact, he found me a complete rolling chassis from a ’32 and sold it to me for a lot less than he could have gotten on the market. I sell him cars often and he appreciates that so he sort of did me a favor. I have to apologize to the ladies about this car stuff. It’s what I know! Thanks Gary!

Dick

Aimee Lagerquist

In particular it was good (at least for me) to see the ones of Carl and Shirley Melgaard. I can’t wait to see who the rest of the folks are (like you Gary, I probably know some of them but haven’t seen them in years so don’t recognized them).
Keith Pladson (66)

Grandma Evelyn was blessed in her long relationship with the Schmitze family. I love the fact that Mark and probably all the children of Louis and Stella watched for her and her day to day needs. When Evelyn first returned from Seattle, she lived in the house that looks like a Dutch barn just as Lloyd Awalt mentioned. When the Simmarods moved to Dunseith from Dickenson to be near there father at the San, Grams moved into the wee house west of the Link home formerly rented by the Ray Lake family. This same house became home to the Brodeks and Grams moved again. It was there that I would pin curl Evelyn’s hair every Saturday so she might frou-frou nice for Sunday Mass. If she did not start right in on local history and personalities, I would ask some leading question and the stories spilled forth. Mark probably remembers her residence near the school – she thought her wood cutters and other guardians were directed to her door by St. Michael the Archangel!

Yes, Grandma’s stepfather, Joseph Cartier Lafrance, was a “Rough Rider” a nickname used for the First US Volunteer Cavalry formed by T Roosevelt from western cowboys and NY athletes [TR was a NY National Gaurdsman]. They were an independent lot and quick to learn the elements of war. Roosevelt dressed them in khaki [a first] and equipped them with new Krag-Jorgensen rifles [smokeless powder]. The volunteers assembled in San Antonio, TX 15 May 1898, a May 28th they headed for Tampa Bay, FL. Here Roosevelt had to commandeer an empty coal train to get his 10,000 troopers the 9 miles to the bay and ship transport Yucatan. Because Jos. Lawrence was a bugler, I would think he stayed close to his commander. I know that he was later promoted to the company marching band. There is no doubt that the soldiers saw duty in more than one capacity. After the first engagement ashore, there were 8 dead and 34 wounded June 23. At San Juan River, the Rough Riders pushed regular army forward and themselves to the front of action at Kettle Hill June 30. Roosevelt pushed on to his moment of fame, the charge of San Juan Hill. Only a few Riders followed him and he returned in heavy fire and charged again with full company. The Rough Riders dug in and held there hill for 10+ days. The Spanish surrendered July 17.

Malaria and Yellow Fever hit the troops and Roosevelt was anxious to remove his men from Cuba. On August 7, 1998 they boarded the transport Miami and sailed to Montauk, NY where TR had created Camp Wikoff. All the troopers spent a 6 week Quarantine. The Rough Riders presented Roosevelt with the famous bronze sculpture, “The Bronco” and were mustered out. Mauntauk an the northeaster tip of Long Island is a favorite get-a-way for Ivan and Nora. They brought us there after Shen family cruise to NB, Canada 2008. I visited the Theodore Roosevelt/Rough Rider display at the lighthouse museum, but Camp Wikoff was undergoing refurbishment and closed to the public. Because of Evelyn and Joe Lafrance, all very moving . Some years after the Spanish American War, TR invited all members of the 1st Vol Cav to his ranch at Oyster Bay, Long Island. According to Evelyn, TR called forward Joe Lafrance by name. I do not know if TR and Joe met before or after the Sp Amer War, it is known that Joe was guide and saddle partner for TR when he visited his ranches near Medora and explored the Bad Lands. Joe Lafrance was a school mate of Grover Cleavland in MA.

Many notes from the TR Centennial Website used. Sharron

How well I remember Mr. Lykins teaching us ‘General Business’ in ’64. I remember how he hypothetically had us invest in the stock market and then watch the paper every day to see how our stocks were doing. He told us to invest in two companies to keep from losing everything if one collapsed. I invested in Coca Cola because it was stable and then took a shot at Polaroid because I had read about the new camera that they were coming out with called a ‘Land’ camera.A guy named Land was the actual inventor. It could produce instant pictures as you took them. I remember how the Polaroid stocks appreciated and then divided several times and if I would have actually invested real money, I would have made several thousand dollars in just a few months. One of the other guys went with stocks in Arctic Cat and he also would have done real well.

My typing instructor was Jim Olson. I was relegated to the back row where Big John Boguslawski and I fumbled away on the old black Royal manual typewriters. Gary’s score might have been 52 words but mine was 32 if I remember correctly. When we had typing speed tests, John and I would have a word or two done and we would hear Gwen Grimme’s electric typewriter go ‘ching’ when she hit the end of the first line! I remember how we would cuss under our breath, knowing how far we were dropping behind! Gwen was a wiz at typing and went on to teach at the college level. Several of the girls had real good error free typing speeds, but those of us in the back row were just hoping we would pass! Thanks Gary!

Thanks to Bill Grimme for the link to the draft lottery. I clicked on 1970 and went to July 20, my birthday, and there was the old number I remember so well–187. Some things stick in the mind! I remember Dec. 1, 1969–the day of the drawing for the lottery. I was in class at the Forestry and ran to the student union to watch it on TV. When I got to the door, I met Bruce Keller coming out. I asked him if the lottery deal was on yet? He said, “Yeah, it’s on and I just won the damn thing!” I think his birth date was drawn at number 8, if I remember right. He was in! Thanks Gary!

Dick

The draft lottery wasn’t quite as simple as I made it sound. The plan was to go through the number 200 with the draft in 1969. As I said, my number was 187. During the first week of December ’69, I received my orders to be in Fargo for induction on January 6, 1970. It kind of set me back and I quit going to class at the Forestry and basically just goofed off and partied. Then during the week between Christmas and New Years, a short news announcement came on the TV one evening where a rep from the Selective Service said, “Because of more birth dates with low numbers and unexpected enlistments, the number will not be 200, but 185. If your number is 185 you ARE drafted. If your number is 186 you are NOT drafted.” My number was 187! I immediately called the Rolette County Draft Board chairman, Velma Raasaka in Rolla and asked her what this meant for me? She said, “You don’t go.” I asked what I should do with my orders? She said to throw them away. I didn’t do that! It was early February and I got another letter from Selective Service that contained my new draft status–I think it was 1H which meant you had been available and not chosen and were no longer in the draft. The next thing I had to do was to go and explain to my teachers why I hadn’t been going to class. For the most part, they were understanding and let me catch up. I did maybe call in a few favors too! I’ll never tell. Oh well. I remember my dad telling me what his draft card designation was–AWC. I asked him what that meant? He said, “After women and children.” Not a time to be funny! Thanks Gary!

Dick

I have to totally agree with you about the Mayo Clinics and Hospitals down in Rochester Mn. I just got released from the Methodist Hospital and had many appointments in the Mayo Clinics. I had prostate cancer(diagnosed last April) and I decided to have a new surgery procedure called the robotics surgery. I would recommend it to anyone that needs any type of surgery. I went into surgery early morning of the 20th of October and was out on the 21st. Back to my home on that Friday the 22nd. And now I am back to work already(half days) on the 4th of Nov.

The staff of Drs. and nurses are incredible and they treat the patients with a lot of respect. I have been down there also with my esophagus treatments about two years ago and that is why I chose the robotic surgery cause they are so professional about doing things. I would recommend them to anybody.

Thanks Gary.
Dave Slyter (70)

I’m pretty sure the song “The Ballad of the Green Berets came out in 1966. I remember it because it had become very popular right about the time of my graduation (I think it hit number one on both the rock and roll and country charts). This was pretty unique given that it was a very patriotic song at a time when the US Military was being reviled by much of the American public.
Keith Pladson(66)

Sharron

I too was impressed with Evie’s writing skills. The question of who wrote the song that Bonnie Awalt Houle asked about, is unknown to me but I do remember when Evie’s grandmother, Evelyn Gottbreht, sang the ‘Green Beret’ song at the Memorial Day program at the city hall. This is the song by Sgt. Barry Sadler that became a hit in the mid 60s. She asked my dad if one of the drummers from the school band could do the drum beat in the background and he assigned Bill Berube to the job. The drum part is not all the way through and Bill wasn’t sure where to start and stop. I still remember Evelyn, who was not short on words, saying ‘Stop’ and later, ‘Start’ when she wanted the drum part. She did a pretty good job on the song and it still has a place in my memory bank. It was around ’64-’65 if I remember right. Yes Bonnie, we had some great programs on Memorial Day in the old days. Thanks for remembering! Thanks Gary!

Dick