Hi Gary, hope all is well with you.  My uncle Raymond Christainson passed away this past Wednesday.  I believe the funeral is this coming Monday, July 30th.  He and his wife Mary had no children but were well known in the Dunseith community.  Just wanted to let you know.  He is also the uncle of Rodney Medrud, he was the brother to Ella Medrud. � He will be buried at the Rendahl Cemetery.  He is the last of the boys from the Sigurd and Hannah Christianson family.  Viola Baskett is the last of the siblings.   Lynn Halvorson Otto Lynn, Our condolences are with Raymond’s family with his passing. I did not realize that Raymond was as old as he was. Goes to show we are getting older. Gary     Obituaries Raymond A. Christianson (December 3, 1918 – July 22, 2012) Send Flowers Send Sympathy Gifts Send Sympathy Card RAYMOND A. CHRISTIANSON Raymond Christianson, age 93 of Dunseith, died Wednesday at a Dunseith nursing home. Funeral will be held on Monday at 10:00 A. M. at the Peace Lutheran Church in Dunseith. Burial will be at the Rendahl Cemetery of rural Dunseith. Visitation will be Sunday from 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the church. Raymond A. Christianson, a son of Sigurd and Hannah (Lagerquist) Christianson, was born on December 3, 1918 near Dunseith. He was reared and educated in the Dunseith area. After his education he began working on the family farm near Dunseith. In the late 1940’s he moved with his parents to Washington State where he worked for several years. Raymond returned to Dunseith. On June 24, 1953 he was married to Mary Fiest at Minot. After their marriage they returned the farm, taking care of Raymond’s parents and tending to the farming duties. Raymond retired from farming in 1972. In 2010 they moved to Bottineau until 2012 when they moved to Rolla. In May of 2012 Raymond moved to the Dunseith nursing home and has resided there since. He was an avid hunter and trapper and also enjoyed fishing. Raymond hosted many hunts for his friends. He was a life member of the Turtle Mountain Wildlife Club in Dunseith. Raymond loved traveling with Mary. He was a member of the Peace Lutheran Church in Dunseith. Raymond passed away on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 in a Dunseith nursing home. He is survived by his wife Mary of Rolla; a sister Viola Baskett of Gig Harbor, WA and many nieces and nephews.

 

Gary,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Gary,

I would have loved the opportunity to meet up with Phyllis McKay and friends! And to go to Dale’s Cafe today – what memories that brings up! Sort of a long trip for supper, but I hope to get back there one day. So many important aspects of my life are tied to Dunseith and the wonderful people I grew up with. 

Gary,

Just to let you know, today, the 25^th, is our 39^th anniversary.  We’ll start working on the 40^th tomorrow.  We’re off in a little while to Natchez, MS for a couple days of sightseeing.

Dale Pritchard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Headstone of Russell J. Larsen in the Logan City Cemetery, Logan, Utah.
I wonder if he died knowing he won the ‘Coolest Headstone’ contest?

His five rules for a happy life are on it!

FIVE RULES FOR MEN TO FOLLOW FOR A HAPPY LIFE:

1. It’s important to have a woman who helps at home, cooks from time to time, cleans up, and has a job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary,
A few comments in response to Phyllis McKay’s pending trip to our nation’s Capitol.I doubt she will see much relief from the hot and humid weather this area has had so far this summer.  Though Alice and I live almost two hundred miles south of the District now, our weather is very much the same.  And this summer has had some of the hottest days ever recorded for this area.  We have had several days where it was well over one hundred degrees and as always out here very humid.  This year, as opposed to most years, Washington DC has often been at the very center of hot air masses and temperatures further south (like Atlanta) have actually been several degrees cooler.

The biggest factor for most people who come here from the upper plains (to include North Dakota) is not the temperatures, but the suffocating and oppressive humidity.  Every year there are days when ND has hotter temperatures than out here, but the main difference is our humidity.

Just last weekend in our local Roanoke Rapids newspaper (The Daily Herald) they had an article on the retirement of the top person in their type setting department ( I don’t recall either his name or his exact title).  He had been in that job here for 26 years.  Anyway, as it turns out, this gentleman had originally come from Williston, ND.  In the article, he stated that he does not miss the cold ND winters and he has absolutely no plans or desires to move back to ND in his retirement years.  But he also said the biggest thing for him to get used to when he first came out here (and that he still has trouble with) was the oppressive humidity that just seems to be here day after day after day all summer long.  I completely agree with him.  I love much of what the mid Atlantic area offers, but the stifling humidity is NOT one of them.

Anyway, I hope Phyllis and her your granddaughter have a great visit to our nation’s Capitol and get to see many of the historical and commemorative sites.  They have a bus service where if you buy the tickets you can ride from site to site and take as much time as you want at each site.  The buses run about every 20 minutes or so, so if you miss one, just wait 20 minutes (or whatever the period is) and another will be coming.  Some of the sites included on this service are the Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian Museum (as well as several other museums) the Capitol, the Washington Monument, Mount Vernon and many more sites.

Finally, just a short personal story.  Two days ago (Wednesday) it was another hot and humid day out here with temperatures up in the upper nineties.  We had a thunder cloud blow up (they often pop up out of nowhere in this hot, humid weather) and it lightninged and thundered for several minutes with only a sprinkle or two of rain.  Then it seemed to be dissipating as the lightning and thunder died out.  But, the sprinkles we did get reminded me that the paper was probably out by the mailbox and if it started raining any harder it would ruin the paper.  So, given that the storm seemed to be dissipating, I walked out to the mail box.  As I approached the mailbox it again lightninged to the north but as it took a few seconds for the thunder to arrive, I wasn’t too concerned.  Then as I reached into the mailbox to get the mail it lightninged again and this one was a lot closer with only a second or two before the thunder arrived.  This spooked me a little and I started to hurry to get the mail and to pick up the news paper and head back to the house.  Our driveway is rather long (150 feet or so) and I had gotten to within about twenty feet of the house when everything got real bright and instantly the thunder clap hit.  I instinctively ducked (don’t know why I thought that would help) and really thought I was being struck.  Fortunately, it did not strike me, but I knew it had been very, very close!  I have never really been afraid of lightning, but do have a healthy respect for it, and normally take the appropriate actions to protect myself.  In this case it seemed everything was pretty much over with so I really never thought of it as a dangerous situation.  Clearly I was wrong.  I must say I was relieved to get to the house (and inside) and took several minutes to calm down.

About two hours later Alice went out for a short walk and almost as soon as she left the house she came back in and asked me it I knew where that bolt of lightning had struck.  I said “No, but I know it was awfully close.”  So she said “I know where.”  Anyway, the yard to our right is a mostly cleared, vacant lot.  But it still has a few huge, very tall and stately oak trees on it (some of them were blown down in last summer’s hurricane).  That bolt of lightning (that I thought was striking me) struck the top of one of those oak trees (probably a hundred feet tall) and split the tree all the way to the ground (though the tree is still standing) and blew off about half of the bark.  The tree was on the opposite side of the lot from our house, but some of the bark was laying all over our yard.  Fortunately, our driveway in on the opposite side our yard from the vacant lot, so the tree was actually about 150 feet from me.  But, that is still too close for comfort!  Guess I’ll  be even more respectful of lightning in the future.
Keith Pladson (66)

 

 

 

And tomorrow is Toni’s and yours!!!! Happy birthday gentle and kind giant – not necessarily physically but most definitely emotionally. As Bernadette already knows. She is a very lucky woman! So proud that you’re from Dunseith and part of so many of our lives.

Thank you Brenda for the nice kind words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According  to a news report, a certain private Catholic school was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine provided it was of a natural or neutral skin tone, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal, Sister Mary, decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, Sister Paschal asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.

Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers….. And then there are educators

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Folks, This is your chance to try the famous Dale’s jumbo burger too.  

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your recall of superintendents at San Haven reminded me of conversations with Mrs. Carl (Mildred) Isakson who was a head nurse there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dennis Dubois

 

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes. It will be a fun day with my two grandbabies for the day.

 

Thank you for including a photo of Phyllis, Alan and Cathy Campbell in your blog, it was great seeing them again.  

 

Lynn,

 

I think a class reunion for your class of 75 sounds like a great idea. If you like, I can provide you the contact info I have for the folks in your class.   All you need to do is set a date, time and place and go for it.

 

Gary 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary and Friends,       Thanks to Susan for the Elinor and her kids.  The second I saw
her picture I thought—Now THAT”S Elinor.  The kids look the way I best
remember them.  Mom used to get a Christmas from Elinor and her second
husband each Christmas but since Mom has been gone,  I didn’t know what
had become of the.  Thanks for the update.  I did get a personal email
telling me that Randi and Gordy live in Bowman and Roxanne is in
Bismarck.  It’s interesting to hear where people we knew are currently
living.

      Thanks to all who sent condolences on the loss of my uncle and
friend Ron Warcup.  We shared lots of good times and in later years his
love of restoring old cars really got us on the same page.

Dick

 

 

 

Was the Red Haired lady Julie Grenier?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary and Friends,     The Las Vegas trip Evie mentioned reminded me of a joke from long
ago.  A guy asks his friend how he did in Las Vegas?  The friend said he
thought he did pretty well.  He went down in a $10,000 Cadillac and came
home in a $250,000 Greyhound Bus.

Dick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of Elinor Fuchs and also one of her three children, Randine, Roxanne and Gordon.   Elinor taught in Dunseith until 1963.    She and Orlan had divorced and she moved to Minot and got a BS in speech pathology.    I used to baby sit the kids as they lived in the house just south of us that used to be Frank and Erma Peltiers home.   I don’t know who the original owners were.   Elinor remarried  in 1975 and lived in Rapid City until  1993.   Her husband passed away in 1990.   She moved back to Bowman ND in 1993 and was living there when she passed away in 1996.  She bowled with mom and some of the ladies in Dunseith and mom always kept in touch with her.   Randy and Roxie are both on facebook and live in ND.   I believe Gordy lives in Bowman but am not sure on that.   The picture of the kids was taken in Minot in 1963.  Elinor was a sweet lady and I remember her fondly.    I also babysat for Orlan after he married Elve Hill,  so got to share his second family as well.   Good memories of Dunseith and the inhabitants.  Lots of good people come from Dunseith.   Hugs to all.  Susan  

 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Hi Gary…..I am off to Vegas next week….my friend gets lots of perks and she has someone she works with….

My question??  Would the Dunseith gang ever want to do a stay in Vegas?   With Allegiant out of the bigger cities in ND with runs to Vegas it might be fun.

Loving every minute of summer….don  ‘t know what I do but it takes me all day long most days

Evie Gottbreht
949-249-6984

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot remember if “Juliette Grenier” was ever a teacher ( or if that
pic is of a teacher), but I am pretty sure that is Juliette.�
Carmen Richard – what do you think?Mona Johnson (48)

 

 

 

 

 

Gary and Friends,      Ellen Graff Myrick (58)  wrote about Orlan and Eleanor Fuchs’ kids
she babysat for but couldn’t remember the one daughter’s name. In order
of birth,  they were Randine,  Roxanne, and Gordy.  Randi was about two
years younger than me.  She lives in Bowman, ND.  I don’t know where
Roxy lives.  The last I heard Gordy was still in Minot.  If the picture
sent in by Mark is a picture of Eleanor,  if must have been taken when
she was very young.  She did have beautiful red hair and a very nice
personality.  Orlan and my grandpa were business partners off and on and
we got to know the family pretty well.  Randi and I had to do a marriage
skit for some kind of wedding shower or other lady’s function when we
were little kids.  The ladies thought it was cute but Randi and I hated
every minute of it.  Many of the Dunseith kids were involved, being
‘volunteered’ by their mothers.  The preacher was Terry Halvorson and
one of the bridesmaids was Marvel Hill.  I think others may remember if
they were involved when they see these pictures.  Thanks Gary!

Dick

 

 

 

 

Sherry Marie Poitra, age 39 of Dunseith, died Wednesday July 11, 2012 in a St. Paul hospital. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. in the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Dunseith. Burial will be at the St. Mary’s Cemetery of rural Dunseith. A wake will be held on Monday beginning at 4:00 P.M. with a prayer service at 8:00 P.M. in the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary and Friends,      Ellen Graff Myrick (58)  wrote about Orlan and Eleanor Fuchs’ kids
she babysat for but couldn’t remember the one daughter’s name. In order
of birth,  they were Randine,  Roxanne, and Gordy.  Randi was about two
years younger than me.  She lives in Bowman, ND.  I don’t know where
Roxy lives.  The last I heard Gordy was still in Minot.  If the picture
sent in by Mark is a picture of Eleanor,  if must have been taken when
she was very young.  She did have beautiful red hair and a very nice
personality.  Orlan and my grandpa were business partners off and on and
we got to know the family pretty well.  Randi and I had to do a marriage
skit for some kind of wedding shower or other lady’s function when we
were little kids.  The ladies thought it was cute but Randi and I hated
every minute of it.  Many of the Dunseith kids were involved, being
‘volunteered’ by their mothers.  The preacher was Terry Halvorson and
one of the bridesmaids was Marvel Hill.  I think others may remember if
they were involved when they see these pictures.  Thanks Gary!

Dick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did an ancestry check on the Ingalls due to always having heard that we were related to Laura Ingalls Wilder of “Little House on the Prairie” fame.  I wanted to prove or disprove it for my own curiosity.  It turned out that both Laura and Keith’s Great Grandfathers # 6 were brothers.  Laura’s Great Grandfather #6, Samuel, was born in Oct 1645.  Keith’s Great Grandfather #6, Henry (Samuel’s Brother) was born in 1656.  So, not related, just connected.

In running that check, I found that the 20^th President of the US, James Garfield (Born 1831), came from Laura’s side of the family.  I spent a few months gathering data that someone else can take credit for and put it in an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of where it all tied together properly.  The spreadsheet currently has nearly 1,600 lines.  If anyone would like a copy of it please let me know.

Dale Pritchard

 The date is at the top of the clipping.

 

 

 

 

Mark Schimetz Baby picture posted yesterday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary-  I just wanted to comment on the article on Carmen Richard- I can’t think of anyone who deserved this more than her-  !- not only farm woman but a genuinely wonderful person!!_

On  another note I just had to add a “jayism” —  we had a customer come to the shop and he was restoring old cars— he had gotten some parts from Dick a while back- and he was wondering   about some more parts  if Dick would know where to get them- and Jay said “Well,  if Dick doesn’t know where to get it no one will–  He has been wheeli’n and dealin’ since he was knee high  to a short sheep”   guess that says it huh?-

Take care!-Lola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Folks,

 

 

 

We just got back from Mississippi where we buried my Mother-In-Law on July 3^rd.  She passed away from Cancer in a nursing home here, where she had been for five months, on June 27 about 11:30 PM.  We had here transported back to Poplarville, MS so she could be buried with my Father-In-Law.

My Brother Darold also lives there so we stayed with him.  We went through a big plastic tub of pictures that my Mom had left behind.  Attached is one of (L – R) Lois, Lorraine and Shirley.  My Grandpa William Pritchard is in the background along with someone else wearing a hat.  Rumor has it my Dad wore hats like that at that time.  I estimate the picture as being taken about 1941 or 1942.

Dale Pritchard

 

 

 

 

The names of the classmates in the picture who are no longer with us are Glen Kornkven, Ned Miller, Sharon Krogen Thompson, Beverly Smith Crummy.  The three teachers are also no longer with us.

 

A friend of mine was sitting on a lawn, sunning and reading,
when he was startled by a fairly late model car crashing
through a hedge and coming to rest on his lawn. He helped
the elderly driver out and sat her on a lawn chair.

My goodness, he exclaimed, you are quite old to be
driving!

Yes,� she replied, I am old enough that I don’t need
a license.   The last time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if
I had a driving license.  I told him “yes” and handed
it to him. He took scissors out of a drawer, cut the license
into pieces and threw them in the wastebasket.  You
won’t be needing this anymore, he said.

So I thanked him and left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary, 

 

 

 

Hi Gary,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Bruce Pigeon (‘DHS ’61):  Garrison, ND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.

Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I’m at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary 

 

 

 

 

 

Joke of the Day