All,
Mom (Florence Sime) was in a car wreck today. I just got off the phone with the hospital. She has a compound fractured wrist, broken shoulder, broken ribs, punctured lung, broken hip, tear in her spleen and many scratches on her face. All this was on the left side. The doctor is putting a tube in her lung to keep it from collapsing and when she is stable from that they will be taking her into surgery to repair her wrist. She will be in ICU from there. When she is able they will be performing additional surgeries. No contact number for her yet. She is in the Minot Hospital. Drop me a note or call if you have any questions. I’ll keep you posted on her status. My phone number is

Becky

Reply from Vickie Metcalfe (70): Bottineau, ND

Hey Gary, Dick, and my dear KITH and KIN,

Another response from Ardis Metcalfe Steggall, to my earlier questions about the Cota’s.

Hi Vickie,

George’s brother, Alfred, was a good friend of my parents. He lived in the Tri Cities in eastern Washington and would go to Seattle every year for a check up on his throat. He had throat cancer and the voice box removed but communicated very effectively with burps of air. He and his wife would always get together with my parents when they came to Seattle. My parents also visited them a few times in eastern Washington. Very nice people.

Have a good life,

Ardis

My pondering reply.

I remember Alfred Cota coming to Uncle Emil’s when they lived in the big green two story house surrounded by fields of strawberries at MARYSVILLE, WASHINGTON in the fall of 1963. This was whom the Cliff Metcalfe family lived with in Marysville, until our mom found the Hanson rental house on Schultes Road.

Later, when my folks were back living at the farm north of Dunseith , Alfred Cota stopped by and visited there too. He and dad would talk about times past and about his travels visiting people. Mom would brew coffee and put together a lunch.

The feeling of “true fondness and warmth”, come back to me as I recall the strong emotions evoked when George and Lela Cota were around Jim and Ella Metcalfe. That feeling was also there when Dad , Uncle Emil and the uncles and aunts were visiting Alfred Cota, as the record player was playing Uncle Emil’s Johnny Horton LP at the big green house.

I don’t recall meeting Alfred’s wife. I just knew he was a special adult friend the “Metcalfe’s ” held in high regard (He was up there with a few others. I think the our folks expected us to call him Mr.

I recall warm cozy feelings of true affection and happiness of old friends who were fondly together again.. The clinkings of moms making a lunch, jolly laughter and voices some like a smooth creamed coffee, another gruff, another quite different but ok because he was an old friend. I know what I experienced was true AGED friendship, comparing that to an AGED fine cognac (smooth and easy.) Special kind of friends, that knew each others weaknesses but focused on strengths and loved each other as friends.

Later, Vickie

Reply from Gary Metcalfe (57): Forsyth, MO

Hello, Dick I think that little girl that Mae is holding is Joy, her granddaughter and Alfred Cota’s only child. Alfred Cota was full of vim and vigor, we were neighbors in Spokane, Wa. He had to have a voice box due to cancer, but that did not slow him down a bit. I would guess Vance Bailey would have been able to identify with this Cota family as they were near to the old Bailey farm.

Another guy I should mention is Art Seim’s brother, Morris. My dad’s age. He and his wife Victoria, and daughter Dorothy, used to visit us back and forth in Seattle. Morris sold insurance and he always carried milk with him for his ulcers.

Bonnie I was trying to forget them!!

Aggie some people can live a full life in a short time, you are one of them, don’t settle down….keep on making memories. They are so useful when you get older, and unlike most everything else, no one can take them away from you. We went over that Estes Colorado Mountain in 1978 in an old camper on our way to Phoenix.

Gary Metcalfe

Reply from Dick Johnson68): Dunseith, ND.

Gary and Friends,

And so the plot thickens! I contacted my aunt, Shirley Olson Warcup,
and she looked up the year George and Lela were married—1936 for sure.
This means that 1961 was their 25th and 1976 was their 40th
anniversaries. The picture must have been in the camera for a couple
months because it was developed in 1977. I’m sure this is of no interest
to most of you, but Geri and Vickie had some question about it. It
seemed to me the anniversary at Rendahl was in ’61 so I asked my aunt
for the right information. Now everything lines up.

Bonnie Awalt Houle–I sure do remember the 4 and 5 buckle overshoes. I
always new when the kids from the hills got to school in the
morning—-ka ching ka ching down the hall. The amazing thing to me was
that shoes and overshoes were all we wore in the winter. My feet got
numb after a half hour and stayed that way all day! If we would have had
pack boots and Thinsulate liners then, most of us wouldn’t have
arthritis now. Let me try a guess—I seem to remember Gary Stokes
always wore zipper overshoes to school. Am I right Gary? Thanks!

Dick

From Ken Striker: Dayton OH

Gary-

I have noticed recent issues of Dunseith Alumni that the pictures do not come up.

Ken, If some of the pictures come up, my guess is that it could possibly be a server problem. Sometimes if you do a reply or forward to the message, the pictures will appear. I have not had a problem with the copies of these messages that I send to myself. If all else fails and you are still having problems, I post all these messages and pictures on the Dunseith Alumni WEB sitehttp://garystokes.net/default.aspx

Folks, please let me know if any of the rest of you are having these same problems. Gary

‘Amber Alert’ reply from Neola Kofoid Garbe: Minot & Bottineau, ND.

Hi Gary/Sheryl/Sybil,

I see Sybil sent info about the missing Minot girl, Reachelle Smith. What Sybil wrote is right; the “person of interest” killed himself. Since then, as far as the public knows, there have been no “breaks”/leads in the case. I have not seen updated pictures of Reachelle; I don’t know where one could be located. It’s as if Reachelle/the case are off the radar, so to speak. Except for receiving the amber alert email occasionally, I have heard nothing about Reachelle.

Sad/bewildering case. She’s a cutie.

Neola

Devin Millang the New Marrine

From Ele Dietrich Slyter (69): Dunseith, ND.

Here is a couple pics of our grandson Devin Millang…we are so proud of him and yes tears were flowing at the graduation ceremony. The second pic is Cam, Sherri, Tanner, Alyssa and Devin. The third pic is two generations of Marines, grandpa Richard Slyter and Devin.

Thank you Vickie for your comments about Devin going to school for lunch with Alyssa.

Ele’s reply to Gary’s question:

Devin Millang

Devin Millang

L to R: Sherri Slyter Millang, Cam Millang,
Alyssa Millang, Tanner Millang & Devin Milliang

Richard Slyter with his Grandson Devin Millang

Folk, This is the way I remember Richard Slyter in the picture below. I knew Richard and his brothers well in my childhood days. I have not seen any of them in nearly 45 years. We all change, but one always has a mental picture of folks from the way you saw them last. Richard, I must say that the ladies would probably say you are still the handsome looking guy your were back in the days. Gary

Richard Slyter

Request from Marshall Awalt (51): Newport, NC

Gary, Please add Harlyn Oppeboen to the daily blog as he went to Dunseith school through the sixth grade before moving he now lives in Colorado.His e-mail

is hco@aol.com. He sent these pictures of the hail damage in Dunseith and pictures of the San Haven.

Thanks Marshall 51

Harlyn, I am assuming your were in the same class as Marshall, class of 51. For now I will include you with his class. Please let me know if this is incorrect. Gary

Bill Wrights – Hail damage

Oppeboen Home – Hail damage