Question from Harlyn Oppeboen (51): Colorado Springs, CO

Gary as a kid growing up in Dunseith, I remember picking potatoes for someone. I don’t remember who it was or where the potato fields were. Do you remember or possibly some of your reader? I do remember there were several kids involved. I would guess it was in 1945 when I was about 13.

Harlyn Oppeboen

Reply to a personal message about the Traffic in the PI

From Brenda Hoffman (68): Greenville, SC

Whoa! Didn’t realize that you lived in such a large city or that traffic was that congested during rush hour. I wouldn’t want to go too many places with traffic like that! I did my rough traffic time during the last ten or so years that I lived and worked in Minneapolis. When Terry and I first moved there in 1974, we could drive to any place in twenty minutes. By the time I moved to St. Cloud 26 years later, some roads we just didn’t drive on and others were parking lots much of the day. Back roads were the fastest.

Here in Greenville, SC getting to the main shopping center is relatively easy, but there is a four mile area called Woodruff Road filled with trendy strip malls and restaurants where most people shop. Whoever designed that area should have bodily harm done to them. At Christmas, it’s best not even to attempt Woodruff Road – stop lights at most intersections and traffic backed up onto the interstates. Fortunately I don’t like shopping that much so I only am on Woodruff a couple of times a month – and only during working hours.

I wish you could attend the upcoming Dunseith reunion. Since you have initiated this blog, you have become Mr. Dunseith!!!!!! I don’t think you know how important your blogs are to those of us who have Dunseith connections. Your blog is like a daily cup of coffee at Dale’s Cafe ‘”shooting the breeze.” It’s a warm, loving connection that ties all of us to so many people. Because of you, I’ve connected with Lola, Dick, Charlene, you and others – heart attachments that would hot have happened otherwise. Your “work” is extremely valuable. Thank you.

Brenda

Brenda, I thanked you with a personal reply for these nice comments, but I want to do so again with the blog. I try to keep things focused on topics of interest to the Dunseith Alumni. That includes topics/pictures of the Alumni folks both past and present and any history and stories that folks would like to share. We can not loose that focus. I will slip a forward in here and there, but I try to keep them to a minimum. Yes, I too have connected & reconnected with so many great folks doing this. Those connections are invaluable. The older we get the more invaluable these connections become. Gary

From Gwen Struck Dumas (68): Havre, MT

Hi Gary,
I thought in one of the blogs I saw Kelly Woods as attending the May reunion, but don’t see him on this list. If he is indeed attending I would like to add my son Michael (Mike, as he prefers) Stevenson to the list. He and Kelly have started communicating due to this blog and haven’t seen each other in nearly 25 years. They played together constantly when I still lived in Dunseith and he always came with Charlene to visit in Bottineau. They were just the cutest little buddy’s!! And could I tell some funny stories about the two of them. Anyway thank you for all you do and Blessings to the two of you in the new year.
Gwen

Kelly Woods (89) Reply: Massena, NY

Gary, 

As much as I would love to come, I cannot attend this year.

Leave restrictions at work will only allow me to attend my nephew’s graduation in Olalla Washington this June.

Mike and I had some pretty good times as children in Dunseith. I remember playing in the store that his grandparents used to own, and all the times I would visit my own grandmother in Bottineau and take off and see Mike at his mother’s house. A lot of memories your blog has refreshed.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Kelly Woods

Class of 1989

Kelly, This must be your brother Jeff’s son who is graduating. He lives in Olalla. Olalla is about 20 miles south of Bremerton. Having lived there for 37 years, I know that area well.

Gwen, I will add your son Mike to the reunion list. Gary

Country school reunion date correction posted yesterday

Reply from Linda Gardner: Vienna, VA

HI Gary – I had a wonderfully long conversation this afternoon with Orvin Hagen. Not only did he yodel for me but he sang in Norwegian as well. Maybe we can get him to yodel at the Country School Reunion. BTW, the date of the reunion is July 10.

Linda, I really goofed with yesterday’s posting. The Country School Reunion date is July 10th as stated in your registration form. I quickly misread June 1st as being the reunion date when in fact that is when you’d like to have all the applications returned by. I have attached your sign up form again with this message.

I’m glad to hear that you had a nice visit with Orvin. Orvin told me he has had recent requests to yodel in some of the many community affairs he is associated with. I’m sure, if requested, he will Yodel for you guys at the reunion. Yodeling is a natural talent of his of which he is very good at. Orvin was one of the few neighbors who could converse with Mrs. Ole Rispa too, who pretty spoke only Norwegian. There is only one Orvin Hagan on the face of this earth, the one we love and remember so well. He is a guy with many perfected natural talents. He’ll be 89 years old this coming July and still going strong. In 2007 he still had his fast walk. Gary

Reposting of the G.R. Gleason Co. post card June 29, 1928

From Alan Poitra (76): Bloomington, MN

Hi Gary, I thought the readers would enjoy this tidbit of history in the automobile business back in the day. I know I have seen this ad before but was not sure if it was on the blog… very interesting compared to todays prices and I wonder if this would still be honored…:)

Alan,

Yes, it was on this blog that you saw this. I first got this from Sharron Gottbreht Shen posted with message 387 on 3/2/09. At the time I was thinking she actually had the post card with the Bottineau post markings. Then on 3/18/09 I received this same post card from Bill Hosmer (48) of which I reposted with message 403. When received it from Bill I knew it had to be posted on the NET.

This is so interesting, I received this same card several days ago from a good friend of mine who lives in AZ that sends out 6 forwards each day. This was one of his forwards to his list of 50 or so folks. This guy has never heard of Bottineau and I don’t think realizes I came from ND either. So this card is making it’s rounds. I remember lots of talk about the C.R. Gleason dealership in Bottineau, but they had been bought out by Theels from the time I can remember back too. You are like me, you see these things knowing you’ve seen them before but have forgotten where.

It’s been nearly a year since this was last posted, so I thinks it’s due for another posting.

It’s great hearing from you.

Gary

1928 Car Repair Mailer

Automotive repair in 1928……… and on a penny postcard…….

Folks,

As what’s been usual practice the last while, I’ve been taking the two laptop computers along with Bernadette’s nephew’s 3 kids, ages 3, 5 & 6, outside on the porch when they show up in the mornings to play on the computers. They just get too noisy for me.

It was so cute a few minutes ago. Isa, short for Isabella, the 3 year old girl, came in the office telling me low bat. She knows I have the charger and will connect it up to her computer of which I did. She then turned it back on getting back into the internet and into her game. Those 3 kids are giving computer lessons, not only to the other kids, but the adults as well. Her brothers have momentarily taken a computer break and are playing with the other kids. Gary

Isabella