There is a story that came to mind when I saw the picture of Allen
Stokes. He was one tall and lanky kid in about the 10th grade and could
do amazing straight on jumps over the bar (high jump) in school track.
We had a track meet in Dunseith and Marc Gottbreht and I were manning
the high jump bar. We would reset it at the height the score keeper
ordered. Allen (Big Ally) Stokes would jump the bar straight on as you
might jump over a log on the ground. Normally jumpers would charge the
bar from the side and roll over it. Allen was at the bar height that
would have qualified him to go to state–I believe it was 5’8″–when he
jumped and cleared the bar with the exception of his arm which caught
the bar and pulled it down with him. He landed in the sawdust on top of
the bar and with his arm under it. There was a loud pop and he just
said, “Oh nuts, I broke my arm.” We helped him up and he held up his
arm. It was horizontal from the elbow half way down to the wrist and
then it turned straight down toward the ground. He said, “Hey, Mr.
Hepper, look I broke my arm.” He gave it a few shakes and Hepper yelled,
“Don’t shake it like that—get in the car!” They headed up to the
clinic for a cast. It was at this same track meet that Steve DeCoteau
from Belcourt threw a javelin (spear) many feet further than anyone
else. They were throwing toward the north on the west end of the high
school and he threw one clear across the road into Boguslawski’s yard!
When he let fly, it looked like it was never coming down. This reminds
me of a short joke. Ole told his mother he couldn’t learn the alphabet
as fast as the other kids in his class. She told him it was just because
he was Norwegian and it takes longer to catch on. A few days later he
said he didn’t like school again because he couldn’t learn his numbers
and the other kids could already count to 100. Again she said it was
just because he was Norwegian and it takes a little longer. He then came
home one day all smiles and told her they had what they call ‘Phy. Ed.’
and he could run faster and lift more than any kid in his class. He
asked her if that too was because he was Norwegian? She said, “No Ole,
it’s because you’re 18 years old.” Thanks Gary!

Dick