|
Bill & Gus Hackman Story:
From Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND
Gary and Friends,
Larry Hackman and I have had a few email discussions about his uncles Bill and Gus Hackman, who lived a couple miles northwest of our place. One time in the late 60’s, Dad and I were in getting something from the back of Evan’s Hardware and Rod Armentrout was busy working on someones swather engine. Bill and Gus were also there and were watching as Rod was trying to pull a stuck valve out of the engine block. He said he would have to go in and get some kind of a pry bar, but was afraid he may bend the valve stem by prying that hard on it. When he was inside the shop, Bill walked over and wrapped two of his big old fingers around the valve head and pulled it out with a ‘pop’. He never said a word just handed it to Rod when he came out. I remember the look on Rod’s face as he stood there in amazement! Bill used to walk for miles looking for lost or strayed cattle. He always had a walking stick that Larry said was nearly as tall as he was. I do remember that. One time Gus came down to our place with the car looking for some cows that were out. As I was talking to him, I noticed over his shoulder that something was just coming over rise to the north. I commented that there comes something now. Gus turned and said what I thought was, “That’s the bull.” I said,”The bull?” He said, “No, I said Bill.” Larry told me that in the family he was known as ‘The Bill’, so that is most likely what Gus said—makes sense now. Larry, can you fill in the stories about Bill’s reading at home and later? Thanks Gary! Dick Hans Johnson Story:
From Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND
Gary and Friends,
My Grandpa Hans Johnson was not into much into the usual lines of recreation, but he really enjoyed fishing. Many times we went to Gordon Lake or Pelican Lake and a few times to Long Lake. I remember one morning when I was around 11 or 12 years old, Dad got me up real early and we were at the Crystal Cafe waiting for them to open at 6 AM so we could be at the farm early because we had so much work and not many days to get it done. When we got to the farm, the car was gone. Dad went in and asked Grandma where Grandpa was? She said he went fishing about 4:30 this morning and will be home soon. I remember how my dad went outside and threw his cap in the air and swore. He said, “He knows we have work to do and he’s gone fishing!” Well, Grandpa came home in just a short while later with his fish and was ready to put in a day in the field. Dad and I always hit it fast and hard but Grandpa took his time and still accomplished whatever he was doing. When I was about 12, Grandpa Hans took me to a 50 acre field and told me to go in second gear (slow) with the tractor, harrowing . I remember saying, “Fifty acres in second gear, I’ll be here forever!” He said, “Better forever going than forever broke down.” I guess there is a moral to this story. Dad had Rolaids in his pocket and Grandpa had a can of Prince Albert tobacco—go figure! Thanks Gary! Dick Duaine Ernest Dailly (58) passed away
Folks,
I have Frequently mentioned Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) Where I worked for 37 years. With this being a lighter day I thought I’d share with you a picture that a co-worker and good friend of mine, Ken Spurling, recently posted on facebook. This picture was taken in about 1985. I’m the guy with the red shirt in the 2nd row. We were the scheduling department for the entire shipyard. There were about 40 of us. We scheduled all of the production work inclusive of all the major ship overhauls, Nuclear refuelings, miscellaneous jobs, etc. Bubble charts and bar graphs were our specialties. I was in this department for 25 years and 2 months. I was a supervisor when I retired, but Supervisors and lead schedulers where all paid the same rate, so there was no more pay involved. Gary
|
Dunseith Alumni
Official Blog of the Dunseith, ND Alumni
