I have enjoyed the stories about Dunseith from some of the older alumni. I do not know some of them personally but have heard about them through my older sisters and brothers. Many of them were gone off to college or ?? when I was growing up. I was always one of those McKay kids to them.

Gary, your account of the Philippine New Year sounded absolutely intriguing! How fortunate you have been to have the opportunity to experience such a cultural celebration. Your story about the demise of the pig reminded me of the same activity being performed at my house when I was growing up. It was a big occasion and relatives came to help with the dirty deed. The day before the pigs were going to hog heaven, I would feel so sorry for them that I would go out to the pig pen and sing to them through the fence. Of course I did not go into the pen because I had been cautioned that the pigs might eat me if I were to fall down in the pig pen!! We did not have many pigs so they were almost pets. When the old sow would have a batch of piglets, we would hold them, bottle feed them and generally love those little pink sweet smelling babies. As they grew into wiener pigs, we would scratch their sides so often that when they saw us, they would flop down on their sides waiting for us to scratch them with a stick. We have a picture of my sister riding one of her pet pigs! Living on the farm, taught you that animals that might have been pets to you, were food to mom and dad.

Thank you for your concern for me! I don’t know how you are able to keep track of everyone now that you have added so many more people to your e-mail list.

Phyllis

Gary’s Reply to Phyllis:

Phyllis, Having not heard from you in a while I thought something must be up. Glad to hear that you are on the mend. To keep track of everyone, I try to keep everyone organized by classes in my records. Even doing that, I still make a few stupid mistakes, like when I called Colette Pigeon Schimetz not realizing it was her. I knew Reid, her husband, had passed on several years ago. She had told me that when we talked a few weeks ago. I wasn’t thinking when I was putting Reid’s class list (71) together. I did a find and found a number for him and when Colette answered the phone I asked for Reid. Her response was, “Gary, this is Colette” I knew right away I had pulled a boner and I knew what it was. It turned out to be a good boner though. We had a wonderful chat.

Dale Pritchard’s (63) reply & memories: dale.pritchard@us.army.mil

Gary,

I remember a lot of people mentioned in the emails going back and forth.
Makes one wonder where they all got off too.

I tried pin setting “one” time at the old Snake Pit. Fortunately, I
came to my senses before a pin knocked some into me. It was dangerous!

I worked on the Grand Forks missile sites in 64 & 65 and spent much time
with Jimmy Birkland and Junior Walter. I saw Junior about 4 years ago
at a church supper in Dunseith but haven’t seen Jimmy since 65. There
again, people go their own ways and lose contact with friends. Boeing
paid my way out to Seattle in April, 66 where Leroy Birkland helped me
find a place to live. I haven’t seen him since but will always
appreciate his help.

Uncle Sam caught up to me in 66 also. Since I had to go in the Service
I joined the Air Force instead – one day before I was supposed to report
for the Army. So, I spent my “former life” in the Air Force and reading
Bill Hosmer’s emails about the Thunderbirds brought back some memories.
In 73, I spent 9 weeks on the Thunderbird C-130 (AF cargo plane) support
crew from Forbes AFB at Topeka, KS. We hit about 28 states in that time
and I never got enough of the shows. We were on a 30-minute standby at
each show in case we had go get some parts. The professionalism,
dedication and showmanship of that small group of people was awesome.
In Dec 79, I was at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas doing something for the AF
when 6 of the Thunderbirds “went in” at the same time. The base shut
down for about 2 hours of silence. It was a sad day but there’s no way
to relate to what the families had to go through.

I parted ways with the Air Force in Nov 86 after 20 years and 3 months.
From a former “udder” handler also, and your closest neighbor to the
South, keep up the good work you’re doing, Gary.
I think it snowballed more than you ever thought it would.

Dale Pritchard (63)

Dale, Yes, you were our closest neighbor to the south and at one time Jim & Ruby Birkland were our closest neighbors to the north. Evon Lagerquist is now living on your home place. Gary