4/7/2013 (1758)

       Happy Birthday Cheryl Larson Dakin (’71): Bedford, TX
 
 
 
Snow storm of 1959 and the Texas duck hunters

Reply from Cheryl Larson Dakin (’71):  Bedford, TX
 
oops. A typo…. I meant Oct. 1959.
 
Well, tomorrow I get to join the ranks of so many of my classmates and turn 60. Wow. I somehow thought it would seem so much older, but it really doesn’t. I can remember being 15 and thinking 35 was old. How our perceptions change, right? But it just keeps getting better and better. Have a wonderful day everyone!
Cheryl Larson Dakin
 
 
Reply from Diane Larson Sjol (’70):  Lake Metigoshe, ND

A couple of comments.  First of all, I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and have read and reread them, passed them down to my kids and they to theirs.  How exciting to know there is a connection to someone we know.  And to my sister Cheryl, I don’t remember the snowstorm since we weren’t very old.  But I do remember the move to Virginia and the ritual at the end of the day with taps sounding.  When we lived in Germany at Wildflecken, one of the things I remember is early in the morning the German troops would march and sing cadence.  We could look out of our third story window and see them.  At the end of the day, taps would sound, cars would stop, soldiers get out and salute signifying the end of another glorious day.  Thanks Dad for all the great memories and experiences of being an Army brat.

Diane

Snow storm of 1959 and the Texas duck hunters
Reply from Dick Johnson (’68):  Dunseith, ND
 
Gary and Friends,    Thanks to Cheryl Larson Dakin for the information about her dad,
Norm Larson, being with Bob Hosmer when he delivered groceries to Homer
and Willie,  the Texas duck hunters who were stranded in the snow.  I
didn’t know Bob Hosmer had a partner with him when he made the trip to
help the guys out.  History continues to reveal more details through our
conversations on Gary’s Blog!  First the Studebakers and now the
snowbound Texas duck hunters.  The only thing I really remember about
the Texas guys was their old 1940s dark green Dodge school bus camper
that they drove all the way from Texas to hunt here in the Turtle
Mountains each fall.  The only engine Dodge produced  for trucks at the
time was a flathead six cylinder that was not very powerful so it must
have been a long slow ride.  We had a grain truck with the same engine
and it was really underpowered especially with a load of grain on it.�
Thanks Cheryl and Gary!

Dick

I remember those Texas Duck hunters very well too and their school bus converted into a motor home. They always went past our place north with each of their trips every fall. Most often they’d stop out by the cemetery and of coarse we’d always paid them a visit. I remember one year the roads were rough and their bus didn’t have enough power to make it up the Cemetery hill. Dad hooked onto the front of their bus with our little ford tractor to give them the extra power to get up the hill.
 
Gary 
 
 
Metighoshe Lutheran Women Picture
Reply from Doreen Larson Moran (BHS ’61):  Usk, WA & Hazelton, ND
 
I can’t put a name on the first lady.   If I was at home I would go to the church history book and maybe a name from “the old days” would trigger my memory.    They are dressed very nice; Viola has a corsage and hat.  Is Virgil Rude on your list?   Doreen
Doreen,
 
I have included Virgil with both yesterday’s and today’s blog.
 
With your comment about being dressed up and with Viola having a Corsage, I checked their history in the 1984 Bottineau Centennial book and discovered a picture, pasted below, with Viola wearing the same dress and Corsage celebrating her and Alfred’s 25 Wedding Anniversary on March 31, 1960.
 
Gary
 
 
Metighoshe Lutheran Women Picture
Reply from Kenny Pederson (BHS ’65):  Michigan, ND
 
I think that the first lady in the picture is Peggy Westegard.  Spelling of last name may not be perfect.
She was married to Al Westegard.  They owned the West Side Lodge on Lake Metigoshe at one time
and lived on the farm by Dead Mans Curve on the lake loop road.  Peggy also taught school at several
of the country schools around.  It sure looks like her anyway.
I do mean the first lady on the left standing next to Viola Rude.
Thank you so much Kenny for this reply and identification of the Peggy. We’ve nailed this one.
 
Gary
 
 
Metigoshe Lutheran Women at Alfred and Viola Rude’s 25th Anniversary (3/31/1960)
Peggy Westegard, Viola Rude, Sylvia Bergan, Augusta Johnson, Elaine Stokes
 
 
Oscar & Sylvia Bergan and the Wm Elmer Striker family
Reply & Pictures from Ken Striker:  Dayton OH
 
Nice to see that church women picture with Sylvia (Lockhart) Bergan.   Years ago she was very helpful connecting the Wm Striker family of ND to the Striker family who stayed in the midwest.  I am sending a pic of her and Oscar and also a pic of Wm Elmer Striker and (some of) his children.
Ken,
 
Thank you so much for these nice pictures, especially the one of Oscar and Sylvia. I have that same picture, but from a newspaper and not nearly as clear as the one you have provided. Oscar and Sylvia were very close family friends of ours in my growing up days.
 
I think this picture was taken of Oscar & Sylvia on their golden anniversary in 1979?  I’m kind of thinking they had their celebration at the Christian Center at Lake Metigoshe. This is exactly the way I remember them. They were a great couple.  They had no children.  Oscar was a brother to Clayton Bergan’s father. Sylvia Lockhart Bergan’s mother was a Striker.  Oscar & Sylvia lived a few miles east of Lake Metigoshe and several miles north of #43. They lived close to Bernard Kavlie and Lars Sivertson.
 
Gary
 
 
 
Reply to yesterday’s Picture
From Iris Wolvert: Willow City, ND
 
The beautiful lady in the hat..single picture is Ethel Nelson..I understand she had a father or a brother that was a Barber in Dunseith,,Ethel married a Nostdahl and they had several children..Harley,Ward,. Don,Waiva Bergeron and a few more..Just thought this was a beautiful picture and I noticed there was a Nelson in the Little Prairie church article..Ethel’s parents were from the same area in Norway. 

 
 
Reply to yesterday’s picture
From Neola Kofoid Garbe: Bottineau & Minot, ND
 
 
Joke of the day
Posted by Linda Gardner (BHS ’67):  Vienna, VA

An old, blind cowboy wanders into an all-girl biker bar by mistake.

He finds his way to a bar stool and orders a shot of Jack Daniels . 

After sitting there for a while, he yells to the bartender, ‘Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?’

The bar immediately falls absolutely silent. 

In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says,

 ‘Before you tell that joke, Cowboy, I think it is only fair, given that you are blind, that you should know five things:

1. The bartender is a blonde girl with a baseball bat.

2. The bouncer is a blonde girl.

 3. I’m a 6-foot tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate.

 4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weight lifter.

 5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler.

 Now, think about it seriously, Cowboy. Do you still wanna tell that blonde joke?’

 The blind cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head and mutters, ‘No…not if I’m gonna have to explain it five times.