Happy 43rd Birthday Bernie Stokes: Bellevue, WA
Note: Two weeks from today, March 24, Bernie will be arriving here in Cebu. He has a hundred day break with his job at Microsoft and he plans on spending all hundred days here in Cebu. Needless to say, Bernadette is very anxious for his arrival.
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Gary Fulsebakke
Reply from Pamela Fugere Schmidt (’73): Mandan, ND
Gary,
Big congratulations to Gary Fulsebakke on his performance at Carnegie Hall in New York! What an honor! Gary, you have always had the most incredible voice – you make us all proud!
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Stacking Hay in the 50’s
Pictures/posting from Dale Pritchard (’63): Leesville, LA
Gary,
Here’s some archive stuff for you. They are labeled 1950s but they were accurate throuth the mid-60s too. As you know, we stacked hay in the days before bailers. Getting the hay from the field to the stack site required a bull rake on the front of a tractor, which was really hard to steer when loaded. But my Dad could figure out a solution for almost anything. To get rid of that hard steering problem, he bought an old truck with duals, took the body off, installed an old dump rake seat (facing backwards), did something with the transmission so you would be in what was a forward gear but actually driving it backwards with rear wheel steering (what was the front). It really worked fantastic with the weight on the dual wheel end and the other end free for steering. For traveling to and from the fields we just took out two bolts holding the bull rake on. For the road trip, we got on and hung on. Top safe speed was probably 25 because that rear wheel steering could give you some nasty surprises. My Dad was always amused at cars that met or passed us on Hwy 43. They were all staring so hard trying to figure out what we driving that a few almost ran off the road. And they thought the “Ma and Pa Kettle” thing was all old time movie fiction!. We called it “The Bug”.
More on the Stacker with the pictures from above.
Dale Pritchard
Dale,It has been a long time since I have heard the term “Bull Rake”.I remember well that old truck that your dad converted into reverse moving bull rake. It pushed a lot of hay too and fast.The bull rake was used to gather the hay from the raked up windrows that was transferred to the stacker. A tractor was then hooked onto a cable that lifted the hay from the staker to the stack.Your dad was a master welder too. Whenever the neighbors needed anything fixed, your dad would weld it for them. Often times folks would go to the hay field to ask him to weld something too. He’d always shut things down, go home and weld whatever they had that needed welding.Gary
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Name Correction
From Geri Metcalfe Munro (’59): Fargo, ND
Hi Gary,
On the picture I sent, this is my brother Jimmy (James Evans Metcafe). His daughter, Cheri, is married to James (Jim) Evans.
Geri
On the picture I sent, this is my brother Jimmy (James Evans Metcafe). His daughter, Cheri, is married to James (Jim) Evans.
Geri
Thank you so much Geri for the correctionGary
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Blog (45) posted on March 15, 2008
From Larry Hackman (66):
Gary
Back in the sixties a salesman came to Dunseith and as he went about his business he passed out business cards to employers and employees. What was unusual about these cards was that they did not give you the name of the salesman or the business he represented. These cards, if you accepted one, automaticly made you a member of the Turtle Club.
Back in the sixties a salesman came to Dunseith and as he went about his business he passed out business cards to employers and employees. What was unusual about these cards was that they did not give you the name of the salesman or the business he represented. These cards, if you accepted one, automaticly made you a member of the Turtle Club.
On this particularily nice sunny day my mother and I came out of the Crystal Cafe and were about to get into her 1958 red and white Oldsmobile that was parked in front of the Garden Tap. That Oldsmobile was a beautiful car that was first owned by Paul and Amelia Dacoteau. Real nice people that had bought the car new and had kept it in mint condition while they owned it. My mother had bought it second hand from a auto dealership.
My mother and I, were about to get into the car when Joe Morinville standing in the doorway of his store across the street, hollered at my mother. Marian, he yelled, ARE YOU A TURTLE? My mother’s face got a little red, as she took a quick a look around at all the other people on Main. Everyone had stopped and were all focused on her. Time seemed to stand still as they all waited for her reply. My mother looked back at Joe and shouted, You bet your sweet ass I’m a turtle. Then we both jumped into the car and got out of there. Looking back I could see, that Joe was bent over laughing. My mother was laughing so hard, that she could hardly drive. I was looking at her and we got home and into the driveway and she stopped laughing, she looked back at me, and said, I’m not nuts.
She reached into her purse and took out a business card, and handed to me. The card stated that she was a member of the TURTLE CLUB.
The rules were on the back of the card. To greet a fellow member. you are to ask, ARE YOU A TURTLE? Your reply,
if you are a card carrying member is to be, YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS I’M A TURTLE, ASK ME AGAIN IF I’M A TURTLE! So, as you can see that this would be a guestioning and answering session with no end in sight. No wonder my mother wanted to get out of there, and its no wonder that Joe took advantage of the location. I can just emagine Joe, laughing and explaining to everyone on main, what had just happened. People really knew how to have fun back then, Didn’t they? My mother kept the card in her purse and every time she came across it, she would start laughing and had to tell us again, the story about Joe Morinville asking her if she was a turtle.
ARE YOU A TURTLE?
larry
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Gary and Friends
Hearing from Don Conroy made me think of this story. Dad, Don
Johnson, as you know taught under Ed Conroy. Ed was our
respected superintendent at DHS for many years and then served
as principal for a few more years. The story goes, Dad wore toe
rubbers on his dress shoes. For those who don’t know what these
are, they basically cover only the soles and about an inch up
on the shoes all around. Well, Ed would keep putting on Dad’s
and then going home. When Dad was ready to go Ed’s were still
there and his were gone. Now dad couldn’t wear Ed”s because
they were too big but Ed could stretch Dads on. After a few
times, Dad wrote his name in the inside in big letters so Ed
certainly would see it when he went to put them on. Wrong!! The
next day they were gone again. Dad said “what can I do to
correct this” to Gene Hepper, another teacher and coach. Hep
said he thought he knew what to do and would take care of it.
When Dad went to put on his rubbers later, on the inside it
said “Don Johnson OR Ed Conroy!! Everybody had a laugh!!
Dick
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