Request from Rachelle (Shelly) Hagel Peltier:
Gary,
I would appreciate it very much if you would add me to your email list.
My maiden name is Hagel.
I work with Ramona LaVallie.
Thank you
Rachelle (Shelly) Peltier
Shelly, It is my pleasure to add you to our distribution. I know folks will remember you. We have several of your siblings in our files too.
Yes, I know Ramona Thiefoe LaVallie from the class of 66. She has been very helpful with finding folks as I put these class lists together. She’s a very nice lady. Gary
From Bev Morinville Azure (72):
Gary , With Toni’s premission I am sending this to u to share with the rest Every once in awhile Toni sends letters “TO THE WOMAN I LOVE” this one made me laugh and wanted to share the day she had with the rest of you . Thanks for all u do Gary and may
GOD BLESS YOU …………BEV
Toni Morinville Gredesky’s (68) letter:
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 1:29 PM
For those of you distantly removed from the school setting and atmosphere, let
me remind you how it goes.
We missed school yesterday after a blizzard dumped a foot of snow in the area.
Those of you who
have relocated will remember that following a storm, we plunge into the deep
freeze; however, -14 below isn’t too bad.
Our weekly meeting in the library was uneventful except that we were informed
that
the phones were not working and the heating system had frozen up in part of the
building
and some water pipes containing water and a very stinky chemical had burst in
the office
area.
The principal commented to me that I would have to put up with a library that
might be a bit too
warm because they had our end cranked up to accommodate for the problem. Ten
minutes later
a pipe broke in the special ed room across the hall. Water was gushing
everywhere. They got it
turned off but had to cut the heat. I was about to lend my small space heater
when that happened.
The chemical in the water immediately stripped the floor of the wax, and now it
stinks in our end of
the building.
I went to the office and one of my drama kids, Robbie, a freshman, was sitting
on the couch holding an ice
pack on his head. Robbie is quite a character –squirrelry and has a comeback
for everything.
I asked him just what had happened. He said he had “hit his head.”
Just then his science teacher
came in to check on him. It seems that they were typing their blood in class
and when Mr. Fuller
poked Robbie’s finger and Robbie saw the blood, he fainted dead away. Being
the character that
he is, Mr. Fuller thought Robbie was kidding. Not so, he has a mild concussion
but can still name
our current president — who did a pretty good job avoiding his own concussion
when he ducked
the thrown shoes.
A bit later I went to check the mail. Yep, you guessed it. Another pipe had
broken in the boy’s locker room.
By now the kids are ticking like a time bomb. Anything out of the ordinary can
only raise two questions.
#1 Are we getting out of school? #2 What time are we getting out of school?
After I picked up the mail, I stopped in the office again when another of my
freshman drama students, Brayden came walking
out of the principal’s office. He looked like he had been or was going to
cry. Brayden is NOT a character. He is actually
quite shy and introverted. In fact, the last night of the play, his mom called
to say that Brayden wasn’t coming to the play. Well,
we managed to get him here. When I saw Brayden come out of the principal’s
office, I said, “Are you in trouble?” He said,”No,
I got punched right in the nose by Aaron.” Aaron is not in drama, but his
reputation precedes him. He is not a happy kid.
Anyone who staples his thumb to get out of gym is just not happy.
That took us up to lunch. The time now is 1:30. All seems to be going well. The
phones are fixed. The pipes are holding.
The children are nestled, all snug in their whatever. . .. My little space
heater feels nice in my little niche.
We have 12,000 books in our library. I just hope the pipes hold.
I love you all,
Toni
Toni, this is a great letter, well written. You are a great story teller. We’d love to hear more of these stories. I’ll bet you can remember a few from the past too. Gary
From Sharon Longie Dana (73):
Reply to Ele Dietrich Slyter:
I have lived many places since I left the Turlte Mountains but some of my fondest memories in my life are of the winters there. The frost on the trees so thick it looked like diamond necklaces in the moonlight, and the full moons made the blankets of snow just glisten and sparkle. and it was so cold the snow crunched so loud beneath your feet and it was so much to shop then. And the snow days…the phone would start ringing after breakfast and out we would head with our sleds to find the perfect place to go.
Thanks Ele for jarring my memory today. The winters here in Montana can be beautiful too.
I was thinking of North Dakota and all of those cold days when we got our storm Friday night and we had no snow here in the valley til then and our high Monday was zero…..
I think BBBRRRRRRR….but i always know its colder back home then it is here and I remember days gone by and so much fun.
To all my friends and classmates from all classes: I wish you good health and prosperity in the New Year and have a wonderful Christmas.
Sharon Longie Dana(73)
ND Weather from Dick Johnson (68):
Gary and Friends,
Ele’s story of crunching snow underfoot made me think of another sound
we ‘older’ folks remember. That is the squeal of sleigh runners when the
temps reached -20. When the sleigh hit packed ice like on a road
surface, the made this sharp high pitched screech that only came with
very cold temperatures. The old timers used to say that when the temp
hit -60, whiskey would gel. Now who would wait to see if whiskey was
going to gel, when you are out in -60 weather? Unless of course you had
a lot of whiskey!! Thanks Gary!
Dick
Weather report from Mel Kuhn (70)
Howdy Gary,
In reply to Dave Slyter, There was a blizzard? We got lucky up here and only had 3-4 inches of snow but it was a bit breezy. I cleaned those same 3-4 inches of snow out of my drive about 5 times. As Ele said -30 degrees and I believe it warmed up to -10 yesterday. Dick and I were going to go hual some old cars on Saturday but changed our minds when it was too cold for the hydraulics on his truck to work. It’s supposed to get up to 0 degrees Wednesday so that will be nice. Later.
Mel Kuhn[70]
Comments – 63 basketball team – Dick Johnson (68):
Gary and Friends,
The DHS basketball team, shown in the picture, was a very exciting team
to watch. Too bad Dave Shelver was out with an injury when the picture
was taken. Dave and Dan Danielson played out front as guards and did a
great job getting the ball in to Dennis Dubois who was center. Jim Evans
and Bill Henry were forwards and were deadly from from the corners. I
never missed a game that I can remember. If you look carefully at the
locker room behind the players, and then the background in the
cheerleaders picture, you will see it was taken at the School of
Forestery gym in Bottineau. One very exciting incident from that
tournament, aside from the Dunseith win of course, was when a Willow
City–Notre Dame player, Gordy Roberge tossed the ball full court with
one second remaining, and nearly ripped the net off the hoop! I came
close to hitting the lights and dropped straight through the net. He was
as surprised as anyone! DHS had several good teams over the years, but
the ’63 team was one of the better ones that I remember! Thanks Gary!
Dick
1963
Folks, Phyllis Jerstad is living in Fargo and is on our distribution list. Gary
| Jerstad | Lincoln | Born May 15, 1922 – Died August 8, 2007 | Deceased Teacher | ||
| Jerstad | Phyllis | 2717 WHEATLAND DR | FARGO, ND 58103 | (701) 235-8211 | pjljer28@aol.com |
