Coming of Age in Bismarck, North Dakota
This
is the third installment in a series of reflections written by the Rev. Dr.
Richard B. Tudor about growing up in Bismarck, North
Dakota in the decade of the fifties. The intent in
writing is to describe the cultural and physical environment in which the BHS
class of 1960 “came of age,” as the process of growing up is often described.
This installment will cover the time period 1956-1960, the high school years.
As this process of reflection has progressed, a number of classmates have
shared their memories and that feedback has been helpful. It should go without
saying that most of the recollections and images shared in these pieces are of Bismarck
and BHS seen through the eyes of the author. It is a personal perspective. I
have almost certainly forgotten to include much that is important and I
apologize in advance for any glaring sins of omission.
Another comment that needs to be
made about writing an extended essay like this is that an author feels
tension from two writing polarities; chronology & themes. Theme is always
going to win out. It is a difficult task to think through four years of high
school, laying one’s memories out in order, fifty-three years after the fact.
Much of what is written are snapshots of aspects of student life at BHS as they
imprinted themselves on my mind. They enter consciousness in a scatter shot
fashion. If the reflections seem at times to be disjointed, that is the reason.
Writing about the high school years
of the class of 1960 presents a different challenge than that confronted in the
first two installments. Now I am writing about years in which yearbooks were
produced recording who taught at BHS and who was enrolled there, and also what
all those young people did with the opportunities offered to them. We know who
played sports and who sang in the choir and who was in the Homecoming Queen’s
court and who was in the Honor Society. There are pictures and text which
witness to a great deal of BHS common life. What I will be doing will be to look
behind the scenes and offer a more personal interpretation than yearbook pictures
can give.
Popular Culture
Rock and Roll will always be, I dig it to the end.
It’ll go down in history, just you watch my friend.
Danny
and the Juniors
When the class of 1960 as timid freshmen first
walked through the front doors of Bismarck
High School on September 4, 1956, they
were part of a larger society in which there were rumblings of sweeping changes
on the not so distant horizon. For example, what we today would call popular
culture was undergoing a transformation which would become increasingly difficult
for many adults to accept. America
was witnessing the beginnings of a dramatic shift to a youth centered culture
which would rapidly accelerate during the 1960’s. Music was a great part of the change. I ended the second installment of “Childhood
Memories” by noting the popularity of Bill Haley’s number one hit “Rock Around
the Clock” in 1955 and the bombshell effect of Elvis Presley’s first national release
“Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956. They were just the tip of an emerging iceberg. Soon
other colorful performers such as Little Richard, Buddy Holly (a personal
favorite), Jerry Lee Lewis, and a host of others would surface. When you look
back on it, the rapid proliferation of artists and groups in those days was
amazing. We were introduced to this music and the personalities who were
performing it by two sources: Dick
Clark’s American Bandstand on television and the car radio. Some of the groups
would even tour through the Midwest. I remember seeing
Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps on the stage of the Bismarck Theater in 1957. “Be
bop a-lula, she’s my baby, be bop a-lula, I don’t mean maybe.” I don’t think it
is possible to overestimate the important of this music revolution and its
impact on American society. It was exciting! As teenagers, most of us were
caught up in it. It was saying something to us. It made a statement about what
it meant to be young! It was our music; it didn’t belong to our parents.
Dances and Teen Canteen
It is
interesting today to look back on the many opportunities we had as teenagers to
gather and listen and dance to this music. In an earlier installment, I
mentioned the Teen Canteen nights sponsored by the city on Friday (Jr. Hi) and
Saturday (Sr. Hi). In the mid-1950’s, Bismarck
built a much needed new swimming pool in Hillside
Park. Canteen was moved to the second floor of the
new office and dressing rooms facility constructed there. Often there were kids
from three high schools present: Bismarck, St. Mary’s and Mandan
I don’t remember much trouble on those nights. A far cry from today!
Bismarck High would hold dances on
the Friday nights following home football and basketball games. My sister Ann has
two daughters who graduated from high school fairly recently in Spearfish, SD.
When she told them about those BHS dances, they couldn’t believe it. Their high
school didn’t do anything like that for them. Some cousins of mine from Minneapolis
came up to Bismarck one summer during
the 50’s for a visit and my brother and I took them to Canteen on a Saturday night.
Again, they couldn’t believe it! There was nothing like that for them in Edina,
Minnesota.
Each year after the BHS annual, the
Prairie Breezes, was published, there was a dance in the gym to which everyone
brought their annual. We sat around on the floor talking and writing comments
in each other’s yearbooks. I have fond memories of those nights! I have been
reading those comments to help me prepare to write about those years.
After those Friday BHS dances and
Canteen Saturday nights, many people would drive up to the top of the big hill
in the aforementioned Hillside Park
(Est. 1929) and park there. It provided a great view of the city.
Bismarck High School
When the class of 1960
entered the hallowed halls of BHS in 1956, we probably did not realize it but
we were becoming part of an institution that was highly respected in Bismarck.
Bismarck High School
had been established in 1912. We are graduates of a school that is today over
one hundred years old. In North Dakota,
that’s saying something! The building we went to school in was constructed in
1934. Prior to that, the high school was housed in the junior high building
located just to the south. Actually, both senior and junior high classes met in
that building for a time. I am guessing (I don’t know for sure) that the high
school originally was housed at the old William Moore school building located
on the north side of downtown Bismarck.
For a number of years, BHS shared
its building with students attending Bismarck
Junior College which met on the
third floor. The sharing of the building with the junior college began in 1939
and ended in 1954 when the city constructed the first home for BJC on the
Capital grounds.
When I say that BHS was respected,
I mean to emphasize the respect that people then had for teachers and educators.
It was the 1950’s! The rebellion against all forms of authority had not yet
begun. Parents supported and backed the teachers and coaches.
Does anyone remember that Gracie Paulson was hit by a car on the first day of school in 1956?
Many
of us began our freshman year with very little knowledge of what to expect. We
had no older brothers and sisters who had gone before us. I went feeling that
BHS was the big time. It was the
cultural institution in Bismarck.
BHS had a symphony orchestra directed by Harold Van Heuvelen, a concert band
led by Gordon Knaak, and a concert choir directed by E. Boyd Gregor, whose
first year was 56-57. He had replaced Orlon Heskin who died unexpectedly the
previous year. The orchestra, band, and choir all sounded very professional and
their concerts were anticipated and well attended by townspeople. Musical
standard were high!
Musical and dramatic productions at
BHS in the 1950’s and earlier clearly illustrate the cultural difference
between then and now. Every year during the Christmas season, BHS put on a play
titled the Gloria. Our freshman year
was the occasion of its 20th annual production. In December at BHS,
there was a large Christmas tree in the main hallway near the front door. The
Concert Choir sang programs that were heavily weighted with Christian hymns and
inspirational music. Boyd Gregor had been trained in the music department at Concordia
College, a Lutheran institution. In
our sophomore year, the drama department presented “The Robe.” Karl Franson was
quoted in the Hi Herald as saying
that his involvement in this play was the most memorable experience of his time
at BHS because the play dealt with something in which he believed deeply.
Plays at BHS during our years were
under the direction of Jean Genz. The students affectionately called her
“Granny”. During our senior year, I was in the production of “Green Grow the
Lilacs Grow.” Other cast members were Ron Anderson, Marlene Duval, Carol
Peterson, Sue Cartwright, Sharon Sylvester, Jim Kibbe, and Mark Williams. The play was presented at the Bismarck Auditorium.
During our senior year, Ted Coonrod
had the role of the Heavenly Messenger in the Gloria. My dad got a charge out of that. When Ted would call our
house, he would hand the phone to me and say, “It’s the heavenly voice.”
Bismarck High Sports
Being
in high school meant becoming more involved in athletics. The process of trying
to make teams began and it was often disappointing. Our class had a good freshman football team
in 1956. We beat St. Mary’s badly and we also beat the high school team at
Richardton. Before the Homecoming game
that year, I can remember attending a bonfire just north of BHS on that vacant
lot which became a skating rink in the winter. We were all standing around
looking at this enormous pile of wood when Jimmy Greenwood ‘57 walked up to the
pile, doused it with gasoline, stood back and threw a match. There was a loud
“whoof” and instant bonfire! (I mention this because I knew Jimmy in later
years both in Bismarck and Williston. He is now deceased. Jimmy was a good
friend!) When we left the bonfire to make our way over to Hughes Field for the
game, the cheerleaders - Duane Glum ‘58 (Denny Demon) at the head of the line -
led a snake dance through downtown and then to Hughes Field. What a run! We
went screaming through a grocery store and knocked over a display of canned
goods.
Marsh is here, he’s the best!
Take the team and add the rest.
Coach Marsh Murdoch!
BHS Pep Club cheer
I did make
the freshman basket ball team which was a shot in the arm for my athletic
aspirations. I wonder if people really knew how much many of us (boys) dreamed
of one day playing basketball for the Demons. Marsh Murdoch was the coach and
he was on a roll in the 1950’s. The Demons had won the state championship in
1953 and they would win again in 57, 58, and 59. Just to put that uniform on
and run out on the court before the warm-ups as the BHS Fight Song was played
by the Pep Band! There were a lot of
good players in those years and it was tough competition. Each year when there
were basketball tryouts, it would be announced after a few practices that a
list would be posted with the names of those who had made the cut. Going up to
look at that list and not seeing your name there was a humbling experience. But
that was life! The list of great players during the championship years is long:
Jim Simle, Denny Arndt, Marv Dutt, Bill Leifur, Bob Schaumberg, Ron Carlson,
Art Winter, Rod Tjaden, Rich “Buddy” Olthoff, and Gordy Postovit.
During my
junior year, I played on the Imps with a bunch of guys from my brother’s class:
Phil Larson, Bruce Evanson, Tom Woodmansee, and Bruce Wendt. That was a fun
year! My senior year, I did get the chance to dress for some Demon home games
and then, I sprained my ankle and my season as a player ended. From that point,
I sat on the bench in street clothes and helped the student manager, Chuck
Hughes ‘61, with stats. Chuck Hughes is another good guy who is now deceased.
He was also the student manager of the football team. I had a good time with Chuck
during my senior year.
The State Basketball Tournament
During
the 1950’s, there apparently was little competition among the larger cities in North Dakota to host the Class A State Basketball
tournament. The University of North Dakota in Grand Forks had a large field
house which could seat a lot of people, so that’s where the tournament was held
year after year. Going up to Grand Forks for the tournament became a yearly ritual in the late 1950’s for Bismarck Demon fans. My family went up to Grand Forks for the tournament and it was great fun. (It was also very cold in Grand
Forks in March!) It was not difficult to enjoy
the tournament when your team won year after year. In 1957, Bismarck beat the Devils Lake Satins to win the state championship, and in 1958 and 1959, the Demons
defeated the Fargo Central Midgets in the championship game.
The wins over Fargo were especially sweet! It again needs to be
pointed out that the Bismarck accomplishment of winning three state basketball championships in a
row has never been equaled in the modern ara!
An
interesting thing about the tournament in the 1950’s was the fact that families with teenage boys
had to stay at the Dacotah Hotel and families with girls stayed across the
street at the Ryan hotel. Boy, does that speak to us of a different time and
attitude!
High
School athletics in North Dakota in the 1950’s was divided into three classes: Class A, Class B, and
Class C. In those years, there were only fourteen class A high school teams in
the state which were broken down into two conferences, East and West. I can
remember attending some Class C (very small schools) tournaments at the World War Memorial Building in the 1950’s. Their fan support and enthusiasm was tremendous!
Friday Night Lights at Hughes Field
Back
in the 1950’s, the variety of varsity sports offered for student participation
was a whole lot simpler than today. Basically, there were only three major
sports teams: football, basketball, and track & field. And these were
sports for boys. There were no sports offered for girls other than an
intramural program named the Girls Athletic Association (GAA). Even for boys, there
was no cross country team, no swimming team, no hockey, no soccer (How was it
possible to have a world without soccer?), and up to 1959, no wrestling program
at BHS. There was also no high school baseball team. Boys interested in playing
baseball participated in the American Legion program in the summer. So if you
were a boy and wanted to participate in a competitive sport at BHS, your
choices were limited to football, basketball, and the track team. In this fact
is seen one of the major differences between the 50’s and now. Today, choices
are almost unlimited for everybody.
All of this is perhaps a too
complicated lead in to the fact that if you were involved in two of the three major
BHS sports, you were going to be spending a great deal of time at Hughes Field.
That is where both the football and track team practiced, and, in the case of
football, it is also where the home games were played.
Edmund A. Hughes Field, its full
name, is located at least a mile or more west of Bismarck
High School. It always seemed to me
that this fact was somewhat unique! Most high schools have their practice
facilities located at or very near to the high school. Back in those days,
football players were released from class at three
o’clock and one had thirty minutes to get over to Hughes Field, get
into your uniform, and be on the field and ready to practice at three thirty.
The property that made up the
Hughes Field complex was (and still is) extensive. It was far more than just
the football field. There were two levels of practice fields located to the
north of the varsity field, and to the east of the practice fields, a dressing
room building (if you can all it that) with home and visitors locker rooms.
There was even a house located to the north of the locker rooms building where
the caretaker of the property lived. In those years, it was Arne Offerdahl, a
gym and science teacher at the junior high.
I grew up about two blocks from
Hughes Field and started going to the football games there in the early 50’s.
To my mind, there was something very special about those Friday night football
games played under the lights at Hughes Field. Those cool, crisp, fall evenings
were perfect weather for football. Very exciting! There were bleachers on the south side of the field
where the BHS students sat and there was a large grandstand on the north side
(the visitors’ side) where adults sat.
Everything has changed today. The
Demons play their games at the Community Bowl located on the bluffs overlooking
the Missouri River on the north side of Bismarck.
I believe Hughes Field is now used for soccer.
Incidentally, Edmund A. Hughes was
a very successful and prosperous real estate developer and entrepreneur in Bismarck
from about 1910 to 1930. He also owned the Hughes Electric Company. He and his
wife donated the property to the school system in the 1930’s or 1940’s. Hughes died
in 1970.
BHS Football
Woody Wilson was the head football coach
assisted in various years by Arne Martin, Dale Thorstenson, Ev Miller, Bill Dubes, Marv
Seibold, and Gordy Holt. The Demons played the Fargo Central Midgets for the
state championship in 1957. The game was played at Hughes Field and it was
cold! I drove my mother’s car in a caravan from the high school over to Hughes
Field. We were sitting at the stop light at 6th and Ave C. Carole
Knutson had fallen behind and she was hurrying to catch up. She did! She
neglected to notice that we were stopped and she ran her car into the car
behind me. It hit me and I was pushed into the car in front of me. The police
came and I can still hear one of them looking at the scene and saying loudly,
“Four Cars?” Carole was sitting behind the steering wheel crying. I would have
been crying too!
Bismarck
had a good team (Bill Leifur, Bob Schaumberg, Jack Riedel, Larry Schmitke) but
lost to Fargo. They were led by a
running back named Dave Mulholland who went on to play at the University
of Minnesota.
The next
year Bismarck again played for the
state championship, this time against Fargo Shanley a perennial football power
in those years because of their coach Sid Cichy. This was a game Bismarck
should have won. Jerry Brunsoman and Al Lick shared the quarterback duties that
year. Don Paulson was a very tough defensive player. Schmitke and Rich Olthoff
were the running backs and both were All Conference. The game was played in Fargo
and Bismarck lost 20-19. We should
have been kicking extra points!
Our Senior
year was a disappointment as far as football was concerned. The St. Mary’s team
which we had beaten badly as freshmen defeated us 28-0. We couldn’t stop George
Welder and Tom Hall. St. Mary’s won the state championship that year defeating Grand
Forks 12-0. Welder and my good friend Andy Shafer both
scored for St. Mary’s. Both Andy Shafer and George Welder are deceased as is
the St. Mary’s quarterback for that team, Tom McDonald. Andy was a teacher and
coach at Wachter Junior High and died prematurely at age 50. George Welder was
the toughest high school running back for his size I ever saw. He was always
hurt, but he ran over people regardless.
The one
thing I didn’t like about playing football was that grungy, dirty locker room
in that old frame building at Hughes Field. That place was terrible. The
lockers were just bins that you threw your gear into. You couldn’t keep the
floors clean. Kids today wouldn’t be asked to dress in a place like that.
I don’t
remember much about track & field. Arnie Martin was the head coach of the
track team. Harley Hettick threw the shot, George Freeman threw the javelin, Lyle
Tisdel was a distance runner and Gary Pederson was a high jumper. I always
thought that “Pete” was the most coordinated athlete in our class.
***********************
Wrestling
was introduced into ND high school sports in 1958. The first BHS coach was
Jerry Halmrast and he laid the foundation for the super power that is still
winning state championships today. No team in North
Dakota has dominated one sport like the Bismarck
Demons’ wrestling program. In 54 years of wrestling in North
Dakota, the Demons have won 32 state championships. They
won their first championship in our senior year (1960). Charley Wagner,
Clarence Christiansen, and Harley Hettick were members of that team.
A Dress Code
One very striking difference
between high school in the 1950’s and high school in later years was the
unwritten dress code. Perhaps it was written and I never saw it. Most people
dressed up to come to school. It was a personal statement. Remember the pants
with the buckle in the back which boys wore? Every issue of the Hi-Herald in those years had a fashion
picture. It featured students showing off new clothes: shirts, sweaters,
skirts, and blouses. Girls didn’t come to class in jeans. Would they have been
sent home? People wanted to look nice and they did. The kids who were active
and involved always dressed well. It was just part of the way things were done.
I have
another funny story about Roger Sundahl and Dave Thompson, both members of the
class of ‘61. Our senior year, they came to school on the last day of class
wearing Bermuda shorts, knee socks, white shirts and ties, and sport coats. Our
principal, Conrad W. Leifur, confronted them and sent them home with the admonition
to “go home and change out of those picnic pants.” It truly was a different
time.
Thinking
about what we wore to school causes me to remember a time in junior high when
the boys wore pink cords and charcoal grey shirts sometime edged with pink. One
day I was over at Linda Eastman’s house and I was wearing purple cords and a
purple and black shirt. Her father, Allen Eastman who was a witty person, took
one look at me and said, “Does that outfit glow in the dark?” It probably did.
Remember
the element at BHS that we used to call “Hoods?” They sat in the balcony during
the assemblies and Mr. Leifur was always glaring up at them. They were mostly
boys but there were a few girls who hung out with them. They wore leather
jackets and blue jeans. Men teachers were always trying to catch them smoking
in the bathrooms. Outside of school, it was a tee shirt with a pack of
cigarettes rolled up in one sleeve. The boys had fairly long hair for the times
and it was combed back on the sides and forward on top. It was apparent that
they were very taken with the image of James Dean in the movie “Rebel without a
Cause.”
Lunch Time
These
days I enjoy telling people that I went to a high school with over one thousand
students (enrollment was 1050 our senior year) and it didn’t have a cafeteria or lunch room. Many don’t believe that.
Then I tell them that most of the students went home for lunch. The dismissal
bell would ring at 11:50 am, we
would hustle to our lockers, throw our books in, run down the stairs and out to
the parking lot, hop in cars, and drive home. Often we were home by 12:00. Our mothers would prepare lunch for us
(like June Cleaver). We would then go
back to the high school in time for the first period in the afternoon which
began at 1:15 pm. My granddaughter who is in the second grade has twenty
minutes for lunch. It was definitely a slower paced time in the 50’s!
Bismarck Hi-Herald
One of the great experiences
of my high school years was being on the Hi-Herald
staff when I was a senior. Adrian Dunn was the advisor and he was a terrific
man. Very smart! One thing that I remember about him was the fact that he was
always well dressed. He was more than well dressed; Mr. Dunn was immaculately
turned out as they say. He wore expensive clothes and that fact was obvious.
Beyond that, he was also a very nice man who was truly interested in all of his
students. One got onto the paper by taking a course in journalism from Mr. Dunn
the second semester of your junior year. It was then decided whether you were
going to be on the Hi-Herald or the Prairie Breezes staffs. I feel fortunate
in having been chosen for the paper. Ron Vantine and I were selected to be the
sports editors. We wrote a monthly column called “Demon Deviltry.” Where did we
come up with that name? I can’t remember!
At the end of the year we went to a student newspaper conference in Grand
Forks at the University and our column won first
prize. We each received a prize of $10. All in all, the Hi-Herald staff was a great experience. Putting the paper to bed
each month was a lot of fun. Tom Roberts was the Editor. I have a very warm spot in my heart for all the members
of the Hi-Herald staff of 1959-60.
My parents know Mr. Dunn socially
and they called him Dick Dunn. On the paper staff, we called him “Daddy” Dunn
and we meant that as a very affectionate term. Mr. Dunn went on in later years
to be one of the chief organizers of the North Dakota Educational Association. He became its Executive Director in 1971. When he died
in 1986, the NDEA magazine, the North Dakota Journal of Education, had his
picture on the cover. I wrote and requested a copy. I still have it. He was
truly a wonderful person and a good example of the many excellent teachers we
enjoyed during our years at BHS.
The Bismarck High School Concert Choir
One
day at the end of my junior year, I was sitting in a study hall daydreaming and
Boyd Gregor walked in, approached me, and asked me to come with him over to the
choir room just across the hall. I did. He sat down at the piano and started to
play some scales which he asked me to sing. I have a pretty deep bass voice and
after I was finished singing, Mr. Gregor invited me to be a part of the Concert
Choir the next year. I didn’t have to think very long about it. I said “yes”
immediately and I have always been grateful for his initiative. The choir was
one of the most enjoyable and meaningful things I did while at BHS. It
practiced during the first period after lunch at 1:15 pm. The music that we learned was terrific. It was
always exciting for me to perform with the choir and we performed often. Mr.
Gregor had high standards for choral music and that fact showed in his choirs.
The
big event of the choir year was its annual tour in the spring. On March 29, 1960, we left Bismarck and went to Grand Forks where we performed. We stayed at the University that
night and drove down to Concordia College in Morehead, Minnesota the next day where we sang during their mid-morning
chapel service. An interesting sidelight to departing from Grand Forks was the fact that somehow we managed to leave David
Landom behind. I guess he overslept. He had to catch a Greyhound bus and rejoin
us in Fargo. From Fargo, the choir went to Wahpeton where we sang at the high
school. Then it was on to Sioux Falls, SD where we sang at Augustana College. Then we drove to Omaha where we sang someplace that I can’t remember. Next
was up to Wisconsin where we sang in a small town that I also can’t
remember. Then it was on to Minneapolis
and after a concert there, back to Bismarck. Singing with the Concert Choir was a great experience
for me personally and I will always be grateful to Boyd Gregor for seeking me
out that afternoon. Once in the choir, I was surprised at how many people had
really good voices. Ron Anderson had the best baritone voice and Al Richter was
the leading tenor. There were many good soprano and alto voices: Marlene Duval, Karen Klein, Barb Tosterud, Elizabeth "Beb" Bischoff. On the back
row of the riser, I stood between Bruce Hedahl and Ron Putz. We had a lot of
fun during rehearsals. At our graduation ceremony at the Memorial Building, the choir sang and for the last number Mr. Gregor
asked the graduates who had been choir members to come up and sing with the
choir one last time. I have to say that I felt a deep sadness as the notes of
that last song died away.
Our teachers
I don’t want to close this
without attempting to mention some more of the excellent and dedicated teachers we
had during our four years at BHS. I was one of those fortunate to take English
from Rita Johnson and she was a real gem! She pushed us towards excellence. I
also liked Lucile Anderson who taught algebra 1. I thought that she was
extremely capable. Who can ever forget Ray Heid who taught Social Studies. He
was one of a kind because of his interest in all of us and his sense of humor.
His classes were enjoyable. Ray Yeasley did a good job of attempting to teach
us chemistry. His son Don was a member of our class and I was a roommate of his
for a time at UND. Don was a graduate of the University
of Texas law school. He has been
deceased for some time. I liked Nick Barbie who was a math teacher. He
was a good guy. What can you say about Rita Murphy except that she was a legend
in her own time. A wonderful teacher and person!
Pearce and Coonrod the Pranksters
I have to tell one final
story before I bring this to a close. I think this incident happened in our senior
year but I could be wrong about that. One afternoon I was sitting in a history
class being taught by Miss Warren (Monica Warren). She was not all that much
older than we were. There was a knock at the door of the class room. The door
opened and in walked Ted Coonrod who was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt
and tie. He looked very official! He told Miss Warren that he had with him,
waiting out in the hall, a Russian exchange student who was visiting BHS and
wanted to see a typical class. Ted always had a real gift of gab. Miss Warren
was somewhat taken back by this request but she agreed to let him come in. Ted
walked out to the hall and then returned with Harry Pearce who was also wearing
a dark suit, while shirt, and tie. Ted introduced him as Ivan Pearcesonovich. Those
of us in the class didn’t give any sign that we recognized this mysterious
visitor. Harry looked very serious and if you know Harry, no one can look more
serious and intense than Harry Pearce. His face was emotionless! Not a flicker
of a smile! Ted had told Miss Warren that he spoke no English. Harry walked to
the back row of the class room and sat down, looking intently and silently
around. Miss Warren became very flustered by this appearance in her classroom. But
the bell finally rang and put her out of her nervous misery. We all went out into
the hall and broke out laughing. However, that was not the end of it. Mr.
Leifur got wind of the whole business and I think he had a conversation with
Ted and Harry. There might have been some disciplinary measures.
DeMolay & Rainbow
An opportunity to join two
Masonic sponsored organizations – the Order of DeMolay* for boys and Rainbow
for girls – was offered to many young people of high school age in Bismarck
during the 1950’s. These groups were pretty successful in attracting interest
and membership back then. One had to be invited to join and then voted on by
the membership. Both were groups which taught character development to young
people at a formative time in their lives. Following the Masonic model, they
also had a goal of fellowship and taught about the value of service to others.
DeMolay met on Thursday nights at the Masonic Temple which was located on Third
Street between Broadway and Main. It was right across the street from the
Prince Hotel. The Chapter was sponsored by Bismarck Masonic Lodge No. 5 and
Rainbow was overseen by the Order of Eastern Star.
The old Masonic
Temple building was quite a place!
It was a large brick structure which had two upper floors and a basement dining
room which could accommodate a hundred people. Every door in that building was
solid oak as was all the trim. The ceilings were ten feet or higher. The door
knobs were brass with the Masonic emblem on them. I can even remember brass
spittoons. The building reeked of tradition and permanence! The first floor had
a lounge which was open every day for card playing which was popular in the
winter. It was a place to go during the day for retired Masons. Fellowship!
The Masonic Secretary who was in
the building everyday was a real character! His name was Lorenzo Belk. He was a
retired army colonel who had a very loud and deep bass voice which he used to
great effect. I can still hear him railing at us when we would ask to borrow
costumes for the DeMolay Degree. He and
a number of his cronies would hold forth in his office in the basement across
from the dining room drinking coffee and many of them smoking pipes and cigars.
It was a sad day when the Bismarck
Masonic bodies made the decision in the early 1960’s to sell the old building
to a bank which of course tore it down and put a parking lot on the property. That
was the major drawback of the downtown location. No parking lot! Such is
progress. The Temple was eventually
relocated in a brand new building on Shafer
Heights near Bismarck
Junior College on the north side of
Bismarck. . The Masonic Bodies have since vacated that
building and have moved the Bismarck Masonic
Center to a location at 1009
Basin Avenue .
DeMolay and
Rainbow were active organizations! I can remember that we had an annual DeMolay
Ball (dance) which was well attended. At the dance, we would announce the
DeMolay Sweetheart for the year. I believe that in my senior year it was Suzi
Perry. One of the important things which DeMolay taught those who were active
in the various offices was the importance of memorization. In the degree work,
we didn’t read our parts out of books. We were expected to memorize them. It
was part of the character development. Another aspect which I vividly remember
was the fact that we dressed up for installations and all other public events.
Every DeMolay member was expected to wear a suit, white shirt, and tie on those
occasions. When Rainbow would install their officers, many of the girls would
wear formals.
DeMolay
chapters in North Dakota were
part of a larger organization named the International DeMolay Association
(IDA). It was made up of North Dakota
and two Canadian provinces, Manitoba
and Saskatchewan. I can remember
attending IDA conclaves in Winnipeg,
Moose Jaw, and Regina.
Those were great experiences!
What was
most important about the participation in groups like Rainbow and DeMolay for
young people was the relationships which were developed with others. During my
years in DeMolay, the DeMolay Dads were Lenny Marcowitz (KG Men’s Store) and
Ted Kuntz who came to our meetings and acted as the liaison between us and the
Masonic Lodge. Willard Yule (a great guy!) was the Masonic organist and John
Craven was in charge of the Masonic Installation Team. The man who did DeMolay
officer installations was a postal employee named Elmer Larson. I can still
hear him saying to the new Master Councilor: “Brother, never forget that from
the ranks you have come, and to the ranks you must one day return.” In other
words, don’t get a big head!
I was installed as Master Councilor
on May 23, 1959. Following
me in the chairs were George Freeman, Senior Councilor; and my brother Tom,
Junior Councilor. I followed Bob Smith, BHS ’59.
Other members who I can remember
from those years were Larry Sanders, Mike Saba, Ron Vantine, Gary Lahr. Jerry
Woodcox, Lyle Tisdel, Frank Rosenau, Jerry Rupp, Richard Fite, Larry Schneider,
Rich Miller, Bill Waind, Jim Vantine, Liess Vantine, Larry Coons, John Schultz,
Chuck Hughes, and Bob Robinson. My apologies to any I have overlooked.
I want to mention two individuals
who were very active in DeMolay: John
Smith and Rod Tjaden. John was BHS ’58 and Rod BHS ’59. They were outstanding
persons! Both their lives ended prematurely. John died in the early 1980’s at
age forty-three and Rod passed away in the 1990’s when he was in his mid-50’s.
Thanks to both of them for their leadership! I have always felt a debt to the
DeMolay organization because of those and many other relationships. It was a great
experience during my high school years.
* The Order of DeMolay is named
after the 14th century leader of the Knights Templar, Jacques
DeMolay, who in 1307 was falsely arrested, tried, and executed at the hands of
Phillip the Fair of France. His courage and determination to not betray his
beliefs in the face of persecution is exemplified in the Order named after him.
In 1963, because of the good experience and
relationships I had enjoyed in DeMolay, I applied for membership in Bismarck Masonic Lodge #5 and was accepted. The Masonic Temple had been sold and so my initiation in the Entered Apprentice Degree
took place at an outdoor meeting at the Slant Indian Village south of Mandan. The Fellowcraft Degree was conferred on me
in a meeting room at the Memorial Building and I received the Master Mason Degree at
another outdoor meeting at Harold Shafer’s ranch north of Bismarck. Following each degree, I was schooled in
the work by Manley Malmstad, John Malmstad’s father. Manley was a good friend to
me. Currently, I retain membership in the Blue Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and
the Shrine.
Bismarck the Parade City
Towns in North
Dakota have always liked parades in the spring and summer.
Bismarck was no exception during my childhood years. I have many memories of
going to downtown parades in the 1950’s. My mother’s sister Ruth and her family
came up to Bismarck from Minneapolis
to visit us a couple of times during the 1950’s. Their visits would invariably
happen on a weekend when a Saturday parade was scheduled. They would laugh and say
that they had never seen a town that had so many parades. They were probably
right! Bismarck did have a lot of
parades in those years and I watched many of them at Fourth & Broadway
standing in front of Finney’s Drug Store.
It’s
difficult to remember just what those occasions were. We didn’t have a Band Day
in those years. I can remember Miss North Dakota parades and I believe there
was a parade associated with the Miss Bismarck Pageant. Of course there was a
parade for Bismarck High’s Homecoming. The parade I remember best was the time
Lawrence Welk brought his whole orchestra to town to present a show at the Memorial
Building. There they all were
coming down the street sitting up on the back of convertibles: Lawrence Welk,
the Lennon Sisters, the Champagne Lady (Was it Alice Lon or Norma Zimmer?),
Larry Hooper (the man with the deep, deep voice), and all the rest of the
people we had seen on television. Yes, people really did watch the Lawrence
Welk Show in those years. Lawrence
was one of our state’s favorite sons. He was from Strasburg,
North Dakota.
No
discussion of parades in
Bismarck
would be complete without some words of praise for the Bismarck High School
Marching Band under Director Gordon Knaak. They had a terrific sound and when
they came down the street and turned the corner, one knew that they were a
practiced, disciplined unit. They could march!
Harold Kepler who taught music in
grade school and junior high should get some of the credit for the excellence of
the Bismarck music program. He is
the one who introduced people to their instruments and taught them how to play.
He also taught them how to march in junior high school. When they entered high
school, they were ready! When Century
High School opened in 1976, Harold
Kepler was its first Band Director. He also wrote the Century Fight Song.
Those Long Summer Nights
The movie American Graffiti was a film about one
long Saturday night in Southern California and all the
stuff that went on that night. As teenagers growing up in Bismarck
and having a driver’s license at age fourteen, we relived that scenario over
and over again, particularly during the summer. My father gave my mother a 1956
Chev Bel Aire convertible my freshman year. It was perfect timing! I had
wheels! We could go to a movie, drag main, and then always head out on Main to the Big Boy.
We normallywould find out that something was going on somewhere and we would drive over
there. Those carefree nights just seemed to go on and on. Gas cost about thirty
cents a gallon.
I remember one night when three of
us were riding around with Harry Pearce who was driving a green 1955 Chevrolet with
a standard transmission. (You had to shift through three forward gears: low,
second, and high). We were chasing after
someone at a rather high rate of speed out on Ward
Road and Harry almost lost it and drove off the
edge of that long winding road which descends down to the river road. He slammed the
brakes on and stopped the car just a few feet from going off the edge of the
hill. It was a long way down. We sat there for a minute and then Harry, who had
turned pale, decided that he had had enough of that and I think we called it a
night. Just another summer night in Bismarck,
North Dakota! Those were fun days and
nights!
Commencement: May 26, 1960
The Curtain Comes Down
My memory of graduation night
is pretty vague. We were all seated in chairs set up on the floor of the
Memorial
Building. I suppose there was a
graduation address but I don’t remember who gave it. I believe one of the
five Valedictorians - Harry Pearse, Kjell Johansen, Gary Pederson, Carla Johnson, Jean Marie Boss - was chosen to say a few words. Was it Jean Marie Boss?
Actually, it was Harry Pearce who spoke about the need to establish a training academy for diplomats. Kjell has informed me that all five spoke. The
President of the School Board was introduced and we all walked across the stage
as our names were announced and we were given our diplomas. I do remember that
at one point in the evening, the names of the members of the National Honor
Society were read and each of us stood. The choir sang. The evening ended. We
were graduates of
Bismarck High
School. The world with its many opportunities and
pitfalls lay at our feet beckoning to us.
How old is Bismarck High School?
There is an
apparent contradiction between my statement that Bismarck
High School was established in 1912
and the fact that a list of all the BHS graduating classes in a book titled Foundations: The History of a High School begins
with the class of 1887. Which is correct? I believe that the 1912 date is the
accurate one. Here is a brief history.
A private
school was started in 1873 by a woman named Linda Slaughter who is an ancestor
of one of the members of the Class of 1960, Linda Eastman. Mrs. Slaughter in
fact brought formal education to Bismarck.
She named her school the Bismarck Academy,
but it was short lived because it merged with the public school in the fall of
1873. The school met in a variety of locations including the Congregational
Church. A two room building was built in 1878. It was quickly outgrown and in
1883-84 a new, larger building was constructed and opened. It was named the North
Ward School
and had 364 students enrolled in twelve grades. The high school classes were
held on the top floor of this building. The North
Ward School
graduated its first high school class in 1887. The high school was housed in
the North Ward
School for almost thirty years.
In 1912 a
new high school building was completed and for the first time carried the name Bismarck
High School. Therefore my argument
would be that Bismarck High
School as an institution dates from the fall of
1912 when it first opened its doors as a separate school within the Bismarck
educational system. I also have
a Bismarck Demons tee shirt on which it says “Est. 1912.” Some one else must agree with me.
Postscript
The writing of these three reflections
about growing up in the 1950’s in Bismarck, North
Dakota and about attending Bismarck
High School as a member of the
class of 1960 is dedicated with a large measure of sadness to our thirty-nine
deceased classmates.
