Epilogue: Childhood Memories



 

Remember Who You Are

 

During the past few months, I have been involved in a project which is one that everyone should undertake.  It is the process of writing about one’s life and reflecting on it. The three essays which I have put together on this subject focus on a decade of my childhood. The general title is: “Growing up in Bismarck, North Dakota in the 1950’s.” What has emerged is understandably not an impersonal history.

During the writing process, I happened to read a quote by a French filmmaker named Jean Renoir: “The only things important in life are the things you remember.” When I read that statement, my first impulse was to agree with it. It seemed obvious and logical! Our memories selectively choose the events in our lives that are important and stand out. It discards those that are mundane, i.e. ordinary and meaningless. However, looking back at my impressions of life in the 1950’s and considering feedback received from others; I have had to reconsider the ability of memory to retain a clear image of many things that are important. I have instead been led to the conclusion that we – both individually and collectively – over the years,  as we have been swept along by the relentless development of popular culture, for some reason have forgotten and discarded much that is important. I would describe this as a cultural amnesia.

            A great deal of comment about my reflections has come from contemporaries who are apparently as nostalgic as I am about the foundational values of life in the 1950’s as compared with the superficial quality of life today.  Many of them frequent a Facebook page aptly titled: “I grew up in Bismarck.” They  wistfully talk as if they have lost something that was extremely valuable. At least when they look back on those years, they feel that way. A friend of mine, after he had read my first reflection on the early years (1949-1953), said to me, “I didn’t want it to end.” The real question that has emerged for me from my writing project is this: why have we forgotten so much that apparently was so important and why have we accepted so little in exchange? That’s a good question and one that is not so easily answered.
 

            The title of this epilogue is “Remember Who You Are.” Years ago I heard a sermon with the same title. Bishop Richard Grein who preached it began his remarks by telling a story from his childhood. He and a few of his friends including one named Bill used to go out on Friday and Saturday nights and drive around and do whatever happened to present itself. We all remember those kinds of nights. They would go over to Bill’s house to pick him up, stop in front, and honk the horn. Bill would come running out followed by his mother and, as he was climbing into the car, she would call out to him, “Now Bill, remember who you are.” What did she mean by that? She certainly wasn’t afraid that Bill would forget his name and where he lived. She was talking about his sense of self, the place where his integrity resided. She knew – as most mothers in the 1950’s also knew – that if he would remember who he was, the beliefs and values and manners that he had been taught, appropriate behavior would follow. He would not do something that would shame his family. Bishop Grein in his sermon went on to point out that, “the way we address the world in terms of values, relationships, and ethical behavior is in great measure a product of this awareness of self which we call identity.”

            I believe that all of us who grew up in Bismarck in the 1950’s share a certain identity given by that experience. We came to expect a non-violent community that didn’t have armed guards in schools and grocery stories. We couldn’t imagine such a world.  We expected a civil society where one rarely heard any profanity in public. It was also a society where we learned values and ethics in school and in church and in families. We didn’t look to television or movies or music videos to form our character and beliefs. It was a society in which most people only bought things they could afford because they were suspicious and even fearful of debt. Like It, Charge It! (JCPenney) It was not a particularly materialistic world. In stark contrast to today’s situation, the public schools we attended were places of discipline. That was the world in which we lived, a world created, formed, and maintained by our parents who seemed to clearly understand what it meant to be adults. That "understanding" has become blurred today. Importantly, it was a world in which people were taught that they were responsible for their actions, a responsibility that led to accountability. It was a world of security, certainty, and community.
 

            Today we find ourselves living in a much different world. Why did we and so many other people allow that other world to fade away? Of course, it is people through the choices they make which creates the world (culture) in which we live. The world of the 1950’s with its fixed ideas about morality met its demise in the mid-1960’s when new ideas about the relativity of personal choice began to gain popularity. The triumph of this viewpoint is called post-modernism. It means no absolutes. In the church, as this viewpoint gained a foothold, it was quickly discovered that the most difficult thing to do was to get people to accept any authority other than their own needs and wants. Simply stated, in the fifties there were accepted, and respected centers of authority (education, religion, government); in the sixties, the center of authority shifted to the individual. Personal autonomy became the focus. Have it your way! (Burger King) The message was that nobody should be able to tell anyone else how to behave. The writer Thomas Wolfe famously has characterized the people who came of age in the 1970’s as “The Me Generation.” He hit the nail right on the head.   

            The question then again needs to be asked. Why did so many people just stand around passively and allow so much that was decent and important in American society to fade away? That is difficult to answer! Human nature has much to do with it. People go along to get along. They choose the path of least resistance. They don’t want to make any waves. We have all heard the clichés.

 

It’s to preserve a way of life that one knew and loved!

 

               Mr. Fezziwig 

                                             1951 Screenplay of a "Christmas Carol” by

   Charles Dickens

 

            Perhaps the best way to illustrate what I am talking about would be to look at an example from 19^th century English literature. Most people are familiar with the short novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. In this wonderful story, Dickens is actually speaking out against recent changes in English society. The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, driving these changes. Business is flourishing, but the labor of people is being replaced by machines. Mr. Fezziwig is a businessman of the old school. He is content with things the way they are. He has a fatherly concern for his employees. He is old fashioned. The new “vested interests” want to buy him out and they make him a handsome offer. He turns them down by saying that money isn’t everything.. Their representative Mr. Jorkins is exasperated and presses him by saying, “Well, if it isn’t for money that one spends one’s life building up a business, then what is it for?” Mr. Fezziwig responds with the above mentioned quote. “It’s to preserve a way of life that one knew and loved.”  We need more people with the sensibilities of Mr. Fezziwig in society and fewer like Mr. Jorkins, although I know that the reverse is the reality.

The Loss of Innocence

            As I have reflected on the differences between the American society of the 1950’s and the “post modern” society of today, one of my favorite vantage points for doing that is through the topic of the loss of innocence in American society. By the phrase “the loss of innocence,” I mean the modern tendency to push young children into adult roles and situations which they have neither the experience or the emotional maturity to handle. Sexuality is the obvious one. Here are a couple of stories which illustrate my point.

        In the year 2000, at a local suburban high school, a girl went into labor in the parking lot. When the word got around the school, seven boys came into the office to inquire if it was their girl friend. A mother who happened to be in the office on some errand, overhearing what was going on, piped up and inquired if it was her daughter, who was apparently attending high school pregnant. My reaction to reading this was to think - what is going on here? Also in the year 2000, Time magazine sent a team of reporters to the St. Louis area to write a story which was going to focus on the subject: “A Week in the Life of a High School.” The school they chose to profile was Webster Groves High School. This article has to be read to be believed! Some of the students have their own apartments because their divorced parents are too busy playing boy friend/girl friend.  An incident is reported in the article in which a young female student goes home and tells her mother that she has had her first sexual experience. The mother’s reaction was “to be excited for her.” Here is the loss of innocence enthusiastically assented to by a person who should have known better. I can guarantee that that certainly would not have been my mother’s reaction if my sister had come home in the early 1960’s with that announcement.

            I don’t know how many girls became pregnant during the class of 1960’s four years at BHS. I can only remember hearing about one. The subject wasn’t talked about much. Our four years in high school were many things, but “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” they were not.
 

Conclusion

 

“Those who cannot remember the past

                              are condemned to repeat it.                                           

                     George Santayana

            1863 - 1952

 

            Both the world and American society have undergone enormous changes since the class of 1960 walked out of Bismarck High School for the last time fifty plus years ago. In many cases, the change has been so dramatic that it is difficult to clearly remember what it was like to live day to day in the 1950’s. Was it really possible to function without cel phones and e-mail and Ipads and Ipods? How did we ever do it?
 

            I suspect that there will be many people who will read my reflections about growing up in Bismarck in the 1950’s who will object to my negative characterization of post-modern society in contrast to the society of the 50’s. So be it! I still laugh when people talk about all the progress that has been made. Technologically, Yes! Socially, in many areas, a loud, emphatic No! In my mind much that has happened has been a movement from system and order to chaos.

If people are really interested in a deeper discussion of these issues, they should find and read a book by Allen Ehrenhalt with the title, The Lost City: Discovering the Forgotten Virtues of Community in the Chicago of the 1950’s. One can also read an article titled “Learning From The Fifties” by Mr. Ehrenhalt which appeared in the 1995 Summer edition of The Wilson Quarterly. For a good comprehensive study of the decade of the 1950’s, read David Halberstam’s The Fifties. From my experience and reading, I have concluded that the pivotal year in the dramatic change of America was 1968. For a discussion of that thesis, read The Year The Dream Died: Revisiting 1968 In America by Jules Witcover. Interestingly, 1968 is the year that statistics about church attendance began a steady downward spiral, a trend which continues to this day.

A Reflection: The History of Thought

          In a book entitled THE SHAPING OF MODERN THOUGHT, the author Crane Brinton introduces his work with the following statement:

“This is a book about the world-views of men in our Western  
  tradition, the ideas they have held and still hold on the Big Questions
 - cosmological questions, which ask whether the universe makes
sense in terms of human  capacity to comprehend and, if so, what kind
 of sense; theological and metaphysical questions, which ask further
questions about purpose and design of the universe, and about man’s
place in it; and ethical and aesthetic questions, which ask whether
what we do and what we want to do make sense, ask what we really
mean by good and bad, by beautiful and ugly. The recorded answers
to these and similar questions - that is, most of our Western
philosophy, art, literature, theology [my addition], and in some senses,
 natural  sciences - fill millions of volumes.”

 

My point in this paper is that there is an important history of thought (ideas) which has shaped the culture in which we live, and that it has also been the medium in which Western Christianity has grown and flourished.  It is my thesis that it is critically important for the student of systematic theology to have at least a basic grasp of the history of thought. Let me put it this way: it seems to me to be important for people to have in their minds an elementary cartography (map) of Western intellectual history.

Why is this important?  Look at the times in which we are living!  In my own lifetime, I have observed an enormous shift from a strong sense of community in the 50’s to the highly individualistic and materialistic society of the 80’s and 90’s, a trend of increasing self-absorption which has continued into the 21^st century.  This shift has dramatically affected society in general and the church in particular.  American society has moved from a strong sense of the sacred to being highly secular.  A noted contemporary theologian named Douglas John Hall states flatly that, in North America, we are witnessing, what he calls: “the end of Christendom.”  It would be difficult to argue with his observation because the evidence is everywhere.  As a simple, obvious example, consider what has happened to the Christian Sabbath.  In fifty years I have seen Sunday evolve from a day of almost complete business inactivity (a day of rest) to just another day of business as usual (Sunday morning soccer leagues).  Church attendance patterns today are appalling! How do we account for these changes?  Could we find reasons for these dramatic changes in the history of thought?  I think so!  If we are to understand why we are where we are today, it is critical that we understand the history of thought which has led up to this moment. 

Since I have introduced the subject of shifts in thought, let me say at this point that it will be my contention in this brief reflective paper that enormous developments in Western culture have been preceded by dramatic shifts in the history of thought. In other words, there is a causal relationship between lived history and the history of thought!  In this paper I will mention two such moments.  My concluding emphasis will be on the Enlightenment which stirred to life c.1500 C.E and reached its height in the 18^th century. To trace these fluctuations, we need to begin at the beginning of Western Culture? 

 It is generally agreed that Greek thought is the foundation of European culture and society.  When we say “Greek thought” we are talking roughly about the fifth century B.C. (The age of Pericles (495-429 BC), the golden age of classical Greece.  The observation has been made that we had in Athens from c 480 to 380 B.C.E., “the most civilized society that has ever existed.” (The Greeks, H.D.F. Kitto, p. 96)  Both Plato and Aristotle lived within that time frame. The Greek mind in general was characterized by a sense of the wholeness of things and a firm belief in reason.  The Greeks looked through the external aspects of nature (the world of the senses) to an assumed reality and unity underneath.  They held the conviction that the universe is a logical whole.  For them, the universe was ruled by law and therefore based on reason. It was rational, simple, and knowable.  This is one reason why Greek thought is foundational to Western culture. The thought of Plato dominated Western thinking from Augustine to c.1000 AD. Then, gradually, the metaphysics of Aristotle - woven in the 13^th century by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologia into the masterful scholastic synthesis of faith and reason - were dominant until the Enlightenment. The Greek emphasis on reason and order would powerfully re-emerge in the Enlightenment and shape the modern society we know today.

            The history of thought is an enormous subject.  What I am attempting to encourage is for students of theology to gain a basic grasp of the major influences.  One often encounters statements in theology books about subjects like the Neo-platonic influence evident in Augustine’s Confessions.  If a student is not familiar with the fact that, fundamental to Platonism & the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus, is the idea of the distinction between the changing, imperfect, and ultimately unknowable world of the senses, and the unchanging, perfect, and knowable higher spiritual world of reality (Forms or Ideas), one finds oneself at a distinct disadvantage.

The major characteristic of the classical mind was secularism.  The issue for the Greeks was the achievement of well being in the world. What must I do to be happy? They believed that human beings had the intellectual and moral capabilities to solve this problem by their own efforts. Most of us are aware that the Romans controlled the civilized West from c 100 B.C. to 450 A.D.  However, Greek philosophy was still dominant because the Romans were soldiers, administrators, and engineers, not philosophers. In the late classical period (c 4^th century A.D.., one of these major shifts in thought, mentioned earlier, was beginning to take seed.

  In the late 4^th and early 5^th centuries, obvious signs of the decay of the Roman Empire had appeared.  A sense of helplessness and world-weariness had infected society.  People’s interests turned to religion and otherworldliness.  This could be seen in Stoicism, a philosophy which emerged in the Roman Empire c. 300 A.D. This “otherworldly” trend had a strong representative in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 C.E.)  The seeds for the medieval period had been sown.  A movement from secular to sacred concerns had begun. In a vast empire that was going to pieces, it was natural for people to turn to belief in a personal Deity strong and benevolent enough to guide their affairs.  Christianity was made for success in such a world. The medieval world - a period of about 1000 years following the collapse of the Roman Empire - was the time of the hegemony (dominance) of the Christian Church. Christianity had the transcendent message the ancient world was hungry to hear! 

The second important issue which I would put before you is a brief discussion of the importance of the Enlightenment, mentioned earlier in my discussion of some aspects of Greek thought.  The Enlightenment is the name given to the development in Western thought which created what we know as the modern world.  I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of an understanding of Enlightenment thought.  It created the world in which we live and its influence on Christianity has been profound.

As good a date as any to pinpoint the movement from the forms of the ancient, medieval world to the modern world would be 1500 C.E. The change in world history after this date is without precedent.  It marks the beginning of the explosion of European culture. 

 

At the end of the fifteenth century, the great Age of Exploration began

for Western man.  Between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries,
 explorersadventurers, administrators, soldiers, and emigrants moved
out physicallyacross the seas to the Americas, to Australia, into
Africa.  Meanwhile scientists, inventors, and engineers set out on a
 intellectual  form of exploration, and investigated the heavens, the
motions of the planets, the measurement of time, the laws governing
repetitive events.  The geographical New World as well as the
mechanical New World of mathematics, astronomy, physics, and
technology became accessible to exploration.  In a sense, not

only the Americas but the whole planet became a New World. 

                                                   Lewis Mumford, The Megamachine

 

Columbus sails west in 1492, which is more or less the official date for the opening of the New World.  Magellan sails around the world in 1522.  As Mumford indicates, Europeans were hungry for new ideas and new worlds to explore.  By the end of the 18^th century, they had laid claim to half the world’s land surface. There was an explosion in other areas also.  Humanism was emerging!  Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) were both living and painting in the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries.  There was a rediscovery of classical Greek idealism and Michelangelo’s David still stands in Florence as a visible symbol of the greatness of that rebirth.  Change was everywhere.  The Renaissance and the Reformation were two major indicators of the cataclysm which would shake the “old world” and transform it to what we now call modernity. 

The intellectual revolution which began in roughly 1500 was really quite remarkable. There was no denying the sheer power of the changes which were emerging.  They were so powerful that people were discarding ideas which had dominated society and human thought for1000 years. Humanity was shaking off the inertia of the Middle Ages and nowhere was this more evident than in the life of the mind and the authority to which it paid allegiance. The modern period of Western culture differs from the medieval in countless ways, but the two most important are the diminishing authority of the Church and the increasing authority of science (scientific method).  This shift in authority is the key concept when we talk about the difference between the old and new worlds (old and new thought).  In the medieval world, the Church had hegemony.  In the modern world, the locus of authority moved to the reasoned perceptions of individuals.  I would emphasize at this moment in the story that, while the Renaissance and the Reformation were in many respects attempts to recapture the purity of the past - the Golden age of Classical Greece and the simpler period of the early Church - the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on the ability of reason to master all knowledge, was deeply committed to a philosophy of progress and to the future. 

The first serious eruption of science was the theory advanced by Copernicus in 1543 that the earth revolved around the sun, not the opposite as was being espoused by the Church (Ptolemy & Aristotle).  Thus began the long battle between science and dogma. The opening philosophical salvo in the battle could be said to have come out of the mouth of Rene Descartes (1596-1650) who, in his search for certainly began with his famous dictum: “I think therefore I am.”   Notice the shift of the locus of knowledge; the reasoned perceptions of the individual thinker.  The two greatest figures of the Enlightenment were Englishmen: Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and John Locke (1632-1704).   Newton perfected calculus and accomplished a mathematical formulation of the relations of the planets and the law of gravity.  His work enabled people to see the physical world as a unified mechanical system which human beings could not only understand but could manipulate to their benefit (Remember the Greeks).  Newton was the father of modern physics.  In his mind, modern science was born.   

                        Nature and Nature’s Laws lay hid in Night:

                        God said, Let Newton be! And all was light.

                                                                                                Alexander Pope

Incidentally, if one would like to see a local monument to the triumph of the Enlightenment, make a visit to Shaw’s Garden (The Missouri Botanical Gardens).  Henry Shaw was born in 1800 right at the peak of confidence about Enlightenment discoveries and abilities.  These gardens are symbolic of Shaw’s confidence in the ability of human beings to understand, manage, and enjoy nature.  There is a bust of Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) there, the individual who developed the system for the classification of plants.  There is a small obelisk near there and inscribed on the base is the following: “IN HONOR OF AMERICAN SCIENCE.” In a small building in the gardens there is a classical statue titled The Victory of Science.  Inscribed on the base of the statue are these lines:  “Ignorance is the curse of God” and “Knowledge is the wings wherewith we fly to heaven.”  That in my mind says it all.  What a wonderful Neo-Platonic, enlightenment statement!

Locke took the same critical method which Newton had used and applied it to the study of human nature and the mind.  Newton had observed that there were laws which governed nature; Locke believed that the same principles could be applied to understand human nature. In other words, nature was reasonable and thereby revealed its unity.  Once reason became dominant in human nature (released from the tyranny of the church and superstition), then true happiness could become a reality in the nature of human beings. 

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) made a reasoned enlightenment statement when he wrote The Declaration of Independence (from old world authorities: Monarchs, the Church):  “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights by their Creator, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  The American Revolution is a perfect example of the triumph of Enlightenment thought because it involved the overthrow of old, established authority and upheld ideas promoting the rights of individuals.

The dictum of the Enlightenment was that the individual should be critical of all authority until that authority has been tested by reasoned experience (scientific method). Emancipation from the authority of the Church led to the growth of individualism.  Modern philosophy is both individualistic and subjective.  I would observe that the modern problem today with which the Church is faced is getting people to accept any authority for their lives other than their own needs and wants.

The ultimatum to subject every authority to the lens of “critical reason” continues today.  This is what is called “The Enlightenment Project.”   The historical-critical study of the Bible begun in the 19^th century by German scholars and which continues today is a manifestation of Enlightenment thought. The major shift which began in the 16^th century moving society from sacred to secular concerns continues. We see this in church attendance and membership figures.  What began in c.1500 was the destruction of Christendom.  Today that process is almost complete.

Before concluding, I should point out that Enlightenment confidence about progress and human ability to manage the future was dealt a serious blow in 1914 with the beginning of WWI.  The 19^th century was relatively free of war (in Europe) and it was also a time which saw the rise of a large, prosperous middle class in both Europe and the United States.   There was so much confidence in Europe about the accomplishments of human beings that many believed and preached that the Kingdom of God had become a reality on earth.  The guns of August in 1914 shattered that illusion.  WWI merely set the stage for WWII.  Out of the horrors of the first half of the 20^th century grew the existential philosophies of despair seen particularly in the literary work of the French philosophers, Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre.  Now in the 21^st century, we hear considerable discussion about Post-modernism, the phrase used by many to describe the current age.  There is a great deal which could be said about this development, but a simple definition would be that Post-modernism means a rejection of objective truth, no absolutes. All linkages have been dissolved.  No culture is dominant.  No immaculate perceptions! Subjective perceptions are everything.  Do we wonder why people today are so self-centered? Consider what all this means for the Church!

Hopefully, this brief reflection has convinced you wherever your interests might lie of the necessity of acquiring a basic understanding of the history of thought in Western culture.  From the Classical Greece of 2500 years ago to the present time, human beings have struggled to find basic principles to help them to understand the universe and their place in it.  They have struggled with cosmology: the form, harmony, and order of things.  (Cosmos is the opposite of chaos.)  In theology, we attempt to do the same thing.  We struggle with cosmology by crafting statements about what we believe the true reality of the universe to be - God centered! - in order to bring clarity, consistency, and system to our beliefs.

I will leave you with these observations: the ancient world found an end to anarchy (chaos) in the Roman Empire; the medieval world found an end to societal anarchy in the Church; the modern world has looked to reason and the autonomy of the individual (the Enlightenment) to lead it to the end of the intellectual darkness of the medieval period.  How successful has the Enlightenment project been? 

 

            At the beginning of the modern period the Thomistic synthesis was

            challenged by the new scientific methodology, along with a number

            of other developments which together comprise what we call the

            Renaissance and Reformation – just as, much earlier, the Greek 
            view succumbed under the impact of Christianity.  While few people

            today would be wholly satisfied with a simple return to either
            Thomas or to the Greeks, it would be absurd to ignore them. The  
            great modern problem, is how to do for modern man what Thomas
            did for medieval man; but to do this requires a study of history; and
            once again we have  evidence of the contemporary utility of
            historical study.

                                                            W. T. Jones

                                                            A History of Western Philosophy

                                                           

    

                EASTER SUNDAY 2013

 

                        Some ideas are larger than our intellectual capacity to deal

                        with them. Some news is richer than the words we have to

                        describe it. When that happens, we turn gratefully to art and

                        music and works of the imagination. That’s why on Easter

                        we put the emphasis on beautiful hymns and great organ and

                        trumpet music. Words alone cannot convey the message. 

                                                                        “Sounds of Easter”

                                                                          John M. Buchanan

I would certainly agree with Mr. Buchanan’s sentiments. At no time during the church year do clergy feel more inadequate than on Easter morning when they begin to preach their meager sermons about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can our proclamation of the resurrection event even begin to measure up to its significance? However, with that said, please allow me the time to make a few comments about the Easter text from the Gospel of Luke (24:1-10).

 

This account of the discovery of the empty tomb on the day which we call Easter Sunday is the story of three women – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James – going to the tomb of Jesus to anoint his body with spices, which was the Hebrew custom. In the reading, we hear that they were surprised to find that the stone blocking the door had been rolled away. That was not the only surprise which they found there. When they entered, they found that the body of Jesus was not there. And then another surprise! Two men in dazzling clothes appear near them. (We assume that they are angels.) The two men tell the women that Jesus is not in the tomb, but has risen from the dead. The women are visibly shaken. Luke tells us that they are “terrified.” The women leave the tomb and go in search of the eleven remaining disciples. They tell them what has happened at the empty tomb. For some reason, the next verse in this reading is usually omitted, but it shouldn’t be. Verse eleven in chapter twenty-four reads:  “. . .  but the words seemed to them to be an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”

This is an important point and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Peter and the rest of the disciples did not believe the women’s story. That reaction is definitely not a surprise! Who would believe such a thing? A man executed who came back to life! Such a story was an insult to their intelligence. Nothing in their experience prepared them to believe such an announcement. And yet eventually they did come to believe it. And not only did they believe it, they went out into their world and told everyone they could about what had been found at a tomb in Jerusalem on a particular Sunday morning. We see evidence of that conviction in a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter, preaching a sermon, says about Jes

 

We are witnesses to all that he did in both Judea and Jerusalem. They

 put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the

third day.

                                                                Acts 10:39-40a

In a short period of time, Peter and the rest of the disciples went from thinking that this story was nothing but “an idle tale,” to believing that it was a proclamation that could change the world. What had happened?

            Interestingly, that question has become the subject of a great deal of speculation these days. The author of the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, has put forward the idea that the story of the resurrection of Jesus was part of a massive hoax foisted upon the world by the Emperor Constantine and the Church. According to his theory, Jesus was only a man, but it was necessary to transform him into a divine/human person to solidify the Church’s claim to power. And fairly recently, another sensational story surfaced. This one involved the claim that the buried tombs of the family of Jesus were discovered in Jerusalem and that the bones of Jesus were possibly discovered. What are we to make of all this? Someone has rightly observed that we need to be more than a little suspicious of sensational claims and discoveries when they are brought to light by novelists and movie producers. I agree! The sad fact is that there have been people in every age who have attempted for a variety of reasons to discredit the claims of Christianity. Our own time is certainly no exception.

            Again, the three women left the empty tomb shaken because “two strangers” had told them that Jesus was alive. They found the disciples and told them all that they had heard and seen. Initially, the disciples dismissed the story as “an idle tale.” Shortly thereafter, these same scoffers were preaching the good news about Jesus at great cost to their personal safety. We must ask again, “What happened?” We can only conclude that the “resurrection” in some mysterious way, shape, or form did occur and that Jesus did appear on various occasions to Peter and the others. It would have made absolutely no sense at all for the disciples to decide that – even though they believed the story of the empty tomb to be an idle tale – they would perpetrate a hoax to spread a story which they believed to be fiction. To what end would they do this? To ensure for themselves persecution and martyr’s deaths? I don’t think that they would have laid themselves open to those dangers unless they had become themselves convinced of the resurrection of Jesus.

            We know that something dramatic did happen on that first Easter Sunday because of otherwise inexplicable changes in the lives of the followers of Jesus. Shortly after the alleged resurrection, 1) they found themselves formed into a community which would become the Church; 2) they felt that the “corporateness” of this enlivened community to be a direct response to the presence of the Lord and his Spirit; 3) and gripped by the meaning of what had happened to them, this “Church” began to reach out to share its insight and faith with others. None of this would have happened if the resurrection of Jesus had not burst into the reality of their lives transforming them for ever.

            Since that first Easter, the Church and countless millions of believers have based their lives on a faith in the reality of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity! On Easter this fact is celebrated and, like Peter, we need to affirm our belief that, “this Jesus who was persecuted and put to death on a tree (cross) was raised to new life on the third day and everyone receives forgiveness of sins who believes in his name.” This belief is the foundation of faith!  Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!

 

The High School Years: 1956-1960

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 20^th 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 6^th 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.

 

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            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 14^th 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.