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| This page is for members of the Class of '65 and friends to write notes and comments, post photos, brag about the children and grandkids, and tell us what is happening in your life. Email your updates. They will be posted here, anonymously if you like. | ||
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All photos are thumbnails to accommodate 60+ eyes. |
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I have lived in Oklahoma for 30+ years and say y'all. I wish I could
attend the reunion, but it's just too far. Hope y'all have a great
time!
I retired from nursing after my husband finished medical school to raise our 4 children. He enjoys his pediatric practice and has no plans to retire. Our children are now grown and live in Virginia, Colorado. and Texas. The youngest is still in Oklahoma working on a master's degree in music. Most importantly we have 3 grandchildren with hopes of more to come! God Bless
Laurie Schiess-Mettry |
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I did a quick read of the comments posted and am a little jealous of those
who have already retired; I might do that in a year or so.
A couple of
things that have made working a lot easier are: Our children have left the nest -- and we
changed the locks. Our son Brendan, with his wife Angela (soon to have a
daughter), is living in Pinellas Park, FL. Our daughter Brenda (survived by
her daughter Victoria), passed away, after losing her battle with Multiple
Sclerosis, in July 2005. Our son James, with his wife Angee (with the 2
daughters, Ava and Farrah), are living in Cape Coral, FL. Paul Stoeberl |
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Word was received John Willis past away on June 15,
2010 of cancer. John was living in Newnan, Georgia. His obituary can be seen at
http://www.mckoon.com/,
as well as messages of condolences. A memorial video of John can be seen on You
Tube.
Pat Willis |
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My son, Jack Davis, is married to Dawn
Villella. They have a daughter, Ana (b. 2004), and a son, Henry (b. 2006).
My daughter, Jill King, is married to Jonathan King. They have two boys,
Ben (b. 2002) and Nathan (b. 2004). My son and daughter live in
Minneapolis, so we get to see them and our grandchildren often. My
step-daughter, Karla Walter, lives and works in Washington, D.C. She
is married to Darren Hekhuis. I have been teaching elementary school in
Cottage Grove and Woodbury, Minnesota for the past 25 years, mostly second
grade. I plan to retire at the end of this year, 2010. For fun I swim,
cross-country ski, bike, run, hike and fish.
John Davis
Click on photos to enlarge. |
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I retired from nursing one year ago and I really love it. Just
knowing anything you might do tomorrow can also be done the next day
is great. It was, however, an adjustment for me when Ron retired
last December. Had to rethink some of my daily plans.
Since I retired, I actually have to keep a calendar of what's
happening - when I was working didn't need a calendar. I just
knew what I was doing - working. I'm about to become pretty busy
- just elected to a four year term as president of the Lutheran
Women's Missionary League group for the eastern half of Iowa.
Janice Beecroft-Johnston |
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Submitted by Rick Miller |
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From Lee Helgeland's brother:
I noticed a mention of my brother, Lee, in your class notes chatting, so I thought I'd jump in with an update. Lee lives in Big Fork, Montana, 20 miles from Glacier National Park. He makes custom rifles and is a member of the Gun Makers Guild. He did not open a gun shop. He lives back in the woods on a lake with a half a dozen other houses in a great big house he built himself. (Wow! We always knew Lee was good with his hands). He hunts elk and deer and stuff, and has a good time. Lee is uber-conservative. Other than the convenience of a cell phone, Lee has not succumb to modern day perks. He has no computer and email. He relies on the ever-increasingly-lousy- delivery-time of the Postal Service. (Lee, are you stuck in the '60's?) Lee's wife, Barb, and her sister are sort of "Professional Californians," but Lee tells them to keep it quiet and no one will be offended. Glenn Helgeland |
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Now in Texas, retired and on my 11th house. Trying to divide time between here and Indiana, with 2 new GD's, 20 months (a blessing from Ethiopia) and 5 months. Kay Peterson-OstermanJune 27, 2009 |
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You just never know who may email you.
Today, as I turn 62 I just was thinking about everyone from school. There were some great times. I was home about 10 yrs ago for about a minute. Enough to see my grandmother and leave.
What I miss - people I knew, snow at Christmas and the beautiful country. I am retired and loving it. Mike and I retired at the same time. I had 3 children - 1 boy and 2 girls. I now have 6 grandchildren. We have one 14 yr old grandson living with us since beginning of school year. Never a dull moment. I have introduced to the school system all over again! Also, have 1 more comes here everyday till mom gets home from work. By the way my husband went through that same mid-life crisis [purchased a motorcycle]. When he got crowded off the road and went down, he sold it. The website was fun. A Friend, Gloria Flohr-Owen March 15, 2009 |
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May it be noted that Jennie-O® is a featured food on this season's "The Biggest Loser" show!
So let's all eat more turkey and get those
expanding waistlines down so we can make it to the 50th! By the way, has anyone bothered to track down the MANY grads who live within 30 miles of the old stomping grounds and do not write, call, show up, or assert that they are alive? Anonymous from the South September 19, 2007 |
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BHS Class of ’65 Get-Together 2007 Photo contribution by Kathy Schwederski. In no particular order, by school name, hoping spelling is good & nobody left out: Linda Rae Fassett,
Judy Warwick, Paul KIuge, Laurie MacMillan, Allen Nelson, Friends’ names not recorded. Sorry. Next year if you like.
Twenty groovy
classmates turned up at Drags on Monday night, August 6th,
2007, for the near-impromptu get-together.
We were happy to see a few spouses too, and a couple of them are
younger BHS’ers, if you catch the drift.
The Gold n’ Maroon Gang became comfortable quickly on the Blue
n’ Gold Warrior ground. Pitchers
of beer and pitchers of water flowed freely.
The water thing is apparently a new fad.
We didn’t understand it but we wanted desperately to fit in and
be popular so a lot of water was consumed that night.
Some of the classmates fit in so well they drank no alcoholic
beverages. You heard it
here first. We’re happy
to report also that nobody got tanked—goofy, maybe—but not tanked.
Rolly (ie?) came through for us. He
ordered six pizzas in the course of the evening, and I didn't see no hat being
passed. The Shadow can only assume that Rice Lake's finest businessman
picked up the tab. Thank you, Rollie.
What else went on, you
ask? People openly and
freely discoursed their thoughts, opinions, and especially their
recollections of days gone by. The first hour or so we worked at keeping our group together
by ‘claiming’ tables and pushing them together.
It was shortly after that process was completed that a good look
around would witness us standing around in groups, talking with wild
abandon, and eagerly mingling with the other groups.
In other words, nobody;
not one person was seated at any one of the darn tables so artfully and
carefully acquired and manipulated.
Of course, it wasn’t long after that when most of us casually
slipped into a chair to rest our weary bones.
Not all conversations
could be heard at any one time, of course, but from our vantage, people
were gracious, considerate, and quite genuine.
It was a heck of a good time, it really was.
Maybe we’re at a time in our age or evolution where we can
better realize and value the goodness in others.
Yeah, let’s go with that.
Question.
When is the last time you saw Connie Nelson?
Most of us had not seen her at all in the past 42 years, yet
there she was, radiant as can be, and a sparkling fun gal. Mary Lou was home from Seattle, which gave her rights to having
made the longest sojourn. Many
of us were eager to speak of our children, most long ago adults already
now, and our parents and grandchildren and so on. Many of us are in some
form of retirement already. But,
we learned that the retired of our generation generally stay busy doing
part-time work of some kind or other.
Dan Fitzgerald for example is a Security Officer for the Barron
County Courts. Some of us
have seen him in action. Don’t
mess with that dude. Kathy
Schwederske’s take on retirement, however, is to keep it at
bay—denial is good--since retirement is the “beginning of the
end.” You go, girl! Others,
like Judy Warwick, Ron Karnitz, and others may be officially retired but
continue working in their field. Speaking
of which, Ed Erb is no longer working in his field.
We understand he’s rented out his farm land.
Somebody accused Ed of being an avid golfer since he’s tanned
and brown as a berry, but Ed insists his exposure is all business.
That’s our Eddie.
Jim Rausch was later
coming to the party than most of us as he had taken his daughter Libby
and her kids to the airport earlier in the day. The last soul to make an
appearance, however, was Mr. Sevals.
Steve, it turned out, was teeing off at Turtleback about the time
others of us were hoisting our first glass for the evening.
First things first for Steve.
Then, after tearing up the golf course he had to mow his lawn
before making an appearance. That’s our Steve. It
was around 9:00 p.m. and the party was breaking up, probably because
most of us now slither off to bed about that time.
We don’t know what’s with this guy, but Steve said he’s
usually up until 10 or 11:00 every night. Can you believe that?
This guy must be some kind of throwback or something. We mentioned just a few names here and apologize for not getting everybody into the act. But, the idea is to throw out some of the personality and some of the diversity our little Caucasian class has grown into. Yes, there is ever so much more that we would like to acknowledge and share. Feel free to help us do just that. Write a note, and if you want to dress it up, go right ahead. If you want to provide just the bare bones of what’s going on or what has gone on with you or other classmates, please send it on to Ray Kasel or to our website. You or Ray can even ask The Shadow to put something together for us. Whatever we can do to stay connected can be fun and even important to some of us. Mary Lou’s father is in
the hospital as of this writing, and most if not all of us compared
notes over the course of the evening as to who among us still have
living parents. It was
generally acknowledged that by our ripe old age we all share pain and
hurt from family and health issues past and present. So many facts of life of so little concern 42 years ago seem
to be catching up to us now. Which
is as it should be; we hope you can agree.
If not, then it is as it must be. You can be proud of our
group and all of our class. That
Monday night everybody scored high.
Our people were interesting, interested, and amazingly accepting
of ourselves and each other. Even
those of us with health and physical liabilities inspired us all through
the example of good spirits and kind words.
No conversation we heard other than “happy to be here and spend
a few hours with good but
suspiciously old friends.” A word to the wise, as most of our teachers once told us—again and again. Next August, early in the month, is likely to be another get-together. Let’s see who can belly up to the bar at least once more. Yours truly, The Shadow August 14, 2007 |
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Interesting to note that the few replies to "fill in the blanks" on OUR site are those who have emerged from the Barron/Wisconsin cocoon into the world out there...or is it because you guys still hang around together, maybe your grandchildren are dating, and you know everything? Come on, 'fess up! Reading the Barron News Shield online now is increasingly depressing, as obits used to be those of parents of classmates we all knew, but alas, they're creeping up on us. It's a shame that the vintage Jr. High didn't remain, it's boiler room basement labyrinth testimony to noon time trysts with the likes of Mike/Mary Lou and the gym stage where Ronnie C. first sang our best version of Broadway. Still checking in and hoping.... anonymous May 21, 2007 |
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Bulletin
005, April 18, 2007 This
Little Light of Mine—‘Somebody’ Made It Shine! Hail,
a voice in the wilderness. A class
member has spoken. We hear that
Kathy Schwederske-Rockow (a.k.a. Somebody in some circles) read and has now
responded to someone close to The Shadow. The
Shadow, of course, is contributor of the lame but game Class Notes Bulletins
every once in a while. She, Kathy,
has spoken in a tone of wistful and hopefully willful support of our website and
Class Notes therein. Truth is, it
was a downright compliment. Ray,
and The Shadow and I heartily accept praise.
The truth of compliments and comments, real or feigned, is that they are
the grist that turns the mill. Without
some feedback there can’t be any flour, should you get the drift.
This is a good thing. Comments
are a good thing. Taking part is a
good thing. Let us know you’re
out there, if you can stand it. Yelling
into the rain-barrel can be sporting for a while on this end, but hearing only
your own echo long-term leads to neurosis, psychosis, and possibly psoriasis if
you keep getting your head wet in the rain-barrel.
It’s true—look it up! Therefore,
profound thanks to Kathy for the salvation of The Shadow’s sanity.
Comments and questions, signed or anonymous, can be displayed for the
benefit of all others having access to this enigmatic but potentially joyful
website. It’s a little
weird—you have to admit. Everybody
wants a class website so now that Kathy has jumped into the water maybe the rest
of you can too. At this point I’d
even listen to a Warrior or a Beaver—maybe even a Bulldog or a Comet.
And if you’re going to email, consider a “thanks” to Ray Kasel for
building and maintaining the website. It
wouldn’t hurt, you know. It
don’t cost no money. Now
a word from The Shadow himself: “Listen
up, peons! Has this happened to
you? Or.
Has this happened to you yet? Within
the past week a very young lady, and I happen to know she’s four years old,
who does not know me, referred to me as ‘”that old guy.’”
I hear it’s inevitable. It
happens to everybody. But I
wasn’t ready. Not yet.
I have too much to live for. YOU’LL
NEVER TAKE ME, COPPER! And let me
tell you—her grandmother, who works in an office I know well, nearly swallowed
her tongue-stud when the little darlin’ said it.
True story! You can’t look
it up, but this one is true. Only
one Barron news item today. The
Shadow gets it on good authority that a Pierce ‘n Tattoo Parlour is coming to
downtown. To be on the corner
almost next to James Pharmacy—the 100+ year old brick building that says
“Bank” on the front door—truly a classic.
But first, oh man, remember the counter and cherry-cokes there at James
Pharmacy? More than one cool dude
trolled for babes at that locale. Sitting
there was cheaper than flippin’ the drag, as I recall.
Anyway, getting back to the main topic—if you just gotta have that MOM
in a heart tattoo or the navel pierced by Saturday night, Barron may be your
homeland with a heart and a touch. Just remember—that’s your old home town, folks. Ain’t it grand? Not always, but it can be.
The Shadow April 18, 2007 |
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Bulletin 004, March 18, 2007 Spring in Barron County, Wisconsin It isn’t real spring in Barron County but it sure is kinda spring in the old home town, we hear. Half the inhabitants have a cold and the other half just got over a dilly. At least in this new and modern age now, most of us carry a box of Kleenex, a.k.a. tissues (sissy name), with us instead of like the good old days when we kept a roll of toilet paper handy during the Cold Season. All the churches are busy in and around Barron these days. A little Divine Guidance is in order since most of us are still paying for last Christmas, for one thing. Another thing is that we’re in Lent, although most sanctuaries are not flooded with sinners on Wednesday evenings even during the Lenten Season. Then too, many of the churches are looking towards Confirmation which draws a steadier crowd to both the instruction and the family getting back in tune with their church family before the big day arrives. Today happened to be a big one for the Methodists in town. The service today celebrated the inauguration of their new church 50 years ago. Get real, right? If we remember the new Methodist church 50 years ago, then you must remember it. How can that be, we ask rhetorically. The Good Lord really works in mysterious ways. Didn’t Principal John Hoar used to say that? Maybe not. One more thing on the Barron church front. The community now boasts a mosque. It doesn’t look a lot like the gilded and domed mosques we see in our war news these days. In fact, it looks a lot like an old, run down, two-story house on the main drag. But rumor has it that work is being done on a more appropriate facility. We’ll check that out and get back to you on that. If we can swing it, would you like an update on the looks and activity of a modern day mosque? We happen to know that mosque business is brisk, even in the run down, two-story variety. Those people are really religious, if you ask us. Of course, most of our own immigrant forefathers were too, as we recall. Most of the snow is gone but it’s a little early yet for Barron greenery. The sugar-bushes, as in maple syrup, had a real tough last year, and this year may not be so hot either. The last two days must have had good runs, but it’s later than they would like it to start, and if it stays warm, they’re done for at any time. It always comes back to agriculture in Barron, doesn’t it? Speaking of which, corn prices are way up and should generate and stimulate local business. One more note of spring. The Barron County Newshield office had a significant delivery problem recently. Locals were not getting their mail delivery of the paper on Thursday, and that is not funny if it’s you not getting yours. Things heated up until the report finally came in that the mail truck with the weekly papers was sitting on a dock somewhere with a polecat, a.k.a skunk, wrapped around the axle. Nobody was going near that truck, and the papers delivered plenty late, after the wind changed, we presume. But, in Barron County, weather and skunks both go into the category of Mother Nature, and are not to be messed with. Have a great week. Take it from The Newshield; it’s spring—be aware of polecats in whatever form they take. And so, once more, we bid a hearty “That’s your old home town, folks—ain’t it grand!” Not always, but it can be. Keep in touch. Let us know what you’re up to out there. The Shadow
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Bulletin 003, March 11, 2007
If you think the Middle East is dangerous these days, then you probably haven’t been to a
Barron County Committee meeting lately. The latest meeting filled the Court House auditorium to
overflowing with spectators. Reports put 30 or more people in the hallway outside the room. Most spectators
were veterans, resplendent in patriotic symbols and colorful headgear. And most of the veterans, according to the
Barron County Newshield, were there to voice their displeasure at the Veterans’ Service Office co-joining with another
office in the court house. The rationalization is that the office could be better staffed that way, share expenses, and
thereby provide better service for the local veterans in need. It wasn’t taken that way by the majority of spectators,
apparently—or at least not by the most vocal among them. The most vocal among them made some very solid sound-bites
we thought you might enjoy or at least find interesting. |
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Bulletin 002, March 10, 2007
It’s been a tough three months for the Barron Food Pantry & Thrift Store,
according to the Barron County Newshield. After two burglaries in the dead of night, both of them involving forced
window entry, steel bars were installed in the store’s window casings. Nevertheless, the store was soon burgled again.
Adding insult to injury, entry was gained again through a window. It seems the burglars had the wherewithal and the
screwdriver to remove the screws holding the window bars in place. |
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Bulletin 001, February 25, 2007
Ray Kasel has put together a good site for us all here. In fact he’s donated not only his time, energy, and skills, but also his money exclusively to keep us ‘on the air,’ so to speak. It is surprising to Ray, and others of us also, that so few classmates are taking part in this process. On the other hand our ’65 website is getting hits at the rate of about 18 per day. Apparently you are curious but cautious. That’s fair. With that in mind, why don’t we try to throw some Barron News at the wall and see what sticks, if anything. This is purely conversational informational, and most of it is second or third hand, but it’s the truth as we know it. We accept corrections. First of all, Barron doesn’t look like Barron anymore—at least not if you haven’t been there for a couple decades or more, which may include a number of us. There are black people living in Barron. There are Mexicans, some Philippine, Pakistani, Russian, Cuban, Thai, Cambodian, and other non-German and Scandinavian now too. A trip to the grocery store can be an international adventure. There is still the bakery and one barbershop on LaSalle Avenue. There are still a bajillion Beauty Salons, two banks, a hardware store, the Dimestore, the grocery store (where the Junior High used to be, and a smattering of other places, mostly service businesses like insurance and title companies. The court house is still there but Barron now has a Justice Center, which dwarfs the court house, and was built north of town, across the road from the old golf course, which is now gone. What are we forgetting? OK, there is also a Chinese restaurant and believe it or not, a Somali restaurant, along with the truck stop joint, a greasy-spoon or two and Subway. Who woulda guessed Barron to become a cultural Mecca? Jerome Foods isn’t Jerome Foods any longer. It became The Turkey Store Company in the late 90’s, and then Jennie-O Turkey Store, Inc. as the Jerome family chose to cash in their holdings in 2002. The business is still going strong, although it’s difficult to walk down LaSalle Avenue, we hear, without somebody offering the latest “Jeromes” gossip—the gossip being about the business, not family members. Most of the rumors are benign but some do seem to border on the side of malicious. The latter, of course, are the most entertaining—and the more funny. Retirement is getting to be a bigger and bigger topic, apparently. Other than Ray, we know that Lee Helgeland retired quite a number of years ago. He did so to open a gun shop in Idaho, we think we heard. Does that constitute retirement? Only he can answer that burning question. Dave Schilke retired to San Diego a few years ago where he’s now closer to Corona Beer and lime wedges. A little joke there as you may know that Dave was a somebody at Miller Brewing Company when he retired. Mickey (Melvin) Rhode hung up the milking gloves a few years ago too. Still the same Mick. Big smile and fun to be around. This may mean that his lovely wife Linda Dahlberg retired or at least doesn’t do farm chores anymore. Then again, we’re guessing about that. Jim Rausch is officially retired and sold the business we understand but works when he’s needed there—or when it fits his schedule. Oh yes, Ted Kempkes is free and easy too. We think we recall that he sold his newspaper business a few years ago and is busy doing any number of things, including piloting his single-engine aircraft here, there, and everywhere. He swings a heck of a golf club, as does Rausch, of course. We heard a rumor too that Judy Kielholtz recently started the good life. Somebody help us out with the details. Truth is, we need as much help as you can offer. What else is going on with classmates? What is happening or has happened on the old home turf? Help us out. Email any info and updates you can to Ray. We’ll credit you or not, as you choose. Trust us. ;o) Until next time . . . The Shadow February 25, 2007 |
| Ron Karnitz retired in March of this year, after 34 years as a lineman for the City of Barron.
Mary Ellen (Novinska) works as a nurse at the Barron Clinic.
Ron and Mary Ellen Karnitz |
| Just a note to let you know that Dan Fitzgerald is retireing as of January
6, 2006 from the Insurance business and will continue to work parttime for
the Barron Co.Sheriff's Dept. as a Court Security Officer.
Bunny Fitzgerald |
| Welcome! I hope you enjoy
this site. This is an opportunity to keep in touch with our classmates.
For many of us, time and distance has caused us to lose contact. Who
would have thought 40 years ago this technology would be
available. Back then, we were worried about keeping the
"erasers" out of the carriages of our manual typewriters, in
Miss Solum's typing class. I encourage you to use this site. I
certainly welcome any suggests.
Ray Kasel |
