Since both of my loyal readers are used to me asking odd questions, I was wondering whether or not either of them have ever found themselves bragging about their sisters. And, for the record, I’m really not sure if either of them have sisters… but I got one… so here goes.

Last Friday my sister Bee (for those of you outside of the family her name is Jenny Kuller) was awarded Teacher of the Year… and her brudder couldn’t have been prouder.

You see, Bee has been a special educations teacher for 31 years and during that time she’s created way more smiles than frowns in literally hundreds of her students’ lives.

Her kids are the ones who by the grace of God need extra help to perform many of the things you and I take for granted. I couldn’t get close to counting the myriad of disorders and disabilities that Bee has worked with over her 31 years.  Many of her kids suffer complications and dysfunctions that are beyond description… kids in wheelchairs are a daily part of her classroom. Many of her students have such a difficult time expressing themselves that it takes a trained eye and a creatively responsive team to find ways to connect with every student under their tutelage… and, thanks to Bee and her team, all of their students graduate with a smile.

Each of her students requires a broad spectrum of one-on-one help. Some need two teachers. Most folks have no idea that many of these kids even exist… and when confronted with one we usually smile or nod and move on.

Not Bee, her job is to dig in and find out what makes these kids tick, and once she breaks through their veneer she helps them find their talents and works with their needs in order to develop an individualized educational program for each student.

Bee doesn’t do this alone. It takes a team of support, and their efforts must be quite rewarding because Bee always says, “I love this job, I can’t believe they pay me to do this, and unbeknownst to most folks the kids always teach me more than I teach them.”

And all your big brudder can say, Bee, is, “Thanks for doing what you do, you’ve indeed left hundreds of kids better off than you found them… Love ya Bee ‘n’ sure proud to be your brudder…”

25 Years Ago – 1987

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the reconstruction of the Custer House were held at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park on May 17.

Darrel J. Luther, Morton County Extension agent since June 1985, has resigned due to the cutback in funding by the recent session of the North Dakota Legislature. According to Morton County agent Jack Stewart, the county hasn’t had a lone agent since 1954. A total of 33 positions statewide were cut by the County Extension Service in North Dakota.

The Mandan Art Association has installed Ermagaard Herbs as their new president; she succeeds Mrs. Lewis (Elsie) Shaw.

The Mandan Athletic and Recreation Club has announced its selections for Athletes of the Month for April. For the boys, it’s Clint Leingang in boys’ track; for the girls – Eva Jorgensen, girls’ tennis. During the month of April, Clint took first place, five times, in the 110 hurdles and in the long jump, plus a first place in the high jump four times. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Leingang, Mandan. Eva has a tennis record of 19-0 and took first place in the Minot tournament and in WDA. She is an exchange student from Denmark and is living with the Emil Kalvoda family, Mandan.

Funeral services were held this past week for longtime Mandan dentist, Dr. James G. Wirtz, 58. Wirtz, the son of Dr. and Mrs. George F. Wirtz, graduated from Mandan High School in 1947 and from Marquette University Dental School in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1954. After serving in the U.S. Air Force Dental Corp, he practiced dentistry at Mott and Bismarck before returning to Mandan in 1960 to join his father and brother in their dental practice. Survivors include his wife, Mary; two sons and one daughter; his parents and a brother.

50 Years Ago – 1962

MHS senior Marvin Loper has been awarded the trophy for “Outstanding Athlete of the Year” in Mandan sports by a vote of his fellow athletes. The presentation was made by the MAR Club president, Pat Schleicher, at the annual MAR Club Athletes Banquet, attended by more than 180 people. Loper played both football and basketball and was named to the All-West Football Team by Western Sportswriters. Loper and Terry Zander, were named co-captains of the 1961 football squad, while John Hoenig and Dan Hilligoss were named co-captains of the basketball team. A trophy was also awarded to Hoenig for the year’s best free-throw average – an outstanding 70 percent for the season.

Marv Loper

Darrell Kline, blind since 1934, has been named Mandan’s Outstanding Handicapped Citizen of 1961. Kline and his wife, who is also blind, own and operate a trailer court on Memorial Highway, east of Mandan. He does most of his own maintenance and repair work on their home and trailer court grounds. He also upholsters chairs and weaves and sells rugs, canes and brooms.

Back by popular demand, the Ink Spots, the black singing quartet from Indianapolis, will be performing at the Havana Club in Mandan. The cover charge is $1 per person.

After 37 years in the hardware business, Jake A. Lockbeam has retired and has sold the store at 110 West Main St. to the Bill Joersz family. A resident of Mandan since 1900, Lockbeam was first employed as a clerk in the Mike Lang Grocery on East Main Street and later with the O’Rouric Grocery. After serving in World War I, he returned to Mandan and opened Lockbeam and Knoll Grocery with his brother-in-law, Mike Knoll. The store will continue to be known as “Our Own Hardware” and will be managed by Marvin Joersz, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Joersz.

An ad from a 1962 issue of the Mandan Pioneer for the CBS TV lineup.

75 Years Ago – 1937

In observance of Mother’s Day, five masses were read at St. Joseph’s Church… at 6, 7, 8, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. The regular children’s mass was not held, as most families attended in a group for Mother’s day. Assisting Rev. Father Hildebrand Eickhoff was Rev. Father Reubert Bularizk, a former resident of Mandan who was employed as a printer on the Pioneer staff in 1907.

Raymond Toman has been named editor-in-chief and Gordon Peterson as business manager of The Courier, Mandan High School’s student newspaper for the school year 1937-38. As editor-in-chief, Toman automatically becomes president of the local high school Quill and Scroll Society.

Written examinations on safe driving, a new requirement for graduation in North Dakota high schools, were given to members of the senior and junior classes of Mandan High School this week. Students planning to graduate who do not pass the first test satisfactorily will be required to do additional work and take another exam before receiving diplomas.

School playoffs in the city marble tournament were completed this week when Chris Boehm, a sixth grader at St. Joseph’s parochial school, won the final match from William Stroh, third grader. The two, as champion and runner-up, will compete with winners from Central and Syndicate school in the final match to be played in front of the Memorial Building. Preceding the tourney, the six entrants and the high school band, with a police escort, will parade on Main Street, from the First National Bank corner to the Memorial Building. Mayor C. G. Byerly will “lag” the first marble in the city event. A total of 305 Mandan youngsters have competed in the three school playoffs.

Front page headlines in the Pioneer announced the tragic explosion of the silver-painted Zeppelin Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey, that killed at least 30 people. The fiery crash occurred on the Hindenburg’s 20th crossing of the Atlantic and exploded when it was 200 feet aloft and about to land.

100 Years Ago – 1912

“Mrs. E. C. Johnson, widow of the late Edwin Johnson, who was drowned in the Heart River a few weeks ago, has in a last effort to recover the body, offered a reward of $500. After the public sale of the Johnson property at Sunny, three miles west of Mandan, Mrs. Johnson and family left on Wednesday for her former home at Mable, Minn. In the meantime, Capt. Hanley of Company F, National Guard, will be ordering out the company in another effort to find the body.”

125 Years Ago – 1887

The village of Mandan was organized in the spring of 1881; by 1887 the population was already nearing the 2,500 mark.

May 18, 1887: “On Friday, at 3:30 p.m. the thermometer stood at 72 degrees above zero.

“Business is looking up. It is reported that two or three saloons are to be started up shortly.

“There is no end to the dogs in this community. Half of them- seven-eighths of them- are of no earthly use and pay no taxes, either themselves or their owners. It is to be hoped that the authorities will remedy this sad state of things once and for all.”

(To contact Diane Boit, email mandan-news.com)

Tired of paying taxes and not feeling like you ever get anything for them? Both my loyal readers know that my work hasn’t allowed me to miss more than a few days of every North Dakota legislative session since 1983.

As such I’ve learned that grassroots movements can have a great effect on legislation, and since you’re what politicians call “grassroots” constituents, I have this crazy idea I’d like to share with you. The only hitch is if you like my idea I encourage you to contact your local legislator to see if they would be willing to make this crazy idea a reality. (Around here that’d be Dwight Cook, ReAnn Keslch, Todd Porter, Jim Schmidt, Karen Rohr, XXX, Gary Kriedt, dittel heand, and Randy Christianson.)

The lottery is the only volunteer tax that I know of; in hopes of winning bazillions most of us have been known to voluntarily contribute a buck or so.

We all pay property, sales and income taxes, and no one seems happy about paying any of them. So if you had a chance to win $1,000,000 just because you paid your taxes, would that make you happier about paying them? We’ll name it the N.D.’s taxpayer lottery.

Here’s how it would work. In North Dakota, not counting fees and licenses and such, at least six cents out of every dollar we spend goes to pay sales tax. I’ll take a swag and say that average homeowners pay between $3,000 and $4,000 per year in property taxes and around a grand or so in income taxes.

So why don’t we have the legislature create a lottery where once a year the names of every N.D. resident taxpayer (excluding corporations and nonprofits etc., only individuals would be eligible) would be put in a barrel and three drawings would occur.

There could be a drawing for those who pay sales tax, another for income tax, and another for property taxes. Each year this lottery would give a million to a resident property owner, a million to a resident income tax payer, and a million to each sales taxpayer… and all you and I would have to do is prove that we’ve paid one of those taxes.

Given that our state government is sitting on billions (I recently heard that the oil tax is presently bringing in $6 million a day) a mere three million dollars a year becomes table dust… the state can indeed afford to give it back to three lucky taxpayers. Why not try my idea and see what happens?

In life there are only two sure things: death and taxes. By sharing our wealth through taxes we all experience a greater good… and what’s more good than making all of us more willing to share our wealth? Besides being fun, it might also create a modicum of taxpayer relief… So what do you think?

If you like what you read here, call your legislators and cajole them into taking it from crazy to reality… I’ll do the same, but I can’t do it alone…

P.S. – My coffee klatch voted this idea down because they all consider themselves losers and therefore unlikely to ever have their names drawn. I tried to explain my odds were better than the regular lottery (mine 200,000 to 1 vs. gazillions to 1 for power ball)… but they want the money now. (Per capita, that means their share of the funding this idea would be about $1.50 per year per taxpayer category, or $4.50, if you pay all three taxes). So these four guys would rather get their $4.50 than allow three other fellow North Dakotans become millionaires.

Let the debate begin…

Hello from Morton County Parks.

Last month I mentioned I would give an update on the trees that are at Graner Park as far as survival is concerned. We have written off all the Chokecherries and Ponderosa pines that were in the park. The judgment is still waiting on some of the spruce trees. It seems that if they weren’t in too much water they may make it – about on half are gone though.

A lot of the Cotton woods, Elms and Box Elders stand a good chance of survival. They are just starting to bud out so we are keeping our hopes up that they will make it.

You may be tired of my writing about Graner Park, but so much good has happened there the past few weeks, that I just can’t help it. Last month (March-April) our Highway Department spent quite a bit of time there and moved a mountain of sand and logs.

I am writing this in the latter part of April and we are about ready to replant grass in the upstream, electrical site campground. Once the large sand dunes were taken care of, Tim and the crew started our part. They filled a few low spots and then took the Toro mowers and towed what we commonly call “drags” – four-footers around there for a couple days. Now things were really starting to shape up

Then Ron Crouse and a crew of students from the Youth Correctional Center came out and picked the area clean of sticks, stones, logs and whatever there was lying around. These kids did a fantastic job – I looked over at the riverbank and here comes a log out of the rocks – with four or five young men lifting and pushing it up. They cleaned up the playground area of the 2 or 3 feet of sand surrounding the new piece of equipment. I can’t say enough good things about these “kids.” By the way, Ron said they are looking for public service jobs for these students. If you have something you feel they could do, give Ron a call at the Y.C.C.

Still on Graner Park – there is a group of people whom I’ll call the Friends of Graner Park who approached me about doing a fundraiser for the work that has yet to be done. There will be a freewill spaghetti supper at the Moose Club on July 16. They hope there will be a big turnout for this event. If you are interested in helping in any way, please call 220-4343 or 471-0390 and tell them in what way you would like to aid the cause.

At Harmon Lake, trees have been planted and a parking area should happen shortly near the beach and playground. There recently has been a set of play equipment installed in the concrete circle area at the beach.

Soon also, the second rock fishing pier will be covered with crushed rock like the one near the boat ramp. This will help everyone who would like to fish from shore.

There will be a camping fee this summer at Harmon Lake. Being as though it is still “primitive” camping, the fee will be $5 per night. This is the same as primitive camping at our other fee spots. There will be a fee drop box installed on the way in to the park.

Finally, the second Walleye Tournament of the season will be held at Fort Rice Boat Ramp, the date is May 18-20. We have turned the Fort Rice Campground over to the Bis-Man Reel and Recreation Club for this event. All camping spaces have been reserved as of at least a month ago. We felt we should allow this reservation system for the tournament because of the great amount of help they have given us in the past few years.

So, as one of the old time newscasters used to say: “That’s the way it is in May of 2012.”

Take care, and hope you will still read this column next month. Bye ’til then.

25 Years Ago – 1987

Ken Clouston, Mandan High junior, has been elected State President of the National Honor Society during the state conference held at Minot. Clouston, the son of Kenneth and Gail Clouston, is a three-year letterman in cross country, a two-year letterman in track and is currently on the golf team. Mark Engelter, a senior at MHS, is the outgoing State President.

Ken Clouston

The Mandan News staff came away with dozens of awards during the annual State Newspaper Association convention. First place awards were presented to: Editor Ken Rogers, for Best Sports Page and Best Examples of Reporting; to Karen Hilfer, for Best Feature Story; and to Rick Scharf, a part-time photographer for the Mandan News, for Best Sports Photo. All three, plus reporter Giles Ghylin, also received numerous second and third place awards in other categories.

The POW-MIA flag flew in front of the North Dakota State Capitol from May 3 to 11 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The Bismarck-Mandan Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America hosted the event to bring attention to the plight of more than 2400 American citizens still listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, of which 17 are from North Dakota.

50 Years Ago – 1962

A large crowd of Mandan High School juniors and seniors, along with their dates, attended the annual Junior-Senior prom held in the upper level of the Mandan Elks building. As was the custom of previous years, the Juniors sponsored the prom and carried out the Senior class colors of blue and silver in their theme “Blue Hawaii.”  The dance area of the ballroom was surrounded by tables decorated with palm trees and multi-colored flowers, and the students danced the night away to the music of the Melodiers.

Leading the Grand March at the 1962 MHS Prom were the Junior class officers, Diane Wainio and Don Engle, followed by the senior class officers, Jane Barth and George Immel.

A group of underclassmen girls, dressed in Hawaiian style, wearing grass skirts and leis, attended the punch bowl. (l-r) Sandy Leingang, Pat Robinson, Kathy Hansen, Carol Linnell and Karen Joersz.

75 Years Ago – 1937

E.O. Lidstrom, Morton County Sheriff, suffered a fractured shoulder this week while chasing a prisoner who had attempted to break away from the county jail. Lidstrom and Police Chief Jim Buckley were admitting two prisoners to the jail when one broke loose. Lidstrom chased the prisoner down the courthouse hill but slipped on the pavement at the foot of the grade. However, Buckley kept running and caught up with the prisoner and returned him to the jail.

Billy Allen, a first grader, has won the Syndicate School marble championship as play in the city marble tournament got underway this week. The first grader won from a field of 45 representing five grades at the school. Joe Emil, a fourth grader, was runner-up in the Syndicate contest, losing to Allen in the final round. The score was 4-6, 6-2, and 6-0. The tournament will continue at Central School. The Junior Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the tourney which is being conducted under the WPA recreational program.

Even though he won the position in the Nov. 3 general election, Lawrence M. Tavis was officially installed as Morton County Treasurer this week. North Dakota statutes provide that the treasurer take office in May and the auditor in April. Other officers are seated in January.

The Mandan, Bismarck and Beach Junior Chambers of Commerce were officially voted full membership in the state organization at the annual spring meeting of the board of directors held in Devils Lake. Fifty delegates, including James M. Hanley, Jr. and Colin Cary as representatives of the Mandan unit, attended the session.

A bright spot in the relief picture in western North Dakota has been related by Fred W. McKendry, WPA case worker, who believes it indicates the attitude of many Morton farmers, who are anxious to get off relief. This week McKendry received a letter from a Morton farmer who stated that, although he was very grateful for the government aid given him, he believed that he could get along without another relief check as things were picking up a bit and that his family could get along on the money he could get for the cream and eggs he would be able to sell this spring.

100 Years Ago – 1912

“Miss Anna K. Anderson of Holmes, Minn., and Oscar Carlson of Stone, N.D., were united in marriage during the first wedding ceremony performed at the Scandinavian Lutheran Church of Little Heart on Saturday afternoon. Miss Esther Ellisen played the wedding march as the wedding party marched up the altar where the bride and groom spoke the words that made them man and wife. Rev. O. G. Belsheim of Mandan performed the ceremony.

“The bride wore a dainty, cream-white gown, marquisette over satin, trimmed with pearls. She also wore a wreath and veil and carried a large bouquet of American beauty roses. Her bridesmaids were Ida Nelson and Annie Carlson, with little Amelia Carlson acting as flower girl. The groom was attended by Eric Carlson and Lars Swanberg as best men.

“Following the ceremony, they all drove over to the home of Mr. and Mrs. O. S. Carlson, parents of the groom, where the reception was held. The dining room and tables were beautifully decorated with roses and ferns, and at 6 o’clock, a sumptuous supper was served to more than one hundred and twenty guests. The rest of the evening was spent in merry making.”

125 Years Ago – 1887

The village of Mandan was organized in the spring of 1881; by 1887 the population was already nearing the 2,500 mark.

May 11, 1887: “On Friday, at 3:30 p.m. the thermometer stood at 76 degrees above zero.

“The Heart River bathing season has begun and will continue now until the end of the fall.

“The ferry cars of the Northern Pacific can be used for teams (of horses) at the following rates to cross the Missouri between Mandan and Bismarck: Single horse, one way, $1, round trip, $1.75; Horse and buggy or cart, $1.50, round trip, $2.50; Two-horse carriage or wagon, empty, $2, round trip, $3; Two-horse wagon, loaded, $3, roundtrip, $4. The driver will go free.

“The funeral of M. J. Mahon took place Thursday. The many friends in town of the unfortunate man and his family will commend the action of the authorities in burying his body in consecrated ground even though he committed suicide while temporarily insane. There is utmost sympathy for his family, and there was a large attendance at the funeral.”

(To contact Diane Boit, email mandan-news.com)

Over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion and effort put forth by the Extra-Curricular Committee, coaches-supervisors of activity programs and administrators on changes that need to be made to our existing policy for “Eligibility Based on Tobacco, Alcohol and any other Controlled Substance Abuse.” If we truly believe that we want students participating in our activity programs that are free of tobacco, alcohol and controlled substances then we should understand there  needs to be a change in the eligibility for participation in those programs.

The intent of this article is to inform you of the changes that will be taking place at Mandan High School and Mandan Middle School beginning on May 25, which is defined as the first day of the 2012-13 school year. This past February the Mandan School Board adopted policy JCDA-R, which changes the existing policy for “Eligibility Based on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Controlled Substance Abuse.” Under the new policy there are three major changes that will affect students in grades 7 through 12.

1. The new policy enforces both In and Out of Season Penalties (including summer), which is a change from the past policy which was only enforced during the normal school year. If a student is caught using tobacco, alcohol, or any other controlled substance during the summer they will face penalties for any school related activities when they resume participation in extra-curricular activities in fall, winter, or spring.

2. The new policy also enforces a “Mere Presence” standard. Being in attendance at a function, in a vehicle, or at a party where the student knows or has reason to know that alcohol or other drugs are being consumed illegally by minors and failing to leave despite having a reasonable opportunity to do so is a violation of the Mandan Public Schools tobacco, alcohol, or any controlled substance policy. The penalty for this violation will be a two-week suspension or dismissal from their first competition or performance in an activity.

3. The new policy also enforces a “Cumulative Violation Penalty,” which will disqualify a student from further activity participation once they have three violations at the high school level and will disqualify a student in grades 7 to 8 upon the second violation in a two-year period at the middle school while enrolled in grades 7 and 8.

The complete policies are available on the district website at  mandan.k12.nd.us. Click on School Board, then Policies, and then go to Code J and view policies JCDA, JCDA-R & JCDA-E. We encourage you to read the policies and the interpretations so that you are aware of the changes that go in to place beginning May 25.

Prior to the end of the school year administrators will review this new policy with all students in grade 6 to 11. Additionally, all students will be made aware of the policy changes as it is reviewed in class meetings next fall, during orientation(s), and during meetings with parents and students prior to the beginning of any activity season. These new changes will also be placed in the school handbooks at both the middle school and high school beginning with the 2012-13 school year.

We hope you take the time to review each of the policies listed above with your son or daughter so you understand the penalties associated with the new policies. Policy JCDA-E is policy that answers many questions you may have about the new changes. At the very end of this policy is a list of music activities, which are or are not subject to the new policy. Any music activity where a grade is earned will not be subject to the policy.

We understand the new policy is more stringent than the North Dakota High School Activities Association policy regarding eligibility based on tobacco, alcohol or any other controlled substance abuse. However, we are hopeful that all participants in our activity programs will be students who refrain from using tobacco, alcohol and any controlled substances. As parents or guardians, it is important you assist us in emphasizing to your son or daughter to stay tobacco, alcohol and drug free.

In advance, I want to thank you for helping us keep our schools safe.

Okay, for those of you keeping records, weekend two at Lake Tschida was somewhat different than weekend one. The weather last weekend was in the 80s, this weekend the high snuck just barely above 40.

The cold stuff overwhelmed that wonderful warm stuff on Thursday. The cold stuff turned to rain on Friday and the rain turned to snow in the midst of my Saturday morning walk along Crappie Creek Road.

The snow didn’t last, but the cold and rain stuck around thru Saturday. As long as you put on the following going outside was not a bad experience: Good socks, pants, t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, rain pants, hooded rain jacket, stocking hat, shoes that tolerate mud, and gloves.

Now contrast this with last weekend, where a tank top and shorts got me by. Thus, the only scientific fact I have to offer here is that you should be able to use these opening lines as proof that if you don’t like the weather around here, just stick around a bit and it will change…

So, if you’re still reading this you should be asking what does one do at the lake on such dreary days?

Thanks for asking. I caught up on my reading, writing, and prepared for a class I’m teaching. However, one can’t just stay in the cabin all day because one can do that at home, right? So there were bouts of cabin fever where a fella just has to bundle up and just go outside for a while.

This itch was satiated early this morning with the aforementioned walk in the snow. Then there was that thingamajig that dimfabbled and when I went to dimfobulate it my cloth gloves got wet and my hands got cold, so I quickly re-entered the warm cabin after dimfibulating the problem… and of course this was just a piece of fairy work (work that nobody sees unless no one does it).

Then I sat down at my computer and worked on my class, ate, napped, ate again, then dressed up again, tossed some fishing poles in the bay, and came back to nap some more. Around 5 p.m. my friends Sam and Bud showed up and the sun seemed to be trying to poke its nose through a three-day cloak of gray.

The grandkids took the golf cart and the fishing poles and headed to the rocks on Yeager’s point to fish. Garrision Keilor came on the radio and I found a place to sit down with Bud, Sam, Renee, and Ben. The clouds were still rather thick, the air was charged with freshness from two days of rain when the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in almost three days.

Renee let out a cheer, I closed my eyes and just soaked up the warmth, and Ben sat there worrying about his parents’ sanity. Spring came to the prairie early this year and it’s certainly been a blessing to those of us who love spring. When the sun faded again I looked around me and it seemed like I was in Oz. The air itself seemed to be green, after another winter our beloved prairie was coming back to life. And all I could think was that God gave us spring to confirm His promise that life goes on even after we’re done here.

Harry Chapin wrote a song called “All My Life’s a Circle…” “sunrise and sundown, the moon rolls over the mountains and the daybreak comes around. All my life’s a circle, I can’t tell you why. Seasons change and rearrange and the years keep rollin’ by.” Indeed, seasons change and the years keep rollin’ by, and one of the beauties of living out here on the lonesome prairie is that as each season passes we find ourselves in the midst of our maker’s circle of life.  Summer represents life at its fullest, fall represents life’s decline, winter represents death, and spring starts it all over again… and that’s why I love spring.

Sometimes it’s just best to sit back and be thankful that we’re here at all…

25 Years Ago – 1987

MHS senior Dana Farner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Farner, has been selected for a $12,000 four-year scholarship from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. To be eligible, students must rank in the upper 5 percent of their class and must score in the top 10 percent on either the ACT, SAT or PSAT college entrance exams.

Thomas J. Porter and Jenifer M. Frank were married May 2 at the Church of St. Anne, Bismarck. Parents of the couple are Ken and Pat Porter, Mandan, and Tony and Mary Frank, Bismarck. Tom is a 1976 MHS graduate and a graduate of Mary College, DePaul University and the University of Notre Dame. He is employed with the Diocese of Bismarck. Jenifer is a graduate of St. Mary’s High School and currently attends Mary College.

Jack Stewart, Morton County agent, has been inducted into the NDSU Quarter Century Club. Stewart completed 25 years of NDSU Extension work on Dec. 1, 1986. His Extension career included four years at Hillsboro, four years at Mohall and 17 years in Morton County.

Funeral services were held recently for long-time educator, George Fors, 70. Fors came to Mandan in 1942 and taught chemistry and physics at the high school until 1965. He then became a science and math consultant at the ND Department of Public Instruction for the next 17 years, retiring in 1982.

50 Years Ago – 1962

The top honor students of Mandan High School’s 1962 graduating class have been announced by August L. Spiss, high school principal. Valedictorian is Jean Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Johnson. The salutatorian is Patricia Gronowski, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Gronowski.

The top MHS honor students in 1962 (l-r) Pat Gronowski and Jean Johnson.

More than 300 people attended the Mandan High School Junior-Senior Banquet held at the Mandan Elks building, where palm trees on islands, surrounded by leis, decorated the tables. The decorations carried the “Blue Hawaii” theme, which will also be featured at the prom later in the week. Before the banquet began, Don Engle, president of the junior class, welcomed the seniors, and a response was given by Rita Kaip, senior class president. The evening concluded with the traditional senior class will, given in the form of a skit by juniors Louis Zachmeier, Ken Clouston, Barbara Mulhauser, Kathy Hovland and Pat Haseltine.

John Ellis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Ellis, is this year’s recipient of the Arion National Music Award as the outstanding senior member of the Mandan Senior High Music Department. The presentation was made by Clarence West of Mandan Kiwanis Club during the Spring Concert. John has been an active member in both band and choir during the past four years and has played oboe, all percussion instruments and has been a piano accompanist and assistant director of the choir. John is also the organist at the First Presbyterian Church of Mandan and has been the organist at the outdoor drama, Trail West, for the past two seasons.

Three Mandan High School students received superior ratings at the District Speech Festival held in Jamestown. Receiving top honors were: Sandi McDowall, daughter of the Donald McDowalls, whose entry was “Suicide” by Edna St. Vincent Millay; Jim Schempp, son of the Walt Schempps, who presented “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning; and Pat Gronowski, daughter of the Ray Gronowskis, who entered the Grimm’s Fairy Tale Division by reading “Cinderella” and then repeating it in her own words and acting out the characters.

An ad from a 1962 issue of the Mandan Pioneer for Reidinger Motors, which was located at 110 Fifth Ave. N.W. The ad features a special price on a 1962 Plymouth, and says to dial 516 for more info.

75 Years Ago – 1937

The first of the new 1937 North Dakota drivers’ license have been received and are on sale at the office of Attorney R.F. Gallagher, city magistrate, who has been appointed local distributor by the state drivers’ license bureau.

Heads of families are required to pay 50 cents for the permit, which will be effective for the years 1937 and 1938. All other members of families, except adult children, may secure permits for 25 cents apiece.

In applying for permits, the driver is given three identical cards, numbered in order. All three cards must be carried by the driver at all times. Upon arrest for any violation of motor vehicle laws, license card No. 1 will be taken away from the driver… license card No. 2 will be taken away for a second violation. And if there is another violation, the third card will also be taken away, and that person will not be allowed to operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway for two years.

100 Years Ago – 1912

“On last Friday noon it was learned that Edwin C. Johnson, one of the prosperous farmers of this county, who resided at Sunnyside (three miles west of Mandan), had been drowned in the high waters of the Heart River. He had taken a horse which had not been used in several weeks and attempted to the cross the river. It is thought that the horse being wild, and perhaps afraid of the water, threw his rider into the deep river. The horse escaped injury. As soon as word was received in Mandan, a large number of men made the trip to Sunnyside to try and find the body, but their search was in vain. Mr. Johnson came to Mandan 12 years ago. He was an industrious and hardworking farmer. He leaves a wife and two little children to mourn his loss.

“That nice, new four-room house near the high school may yet be bought for less than cost to build, on very easy terms-say $15 a month- price $900. See L. N. Cary.

“Senator Charles McDonald has sent in his resignation to Governor Burke this week as state senator from Morton. It is understood that the senator’s object in getting out of the position is that he will enter the race for the sheriff’s office of the county. Two other men have also placed notices in the Pioneer announcing their candidacy for county sheriff; they are: Gabe Eckroth and Ben C. Bird.”

125 Years Ago – 1887

The village of Mandan was organized in the spring of 1881; by 1887 the population was already nearing the 2,500 mark.

May 4, 1887: “On Friday, at 3:30 p.m. the thermometer stood at 66 degrees above zero.

“A subscriber from New Jersey writes: “Enclosed find $1, for which please send the Pioneer for another year. I can’t get along without such a bright Dakota paper. It beats the $2 papers in Jersey.

“Poundmaster Gibson made a raid Saturday on the park. He arrested one animal that was grazing therein and marched it off to the comfortable quarters near the city hall. A straying heifer of lively running qualities was also impounded. Gibson is on the warpath and means business!

Mr. J. J. Luck has a 40-acre field of wheat which looks first class. The land has been cultivated and is as smooth as an onion bed. The wheat has already come up several inches, and Mr. Luck is figuring on getting a good crop.

“Elmer Mitchell has quite an extensive contract which calls for 2000 tons of rock to be supplied to the railroad company for use by the Missouri River. He has a large number of men at work for him between Mandan and Sims getting the rock.”

(To contact Diane Boit, email mandan-news.com)

If you happen to see either of my loyal readers, would you be so kind as to inform them that we’ve once again begun our weekly migration to Lake Tschida. Then if you really don’t have much of a life, head over to Cappuccino on Collins and see if my coffee klatch will excuse my attendance until November… thanks.

It’s Friday evening and I’m presently sitting on our west deck at Lake Tschida with my friend Sam Adams. The grandkids and their two guests for the weekend have taken off on the golf cart. The calming silence out here is thus broken by the occasional shrieks of three 12-year-old’s and a 3-year-old’s laughter off in the distance… their joy tickles my heart because the lake really is wonderful place for kids like them and me.

It’s cool and cloudy and likely to rain and after a week in America’s puddle of insanity surrounded by reality (D.C.) my brain is sorting thru the chaff. The dust from a week of trying to figure out what’s going on in our nation’s Capital is beginning to clear as the relief of being home begins to settle in. Those of you who envy those of us who have to travel for a living should rest easy because such travel really wears on a guy.

Over the years I’ve discovered that there’s really nothing exciting about a lonely hotel room, and air travel has become an incredibly weary experience.  This is especially true for those of us over 6 feet tall because from what I can tell, all the designers of today’s jets are most likely elves under 5 feet tall. I just don’t fit in those damn jetliner seats.

Since they now use those smaller jets out of Bismarck I can barely get to my seat, much less in the door, without bumping my balding head on something because I can’t stand up in the dang things. The seats seem to be designed for someone without a rear end and my knees always seem to protrude into the back of the passenger in front of me. Once I’m seated I’m scrunched from about every angle there is and I usually don’t get to move until they land the dang thing, and then I usually bang my head or some other appendage while de-boarding the plane.

Normally I switch planes in Minneapolis, where they put us on a grown up jet. At least I can stand up in one of those, but the seats aren’t much better for us tall guys. I used to try to get an aisle seat until I realized that folks seemed to be constantly tripping over my feet that protruded into the aisle. So now I shoot for a window seat, but lately I’ve discovered that it’s the seat itself that busts me up. The lumbar portion of the seat hits me in the upper butt instead of the lower back, and the head rest hits just below my shoulder blades, and when you sit in that position for three hours it’s really rather excruciating to extract one’s self from this hunched over contortion.

So getting there ain’t near the fun it’s cracked up to be because it usually takes me a couple days of moaning to get my back realigned. Once I check into my hotel, do my ironing and, if I’m lucky, I get to go for a walk where I check out whatever neighborhood I’m in. Then the meetings start and I sit in a chair for the next couple of days before getting back on the plane and assuming that previously described contortion thing that I suffer from.

The only upside of all these trips is so far I’ve made it home from each of them. I can’t adequately describe the relief I get when I deplane in Bismarck, but I can tell that every time I get off the plane I do end up thinking, “Boy, am I glad I don’t have to do that again for a while.”

Years ago my dad told me that he felt his retirement would be successful if he never had to get on a plane again. At the time I thought he was nuts, but today I get it and today I am looking forward to the day when I never have to get on a plane again.

So I’m done complaining about that as the contentment of just being home and out here at Tschida with the family has far overshadowed what it took to get here.

Here’s hoping that you can always get to wherever you need to be…

Some days I swear I can’t keep up with what’s going on these days. It’s odd, because I don’t know when this began. What a frightening feeling. I have no idea when I started losing keeping track, and THAT’S how much I’m behind these days.

I don’t know. Something weird’s going down, and I can’t quite pinpoint it. Days pass by quickly, but I don’t feel I’m getting any older. And that frightens me. It’s like a calm before the storm – I know that one day my knees and back will go bad, and I’ll want these frantically passing days to return, and I’ll regret not taking advantage of it as much as I should have. I don’t want to let too many quickly passing days slip by, and before I know it I realized I’ve missed days that I know matter.

So I’ve been reclaiming the now. I’m trying to do something with every moment – I’m writing plays, reading, playing and writing music, drawing, doing photography, working on a children’s book, I’ve even started an idea for a comic strip. I’m keeping busy, and trying to keep that going. And if I ever run out of ideas I eagerly search for more to take over me.

The problem here is that I’ve noticed when I embrace the present, I don’t feel like I’m learning that many new things anymore. It’s an odd thing to describe. I think back when I was a child, I learned things of major importance that made sense – they were clear and easy to understand. I don’t get those pieces of wisdom anymore. The majority of my thoughts usually consist of random personal realizations, like “Hey, I really don’t mind the smell of a skunk,” or “I guess I shouldn’t touch coffee grounds when my hands are wet.”

I don’t even think about things in terms of right or wrong anymore; rather, I think about them in terms of if it works for me or whether it works for someone else. Is that wrong?

I’m convinced it’s true that everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten. These days we simply learn variations of the very foundation that was already pounded into us in our early days – if we actually paid attention. Life’s details can no longer be as easily interpreted as black and white, good or bad. Life now is a complex shade of gray with a vague myriad of subtle nuances.

But I can’t prove that, of course. That’s just something my kindergarten teacher told me.

Childhood lessons were clear as day. For instance, when I lied on my back to test how much pressure a garage door opener needed before it finally reversed its course, I learned that it does indeed take A LOT of pressure. But it does finally reverse before it kills you.

These days, all I know is that days pass way quickly and yet I feel the same. This, I believe, encapsulates the thirties.

Things go by quick.

So I need to take the time to slow down, appreciate the more subtle lessons out there, and train my eye to better spot them. Because the hard stuff, for the most part, is already learned at this point.

I admit, this column has been confusing. It’s indicative of the life I live these days. So I won’t take it personally if you’ve already moved on to something else and not reached this point in the column. And if you have, I’ve just wasted space in writing this, because you aren’t even here anymore. Maybe I’ll get you next time. Again, another useless sentence.

Maybe I just worry too much. The only therapy, I’ve learned, is to simply open my eyes and appreciate the now.

And that’s what I want to do. I want to stop writing this column right now. And I want you to stop reading too, and get out there and appreciate yourself and the world around you. So go, enjoy the moment. Stop reading my column. I have nothing more to say.

Seriously. I have nothing more for you. Go and do something. Enjoy your life. It’s passing you by. I have no more insights to offer, no more silly jokes to throw your way. I have nothing more for this column. Leave. I’m done.

GO.

Really. I’m stopping right now. It’s time to quit reading. Come on, I can’t keep writing this if you’re going to keep reading it. This is honestly getting ridiculous. You have a life to live. A world out there to explore. There’s much to see and experience, and I have nothing more here for you.

Okay, fine. You want one more thing? Okay, here you go.

Oh, shoot. NOW I’m out of space.