reunion-Hills,Mn

At the dinner onn Friday, a younger man then myself, Darrell Top approached me and said that he and a Harold kollenbrander wanted to speak to me. In 1956, the speech teacher at Worthington, Mn. encouraged me to start a debate team in Hills so he could have some competion in the district playoff. I was smart enough to select intelligent students like the ones mentioned above, gave them some books on debate and turned them loose. Evidently we gave Worthngton too much competition for the next year the Wothington coach hired me as his assistant to get rid of the competion. The day I arrived the coach took a job in the cities and I became the head honcho. Harold and Darrell thanked me for turning them loose to pursue excellence at their challlening pace. Harold, now retired was the president of a United Methodist college in Ohio and his son was high up in the hierachy of MIT. I was indeed touchd.
While at Worthinton I directed the one-act plays. I chose a play by Gilbert and Sullivan, Box and Cox.
Donna's sister , Caroline was in England and she provided me with records that featured the English cockney accent. My students pefected it and we in 1957 won the Minnesota one act play contest. One student, Carl Swanson, who his country one room school teacher has labeled"Moussy" went on to star in every Augustana College play during his tenure there.
He went on to teach at Brandon,S.Dak. and had Keith Anderson's sister, Anita as a student. Small world, indeed.

Most blessed-extended family

On June 7th (courtesy of Bridgid, Summer and Dan's bonus miles) I flew to Omaha, rented a car and motored to Hills, Mn. for an all school reunion orchestrated by my neice, Marilyn Sather Nelson.Some 1500 people were in attendance.
On the plane to Omaha I bumped into a Hills graduate, Jack Johnson,. we didn't recognize each other and only after visiting in the airport did wer realize how many people we knew in common.
I stayed first at Jill and Dale Rye's honey farm and Jill is one honey of a person, as is Dale.Late in the Evening we drove (half a mile) to his Mother, Lorainne's bithday party.her children. Helen Albright Rye, Gary and Darva Rye, Bryon Rye,wife and daughter, Dale and Jill, Lorriane's husband, Bob Nerison and friend, Paul Larson a longetime friend.
Friday morning grand nephew Scott Edhe and his sons Carson and Johnathon stopped by.They were obssessed with the bee hive display until they saw Dale's horses.Dale place Carson on the horse and a picture flash spooked the horse and Carson fell to the ground landing on all four. Dale said that the rule is to get right back on the horse which Carson did..NO FEAR.
They rode with me to Hills and at Marilyn Sather Nelson's home in walked my sister, Vivian and Don Helgeson from Bemiji. A valiant effort on her part and then we heard of a more valiant effort on the part of brother Ray and his wife Sandy. That day, Ray was released from a rest center after a pig valve was put in his heart, aftaer a perilous bout with pnenomia and loaded down with 25 prescriptions they traveled from Eau Claire, Wis. Ray's story is a miracle story related elsewhere on this blog.. Am I blessed or what? To be continued

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