1964/1965 It was the best and the worst year of high school

There were many things that happened during my senior year that made it one to remember.  For sure the worst event was not even related to school.  Brother Ronald (my brother who was 11 years older than I and to this day is my hero) died in October and that hung over our home for a long long time.  Perhaps Mom and Dad never really recovered.
But back to the high school days.  Now I was a senior and should have been one of the "top' kids in school, right?  That is what seniors are supposed to be!  However I still struggled with shyness and because of that I think I often made decisions that were not the best but what the heck, that was a long time ago!

This was my senior picture that Dad took.  It is actually a great picture but my thought was I did not have a school picture so it must be different.  NOT true but that was my mind set.  If anyone reads this they will come to the conclusion, and rightly so, that I was pretty darn immature and my Dad was a true professional photographer .

Once again I think they stuffed the ballot box as for the fourth year there I am a class officer.  AND once again I can not think of ONE thing we did!

 You can hardly see me as I am sitting in the front row way on the left side.  Take note of Big George #78 in the back.  He was a freshman and they needed to weigh him on the elevator scale he was so big.  I thought our line was going to be GREAT with George on the field but I found out that freshman who weigh in at maybe 400 pounds or so just are not the ticket.  If we were to run around the track once before we started George may be at the first turn when everyone was finished.  Don't get me wrong, he was a nice kid it was just that we expected way way too much.  On the right was our new coach and he may have been a nice guy but as a coach he was worse than a disaster. On the left is Mr. Newman who was a wonderful guy.  He actually wanted to connect me with the football coach from Jamestown college so I could play there.  BUT it was a teacher's college and I was sure I was not cut out to be a teacher so what did I do?  I taught for 38 years!  I should add that we won our first game and the John C broke his arm so coach Murry went to quarterback #2.  We lost the next 6 games.  I am no blaming the quarterback.  I felt as a captain I was a failure.

In the fall of 63, at the end of the season, the team voted on a captain for the next year.  I think maybe I was voted in because they were afraid if I didn't get their vote they would suffer my tackles the next fall! It was always such fun to tackle and pound the guy into the ground!  At this point I was a far different guy than the freshman who did not know a thigh pad from a rib pad and who gladly took the football shoes from the pile of old ones that the coach gave me.  As I have said in the past money was tight in the family and often had to be replaced with love.

 Next came basketball.  We actually had a good team and had a winning record but it ended on a down note in the district tournament.  We also had our share of injuries with starters John and Dan being hurt much of the time.  My friend Larry came into his own that year.  I think it may have been his "coming out year" in terms of sports!

John and I played the roll of captains.  We got to meet at center court before the game to see which basket we got the first half.  An example of my immature nature.  We would go out onto the court to warm up before the game.  Then about 10 minutes before game time we would go back into the locker room for a pep talk.  Then we would come out of the locker room in single file and maybe shot for a couple of minute before the whistle blew.  As captains John and I should have been leading the pack as we came out for the game BUT I always insisted I bring up the rear.  Why??  False modesty or what I do not know.  As I look back I think it was just a lack of maturity.  It did give me a good look at my girl friend who was a cheerleader!!!

You will not see me on the track team picture but I was on the team.  Dad wanted me home after school "to work" in the spring time but I really suspect it was one of his ways of dealing with Ronald's death which had been just a few months prior.  What I did was take my study hall and train by myself.  I would run around a half mile square and then practice the javelin, discus and shot-put.  Mind you NO coach, just by myself.  IF I remember correctly I did OK in meets but I was no star!  It did make me a 3 sport letterman which was kind of nice.  At first I thought I could be a quarter miler as I could run all day long but I found out that guys like my friend Larry who stayed for track practice could run circles around me in the quarter mile.  I do not know what a good time was for the quarter mile back then but just a few years later as I taught at the School for the Deaf Drexel L ran the quarter mile in under 60!  Well he won the broad jump, 100, 220,440 at state so his records can not be compared to ours in high school.

 I actually think the guys got this right.  I would say John, Larry and I were the best athletes in our class.  Here we are the officers of the letterman's club and again not much to do!  Looks like John still had his arm in a sling as he broke it before the second football game in the fall.

Here is the letterman's club with our sport coats on which replaced letterman jackets.  We wore them to all the basketball games.  Note Larry and I are standing side by side.  As freshmen I would have been that much taller than Larry.  Oh my, I actually look like a little guy.

Band was same old same old.  It was fun but I say, as a senior, I was less than a good sousaphone guy!

I hope nobody ever asks me WHY I am in this picture.  I would say Larry, Patty and Janet were great band people and me?  I kind of went along for the ride and the trips!  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed band but it is one of my endeavors that I wish I had done better with.  Perhaps the moment I remember most and it was a very embarrassing one.  Near the end of the year Mr. Piehl, in his wisdom, asked the band who they would like to see be the director for a song one morning.  I got the honor.  Now if you think about it that should have been kind of a fun thing but I was totally embarrassed by the whole thing!

I would be less than honest if I left this picture out.  It is the mixed chorus my senior year and I am NOT in it.  With my, whatever, I just was stupid.  I loved to sing but for some unexplained reason I wanted someone to encourage me.  Mr. Piehl, Mom&Dad, anyone so I did not sign up for chorus hoping someone would say I needed to sign up.  It never came so no chorus my senior year.  Perhaps one of my most immature things I did in high school (well one of many)!  I would say how lame can one be as an 18 year old high school senior?

OK so someone could ask where did Nancy come into your life?  Well she never did!  To my knowledge Nancy never went on a date in high school and I think it had something to do with the church she went to but not sure.  So why is she here?  Well I had some interesting times my senior year but Nancy may be one of the most interesting.  I was the captain of the football team so I was handed a piece of paper at half time of our homecoming game so that I could announce who would be our homecoming queen.  I walked up to Nancy, put the crown on her head planted a VERY mild kiss on her cheek.  SO I am guessing I was the ONLY one to get to kiss her in high school.  Now I admit I am not 100% sure but I am kind of 99% sure!  Thinking back at who I was at the time I may not have even enjoyed it!
I can add that in my immaturity I got back to dating JoEllen for much of our senior year.  I say immaturity not in the sense that there was anything bad about JoEllen.  She was very nice and cute. I say immaturity because it just seemed that I wanted/needed someone in my life.  Actually it is kind of like that to this day.  Here I am with time time time on my hands as Terry is in the hospital and what do I do?  Well some work BUT I often find myself pacing back and forth, side to side because I am alone.  What can I say?  Could I change at the age of 73.  Probably is not worth the effort but I should be happy for who I am, I think!

So ended my senior year.  From there it was on to leaving the farm in the fall and enrolling at NDSU.  I need not write about that.