Bring Me Sunshine

The YouTubes and PowerPoints that get circulated are too numerous to count, but some are real keepers, including this one coming our way from Merrilee Vold Reid.  The famous couple pictured here are included in the PowerPoint, but you will need to click the link below.

You'll love the zippy music, and viewing some of your favorite stars at an earlier stage in their lives.  And ours.

The show should automatically download to your computer, then you can open it from your hard drive.  To see these celebrities, click here . . .

We're testing a new linking system so if the show doesn't open up for you, please advise.

Close Your Eyes - You'll Remember

Thanks to Larry Holstad for passing along this trip down memory lane - about growing up in a gentler world.  Once you've viewed it, tell us which parts bring back the best memories.

Click the full-screen icon in the lower right corner for a bigger view.  The good news - the print is much larger.  The bad news - it gets a bit blurry.

Old News from the Anchor

February 22, 1962 -

Members of the Northwood-Kensett Vikings basketball team were named champions of the North Iowa Conference when they defeated Forest City in grand style here on Friday night, 93-73.  Phil Johnson had 27 points in the first half and Mike Lien added 15 in the first half to gain a comfortable lead.  Johnson completed the game with a record 36 points.

And we all know what's going to happen next.  That "comfortable lead" referenced in the article was 66 - 33.  Clearly things slowed down in the second half.  You'll recall that Johnson said in an earlier post that the team was determined not to be beaten for the season, not on the home court.

February 25, 1937 - 

Dr. H F Johnson has leased the suite in the Holland building recently occupied by Dr Paul Kase and will move his dental offices from the second floor of the Kean building to the new ground floor location Monday.  Dr. Kase will occupy the suite formerly occupied by Dr. C T Bergen.  Attorney L A Baken, who has his offices on the second floor of the Holland Building, will move to the rooms now occupied by Dr. Kase.

This history is notable for the names - H F Johnson and C T Bergen - both of them pretty directly connected to the Class of '62.  Presumably the ground floor location occupied by Johnson in 1937 is the same location as the one he used in the 50s and 60s.

L T Dillon, Northwood band director and outstanding musician, will officiate as one of the judges of the home contest of band and orchestra at the Mason City High School next Saturday.  There will be 82 band soloists and 60 orchestra soloists taking part in the contest.

Dillon, of course, has been cited frequently in this blog and once the blogmaster has in his hands the collection of photos now coming his way, will be featured in a musical slideshow focusing on his career.

Old News from the Anchor

February 15, 1962

A meeting for boys 14 years and older, explaining DeMolay, a fraternal and social lodge, will be held at the Masonic Temple in Northwood on Tuesday, February 20, according to an announcement made by the DeMolay committee consisting of Charlie Jones, Jack McMullen and Don Harris.

The same Anchor revealing the history behind the names of the County and Cities included this news bit in the Early Files section.  Note the reference to the above report in the blog post about General Worth.  Any additional information regarding the formation of that group and its success could be emailed to nkhs62@gmail.com.  The perception, which may not be accurate, is that the group was formed but was not a long-term success.

City of Northwood Slide Show

Sometimes when searching the internet you bump into things.  Here is a slideshow that is posted on the Home Page of the City of Northwood with some pretty nice photos of "home" by Joel Rohne.

When Trees Were the Right Height

The Old High School - on the Corner

A New Building - with Shorter Trees

With no political offense intended, there is no doubt that for the Class of '62 the trees were clearly "of the right height" in comparison to today's version.  City codes have probably changed, too, since the original trees were outside of the sidewalk in what is probably city right-of-way.

The old gym, pictured below, is scarcely visible on the new photo since it was taken from the same approximate location as the original, and new buildings block the arch view on the west end, but the arched roof can be made out behind the blue roof of the new building.  For those who haven't been in town for a long time, the view below seems more like one taken of a building unknown.

The "Old" Gym

What Are Mothers For?

This photo was one in a series of those emails about remembering the 50s and 60s, and although it is designed as a generic, it does conjure up some memories of the role of the woman in those days.  If she wasn't working the cash register as pictured, she was probably doing the family grocery shopping.  Few indeed were lawyers or high-level executives.

Primarily she was still the homemaker, although many worked out of the home, perhaps moreso by necessity as a single mother, or a farmer's wife who worked "out of the home" without leaving the farm.  Working mothers of classmates outside of those two examples were probably the exception and not the rule, although the days of Rosie the Riveter had a huge impact, and the value of a second income became apparent.  Men who were ever the chauvinists may or may not have welcomed that progress.

In spite of the work schedules of women, meals were still consumed as a family unit because the multiple options offered by the school district had yet to shape family lives.  Without girls sports, and only one boys sport per season, time was manageable.

Consider today's family with the youngsters going in 40 different directions for so many potential activities. Next year's NKHS football team will be aligned in an 8-man league with most opponents 90 miles away in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area.  That, of course, is minor compared to the travel required in states like North Dakota.

Jackson Brunsvold, AHS

The seniors of '62 had one sport: boys basketball.  Here in Wisconsin families today split their time between boys and girls basketball, boys and girls hockey, wrestling, cross-country skiing for boys and girls, Alpine skiing, Alpine snowboarding (read more below), and probably others that we've missed.  Hockey in particular is quite an expensive sport often requiring hours committed to fundraising, weekend events, and widespread travel.

Today's mother is probably busy working to help to fund the travel they undergo.  And dinner as a family?  Forget it.  Not that either scenario is "right" or "wrong," make your own judgment and acknowledge . . . things have changed.

A note about the photo inserted:  meet Jack Brunsvold, a nephew of our own Richard Brunsvold and his sister Chris Brunsvold Hoigard ('65), and grandson of Ann Sandberg Johnson, NHS '57.  A resident of Ashland, WI, on Lake Superior, he is the 2012 Wisconsin High School Snowboard Boardercross Champion, winning the event on Saturday, February 18.  His event took him all of 22.56 seconds!  His proud grandmother passes this along.

"Worth-y" Names Identified

The chances that you know anything about the background of the names of the county/cities where you grew up is highly unlikely, unless you subscribe to or buy the Northwood Anchor when it comes out.  A front page story in this week's issues tells all . . .

Worth County was named for a prominent general of the mid-1800s, William Jenkins Worth.  Background on Worth came by way of Alice Barnes Madson and a monument to the general, the second oldest in New York City, built in 1857 and standing in a small park, Worth Square, on Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

Not surprisingly, the statue was the source of her information, gleaned in 1992, prior to The Google.  Today there is a boatload of information about this general online, including his involvement as a Freemason in a "filibuster" invasion of Cuba.

He was a hero of three wars, apparently, the Spanish-American, the Mexican, and the Seminole.  His membership in the Masons may be an indirect connection to the longevity of the Masons in Northwood, though this is a conjecture of the author and not necessarily fact.

The Northwood Masons invited a large group of high school students to attend an information meeting about their organization in the early 60s, but whether any joined in one fashion or another is unknown.

Northwood was named almost by mistake.  Originally called Gulbrand after Gulbrand Mellem, the first settler here, it found its name from the coincidence of two groves situated on the ends of the town called North Woods and South Woods.  When the post office was established the town was named Northwood because it was in these woods that the post office was originally built.  Ironically the post office was later moved to the south grove, but the town retained the name Northwood.

Kensett had its own unique origins.  Like many small communities, it was formed around the railroad and named after Thomas Kensett, a Baltimore oyster packer, and director of the Central of Iowa Railroad.  Kensett promised that if the town were named after him, he would build a church in the town.  The church was never built.

The source of the information on Northwood and Kensett came from a book by local historian Lois Hogen, Worth County Heritage 1853-1976.  The timing of the book may have had something to do with the Bicentennial of 1976 although that, too, is conjecture, and corresponds with the founding of the county in 1853.

So now you know.  

What Grandkids Teach Us

My Grandson, Bryan, is now a freshman at Luther College.  When he was about 5 years old we went for a bike ride on the Red Cedar Trail near Menomonie, WI.  He was riding a bicycle that once probably had training wheels - and rode the entire 7 miles of the trail that day, always in the lead, his short little legs pumping like crazy.

The Red Cedar is an old railroad bed like so many bike trails, following along the river of the same name, and the bridge is a neat place to stop and rest, watch the water flow below or spit into it, throw rocks, or in the case of a 5-year-old, skip merrily across the bridge.  You don't forget days like this, and as the youngsters grow to the point of high school graduation and heading off to the next level there is the sudden realization - there you were, 50 years ago.

Bryan is a musician who loves to perform.  A solo in front of an auditorium full of people is performed with confidence.  Nerves of steel.  But on a day last December when he wanted to buy some clothing and we walked into Amundson's in Decorah, his knees turned to jelly.  He's just not used to decision-making in a clothing world that means more than baggy jeans and sweatshirts or tees.

We're also talking kind of serious money for the clothing you might want to wear somewhere other than showing up at jazz band practice, another part of the decision-making process.  And that's not the only thing that would concern him.

In December, 1994, two months before he turned two, I was in Madison, WI, where I saw and picked up a pair of red and white striped overalls, the kind with Bucky Badger on the bib.  I thought they were so cool, the perfect Christmas gift for a cheesehead.  He didn't.  He felt them, got this yuck look on his face, and only wore them one time because his mother made him.  If the fabric doesn't feel just right for him, the article is useless.

So combining his idiosyncrasies and his inexperience makes the Decorah mission interesting.  Yeah, been there, done that, but that was me.  This trip into the clothing store was a convergence of sorts, like his first time out of the box, yet it was a heartfelt commitment on his part.  He just knew he needed an upgrade, even though he wasn't sure what that meant.

But he's a wise kid, wise enough to know he can lean on people he trusts when he makes decisions, and even wiser in choosing quality people to associate with - and trust.  He is open to discussing his goals and objectives, seeks input, seeks learning, and seeks advice, from friends, teachers, family on all matters, including clothing.

Later that evening in December we talked at length about the challenges he was facing, how he was working to finesse the time demands while considering a higher level of classwork and how it could fit in, if at all.  He's already shown a propensity for good thinking and linear work in his writing, and this course could further refine those talents.  He talked through the pros and cons of our challenges without being defensive since for all practical purposes he had already made his decision, and it was a good one.

Home at Christmas, he weighed in on the limitations of the education and training received in high school, his disappointment that certain instructors left the door open for him to lay out his own training, instead of challenging him to compete and learn at a higher level.  He had concern the instructor had failed him, largely due to his own limitation to be able to push Bryan to do more and be better.  The college experience is drawing it into focus.

He also brought home his December shopping success: dress pants, long-sleeved shirt, and v-necked sweater, as if to say, "Grandpa, I'm growing up now."

Perhaps it's the same personal growth and maturation your parents were hoping to see from you those 50 years ago.  For me, the hope is that he mimics any good decisions I may have made, and avoids the bad ones, and so far he's way ahead of my schedule.  What I've learned during the process is that there are no do-overs, except today to have the joy of watching someone you love who takes it to the next level.

There we were 50 years ago, making our way in a world of decision-making, with or without good advice, with consequences that were sometimes good, sometimes not so good.  Watching Bryan has allowed me to see myself revisit the process from afar, Alice through the looking glass.  Wishing that I could fully protect him, I am silently glad that I cannot.  Instead, I just learn about me.

The Diamonds - Little Darlin'

Bonnie Mack Wopperer has passed along an email containing YouTubes of The Diamonds - first from 1957 and later in 2004.  The original quartet, the same song, the same sound, the absolute same style.  Since many of you just got back from the Surf and its memories, playing it seems timely.

Bonnie had heard lead singer Dave Somerville may be the father of Tom Hanks, and based on the looks of the guy it would be hard to argue.  Doing further research, Bonnie found that to be untrue, and suggests it's the kind of rumor that gets started because it "looks" true, whether it is or not...

Believe it or not, their launching pad was the old Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts show, forerunner to today's American Idol and its knock-offs.  Somerville often used a falsetto in their songs including "Little Darlin'" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"

Frank Valli and the Four Seasons also featured a falsetto, with songs like "Sherry Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight."    The memory is live because in those days I could sing in a falsetto and I clearly recall singing along.  Wish I could do that today, but now it's like contact sports - I watch or listen.  These two performances are 47 years apart - and both worth watching.  Listen to the voices maturing.

And the 2004 version -

As always, if you're getting this by email, click the link to go to the blog site.

Dance Party Review

With emails, one conversation turns to another. Stan forwarded some memories from an old shipmate, and Richard Holstad piped in.

Marshall Lytle

Then there is Marshall Lytle who at 78 or 84 or however old he is, can still lay down the Comets line and enjoy doing it although being pretty crippled up. He is one of the last who can say he was in the room, in Cleveland, with Alan Freed when he voiced over "Crazy Man Crazy", shouting "Rock and Roll!" starting what we all know as "Our Music".

P.S. Lytle announced his latest composition and then played "Viagra Rock".

-- Stan Arendts' friend Greg

Are you able to ask your shipmate Greg about Marshall Lytle doing the bit on the Hiss'n Pit?  That question should validate your “inside track” on what went on at the Surf last week.

When Marshall hobbled on stage with his cane, steadying himself as he walked on anything within arm's reach, I was reminded of last year when Jerry Lee Lewis performed. Except Marshall seemed to be in worse shape. As soon as Marshall was at his mark on stage, someone handed him a full size base fiddle so that he could discard his cane and use the bass as his support.

At first impression I expected Marshall was going to have problems with everything .... breath control, remembering the words, stamina, etc, etc

WRONG! He did have to catch his breath now and then but so would any other performer.....

Then that old devil rocked the Surf Ballroom in traditional fashion ..... I'm not offering these comments as professional courtesy either ..... He Rocked The Rafters!

In closing, I would say that “It is always a pleasure to visit the folks at home, to reconnect with the mid-west people, and be reminded of my roots.”

--Richard Holstad

Editor's Note: Lytle played bass for Bill Haley and the Comets on such classics as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "Rock Around the Clock," and "See You Later, Alligator."  He is 79 this year.

Dance Party Plus

In the far left corner of the photo below – the brunette is Connie Valens – Richie Valens sister.  At the Surf on Dance Party weekend, you are bound to run into people like Connie.  She has come to be a welcome and much appreciated guest of the Surf.

She gets right up on stage and transfuses energy to the bands who are playing Richie’s music.  Last weekend the goal was to sing “La Bamba” so loud that Richie and the rest could hear us up in heaven. So we did.

The man with the broad Smile is Paul Charlson of Lake Mills '62 – he played basketball against you guys in HS.  The woman in the black and white striped blouse is Lavonne Forland Welch (NKHS class of 1963).

I have seen Mr Charlson at the Surf Winter Dance Party several years running now.  We never had reason in particular to visit.  LaVonne and Paul know one another pretty well from church and from having worked together on a large church improvement project.

Turns out Paul knows the Northwood 1962 BB team pretty well too as he played against you guys “back then”.  I made a comment to Paul that we all liked the Lake Mills guys up until they came to Northwood and started dating our girls.  Paul was pretty quick to point out that Leroy L. went so far as to marry one of the LM cheer leaders.

I said to Paul that truthfully I was impressed that he knew most all the names of the 1962 NKHS BB team.  I wonder if the Northwood guys know the Lake Mills guys names that well.

It was all fun “back and forth banter," especially when Paul made the comment that in Lake Mills, the NKHS athletes were all regarded “gentlemen”.  In my vocabulary, that is a pretty high complement.  If you guys know Paul, I want to verify that he is “out there” offering some very nice compliments in your direction

For me, this kind of encounter really warms my heart. There are lots of wonderful people “out there” we cross paths with them all the time every day.  This past weekend at the Surf was extra nice in my opinion that way …. best described as not so much “glitz and glamour” as in the past.

Just the ordinary people doing what really is the spirit of the Surf and the mid west.

I love what goes on there; the fun; the friendship; the plain old good times.  The photo above embodies a lot of these feelings.

--Richard Holstad

I run into Paul at Rice Lake Golf Course every once in a while. We always enjoy talking about the NK and LM BB teams from 1962 – great memories. You can’t find a better guy than Paul. Maybe some of the NK BB team could challenge some of the LM BB team on the golf course in July!!! It’s a thought anyway!

-- Chuck Hendrickson

I do recognize some of the names.. Richard, who I just met, Larry, Phil and Chuck and of course my newest friend LaVonne. It was fun to meet Richard who was escorting LaVonne to the Surf and of course he knew all the NK guys and is a cousin of Larry. It was fun and interesting to talk to both Richard and LaVonne about the old days. I learned a quite a lot about NK and some of its graduates.

I am impressed by the good rapport and apparent contact you guys appear to have. LM '62 has not had as good contact, at least not by our BB team. But we do have some good reunions. And I do enjoy seeing Lee and Lonna, our class mates, the golf outings and the good discussion.

Since retiring, I golf Northwood on Wed and LM on Thursday , so I see Coach Maynard Midtgaard frequently and we have fun discussions and banter and what a great guy, good coach and he can play some really good golf. At LM I see Chuck H at times and you all know he is a super dude, but he golfs left handed and does so well.

I look forward to seeing you, Lee and Lonna in July and I hope Northwood has a very successful and fun 50th anniversary the week before.

-- Paul Charlson, LMHS '62

Yes he knows all the Northwood BB guys, and is indeed a fine fellow. I now see him every 5 years at the LMHS Class of '62 reunion and have thought about emailing him for some thoughts on the NK-LMHS rivalry for inclusion in the blog but never have.

I have always enjoyed going to the LM reunion and spending some time with Paul, Wayne Pederson, Denny Hall, David Heltne, and others. In spite of our high school competitiveness, or maybe because of it, they're pretty good guys. They have always made me feel very welcome there.

The LMHS 50th Reunion is scheduled for July 14, a week after ours. That's an awful lot of celebrating for folks our age but we'll do our best.

It is a small world and yes we had some very memorable games with the Bulldogs in the “old” days. It was such a pleasure playing on the “stage" in the Lake Mils auditorium (where the circles intertwined) and trying to stop Butch Petersen from launching ¾ shots and trying to keep Paul, Al Holstad and Arlen Stensrud off the boards if he happened to miss one. Or taking the ball out of bounds on the sideline and not hitting your head on the radiator, or running up the wall on the side baskets during early warm-up and dunking before Coach Midtgaard came up and stopped us.  

Mike and I talked on the bus ride over the night of our senior year about a couple of phone calls we received just before we left home wishing us good luck and that we had this feeling that at least a couple of people in each community had more than just community pride on the line. If I also recall right, Mike didn’t have a typical game for him that night in Lake Mills, (I believe it was something about a Bulldog trying to date his girlfriend, does Mr. Charlson know anything about that?) but he stepped up with the game tied and made two free throws at the end to win the game for us.

We also respected the Bulldogs tremendously and knew they were good guys, it was just easier to get up to play them if we said we didn’t like them. But just to let them know there is still a few hard feelings that after they beat us in the tournament, they let everyone down by getting beat in the next round. Our feelings were if you were going to lose you could have lost to us and let us try to advance. 

 Seriously, it was a fun rivalry (and hard to believe that it was 50 years ago) and brings back so many memories, some painful but all good.

-- Larry Holstad

The Jefferson Highway Garage in Kensett

Photo Courtesy of L M Forland Family

Photo Courtesy of L M Forland Family

These photos are taken at the Jefferson Highway Garage in Kensett, established about the same time Highway 65 was built to run the north-south length of Iowa.  The Top photo was taken facing north and the other was facing south.  Here is the story behind the photos as told by Stan Arendts:

That is a picture of my grandfather, "Doc" Arendts. My father and grandfather were partners after WW2. The original Jefferson Highway Garage was established in the 1920's by my grandfather and as I recall was the oldest Ford dealership in the state, at one time. Huso was a competiter in Northwood as was Pritchard in Mason City. Prichard was a friendly competitor, Huso, not so much.

When I got my drivers license, I became the "gofer" and made many trips to other dealerships in the area to get parts, etc. I was very well respected among the group due to my family's longevity in the business and history of fair dealing. The garage was named after US 65, which was originally known as the Jefferson Highway, much like US 30 was the Lincoln Highway.

I could add that the building blew up twice, both caused by natural gas leaks. After the first time, the gas company added "aroma" to the odorless natural gas, to assist in recognizing leaks. The first explosion injured Johnnie Olsen, a Northwood resident, who was a mechanic. It occurred during the day and was caused by Johnnie lighting a cigarette.

The building was rebuilt and business continued. The second time was after my father sold the building to a Mason City hot-rodder, who used it as storage and a place to work on his cars. The second explosion happened at night and no one was injured. As far as I know, the building was not rebuilt. Maybe he didn't have insurance?

I have a lot of fond memories about that place. Spent a lot of time there and created many projects.........a wooden car, go-carts, tandem bicycles, flagpoles, hot rods, bazookas, sleds, etc.

Stan's memories are hopefully being shared with his offspring, totally unedited as he would demand.

The name "Jefferson Highway" may be unknown to many outside of Kensett, but the story is told in this History of the Interstate Trail provided by the Iowa DOT.  A different photo is included in the DOT report, of the Iowa/Minnesota marker commemorating the completion of the highway in both states in 1930, sitting along Hwy 65.  I have passed the marker and noticed it hundreds of times and never knew what it was.

The cigarette explosion reminds of a story told probably by Don Faris or possibly Maynard Midtgaard, of a service station worker who for years threw his cigarette butts into a pail of used oil, with nary a problem . . . until one very warm day when the oil was warm enough to combust.  The lesson, of course, explained the ingredients required to cause fire.  (Why in the world do we remember such trivia as a story like this?)

Coach Buddy Mounts Today

From the Yearbook - Taken in the Chem Lab

Larry Holstad forwards this information:

A follow up to the Coach Mounts posts is that I visited him about a year ago. He resides in San Antonio, Texas is actually retired from teaching and coaching (because of hip replacements and not because it was his choice) and is raising 2 different types of dogs. He had 5 sons of which one played in the NFL and 4 have been in coaching also. If you recall the oldest of the 2 when he came to Northwood was Ricky and I believe he still lives in Des Moines. Randy was the next boy and I can’t remember but it seems like they had a third son before they left but I do not recall his name. Also if you remember he had a brother that came to live with him for a year, Skip. He had some problems but he shared with me that he eventually went into the service and served our country , received numerous honors and passed away a few years ago. He mentioned a number of times that he probably didn’t treat us very well but reflected good things about his days with us. Just thought I would throw that out there. It was certainly interesting times back then.


Indeed the times were interesting.  The comment from Coach Mounts that he probably didn't treat us very well might be in reference, at least in part, to the time that we lost to Forest City and he thought we should go home after the game since we lost, and NOT go to the party he correctly suspected was scheduled at Ann Bergen's house. Read more . . .

In Case You Missed It

Since the blog came online a couple years ago some 250+ postings have been put up, and if  you're a new viewer you probably haven't taken the time or don't want to go back to view all the early stuff.  So, for your convenience, here are a couple of the originals.

Gary Hengesteg, '63,was a bruising fullback.  In our '61 Homecoming game he suffered one of the injuries that meant the beginning of the end of our season.  Read more . . . 

Buddy Mounts, the football coach, was a bruiser himself, and was never afraid of an intervention between his players or his superiors.  Read more . . .

The Iowa Hawkeyes got into offering "knothole" games when they were trying to attract fans to their football games, basically offering cheap bleacher seats for $1.  For some reason we wound up going the other direction, to Minneapolis, for a Big 10 game, and saw the powerful (in those days) Gophers win a big one.  Read more . . .

And there you have it - the first time in a long time that you've been offered something for your convenience - and it didn't cost you anything!

The World We Were Born Into

Stan Arendts has forwarded this video of spontaneous celebrations on Hawaii on VJ Day, August 14, 1945.  With music by Jimmy Durante the perfect background, you get a strong sense of the joy concluding the "Big One," fought by the Greatest Generation.

It was the beginning of our time.  Eisenhower and Churchill were heroes.  The world was right, we fought real wars against clearly defined enemies wearing clearly marked clothing, and enjoyed clearly defined victory.  This is the world we were born into.  Ambiguity and confusion would have to wait 30 or 40 years.

For the website with more background information on this amazing video, go to contributor Richard Sullivan's website.  The movie is an edited version of the 16mm Kodachrome film shot by his father, and it is marvelously well done.  Thanks to Stan for forwarding.

Be sure to click the "full screen" icon next to the word "vimeo" in the control box.

Climb the Water Tower?

The "Peak" of Northwood

Just as a point of reference, the Northwood Water Tower is maybe 5 or 6 stories high?  OK, let's give it 100 feet ground to peak, or 10 stories.  And Richard Holstad reported on his extraordinarily scary experience in a blog posting last March 21.

The other "local" story came from Stanton Arendts when he told of his Kensett water tower experiences last May.

But as the saying goes, "you ain't seen nothin' yet" until you click on the YouTube posted below.

Honestly, if you have any fear of heights you may feel something gripping your body in unusual ways as you view this.  We recommend that you click the full-screen icon so you can view this in all its glory.

Can you imagine what the two fellows in this YouTube are paid?  On the advice of Merrilee Reid, "Pay him whatever he wants!"

Old News from the Anchor

February 1, 1962 -

The NK Vikings boys basketball team remain undefeated, handling Belmond 73-38 and Manly 80-69 over the weekend.  The Vikings take their 12-0 first place record to Garner on Friday night for the 13th game of the season.


In other news, the Northwood Lutheran Retirement home nears completion.