Man on the Moon

You may or may not recall hearing Kennedy's commitment to putting a man on the moon and you may or may not have believed that it was anything more than science fiction for that to happen, but it did.  This week that man, the first, Neal Armstrong, died at age 82.

The whole week prior was exciting.  I still have copies of the Waterloo Courier published each day of the trip, topped off with the moment when Armstrong took that first step.  Or "hop" might be a better word.  It was kind of amazing that a key talking point in the days that followed was that they didn't really "walk", they "hopped."  One of those silly things that stick in your head.

As the years have gone by the actual event has gotten later and later in the day in my memory, because my whole focus that evening was keeping my two oldest daughters, then ages 4 and 2, awake to see it.  I was sure it happened after midnight.  Now I'm surprised to learn that Armstrong actually stepped down at about 10 PM CDT, far earlier than my recollection.

We sat glued to the TV in the basement family room of Lonna's childhood home in Lake Mills.  The girls were tired and I wanted so badly for them to be able to see it because it was obviously an historic moment.  But they were tired from the trip to Lake Mills and all the excitement that goes along with being at grandpa and grandma's and if you're only 2, you don't quite get the impact.

I recall talking talking, it's exciting look at the moon in the sky, look, a man's going to walk there, would you like to go to the moon, that's the moon - and the only reaction was bobbing, dozing heads.  It seemed like hours from the time the door of the lunar module opened until the step was actually made, but I was committed to keeping those two girls awake, and I did.  One on each knee, bumping, shaking gently, talking, talking.

I confirm they indeed saw it.  But they don't remember a dang thing.

Still, Armstrong was a heroic individual.  Stoic, gallant, blessed.  Without astronauts we don't have many heroes like that anymore.

Here Are Some Words . . .

Today's paper featured a story about Chris Kluwe, the punter for the Minnesota Vikings, who is now blogging for the paper.  Kluwe is a real piece of work.  He's already well-known for his Tweets (Chris Warcraft on Twitter), for being a video game afficionado, serving as bass guitarist for his band Tripping Icarus, and now this blog, which you can read here in full...

Call it "fair play" that we give some time to the Viking side of the river and their two fans after posting the story about Jim Reid's visit to Lambeau, that paean to the Green Bay Packers.  (By the way, has anyone ever visited the Vikings Hall of Fame???  Oh, yeah, they don't have one.)

Anyway, the first paragraph in his first post is - How exactly are you supposed to start out a brand new blog/journal/random-blathering piece? It’s always vexed me. Should I just dive right in? “Hi, I’m Chris Kluwe, the punter for the Vikings. HERE ARE SOME WORDS, READ THEM.”


Personally, I can relate to that, and so can many of you who have posted or attempted to post on this blog, I am sure.  Kluwe will blunder forward, and if you've read anything about him you know what he posts will be entertaining, thoughtful, satirical, and insightful.  We should all do the same.

The door is open - come on in and drop some words.  And if I put some up, please read them!  Even if they are random-blathering.

Another 50-Year Milepost

Wow.  Class of '62.  Target. Wal-Mart.  The Beatles.  You're in good company.

They were yet to hit the Sullivan Show but 1962 was the year the band was formed, changed drummers (to Ringo), and made their first recording at Abby Road.  The story was reported this morning via USA Today, the most widely distributed US Newspaper, and for the full account you can click here.

Ironically, of the talking heads on the set of today's Morning Joe (MSNBC) only one of them had seen the boys on Sullivan.  That youthful crowd missed out on all the good stuff, only to take advantage of the road we paved for them.  Or something like that.  If there is an iconic band, this has to be it.

Here's a one paragraph report from USA Today:  On June 4, (1962), they signed a contract with Parlophone, a subsidiary of EMI. And on June 6, they entered Abbey Road Studios with producer George Martin for the first time, recording demos of cover tune Besame Mucho and Lennon-McCartney compositions Love Me Do,P.S. I Love You and Ask Me Why. Martin, mildly impressed, lectured the band about its lousy equipment, then asked whether they had any complaints.

Harrison quipped, "I don't like your tie."


I discovered who the mopheads were in another Vic's Pizza moment in the fall of '63.  Like everyone else, I found their music was catchy, but didn't realize all those songs that I heard and liked were coming from the same group, and didn't know who they were until I heard one of their songs being played on the jukebox at Vic's.  That particular jukebox showed the album cover of the song being played - and that's when I discovered these fellows needing haircuts were the ones making that music.

By the next spring I was working Sunday afternoons at Kropman's neighborhood grocery store on East 9th Street in Mason City, and the owner's 12-year-old daughter and her friends were all agog over who was the cutest, Paul or John.  I thought they were nuts.  Well, they were 12, so what should I expect.

How about you?  When did you first "connect" with the Beatles?

1962 Band Festival

The thought was to put together a slideshow of all our locals who were there that day in June for the Music Man Band Festival, commemorating that event.  George Von Wald assembling his band, for example.  Then the slideshow/story would be posted exactly 50 years to the date of the parade, historically and accurately marking the most significant Band Festival ever. But the only relevant photos to be found were celebratory, of actors like Robert Preston, Shirley Jones (she was nothing but beautiful), Ron Howard, or Buddy Hackett.  Nothing from the Class of '62.

Without all those local photos, the slideshow idea went away, and knowing the exact date for purposes of historical commemoration became a non-factor.

The NKHS queen candidate is also unknown but perhaps you can email or add a comment so as to amend that loss, because this writer obviously doesn't know.  Outside of how gorgeous Shirley Jones was, the basic personal band festival memory became that of wearing a pair of white Bermudas that day.  Whatever it takes.

If you dig around the internet long enough you will find much has been written and many photos posted, but little will satisfy the original goal for this post, all those "hometown" photos apparently being buried in treasure chests belonging to members of the Class of '62.  One article found online comprehensively reports, with photos, the transition from stage to film, Meredith Willson's hometown connections, all those actors, and other not-so-well-known facts like the $100,000 Warner Brothers gave to the city to offset some of their costs associated with the event.  Read that article here . . .

Outside of "76 Trombones" a popular song was "Ya Got Trouble" and this YouTube footage from the movie will hereby take the place of the slideshow that was a good idea without enough photos behind it to make it work.  Still it's all a good memory.

Musica!

Once again Stan Arendts has come up with a dandy, a video of the Ventures playing their signature hit, "Walk, Don't Run" in 1998.  The guy who was a 17-year-old drummer the first time they played it has come back as a walk-on, and now a brigadier general.  Stan correctly points out the big smile on his face.

And then, last night we attended a fundraiser at the Mabel Tainter Theater in Menomonie, WI, a 122-year-old tribute to the only daughter of a lumber baron, since refurbished as a beautiful theater used frequently.  The key???  entertainment was a cabaret show by a woman named Colleen Ray, who is a renowned, local entertainer.  She made the memories come back when she introduced a song popularized by the Sons of the Pioneers, whose lead singer was one Roy Rogers.

Here they are in a movie recording.  I visited with Colleen briefly after the performance and told her I loved her version, and the only thing missing was six cowboys crooning behind her.  Enjoy.

Watch Mr Wizard

He's the guy who did the Saturday morning science show with a young neighbor kid.  Don Herbert, a graduate of UW-LaCrosse and a Minnesota native, made his mark doing weird things to prove his scientific points.  He's kind of like our own Glenn Rezabek.  Here's his story from the Museum of Broadcast Communications:

Watch Mr. Wizard, one of commercial television's early educational efforts was highly successful in making science exciting and understandable for children. Presenting scientific laboratory demonstrations and information in an interesting, uncomplicated and entertaining format, this long running series was a prime example of the Chicago School of Television and of quality education in a visual format. Created and hosted by Don Herbert, the show's low key approach, casual ad lib style and resourceful often magic-like demonstrations led to rapid success and brought Herbert instant recognition and critical acclaim as an innovative educational broadcaster and as a teacher of science.  You can read the rest of their report by clicking this link...  

I have this vision of Billy Roberts watching him so he could learn how to blow things up.  Kidding . . .

And here's a sample from YouTube.

For all you fisher people out there, Herbert's hometown, Waconia, was the site of the Governor's fishing opener last weekend on Lake Waconia.  It was an unusually beautiful, sunny day (for the opener), but apparently the fish got a bad case of lockjaw, and Governor Dayton scored zero walleyes, one sunny.  But he admits to being no more than a novice at best.  Waconia is just west of the Cities on Highway 5.

Target and Wal-Mart, 1962

It's not just NKHS 62 celebrating 50 years this month.  In May of '62, unbeknownst to all or most of us, Target opened their first store in Roseville, Minnesota, a northern suburb of St Paul, and Wal-Mart opened its first store two months later in Rogers, Arkansas.  Little did we know . . .

To read the full story and get the history of the store you probably call Tar-Zhay, click this link.

When you leave the Target store and drive to the Senior Center, you may need some help in making the right turn.  Look for these signs.

Willie Nelson - with the Beach Boys?

The remaining Beach Boys, the founders, actually, have launched another tour this summer, a reunion tour, I guess, and were featured on CBS Sunday Morning.  A YouTube search to find a sample tune uncovered this great irony, especially after the post about Willie Nelson last week.

He may have some of the same bad habits as some of the Beach Boys had in their lives, and a different format for his music, but music is music, bottom line.  Still, an interesting juxtaposition.

CBS Sunday morning headlines them as "Catching Another Wave" which I'm sure they will do.  The audience in the clips played this morning?  They are us.  Here is the full CBS Report . . .

The Beach Boys On Tour - 2012

Willie Nelson - 1965

I had to look hard to recognize the face, but it's there...   the voice, on the other hand, is almost instantly recognizable.  The Class of '65 might have seen this live at the Grand Ole Opry.

Furnish Me Vintage

Mad Men inspires the throwback or retro look, to the degree that there's even a furniture store in St Petersburg, FL, that showcases nothing but that retro look.

You can click on the photo here for a larger view, and if you're really interested in checking out what they offer, go to their website, by clicking here.  They advertise, of course, on Mad Men.

There may be other furniture stores in the country that offer these furnishings, and you may have one in your hometown, wherever that may be.  If not, you will recall your youth by browsing their offerings.  In the most recent episode, Pete Campbell and his wife hosted a dinner party during which Pete was bragging about their neat new stereo,  one very similar to the Vintage RCA Victor VHT33W in the bottom row of the above photo.

Unfortunately, it has been sold and is no longer available.  But they do have more.

The Letter Jacket Saga

The Anchor continues to post news from 50, 75, and 100 years ago, and though this blog is just now coming up on two years of existence, going back to view the posts from the early months continues to be a source of entertainment.  You can easily do so by clicking on the date links in the Blog Archives at right, then scanning the titles of each post to find stories of interest.

Or just wait until the feeling hits the Blogmaster and it will be done for you.  Today's topic is the Classic NKHS Letter Jacket that is no longer made available apparently because it's not fashionable.  Or saleable.

Earning the jacket was the topic of a post in August 2010.  "Earned" means blood, sweat, and tears on the athletic field, AND an encounter with Coach Mounts.  Read that story here . . .


As the story progressed, we discovered Richard Holstad was dying to get a replacement letter jacket, his having been lost or destroyed somewhere along the line.

Through the efforts of several people and the good folks at Decker's in Mason City, he was finally rewarded.

The story of the process is detailed here and you can read more...


After Richard was rewarded with his second letter jacket he sent along photos to show just how happy he was, and we posted an article with those photos just about a year ago.  The letter jacket story has thus dragged on for close to two years, but it was, after all, the best piece of clothing worn 50 years ago.

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.

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.

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?)

Blog Search Box

On the right side of this page, just above the listing of all pages and contributors to the blog, there is a Search Box, powered by Google.  If you need to find anything that might be listed in this blog, like the name of a classmate, enter the name in the box and click "Search."  You'll be amazed how quickly you'll get a listing of every posting that's been made about that classmate.

Google "Card Catalog" to find Several For Sale!

Suppose, for example, you wanted to read postings where Buddy Holly's name was mentioned.  You will find in about 2.3 seconds that he has been discussed in six different postings.

Remember when you had to pull out those wooden draws in the library card catalog system powered by the Dewey Decimal System?  And it took more time than you had available in study hall if you were doing some serious study?  Raise your hand if you love technology.

Musician, Jeweler, Businessman, Promoter

The newspaper clipping on the left was marked as being published in 1955, celebrating the clock that was built by L T Dillon, he of the 1936 Band Concert.  Notice the archway on the left  indicating the entrance to the old Northwood Bank Building, and Mack Drug was somewhere in this vicinity.

Richard Holstad has pointed out that the clock was moved to the south side of the street where it still stands today, photo below.

Bonnie Mack Wopperer ('60) gave a great more detail about Dillon, his relationship with the Macks, and his work in the drug and jewelry store as well as his musicianship:

L.T. Dillon was a very special, influential man in his day, and his contributions to that community are almost countless. I can still see/hear him walking from the fron of the store to the back while whistling some John Phillips Sousa  song and almost marching to the beat. He loved his music. I'd go so far as to say it was the love of his life! L.T. also owned the watch/clock repair shop in the back of the drug store and employed a watch smith (isn't that what they called people experienced in clock repair?), named Bob Helgeland. Bob was a kindly man, forever a bachelor; spoke somewhat broken English and lived with and cared for his elderly, ailing mother until she passed, I think in '58 or '59. He may have been German as well. 

L.T. was the licensed pharmacist under whom my father was able to work as a druggist & dispense medications. I'm not sure how that worked............maybe LT instructed my father and my father was eventually certified or something, but he never did go to school to obtain a pharmaceutical degree. Back in those days, it was legal to do that; it certainly would not be today! Think I also told you that LT instructed me on the flute (it was actually HIS flute; on loan to me until I bought my own). I outgrew any desire to play that instrument, much to the disappointment of both L.T. and my father. I didn't want to play in the band, so I stuck with piano and organ (electric and pipe) exclusively. L.T's. flute was returned and there was never a need for me to purchase one.

Regarding L.T. Dillon's background and musical instruction.........I'm afraid I don't know anything OR I have forgotten it, if I ever did. But now that you mention it, I seem to recall someone (maybe my dad) saying that L.T. was self taught. One may be blessed with the gift to play a musical instrument or sing a song "by ear" but L.T. could read music and that doesn't just happen naturally...........but it wouldn't surprise me if he taught himself.

I'm not surprised that the Northwood School Band, under his direction, won the competition. He was a perfectionist...........a driven man........very goal oriented. He wanted the best for his students and his energy was contagious......I think they tuned in to it, if you will.

Bonnie lists herself as a "Soda Jerk" in the family store on this photo, held in the collection of Richard Holstad, who asked her to sign and date it for posterity when she confirmed that it was she behind the counter.  Click on the photo for a larger image.

Straying from the story of L T Dillon, the days of the soda fountain may be well gone, along with the fabulous syrup that Bonnie mentions. Seems there were several in town including Mack's, Connor Drug, Veenkers perhaps, and Young's Paramount Cafe. Must have been a substantial need for all things sweet!

The Gildner-Johnson Red Light Mystery - Solved

The NKHS Blog team put its crack researchers to work to uncover the real mystery behind the Gilder-Johnson Red Light.  The primary issue is whether the light in truth existed or was just another case of hometown lore?  And if it did exist, where was it located?

Richard Holstad and Bonnie Mack stayed awake nights trying to track down/recall the truth, and at last the full story is available.

The subject came up on the blog site months ago regarding the red light mounted somewhere on the corner of the Gildner-Johnson clothing store in downtown Northwood.  The light was allegedly controlled by the telephone operators whose offices were half a block south on the same side of the street.

Notice the wood pole in the bottom right of the photo below carrying an array of phone lines which undoubtedly emanated from the nearby telephone office and spread out around Northwood up and down the alley ways.

The story goes that if a Northwood resident called the phone operator with a trouble call, Mel Horgan, or the officer on night-duty would see the light and promptly check with the telephone office to see where and what the trouble was.  At the telephone office, there were live operators in charge of the switchboard 24 hours a day.  (The phone system back then is a whole n’other wonderful story of its own.) 

It goes without saying that this was the time period before 2-way car radios or cell phones. It is pretty sure that we had a fire siren that would wake the whole town if the emergency was that great.  In today’s jargon the light can be thought of as a very efficient, totally silent, very high-speed, communication interface link between every telephone in Northwood and the Police / Emergency Department.

Some Northwood trivia fans claimed “no knowledge” of the light. They contend that it is difficult to believe that Northwood was ever that unsophisticated.  But the “simplicity” of it all seems to resonate …. simply sophisticated. No moving parts.  Of course during the daylight hours the system wasn’t very effective.

But Larry Patterson’s Christmas Eve story about spinning doughnuts, in his car, in the fresh snow, on main street proved how effective the system worked at night.  Mel nabbed him, he went home, and Mayberry never knew the difference ….. except the operator’s switch board lit up like a Christmas tree for a short time.  

Comments on the subject ranged from, “Yah that’s a likely story”, to “We lived on the farm so we’d never see it”, to “There definitely was a light but it’s function was not generally public knowledge”.

It was a fun subject for awhile on the blog site, however, it was never really proven or disproven.  The matter was dropped and essentially nothing more was heard about it for many months …… until now.

On Dec 23rd Bonnie sent a frustrated message stating that the red light subject was taking far more of her attention than she could afford to spend.  She needed to get packed to leave for the Christmas Holidays with her family ….. but the red light subject kept surfacing, even in her subconscious.

She thought she could see something “curious” in the photo ….. if the photo were just “a little more clear.”  I was chuckling to myself because I have been hooked the same way when in pursuit of some detail like this.  But I had no idea that she was working on this riddle the whole time since it was first brought up to her.

I figured that this woman needs some satisfaction or it was going to make her crazier than she already is.  So I recommended she get herself packed and ready to leave …. In the meantime, I volunteered to enlarge the part of the photo that she was interested in .….  Then I would send the close-up to her.

It seemed to me that Bonnie needed to “let go” of this pursuit for a few days …. at least she shouldn’t lose any more rest over it.  Many people had already looked for the light and not found it …. I would humor her. Maybe she would have taken off by the time I returned the photo for her.

It wasn’t necessary to “zoom in” very much (see the photo below) and THERE IT IS!  Right along the roof line in the top left corner of the photo.

Click Photo for a Larger View

It is amazing how in the world the rest of us have not seen this before.  Looking at the photo now IT IS OBVIOUS.

The mystery is solved!

-- Richard Holstad, assisted by Bonnie Mack

To Be Happy

Posted on a chalkboard by the coffee pots at the old J. D. One-Stop in Northwood:

When I was five years old, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down "happy."  They said I didn't understand the assignment.  I told them they didn't understand life.

-- John Lennon       

It's not particularly deep philosophy but it does address a truth.  I mentioned in another posting that I don't know for sure which teacher, if any, ever motivated me to read books, or enjoy the ever-so articulate writers and orators.  Helen Thies certainly loved her symbolism, as someone pointed out, and for the love of me I wasn't  very good at finding the many interpretations that she uncovered, and this Lennon quote is pretty straight-forward if philosophical. 

One of the fellows I worked for in the 80's got all fired up about the symbolism in "Fatal Attraction," that spooky movie starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close.  He expounded with enthusiasm on the water that showed up at appropriate moments, as it did when Glenn's character boiled the family pet rabbit.  A previous posting about Marilyn Monroe and her movie "Niagara" followed the same women/water symbolism, as I discovered when researching the movie a little bit.  Makes sense.  What more powerful water than Niagara?  More powerful woman than Monroe?  I don't think you even have to use your imagination . . .

The great writer and thinker Christopher Hitchens died recently.  He wasn't necessarily a symbolism guy, but he was a powerfully logical writer, and was cited by Ross Douthat, a conservative writer for the New York Times for his anguish over the existence of God, and his singular ability to debate an issue by citing circumstances and realities that few others may have considered.  It was as if Hitchens had a computer-like mind that enabled a constant "search" of "all things relevant to this topic" and then parsed the story to reflect it.

George Will is another author whose articulation is just fun to listen to, whether you agree with him or not.  Bill Buckley was awesome.  Lincoln was THE MAN of few more eloquent words.  Roosevelt.  Kennedy.  I wish I had paid more attention during English class and perhaps I would have loved them even more, symbolism or not, and somewhere along the way learned to be a better wordsmith.

Lennon, he of Beatlemania, may have just cut to the chase with the above quote, and I would confess to being one of those who would have thought he had not understood the assignment, being committed instead to the stated goal the student should achieve.  In 1963 Beatle music was becoming so popular, and though I had heard and loved the music they were playing, I had no clue who they were until I happened to be standing in Vic's Pizza in Mason City one night, waiting for a table or a person, I don't know which, glanced down at the jukebox near the front door that was playing one of their songs so I could find out exactly who was making that music, and realized that those four mop-headed characters were the source of the harmony that I, like everyone else, was becoming attached to.  

Continuing in my cultural heritage, narrow-mindedness, and inability to change with the world, I lacked the appreciation of the gradual transition of the Beatles to their adventures of living, the White Album, Paul's shoe-less walk across Abbey Road (symbolic or not), the hair that got longer and longer.  Some English teachers got with the program and used "Eleanor Rigby", "Yesterday", and various other Beatle titles as a teaching tool, and at least one basketball coach that I know would use their music to prime himself on game day, turning up the volume to a high level, then listening in a room by himself before his team took the court that night.

All while quietly, secretively attempting "to be happy."  And here's where we are today, in a state of retirement, reflecting on the past.

The path through this posting may not have been linear, but no matter - this ain't the New York Times.  But it is worthy to end where we started, with a quote from Lennon:  Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.  And we'll leave it up to you to figure out the meaning and symbolism behind the whole posting.  Then send your thoughts to nkhs62@gmail.com.  My brain is near empty.

Christmas Old and New

A weekend enjoying Christmas at Luther leads to a posting of the "old" with the "new."  The "new" comes from Janis Hendrickson, and features the "card section" of the Hallelujah Chorus, which was not performed at Luther last weekend, but in a prior posting was described as one of the traditional Lowell Gangsted tunes performed at the NKHS Christmas Concert.  This YouTube presentation comes all the way from Quinhagak, AK, if you know where that is. Don't worry about the dark screen - the music and video will come.  (If you get this posting by email you need to click the link to go to the NKHS 62 website to view it.  Thanks to Janis for sharing.)

The "old" is a familiar face and voice for those growing up in the 50s.  Tennessee Ernie Ford was a favorite with songs like "Sixteen Tons" and this YouTube comes from his TV show.  If you like kids, you'll love this one. It was forwarded by an old friend who has no kids but has memories of Ernie...  And you'll recall the simplicity of all those Christmas programs by Ernie, Andy Williams, Lawrence Welk, ad infinitum.

Christmas Music in the Air

We are preparing for our first ever trip to Decorah for the annual "Christmas at Luther".  Click that link to find out more about the history of this event, now in its 30th year.  Like I say, it's our "first ever" time to attend, driven by our grandson Bryan's membership in at least one of the performing choirs.  For the past four years we drove the 40 miles to his hometown to watch him perform in a number of musical events, and we're looking forward to this "upgrade," said with no disrespect to his high school choir.

Bryan's paternal grandfather was a Lutheran minister and a gifted singer in his own right.  At Reverend Waznik's funeral a dozen years ago, I was awestruck by the sound of 40 attending Lutheran ministers, primarily, I suspect, from small congregations in Western Wisconsin, as they sang along with the congregation on a number of hymns, reminding me of the Norwegian Lutheran heritage of rural northern Iowa.

Lowell Gangsted, a Luther alum, carried much of the Luther music with him, and our choirs sang a number of religious Christmas songs annually, including several from Handel's Messiah, though the programs distributed to the audience never included the important disclosure that was always posted in the programs at Bryan's high school: "We believe in the importance of a variety of musical exposure, which may/will include songs generally felt to be religious in nature."  Whether you regard that disclosure as important or not, times have changed and we change with them.  Or prior to them, perhaps.

I always appreciated Gangsted's commitment to the Messiah.  He had a goal to add a new song from that collection every year until the entire collection would be included in a program.  I don't recall how far we made it on that commitment during our time, but since we sang those songs every year, I can tell you that I still know the words and music for many of them, and probably could sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" in harmony without referencing the sheet music.  You may be able to do the same thing, although we would all need to admit that the job is made easier by virtue of the word "Hallelujah" being sung repeatedly.  Still, the Christmas music of our youth rings a memory bell as loudly as the music of Elvis Presley and others.  All a part of the heritage.

If you're in Decorah this weekend, we may see you there!  And be sure to say, "Hei hvordan har du?"