The blog has been updated to show all the YouTubes presented at the Saturday evening banquet. They're on the About the Class of 62 page, and you can view it by clicking here . . .
With politics now in full bloom I looked back and found a post from two years ago regarding the politics of our time, when we didn't know there was such a thing as a swing state, and living in a location where the chosen TV stations don't cover your area is a blessing. You can read the post here . . .
In my conversations with Butch Pederson (LMHS '62) last week we also discussed the football season that I discovered had been a downer for both teams/schools. By the time we played against each other in the last game I am sure he was looking more favorably at the upcoming basketball season than our last football game. Both teams limped to the finish line, NKHS because of the loss of key players and in his opinion their misfortune came from people playing in the wrong position. He's right - he probably should have been their running back.
Strangely enough, I didn't know or had forgotten that he was playing across the line from me, although we were not head-up. Regarding the incorrect score posted in their annual he laughed and said, "Yeah, we saw it and knew it was wrong. But I figured what the heck, it meant another win for us!" Ha Ha, I said.
It was about this time of the summer in 1961 when we were beginning to fantasize about a great senior football season, so we determined some illegal summertime practice would be a good thing. It lasted one night, and you can find out why by reading this post . . .
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, July 23, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Another Letter to the Editor
I was pleased to see the photos from the parade in the Anchor last week, especially the entries for the NKHS Class of '62 including the '62 Anniversary Gold Impala holding the four NKHS Homecoming Queens, '58 to '61. Unbeknownst to your staff, the caption missed a great story since it did not identify the queens who were, in the front seat, Gwen Hillman Hanson, '62, and in the back seat Julie Nelson, '62, Serena Shields Holstad, '62, and Betty Ryan Mathews, '62. Not only was our basketball team undefeated, our queens were, too. One of the starters on that basketball team, Larry Holstad, was driving the car. The attached photo taken Thursday evening features the four remaining starters from the 61-62 team reading newspaper clippings about their season. Seated left to right they are Holstad, Chuck Hendrickson, Phil Johnson, and Gerry Pike.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Coach LaVerne Rohlfsen 1928 - 2002
Coach Rohlfsen was our introduction to high school athletics. He was a tough-nosed guy reflecting his Marine training, was proud of his players, and was sensitive to community needs. The true Marine didn't like long hair, and he once backed me up against the brick wall behind the band room after football practice with that steely stare and allowed as how I should get a shorter haircut - like his. I would've had to turn half-bald, of course, but that was another story.
His offense of choice was the Single Wing, a formation long since out of style, though in the late 60s a fellow named John Aldrich used it at the Malcolm Price Lab School, also known as SCI High, and was very successful with it because competing teams never played against any other team that used the offense. It was an offense built on "trickeration" with multiple hand-offs or fakes in the backfield so a defense often had no clue where the ball was going. If you've never seen that before it's confusing.
When Rohlfsen moved on Buddy Mounts brought in his own concepts based on the T formation and the single wing was gone. But it was fun to find and read about the Single Wing at a website called Football Babble. You probably need to be an athletic director at an NCAA Division II college - like Larry Holstad - to have any familiarity with it otherwise. Anyway, here's the obituary on Rohlfsen.
Laverne Orville Rohlfsen, 74, Grafton, died Friday, Dec. 13, 2002 at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City.
Laverne was born on Oct. 25, 1928, to Orville and Clara (Beermann) Rohlfsen in Cherokee, IA. He attended country school for his first three years of schooling, then Lutheran Parochial School, Germantown, IA through the eighth grade. He attended high school in Paulina, graduating in 1947. He enrolled in Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, in 1947. He was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951, and played football at Camp Pendleton, CA, making the base team. He was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1953. Laverne returned to college, at what is now the University of Northern Iowa, and graduated in 1954. While there he received three football letters.
His first teaching job was in Rockwell City, where he coached and taught from 1954 - 1956.
He married Mary E. Purdie on May 29, 1955, in Rockwell City. They moved to Northwood where he was a teacher and coach from 1956 to 1960. He sold insurance for two years. They moved to Grafton in 1962 where he was a junior high school teacher and coach from 1962 to 1989. He retired in 1989. Laverne sold multi-peril crop insurance for 20 years.
His offense of choice was the Single Wing, a formation long since out of style, though in the late 60s a fellow named John Aldrich used it at the Malcolm Price Lab School, also known as SCI High, and was very successful with it because competing teams never played against any other team that used the offense. It was an offense built on "trickeration" with multiple hand-offs or fakes in the backfield so a defense often had no clue where the ball was going. If you've never seen that before it's confusing.
When Rohlfsen moved on Buddy Mounts brought in his own concepts based on the T formation and the single wing was gone. But it was fun to find and read about the Single Wing at a website called Football Babble. You probably need to be an athletic director at an NCAA Division II college - like Larry Holstad - to have any familiarity with it otherwise. Anyway, here's the obituary on Rohlfsen.
Laverne Orville Rohlfsen, 74, Grafton, died Friday, Dec. 13, 2002 at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City.
Laverne was born on Oct. 25, 1928, to Orville and Clara (Beermann) Rohlfsen in Cherokee, IA. He attended country school for his first three years of schooling, then Lutheran Parochial School, Germantown, IA through the eighth grade. He attended high school in Paulina, graduating in 1947. He enrolled in Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, in 1947. He was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951, and played football at Camp Pendleton, CA, making the base team. He was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1953. Laverne returned to college, at what is now the University of Northern Iowa, and graduated in 1954. While there he received three football letters.
His first teaching job was in Rockwell City, where he coached and taught from 1954 - 1956.
He married Mary E. Purdie on May 29, 1955, in Rockwell City. They moved to Northwood where he was a teacher and coach from 1956 to 1960. He sold insurance for two years. They moved to Grafton in 1962 where he was a junior high school teacher and coach from 1962 to 1989. He retired in 1989. Laverne sold multi-peril crop insurance for 20 years.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
The Other Guys - LMHS
During the course of researching one of our stories mention was made about the LMHS yearbooks, and since I married a Bulldog and her '62 Yearbook is shelved in the basement next to the Viking '62 Yearbook, I took a chance it might provide the information I was looking for. It did not, but I did find a horrible historical inaccuracy. According to their yearbook, copy inserted here, the Bulldogs beat us 7-6 in the final game of the 1961 football season.
Obviously I was horribly offended by this inaccuracy, but Lonna didn't think it was much of a big whoop and asked me who I was going to report it to. But here it is, check it out for yourself, and then compare it to the proper records of our own Yearbook:
She may not have thought it important today but look at her cheerleading face in this photo, full of excitement and smiles, in a game against NKHS. It has to be the game played at LMHS since it's on the stage, and if you look carefully (click the photo for a larger view) you will see David Skellenger on the far left end of the bench, what may be the crewcut of Maynard Midtgaard, and Gwen Hillman poised to cheer in response.
Obviously I was horribly offended by this inaccuracy, but Lonna didn't think it was much of a big whoop and asked me who I was going to report it to. But here it is, check it out for yourself, and then compare it to the proper records of our own Yearbook:
She may not have thought it important today but look at her cheerleading face in this photo, full of excitement and smiles, in a game against NKHS. It has to be the game played at LMHS since it's on the stage, and if you look carefully (click the photo for a larger view) you will see David Skellenger on the far left end of the bench, what may be the crewcut of Maynard Midtgaard, and Gwen Hillman poised to cheer in response.
You may recall I once reported that she usually didn't know what was going on in a game, has little memory of the games, and so on, but she did seem to be pretty excited at what was happening at this moment. And on the next page of their yearbook is this quality photo, full page, taken by a fellow named Bill Bakken.
This appears to be a shot taken at the Sectional game in St Ansgar, won by the Bulldogs 72-66. Unfortunately, this time they did get the score correct, but some things you can't change. The scoreboard, barely visible at left, shows the Visitor has 48 points at the time of this tip. And notice that once again the crowd is standing room only.
Click the photo for a larger view, but if you can't read the caption it says: OUR MIGHTY FIVE!!! Arlen (Stensrud) takes the tip from Phil!! The Bulldogs topped Northwood in sectional play 72-66 after being beaten by the Vikings twice in the conference contests. A sad side note - Arlen and Allen Holstad (far left) are no longer with us.
You gotta admit - the rivalry with the Bulldogs was one-of-a-kind.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Old and Sad News - Around the Nation
March 1, 1962 -
The NIC champion NK Vikings were defeated in the first game of the sectional tournaments by the Lake Mills Bulldogs 72-66 Wednesday night to end a 16-game winning streak. The Vikings had defeated the Bulldogs twice in the regular season and will still go down in history as one of the greatest teams in the history of the school.
Not until 2006-07 when the Vikings won a state championship was this level of performance achieved again. The next day at school was sad, but there was a sense of relief that it was over. The follow-up 50 years later appeared in a posting just last month. Read more here . . .
Mrs. Dean Morris and her daughter Barbara of rural Northwood were injured in a train-car crash Monday night at the rail crossing over Highway 105 two miles west of Carpenter. Both were taken to Mercy Hospital in Mason City by ambulance where their condition is rated as fair at the present time.
We all know what happened here, the death from an apparent blood clot that moved in a broken leg. It was a sad moment for the school, and we all looked at what life is about at this funeral. Read the previous blog article from a year ago. . . Apparently the accident occurred on Monday the 26th, and the game on Wednesday the 28th, but if you have better information, let us know. One loss was painful, the other devastating.
Bringing home top honors from the district declam contest held Saturday in Mason City were Donna Davenport, Robert Hickman, Gerald Sawin, Ardis Holstad, Phyllis Mueller, Carol Boutelle, Sue Bergan and Sue Drury. These winners will participate in the state speech contest in Cedar Rapids March 30 and 31.
"Mad Men" returns on March 25 with more references to the history and culture of our era, including a mention of two simultaneously-occurring events in New York City: March 1, 1962 was a day of intense horror and immense celebration for New York City. On that momentous Thursday morning, an American Airlines flight crashed on takeoff from Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport), killing all 95 passengers and crew aboard. At the same moment, a roaring crowd of four million people waited enthusiastically along Broadway to honor astronaut John Glenn with a ticker-tape parade for becoming the first American to orbit the Earth.
March 1, 1962 is the date that K-Mart opened, and the US and Britain conducted joint nuclear tests in Nevada. Each lives in a different kind of infamy.
The NIC champion NK Vikings were defeated in the first game of the sectional tournaments by the Lake Mills Bulldogs 72-66 Wednesday night to end a 16-game winning streak. The Vikings had defeated the Bulldogs twice in the regular season and will still go down in history as one of the greatest teams in the history of the school.
Not until 2006-07 when the Vikings won a state championship was this level of performance achieved again. The next day at school was sad, but there was a sense of relief that it was over. The follow-up 50 years later appeared in a posting just last month. Read more here . . .
Mrs. Dean Morris and her daughter Barbara of rural Northwood were injured in a train-car crash Monday night at the rail crossing over Highway 105 two miles west of Carpenter. Both were taken to Mercy Hospital in Mason City by ambulance where their condition is rated as fair at the present time.
We all know what happened here, the death from an apparent blood clot that moved in a broken leg. It was a sad moment for the school, and we all looked at what life is about at this funeral. Read the previous blog article from a year ago. . . Apparently the accident occurred on Monday the 26th, and the game on Wednesday the 28th, but if you have better information, let us know. One loss was painful, the other devastating.
Bringing home top honors from the district declam contest held Saturday in Mason City were Donna Davenport, Robert Hickman, Gerald Sawin, Ardis Holstad, Phyllis Mueller, Carol Boutelle, Sue Bergan and Sue Drury. These winners will participate in the state speech contest in Cedar Rapids March 30 and 31.
March 1, 1962 is the date that K-Mart opened, and the US and Britain conducted joint nuclear tests in Nevada. Each lives in a different kind of infamy.
Monday, February 27, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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
-- Chuck Hendrickson
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
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.
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
Friday, February 3, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
An Ode to Parents
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| 1935 Northwood High School Football Team |
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| Arleigh Holstad - 1935 |
His official game photo is on the left, and Richard speaks with pride of Arleigh's athletic experience. He even has Arleigh's old practice jersey, "tattered, faded and worn as it is." Perhaps we all have memories of valuable lessons learned, like those Arleigh passed along: Every game is a lesson in life, and when the buzzer goes off, the game is over, with no chance for a replay, or second or third chance. It's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game. It's a team sport, and though you may let your team down, or your team may let you down on occasion, there's no feeling to compare when the team comes through all at the same time, as a team.
Richard says he learned how to lose before learning how to win, and it's much more fun to talk about the wins... As we all would agree. Perhaps being a part of that 61-62 basketball team may have been extraordinarily rewarding, but for some of us with limited skill set such that the ball has a tendency to "clank" off the backboard as it would if a brick were thrown up, could only participate vicariously - from the bleachers.
In any event, how much guidance did we actually receive from parents? And how much was ignored? Richard has clearly taken Arleigh's advice to heart. If you have thoughts on the life experiences gained from your parents, mom or dad, pass them along. This could be a whole new avenue to stroll.
Few of our era are likely to say there was never any advice or suggest there was no direct supervision. More likely we may hear:
- They always knew what I was doing.
- They really kept me on a tight leash. (And you deserved it?)
- They didn't say so, but I could tell they were proud.
- Rarely did they come to my defense in a dispute with a teacher; if they did, they may well have been incorrect in their decision. But I wouldn't object, of course.
- Right or wrong, they didn't want me to be like so-and-so.
- They didn't tell me what to do in life - they thought I should figure it out myself.
Share your thoughts. This could be fun.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Old News Meets New
January 31, 1937 -
Enrollment at Northwood High School at the beginning of the second semester Monday reached 212 students, which equals the highest enrollment in the high school history and with over four months remaning of the year, there is little doubt but what a new record high will be established. Enrolment in the grades at this time is 258.
January 18, 1962 -
Members of the Vikings basketball team this season include Chuck Hendrickson, Larry Holstad, Phil Johnson, Mike Lien, Gerald Pike, Dave Skellenger, John Carlson, Gerald Anderson, Larry Christiansen, Wayne Groe, Morris Hanson, Keith Helgeland, Rod Lundgren, Jim Nelson, Craig Pelham and Leallyn Turvold. Maynard Midtgaard is varsity coach, assisted by Bob Wilder. The team is undefeated in nine games this season and leads the North Iowa Conference.
January 21, 1987 -
Enrollment at Northwood-Kensett schools is expected to drop another 100 students in the next four years, according to Superintendent Perry Uhl.
January 20, 2012 -
Lake Minnetonka, MN - Pond Hockey Underway!
You've heard before about the undefeated '61-62 basketball season, prominently occurring 25 years after unusual enrollment growth in the local schools, and 25 years BEFORE a substantial decline in enrollment. And today, the featured event in Minnesota is "pond hockey," hockey in its purest form, played outdoors, using snow blower technology for its preparation. 50 years ago hockey featured players without masks - or teeth.
Just an interesting juxtaposition with the "hoopla" we recall. Sorry for that horrible pun.
Enrollment at Northwood High School at the beginning of the second semester Monday reached 212 students, which equals the highest enrollment in the high school history and with over four months remaning of the year, there is little doubt but what a new record high will be established. Enrolment in the grades at this time is 258.
January 18, 1962 -
Members of the Vikings basketball team this season include Chuck Hendrickson, Larry Holstad, Phil Johnson, Mike Lien, Gerald Pike, Dave Skellenger, John Carlson, Gerald Anderson, Larry Christiansen, Wayne Groe, Morris Hanson, Keith Helgeland, Rod Lundgren, Jim Nelson, Craig Pelham and Leallyn Turvold. Maynard Midtgaard is varsity coach, assisted by Bob Wilder. The team is undefeated in nine games this season and leads the North Iowa Conference.
January 21, 1987 -
Enrollment at Northwood-Kensett schools is expected to drop another 100 students in the next four years, according to Superintendent Perry Uhl.
January 20, 2012 -
Lake Minnetonka, MN - Pond Hockey Underway!
You've heard before about the undefeated '61-62 basketball season, prominently occurring 25 years after unusual enrollment growth in the local schools, and 25 years BEFORE a substantial decline in enrollment. And today, the featured event in Minnesota is "pond hockey," hockey in its purest form, played outdoors, using snow blower technology for its preparation. 50 years ago hockey featured players without masks - or teeth.
Just an interesting juxtaposition with the "hoopla" we recall. Sorry for that horrible pun.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Old News from the Anchor
Dave Randall, Northwood, bagged his third deer in three consecutive years with an arrow near Stimes Woods southwest of Northwood, last Saturday evening. The deer was a four-year-old doe. He is the son of Mr and Mrs Whitney Randall.
Dave was one of the upperclassmen to take Fabian, Stan Arendts, under their wing when the consolidation occurred, and if memory serves right, would have enjoyed watching this website video featuring cars and music from the era. Thanks to Stan for passing it along. It's a bit of a segue from hunting to classic cars, but hey, it's a blog and anything is possible. Click that link. Here's the cover info from the email:
Someone did an awesome job putting this together. And with sound to boot. At the very end of the video you'll hear the song "Thunder Road" sung by the star of the movie of the same name. (Having a theme song that is the movie title) is not uncommon except this is the one and only song ever recorded for publication by Robert Mitchum.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
On the Death of Joe Frazier
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| Smokin' Joe Frazier |
But first, some thoughts about some of the greats we have known in our lifetime. Boxing was, to me, a spectator sport. I couldn't see any reason to take the beating that some of them faced, like Benny "Kid" Paret, who was killed in the ring by Emile Griffith in March of 1962. The cover of Sports Illustrated the following week showed Paret being beaten to his death; in First Hour Study Hall, Maynard Midtgaard pointed at the photo and said, "These guys are the best-conditioned athletes in the world." True - but it didn't keep Paret alive.
On the other hand, boxing was a way out, of sorts, for a number of blacks dating perhaps first to Jack Johnson, who became the first African-American Heavyweight Champ in the early 1900's. Over time, more and more blacks got into the ring, although my earliest recollection was of a fellow named Bobo Olson, a white guy who was at least moderately successful. By the mid 50's Floyd Patterson took the title, leading to bouts with the Swede Ingemar Johansson, and I was hooked as a boxing fan. Old 'tunder and lightning was a one-punch marvel but if it landed, he would win. I listened to 2 or 3 of their fights over the static-filled AM radio stations, losing the call from time to time as the signal faded away.
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| Sonny Liston - "The Bear" |
Over time, Clay was castigated for his conversion to the Nation of Islam and refusal to serve when called. His decision to accept a prison sentence might have been the greatest statement of principle by anyone in our younger days, and gained fans for a lifetime. His boxing skills were unbelievable, his mouth even more unbelievable, and he led the way for foes like Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, and even Leon Spinks, a real surprise winner in 1978, and the beginning of the end of the superiority of Ali in the ring.
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| Frazier vs Ali, date unknown |
At the welterweight level we later saw Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns, Roberto Duran, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler battling each other in the 80's, and to my mind that was the beginning of the end of boxing as a sport of renown. By 1993 when Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield were fighting, the biggest event of the night was the ultralight plane that crashed into the ring. And that was the last boxing match I believe I watched on the tube.
So many of the boxers, black for sure and probably the white ones, too, came from poor backgrounds. Sonny Liston was reputedly one of 25 children fathered by one man. Frazier was one of twelve. The family background was typically that of sharecropper, and for many who indeed made it to the Bigtime and a share of boxing wealth, the stories eventually came back of the wealth being frittered away through unscrupulous handlers, fast living, or ignorance, and the boxers ignominiously becoming Vegas "greeters" to support themselves. But for many black men, there was little other choice. More on that in Part Deux.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Old News at the Anchor
This just in from the Anchor, October 26, 1961:
The N-K Vikings hung on for an 18-12 victory over the Garner Cardinals Friday night and go into the last home game against Belmond with two wins, one tie and two losses and in fourth place in the North Iowa Conference. Coach Clarence Mounts switched Doug Fallgatter from guard to fullback, Jim Nelson from fullback to quarterback and the regular backfield men Mike Lien and Leallyn Turvold moved the ball for the Vikings a total of 164 yards rushing and 20 passing.
The report makes it sound like Doug and Jim were in the new positions for the first time but since this game was 2 weeks after Homecoming where we lost Phil Johnson and Gary Hengesteg for the year, I am pretty sure it was their second time to line up as they did.
The offensive production, especially on the passing side, doesn't sound like much, and I'd be willing to bet all 20 receiving yards went to Larry Holstad since he was our primary receiving threat. But even more surprising to me was that the yardage was even reported, because I don't ever recall any emphasis placed on statistics like you read about today.
The two wins in the story above were conference wins, and this was the third and final victory of the season because we next lost 19-9 to Belmond, and tied Lake Mills in the final game 6-6. No surprise - we missed three extra points in the Garner game, the plague of the season. We obviously didn't do it very well, but kept repeating the same strategy for some reason. Mike Lien was responsible for kicking the extra points, and was probably as puzzled as the rest of us as to those misses.
In the game against Britt the previous week he was appointed co-captain and that may have given him a little more commitment than normal. We had scored a touchdown, then let Britt score to get right back into the game that they finally won. Mike had suffered a short term injury on their touchdown drive and was clearly upset that they had been allowed to score, so when he came back onto the field for their kick-off, I saw a fire in his eyes that was above and beyond what I normally saw. I was hoping he would receive the kick-off, which he did, and though he didn't score on the return, he did run it back 35 or 40 yards and looked like he wasn't going to go down.
If nothing else, our team produced a couple of good coaches. Phil Johnson was the basketball guy who took LaPorte City to the state tournament in the early 70's, and Larry Holstad did very well over a long period of time at Ventura and Forest City, today still holding down the Athletic Director position at Winona State. If we just had a chance to re-play that 1961 season with either of those guys as coach, my guess is we'd be undefeated. I can dream, can't I?
The N-K Vikings hung on for an 18-12 victory over the Garner Cardinals Friday night and go into the last home game against Belmond with two wins, one tie and two losses and in fourth place in the North Iowa Conference. Coach Clarence Mounts switched Doug Fallgatter from guard to fullback, Jim Nelson from fullback to quarterback and the regular backfield men Mike Lien and Leallyn Turvold moved the ball for the Vikings a total of 164 yards rushing and 20 passing.
The report makes it sound like Doug and Jim were in the new positions for the first time but since this game was 2 weeks after Homecoming where we lost Phil Johnson and Gary Hengesteg for the year, I am pretty sure it was their second time to line up as they did.
The offensive production, especially on the passing side, doesn't sound like much, and I'd be willing to bet all 20 receiving yards went to Larry Holstad since he was our primary receiving threat. But even more surprising to me was that the yardage was even reported, because I don't ever recall any emphasis placed on statistics like you read about today.
The two wins in the story above were conference wins, and this was the third and final victory of the season because we next lost 19-9 to Belmond, and tied Lake Mills in the final game 6-6. No surprise - we missed three extra points in the Garner game, the plague of the season. We obviously didn't do it very well, but kept repeating the same strategy for some reason. Mike Lien was responsible for kicking the extra points, and was probably as puzzled as the rest of us as to those misses.
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| Lien vs Britt |
If nothing else, our team produced a couple of good coaches. Phil Johnson was the basketball guy who took LaPorte City to the state tournament in the early 70's, and Larry Holstad did very well over a long period of time at Ventura and Forest City, today still holding down the Athletic Director position at Winona State. If we just had a chance to re-play that 1961 season with either of those guys as coach, my guess is we'd be undefeated. I can dream, can't I?
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Vikings go to Eight-Man Football
It should be no big surprise that the Northwood Anchor reports the enrollment of N-K is in a stage of decline, and the recent recommendation of the coach and AD to go to an 8-man program in 2012 reflects the problem.
Fifty years ago the graduating class was somewhere between 60 and 70 students annually, and today the entire high school will be housing 100-120 students for the foreseeable future. If you're responsible for programs, as the board and administration are, you're looking at a significant issue.
How can you provide competitive services and curriculum at those levels? Your high school staff has to be reduced at least 40% from the days of yore, and curriculum is probably provided through a sharing arrangement with other school districts, and that is not easily done for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that a top-notch math teacher can select whatever job he or she wants. And traveling from Northwood to Manly or Lake Mills for half your assignment, on a daily basis, leaves little to be desired.
The N-K school district appears to have gotten boxed in or left behind for whatever reason, as other area districts did their merging. So you're at the mercy of what's available, and in the case of the local gridiron heroes that means the JV will need to travel longer distance, possibly play both 8- and 11-man football, or even 9-man football against Minnesota schools just to have the program.
As freshmen, we had 13 players on our frosh-soph team. That meant two available subs standing on the sideline and a coach, Jon Swenson, holding his breath and hoping nobody on the field got hurt. Fortunately our team size grew as the Kensett guys came on board in the future, and the reflection here is to consider that at least for that year we faced what they face today - scarcity.
Fifty years ago the graduating class was somewhere between 60 and 70 students annually, and today the entire high school will be housing 100-120 students for the foreseeable future. If you're responsible for programs, as the board and administration are, you're looking at a significant issue.
How can you provide competitive services and curriculum at those levels? Your high school staff has to be reduced at least 40% from the days of yore, and curriculum is probably provided through a sharing arrangement with other school districts, and that is not easily done for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that a top-notch math teacher can select whatever job he or she wants. And traveling from Northwood to Manly or Lake Mills for half your assignment, on a daily basis, leaves little to be desired.
The N-K school district appears to have gotten boxed in or left behind for whatever reason, as other area districts did their merging. So you're at the mercy of what's available, and in the case of the local gridiron heroes that means the JV will need to travel longer distance, possibly play both 8- and 11-man football, or even 9-man football against Minnesota schools just to have the program.
As freshmen, we had 13 players on our frosh-soph team. That meant two available subs standing on the sideline and a coach, Jon Swenson, holding his breath and hoping nobody on the field got hurt. Fortunately our team size grew as the Kensett guys came on board in the future, and the reflection here is to consider that at least for that year we faced what they face today - scarcity.
Friday, October 14, 2011
What Cheerleaders and Jukeboxes Have in Common
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| Click for a larger view |
His engineer thinks it is a 1953 Seeburg Model C, and reports there is one for sale on the internet, professionally restored, for $6995. He also told Richard about a 1952 Seeburg Model C near Fort Collins, pictured below, and for sale at $2500. Richard is probably on his way to check that out at the same time this post is being written, since he gets into this kind of thing.
The jukebox with cheerleaders was located in the old bowling alley, in the basement of Stan's Bowling Lanes. I don't recall seeing it, having never spent much time there, even on a supervised visit with my dad like you may have enjoyed.
And the real story here is the reaction this series of emails has brought, including this email from Larry Holstad to Richard: Pretty cool stuff. You have done remarkable things with the history of NKHS. I remember the jukebox as I worked in the basement for Stan Nelson. It was a promotion from when Mike Lien and I set pins for him above Axel's. When he built the new bowling alley with automatic pin machines, he gave me a job racking up pool tables. Oh the fond memories it brings back. Also the picture of the cheerleaders. I believe I know all of them and one real well. It is nice to have the history so we never forget where we came from.Along the way the email conversation turned to cheerleaders in general. It seemed to be a nice juxtaposition, and the answer to the question: what two things are designed primarily to rev you up? You got it - a jukebox and cheerleaders!
Ladies, bring it on! We're looking for your memories because you stir us up. I'll keep asking the Bulldog cheerleader in my house, although her comments will be of a different color, so to speak.
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| Click for a larger view |
Friday, October 7, 2011
Cheerleader Stories
Richard Holstad passes along these photos and information about the Cheerleader Life. Not being a cheerleader, I'm not real good at describing the pain of the workout, the agony of defeat, the joy of victory . . . you get the idea.
Cynthia Vold (Rev C Forde) has forwarded to me a box of memorabilia from the mid-fifties. All three Vold sisters were Cheerleaders in their time. Cynthia was an enthusiastic . . . "avid" may be a better term . . . cheerleader while in HS.
They have some pretty neat stories that I am just getting Cynthia to detail. Embarrassing moments, the physical demands, the prestige of being selected, the expectations of the cheerleaders. Who knows what else will be revealed as time goes on here.
Cynthia Vold (Rev C Forde) has forwarded to me a box of memorabilia from the mid-fifties. All three Vold sisters were Cheerleaders in their time. Cynthia was an enthusiastic . . . "avid" may be a better term . . . cheerleader while in HS.
They have some pretty neat stories that I am just getting Cynthia to detail. Embarrassing moments, the physical demands, the prestige of being selected, the expectations of the cheerleaders. Who knows what else will be revealed as time goes on here.
Turns out there were several high-energy cheer leaders that Cynthia has been relating stories to me about.
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| Click the Image for a Larger View |
For instance – here is Cynthia’s team probably 1955 or 56 …. And if you have an appreciation of how high that stage is above the floor …. These gals were GOING FOR IT!
(I asked Cynthia if they didn’t really jump off the stage for this photo ….. similar to how Mike Lien launching off Dave Skellenger’s back to dunk the BB?) Cynthia assures me . . . these gals were for real jumping that high.
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| Click the Image for a Larger View |
Editor's Note: what if you somehow broke an ankle or leg? Does the cheerleading end? Do you now cheer from the stands? Like any athlete, do you now "sit"?
At another point in our communication Cynthia referenced having a cheerleader's handbook, which she has since sent me. The photo here is the cover of that book. I asked Cynthia (AKA Skipper) to be sure to autograph the book because I may be "enhancing" the cheerleader's story in greater detail. The date inside the cover of the manual here is 1954.
Our thanks to Cynthia for sending this along. National Sports Equipment doesn't show up through a Google search so presumably the company is out of business. After all, it was a long time ago . . .
Friday, September 9, 2011
Metamorphosis
Here is the 1960 Varsity Football Team.
This posting is not about football, it's about the "morphing" process we have all gone through in the past 50 years. At the time of this photo I suspect most of the subjects would not have believed they would ever weigh more than 10 or 20 pounds more than they did at that time.
Aging is surprising in many ways, isn't it?
But some things don't change: Buddy Mounts never smiled in any picture, and Lyle Bestul always had a smile on his "photo face."
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| Click Photo for Larger View |
This posting is not about football, it's about the "morphing" process we have all gone through in the past 50 years. At the time of this photo I suspect most of the subjects would not have believed they would ever weigh more than 10 or 20 pounds more than they did at that time.
Aging is surprising in many ways, isn't it?
But some things don't change: Buddy Mounts never smiled in any picture, and Lyle Bestul always had a smile on his "photo face."
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Real Men Wear Leather Helmets
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| Click the Photo for Larger Version |
Richard Holstad noticed my post the other day about the Leather Helmets we were fortunate not to wear, and I was pleasantly surprised when he emailed this program from a game Northwood played vs (you guessed it!) Lake Mills, in October, 1956.
Reading the names of the players on the roster indeed brings back memories. As freshmen we were on the '58 squad, using the phrase loosely, with seniors like Holtan, Johnson, Fistler, and Mehaffey so we had a personalized respect for them, and older players like Jay Gullickson, Vic Edwards and others can make you smile just from the memories of the names.
Jay Gullickson brings a particular memory to mind - because of the helmets. I don't know that these guys actually wore leather helmets and in fact I suspect they had those same plastic shells that we used later, but I do know, and you will recall from an earlier posting, that facemasks were not de rigeur at the time of this game in 1956.
So one Saturday morning in the fall of 1956, Jay came out to our place with his dad, Joe, sporting a beautiful shiner - a bruise about the size of an orange, planted directly around the eye. Joe smiled his slow smile and said, "He blocked a kick last night." Jay was a quarterback but I can well imagine that on defense he would fit very well as a linebacker, and when defending an extra point he would make every effort, as the tough guy that he was, to block a kick. He succeeded - and paid a price.Jon Swenson, an LMHS grad who played football at Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls (previously known as the Normal School and today the University of Northern Iowa) was a teacher/coach for us for a couple of years and knew what tough guys were about. When practicing blocking technique, he said, it was important to get your head as close to the body of the defender as you possibly could, so you could avoid having him slip off your shoulder.
That was why, he said, "in the old days" you could tell the good blockers because their cheeks were always roughed up, caused by their "good technique," and he personally bemoaned the use of facemasks. Well, Jay was a good blocker, too, of a sort, and we know what happened to him.
Personally, I'm glad we never had to wear the leather helmets. My cheeks are plenty rosy as they are, thank you.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Home Opener Tonight - vs Lake Mills
The Anchor reports the Vikings will host the Lake Mills Bulldogs tonight for the football home opener, having lost to Newman of Mason City last week.
Lake Mills was always a grudge match, it seems, and when we played them in the final game of the '61 season, we could only tie them 6 - 6, keeping our record .500 for the season at three wins, three losses, two ties. The game itself was anticlimactic, and was personally a downer when the season had started with so much hope. Apparently the record was the school's best since 1955, but nowhere near the performance of teams since then.
Just for the record, in case any of today's players may read this, we did NOT have leather helmets that could be folded and put in your pocket, and we DID have facemasks, but they were more a single bar or two made of nylon and they didn't look very cool at all. I believe facemasks first came out when we were in seventh grade and Billy Roberts was the first to be able to put one on his helmet. I don't know why he was selected but the rest of us didn't get them until 8th grade.
Our equipment was much inferior to what's available today, especially the helmet, which was a suspension style, a shell held off the head by a web of straps. They were a little better than the leather style of prior players, but not much. It hurt to "get your bell rung."
The yearbook report on the Lake Mills game says we completely dominated except for one Lake Mills touchdown drive brought about by a costly lapse in defense. My recollection is more along the line of our just not getting our act together throughout the game than seeing any domination on our part. If we dominated, why did we lose? It was a cool or cold night, combined with a so-so record, so the turnout wasn't that great either.
Afterwards we got on the bus and the season's sorrow was mixed with a relief that it was over, unfortunately. So we wish the 2011 version of the NK Vikings much better success tonight against the archenemy. And I may place a bet on it with my Bulldog wife.
Lake Mills was always a grudge match, it seems, and when we played them in the final game of the '61 season, we could only tie them 6 - 6, keeping our record .500 for the season at three wins, three losses, two ties. The game itself was anticlimactic, and was personally a downer when the season had started with so much hope. Apparently the record was the school's best since 1955, but nowhere near the performance of teams since then.
Just for the record, in case any of today's players may read this, we did NOT have leather helmets that could be folded and put in your pocket, and we DID have facemasks, but they were more a single bar or two made of nylon and they didn't look very cool at all. I believe facemasks first came out when we were in seventh grade and Billy Roberts was the first to be able to put one on his helmet. I don't know why he was selected but the rest of us didn't get them until 8th grade.
Our equipment was much inferior to what's available today, especially the helmet, which was a suspension style, a shell held off the head by a web of straps. They were a little better than the leather style of prior players, but not much. It hurt to "get your bell rung."
The yearbook report on the Lake Mills game says we completely dominated except for one Lake Mills touchdown drive brought about by a costly lapse in defense. My recollection is more along the line of our just not getting our act together throughout the game than seeing any domination on our part. If we dominated, why did we lose? It was a cool or cold night, combined with a so-so record, so the turnout wasn't that great either.
Afterwards we got on the bus and the season's sorrow was mixed with a relief that it was over, unfortunately. So we wish the 2011 version of the NK Vikings much better success tonight against the archenemy. And I may place a bet on it with my Bulldog wife.
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