McHenry High School - Spectrum Yearbook (McHenry, ND)

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UNDERGRADS

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THE YEAR 1975 Oh hum! eleven o'clock, guess I'd better check in, must be up at eight. Carol, did you see this article in the paper about a General Don Borlaug who is to head an expedition of some sort into India? Isn't he the same guy we knew back at McHenry High School in l949'? Sure, he was that boy with a crew haircut, and who wore such loud clothes --remember those green cords he used to wear? ...and those fancy sweaters! Did you say he was a general? A Briga-dier? --but I thought he was planning on the ministry or missionary work or something. I was talking to one of his classmates the other day, Melvin Midgley. Midge says that Don had some rather disappointing girl experiences shortly after he left high school--who was the Glenfield girl he was sweet on? Oh, yes, Marlys Christianson, her mother was a teacher at Glenfield. Well, anyway they had a falling out, guess she wanted to be an evangelist and Don didn't want com- petition in the family so they quarreled, and in a moment of anger he up and joined the army. I guess he is loving 'em all now and leaving them too. Say, you know Ol' Midge is doing all right by himself. He's coaching some school over near Starkweather. Small school, not to much material, but I guess he is solving it his own way. He's raising his own team--has five boys already and has begun on his girls' team--he figures he'll have his six girls in three years or so. His wife is the former Doreen Hoyt, remember, she was a pretty good athlete herself! I wonder what has happened to other members of that Class. Let's see, there was Perry Thompson, that all freckled faced kid, who was rather sticky with that Johnson girl from Glenfield. Oh no, he never married her or anyone else in fact. l don't know, but I guess he moved around quite a bit, never stays long in one place. He was always kind of handy with the cards, remember the District Tournament at New Rockford? I heard he took his mates for everything they had. You know, I stopped at a farm house the other day, and when a farmer opened the door, I though his face looked familiar, so I asked him his name, and he said 'Herbert' something or other. I can never remember his name, so I asked him if he was the guy who was going with a Gladys Grafsgaard back at McHenry High. He said, 'Go with her sir, I married heri' fl don't quite know if he mumbled something under his breath or not.l So I asked about Gladys. I guess she has been teaching in that same home school of hers ever since she left high school. Herbert, I understand keeps house for them, and takes care of the children. I had some of his delicious rolls while I was there, he can really make bread! Gladys, I guess, has to write teacher's examinations each year to get her certicicate. She couldn't leave Herbie long enough to go to college. I wonder if Betty Baker likes to dance as well as she did in school. I believe that was all she thought about--well, that and men. You wouldn't believe it, but Betty really snapped out of it when she left school. She went to a business school and then took a position with one of those big stores in Fargo, selling lady's dresses and stuff. Oh, she is so trim and neat, lost most of her excess weight, yea! She is a head buyer, goes East every spring to buy for the whole store. I guess she's got too important a job to bother with a mere man now. I Carol, did you put the cat out? l'1l bring the milk in, might freeze. I'll turn out the light. Hal who would have thought it of Ol' Midglel 15

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IN RETROSPECT School life at McHenry High in the year l948-1949 was a glorious life of great deeds and good times. September 7th, our first day of school, was a pleasant day of greeting class- mates, exchanging stories of summer experiences, meeting the new teachers, and of course, arranging class schedules. The air was full of plans for the com- ing year and the most often heard remark was, when does basketball start? Mr. Smith, our superintendent, strode to the front of the assembly and introduced the new teaching staff. But he really needn't have, as we had already learned by devious means, all about Mr. Billigmeier, our new coach and Miss Grytness our new English Teacher. September was a pleasant month of warm, autumn days, we enjoyed those late afternoon kittenball sessions...Classes were in full swing. The newly formed Shop class, while awaiting arrival of their tools, put their time to good use trim- ming the trees on the school ground...and Freshman initiation was in the form of a roller skating party and wiener roast at Red Willow Lake. It was an evening of skating, landing, and rising only to land again. Cracking the whip added zip to the night's skating. The Student Association for the first meeting, elected a Student Council, and prepared plans for the year. There were busy days planning, and getting the things ready for the big carnival, visiting neighboring towns for donations, selling tickets for this and that, making signs, and building booths, and decorating. The girls were busy too, learning their dance routines for the show. The two nights of the carnival were big doings at Mcl-lenry High, with everyone having fun. With the carnival out of the way, everyone took a two weeks breather. Then came the, long awaited call basketball practice. For upper-classmen, it also meant play practice, as the assignments for the upper-class play, Willie's Week-End were posted. The stage was set! The upper-classmen after several delays, presented their play, and it was excellent. Typing classes by early December were pounding away at the rate of forty words a minute and rivalry was keen between Irene Smith, and Phyllis Bonnet, pushing each other for top place. The tools for the shop had arrived and the class was busily engaged design- ing their own shop benches and other equipment. The pre-Christmas holiday found the grade students learning parts and songs for their annual Christmas program for the community. The seventh and eighth grades were preparing a playlet while the high school girls chorus worked on several numbers, as their contribution. Christmas planning was to be seen everywhere. The high school sleighing party and dance was a truly gala affair and proved to be the most enjoyable of the year. The Christmas atmosphere of the Assembly with its fireplace, and lighted tree, made a school a pleasant place to attend. The faculty wished us all a Merry Christmas with a movie and a big ice cream cone. Roger McNeese, it was noted, had no less than five big scoops, and then was later seen digging out the container. A two weeks vacation O'boyl January--winter--snow--storms--drifting snow--canceled basketball trips-- snow holidays, and long nights, but life at McHenry High was comfortably warm and pleasant. Studying was the order of the day, for we had to prepare for these semester exams you know. February brought us continued stormy weather, but after a delay, we managed four respectable days to run our Independent Basketball Tournament. Oh, what exciting basketball games! what good looking guys! The girls chose l7