Blumenhof High School - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Blumenort, Manitoba Canada)

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1956 Since the year 1955-56, the first year of Blu- menhof High, I’ve had much reason to look back; to ponder; what has that year really contributed to my life? It certainly has been an important link in the chain of life, without which the chain would have been incomplete. That year certainly helped to prepare for future battles. We received the seed — to what fruit has this seed grown? Before us the fields of the future now stretch, empty and receptive. What seed are we throwing out to blossom tomorrow? Let nothing leave our hands but that which is edifying, that which is truly good, so that our har¬ vesting may be one of beauty. May we be worthy of the seed others have sac¬ rificed to sow. Let us rid ourselves of all that is unworthy, all that is selifsh, all that is dishonest, all fault-finding and all blame, then, only to sow that which will yield a bounding harvest of loveli¬ ness; fruit unto life everlasting. Why not do our personal part now before we make our contribution to life? Graduates, the task before us is tremendous, but the promise “as thy days so shall thy strength be” is equally powerful. Shall we claim this promise as we endeavour to work in our Master’s vine¬ yard. Helena Braun Former Teachers Dear Blumenhof High, When Nettie, your friendly Yearbook Commit¬ tee representative, honoured me by inviting me to contribute to your 1963 “Blue and Gold”, her letter started a train of pleasant Blumenhof memories — of happy, busy days spent within the classroom, of the 1955 winter of “Big Snow” with its trailer camp and its Model A Ford of anxious examina¬ tion days, of soccer, football, and softball, of wiener roasts and sing-songs, of alumni meetings, of real companionship and sincere friendship. Where are all the staunch Blumenhof High “pillars” of yesteryear? I’ll tell you where they are: they’re scattered near and far, some still single, some married with families of their own, some in far-off countries in various occupations and pro¬ fessions, but all carrying on the torch of life and making a worthwhile contribution to humanity. That is as it should be. The present staff and student body I’d urge and encourage to keep Blumenhof school spirit high — study for God aqd success and play to win. I know you will not fail to produce the best. Mrs. Dueck and the family join me in sending you best wishes.- Cheerio, Ben B. Dueck P.S. Oldtimers, do you remember the Library in Blumenhof? Congratulations, graduates of ’63! I have no doubt that in years to come you will cherish the memories of the Blumenhof family as much as I do. I hope you realize that your high school edu¬ cation has been unique. Where else could you have had the same involvement in social life with the same absence of hindrance to study ? Where else could your education have been a more person-to- person experience with the same opportunities for developing your own initiative? Where else would your intellectual training have been integrated with your ideological background with the same freedom of thought? Let us remember that education is not just studying, teaching is not just tutoring, and that being is not just knowing. Glenn Klassen PAGE 28

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1958 What in paticular do we remember about the school year 1957-1958? In the first place, this was the year that Blumenhof High School had twenty- four students, sixteen of them being graduates. Never before and never after has this school had such a large Grade Eleven class. Where are you young people who should be in high school? Another reason why we remember this year is the fact that there were four students from Land¬ mark in our midst. One student came all the way from Washow Bay. The rest of us were “Ridge- wooders”, “Twin Creekers”, “Blumenorters”, and, of course “Blumenhofers”. It is good to get toge¬ ther from different districts, for it helps us to get new ideas, gain more friends, and remove some of the rough edges that might ruin our characters. Then, too, there are certain days of this school year that linger in our memories. There was the day that Mr. Dueck gave us a very serious lecture on speaking Low German on campus. English must be a difficult language, for after five years it is still hard to speak. Moreover, there was the bitter cold day we planned to go tobogganing and tried to find Suicide Hill. We found some kind of suicide hill alright. In contrast, we are reminded of a lovely spring day we spent in. Kenora Finally, another important day arrived. On the 11th of June Mr. Dueck presented the graduates with the Blumen¬ hof High School diplomas. This was not the end, however. Well do I remember, Friday, July 25th, the day we received our transcripts. Then were revealed to us the consequences of the year 1957-58. Myrtle Doerksen 1957 Since I have been approached to write (I don’t know what to call it) j something that is supposed to represent the 1956-1957 graduates, I must say first of all, that I feel rather unworthy to do this, in comparison to my fellow graduate, Henry Koop, who is my senior by a certain number of years, and second, that I do feel honoured in spite of the fact that Henry was our valedictorian. As the preceding paragraph has already let “the cat out of the bag’’, in conjunction with the title, I shall proceed directly with the reminiscing. I shall endeavour to be quite impartial. During the ’56-’57 school term at Blumenhof, there was a total enrolment of 96 students, only 16 of those attended the High School Department, headed by the principal Mr. B. B. Dueck. This brings us to room two, which was taught by Mr. J. Kor- nelson. In room one, Miss S. Friesen had her little ups and downs, even after her six years of teaching experience. These reminiscings bring to mind many ex¬ periences, events, and periods good as well as bad, which have stuck with me these seven years since I left Blumenhof High. I distinctly remember the time when Henry offered me some goat’s milk (which my taste buds found to be good) which I drank with not an ex¬ cess amount of relish. This is rather personal, but remember, I’m reminiscing. I have a sort of overall happy feeling to think of the way our school friends thought of us at that time, by voting us into the different committees. Henry had the responsibility of acting as the pho¬ tographer for the Yearbook Committee, helping out the Disciplinary Committee, besides being the vale¬ dictorian at the graduation, while my humble self was employed as vice-president of the Student Council, the Circulation Manager of the active Yearbook Committee, and as a member of the Liter¬ ary Committee. The meetings held by the mentioned committees were adventures that seem everlasting memories now. Other recollections crowd my mind. I cannot help but think that poor Henry was missed so much on the material called frozen water. My position as left wing on the school team will also never be for¬ gotten. In soccer, Henry, however, was the best net- tender around, which he did very amiably for his size. I could go on and on. Let it suffice to say that I really did enjoy my last year at that noble in¬ stitution. Before I close, let me congratulate all the graduates of 1962-1963. May you enjoy health and happiness in abundance in future years. Joseph G. Plett PAGE 27

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