Burt Community School - Bears / Roundup Yearbook (Burt, IA)

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Class Prophecy i It is July 11, 1966, as we arrive at New York City to see one of the biggest attractions of the world. What is it? Why it's Teeter's Greatest Show on Earth , the most stupendous three ring circus in existence. We hurry to the circus grounds, purchase our tickets, and start to follow the crowd to the big tent when we suddenly realize that the ticket seller is someone familiar. Of course, it's Madonna Vogel. As we near the tent, our attention is drawn to one of the numerous side shows. Chills race up and down our spines as we see deadly cobras sway in per- fect rhythm to the strangely fascinating music of a flute. We immediately re- cognize the snake charmer as Sharon Tellier of the Burt High class of '53. Step right this way, folks! Get yourselves a Poodle , the greatest little hot dog in the world, shouts the young lady in charge of a concession stand. To our surprise we realize that she is our old classmate Betty Riebhoff. Going into the tent, we hurry to our seats since the show is about to begin. The band starts playing, and the ring master appears. Doesn't he look familiar? Why, of course, it's Jovial James McMullen. Jovial James steps to the cen- ter of the arena, bows to the audience, and opens the show by announcing the greatest trapeze team of all time, Mike and Shelly . The names sound familiar, especially together, and after a moment's thought, we come to the conclusion that it must be Michael Scott and Rochelle Andrews. The children are laughing and pointing to a funny fellow with tufts of carrot- red hair, baggy pants, and feet a yard long. When we finally control our laughter, we agree that the voice and actions of the clown could belong to no one else than Arthur Campney. The band plays, the drums roll, and once again our eyes are drawn upward to gaze at the tight wire sixty-five feet in the air. There a daring young girl is risking her life to walk across the ten foot wire without a net below. As the spotlight is turned upon her, her name is revealed as Esther Hasse. When the suspense is ended, and our hearts are back in place, two dapple grey ponies come galloping into the center ring carrying two beautiful ladies. The ring master announces them as Phyllis and Alvina , the bare back artists supreme. In the second ring we see a well-dressed, long legged man perched upon a one wheel bicycle. Jovial James announces him as Rassy the Rider . Hear- ing that name, we know it can be no one but Richard Rasmussen. Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please ! shouts the ring master. In the first ring you will find the man with more give to his skin than a two-way stretch, 'Edgar, the Elastic Skin Man'. Our attention is now drawn to a large elephant ambling slowly into the tent and bearing two riders. The first is Sherry Gifford, head elephant trainer, and the petite miss behind her is one of the littlest ladies in the world, Harriet Long. We hear a roar and turn our attention to the first ring where a man with blond hair and blue eyes snaps his whip at four snarling lions. We are informed that the brave young trainer is Bill Christiansen. Who'd ever thought that Bill would someday be the world's greatest lion trainer? After Bill has put the cats through their paces, we prepare ourselves for the fire-eating act. A man dressed in silver tights enters the arena with flaming torches. The crowd is in an uproar; surely he is not going to swallow the leap- ing flames? He tilts his head, opens his mouth, and the fire disappears, torches and ail. We are quite impressed, especially when we find out that it is Verdean Sleper. 21

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I, Sherry Gifford, do will and bequeath my low voice and my slender figure to Louis Krull. 1, Betty Riebhoff, do will and bequeath my shy, reserved manner and my long dark hair to Sheila Rachut. I, Edgar Keith, do will and bequeath my attractive smile and my frequent visits to Algona to JoAnn Dittmer. I, Madonna Vogel, do will and bequeath my black book of Bancroft phone numbers and my back seat in assembly to John Hasse. I, Colleen McGuire, do will and bequeath my extensive vocabulary and my three years as a cheerleader to Louis Krull. 1, Alvina Harms, do will and bequeath my temper and my reddish hair to go with it to Warren Rentz. I, Laurence Stroebel, do will and bequeath my faithful Chevy and my curly hair to Milton Stevens. 1, Glenda Black, do will and bequeath my assured manner and my driving ability to Delores Stroebel. I, Maxine Riebhoff, do will and bequeath my mischievous ways and my interest concerning Lone Rock to Bruce Holding. 'I, Rochelle Andrews, do will and bequeath my aptitude for mathematics and my neat appearance to Maxine Batt. Junior: Pop, I figure I'm not going to study any more. Pop: Tell my why. Junior: I figure that by the time I'm a man those radio brains will be able to do all the thinking for everybody. She: I'll bet you don't know what goes into a pumpkin pie. He: Teeth, of course. One difference between lightning and electricity is that lightning is cheaper. The judge told the defendant sternly: I can't think of anything worse than a man beating up his wife. What made you do it? Well, spoke up the man, she kept saying, 'hit me, go ahead hit me - and I'll have you brought before that bald-headed baboon in court' . Case dismissed, said the judge. Jim: Wassamatter, pal? Art: Oh, I'm reconciled to not doing well in my studies, but when my doctor tells me that I have a low-grade fever it gets me down. Teacher: (reading) The moving finger writes and having writ moves on. Emory: Teacher. Yes? My grandfather can't write with his finger, but he can fiddle with his beard. Nature puts her stamp of individu- ality on every man. Some people seem to spend most of their time trying to soak off the stamp. Bored Eskimo: White, white, always white. If only it would snow in technicolor. 20

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Screams from the crowd quickly turn our attention to the third ring where a death-defying act has everyone on the edge of his seat. We see a dark-haired girl standing against a board while a man outlines her body with sharp knives. The fearless girl is Myrna Weiske, and the man is Lucky Laurence Stroebel. High in the center of the tent suspended in the air by a single rope a girl spins swiftly around, hanging on only by her teeth. Our curiosity is aroused, so we borrow the binoculars of the lady next to us, and Maxine Riebhoff appears be- fore our eyes. WTe hear a bark, but it doesn't sound like that of a dog. It's not a dog for there in the center ring are six seals happily tossing a colored ball from nose to nose. They form a little circle which encloses their trainer, who, we are in- formed, is Fern Krull. Our view is suddenly blocked by a bunch of gaily-colored balloons. Although she has changed considerably, we are still able to recognize the seller as Marie Gebken. A man tossing three plates, two bowls, and a rolling pin all at the same time with apparent ease catches our eye. His basketball playing back in Burt High must have helped Phillip Soderberg become such an expert juggler. The climax of the show is about to begin as a young lady dressed in a scar- let outfit places herself in the barrel of a giant cannon to be shot into a net four hundred feet away. Boom! The human cannon ball flies through the air, lands in the net, gets quickly to her feet, and waves gaily to the crowd. The pretty smile she flashes could belong to no one else than Mary Officer. The circus helpers bring in a large trampolene for the last act of the show. Two lively ladies come running in and start their difficult stunts. The ring master announces them as Colleen and Glenda , the world's greatest tram- polene team. As we leave the circus grounds, we see John Teeter, the owner of the big show. We inch our way through the crowd and ask him how he got started in this business. He tells us that when he decided to set up a circus, he asked the help of his classmates from Burt High School. They have been as co-operative in the circus as they were in school, he says. The circus has to start on its way to the next stop, so we bid John and his troupe farewell.