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Life experiences not to be repeated

The meaning of Milwaukee is "The meeting of many waters".  Rivers flow to fill Lake Michigan.  They cut through the hills creating giant green spaces through which wildlife travels, feeds, raise their young, and eat my tulips. In the heart of the city of Milwaukee, deer can still be seen grazing along these waterways.  Foxes raise their kits behind grave markers, rabbits drop their young in holes in the middle of my grass and eat the tops from tulips almost before they push through the ground. 

 

Paul and I moved into this urban nature center, developed our own natural habitat filled with tender tasty plants, bushes to provide ground cover, and a watering place.  One squirrel took this as an invitation to check out a spot under our second floor bedroom balcony to use as her nesting place. For several years she nested and raised her fuzzy little babies who returned to raise fuzzy babies of their own. 

 

One Spring afternoon, I went out to sweep off the balcony and noticed that some of the shingles had been eaten off the edge of the roof.  Teeth marks scarred the exposed roof.  That was the eviction notice.  NO MORE SQUIRRELS would be allowed to nest under the balcony.  We tried everything that was supposed to "chase away" animal pests.  Nothing worked.  We contacted an animal rescue team, who told us that they would charge $75 each to remove any squirrels, but they couldn't guarantee that the squirrels would not return. 

 

Finally the bright idea came to us!!!  Bear Spray.  We had purchased a canister in Montana when we were hiking in Glacier National Park the summer before.  We decided that if it would work on bears, certainly a squirrel must be able to feel the effects.  Mother squirrel greeted us with a growl when we both stepped onto the balcony.  She advanced down the roof toward the balcony.  That was the split second that we released the lock and sprayed a stream at her.  She scurried up the roof and around the corner of the house as we watched through tear filled eyes. Before we could turn and run we were covered with pepper spray.  That stuff is meant to burn the skin off you.  It took several days for us to recover from burning skin.  But the squirrel never returned. 

Tillie

 

We live in a rural area outside San Diego and also have lots of wildlife. The Raccoons are the biggest pests - they eat the cat's food, get into garbage and make big messes. My husband had HAD IT! He loaded a pellet gun and set up a trap to permanently scare off  the most annoying of the beasts, a big fat male coon!

The trap was a deep box, lying on the back porch, with a dish of cat food way at the back of it. Sure enough that evening we heard the coon rummaging around, so he stepped to the back door, quietly picked up the gun, aimed and fired. The World's Biggest Explosion followed!

When the dust settled, he leaned down and peered into the deep box to see two shiny eyes looking at him, as if to say: WHAT IN THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!!! He had hit the bowl of food, which exploded all over the back porch! The coon presently came out of the box and wandered off to regain its hearing! And, it was back again, before we got the cat food all cleaned up!    ann

 

Being Teenagers

I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated seeing the old Woolworth's menu!  This is special to me as I worked my way through high school and this was one of the places of my employment my sophomore year.  I see this is a 1957 menu.  I worked there in 1955 as a waitress after school and most weekends.  I looked for the Open Faced Hot Roast Beef Sandwich on the menu and did not see it.  That sandwich was great and a super seller!  That leads to to just one question....."Where is the beef ??"  Kathy Selwinder Oehlkers

Good morning Larry B

I was recalling some of the times we had (Wendt, Phleger, Thein, Joe, Jerry). I remember hanging out at your house - I don't know how your parents put up with it. Your mom and dad were real special in how they would be firm but funny.

One of the funny things I remember about your mom was when you started wearing longer hair. She started calling you Charlie Starkweather. We all remember Charlie and Carol and their killing spree in Nebraska and Wyoming. She was so subtle.   Marv

Bear Butte -

My cousin used to have mules to get you to the top of Bear Butte. In the late 40s and early 50s. 

It was a tourist trap I guess you'd call it now. He would take family up but my dad would not let me go . Why I have not a clue. It was just the mules no carts that I knew of. One way of making money I guess.

The swimming pool was  great.  Punky

In the mid 50s Martha Jordan (Dorothy and Janice's mom) and my dad were asked by Paul Besseliever to be part of a promotional "Visit South Dakota" film and they rode the burros (Bovee's owned the burros and lived on the farm at the base - across to the west from the visitors buildings) to the top of Bear Butte and back.  Dad said he didn't see it after it was completed but they had a fun time making it.  I wonder if that is still around in some archive some place.

 

When we were in school Bill Wendt, Joe DesJarlais, Marshall Howard and I think Jerry Fenner would hike up and around Bear Butte in the winter.  We would usually have our .22's (looking for rabbits) and hike from a road on the east side.  On our climb we would get to the chimney and usually start a little fire to get a little warm and have some thing to eat.  I have fond memories of that place and have climbed it every time (except last year for dads birthday) I return to Sturgis. 

I climbed it when I was back for the reunion.  Usually I go by myself.  What a spiritual and peaceful place with a lot of memories and spectacular view.  Cold in the winter and cool in the summer.  Mr. Williams used to be at the visitors center and it was always good to visit with him.  He was so knowledgeable of the history of Bear Butte and the surrounding area.  The fire a number of  years back changed the landscape a little.   larry b

 

Good story Larry. It reminds me a little of some of the other adventures our group would do. Remember going cave crawling above Vanocker Canyon. It was hard to locate the caves. I remember using flashlights and ropes to go into the caves. For the most part we had to use the ropes to go down and then virtually crawl through narrow passages. In some areas there were underground streams and ponds. There were different branches in the cave to follow leaving a lot to chance to make a mistake and get lost. In thinking back we were taking a lot of chances. In case something went wrong nobody knew we were there. Over the years we have heard a lot of accidents similar to what we did.  marv

 

I do remember those times.  We would hike up to the cave but we had to be careful because it was on the land where the dams were that were part of  the Sturgis water supply.  I can't remember the name of the family that owned the land or had the cabin up there. (Phil: Davenport)  It may come to me later.  I remember going there one time and we had a roll of binder twine that we tied to something once we lowered ourselves down from the entrance.  The water was so clear down inside it was hard to tell it was there until you stepped into it.

 

One time I tried to drive up as close as we could (without being seen)  to the entrance of the cave by starting on a slight trail starting up by the Vanocker campground.  I had the old brown '49 Jeep.  My sisters, cousins from Yankton and Dennis Connley were along.  I was making good headway when I got the Jeep lodged between two pine trees of pretty good girth (I don't know if it was poor depth perception or what).  Anyway I could not get it dislodged.  Luckily, dad had a hatchet in the jeep which we used to chop down one of the trees.  It was getting dark by that time so we headed for home.  Needless to say I made everyone swear an oath not to tell what happened.  The next morning when dad went out to go to work there was a stream of oil coming out from under the jeep.  Fortunately dad and a friend had just rebuilt the engine a few days before and thought maybe the inserts were installed wrong.  I didn't tell him until I was home for the reunion and we were taking a drive up Vanocker what actually happened.  He laughed.

 

I stopped at the little cave right along the Vanocker road and checked that out.  It still smelled pretty much the same.  Oh I found a few porcupine quills. !!  larry b

 

There was a bus from town that took you out to Bear Butte for swimming lessons for a couple of weeks in the summer.  Can't remember where you got picked up but I remember riding the bus out there, think it was a school bus.  Cathy 

 

I remember that bus, too. I tried taking lessons out there and did ride the bus one year. Another year, Glenda Dodson took Betty and I out, but it seems like every time I tried there'd be a polio scare and they'd shut the place down! I finally learned to swim when we lived in Mn. by taking Red Cross lessons in an indoor pool-figured that anyone who lived in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" had better know how to swim! The only trouble with learning in an indoor pool is that it doesn't prepare you for all the slimy, creepy crawly things that brush against you in a real lake where you can't see the bottom.  The last time I looked at the pool at our 30th reunion, it was full of trees, shrubs, etc. Does anyone remember who the guy was who dove into the shallow part and broke his neck? Maybe a Tarrant?      Our good family friend, Clifford Cook, used to gather up as many of the neighborhood kids as wanted to go (usuallly some Kolars from next door, some Ritchells, some Bennings, and Judy Alden who lived across the street from us), and take us on hikes up on Sturgis Hill, and a couple of times we climbed Bear Butte. Also, climbed for Easter Sunrise Service one year with the First Methodist Church youth group. It was cold, windy, and rainy, and by the time some of us got to the top, the first arrivals who thought we were in a race had already finished with the service and we turned around and went back down. I always thought it'd be cool to ride up on those burros, but we never did that.               andra j s                                                       (ad:  Ted Tarrant broke his neck - he and Butch Merritt were lifeguards).

 

 

Hey guys, you are making me so home sick, talking about SD. We could see Bear Butte from the home where I grew up. Just beautiful. Never did go to the top. Joyce Evans (Bachand)

 

I never went there because I couldn't swim (didn't want anybody to know). I guess with CPR I could have taken a chance that one of the beauties would have come to the rescue. On second thought it would have been embarrassing to have that lifeguard in the picture do it. marv

I took swimming lessons there the summer between 7th and 8th or 8th and Freshman grades, not sure which.  Rode horseback over there.  Everett Follett was the Instructor, seems like may have been a Red Cross course, he may have been the regular lifeguard also.  When lessons were over we had to dive off the low board to pass the course.  I did fine.  So I decided to try the high board.  I belly flopped, think I went clear to the bottom.  That's probably why the pool closed and the lake dried up.  I swallowed half the pool ! ! ! ! !   To this day I panic if my feet can't touch bottom and keep my head above water.  I'm ok and can go deeper if I have a life vest on...................Mickie

Now that you say that, it reminds me that I took lessons there too as I remember having to go off the high dive -  Bear Butte Lake was the highlight of every summer.    Remember how BROWN those girls would get working as lifeguards.   I remember Anita Cundy,  from the class of 1955,  worked as a lifeguard one summer, and I'd never seen such a tan!   ann

Never went to the pool at Bear Butte, but Marvin and I went out to climb the mountain one time with Donnie Kost and his girl friend.  Don't even remember her name nor do I remember if we made it to the top.   Kay

Just got home from my Granddaughter's band concert so am behind with the e mail today.  Interesting subjects again.  I climbed Bear Butte a couple of times, always full of wood ticks when you got back down but the view from the top was great.  We hoofed it all the way up, no mules.  Cathy

I never climbed Bear Butte on Easter but climbing Bear Butte was a popular end of the year picnic for rural schools.  I remember climbing it several different years.  One year the Upper Pleasant Valley school climbed in the morning and when we came  down were going to eat our lunch.  Well, the Tilford School was getting ready to climb so they asked us to climb it again with them which we did.  So that one day my school climbed it twice.
Jean Jordan

 

        This is my story and I am sticking to it.

 One hot summer day in the class of 58's early high school years a number of the class members had gathered at the Bear Butte swimming hole. They were out on the diving dock, the boys were showing off their physiques and had appointed themselves to the committee to judge the lovely young ladies and their newly acquired swimsuits. The gals had spent countless hours so very carefully selecting their new swim suits from the vast choices of suits available at JC Penneys, Chase's Department Store and the high fashions of Betties Dress Shop.

  The judges carefully took note as each sweet young thing climbed the ladder up to the high divining board. Once there the ladies took their time strutting their stuff, oops sorry, carefully walking out to the end of the board. Once there, some time was needed to decide which fancy dive they would attempt or perform. This time spent was needed for the judges to better evaluate the color, style and how well the suit fit the lovely thing wearing it. As soon as they hit the water the judges would rush to the rail to hold up the number of points they had scored the dive. Someone had actually unjustly accused one or more of the judges of looking down the front of the swimsuits of the sweet young things as they ascended the ladder. I really personally think that accusation was uncalled for. 

  As the duties of judging wore on one particularly fine looking angel ascended the ladder and after some time of concentrating on her dive she delivered the dive of the day. As she slid into the water like the tip of a knife sliding into hot butter, hardly making a ripple, the ripping, tearing force of the water and maybe with some help from the devils of the deep, her lovely new and I must add here, obviously poorly designed suit was torn from the upper part of her lovely body thus exposing two of her nicest assets

   Not knowing this had taken place this sweet innocent mermaid swam to the ladder and begin the long assent. The judges wanting to make sure that she was first to see the all 10 scores across the board rushed to the railing and upon looking down and seeing the terrible thing that happened, them all being gentlemen, quickly turned their backs and covered their eyes thus giving that lovely young thing time to cover herself.

  Later that day when the judges were convening on the results of the swimsuit judging the incident was reluctantly brought up and it was decided that the young lady in question should be nominated and voted into the office of chair person of the "itty-bitty-      "  committee.

  As the months and years passed it became obvious that she had moved on to bigger and better things and was removed from the committee.

  There are rumors here in our fine city that this fine lady has open a chain restaurant that has spread far and wide and is very successful, I think it is called shooter or tooter or some thing like that.    Joe Desj

 

Oh, Joe you bring back some of the best memories. *10*

I have thought of that experience a number of times.

Those were the days my friend.  Larry B

 

 

From the 1955 Annual

Marlys Tippey's brother, Lester, was my very first boyfriend - he gave me my first valentine and he "smoked" with me behind the school until our first grade teacher caught us.  Our cigarettes were Big Chief paper cut in strips with dandelions and grass as tobacco......he was such a sweet guy......Marlys

Ted Tarrant was the one that broke his neck as a lift guard at Bear Butte swimming hole. There were 4 Tarrant boys.  One was a dentist, one was a B-52 and TWA pilot; Jerry was the oldest and a barber and then the youngest; Ted who broke his neck showing off to the young girls at the swimming hole.  Ron

I remember at my brother, Duane's funeral in 2002 there was this "surprisingly" lovely voice joining in singing Amazing Grace at about 10 decibels above the rest of the crowd.  Yup... Ted Tarrant.    I truly hope that there was someone to sing as lustily at Ted's funeral...  phyllis b

When I worked at the Nursing Home in Sturgis Jerry would come up once a month or so and do haircuts for the men.  Mickie

Ron and others.....remember how Jerry Tarrant had that collection of old guns in his barber shop?  He was always buying and selling. One time my brother asked what Jerry wanted for a rifle  hanging on the wall. So, Jerry swaggers over, takes it down  and ran  thru the lever action a couple of times....bullets went  flying out of the magazine and the  barber shop started to empty out real fast !  The rifle had been loaded all that time....and the safety was NOT on !  Those Tarrant boys were something else !    Phil

You are absolutely correct. Ted Tarrant is the young fellow who broke his neck by diving off the life guard stand in shallow water and placing the only furrow (that I'm aware of) at the bottom of Bear Butte swimming pond. The swimming hole is still there and this spring I will drive out there and see if any evidence of the furrow remains.    Ron S

THE TED K. TARRANT LEGACY HAS DEFINITELY LEFT AN IMPACT  ON THIS WORLD !   Phil

THE CHALLENGE

 Marty let me tell you the rest of the story about the Tarrants.  In about the 6th grade I started shinning shoes at the old mans(George Tarrant) barber shop.  He initially taught me how to play cribbage.  Then Jerry took over the barber shop and refined my cribbage playing skills.  This occurred over about a 3 yr period of time.  That's how I became cribbage champion at that English pub.  I'm telling you this as a warning because if you still want to challenge me to a game of cribbage at the next reunion if I were you I would be afraid; very afraid!  Ron S

Hey - they don't call me "Card Shark Coburn" down at the Senior Center for nothing - AFRAID - I DON'T THINK SO!

Now, I have a confession to make - no one calls me "Card Shark Coburn" and I don't go to the Senior Center - but it sounded good, didn't it?  But rest assured Mr Sperle, you are on!  I do have one question - do you think we'll still be able to see the cards by the next reunion?........Marty

As long as it isn't 50 years from now, your eyes should be ok!!!    I like it... CARD SHARK COBURN - We'll be your cheerleaders as you show those guys WOMAN POWER!  Sign up for the squad, girls!  Kay can teach us how to cheer!... Mickie too!!!  Hey..Carol was one also... who else??

Hey Card Shark Coburn don't think you were even close to pulling my leg.  I know you aren't old enough to be a member of any senior citizen org.  Don't worry about seeing the cards, the rules specify that the use of magnifying glasses are authorized.  Annnnn; be careful who you root for.  Remember?  Ron S

oh oh...I forgot.  OK... here are the new rules.   We will have TWO cheerleading squads, a boy one and a girl one.   And, the boys have to wear little pleated skirts too ...  everything equal for both players!         Probably will need the magnifying glasses to see the cheerleaders too!

 

Kay, Mickie, Carol... dust off your pompoms!    We have to keep this boy happy cuz he knows SECRETS!

A

You're sure you want to see me in a little pleated skirt?  Mickie

I still have my kilt but I think the pleats have gone out.   Larry W

Larry has just been named Head Cheerleader for the Boys!   The vote was unanimous!  

Ron remember the three card low ball in the back room in a deadwood cafe.  Larry W

Yah! I remember that place.  Don't believe I ever left that establishment with a smile on my face.  It took a couple trips before I realized there is more to porker than just luck.  Wasn't there a very popular business just above the cafe?  ron

Didn't I see a bunch of you guys coming out of that place (Bodega)?   Larry B

We were so naive!   We used to eat at the Bodega all the time and never saw poker or "other businesses".   !! Ann

It's amazing the recall Larry W., Larry B. and Ron S. have about Deadwood from so many years ago !  But can you remember when you changed your socks last ? ? ?   PB

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Babies -

There was also a maternity home owned by Mrs Olson who was a friend of my Mom. Not sure where it was.  I also came upon this receipt from the Deadwood hospital.  The cost of being born in a hospital in 1939!  Betty Dodson

 

OK  guys, here's my birth story.  I caused a truck wreck and broke up a card party getting mom from Maurine to Sturgis.  Around 75-80 miles, give or take.   It was winter, Feb 11th.  Mom was staying with my Grandmother at Maurine.  My uncle Carl was 4 years younger than mom, 19-20 years old, single, and lived there also.  Dad was working somewhere around White River.  When it came time for mom to head to town Uncle Carl loaded her into the truck, I'm guessing it was a straight truck,  bigger than a pickup.  Must have been early evening. The snow plow had been out and had a ridge of snow down the middle of the road.  Of course Uncle Carl was excited and nervous, so what did he do?  He hit the ridge of snow and ended up in the ditch, truck on it's side or possibly upside down, not sure which. (I just talked to my cousin Florence who is 7 years older then me to see what she remembered and she's wasn't  sure if it was on it's side or upside down), anyway, they were fairly close to Sulphur so Uncle Carl headed for Sulpher on foot.  He must have turned the engine off but the lights were still on.  When he got to Sulphur there was a card party going on.  One of the guys there, Al Olson (he was almost a relative by marriage) got in his vehicle with Uncle Carl and back to get mom.  I've been trying to picture mom in the truck, on it's side or upside down,  in labor, big as a blimp, probably madder than hell, and pissed off,  waiting for help ! ! ! ! Well, they made it into Sturgis to a place I believe was called "Anderson's" something or other and I appeared around 6 in the morning.  Just called Florence again and she remembers "Anderson's" as a place where this lady was maybe a "midwife" who mainly delivered baby's.  Somewhere in the back of my memory there was a Dr involved but I can't remember his name.  Florence thinks there was a Dr Woods around Sturgis about that time but that name doesn't ring a bell.  I guess it was before Dr Massa's time.  Maybe someone can enlighten me or remember where this "Anderson's" was located.  Within a short time, a day or so, Uncle Carl and Bob Symonds went to White River to get dad.  Don't know how they went, if Uncle Carl got his truck upright and it was usable or what.  Anyway they had to cross White River on the ice and Uncle Carl scared the holy living bejeebers out of Bob.  He told me that himself except he used a little different language ! ! ! ! !   And Al Olson always told  me that he almost had to deliver me.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...................Mickie

Kay,
Were you delivered by a Dr? And if so, do you know his name? Forgot to ask Florence where Mrs. Andersons was located so thanks for the info. Runs in my mind that it was up in that area somewhere......Mickie

 

I just spent the day with my older sister.  She said there were two birthing homes in Sturgis.  The Martin one was the one up by the viaduct where her daughter was born.  I was born at Mrs. Andersons home which was on main street kind of across from the old Bachand Gas Station .  Dr. Richards was the attending doctor.   Kay

Betty D. also mentioned there was a "Mrs. Olson" who had a maternity home and was a friend of her mothers, but she didn't know where it was located.  Can anybody shed light on the location?    Ron, maybe that's the one where you were born on Lazelle........................Mickie

 

Yes Mrs. Olson's home was on the end of Fulton St.   In 1947 or so, my mom had a bad case of Pneumonia and Mrs. Olson said she could take her in downstairs and she did.  Dr. Massa was her doctor.    It was on the North end of Fulton. Hugh and Irene Milian lived there for years     Punky

That would be 1223 Fulton.  Irene's Mother is my Godmother so Irene and I pretty much grew up together.  Our Dad's were best of friends.  Irene now lives up on Ball Park Road in one of those Sr. buildings.  Her eye sight isn't the best and she and Joy Olson Conway are good friends.  Her Mother lives up in that same area and is 97.  Cathy

Hi,
Maybe I can add to your info. I was born in the Martin's Maternity home in Sturgis. Could that be the maternity home? That home was just under the railroad bridge on the way to Deadwood. It was a white two story house, I believe. I don't know if it would still be there. I always say that I was born on the other side of the tracks. The doctor that delivered me was Dr. Richardson. He was our doctor until Dr. Massa came to town.
Jean Jordan

Imagine - going to a maternity home for regular stuff. I don't get the connection.  Marv

It was the only place in town to go, no hospitals.  If you were really bad off you probably went to St. Joseph's in Deadwood.  Rapid City was too far away on that old narrow Highway 16 I think it was.  Cathy

I don't think there was a hospital in Sturgis till the early 50's so guess Maternity Homes were the next best thing.  The Martin Maternity home had an RN, Mrs. Martin.  Probably one accessible to the others too.  There was also a "Nursing Home" type home at the East end of Sherman or Main, up close to the cemetery, that delivered babies in 1937.  A friend was born there.  I had an Uncle that had a bad infection in his arms (Wool Poisoning) and Dr. Massa had him staying at either Martin Maternity Home or Anderson Maternity Home..............Mickie

 

There was a hospital in Dr. Richards office on the corner of Junction and Howard St in the late 30s and 40s. The home is still there and is now up for sale if any of you are up to the challenge??? Joe

Mrs. Martin's by the viaduct was where I had my tonsils out by Dr. Richards when I was five.  Remember the ether on the gauze to put you out?  My Mother was an RN so she helped Dr. Richards.  I did just fine but my brother had his out later and he had trouble hemorrhaging and Dr. Richards came to the house and sat with him most of the night.  So Mrs. Martin's was used for more than just birthing babies.  Cathy

Hi, everyone. I was born in Mrs. Martin's "home". Don't know if a Dr. was involved or not, but there was a Dr. Sherman in town, too, cuz he was our family doc until I guess he left and Dr. Massa came. Dr. Massa's nurse, Connie, wrote a book about Dr. Massa's life that I picked up a few years ago in Sturgis, but can't put my fingers on it right now. When I was a sophomore, I had to have my tonsils out, and Doc wanted to do it with local anesthesia. I said OK if Connie would hold my hand and she did! I remember sitting in a chair with a blind fold on, and probably cut off her circulation! Seems like I was in that office a lot over the years.  Andra Jordan

Glad you stepped in and thanks for the info.  Have you been on the SHS website lately?  I hadn't been for a while till yesterday afternoon.  I was amazed at what Ann has added.  I found the phone books, didn't realize they were there, and checked the entire 1939 and 1941 books.  I spent a fascinating afternoon.  This is what I found.

 

Mrs H D Anderson Maternity Home

1321 Main

 

Frank Martin Maternity Home

1818 Sherman

Mrs Frank Martin, RN  Proprietor

South of Viaduct

 

Dr F A Richards

1015 Howard

Physician and Surgeon

Practitioner 40 years in the Hills

(He must have been up around 70 by 1939). 

I did not find a Dr Richardson

Dr Richards was my Dr but I don't know if he actually delivered me or did the "midwife" ?

 

Did the Dr's actually do the deliveries at these Maternity Homes or did they just sign the birth certificate?  I know they did deliveries in some cases.

 

John F McKie    Physician and Surgeon   SM   MD

 

Seems like there was another one or so but didn't take note of names.

 

I had one person tell me she thought she was delivered at a "Mrs. Allmyers".  Just under the viaduct.  I could find nothing under that name, however I did find in the 1939 phone book an "M O Almire" at 2037 Hill which is not very far under the viaduct.  In the 1941 book there is listed a "Joanna Almire" at 2136 Sherman which should be in the same general area.  Maybe she worked at the Martin Home.  There is no 1940 book.

 

Also have a friend born in Feb of '37 at a place at the east end of either Main or Sherman, (can't remember which) close to the cemetery, that was called "Meyers",  I think also a "Nursing Home" type facility then or maybe later. 

 

I also found Dr Massa in the '39 book.  Didn't realize he had been there then.  Does anyone know when he did come to Sturgis?

 

Can anyone shed any light on any of the above?

 

How many of you were born in Sturgis at any of these facilities?

 

I'm finding this researching of history fascinating........Mickie

Everyone in my family was born at Mrs. Andersons Maternity home except me, I was born in the Deadwood hospital while my Dad was logging for Homestake.   A Simons girl was born in the back seat of my Dad's car on the way to town from Stoneville.   We lived there until 1944 when my twin brother and sister were born and Mom made Dad move close to a doctor. We ended up in Spearfish and were there for the blizzard of 49.  We moved to Sturgis in 1950 and Dr Richards was our doctor until Dr Massa took over.   Betty Dodson

 

I think Dupree charged us $95 in 1936,100 in 1940 and 125 in 1944. That was the Dr, the delivery and 10 days in the maternity "hospital" with food included. Mrs. Jewett was a good cook and our nurse (Ruth's Hurst's mom).   She'd ask dad to bring fresh cream, etc and take that amount off our food bill. No bathroom.. a thundermug and a washbowl of warm water. We didn't have any better at home.   ad: I asked my mom what it cost and such at Dupree.    The little one room "hospital"  is still standing altho it is empty.      ann

 

When Howard and I were expecting our daughter Rita I had a Monday appointment with Dr. Massa.  Early morning I knew something was happening "different" but being our first I wasn't sure what to expect next.  Howard had done morning farm chores and came back to get ready to go to town when I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor and had been for awhile.  We were in the car ready to head out when Howard's Dad came to tell Howard the urgent news that the bulls had gotten a gate down and were in with the yearling heifers. A no no for sure as it was only May 18  and  not to be put in until June 1, so Howard immediately leaves me in the car, jumped into the pickup and out to the pasture he went to take care of the problem.  Howard's Mom saw me sitting in the car and told me to come into their house, at the time we lived in a trailer house in their yard, to wait. I told her I would just as soon sit and wait where as I was as I had been in labor at least a couple hours.  She immediately started waving a dish towel from her front porch for Howard to hurry back and get going. I told her he knows,  she was not happy with father or son.  We had an hour and half drive and Rita was born by noon.  Plenty of time for a cool, calm, cattle man.   Kay

My mom tells the story of them fighting their way 7 miles up a dirt/mud road to Dupree when my little sister was ready to be born.    On the way Dad saw someone had a new baby calf,  slammed on the brakes and ran out into the field to be sure the baby was ok....while his wife sat in the car in labor.   They made it tho.   ad

I would have been one of the pioneer women who didn't survive.  Our second twin, Robert, pushed around his brother, Roland, because Roland was presenting his shoulder in the birth canal. (In other words, the first twin, Roland was positioned so that his left shoulder was blocking the birth canal.)  When the doctor ruptured the first twin's bag of water, Robert was able to push through and the doctor delivered an 8#4oz boy.  Then the doctor realized that Roland, the first twin, was going to need to be turned before he could deliver him- THAT HURT!!  Since I was awake, my OB doc told my friend, the anesthesiologist I worked with, to "PUT HER DOWN".  My anesthesiologist told the OB doc that it was too late for that.  So I added my 2 cents and told him that I would be fine if he would just get his arm out of there.  Long and short of the deal, the baby was turned and delivered.  He was a bit dusky and covered with mec. but cried loudly at the insults he was given.  His apgar was 8, which is pretty good following such stress.  He weighed 8#.  I don't think that my husband would have been much help, and I probably wouldn't be telling this story today.  Tillie
 

The Barker family lived on a farm near Corning, Iowa, Johnny Carson's birthplace. They were very poor as were many of our families back then, and so their mother didn't have prenatal care for her baby. Their dad of course, growing up on a farm had assisted in lots of animal births, and his parents lived nearby, so the grandmother, mother of 10 children, probably gave her a lot of advice and help.

Their mom went to bed normally, woke about midnight and called to their father - He delivered a little girl baby and was caring for her when their mom called him to come back - there was a problem. The "problem" was, there was a little boy baby, who was born 15 minutes later! No one realized there were twins!

Their father got them all cared for and by 2 am they all went back to bed. In the true pioneer spirit of the people and the times, it was handled very well.
 

---

WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER, WE ..........................

Little Animals

Does anyone else remember the baby animals being brought into the house in
the spring.   They'd be born before it was warm enough for them, and there
was no where else heated for them.    We'd have a baby calf wrapped in a
blanket next to the wall in the kitchen  -  other times we'd have boxes of
baby chickens by the old cook stove because if it rained on them they died -
tiny lambs laying on a blanket...   baby horses.    We kids LOVED it but my
mom wasn't real fond of animals in the house!!!       We'd bring in garden
snakes and mom would chase us back out.     Frogs found their way in, in
pockets -  And, of course the huge fuzzy worms with the bumps on their back.

Ahhhhhh -   and how wonderful that wood cook stove felt when you came in
from the cold -  the oven door would be open so the heat would come out and
you could sit on it and get all warmed up.   Grandma's House had the greatest old stove!    ann
 

After I was out of school for several years, there was a big spring storm. Mom had a turkey hen who had built her nest out in the brush and mom knew where the nest was. The snow buried the hen and nest so Mom went and dug her out. The hen quit the country as soon as she saw daylight, so mom took the eggs in, made a "bed" in the electric fry pan and hatched her turkey eggs.
In high school we kids raised bum lambs every spring so we generally had our share of the weaker, smaller ones in the house for a time. Dad would pick a few up here and there so we had a never ending supply of babies. We'd milk cows and feed bum lambs before we went to school every morning.    Mom would feed them during the day but it was our job otherwise. We also had baby chicks and of course calves. Sometimes you'd think the house was the barn. Seemed like we had a never ending supply of big cardboard boxes with a critter or two in each.   Mickie

 

Okay - time to switch to another animal. I raised a calf on a milk bucket because her mother was used for milking. We developed a close relationship that she would come to school with me and stay in the school yard until it was time to go home. She grew up to be a milk cow herself and, guess what, another bucket calf. Only this calf turned out to be totally blind. There was no market value nor productive value in him. The choices were to terminate him or (and I had to petition very hard for this one) raise him to be beef. It was two years of teaching him some independence, such as getting to and from the pasture for grazing and where the water trough was. He learned very well and developed a good daily routine of getting around. The only time he had difficulties was when someone would "spook" him.
There were a lot of sentimental feelings when "butcher day" came.    marv

Marv,

Did you teach your calf to drink out of a nipple bucket or right out of the bucket?  I always got a kick out of teaching them to drink right out of the bucket.  By the time the 1st lesson was finished I'd be slobbers from head to foot and a good portion  of the milk pail on me.  I was about 7-8 I think the first time I did it.  Actually It really was fun, dip your hand in the bucket of milk, stick your hand into their mouth and they'd start sucking, then gradually lower your hand into the bucket till they'd be drinking on their own.  Generally took several "dips" for them to get the idea and sometimes more than one lesson.  mickie

 

There is nothing more disgusting than having to clean the henhouse!  Marty

There IS one thing about as bad as the hen house - PIGS! I just thought of another story from the winter of 1949. Dad was having trouble keeping the snow out of the animal pens enough that they could eat and stay alive. We three girls got the bright idea of cutting it into blocks and making an igloo.
We worked for days with Dad doing the lifting - were SO proud of the careful sloping so the top ones stayed on - it was wonderful. We dressed warm and played in it all the second day after it was finished. Made little snow "beds", "couches" and "chairs"...and even pans and food out of snow.
Day #3 we leaped out of bed and got our chores done so we could go out and play in the igloo and HORROR!!!! It had snowed so much that either the pigs found their way in, or Dad decided it was a safer house for them than their pig pen. I suspect it was the latter.
We wouldn't go near the place after that! And, they happily lived in it the rest of the winter. (Prob slept in our snow beds)!!   ann

I had a pig experience when I was in high school. Some guy owed my Dad some money and couldn't pay him but gave him 5 baby pigs instead. Dad told me if I fed and watered them all summer in the fall we would take them to the sale barn and I could have the money. There was no water close to the pig pen so hauled it by the bucket full from the well house to the pig pen three times a day all summer. After school started came home one day and didn't hear the pigs squealing in the pen so asked Mom if Dad had taken them to the sale barn. She said, well they are in the barn but not what I had expected. Dad had butchered all of them and had them hanging there to skin out. All winter he told me what a good job I had done fattening up our dinner. Glad I still like pork. Cathy
 

I don't have any personal stories about pigs - except a lesson from my dad. It was about the natural cycle of the corn field. He told me to carefully consider the cycle of the corn field as it was very important to survive on a farm/ranch where the food chain was so tight.
He said that humans had first crack at the crop to harvest and use for money or food.
Cows had second crack to eat the remainder - and they picked the field clean.
Pigs were third in line and fed on the cow dung (cows have a very primary digestive system in spite of their many stomachs).
Chickens were last in line as they picked through anything.
Kind of gives you second thoughts the next time you go to the meat market. marv
 

goats:

I remember there was a lawyer in our National Guard unit. He was involved in the estate settlement of the "goat woman" in Sturgis.....and reportedly got most of her money.... through his exorbitant fees !  Phil



I definitely remember the "goat woman" in Sturgis. Many people did not treat her very nice. My sister, Marj, spent time with her and became her friend. I had a bunch of goats, about twenty milkers, for a couple years and milked them. Not all at once though. I had a lot of people who bought the milk from me. I had not realized how many people/kids, could drink the goat milk but not cows milk. I couldn't keep up with the demand. Seems like I could milk them up till about a month or so before they kidded. Had a lot of kids ! ! ! many twins and occasionally triplets. Sold them for butchering after they got big enough. Personally, I didn't like the meat but the milk was great. ............... Mickie


Some of the best fudge I ever ate was made from goats milk. It was when we lived in Ohio, lots of Amish around there and they made the candy and cheese. Good stuff.
I remember the goat lady too, she used to walk by our house when we lived on Main street. I always spoke to her and she always smiled, one of the long lost characters of Sturgis. I think she looked much older than she was when I was a kid. I kind of remember the lawyer deal too when she died, had forgotten about it until Phil mentioned it. Cathy

Homemade ice cream was great made with goat milk. With goat milk there was no cream. With cows milk the cream would rise to the top but the goat milk didn't. It was really rich. I loved my goats. They each had a personality. They always came in at milking time. Never had to go after them. The Nannie's would come into the milk shed when it was their turn to be milked. I had built stands with steps and a grain box for them to stand on to be milked. They were too low to the ground to milk otherwise. Had some that would give a gallon at a milking. I sold the milk for, I think, $4 a gallon. Could have easily gotten more. Had to keep the Billy's in a separate pasture to keep from breeding the young Nannies to their Sire. And yes, Billy's can and do stink at times. A VERY strong odor............And they would take you and could be dangerous.  Mickie
 

Foods You Don't even Hear About Now Days

 

Our Dad, Loyal Barker, was not only a popular house mover in and around Sturgis, but also a very skilled trapper in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. and saved many of the ranchers in Meade County from their herds being destroyed by coyotes and wolves. Also at one time there was a large population of Beaver that had become a hazard to the water supply of the ranchers.

During that time, out of curiosity we tried many FINE cuisine items...one I remember was Beaver tail...you know that big floppy paddle like thing that he pulls around behind. him. Can't remember how it tasted, but often my Mom would find some very strange things brewing in our kitchen. Phil may remember more of these. Yuk! Phyllis

Remember The Sluice (restaurant South of Spearfish).  They served rattlesnake.  Never ate it....just ordered a South Dakota raised Black Angus steak.     Phil

Back in the '70s Becky and I  went to a function that had a lot of food and things on trays. Naturally I am "game" for anything. One of the trays had these small chunks of white meat which we both tried. Becky said "that chicken sure has a lot of bones". I let her finish her piece before I told her it was rattlesnake. marv

Ron, we visit the Amana Colonies every year for a couple or three days. The food there is world class. Their kraut isn't the same a home cooked but it is a good starter. Good kraut is slow cooked for several hours and then you add sugar and other things to get rid of the sourness and then thicken it and eat it on either bread or mashed potatoes. When it is cooking you have pork hocks or a good ham bone with it and then remove the bones before eating. Another way is to cook it with sausages similar to brats. Around here they call them Landjagers.
Jim
 

Mom used to make sauerkraut and spareribs and potatoes. I remember the sauerkraut would have caraway seeds cooked in it. My mom and aunt used to make sauerkraut in the fall on my aunt and uncles farm. I liked shredding the cabbage. They would then put the cabbage in 20 gal stone crocks to age. I love kimchi. It is Korean and their equivalent to sauerkraut except cut different and a lot hotter. My mouth is watering just thinking of both of them.
larry
 

Larry, I think I have a couple of old cabbage cutters out in the garage that were used to shred the cabbage for sauerkraut, would you like to use them????? My Mom always made sauerkraut and ribs too and we had mashed potatoes with them. I even make it once in awhile for me, my kids, their spouses, and my grandkids won't touch it but I get hungry of that type of meal in the winter. Cathy

Does anyone have recipes for any of these old time foods they would like to share?  I'd love to know how to make head cheese like Cathy's brother does.  Pickled tongue, but then where would I find the tongue?  Guess I'll have to check and see if I can find some brains for scrambled eggs............Mickie

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-OldFashRecipes.html  This one has head cheese!

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-FrontierRecipes.html  How about Raccoon Friccasse , roast Beaver and Rabbit Stew!!

http://www.wasabibratwurst.com/pickled-tongue/  Tongue recipes - but I warn you - the picture will stop you cold before you cook!
Let me know how they taste - I could no more try any of that than chew on a fence post full of termites!   I hand in my Frontier Apron!!

Just look on internet...EVERYTHING is there.    ad

 

Had sauerkraut and sausage for supper tonight.  Delicious.  Even my dog (a rat terrier) likes it.  ron

I have always loved sauerkraut and often order entres that include sauerkraut. As a matter of fact the Tip Top Meat Market (European delicatessen) where we held our mini reunion, includes sauerkraut and/or cabbage with the entres.   marv         (ad:  Yes...  they have both,  really!  pickled red cabbage - a taste goes a long way, but it is great - we shared tastes around the table during the mini reunion!) 
 

They used to do barbequed raccoon when we lived in southern Illinois.  Not one of my favorites.  They would also serve turtle once in awhile if this one guy could get a couple, he would put them in a 55 gal drum and run a hose into it for a couple of days to clean them out and when he butchered them you had to be careful not to puncture some oil sac, if you did you ruined the meat and they had to be thrown away.  Prepared right it was good, I've also had alligator as an appetizer and it was good too.  The sauerkraut soundswonderful, it has always been one of my favorites.  Cathy

 

Pickled tongue is good, too. As is sweet and sour Raccoon. And other things.

How about some good home made and cooked sauerkraut. You haven't eaten sauerkraut until it is made by a good German cook. And my mother in law and wife are just that. It "ain't" like what you get at the store.

Jim

 

I love pickled pigs feet.  Being German, mom's family always made head cheese and I think it was called "Scrapple" when pigs were butchered.  Loved them both.  Also liked the brains and tongue. 

 

How about "Rocky Mountain Oysters"?  They were best cooked straight over the branding fire on a stick like roasting marshmallows.        Mickie.

 

Pickled pigs feet are great, we would have brains and scrabbled eggs once in awhile when it was butchering time.  There was also a blood sausage made from blood, I couldn't do that one. My Aunt would make those things as my Mother didn't have the stomach for such delicacies.   Fresh liver and onions was good, especially with a little bacon.  My Dad made head cheese all the time but it was a specialty at Christmas time.  My brother still makes it but he uses pork shoulder roasts instead of the head meat, in his later years that's how my Dad made it too.  My Dad would make clabber milk.  You had to use fresh milk with the cream still in it, it would sit on the cupboard at room temperature for several days until it soured and coagulated, much like cottage cheese.  He loved it with pepper, I had trouble with that one.  When we lived in Iowa there was a local butcher shop.  He sold "Rocky Mountain Oysters" but he called them "pig cheeks".  They were cheap and very tasty especially if you used Shake and Bake and baked them in the oven, the kids didn't know what they were eating and they loved them.  Haven't thought about some of that food for years.  Cathy

My mom married a Finlander the year before I started grade school.  Whenever the men would butcher, Grandma Kayrasvopio would get a bucket and catch the blood and we would have delicacies called Blood Pudding and Blood Biscuits for supper that night....gag ola!  Then we'd wait a day or two and have another delicacy - brains or tongue (stripped of course to take away those little feely things) - but my favorite was the pickled pigs feet.  I've thought about trying out these recipes on my bridge group...but then I rethink it because what does one do in retirement if you get kicked out of the bridge group?.....Marlys

 

I can remember Grandma making sauerkraut in a big old stone crock with plates or something and maybe a rock to weight it down.  Would love to have access to some of the foods we had as kids. I find head cheese in Albertsons but nothing like what mom and grandma made.  Maybe I can get Cathy to get her brothers recipe for me.  Brains and scrambled eggs, my mouth is watering.  My grandmother used to clean the chicken feet and I think make soup, can't remember for sure.... As I remember they never did do any of the "blood" things....... Mickie

 

When you grow up relatively poor on a ranch you do consume everything available. After slaughter the main cuts were a luxury. The fine parts were:

 Pigs: pigs feet, pigs knuckles, head cheese (seasoned/cooked pig brains) and head meat.

Cows: heart, liver, tongue, tail, brisket, leg bones

Chickens: heart, gizzard, neck, tail, and legs

We never got into the "blood" thing. marv

 

THE BLAIR ARMY

Porcupines.  This happened while we still lived at Ekalaka, MT and shortly
before we moved to Sturgis so I was about 10-11 years old.  Porcupines were rather
abundant that year.  Late one evening, still daylight but getting toward
dusk, dad came home from riding.   He was in a hurry and hollered at us to
gather up clubs, log chains, etc, while he got the 22, 30-30, shotgun and
whatever.  We had a hayfield a couple miles from home and as he was on his
way home he could see that the field was full of porcupines.  With the Jeep
loaded with our armory off we went.  We came up out of the draw, topped the
hill to the hayfield and everyone exploded in laughter.   The
porcupines were thistles.  It took dad a long time to live this one down. Mickie
 

It is so sad that the majority of today's kids will never have the chance to experience our childhoods. They would have no idea how to entertain themselves like we did. No expensive toys or gadgets. Never have the chance to see a baby chick hatch, a calf, piglet or foal born. Bottle feed baby lambs or calves. Gather the eggs and reach under a hen still on the nest and get pecked while "stealing" her eggs. Find where a hen has hidden her nest out in the brush and watch and wait as she sets on the nest till the eggs hatch. Finding a nest of baby kittens hidden in the haymow. Even finding baby mice!!! Having to clean the barn, hen house, shovel manure. Milk cows by hand and squirt milk into your mouth or the cats that all sat waiting. Pitching hay from the haymow down to the milk cows or horses. I could go on and on. Mickie

 

PIGS EVEN EAT PAJAMAS!

Life wasn't as easy in "the olden days" but there are a lot of things I miss!!   I still get angry when I think of the time I got a bolt of blue and white checked flannel and made new PJs for all 5 of us.. They got ruined the first time they needed to be washed and hung on the clothesline.    The pigs got out and chewed the legs off till they all were the same length.. dad's just a trifle longer than the baby's and she was about 3.    Never did like pigs or chickens!    ad's mom

 

FUNNY PHONES - FUNNY LIGHTS
 
I also remember when we moved to Sturgis, we had no electricity. But does anyone remember bottle gas lights? I think dad put them in the first year we were there. The gas lines were run thru the ceiling or whatever, glass bulb hung from the ceiling with the mesh things (can't remember what they are called but are used in camping lanterns now) that you lit.
How about country phones. At Ekalaka, MT we had one that hung on the wall. 8:00 every morning the telephone office in Ekalaka opened. In an emergency at night you could always get through though. Our ring was 2 longs and 2 shorts. You could always count on somebody on the line "rubbering". One looooonnnngggg ring meant everybody pick up. It generally meant a prairie fire or emergency of some sort. Mickie
 

 

CHICKENS, COWS AND CATS

I remember how my brother Al and I would scare my mom by hypnotizing chickens.
We would pick a sunshiney day, catch some of the chickens, lay them on their backs with their heads toward the sun, put a stick at the top of their head (in the dirt). We would then trace a mark in the dirt. The chicken would be so fixed on the mark in the dirt that she would lay motionless. We had about 20 chickens laying motionless on their backs. Then we would run into the house and tell mom her chickens were dead. She would panic until, after awhile, the chickens started coming out of it.   marv

If a sister or cousin would walk by not paying any attention, we'd shoot them while milking the cow and they'd go bawling to mom and we'd get a swat. It was worth it!! We'd steal eggs from the henhouse and make mud pies and decorate them with sunflowers - one time Mom almost caught us, so we hid them under the stairs IN the house, and forgot about them.... In about a week they stunk soooooo bad and she found them and we got a swat. It was worth it!
They told us not to play with those big fuzzy worms because they were poisonous, but I couldn't always tell WHICH were and which weren't, so would scoop it up on a piece of wood or something and hand it to my little sister, four years younger. If she didn't fall over, you could pretty well presume it wasn't poisonous, so I'd take it away from her and play with it. Sometimes that brought on two swats.
Ann

YUP YUP YUP. We did that. We also got into milk squirting fights with each other. Not much milk left afterward. Sure would catch hell from mom for that. Marv

My Dad was a house mover and that's NOT a good trade in January, so as an outdoorsman he loved to hunt and trap in the winter. Trapping for mink, bobcat, coyote, fox, raccoon and beaver was fun for him and provided an income until Spring. The ranchers loved to have him trap coyote that would kill their newborn calves and lambs. And he get the beaver that ruined their trees and dammed up the streams.
The animals would die (humanely) and be frozen when he removed them from the traps. He would store them in a shed. Then on a wintry blizzardy day when he couldn't go anywhere he would bring the frozen animals in the house to thaw, then skin and stretch them. We had no heated garage/shed so the house was his work room (Ann, my mother could sympathize with yours). There was a definite "animal odor" wafting thru the house as he did his thing. Dad said that was a "money" smell!  Seeing the carcass of an animal without skin was a bit unnerving to us kids! We had our own horror movie images. Phil
 

I worked on farms and ranches quite a bit when I was young and both the experience of milking cows and feeding the cats were good times. I must admit it was mostly in the late spring to late fall. I worked for Lloyd Marquette (sp) out in Pleasant Valley. I would go out to the pasture and bring the cows to the barn twice a day and there were always barn cats around looking for a little milk.
As far as hypnotizing chickens, this was before we moved to Sturgis and I was living in Lesterville. I would stay and work harvest on my friend Clyde Sayler's dad's farm. One of the diversions was to catch chickens and take them up in the haymow,  tuck their heads under their wing, rock them gently until they calmed down and then drop them out the door and watch them try recover quickly enough to land on their feet.    I'm still asking forgiveness for this and other things.  larry

GUM !!!

While we are so fixed on chicken stories it reminds me of one. I went out to the hen house to gather the eggs. I dropped my bubble gum out of my mouth. Thought I found it 3 times.
marv

No wonder Marv became an honor student.  High protein!        Phil
 

Okay, now Marv's gum ordeal got me started .....This is not a childhood story. Just a story on someone most of you know, Ted Tarrant. Was 3 or 4 years older than us. Remember how loud and boisterous he was? (deceased... a couple of years ago). I sang in a quartet at Black Hills with him, Gayle Bachand and Lyle Berry and knew Ted could be overpowering with his stories et al.
On one visit to Sturgis about 8 years ago I invited Ted to church. They were having a potluck dinner afterward and I knew Ted would not refuse food. Sure enough he came (after church was dismissed) and was the "entertainment" during lunch ! ! Before he started to eat he took out his gum and put it on the edge of his plate. Well, Ted really did eat. On his SECOND trip back for dessert, we saw his gum and decided to add ours to it. With my cousins (Hansens and Levins) and us it was quite a contribution. After his many stories we were ready to leave the table when "someone" said, "Ted ,don't forget your gum !" At that he grabbed that big wad of gum and started chomping away ! We all hollered with laughter. He thought we were still enjoying his whopper stories and laughed with us. No one ever told him why his gum grew in size.  pb
 

WE DID ALL OF THESE VERY SAME THINGS!!!!   Man, if you got ahold of a wad of bubble gum you chewed it for days - saved it -  lost it in the barnyard and picked it back up -  it was treasure, as we lived 7 miles out of town and you didn't just "go to town".... and if you did, you didn't necessarily have the 1c for more bubble gum.!!!

 

My father tried so hard to teach us to be wise with our money.   I can remember in about 3rd grade, somewhere I got a whole quarter!     Next trip into the big city of Dupree, he lectured me about using it wisely and saving part of it.  "Yes Daddy!"       ...  I went straight to the drug store and bought 25 pieces of big square pink bubble gum - knew I was in deep schmidt if anyone found out - so when I got home I hid it IN MY MOTHERS FRUIT ROOM!!!     Worst place in the house - she was onto it in about 5 minutes! 

 

I was such a disappointment!  My other two sisters were so perfect.   ad

 

PRACTICING MEDICINE WITHOUT A LICENSE

Hey Larry - good trick until you ran out of chickens.
I just remembered another ranch story ( and Phil, it does include practicing medicine without a license - but you have to start somewhere).
One day in the winter time my brother Al and I (we were the trouble makers out of 6 kids) were hunting in the breaks (rugged land to you city kids) in the winter. We spotted a dreaded porcupine eating the bark off the few bushes around. So we shot the porcupine dead and then went up to check out our kill. It became obvious that it was a female and quite pregnant. We immediately jump into our emergency room mode and began a cesarian section on the dead porcupine. As we were operating we found 2 babies and immediately removed them and placed them in one of our jackets and made for home. Next we had to figure out how to raise a baby porcupine. Using a nose dropper we fed the babies cows milk. One of the babies died in a couple of days but the other survives and started to grow and mature. We knew this because the quills started to set, causing us to use caution.
With that we were faced with an oxymoron. You kill porcupines because of the harm they do - and we were raising one that would eventually be released back to the pasture - perhaps to face the same fate as its mother. God took that decision away when the porcupine ended up dying. Good thing the ACLU wasn't around to sue us for malpractice. marv
 

When I was 3-4 years old, I remember dad would saddle "NOBBY", tie the reins to the saddle horn and throw me up in the saddle. He would go about whatever he was doing close to home and Nobby would just follow him around. I could walk under his feet and whatever and he was gentle as a lamb. Mom wouldn't ride him though, not even to go out to get the milk cows and bum calves or whatever. He was a cow horse and invariably one of the calves or some other animal would decide it didn't want to go in and Nobby would make sure they changed their mind. He'd jump sideways and right out from under mom. Didn't take her long to get smart and if cattle were involved, she rode something else. If dad went out after something, he'd put me on Nobby and no matter how many tried ducking back he never made a misstep. He just followed the cows home. And that is the horse I learned to ride on. Mickie

The bum lambs remind me - Dad used to take the pelt off the back of a lamb baby that died, attach it to a bum and then the mother who lost her baby would nurse the bum one, as it had HER baby's smell. Gosh I hadn't thought of that in years!
I never saw gas lamps like that! Amazing. We didn't have electricity or an indoor bathroom all the years in Dupree. We used Aladdin Lamps - and kerosene lights that you carried from room to room. We'd SO CAREFULLY roast marshmallows over the tops of them, but had to be SO Careful not to let it drop into that mesh thing and ruin it or you didn't have a lamp.
YES!! The phones, with the code for who the call was for, depending on the rings - and EVERYONE rubbernecked and listened in. Even in the 60's with the multi party lines, we knew people listened in....
We could write a book about going out with our folks when they fought prairie fires with buckets of water and wet gunny sacks.
Ad
 

When we lived at Ekalaka, MT there was a bad thunderstorm one night. Us kids slept upstairs and mom must have come up to check on us and as she was going back down the stairs she got to the landing to turn and lightning hit. It hit the phone or line or whatever and shot across the room right in front of her. She was still on the landing and it scared the holy living bejebees out of her. You can bet your bottom dollar we stayed away from the phone during any lightning storms from then on. The next morning there was a big pine tree about 50 yards from the house that was split down the middle. It eventually got cut down and used for firewood. Mickie
 

When we would go visit our relatives and friends on the farm all would have Coleman lanterns but some would have a wind generator outside of the house and in the house there would be a bank of batteries. I remember the folks would be playing cards and drinking (beer) and the kids would playing in the same room. Eventually the bulb would start to get dimmer and dimmer and then they would light the Coleman lantern.
I remember the phones because the phone lines were always on short poles and the wires were always bowed quite a bit. We were told not to use the phone when there was a lighting storm because if it struck the line or pole it would follow the wire to the phone in the house. lar b
 

 

THE INFERNO

Do you remember the Inferno - was it in a cave?

Yes it  (The Inferno)  was on the way to Terry Peak ski area. When I went to BHTC (some
other name now) I would take some of the kids from the dorm to the Inferno a
few times a week. When they would get really busy I would help behind the
bar. My mom and dad were invited to someone's home for dinner one
night and sat next to a couple and while they were visiting mom said
something about their son, Larry going to college in Spearfish. The couple
said what a wonderful young man I was to help at the bar a few times a week
when they were busy. Well needless to say I almost lost my scholarship.
At least I almost made more than I spent. I was sad to learn that it
was closed. There were a lot of good times there. Remember in the spring
they used to have big pieces of plastic rigged up on the ceiling so the H20
that was leaking through would run into the buckets? It is a wonder the
ceiling never caved in.  larry b

 

Think Larry spelled it out very well. One summer a priest friend of my Mom
 and Dad's brought a young seminarian to Sturgis for a vacation. My Dad was
 busy at the farm so had my brother Paul and me take the two of them through
 the hills on a tour. We made it to the Lead area about lunch time so we
 took them to the Inferno for lunch. Both of them thought it was great, had
 a ham sandwich and a beer. It was a really hot day so they enjoyed the cool
inside. When we got home Mom asked where did you have lunch? Without
 missing a beat I said, "The Inferno". I thought she was going to pass out.
The priest and the future priest both assured her that it was okay and that
they enjoyed seeing the place. Day time was much calmer than evening time.
Cathy

 

THE MEN CAME FIRST!

My mothers parents, siblings and family came over from Austria/Hungary from 1904-1909. Grandma and 1st born daughter came in 1905 with her inlaws. Grandpa had come over in 1904 with his siblings and some members of his stepfamily. The rest of Grandma's family came in 1909, her parents and 5-6 younger siblings. Theirs was an arranged marriage, Grandma hated Grandpa the day they married and all their married life. She divorced him when the youngest of 8 came of age. My Grandfather was a very mean man and not at all nice to his family. He was fluent in 7 languages but Grandma could neither read nor write. She signed her name with an X and was the kindest, gentlest soul you could imagine. I can remember as a kid that I could sit for hours and listen to Grandma tell over and over and over of her childhood and the hardships her family went through. She had several siblings who died at very young ages. She told of one time as a child she ran away to the next village as there was some sort of epidemic with the dead lined up in a row in the street and she became scared that she would die. Do you think I had brains enough to write any of her stories down? Or record her when tape recorders came out? Of course not.
I have gotten into Genealogy and learned a lot about dad's side, I went to Northern Ireland several years ago and met several Blair family "cousins". Just need to get with 2 cousins here and get busy on mom's side.  mickie

What interesting stuff, Mickie! You need a web site!!!!! I think it is so fun to search family history - we have horse thieves, preachers and everything inbetween!.. WWII heroes - and some not so noble. I know the boys will bristle at this probably, but I thought most of the old men from that era were mean. The women were chattel more than partners - and how they would order them around and they had to be waited on every minute they were around. They worked hard too, but so did the grandmas and no one coddled the women the way they had to, the men. I can remember some nice old men, but most were pretty spoiled!  ad

A little example of the men coming first  was when Jacque and I returned from Hawaii in 1971. We lived in Sioux Falls and in the fall we went with mom and dad to Lesterville to hunt pheasants on some their friends farms. Mom and dad had known all of them since they were little kids growing up on farms around there themselves. Anyway, the men went hunting in the morning and the women cooked dinner while we were gone hunting. Upon our return the men came in washed up and the proceeded to go into the living room to talk and pass the bottle of bourbon around until dinner. When dinner was ready Loretta announced "time to eat" so the men all went in to the dining room to take our seats. Jacque came and sat next to me waiting to be served. Loretta came up to her and whispered in her ear, "that the women do not sit down until the men are done eating". That was the first shock but the second one put her over the edge. That was when it was time to clean the pheasants and all of the women went out a little shed and were expected to clean all the birds. That was when Jacque said to them, "Ladies it they shoot them then they can clean them." and that was the last time she went pheasant hunting with me in that part of the state again.   larry

PRAIRIE FIRES

What is your family's favorite "survival" story from the old days - something that became a family story passed on and on.
Ours probably would be the prairie fires. When my folks built their house right after WWII, they made it mostly from concrete - thus all the relatives would come to our house when there were bad prairie fires. Sometimes everyone would go along to help and other times the women and kids would stay at the house and cook for everyone - they'd put all the kids to bed like cord wood in 2-3 beds - My old grandma would crawl in with the kids and tell us stories. When they were kids their cats would run away and go to the Indian villages, and they'd have to sneak in and try to get them back as everyone was afraid of the Indians. She described trying to QUIETLY pull a cat off a tepee as it dug in its claws. Our Indians even in our youth, would pitch tepees in town for things like the 4th of July etc - in her day they were more nomads in the summer for hunting and used tepees then. She told one story about a prairie fire back in her youth - something about a cow that kept jumping a fence to survive. I wish I could remember it.
My aunt had a coffee can full of change and she would leave it at our house in the summers "in case of fire" - funny thing to remember!   ad

Pig Boats and Nose Clothespins

Phil, do you know what a "pig boat" is? If you ever spent time at sea on a diesel submarine, you would know. You are much the same smell as a pig after 2 or 3 weeks.
There is a funny story here too.
Jim
 

Hey hey now Jim, Joe was on the Remora for a year, 7 months at sea. You are right all his clothes smelled like diesel when when he got home. Big step down from the Nukes, but you went where they sent you right. Cathy
 

Cathy, I remember how I smelled and how all my clothes smelled and it wasn't good. For all of those who don't know what we are talking about, when you were on an WW2 vintage diesel submarine, potable water was a precious commodity. The only ones allowed to take showers were the cooks, mess cooks, stewards and, of course, officers so you and your clothes really smelled after 2 or 3 weeks at sea.
When I was on the Sirago SS-485, we tied up at Little Creek, near Virginia Beach, after 3 weeks at sea, and I was off duty so I put on my Blues and headed for the main base where our barracks were located. I got on a city bus to make the trip and the bus was almost full so I sat next to a little old lady and she kept looking at me and I couldn't figure why and as soon as another seat opened up she moved. To keep the story short, I realized why she had reacted that way as when I came back to my cubicle from taking a shower I could smell my clothes from some distance. I, literally smelled like a pig. Hence the name of "Pig Boats" for the old diesel subs. No, the nukes weren't like that! The joys of military life, Ha. I suspect there are those serving in combat now days and the past that have similar experiences.
Jim
 

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BEER AND HORMONES

Beer Contains Female Hormones!     


This is serious stuff... Scientists at National University of Lesotho released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women.     



To test the theory, 100 men drank 8 pints of beer each within a 1 hour period.

It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects:     

1) Argued over nothing.     

2) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong.     

3) Gained weight.    

4) Talked excessively without making sense.    

5) Became overly emotional.     

6) Couldn't drive.     

7) Failed to think rationally     

8) Had to sit down while urinating.     

No further testing was considered necessary. 

 

M---,  are you still in the beer brewing business?

Be careful!!!!    Larry B

 

Yes - and this might explain my strong urge to wear my wife's underwear.  m---

 

Please tell me ....it wasn't during the Reunion!    phil

 

Nah. I stayed off beer to avoid the urge. m---

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Jobs

 

There were definitely some REAL problems moving houses....utility wires.....trees overhanging the streets.
 Att: Lutherans...Barkers moved the  old stucco Grace Lutheran church on Sherman St. to the south end of town...corner of Baldwin and ________?.  It was stucco outside and thick plaster inside. Came off of a basement and went back on a basement !  Very heavy....had several tires blow out (sounded like a cannon shot).  Moving houses was NOT fun when I think I could have been raised in the country, riding horses or a tractor all day  enjoying the good life ! !   Woe is me.            Phil b

Or you could have been hauling garbage.  Larry b

Phil

I could enlighten you about being raised in the country and riding horses or operating a tractor all day. Not fun.  Marv h

 

You know, Mates, the really unusual thing about our teen years is that WE WORKED...What a concept.  IF we wanted new clothes when the school year began we had better worked at "slinging hash" and saved some money or we went in our faded dudes.  I lasted one summer at a restaurant...can't remember the name...that later became the Weimer Bakery site.  That was one horrible memory.  The cook smoked and always had a cig dangling in his mouth...more than once I blew the ashes from the top of a hamburger bun - but hey, 50 cents an hours was great, and the tips usually were about that much. 

Then I went to work at a "real" job...Owen/Wilson Auto Parts (Phyllis Duly also worked there, before me I think)...and my final job when I started  at BH was with Black HIlls and Badlands.  I loved this job, and yes, Larry, I remember the promotional film you talk about.  Good times for sure.  I enjoyed working for Besseliever and was sad when he died - too early.  Also one of my early bosses was an old fella named Ed Cruickshank...now that's another story for another time....

Phyllis b w
 

I liked those hamburgers.  Where was the office located?  I was trying to think if it was located on the corner of main and junction close to Davis's Barber Shop . Larry b

Yes, the first office was in the basement behind the Barber Shop.  Then during my time there we moved to Main, in the bldg next to the old Bear Butte Bank bldg.  I think it is the bldg was was used in the Willis movie...yuk! Phyllis B

Ed Cruickshank lived across the street from us on Pine Street, only his house faced Dakota.  Cathy

Ed was the head of the Chamber of Commerce and BH&BL shared office space and some staff.  Chamber did not move to the new bldg with us, but we then took on Western Union.  I used to paste those little ticker tapes in place when Telegrams would come...boy has our world changed.  Phyllis B

One of my less cherished  job memories was the first cultivating of the corn. The tractor pulling the cultivator had to move veeeeeeeeeeeeery slow to just move a very little amount of soil while removing the weeds. Depending on the breeze this could, on most occasions, amount to a cloud of dust moving (surrounding the tractor) along with the tractor. You can't imagine the joy of getting to the end of the row so that you could turn to the other direction. By the end of the day I was cloaked in several layers of dirt and seeking a shower (non-existent in those days). marv

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A NEW MINI-SUBJECT

What are your favorite jokes for April Fools Day?

Phil Barker sez:  Put Lotion on the toilet seat and wait for the "thud" or scream when someone slides off onto the floor!

Ron Sperle writes:   I always liked to play one trick on my wife on April Fools Day.  String a piece of scotch tape about the height of the persons eyes with the sticky side out across the entrance of a room such as the bathroom.  When a person walks into the room the tape wraps around their head and feels like a spider web.  Very effective at 2AM. 

Ann Miller Dennis writes:   Every year I make pancakes...  put a round piece of cloth in the middle of two scoops of pancake batter in the pan and cook them....  and serve a pile to your family.     They fuss and butter and syrup them, but when they try to cut into them,  they can't!    Those in "the know"  now sit and wait for the unsuspecting to try to eat!  My mom did that for us when we were little, EVERY YEAR,  and somehow we never suspected!   We were a little "slow"  I think.

Matilda Lapp Franks writes:  I have not tried to pull any April Fools joke for quite some time.  My family thinks that maybe I'm a February Fool because I plant spinach and peas under my cold frame when the first patch of black dirt shows in February.  That is enough foolishness for me.

 

 

Jokes and chatting MARK YOUR CALENDARS At five minutes and six seconds after 4 AM on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be --         04:05:06 07/08/09. This will not happen again for a thousand years.   And you may forget  to do it then.......so make a note ! phil Hey Larry; Remember the SHMAS club we belonged to during our senior year. As I recall there was a limit of 6 members and we met once a month at Ma Brown's house to relax and  stuff  our faces. Each month a different member would be host and provide a meat entre and cash. Ma Brown would prepare a complete gourmet meal and put up with our conversation. At that time I recall the members were Dale Thein, Ron Pfleger, Bucky O'Conner, Joe Massa, you and me. That was sure a lot of fun. Of course we were sworn to keep the real club name a secret but I am sure there were a few girlfriends that were able to pry the secret from a member.    Marv Come one, come ALL back to your home state.  This time not just for a class reunion but this time come as  a tourist.     I've been reading the chitter-chatter that has been going on now for sometime which I think was started because someone thought the ladies of the SD prairie were not getting their just do. Boy is there ever a surprise waiting back here in good old SD for you. There literally are hundreds of paintings, sculptures and documents praising the ladies that helped, if not in some cases, totally were the glue that held this great land together with only their bare hands as well as with their hearts.  Believe it or not some of the truly Great World Famous Artists graduated from good old Sturgis High, and still live here in  Sturgis, Spearfish and Rapid City. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!!    My lovely bride Sylvia retired as of Jan 2, 2009. We have bought a 1914 Rock Island Caboose that we are in the process of remodeling as a guest house.  We already have one other guest house on the place. I am working with the tourist industry and am in the process of putting together a 5 to 8 day packet of things to do, see and experience in and around the Black Hills. You have inspired me to add to the packet an article about the ladies of the Prairies and the Black Hills.   I know this is starting to sound like a commercial and I guess it is in a way. First I would like to see all of you come back home and this time, for the first time in many years really enjoy this beautiful land of ours. Secondly within a year Sylvia, my daughter Tami and I will have our Sturgis Hideaway B&B up and running and nothing would please me more then to have some of you as our guests. Joe DesJarlais Caboose being delivered during Nov storm....from Colorado. (Barker Photo)