Class of 66 Reunion and Digital Communications Make 'Blue and Gold' Alumni Newsletter

The Class reunion in June and the subsequent efforts on Facebook, Blogger and email newsletters rated separate articles and photos in the Fall 2016 Central Alumni newsletter, the Blue and Gold. The paper arrived in alumni mailboxes this week.

The reunion story included a photographer of the classmates who were still at the Ramkota on Sunday, the last day of the reunion, along with a photo of the Three Amigos.

The separate article about the class digital efforts was on a page with the alumni news. It included a photo of the September newsletter and an article written by Tim Schreiner, the class journalist. See the text of that article below.

If you'd like to subscribe to the Blue and Gold, contact the Aberdeen Public Schools Foundation at 605-725-7118 or email Gretchen.Sharp@k12.sd.us.


Here's the article on the class digital work:

When the Class of 1966 was trying to drum up enthusiasm for its 50-year reunion in Aberdeen this summer, it decided that social media and the Internet offered some help. The effort resulted not only in a reunion attended by more than 150 people, it started a lasting way to communicate that will live far beyond the class reunion.

Its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CHS1966reunion) has 234 followers who regular read news of classmates as well as reminiscences of businesses and buildings in Aberdeen and memories of musical bands, former teachers and events in the lives of the class.

Its weblog (aberdeenchsclassof1966reunion.blogspot.com), an online journal of stories written by the class members has already been viewed more than 27,000 times since it was launched in mid-2016.

The weblog is an ongoing archive of old and new photos of the class, personal stories featuring businesses such as Liem’s Sporting Goods and Webb Shoe Store, class members encounters with famous musicians such as Bobby Vee and Bob Dylan, and remembrances of classmates who have died recently.

Each month, an email newsletter is sent to the class alerting them to stories they might have missed. The newsletter, weblog and Facebook page have not only attracted members of the class of 1966, but also their children and others who attended Central during the 1960s.

The class also established a YouTube channel (CHS Class of 1966 Reunion), which has posted videos memorializing deceased classmates as well as honoring those who served in the armed forces. It also features creative videos that poke a little fun at the people behind the digital effort: Terry Rawstern, Robert Couser, Carole Tonigan, Rory King and Tim Schreiner.

I Am An Unapologetic Teacher..............by Randy Hermansen

Randy: CHS Class of '66

In “Man and Superman,” George Bernard Shaw noted “He who can, Does. He who cannot, Teaches.” This quote is often used to disparage teachers. Well, I am both a graduate of the CHS Class of '66 and an unapologetic teacher of 40 years.

7th Grade Monroe Football: Randy Hermansen No. 23

While growing up and in my youth, I never gave teaching much of a thought, or coaching for that matter. In reflection, I now surmise that it was my destiny. I grew up in Aberdeen attending public elementary schools and later junior high school at Monroe. I participated in many sports but I guess I excelled mostly in football.

Team Leaders: Bob Lee, Randy, Steve Weflen

At Aberdeen Central, besides football, I was introduced to varsity wrestling as that program was initiated in 1964. In my senior year, even though our football team struggled with more losses than wins, I was fortunate in that I was voted a member of the South Dakota All-State Football team as a lineman.

Golden Eagles 1965-66

 

High School Wrestling

After high school, I attended Northern State University (NSU) from 1966-1971. Clark Swisher was my first football coach at NSU and I played football for four years. I was also on the wrestling team for two years, and the weightlifting team for 4 years. While a student at NSU, I also did some assistant coaching in Aberdeen at Simmons Junior High and Roncalli. I was a physical education major starting out in college. But in my third year, my NSU advisor suggested that I needed to concentrate on a minor degree. For unknown reasons I chose Mathematics. Following my NSU graduation, I was a mathematics teacher for the next 40 years to complement my coaching career.
I started my teaching and coaching career in 1971 at Eureka, SD. I spent the next 40 years interacting with high school students as a teacher and a coach, with 32 years in Eureka, 3 years in Herreid, 2 years in Warner, and 3 years at New Beginnings.

I fell in love with and married my wife, Dorothy Mack, in 1975. We have been married about 41 years and have been blessed with a son Charles, and a daughter Theresa, and their wonderful spouses. Charles teaches advanced placement chemistry at Central and Theresa teaches Kindergarten at O.M. Tiffany. 

During my career, I participated in coaching 72 seasons involving high school football, track, cross country, volley ball and wrestling. Our girls track teams had phenomenal results including 16 state individual champions, one state team championship and five runner-up state championships. Our mathematics team at Eureka won a state competition in 1992. Our successful girl’s teams have provided me with much prestige in my coaching career as I was named the 1983 South Dakota Girls Track Coach of the year, and a 2011 national finalist for girls track in the nation. I will be inducted into the South Dakota Track Coaches Hall of Fame in February of 2017. 

Yes, I am an unapologetic teacher who was fortunate to stumble into my profession. If I have been successful in my coaching and teaching career, it is because I had the honor of being around great kids who gave as well as they took. I want to thank them for making me look so good. I am so proud to be a teacher. I hope I had a positive impact on many boys and girls of South Dakota. I certainly owe my former students a debt of gratitude for making me a better teacher. They disproved an old Idiom put forth by the management of the Arthur D. Little, Inc. firm when they said, “You can’t make a Silk Purse out of a Sow’s Ear.”

November Newsletter, We Weren't Perfect, Heartthrobs, Surviving Big 'C' and How To Talk Dakotan

CHS Class of 1966 November newsletter: View this email in your browser Hello Classmate Al Breaw's Memories of Playing with Heartthrob Bobby Vee One of the class of 1966's musicians spent time playing music with Bobby Vee, a 1960s heartthrob who recorded "Devil or Angel," "Poetry in Motion," "Rubber Ball," "Take Good Care of My Baby," and "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes." Vee got his start by filling in for Buddy Holly in Fargo on the night after Holly's plane crashed. Read Breaw's story about playing with Vee ... Surviving the Big "C" Many in the Class of 1966 have survived their head-on collisions with cancer. Unfortunately, some have not. But as all survivors and their families know, getting the word that you have made it to a cancer-free body is glorious news. Read Joy Schanil Schwann's story of her own win over cancer ... We Weren't Perfect: Shameful Memories Most of our memories of high school are probably pretty nice. But one classmate remembers the others who were bullied and sometimes abused. He asks us to stand up for those less fortunate than us. Read Paul Schneider's account of the other side of high school ... Burckhard's Bakery: A Sweet Institution And Its Sweet Namesake on Growing Up in Aberdeen There are a few institutions that we all remember from our days in high school. Then there are those institutions that we loved because they bring back sweet memories. And then there are those sweet institutions that had a direct connection to one of our classmates. Read Dawn Burckhard's story of Burckhard's Bakery ... The Inside Story of Liem's Sporting Goods Every boy's dream of sports greatness welled up whenever we walked through the door, smelled that leather, and saw the town's sporting greats swapping tales. As told by Harry Liem's grandson, David (Class of '66) ... Largest Hotel West of Mpls. The Sherman Hotel was the rock of a building that stood at the corner of Main Street and Third Avenue South. When we were in grade school, it was THE hotel in town. When we were in high school, it had been supplanted by the new Holiday Inn. By the time we got to college, we went there because the Sherman Bar was a pretty cool place, but the top of the building had been shaved off to make room for a parking garage. How To Talk South Dakotan When Alice Laird Rapport moved to Washington, DC, her co-workers had a good laugh when she said she was going down the block for a "pop." Alice wasn't headed out for a midday drink of alcohol, she was merely using the word that every South Dakotan knows means soda. Read Alice's primer on how to speak SoDakian... In case the trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood didn't scare you enough on Halloween, here's a frightening look at the digital wizards behind this newsletter. Join In With Your Story Most of the stories that appear in our blog and on Facebook come from you. This Class of '66 effort has been successful because of the variety of stories from you. We know you all have a story to tell the class, but might be reluctant or you think you don't write well. We encourage you to submit your stories for this newsletter. It's easy. Here's what you do: Simply write an email and send it to us at: aberdeenclassof66reunion@gmail.com. Include a photo if you have one, but it's not essential. We'll do the rest. Your note can be a simple, short paragraph or a long story, a question, an old photograph. Share a memory about something from our days together or share what is happening in your life. We just hope that you will join the effort to keep the newsletter going. Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*