From Central to Saudi Arabia: Living in the Middle East

Skip and Dona (Petersen) Johnson in traditional Saudi attire. 

By Skip Johnson and Dona Petersen Johnson

When we moved to Saudi Arabia with our three children in 1981, we planned to stay 18 months to take advantage of an income tax break on foreign income that kicks in after a year and a half. We sold almost all of our belongings rather than put them in temporary storage, and it turned out to be a good decision, because we didn’t leave after 18 months. We stayed until 2001.

We had lived in Pennsylvania, where Skip was a project engineer at Procter and Gamble and Dona taught pre-school. Skip took a new job in Saudi Arabia as a project and construction manager for the Saudi Aramco oil company, which was considered the country club of expatriate jobs. 

The Aramco camps where employees lived had golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, a movie theater, very nice housing and excellent schools for the children. During our time living in Saudi Arabia, we traveled often to Europe and Asia on our annual vacations. And, of course, the pay was good, too. Our kids all went to school in Saudi Arabia through the ninth grade, then transferred to the Mercersberg Academy in Pennsylvania for high school.

As you all know, Saudi Arabia is the desert, so the most difficult adjustment was the extreme heat. Summertime temperatures frequently exceeded 120 degrees.

Aramco’s headquarters is in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran, which is not far from Kuwait, so during the first Gulf War we had SCUD and Patriot missiles landing a few hundred yards from our home.

Although there was little to no social interaction with the Saudis, we found them to be hospitable, friendly and, in general, great people to work with. At the time, Skip was able to read and speak Arabic, most of which he’s forgotten in the 15 years since we left.

Dona taught at a pre-school for Saudi and foreign children. It was amazing how fast the kids learned to speak English. But there is definitely great separation between the native Saudi’s life and our expatriate lives. Dona was able to go shopping in the nearby community of Al-Khobar without wearing a veil, or abayia, and could drive our car inside the Aramco facility, even though women were not allowed to drive in the country. She particularly liked to shop for jewelry at the gold souk, or market, which is pictured below. 

Gold is highly prized in Saudi Arabia. A gold souk, or market, in Al-Khobar.

The second biggest adjustment, after the heat, is that officially there is no alcohol in the kingdom, a minor disadvantage to be overcome.

When we arrived we were given a booklet from foreign oil companies, called "The Blue Flame."  This booklet had diagrams on how to build a still, recipes for the mash and instructions on how to safely operate the still.  All of the housing had a “still room” in the garage with explosion-proof electrical wiring and an exhaust system for getting rid of the fumes. On more than one occasion the roof was blown off the garage when a car was started in the garage and the exhaust system was not working. It was not uncommon to see a roof blown off the garage.

The moonshine that was made was called sideeki, or "sid," which in Arabic means my friend. It was 180-proof grain alcohol.

Dona became quite good at making wine.  However on one of her first tries to bottle it from the five-gallon container, she did not realize that the bottles must be lower than the container in order to siphon the wine to the bottles, something most boys learn the first time they siphon gas from a car. But she kept on trying, swallowing a little wine with each attempt. Needless to say, she ended up a little tipsy. She quickly became much better at making and decanting, but our wine usually was labeled by week rather than by the year!

After a causeway to Bahrain was constructed, we were able to drive there on weekends for adult refreshments.

One time a group of us went for the weekend and bought much more than we could consume over the weekend. We were staying at a resort that had little bungalows with nice yards so we decided to bury the leftover beer, wine and gin for the next visit.  We returned a couple of weeks later to find that our buried treasure was gone. We recalled that there were some Indian or Pakistani workers nearby who might have seen us burying the treasure.

Before the Gulf War, the only television was broadcast by Aramco. TV programs were taped in Houston and sent over, so everything was at least two weeks old. It was on only from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the week (Saturday through Wednesday) and on from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday (our weekend). Of course everything was censored. For example on "The Waltons," when Ma and Pa Walton kissed, that would be cut out. During the Muslim calls to prayer during the day, “prayer intermission” screens appeared on the television and programming stopped temporarily.

Of course there is no pork allowed in Saudi Arabia, but Aramco had a "pork store" where we could buy some. The amount you could buy was determined by your pay grade, so each purchase was written down on a sheet with your name and reported to management if you overbought. After Aramco was nationalized in 1986 the pork stores were quickly closed. Luckily for those of us who eat pork, you could buy "white meat" in Bahrain and they would label it “veal” for Saudi customs inspection. Christmas trees were not allowed either. My Cuban boss and his wife were returning from a weekend in Bahrain with some "veal" and a real Christmas tree. When the customs agent found the contraband during the inspection, he asked them which one they wanted to keep. They replied, "the tree," so the veal was thrown over the side of the causeway bridge into the Arabian Gulf! 

When we left Saudi Arabia in 2001, just before 9/11, we moved to Longmont, Colorado, to be near our three children, all of whom lived near there. But we found that we had culture shock moving back to the U.S. after 20 years abroad, and we missed the expat life, so we moved to Lake Chapala, Mexico. We love it here. The weather is just about perfect and the cost of living is much lower than it was in Colorado.

The Guadalajara airport is only 30 minutes away, so we can visit our children and grandkids whenever we want.

Reunion Photos: Would You Recognize These Classmates on the Street?

Here are some pix of classmates who attended the Aberdeen Central High Class of 1966 50-year reunion. If you met any of these people on the street, would you recognize them as people you spent every day with 50 years ago? Some have changed a great deal and some seem not to have changed at all.

Sheryl Smith Horan

Robert "Bob" "Butch" Lee

Robert "Bob" Orr

Jane Stein Guthmiller

Richard D'Amico

Susan Schumacher Anderson

We'd Recogniz Her Anywhere: Joan Wiederhoft Davis

She towered over us in so many ways. You couldn't miss her in any classroom and you'd still recognize her today. Joan Wiederhoft was as quiet as anyone in the class, but she always arrived with a smile on her face.

We'd Recognize Him Anywhere: John Hendrikson

Scary-smart, Professor John Hendrikson was another of those faces you saw everywhere in Central High School in the mid-1960s. And don't we recall that he rode his motorcycle around Aberdeen, terrorizing the nuns and students at Presentation College near his northside home?

Post your comments and memories of John below.

Gary Sharp: We'd Recognize Him Anywhere

Gary Sharp, was another of our classmates  — like Nancy Wendy, Roger Warfield, Gwen Ryman, Alan Peck, Linda Peck and others —who lived on a farm just outside of town. His father's place was five miles east and was known as Sharp's Dairy Cattle.

Graduating from Central was the biggest challenge facing Gary in those days. Gary was thinking more about 4H than English class. Gary says Willard Ellis told him, "Your time in 4H and traveling probably gives you a better education than missing two days of school anyway."

His long career in 4H culminated in being South Dakota 4H president in 1965.

"I met a lot of people, and to this day I have a lot of friends throughout South Dakota whom I met through 4H," Gary says. Those friends include his wife, Donna, who he met as a teen attending a conference in Brookings. They later reconnected during a college Block and Bridle meeting at SDSU.

SDSU named Sharp an Eminent Farmer/Rancher in 2014. He is a member of SD Farmers Union, SD Cattlemen's Association, and the state and national Holstein Association. In 1997 the Sharp family received the South Dakota Outstanding 4H Family of the Year and in 2002, Gary was awarded the Northeast South Dakota Agri-business of the Year.

Nancy Wendt Thiex: We'd Recognize Her Anywhere

Nancy Wendt was that math-smart quiet one who rarely made a peep in class, but she went on to become a highly respected professor of veterinary science at SDSU. She was named one of the Outstanding Young Women of America in 1984.

After graduating from Northern State College in 1970, and getting a Master of Education from SDSU in 1972 and a Master of Science there in 1974, she took a job as a photographic chemist at the EROS Data Center north of Sioux Falls.

In two years she was back at SDSU as an instructor, and then she worked her way up as an assistant professor, an associate professor and finally a full professor in the analytical services laboratory of the Veterinary School.

She's been given many distinguished service awards in feed science and veterinary science and has authored several books and academic journal articles.

She's also the mother of three children.

We'd Recognize Her Anywhere: Gwen Ryman Heyd

Here's another of those always-smiling faces from the Aberdeen CHS Class of 1966: Gwen Heyd, or Gwen Ryman, as we knew her then. Quiet and smart, she came to school every day from her family farm south of town, and brightened every classroom she stepped into. Share your memories of Gwen in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Robert J. Couser: Central High School Hall of Fame Inductee

In September of 2011, Bob Couser was inducted into the Aberdeen Central High School Hall of Fame for his academic achievements during his career as a neonatal doctor in Minneapolis.

As a new doctor, Couser joined the newborn intensive care unit at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis in 1984. During his long career at Children's, he served as medical director of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and as director of clinical neonatal research. His department took part in several national clinical trials during his tenure as director as well as the hospital's own clinical trials.

Under Couser's directorship, the center was the first in the upper Midwest to use a new technique called "surfactant therapy" in the treatment of preterm newborn infants, as well as providing ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) therapy to newborns and applying a new treatment for perinatal asphyxia.

The center under Couser's direction was the first in Minnesota to separate conjoined twins. He authored more than 30 research articles as well as co-authoring a book on the use of drugs in newborn intensive care units.

He retired from Children's Hospital on January 1, 2010 and now lives in Aberdeen.

We'd Recognize Her Anywhere: Laurie Dano

Those bangs -- and that smile. Another classmate who always seemed to be in the middle of the fun. Dancing. Laughing. Conspiring. Snarking. Laurie should have been one of the women on "Sex and the City." And who among us wouldn't recognize her 50 years later? And if you see her, could Linda Hunstad be far behind?

We'd Recognize Him Anywhere: LeRoy Suiter

He was the quiet but tough presence in the back of the classroom. LeRoy Suiter, resilient and loyal and kind friend to all.

We'd Recognize Her Anywhere: Mary Stephenson Koury

If you lived anywhere near Henry Neil Elementary School or attended Sacred Heart School, you remember Mary Stephenson. Her grinning presence was always there when someone was playing a prank or just having a good time. She somehow came up with the mischievous ideas but never seemed to get caught herself. Never a dull or unhappy moment when Mary was around. 

We'd Recognize Him Anywhere: Al Breaw

Al Breaw, fast man on a guitar and side man on so many bands we can't begin to name them all, was a product of Henry Neil School near the "Mog." A man with a million ideas, Al's favorite quote at one time was, "I'll be the first person in this class to make a million dollars." Did he make it? We probably don't much care, because Al was loved by almost everybody. A happy presence at any party, for sure.

We'd Recognize Her Anywhere: Alice Laird Rapport

Like we said many times before, some people never change. Alice Laird (now Rapport) still looks elegant as ever these many years later. Some of us have had the pleasure of knowing her from the neighborhood on S. Jackson Street (her father ran the bowling alley downtown and her mother welcomed everybody into their home) up to and including her current life in Washington, DC.

Want to add some stories about Alice, comment on the blog or on our Facebook page.

Music Sung by the A Cappella Choir on Graduation Day

Cheryl Weisser, who claims she was not well known (no such thing in the Class of 66) kept a copy of the sheet music that the A Cappella Chorus sang at our graduation under the direction of Merlyn Aman. The sheet music is below.

We'd Recognize Him Anywhere: Duane "Dewey" Hunt

Some of us change a lot over the years and some don't. Wouldn't you recognize our class's rock musician anywhere? We think his parents lived out on old Hwy #281 out in the country so that Dewey could practice as loud as he wanted and not disturb the neighbors.

And here is a photo of a "New Group" poster, taken from a utility pole near the "Y," thanks to Cheryl Weisser.