APS Video

Since no one has posted any new pictures recently (or sent them to me so I could scan and post them), I've created a new video from the pictures I have. It's set to Enya's 'only time' from her 'a day without rain' CD. I hope you enjoy it. But think how much better it could be if you would send your picture, etc., so we could have some new material.

Link to video on Youtube

or view the video below

Videos of old houses (plus a bit more)

The Appam one appears to be Eldon and Oleda (SP) Johnson's house west of Appam. I have no idea of who posted the video. Any thoughts?

Actually this is a good idea. Do any of you have a video camera that you could use to take and post videos of the houses that remain in Alamo, Appam, and the area around there? It would be nice to have a record of what remains. Also - how about more pictures and old movies - I can help get them converted to video, any scanning required, and get them posted. They don't do anyone any good setting in the back of a drawer or in an old box.

Link to Eldon Johnson house west of Appam

Link to house described as being between Appam and Crosby

Link to St Olaf Church

Link to Temple, ND

How cold is it, anyway?

Dave Berry - Why you shouldn't make fun of North Dakota

Adeline Thoring

Today I had the pleasure of attending Adeline Thoring's 80th birthday! Her husband was Raymond Thoring and their farm was just north of Forsberg's and south of ours. Adeline was a Brune. Her sister Rose graduated from Alamo in 1941 and I think her picture might be in one of those class pictures David posted earlier. Her sister Ida also graduated from Alamo. Freddie and Adeline did not as the family moved to Minnesota. I also met George Bibler who now lives in Lewiston, Montana now. I remember Adeline's kitchen as she served me BIG cookies whenever Dad went over to see Raymond. She is sharp as a tack and looks to be in her late 60's early 70's and not 80! I hope I have my info correct. If not, please let me know and I will revise this! The first picture is of Adeline and the second one has Adeline, Rose and George Bibler.

Melodrama

How many of you attended the melodrama that was presented during the 50th anniversary back in 1966. It played down at the old locker and was quite a 'hit'. I'm guessing that there is more memorabilia from this event out there somewhere.

Hartland School Desks

Dennis Johnson sent this to me and said...I quote
"Larry brought me these when he came to california visiting probably 83 0r 84. I have had them in the shed since. I recently had them sand blasted and restored to one day go to my grandchildren. I think they turned out excellent, down to the contour, pencil holder and ink bottle holder. They came from Hartland school on the suburbs of APPAM, North Dakota." Dennis also says
"I started first grade in 1956 when:

January:Elvis Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel.",

March: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 500 for the first time (500.24), Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world.
May: The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
October: New York Yankees baseball pitcher Don Larsen pitches first (and only) perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
November: U.S. presidential election, 1956: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower is reelected by defeating Democrat challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest four years earlier."
My mother and both sisters went there as well I believe...if this is the school on the south side of town? I was there a few years ago and should post the picture I have.

Homecoming Parade Fall 1969 ?

Observe the float being pulled by the lawn tractor; No. 28 is holding a rifle. Obviously a much simpler time....

JV Cheerleaders - 1967-68 ??

I believe this is Connie Smith, Debbie Otteson, Marge Lohse, and Tanya Weber from a picture dated April 1968. Anyone out there remember the details?

On stage in Alamo

The play picture is dated May 1968 and the singer picture is dated December 1967. Any idea as to the details of these events. Given the time frame, I no doubt witnessed both - but neither rings a bell. Help!

Ellisville Basket Ball

Dennis Johnson provided these pictures of the Ellisville BB team in year ??? We need some help here folks to identify the who and when part.

I stopped by to take a picture of the Ellisville school last summer and, to my surprise, it had been burned down (deliberately) the previous year. Cliff Gronfur said it was the old high school from Brooklyn, ND (south of Spring Brook), and was moved to the Ellisville location when Brooklyn faded away. Does anyone out there have other pictures to share? There must be lots of them out there.

AHS Authors

I'm sure many graduates of Alamo Public School have written books: if you know of some, please share the information with us.

"Vikings of the Prairie" was written by my uncle Norris Hagen and is described on eBay by a seller (Item No. 14018206211) as follows:
" This book is a portrait of the author's parents as pioneers in North Dakota and, in larger sense, of all such early settlers and of the State itself. Vikings of the Prairie, in conversations between N. C. Hagen's mother and father and a friend of long standing, tells the early twentieth-century history of the Flickertail State, particularly in the northwestern area. It also offers an authentic picture of how the early settlers thought and lived in the course of their struggles to tame an unfriendly wilderness, and givers overdue recognition to the quiet and stoic (though often humorous) heroism of a people whose truly remarkable exploits have been neglected because they were not conceived in the usual Western tradition of gun smoke and cattle towns. Finally, it evaluates the contributions of the pioneers of the Dakota prairies to the development of the United States. The relentless enemy of these settlers was weather. They were plagued by snowstorms, droughts and tornadoes. Also important to them were methods of farming, and the book contains illuminating discussions of the relative merits of oxen, horses and tractors. Vikings of the Prairie is not only an accurate and compelling picture of some men and women who helped to make America great, but a valuable piece of Americana of more than regional interest! "

My sister Jane Hagen Freeman has written and published a book on watercolor techniques: "A Celebration of Light: Painting the Textures of Light in Watercolor". It's available online at Amazon books and other fine booksellers. You can see her work on her website: www.janefreeman.com

Sun sets on the harvest

Harvest pictures from the area; there has to be a lot of them out there. How about sharing some of yours with the rest of us - if you can't post it, send them to me and I will be happy to (and I'll return the pictures if they're hard copy).

This particular photo is a snapshot of Keith and Barb Overland's 2007 harvest experience and is taken a few miles northeast of Alamo. I'm sure the scene evokes memories for all of us who grew up on or around the farm.

Years

So how many of you have read this novel? I admit that, while I vaguely recall it, I don't think I've read it - even though it is set in our old home town.

Publishers Weekly

In September 1917, 18-year-old Linnea Brandonberg steps off the train in Alamo, North Dakota, eager to begin her first teaching job. A town girl, she is not prepared for the dour reception of the Westgaard family, with whom she is boarding. But rather than let people and circumstances master her, she singlehandedly changes them, including Theodore Westgaard, a bitter widower of 35 who never thought he would fall in love again. Spencer has done a splendid job here in making this more than a story of two people enamored of each other. She describes the growth of Teddy and Linnea's love with sensitivity and refreshing candor and brings all the residents of Alamo to life in a way that makes the reader care about their satisfactions and heartaches. (March)

Pictures cerca 1976

Please identify the people via comments.

Greenwave Basketball Team - February 1976