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

Alamo Cerca 1941

This is Johnny Jacobson's shop, I believe. At least it was in the '60's. Note in the picture window the spire and cross from the church. So maybe I don't know exactly where this was. The scene is of Superintendent Bolgen talking to Peder Sogard. The picture window is marked Alamo Auto Company.

The school picture is of the faculty and some seniors in 1941. Recognize anyone?