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.