Annual Report 2018

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968 D1 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

A PIVOTAL TIME OF

PASSION AND POSSIBILITY Fifty years. Half a century. A really long time to some; what seems like yesterday to others.

The year was 1968, arguably one of the most pivotal years in U.S. history. It was a year that shaped the future of America — in both the positive and negative.

A time when the idyllic facade of the post-World War II America of the 1950s and early 1960s was tested and, some would say, later shattered.

As Marc Fisher of the Washington Post puts it so plainly: “1968 was the year the center did not hold. It was the year many Americans saw their country spinning out of control. It was a shocking time, a moment of danger, destruction and division — yet also a time of passion and possibil-

ity.”

The sea change sweeping the nation, and the world, in 1968 did not leave Bemidji behind, either. Change was happening all around us here in Bemidji, yet, to a degree, the First City on the Mississippi was still a quiet northern Minnesota town.

“It cost 15 cents to ride the city bus. We’d get on in downtown Bemidji, pay 15 cents, then ride around town. No parental supervision. There was no fear of getting kidnapped, or anything like that,” writes Jim Aakhus, now 60, about that summer of 1968 when he was between the fifth and sixth grades.

But indeed, the times they were a changing, as Bob Dylan sang in 1964, and so was the country.

Fisher continues: “The polarization that plagues the nation half a century later was born, in many ways, in 1968.

Two of the nation’s most cherished leaders, a King and a Kennedy, were assassinated. Americans watched terrible things happen on television — shattered shop windows and burning buildings after the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the heaving grief of mourners alongside railroad tracks as Robert F. Kennedy’s casket passed by. In downtowns where people once came together, looters stole groceries and liquor and TV sets and, for many Americans, their sense of security.

“But 1968 was also a shining moment, a year packed with the progress that made today better

than yesterday.

“Human beings for the first time saw what our planet looks like from space. The Defense Department granted a contract to a company to build the first router, a key step toward connecting computers in different locations.

“A white man kissed a black woman on national television for the first time. They were in outer space, and they lived in the future, and they were fictional characters, Capt.

Kirk and Lt. Uhura, but they were also on NBC, in millions of homes, in 1968.

“Above all, the year divided Americans from one another, to the point that many believed the country was on the verge of chaos. Every day

brought new confrontations — students against administrators, blacks against whites, workers against bosses. It was a cacophony of demonstrations, picket lines, radical manifestos, underground publications, sit-ins, beins, Yip-ins.”

Against much of this backdrop was the war in Vietnam; 1968 was year of the famous Tet Offensive and would become the bloodiest year of the conflict — 16,899 Americans perished — an average of 46 a day, the Washington Post reported. The war was felt here at home, too, as three young men from Bemidji — Thomas Charles Lewer, 20; Richard Dewey Vick, 22; and Robert Wayne Glidden, 19 — were killed in Vietnam in 1968.

One who did come home was Al Curb: “I do remember loading the plane up when we were leaving,” Curb told the Pioneer. “We were in a big file, 225 of us, and we had to wait until all these young men got off

the plane. Now we’re all tanned and leathered and wrinkled, beat up. And all these young kids get off that plane. . . and they’re laughing and joking as they’re walking by us. I know they stared at us like ‘What is wrong with these guys?’ All I could think about, and I never forgot it, is that half of you are not coming back.

And they didn’t know that yet.”

But like many U.S. communities in 1968, life continued in Bemidji. Downtown was the core of the city, with Paul and Babe standing tall as they do still. There were the famous amusement park rides near the statues; and who can forget Herb’s popcorn stand?

You could get everything downtown — heck, there were five hardware stores — and the fancy Markham Hotel would be the place to stay in Bemidji. Or you could head out to Midway Drive to find a motor hotel where the Hampton Inn and Dou-

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Bemidji State College had 4,463 students enrolled in the fall of 1968, up 7 percent from the previous year.

There were 258 students in the Bemidji High School senior class of 1968.

The Paul Bunyan Playhouse opened its 17th season at Ruttger’s with “The Boy Friend” a musical comedy by Sandy Wilson.

D2 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

HIGHWAYS THROUGH THE HEART OF THE CITY

From the publisher

The Bemidji Pioneer is proud to present this year’s Annual Report as a look back 50 years to a time when Bemidji was quite a different place.

We’ve tried to present stories and photographs that bring back vivid memories for longtime area residents and give newcomers a sense of what life in Bemidji was like in 1968.

Of course, we could have written an entire Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center book on this subject.

This aerial shot from the south shore of Lake Bemidji shows the Georgia Pacific lumber There are so many othplant near the current site of the Sanford Center and Lake Irving in the background. ers who have stories to share about that time.

Many have already done Drive Northwest and Bemi- said.

By Matthew Liedke so through social media mleidke@bemidjipioneer.com dji Avenue North all now Not only did the highsharing, and some of the meet was often congested. ways change over that U.S. Highways 2 and 71 stories in today’s report “It was tight quarters for time, though, but the surhave almost always been came from that. trucks, especially for their roundings did as well. For the main arteries carrying The story of Dennis traffic to and from Bemidji. turning movements,” Tasa example, in the late 60s and Candy Shaff on Page said. the Bemidji city limits were E4, for example, came However, in the late In response, MnDOT offi- just north of Norwood 1960s, with traffic steadily from a Facebook post cials began traffic counts, Drive Northeast. Plus, not increasing, state officials that Dennis shared last calculating the amount of much was developed in the month. The Bemidji High decided that instead of trucks and other vehicles northwest part of the city. these two highways carrySchool sweethearts, now passing through Bemidji “When you went west of ing traffic through the city, living in Arizona, still from the east and west. town, past the mall, it was the better option would be consider Bemidji home.

After several months, local the old fairgrounds where having a bypass.

MnDOT staff went to St. Target is now,” Tasa said.

“There were a lot of Paul with the data to show “Past that, it was undesemi-trucks going through Bemidji needed a bypass. veloped until the (Bemidji town at that time, comTasa said when he moved From Page D1 Regional) Airport.” ing from Duluth and going to the area in 1979, the On top of the increase in to the Dakotas,” said Lou bridges of the bypass were development around the Tasa, a state aid engineer under construction and that bleTree are today. highways over the past 50 for the Minnesota Departpaving was completed by Neighborhood groceryears, the number of vehiment of Transportation.

1983. ies popped up all over “Highway 2 was the main Additionally, since High- cles on the pavement has Bemidji, you could walk also steadily gone up. highway to and from the way 2 and 71 were changed to Schmunk’s on Lake By 1979, there were Duluth port. The area also to fit the bypass, Tasa said 8,000 vehicles going had many wood product Avenue in Nymore if you the city of Bemidji and through the city and the plants, which caused a lot needed your milk and MnDOT worked to have number hit 8,500 a few of trucks to be carrying State Highway 197 run eggs — one of among years later when the bypass tree-length logs through through town. many smaller stores that opened. Today, Tasa said town.”

“The city was worried there are more than 20,000 dotted the city’s landAs a result of the heavy about the trunk highway scape. industrial traffic, the inter- not going through the cars going through the city Change came to the section where 23rd Street while 10,000 vehicles travel downtown area and havNortheast, Paul Bunyan Bemidji State College, as ing to maintain that,” Tasa across the bypass.

Before the bypass, Highways 2 and 71 flowed through Bemidji

POSSIBILITY

Dennis told us about going to Vietnam right after he and Candy were married, and not seeing his bride for more than 13 months.

We must thank some people for helping to make this report possible.

The Beltrami County History Center has been a valuable partner, led by director Gary Rozman.

The museum’s text and photography collections were a great resource.

Beltrami County Historical Society board member Sue Bruns wrote a poignant column that appears on Page D3 and a story about downtown Bemidji on Pages D4 and D5. She also helped with research and editing.

Cecelia Wattles McKeig also assisted with photos from the History Center and from her own collection. She’s writing a book about Bemidji in the 1960s that will be published soon and available

at the History Center.

We also appreciated having conversations with many community members who were excited to share memories.

Our reporting staff, led by Editor Matt Cory, interviewed dozens of people to produce much of the content.

Kelly (Campbell) Reid from our customer service department spent hours researching Pioneer archives, and also shared personal memories from the days when her mother, Pat Campbell, ran the Melody Shop on Third Street.

Our advertising staff, led by Todd Keute, did a wonderful job of helping local businesses create ads to connect with customers and support our work.

We hope you enjoy this special report. We certainly enjoyed bringing it to you.

it was known then, as Robert Decker was named president of the college, replacing Harry Bangsberg, who was killed in a plane crash in Vietnam in 1967. And the new Bemidji State Fieldhouse opened for the 1967-68 season, finally an indoor place for BSC hockey to call home. And they took advantage, winning the first of their 13 national titles in 1968.

Yet, as time passes and more things change, the more they really can stay

the same. A political issue in 1968 for Bemidji was keeping open the city’s municipal liquor store — in 2018, we are building an expanded facility to replace one of the city’s two muni-stores.

In 1968, civic and tribal leaders were calling for a better way to help mend race relations in the community; in 2018, that dialogue continues.

The Bemidji of 1968 epitomized America — a place of stability and change.

Dennis Doeden, Publisher

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Joe Welle was president of the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce, and Larry Laschkewitsch was secretary.

John Wooden, legendary basketball coach at UCLA, was a featured speaker at the All American Coaching Clinic in Bemidji.

At the BHS winter sports banquet, Rev. Francis Lehman delivered the invocation and Judy Cowden sang selections from “Funny Girl.”

D3 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

A walk down Beltrami Avenue … 1968 style Paul and Babe are still in their same spot, but the view around them has changed dramatically in the past 50 years.

Step back in time to 1968 to the Lake Bemidji lakefront and downtown Bemidji with Paul Bunyan Amusement Park, the Bemidji Belle, Bemidji Armory, the Markham Hotel and Motel, a lakefront Historical and Natural Museum, and Lueken’s grocery store on Bemidji Avenue.

Walking down Beltrami Avenue in 1968, you might have seen three young Bemidji-born people going about their ordinary business. Bemidji State College student Jerry Phillips steps out of Kroll’s Sporting Goods, crosses Beltrami Avenue, and checks the billboard outside the Chief Theater. “Cool Hand Luke” is showing tonight. From the Chief, Jerry heads north a block and a half to the corner of Fifth and Beltrami and enters Glass

SUE

BRUNS



Block Drug.

In the pharmacy, Jon Quistgaard’s father Jack fills prescriptions for customers and offers advice about over-thecounter remedies. Jerry heads downstairs to join a few friends at the soda counter and orders a cherry Coke. He can’t help but remember the funniest thing he’s ever seen in the soda shop.

In chemistry class at BHS a few years ago, Mr. Theisen had explained what would happen if you put marshmallow cream into a glass of root beer, so Jerry and his buddies ordered such concoctions one day to try the experiment. True to Mr. Theisen’s prediction, the root beer foamed into a

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

messy eruption on the counter while the poor fountain girl tried to contain the fizzy mess with a saturated bar rag.

Meanwhile, just up the block, imagine Jim Aakhus walking out of the Coast to Coast store at 405 Beltrami with his brand-new Schwinn 20-inch five-speed bicycle, complete with a stick shift, high-rise handlebars and a banana seat.

He had saved up the $66.90 for last year’s model (original price $98, no sales tax) — now on sale. He finds a stray dime in his pocket and stops at the Ideal Bakery across the street for one of their monstrous ninecent elephant ears, the perfect celebration for his new purchase. He hops on his new bike, elephant ear in hand, and pedals off into the sunset.

Imagine Robyn Hensel (now Schulke), a 1967 graduate of Bemidji High School and freshman at BSC, just getting off

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Looking north from the Markham Hotel along Beltrami Avenue. work at Bookcraft on the corner of Beltrami and Third. As she walks north on Beltrami, she can’t help but think how much more she enjoys working at Shelley Schwartz’s book store than she had at the Red Onion drivein back in high school.

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

She can go home without smelling like a day’s worth of cooking grease.

The aroma from Herb’s popcorn wagon up the street is enticing. Robyn follows the scent past the S&L and the Burger House and enters the Arcade Building in the

middle of the 400 block.

She climbs the stairs to the Arcade Salon to make a hair appointment for next week.

It’s just an ordinary day in downtown Bemidji in 1968.

Sue Bruns is a board member of the Beltrami County Historical Society and a Bemidji Pioneer contributor.

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

The soda fountain at Glass Block Drug was a popular This photo from the 1980s shows the S&L store and Herington's Shoes and Security State Bank on Beltrami hangout for locals in the 1960s.

Chief Theater on Beltrami Avenue Avenue. Note the parking meters.

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Dick Beitzel, professor of chemistry at Bemidji State College, was director of the Northern Minnesota Science Fair held at BSC.

Fred Whelan, a Bemidji High School junior, painted three large pictures that were hung in Bemidji’s new City Arena.

Over 1,100 beginning freshmen arrived at Bemidji State College for several days of special events leading up to the first day of classes on Sept. 23.

D4 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

DOWNTOWN BEMIDJI IN 1968: A HUB OF ACTIVITY

By Sue Bruns Special to the Pioneer

The lake drew them in — locals and visitors alike. They took pictures

by Paul and Babe, let the children ride the Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, the little cars and the tilt-a-whirl at the Paul Bunyan Amusement Park.

They came for special occasions, and up to 125 could fit on Don Holmes’ sternwheeler, the Bemidji Belle, for a cruise on Lake Bemidji.

Celebrations brought them in. Fourth of July events in 1968 included a fish fry at the waterfront ($1.75 for adults, $1.25 for children), a free watermelon feed, canoe jostling with cash prizes, and a haystack scramble for children where $200 in nickels was hidden in a stack of hay at the waterfront.

Just across Bemidji Avenue from the Armory, tourists shopped for souvenirs at Morell’s at 102 Second St. One block to the west, buses pulled up to the Greyhound Bus Depot, housed in the Markham, the most luxurious hotel in Bemidji.

Downtown Bemidji — A gathering place Even when there were no special events, Bemidji was still a hub of activity.

The downtowns of most small or medium-sized towns in 1968, before the

appearance of ubiquitous malls (Bemidji’s Paul Bunyan Mall opened in 1977), were centers for working, shopping, services and entertainment.

On Friday nights, stores stayed open until 9. In addition to the Woolen Mills, Patterson’s, J.C. Penney, and S&L, there were Gill Brothers, Troppman’s, O’Meara’s, Wilson’s, Poise ‘n Ivy, and more clothing stores.

Bemidji had five downtown hardware stores in 1968 and general stores like Gibson’s, Gambles, and Woolworth’s. Music lovers shopped at the Melody Shop or Brent’s Music Center. Lueken’s, National Tea and Red Owl were the main downtown grocers, but Bemidji had 18 grocers, including several small neighborhood stores. Savvy shoppers saved trading stamps from the Red Owl or Troppman’s and redeemed them at the S&H Green Stamp store on Third Street for a hair drier, a punch bowl or even a hedge trimmer.

Services in downtown Bemidji In 1968, Bemidji’s downtown was home to the offices of 11 dentists, 14 physicians, four optometrists, two opticians, the Bemidji Clinic (522 Beltrami Ave.), the Bemidji Hospital (803 Dewey Ave.), five drug-

stores and two funeral homes.

Rita and Dale Lauderbaugh had just had their fourth child. They lived in Nymore, and Rita took care of four additional children during the day.

When Dale got home from his job delivering fuel for Standard Oil, Rita left for her 5 to 11 p.m. shift in the hospital office. In her spare time, she took her oldest daughter to summer library club. In 1961, the library had outgrown its original home in the Carnegie building and moved into the old post office at Sixth and Beltrami.

Other services available downtown included three photo studios, four laundromats, 11 barbershops and nine beauty salons. In 1968, Ann Dunlap operated Ann’s Beauty Shop (established in 1936) out of her front porch at 611 Bemidji Ave. It had two dryers, two styling stations and one hair-washing sink. Ann’s daughter, Judy Dvorak, recalled that two other stylists worked for her mother, but Ann herself tended to Margaret Galloway, Bemidji High School English teacher of notable fame.

Ann kept Margaret’s hair its signature shade of red for many years.

Cliff Morlan cut hair from Cliff’s Barber Shop at 220 Minnesota Ave. Sports writer and columnist for the Bemidji

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

The Paul Bunyan Amusement Park behind Paul and Babe drew throngs of people to the Lake Bemidji waterfront.

Pioneer, Morlan knew all the current and past athletes in Bemidji. Not only did he cut their hair and cover their sporting events, he also refereed some of their games.

Professionals kept local hairdressers and barbers in business; college kids weren’t spending much money on haircuts in the ’60s.

“I was basically a hippie and cut my own hair,” said Jim Hanson, a Bemidji State College student who transferred from Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, in 1968. Like

DOWNTOWN: Page D5

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

The Bemidji Belle took guests on excursions around Lake Bemidji.

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968 D5 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Gary Paulson, author of a newly released book, “Some Birds Don’t Fly,” visited Bemidji State College, his alma mater. He wrote the book in 13 days in a cabin at Laporte.

More than 600 Bemidji State College students, faculty and townspeople attended a moving memorial service for slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King at BSC’s Memorial Hall.

Jean Houston, professor of philosophy and authority on psychedelic drug research, spoke on “The New Consciousness” as part of a BSC cultural arts lecture series.

DOWNTOWN From Page D4

many other college students of the day, Jim had no car, lived close to campus, shopped at Super John’s and kept his money at First National Bank. Still living in the area, Jim said, “This is my 50th year with (First National).”

Entertainment

Throughout the year, dances and rollerskating brought people of all ages downtown to the Armory.

In 1968, the Chief Theater drew movie-goers to “Cool Hand Luke,” “To Sir with Love” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”

Various downtown establishments offered free bingo: The Moose Club on Wednesdays, the VFW on Thursdays, the Elks or Legion on Fridays or Saturdays. For years people had been heading downtown for bowling or billiards at Lar Jo Bowling and the Family Billiard Center (217 Third St). When she was little, Georgia Erdman sometimes tagged along with her mom, Sue, and Sue’s leaguemates (Flo Benninghouse, Blanche Batchelder and Babe Howell) at the Lar Jo. Georgia remembered watching the boys set up pins between each frame.

High school kids met at one of several soda fountains downtown — Glass Block, City Drug, Woolworth’s. Jon Quistgaard’s father, Jack, owned Glass Block Drug at Fifth and Beltrami. The soda fountain in the basement of the building was a popu-

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Herb's popcorn cart was a fixture downtown at Fourth and Beltrami and at the waterfront in 1968. lar place to get a chocolate or cherry Coke after school. Originally, the soda fountain had been on the main floor. When Jack decided to relocate the fountain to the basement, he didn’t know how the huge stainless steel cook stove could be moved, so he called Merchants Transfer and Storage. Jon remembers, “The four Aylesworth boys came over and just picked the big thing up and carried it downstairs.”

At first some people thought it strange when Cal Haluptzok carpeted the walls of the downstairs soda shop for Quistgaard, but then the trend caught on and several other businesses and home rec rooms followed suit. “The original carpeting is still on the walls today,” Jon said. The building now is home to Paul Bunyan Broadcasting.

Working Downtown

Weekday mornings, Glass Block was a meeting place for downtown businessmen, Quistgaard

recalled. “Every morning at 8 — Monday through Friday — the downtown businessmen would gather in the soda shop for coffee — everyone from judges to businessmen.”

BSC students filled part-time jobs when it was still possible to work their way through college without going into debt. They worked jobs in retail, at grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants — anywhere they could.

Robyn (Hensel) Schulke worked at Bookcraft, where, on Thursday, May 2, 1968, Gary Paulson, a little-known Minnesota author, had an autograph party to launch his first book, “Some Birds Don’t Fly.” Pam (Johnson) Kelsey, BHS class of ’67, returned to Bemidji after attending college in Mexico City. In the summer of 1968, she worked as a dental assistant for Dr. Stubbins and then resumed her studies at BSC to complete her degree in elementary education. After she graduated, she taught first grade in Red Lake.

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Rides on the merry-go-round and kids’ train kept youngsters entertained at the Paul Bunyan Amusement Park.

Dining Scene

Bemidji had about 30 eateries — restaurants, soda fountains, taverns, drive-ins — in 1968, several of them downtown.

Diners could grab lunch at the Burger House on Fourth and Beltrami or the Gasthaus on Third Street; Snider’s Cafe or the Coachman offered more complete menus, often with daily specials. In 1968, the Third Street Cafe advertised the colonel’s “Kentucky fried chicken.”

In 1968, Ruth Howe was teaching physical education at Bemidji State College and finishing up her doctoral degree. She favored the Sveden House in the Markham for local dining. “It was the only place in town that used real cloth napkins and tablecloths,” she said.

Bob and Sally Montebello moved to Bemidji in 1958, when Bob landed a job at BSC, teaching physical education

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Patterson’s Clothing at Second and Beltrami is one of the only family owned retail stores, along with Bemidji Woolen Mills and Morell’s Chippewa Trading Post, that is still in business in downtown Bemidji. Ken K. Thompson Jewelry, located in downtown for many years, also is still in business on Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest. and coaching baseball.

By 1968, Bob and Sally’s family included three children, ages 4, 8 and 9. “We didn’t eat out much,” said Sally. “Most people didn’t.” For a special night out, they enjoyed Jack’s in Wilton or the Turtle Club in Turtle River or the Markham.

For pizza, they went to Dave’s or Renaud’s.

Over the years, shopping malls, online marketing, and the Internet have all taken their toll on downtowns across the country, and the hustle and bustle of small town main streets occurs mainly during special events.

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968 D6 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

The New Christy Minstrels performed a free concert for Bemidji State College students and staff, kicking off Paul Bunyan Week. Townspeople could attend for $2.50.

Bemidji’s newly constructed Christian Youth Center opened its doors on Feb. 5 at 1422 Beltrami Ave.

Between the lakes

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com People who are newer to Bemidji probably don’t know much about the area known as Midway Drive.

That’s the section of town between Lake Bemidji and Lake Irving that stretches from downtown to Keith’s Pizza. Traffic flows through a pair of two-lane streets now, but in 1968 it was quite different, with one four-lane road that carried the traffic of two U.S. highways through town.

“The highway was pretty busy, for as busy as Bemidji was,” recalls Butch Larson, who grew up on Midway Drive at a motel owned by his mother and uncle. “In those days you had grain trucks hauling grain from the Dakotas steady. They were going by all the time.”

That was long before the bypass was built, sending traffic on Highway 2 and 71 south and west of downtown. The bypass was built in the early 1980s. Before the bypass, anyone traveling in any direction needed to go through the town’s core.

There were several motels along Midway Drive in those days. On the Lake Bemidji side were the Edgewater, the Paul Bunyan and the Holiday motels, and on the other side of the highway

was the Midway.

The area also was home to the popular Sands Cafe and the Rite-Way Cafe, the log cabin municipal liquor store, the Bemidji Candy Co., Standard Lumber, a few gas stations and beer distributors, Kleeb’s Air Taxi on Lake Bemidji and the Dairy Queen, which is probably the only remaining business from that era.

“We were really never part of downtown,” said Rich Siegert, who owned the Edgewater Motel and now owns the Hampton Inn & Suites and the Doubletree on the same property. Although highway traffic went right through it, Midway Drive was sort of like its own neighborhood.

Alice LaCoursiere was a waitress at the Sands Cafe, and remembers it as a go-to restaurant for locals and tourist alike.

When the Minnesota Vikings held their training camp in Bemidji in the early 1960s, the Sands got a lot of business from coaches, players and their families, many of whom were staying at nearby motels.

She remembers Head Coach Norm Van Brocklin coming in for dinner and conducting Vikings business. “When they came in it was always all business and they would have to sit at a table with a phone outlet,” LaCoursiere said.

“And there were probably only two of those outlets

Athletic Director Vic Weber served as master of ceremonies for the dedication of the $1 million Bemidji State College Fieldhouse (later named after John S. Glas).

Old Midway Drive looks quite different today

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

This is how Midway Drive looked 50 years ago, with a line of motels along the Lake Bemidji shore. The only buildings still standing are the two at the top left of the photo, which at the time were the Holiday Motel and Hill’s Mobil gas station. Those buildings now house offices. To the right of them were the Paul Bunyan Motel, the Edgewater Motel and Nordheim Roofing with cabins. Notice the four-lane road carrying traffic on U.S. Highways 2 and 71. in the dining room. The Sands had a very nice dining room in the back.

They’d always ask for that because they had to be on the phone with the upper brass all the time.”

Larson said his family’s Midway Motel attracted both tourists and business travelers. It was owned by his mother, Gertrude Larson, and her brother, Hilary LeClaire.

“We had a pretty good size lot, so when the Ford truck testers came to Bemidji they liked to park in our lot and stay at the Midway Motel,”

Butch said. “We had a lot of regular customers.

The Nabisco truck driver would come over and stay every other week.

We didn’t have much TV then, but they’d come in and watch TV. We had steady, loyal customers.”

He said despite the number of motels in the area, the competition was not fierce.

“In those days they had the motel association in town,” Larson said..

“They worked together.

When one motel would be filled they’d call their neighbors across the street … and try to find

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

The Sands Cafe on Midway Drive was a popular dining spot for locals, tourists and visiting business people. people rooms.”

The area also was a playground for children like Butch Larson, with two sets of train tracks running behind the businesses and bridges over

the Mississippi River between the two lakes.

“The railroad bridges were a playground for me,” Larson said. “We all hung out down there fishing and stuff.”

PROVIDING HOME FURNISHINGS IN THE BEMIDJI AREA FOR OVER

! s r a e 75 y

How much things cost in 1939: Average Cost of a new home $3,800 Cost of a gallon of gas 10 cents Average price for a new car $700

Now, third generation owner, Heather Galli, and staff continue to carry on the tradition of offering stylish home furnishings and the best name brands in the industry.

It all started in Bagley Minnesota when founder, Carl Galli, began selling gas powered wash machines.

Galli Furniture continued to grow and become a store providing a wide range of home furnishings with the addition of 2nd generation owner, Chuck Galli.

FREE AREA DELIVERY, FREE DISPOSAL, FREE SET-UP!

Operating since 1939, Galli Furniture is now a third generation family owned business providing quality home furnishings, appliances, floor covering and mattresses to homes in Northern Minnesota. It all started in Bagley Minnesota when founder, Carl Galli, moved to Bagley and started an appliance business.

During World War II he went to work in Minneapolis to support the war effort, as a supervisor at the Honeywell Corporation. After the war, he returned to Bagley and re-established the appliance business, Galli Home & Farm Stores, selling cream separators, gas and electric operated appliances, milking machines, etc. In the mid 1950s, he diversified into retailing furniture now known as Galli Furniture and Appliances, Inc. He was very community minded and instrumental in the development of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Clearwater County Hospital, Greensview Nursing Home, Bagley Senior Center and Twin Pines Golf Course.

Galli Furniture continued to grow and become a store providing a wide range of home furnishings with the addition of 2nd generation owner, Chuck Galli.

During this time Carl and Chuck developed a loyal customer base and strived to meet customer’s needs by offering quality products and excellent customer service. Now, third generation owner, Heather Galli, and staff continue to carry on the tradition of offering stylish home furnishings and the best name brands

in the industry. From the minute you walk in the store right through delivery you will be treated with the best care and service in Northern Minnesota.

Exclusive services like free area delivery, special financing offers, and free in-home design consulting are paramount in continuing the legacy of Galli Furniture. We are a small town store with a large selection and savings, and most importantly we believe in treating our customers like family.

We have sincerely appreciated your business over the past 79 years and look forward to seeing you soon!

Mon-Sat 8-5:30 • Closed Sunday 29 South Main Bagley, MN 218-694-6266 • www.gallifurniture.com

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Bemidji State College’s new twolevel student union opened in January, replacing the crammed quarters of the old union in the basement of Sanford Hall.

D7 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Will Rogers visited Bemidji to speak about the need for more industry and education on American Indian reservations. He was acting as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Bemidji Hospital added the latest in lifesaving equipment, a heartlung resuscitator. Chief of Staff Dr. John Hildebrand and Director of Nurses Irene Wilds showed off the machine.

‘The Liquor Election’ of 1968 City votes to keep municipal store open; many vie for mayor’s seat

By Matthew Liedke The election of 1968 was one of change for Bemidji’s highest office.

With incumbent Mayor Howard Menge opting not to seek another term in office that year, there was guaranteed to be a newcomer taking over the spot.

In the end it was Chet Oman, a local insurance agent, who won the office in an election featuring numerous candidates.

For a time, Menge was also a candidate in the race, but he eventually dropped out, stating that he reconsidered his responsibilities as mayor and in his career, he was a manager for Northwestern Bell, and found that he couldn’t do justice for both.

“After four years as mayor, I feel that I have fulfilled my obligation to the community,” Menge told the Bemidji Daily Pioneer. “In the interest of the city as well as my employer, I feel that I should withdraw.”

Other candidates in the election who ended their campaigns were Bemidji City Council member Ned Goodman and Bemi-

dji State College student Rodney Augustine. In his withdrawal from the race, Augustine subsequently endorsed John Buckanaga, project director of the Indian Community Action Program at BSC. Others who stayed in the race were City Council member Clifford Norden, as well as David Lindberg and Oman, who were both write-in candidates.

In his declaration for office, Oman told the Pioneer that his decision was based on “the fact that there were no Republicans running for office.”

He added, though, that if elected, he would represent all of Bemidji, not just the Republicans.

In the lead-up to Election Day, two of the topics circulating in city government were housing and the income of elected officials. Just before the election, the City Council approved the construction of a 60-unit apartment complex on 15th Street West, with two, 30-unit buildings. The council also raised the salaries of the mayor and City Council members, to $100 a month for council members and $125 a month for

one of the most “hotly debated issues in recent years.”

The subject eventually went to the people of Bemidji to decide. In April, what was called the “Liquor Election” took place. In the end, the private liquor store idea was voted down, with Bemidji citizens choosing to retain the municipal operation in a 1,076-645 decision.

When Bemidji residents returned to the polls again that same year for the general election, they selected Oman to become the next mayor. Oman earned 1,316 votes, edging out Norden, who received 1,256 votes.

Oman’s stance on being a Republican seemingly helped him secure the win, too, as the more conservative Ward 1 gave him a 355-213 win over Norden.

Submitted photo Oman officially became Howard Menge was mayor of Bemidji in 1968. mayor on Jan. 6, 1969. the mayor. (In 2018, the ever, in January 1968, in Early in his term, Oman a 3-2 vote, the council mayor earns $14,000 a and the rest of the council year and council members approved an ordinance were served an order by have a$12,000 annual sal- to end the city’s municithe Minnesota Pollution pal liquor operation. ary.)

Control Agency and the That ordinance was later Department of the InteThe ‘Liquor Election’ signed by Menge the rior at the national level.

Perhaps no issue same month.

At the time, the city had dominated local poliThe ordinance was discharged wastewater tics, though, the way applauded by some Bemi- into the Mississippi River the future of the city’s djians who stated that a and new regulations were municipal liquor operaprivate liquor store could required. tion did. furnish better facilities After one term in office, The municipal liquor and a greater number of Oman decided not to seek store in Bemidji was options. According to the another as mayor and established in 1934. How- Pioneer, the topic was instead entered the race

for Minnesota Senate District 64. The district at the time included Beltrami, Lake of the Woods and Koochiching counties.

Oman lost the 1970 election to incumbent Gene Mammenga.

Oman’s short time as Bemidji’s mayor began a trend in the years that followed, with individuals holding the position for relatively short periods of time.

Goodman succeeded Oman, winning the 1970 election. However, he resigned on Oct. 4, 1971 to focus on his work at the local radio station.

“My reason for leaving city government is due in most part to the pressing business of operating (the) radio station KBUN and the current construction of our new station KBHP,” Goodman said in his resignation letter. “It would be unfair to those taxpayers I represent to continue as mayor.”

Following Goodman’s resignation, the council appointed Marvin Haiby as Bemidji’s new mayor.

Haiby would hold the position until he lost the 1972 election to Todd Jansen.

Just two years later, Jansen would be defeated in the 1974 election by Douglas Peterson, who then would buck that trend and hold the office of mayor until 2000.

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THANK YOU BEMIDJI! It’s been a pleasure serving you for over 50 years

Former Lueken’s logo

In 2016, the Lueken’s organization achieved the goal of 100% employee ownership - a goal set by Joe Lueken for the company he founded in 1966.

With his firm belief and practice of ‘thinking local’, the idea of the ESOP was a reflection of his values and dedication to his employees and to the communities he served.

Joe Lueken’s memory and entrepreneurship are still strong and thriving in his employees.

Lueken’s former lakeside location; currently Watermark Art Center.

Lueken’s South store location

Lueken’s North store location

HOURS: SUNDAY-SATURDAY 6AM TO 11PM || NORTH STORE 444-3663 || SOUTH STORE 444-8419

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968 D8 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Bemidji Hospital added the latest in lifesaving equipment, a heartlung resuscitator. Chief of Staff Dr. John Hildebrand and Director of Nurses Irene Wilds showed off the machine.

Curly Neal and the Harlem Globetrotters played a basketball game at Bemidji State College, with tickets priced at $1.50 and $2 for adults.

Naylor Electric advertised the lowest price ever for an RCA Victor color television at $297.50.

WINDS OF CHANGE AT BSC Like most colleges, times were changing in 1968

a campus with a lot of political activity,” Conner wrote. “The town was split on the war, with many, but not all, families of servicemen supporting the war.”

Lee remembered law enforcement officers armed with rifles perching on the rooftops of some downtown Bemidji businesses as anti-war demonstrators marched in the street below.

“I felt like our pastor at the time at First Lutheran,” Lee told the Pioneer.

“He said, ‘One day I hear all this argument for, and I’m persuaded. The next day I hear all this argument against, and I’m persuaded.’”

By Joe Bowen jbowen@bemidjipioneer.com Rod Augustine and a few other Bemidji State College students were shooting the breeze one fall evening in 1968 when they came up with a goofy idea: one of them should run for mayor.

The incumbent, Howard Menge, had run unopposed before and it looked like he’d do so again. Some details have faded in the intervening 50 years, but Augustine remembers he drew the short straw, so to speak, and filed for office himself.

A senior at the college that year, Augustine intended his bid for the mayor’s office to be mostly symbolic, to highlight the relative ease with which Menge had held it, but it quickly turned contentious — the city stopped allowing students at the college to register to vote in Bemidji, Augustine said. He and several others ambushed then-City Manager Rudy Mikulich, who was on campus to explain the policy.

“I said, ‘Well, it wasn’t our policy six months ago when I registered to vote and they thought it was a great idea,’” Augustine said. “And so they backed off and they turned it around the next day or two days later and said ‘OK, students can register to vote.’”

The incumbent mayor

A growing college

Bemidji State University photo

Students protest at Bemidji State College, calling for the administration and the state to appoint a new president after the 1967 death of Harry Bangsberg in a plane crash in Vietnam. eventually dropped out of the race, and Augustine — realizing that his symbolic campaign could put him in the very-real mayor’s office and wary of sticking his neck out after touting the “Bemidji Communist Party” for a sociology assignment that went too far a few years earlier — dropped out, too, and threw his support behind American Indian leader John Bucka-

naga.

The skirmish over student voting registration was just one, though, on a campus that was often buffeted by the same political winds sweeping the country in the late ’60s.

The war

The Northern Student, then printed weekly, published dueling op-eds about the Vietnam War as

students fretted about the draft and how it might affect their post-grad plans. “Civil disobedience - proper protest tool?” one student asked in a letter to the Northern Student editors. Another delineated protesting the war and protesting the troops fighting in it.

Retired history professor Art Lee, then in his 30s, said BSC students generally opposed the war

effort and townspeople generally supported it.

But James Conner, an iconoclastic student columnist who now lives in Montana, told the Pioneer that Bemidji wasn’t split along “town versus gown” lines.

“Campuses tend to be more liberal than the communities that surround them, and that probably was true for BSC, but BSC was not

The college’s enrollment had nearly tripled since 1960, and its administrators welcomed BSC’s 4,000th student in the fall of 1967 as they predicted another 3,000 students would enroll there by 1975.

As BSC expanded, then-President Harry Bangsberg had put a fresh emphasis on the humanities — history, in particular, and Asian studies — at a school that traditionally churned out teachers, Lee said.

“The age is different, but the attitude and what is important is different to Bangsberg,” Lee said of Bangsberg. “He represents the new Bemidji,

BSC: Page D9

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Summer Hours: Monday-Saturday 9am-10pm Sunday 11am-6pm

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968 D9 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

BSC

The demonstration was a carryover, the NorthFrom Page D8 ern Student reported, from a similar one earlier that month. Conner even and because he was a recalled that students humanities figure, espehung Glas in effigy outcially languages, he builds side Deputy Hall. up certain departments “It seemed to be just and lets other departsimply delays of no presiments languish.” dent and no action,” Lee The campus was rocked said. People weren’t diswhen Bangsberg was satisfied with Glas, Lee killed in a plane crash in said, but wanted a more Vietnam in the spring of permanent solution.

1967, and some students Bob Decker was ultifelt an urgency to find a mately appointed to the permanent replacement post in April 1968 — one after John Glas stepped in year, three weeks, and as a stopgap. two days after Bangs“Students and faculty berg’s death, the Northalike wanted a fully quali- ern Student noted. fied college president, and the sooner the betCampus life ter,” Conner said. DemStudents went back and onstrators met then-Gov. forth about less weighty Harold LeVander at the topics, too, like physical airport with signs readeducation requirements ing “president not a for veterans and a newly promise” when he visadopted “pass, no pass” ited in November 1967. grading option, among

Realtor Dick Dickinson advertised a centrally located four-bedroom home with a new kitchen for $8,500. “It’s cheaper than renting,” the Pioneer ad declared.

one-off gripes about, say, the merits of applauding between songs at a Christmas concert or scheduling a spring formal for the same day as the fishing opener.

Student reporters summarized lectures about the effects of LSD, and Northern Student editors ran quick-hits about some kids in Pennsylvania who dropped acid and went blind staring at the sun. English professor Benjamin Mariante spoke about “Hippies: Myth and Fact.”

Conner didn’t remember much of a drug culture on campus, though.

“Mary Jane was available for those wanting to date her, but BSC was not Stoner City,” he said.

“Alcohol was the mindaltering substance of choice.”

The school added philosophy, sociology, and

Not many colleges in the 1960s could boast of classrooms on the lake shore.

001751957r1

Patterson’s advertised a special group of suits on sale for $14.99, including one alteration, with 55 to choose from.

medical technology programs in 1968, the same year that the campus formally unveiled a new student union building. Temporarily (and controversially) named “Beaver Dam,” the building replaced a room in the basement of Deputy Hall and would go on to be the lower portion of Hobson Memorial Union.

And campus radio station KBSC debuted in October 1968, broadcasting a mix of campus news and music. On Friday nights, students could tune in for a “pot luck” of pop, jazz, and folk interspersed with interviews and talk hosted by “Ace Matthews.”

Beyond a litany of nationally prominent speakers, BSC students took in performances from sitar legend Ravi Shankar and, in early 1969, singer-songwriter

Wood paneling was a popular item in an ad for EricksonHellekson-Vye Co., located at First and Minnesota. Shoppers could get a 4x8 sheet for as low as $4.95.

John Denver.

“He was there during the annual faculty Senate vs. Student Senate broomball game, and played on the Student Senate’s team,” Conner remembered. “I got an assist on his goal, but we lost the game.”

The Northern Student sent two reporters to interview Marty Balin, founder of Jefferson Airplane and one of its lead singers. Balin told them he didn’t know where the band’s musical style would go.

The computer age

The school installed an IBM 1401 computer in Deputy Hall as the

1967-68 school year got underway. BSC administrators used it for student accounting, calculating grade point averages, and determining financial aid eligibility. Faculty used it to make class lists and to help assign final grades.

The computer needed a staff of three.

Augustine recalled that 1968 was an intense year for him, personally, and the country as a whole.

“I think a lot of the vision in our country today is rooted in the 60s,” he said. “Bemidji was a good place to be, though, for me, personally, and I enjoyed my four years there.”

Bemidji State University photo

We were there 50 years ago...

..And we are still here today.

BEMIDJI

CHRYSLER CENTER www.bemidjichrysler.com 218-751-8006 755 Paul Bunyan Dr NW, Bemidji

www.hondaofbemidji.com 218-444-4663 755 Paul Bunyan Dr NW, Bemidji

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The national nightly news anchors were Chet Huntley and David Brinkley for NBC, Walter Cronkite for CBS and Bob Young and Frank Reynolds for ABC.

Mattel made a toy called the Toot Sweet that shaped Tootsie Rolls candy into actual working whistles.

Minnesota’s population was 3.7 million. In 2018 it is 5.6 million.

D10 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

BEMIDJI-AREA SCHOOLS MORPHED AND GREW IN ‘68

By Joe Bowen jbowen@bemidjipioneer.com

dji Pioneer reported in September 1968. “When consolidation is comLike they are now, pleted in 1970 a new Bemidji area schools large elementary school were growing in 1968. is expected to be conA new state law structed in the south prompted many rural school districts to either edge of Bemidji which build a secondary school will probably take in Carr Lake, Nary, Guthor consolidate into a district that already had rie, Riverside, Edgewood, and other northone by 1970.

Solway’s School Board ern Hubbard county students.” voted to dissolve the Bemidji High School then-district and merge sat near the middle of with Bemidji’s before town then. Staff there the 1968-69 school year. slung roast chicken Parents at Northern spoonbread with giblet seemed more hesitant: gravy, buttered green In September 1968, they beans, cheese squares, petitioned the state and cornbread. School parent-teacher assoboard members voted in ciation to exempt the August of 1968 to raise school from consolidating into the Bemidji dis- the price of high school trict, hoping that leaders lunches from 25 cents there would present it to to 30.

The Bemidji Public state legislators.

Adult Evening School And Bemidji’s student offered classes in shortbody swelled by nearly hand, bridge, wood1,000 children during working, “social dance” the ’60s. Total enrolland painting.

Staff there ment in the fall of 1968 planned to add courses was 3,621 students, 102 in knitting, public of whom came from the speaking, and accountnewly acquired Solway ing. school, and the junior Summer 1968 promand senior high schools ised to offer the “most here topped 1,000 students apiece for the first extensive summer program of activities and time in the city’s hisstudies ever offered,” tory. then-Superintendent “Many of the rural Ray Witt announced schools are probably in their final years of that May. The district operation,” the Bemiand city joined forces to

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Total enrollment at Bemidji High School and Junior High topped 1,000 each for the first time in 1968, according to school district records. The schools were located at 15th Street and Bemidji Avenue. offer wrestling, dancing and weight lifting classes; the district’s regular music staff taught singing and orchestral lessons; and four instructors offered eight-weeklong driving courses.

Students at the Bemidji Area VocationalTechnical School, then operated by the school district here, sold a 24-foot by 32-foot winterized house they built in an advanced carpentry class.

And the Bi-County Action Council used a $39,000 grant to open a Head Start program here in 1968, three years after it was launched

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Bemidji High School majorettes leading the band in the Bemidji Water Carnival Parade in 1968. nationally. It had a staff of eight people who worked to prepare 45

four- and five-year-olds for their future schooling. The program oper-

ated at the Bemidji State Laboratory School and Northern School.

Progress Along The Shores of Lake Bemidji…

Our History:

Lakeside Motel

Grizzly Truss Fabricators was founded in 1972 by Jerry Hoven as a pole barn manufacturer.

Manufacturing pole barns eventually led into designing and building trusses.

Our initial truss facility has expanded many times over the years.

We grew by emphasizing Jerry’s motto of “listening to our customers’ needs while building on our dedication to quality products and prompt service.”

Paul Bunyan Motel

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• Knowledgeable estimators with years of service in the building industry, and provide free estimates.

001752741r1

Edgewater Motel

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Wall Panel and Truss Plant

• Wide selection of inventory including shingles, soffit & fascia cover, treated lumber, along with many more products.

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• Proud dealers of multiple quality building materials, including windows (Marvin) and doors (Acclimated, Therma-Tru).

• The plant consists of a fully automated production line with the ability to deliver the panels of various sizes.

residential

• Assist with color selection and styles, and designs, such as trusses and wall panels.

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218-751-1515 | www.grizzlytruss.com 001742799r1

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The Detroit Tigers defeated St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3 to claim the World Series title, winning Game 7 in St. Louis 4-1.

The Boston Celtics won their 10th NBA championship in 12 seasons, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2.

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl in Miami, beating the Oakland Raiders 33-14 before 75,546 fans.

D11 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

THE CENTER OF HEALTH CARE Bemidji’s health care options expanded as city grew

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com Bemidji’s medical care took place almost exclusively in the downtown area in 1968. The Bemidji Hospital was located on Dewey Avenue in the building that is now Sanford Health’s Baker Park Housing. The Bemidji Clinic was located on the southeast corner of Sixth and Beltrami downtown, which is an office building today.

Several dentists had their practices in the city’s core as well.

“Everything was downtown,” recalls Shirley Worth, 85, a longtime nurse at the hospital who now lives in an apartment at Baker Park. “Who knew I would be here now?”

Betty Blooflat, 91, was a nurse at the old hospital from 1948 until 1979 when a new hospital opened on the city’s northwest side.

She continued at the new facility until retiring in 1991.

“We shook down thermometers, washed gloves, we even washed and stretched the gauze for surgery,” Blooflat said as she reflected on her early days at the Dewey Avenue building. “Oxygen didn’t come out of the wall. You lugged those great big tanks. You had to have muscles back then. Things have changed. Some for the better, and some I’m not so sure.”

Jim Ghostley opened his dental practice in 1963 at 601 Bemidji Ave. N. One of the biggest changes he has seen over the years has to do with billing and payments, not only in the medical business, but in retail as well.

“We did a lot of charge accounts,” said Ghostley, who in 1975 built a new office at 1311 Bemidji Ave. N. “Every storekeeper was perfectly willing to charge something to you, I think because they knew we would pay them. Even the grocery stores. We went to Super John’s and Swedmark Hardware. You

charged everything and paid them later.”

Both of the buildings in which Ghostley practiced are still dental offices.

Lakeview Dental is at 601 Bemidji Ave. N., and North Country Dental is at 1311 Bemidji Ave. N. The Bemidji Clinic was formed as a partnership between Doctors D.D. Whittemore, T.P. Groschupf and Daniel McCann. They had been practicing individually in Bemidji and decided to join forces. They began construction of the clinic building at 522 Beltrami in the spring of 1946 and it was completed in January 1947. The number of doctors continued to increase almost immediately with the addition of Dr. W.J. Deweese to the general surgery department.

The clinic continued to grow and expand its facility. In the fall of 1978, construction began on a new clinic building adjacent to the new hospital. The new clinic opened in December 1979.

The hospital began to see a need for a larger facility in the 1960s. In 1968, a long-range planning committee was formed and suggested building a new hospital at a new location.

The present hospital lacked room to expand to meet the needs of a growing community. Hard-pressed financially, the hospital board put the idea on hold until 1972. In 1976 an option was taken on a 150acre site of land. Ground was broken in August 29, 1977 and the new hospital was dedicated on Oct. 7, 1979.

Sanford Health now operates both the hospital and the clinic.

Shirley Worth is a lifelong Bemidji resident. She grew up in Nymore and graduated from Bemidji High School. While attending BHS, she became one of the hospital’s first Pinkies (junior nurse assistants), working from 8-10 a.m. weekdays and eight-hour shifts on weekends. “And

• PROUD •

to be part of

BEMIDJI’S SUCCESS

for the first three months, got paid a whole 35 cents an hour,” Worth wrote in an historical essay.

She went on to a career as a nurse’s aide and eventually became an LPN with training at Northwest Technical College.

“I mostly loved working in the nursery with all the babies,” she wrote.

“Chances are, if you were born in Bemidji before 1996, we might have met in the nursery.”

Blooflat spent most of her career on the medical surgery floor. Originally from Minneapolis, she came to Bemidji’s hospital as a student nurse.

“I went back home and my girlfriend and I decided we wanted to get out of the

Cities,” she said. “We had lived there all our lives. And we knew this hospital so we came up here.”

Blooflat met her late husband, Allen, at the hospital. He was loading a roll of newsprint at the Bemidji Pioneer when it fell and broke both of his legs.

“I met my husband (when he was) tied in bed,” Betty said. “He was in traction for five months.

“He couldn’t get away.

The day he got out of the hospital we went riding on his motorcycle with the crutches sticking out of the saddlebags.”

They were married the next year and raised five children in Bemidji.

“There’s too much technology now,” Blooflat said.

“We used to have these poor people in traction for months at a time, and all we did was give them back rubs, and now they don’t even know what a back rub is. I don’t think I’d be a nurse nowadays. It’s not as personal, and you don’t have to do all the little things we used to have to do. Like fill the hopper in the furnace in the middle of the night when you were the night supervisor.”

Connie Ghostley, Jim’s wife, worked as a nurse at the Bemidji Clinic. She remembers the facility’s long hallway with rooms off to the sides. She also remembers an era when doctors and nurses had more time to spend with their patients.

“Now doctors are limited in the amount of time they can spend with you,” she said. “It’s kind of too businesslike to suit me.”

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

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Over 54 Years of Quality Cars and Service In our 54 years in Bemidji many things have changed.

Our location, the design, engineering and makes and models of our cars and trucks, to of course our employees.

But the the most important things have stayed the same; like our commitment to treating all of our clients like friends and family making their car buying experience an enjoyable one. We also value the community we do business in as we give back to many groups and organizations which helps make the Bemidji area a better place to live.

“We look forward to serving you and your families for many more years to come!”

– 1968 BEMIDJI WOOLEN MILLS CAT ALOG COVER Established 1920 By

The Batchelder Family

3010 BEMIDJI AVE. BEMIDJI, MN 218-751-3140

www.boblowthford.com

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The No. 1 song was “Hey Jude” by the Beatles, followed by “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat and “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro.

Top movies of year were: “2001: A Space Odyssey” (grossing $56.7 million) and “In the Heat of the Night” won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Top-rated TV shows were “The Andy Griffith Show” followed by “The Lucy Show.” and “Gomer Pyle, USMC.”

D12 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

First National Bank Bemidji was located at Fifth and Min- Security State Bank, how known as Security BankUSA, Northern National Bank was located at 201 Third St. NW, nesota, in the building that now houses the Bemidji Area was located at Fourth and Beltrami, more recently the in the building that now houses the Northwest Minnesota Schools administration. site of Chasing the Wind Photography.

Foundation

Competing and cooperating That doesn’t mean the bankers didn’t compete for business, however.

“We tried to take each other’s customers,” Howe said, “but when we had a project that we couldn’t handle we all got together.

You wouldn’t do that now.”

Perhaps the biggest change in the banking business, besides more competition, deals with customer interaction, Joe Welle said.

“When you talk about the banking business 50 years ago you have a tendency to compare it to what’s going on now, and how it’s changed from the point of sale and credit,” Welle said.

“Back then it was more customer oriented. You spent a lot more time with the customer. Now the customers open up their own accounts.

“The other thing you’ve got to do is go back 50 years from there (to 1918),” he added. “Then you get a better idea of what the banking business was 50 years ago. That’s when my Uncle Rudolph Welle first came to town, 1918. In those days if you compare that to the point of sale now and the credit cards and the debit cards, you don’t have to go into the bank. In those days when they came in you’d write it into a book. Fifty years later we had some machines.

Our employees kept the accounts in the bank and we had the big vaults you’d put them in at night. Now it’s all done electronically.”

Welle said one thing that hasn’t changed is people.

“You have a lot of good people around Bemidji,” he said. “A lot of good customers, steady good workers. We were always blessed with great employees, well trained and knowledgeable. They liked what they were doing and I think they liked their jobs a lot.

We had some shareholders who were patient and knew what we were trying to do.

When you get the three of those together that can mean a lot for you.”

John Baer smiles when he talks about a fifth generation Baer working at the bank this summer. His grandson, Billy, is a part-

time teller and bookkeeper as he prepares to enter his senior year at Bemidji High School. John’s grandfather, Homer C. Baer, joined the bank in 1911 and became president shortly thereafter. John’s father, Bill, joined the bank in 1946 and became president in 1959.

John joined the bank in 1967 and took over as president 12 years later. John’s daughter, Tiffany Baer Paine, joined the bank in 1993 and became president and CEO in 2014. John’s son, Ryan, joined the bank

in 2001.

“In 1968 we were a very small bank, with seven employees,” John said.

“The bookkeeping department was right behind the teller line. I got to learn how to be a teller and a bookkeeper all at once.”

Bill Howe also grew up in a banking family. His father, Paul, was a longtime executive at Northern National. Bill started at the bank full-time in 1951 after graduating from Bemidji State College, where he played hockey and football.

He took over as president in January of 1968 at the age of 39.

“I had been counting coins at the bank,” Howe said with a grin. “My wife, Betty, trained me in the banking business. During my senior year (Northern National President) Leon Kaliher called me and asked if I would be interested in working at the bank. I said.

‘Gee, I never thought about it.’ We talked 3-4 times. So he hired me for $2,700 a year. It’s been good.”

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Bemidji is home to a plethora of financial institutions these days, but in 1968, the community had only three main banks and one savings and loan. It was a competitive business, but former executives remember a real spirit of cooperation among them.

The banks were First National Bank Bemidji, Security State Bank and Northern National Bank, all located downtown 50 years ago. Also downtown was First Federal Savings and Loan.

All four are still going strong today after expansion and, in some cases, name changes.

First National Bank Bemidji, long operated by the Welle family, is employee owned and has three locations: the main bank on Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest, an auto bank at Fifth and Minnesota downtown and a south branch at Lueken’s Village Foods South. In 1968, the main bank was located on the northeast corner of Fifth and Minnesota, in the building that now houses the Bemidji Area Schools administration.

Security State Bank, led by the Baer family for more than 100 years, changed its name to Security BankUSA in 1999. Its main location is on Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest and it also has an auto bank at Fourth and Bemidji downtown. In 1968, Security State was located on the southwest corner of Fourth and Beltrami, in the building that until recently housed Chasing the Wind Photography.

Northern National Bank, started in 1906, was located on the northwest corner of Third and Beltrami downtown in 1968. That’s where the Northwest Minnesota Foundation is located today.

Norwest Bank acquired Northern National in 1996, and the name was changed to Wells Fargo in 2000.

Wells Fargo operates a main bank on Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest today and an auto bank on the southeast corner of Third and Beltrami downtown.

First Federal Savings and Loan was located at 117 Fifth St. at the site that now houses Design Angler.

It later became known as RiverWood Bank, which now has locations on the southeast corner of Fifth and Minnesota and on Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest.

Former presidents Joe Welle of First National, Bill Howe of Northern and John Baer of Security all remember their willingness to work together when necessary in order to move Bemidji forward.

“Absolutely there was competition,” Joe Welle said, “but there were a lot of things that I think all of us — myself, and Bill and John — in those situations where we all felt this would be good for the community, but we didn’t want to take it all, each bank individually, so we spread it out. We’d cooperate and say, ‘OK, we’ll each take so much.’”

Howe agreed. “Yes, all of us were very good friends,” he said. “All of us were on each corner. Bill Davis from First National would call me and say, ‘We’re going to go to the Post Office.’ I’d go and get Charlie Noren (from Security) and we’d go to the Post Office, which was up by the courthouse.

We would walk from First National to Northern to Security with whatever we had like a sack of money.

Maybe between us we had $100,000 and we’d be walking down the street with these canvas sacks.

People didn’t pay any attention to us. Now you need armored trucks to do that.”

John Baer, who succeeded his father, Bill, as president of Security, was surprised at the level of cooperation.

“My dad would spend winters down south,” John remembers, “and while he was gone Bill (Howe) and Joe (Welle) would call me, and ask if we could get together to talk about a particular loan. It was special. They couldn’t have been more respectful to me, the youngster. They were very generous and thoughtful. They’re super solid guys, phenomenal bankers and people.”

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By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com

Former bankers recall joint efforts to move Bemidji forward

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1414 Bemidji Ave N Bemidji, MN 56601 Office 218-751-7761 ben@mnfuia.com

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Harry Belafonte was guest host on the Tonight Show the week of Feb. 5, with guests Sen. Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The TV newsmagazine was born as “60 Minutes” emerged with its ticking stopwatch and musings

by Andy Rooney.

On the Ed Sullivan show, Lucille Ball introduced her movie “Yours, Mine & Ours” and the Bee Gees performed “Words”.

E1 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

WHERE WERE THEY?

As Bemidji has grown, many of the community’s institutions have changed locations.

On this page are eight examples that might surprise readers who are newer to Bemidji.

1

2

The Bemidji Public Library was located at Sixth and Beltrami in the building that now houses Re/Max Bemidji Realty.

Before housing the library, the building was home to the Bemidji Post Office.

The library moved there in 1961 after outgrowing the Carnegie Building. The library moved to its current location in 1995.

3

In 1968, Bemidji’s Post Office was located in what is now the Federal Building at Sixth and Minnesota. In 1959 the federal government transferred the building to the city by quit claim deed for $1. The Post Office moved to its current location in 1984.

4

The Paul Bunyan House and Fireplace of States, built in 1933-34 under the Civil Works Administration, housed the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce in 1968.

It also included a history and wildlife museum. It was torn down in 1995 when the current Tourist Information Center opened.

The Bemidji Armory was a center of activities at Third Street on the lake side of Bemidji Avenue, which also was U.S. Highways 2 and 71.

LAKE BEMIDJI

8 7

6 1

5

2

Photos courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

3 4

LAKE IRVING

5

6

The Bemidji Clinic was located at 522 Beltrami Ave. NW until 1979, when it moved to a newly constructed threestory clinic on the city’s northwest side.

That’s where Sanford’s main clinic is now located. The old clinic is now an office building.

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7

The Bemidji Hospital was located on Dewey Avenue between Eighth and Ninth streets. The new Bemidji Community Hospital, now Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, opened in 1979 in the northwest part of the city. The old hospital is now Sanford Health Baker Park Housing.

8

Bemidji High School was located on 15th Street west of Bemidji Avenue. Students moved into the current high school in January of 2001 and the old school was torn down in 2008. The junior high also was attached to the school until the current Bemidji Middle School was built in the early 1980s.

In 1968, the Beltrami County Fairgrounds were located on the site near Bemidji’s Target store. In 1991, the fairgrounds were moved to their current site north of Bemidji off U.S. Highway 71.

A LOT HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS! Thank you to these 1968 Chamber members for your continued support!!

American Linen Company (Ameripride) Balsam Beach Resort - Lake Plantagenet (Balsam Beach Resort & RV Park) Barwick's Oak Haven Resort (Oak Haven Resort) Beltrami Electric Co-operative (Beltrami Electric Cooperative) Bemidji Aviation Services Bemidji Blacktop (Bemidji Bituminus) Bemidji Bowl Bemidji Bus Lines Bemidji Clinic (Sanford Bemidji Clinic) Bemidji Community Arts Council (Watermark Art Center) Bemidji Curling Club Bemidji Distributors Bemidji Locker Plant Bemidji Roofing Bemidji Town & Country Club Bemidji Woolen Mills

Buena Vista Ski Area Camp Thunderbird Inc. Cease Funeral Home (Cease Family Funeral Home) Cedar Rapids Lodge Coca-Cola Bottling Country Kitchen Co. Culligan Water Conditioning Dave's Pizza Dondelinger Chevrolet-Buick Inc Dress Club Cleaners ERA Pederson & Assoc - Nestles Grimes (Grimes Realty) First Federal Savings & Loan (Riverwood Bank) First National Bank Bemidji H&R Block Hamilton's Trailer Resort (Hamilton Fox Lake Campground) Hardee's Henry S Krigbaum LTD (Krigbaum & Jones, Ltd.)

Higgins Heating & Camping (Higgins Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration) Hills Heating (Hills Plumbing & Heating) Holiday Inn & Convention Centre International Language Village (Concordia Language Villages) IPS Inc (Bank Forward) J E Schraeder Company Jerry's Ice Service (Northwood's Ice of Bemidji) Joe's Lodge Lake Andrusia KAWE 9 (LakeLand PBS) KBM Inc KBUN/KB101 Radio (Paul Bunyan Broadcasting HBI) Keg & Cork (Keg N Cork) Keith Pizza (Keith's Pizza & Italian Foods) Ken K. Thompson Jewelry Kittleson Agency (First Realty Real Living) Kohl's Last Resort (Kohl's Resort) Kenny's Standard Service (Kenny's)

Kordel Furniture (Slumberland) Lake Head Pipeline Lakeland Farmers Insurance Company Land of Lakes Wood Preserving Lost Acres Kitchie Lake Lueken's Super Market & Village Mall Store (Lueken's Village Foods) Magnetic Peripherals Marine Sports Center Midwest Cable Communications (Midcontinent Communications) Morell's Chippewa Trading Post Naylor Electric (Naylor Heating & Refrigeration) NMN Inc North Central Door North Country Business Products North Country Hospital (Sanford Bemidji Medical Center) Northern National Bank (Wells Fargo)

Northwest Mechancial Service (Ironhide Equipment) Northwoods Panelboard (Norbold Minnesota) Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home Orion Commercial Guidestar Properties (Orion Financial) Otter Tail Power Company Patterson's Clothing Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Co-op (Paul Bunyan Communications) Paul Bunyan Sub Shop Paul Bunyan Playhouse People's Natural Gas (Minnesota Energy) Perkins (Perkins Restaurant & Bakery) Pike Point Gull Lake Pioneer Resort Campbell Lake Potlatch (PotlatchDeltic) Realty Sales Richards Publishing Company The Birchmont Ruttger (Ruttgers)

Sathre Abstracters (Sathre Title & Abstract, Inc.) Sears Roebuck & Company (MJB Home Center) Security State Bank (Security Bank USA) Smith, Carpenter & Benshoof (Carpenter & Wangberg Law Office PA) Stony Point Resort & Campground Super 8 Motel Super John's Warehouse (Marketplace Foods) Swedmark Lodge (Fin N Feather Resort) The Old School House The Pioneer/Advertiser Thomas Walgreen Agency (Iverson Corner Drug) Travel Chalet United Building Center (Builders First Source) Wes' Plumbing & Heating

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Sgt. David L. Looker of Bemidji awarded a Bronze Star for heroism transferring a wounded soldier in Vietnam Oct. 6, 1968.

On Christmas Eve, millions around the world watched and listened as the Apollo 8 astronauts became the first humans to orbit the moon.

Best Actor and Actress awards went to Rod Steiger for “In The Heat Of The Night” and Katharine Hepburn for “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.”

E2 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

AH, THE JOYS OF GROWING UP IN BEMIDJI In the summer of 1968, Jim Aakhus wasn’t thinking about school. It was vacation time between fifth and sixth grade, and there was so much for an 11-year-old to do in Bemidji.

Now 60 years old, retired from a career as a mental health therapist and living in Bemidji, Aakhus shared these accounts from that splendid summer: ► It’s a whole different world now. We used to ride our bikes around the lake back then. And that’s before bike paths. There were a couple of stops along the way. There was an artesian well on Birchmont Drive. We stopped for a water break there. Where the DNR building is next to the golf course, on the berm between the road and the lake there was a well.

It’s gone now. Those were our water stops, because we didn’t do water bottles back then. ► Also, Diamond Point was the place to go. There was no lifeguard on what we called the drop-off side, which is the sandy beach.

Most parents forbade their kids from swimming there because there was no lifeguard and there was a drop-off. But on the opposite side, that’s where the concession stand was, and the lifeguard was, and you had the water wheel, and diving board, and water raft that you would stand on, and play king on the hill. We spent a lot of time at Diamond Point. I would say most of the in-town kids did, because we could

ride our bikes everywhere.

We didn’t need rides, our parents didn’t give us rides; plus they were at work all day. So we had the freedom of riding our bikes downtown, to Herb’s Popcorn, because it was a dime for a box of popcorn. ► We spent time in the Lindrud’s and the Woolworth stores, the five-anddime stores. We spent a lot of time in the neighborhood parks. One example is at 10th and Irvine behind the old mom and pop store.

I grew up a block west of Dave’s Pizza. Playing basketball, softball, baseball, tag. At night on the block I grew up on there were lots of families with kids.

We would play games. This was in the dark, running around the neighborhood, and we had flashlights like playing hide and go seek with a flashlight. The person with the flashlight was “it” … if he flashed it on you you were out. All we had to do was be home by 9 o’clock in the summers. ► We just had to be home by 6 o’clock for supper. So we would be out all day playing, either at Diamond Point or in the parks, riding our bikes around the lake. It’s called Lake Bemidji State Park, but we called it Rocky Point. We would ride our bikes out there. It was all sand, so we would slide down that on our butts. ► It cost 15 cents to ride the city bus. We’d get on in downtown Bemidji, pay 15 cents, then ride around town. No parental supervision. There was no fear of

getting kidnapped, or anything like that. ► You had to be 12 years old to have a paper route. A lot of my friends had paper routes. My first route was Duluth News Tribune. Carl Degerman was my boss. I had 13 Monday through Saturday customers and 17 Sunday. My route was from Dave’s to 24th Street, across Highway 2, then over to Chester Berg Motors, then I would cross over to Submitted photo Delton Avenue and Jim Aakhus remembers growthen home. About an ing up in Bemidji in the 1960s. hour in the morning He's pictured with his sister, before school for 13 Pam, on their first day of school customers. But I was glad to have a job. We in the 1967-68 academic year. also shoveled snow Fieldhouse they didn’t lock and mowed lawns. We the doors on weekends, so still talk about our paper routes, and what it was like my friends and I would go in and climb on scaffolding to get up every morning and stuff. before school, sometimes ► Pop bottles were at 20 or 30 below, and then every two weeks colreturnable back then. They lecting. It was $1.20 every didn’t recycle the bottles. two weeks for the News They filled them up again Tribune. Sometimes didn’t with pop. So we would go have the money, so we had to Diamond Point behind to go back. the football field, pick up ► The Christian Youth Center was built about then pop bottles, and turn them in at these little mom and on 15th Street and Beltrami. That became the teen pop neighborhood grocery hangout. They had two stores, and get enough ping pong tables, a bumper money to buy a candy bar pool table, a color TV (we for 5 cents or a bottle of still had black and white at pop for 10 cents. home). ► They had penny candy ► A lot of us hung out at then.

We didn’t really go the college. Another suminto the big stores, we’d go mer thing were constructo neighborhood stores and tion sites. When they built things like the John Glas buy penny candy.

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HOME OF THE PAUL BUNYAN PLAYHOUSE

HISTORY OF THE CHIEF THEATER

I

In 1933, after a purchase of Brinkman Theatre Interests by Bennie Berger, it began its first life as the community’s celebrated movie house, a role it filled for about 50 years.

During this time it was variously under management by Berger, A.W. and E.J. Baehr, and Bill Bender. The Chief remained in operation through the 1980s, and eventually closed.

Its role as the community’s movie theater was taken over by the Amigo 9, located just northwest of the city on Highway 2. The building fell into disrepair, sitting vacant.

In 1992, this art deco movie house was rescued from ruin by the Paul Bunyan Playhouse and the Bemidji community, and it has served as the home of the Playhouse ever since.

It has gone through, and is still undergoing, a revitalization process with the help of donations and grants, including generous contributions

One of the highlights of 1968 in Bemidji was an air show put on by the Navy’s Blue Angels. A crowd estimated at 25,000 watched the show from the Bemidji Airport grounds on Saturday, July 6.

The event was part of the Bemidji Jaycees Water Carnival.

“We haven’t had a show like that in Bemidji since then,” said retired insurance man Rod Pickett, who was Water Carnival chairman that year.

“We’ve had rodeos, water shows and so forth, but nothing like that.”

Pickett said Jim Welle, a Jaycee who worked at First National Bank Bemidji, was in charge of bringing the Blue Angels to town. Welle made contact with the Navy and helped arrange the pilots’ visit, which included a fish fry at the waterfront and a cruise on the Bemidji Belle.

“We entertained the Blue Angels and gave them a ride out on Lake Bemidji with our Water Carnival Committee,” Pickett recalled.

The Blue Angels’ popularity also helped the Jaycees raise additional money that year. Prior to 1968, Water Carnival but-

tons cost 50 cents. You could not charge admission to a Blue Angels air show, but the Jaycees were able to require a Water Carnival button for admission to the airport grounds.

“We said this is a great time to double the button rate,” Pickett remembers, “so we went from 50 cents to a dollar. And you had to have a button to get into the airport. It was one button per carload, but a dollar got you to the show. It filled up the airport, and then all the way out, and on to Highway 2. As I remember, the Highway Patrol helped us with traffic.”

While thousands of people watched from the airport, many others were able to see the show from as far away as the Lake Bemidji waterfront.

“The town of Bemidji ended where Lueken’s (Village Foods North) is now,” Pickett said. The Core-Craft boat business was located there in 1968.

“That was Highway 2. As you went out of town that was the last business until you got to the airport.

It was forest all the way (to the airport) and then all the way to Wilton. On other side of Highway 2

BLUE ANGELS: Page E3

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ABOUT THE PLAYHOUSE

he playhouse was started in 1951 by an impresario who brought in a troupe of New York actors for a season, but went broke in a month.

This was long enough to hook Bemidji’s citizens, who raised enough money to pay the actors’ room and board while they performed the rest of the season’s plays and to pay for their tickets home.

Then, the town raised enough to pay for a season the next year, and the year after that.

Now, the Paul Bunyan Playhouse is the longest continuously running summer stock theater company in Minnesota.

Originally housed at Ruttgers Birchmont Lodge, next door to the birthplace of actress Jane Russell, the PBP is now in residence at the

T

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com

1947 theatergoers: from the Beltrami County Historical Society historic Chief Theater in downtown Bemidji, where it has been since 1992.

THE CHIEF THEATER TODAY

oday, the Chief Theater is owned and operated by the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, the oldest professional summer stock company in Minnesota, drawing actors from across the nation. During their off season, the Paul Bunyan Playhouse is committed to promoting arts in our region through rental of the Chief Theater.

Performances by companies such as Bemidji Community Theatre, First City Dance, Fusion Dance, Ted Talks, and companies from across the nation are featured throughout the winter months.

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T

Blue Angels air show thrilled thousands of Water Carnival spectators

Ring of Fire cast, 2018.

For Delivery or Pick up

218-751-6241 314 Beltrami Ave NW Bemidji (218) 751-7270 www.thechieftheater.com

In continuous operation for over 65 years, it is truly a tradition to treasure for both area residents and tourists.

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866-383-6215

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The first successful human to human heart transplant was performed on a 58-year-old man who received the heart of a 24-year-old man.

Allen Breed invented a “sensor and safety system” in 1968, the world’s first electromechanical automotive airbag system.

The first Boeing 747 jumbo jet rolled out, capable of carrying more than 400 passengers, two and a half times bigger than the largest jets in service.

E3 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Well-liked and well-known Jack’s Supper Club was the place to be in 1968

By Hannah Cook hcook@bemidjipioneer.com

Just a step away from home. and even notable characters such as the coaching staff for the Minnesota Vikings when they were holding training camp at the then Bemidji State College.

“Players weren’t allowed; I’m not really sure (why). I think that the coaches just wanted to be away from the players,” Ward said.

Christmas parties were the largest gathering at the restaurant, according to Ward, alongside weddings and rehearsal dinners. With white linen tablecloths, it was one of the higher-end restaurants in the area.

“We would have people on Friday and Saturday night in the summertime from International Falls to go to Jack’s for dinner; On some of the really, really (busy) nights, I can

remember serving over 500 meals in one night,” Ward said.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, there were more resorts around Bemidji than there are today, which helped restaurants in the area gain new and returning customers throughout the years alongside the locals.

“I remember mom and dad working really hard,” Ward recalls as he thinks back on his time at the restaurant. “Especially my dad. Gosh he was a hardworking guy, and everybody loved him in town. I remember that as being a kid, that dad was so wellliked. Everybody really liked him.”

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Jack’s Supper Club in Wilton was the place to be back in its heyday in 1968.

A New York cut sirloin steak for $4 and scallops for $3, it’s no wonder the restaurant was a hot spot.

What started off as Jack’s Wonder Bar in 1955 when Jack and Lois Ward first opened the lounge grew to Jack’s Supper Club and held modern staples Bemidji restaurants and bars boast today, such as live music.

Musicians such as Richard and Karen Carpenter, Bobby Vee and others would perform weekly.

The Ward family had strong feelings toward the human aspect of their restaurant, not wanting to completely focus their efforts on fancy equipment and decor. It grew as a family business with sons Wayne, Danny, Charlie, and daughter Diane busy in the kitchen, maintaining the idea that “the family that works together stays together.”

“I remember having to work, work, work,” said Charlie Ward, now 64. “The whole family did.” The restaurant played host to cabineers, vacationers, locals,

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BLUE ANGELS From Page E2

the town ended where Perkins is now, the Red Onion drive-in, and there was nothing but trees until you got to fairgrounds (near the current site of Target).”

According to a Bemidji Pioneer story on the Water Carnival, the Jaycees sold more than 6,000 buttons that year. “Prior to that the highest net profit the Jaycees made was like $1,800,” Pickett said. “That year we made $4,800, and a great portion of that was from raising the price of the buttons.”

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From the Bemidji Pioneer’s front page:

Club, was crowned Miss Bemidjiland at the beauty pageant, succeeding Terri Pollish. Connie Berg was runnerup. The Coronation Ball followed at the Elks Club.

Other activities included an outstanding fireworks display on the evening

of the Fourth, the nickel scramble, outdoor art show, canoe jostling, watermelon feed and the popular annual fish fry.

The carnival concluded with a gigantic street parade viewed by thousands of people.

Movies have changed a lot over the years, and so has the way Bemidji views them.

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The Bemidji Jaycees report their most successful Water Carnival in years with the hearty cooperation of the weather and the fine support of the public. Over 6,000 buttons were sold.

The highlight of the four-day event was the appearance of the Navy’s Blue Angels flying team, who thrilled a crowd estimated at 25,000 at the Bemidji Airport.

Kathy Qualley, sponsored by the Bemidji Elks

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

On Feb. 16, Sen. Rankin Fite completed the first 911 call made in the United States in Haleyville, Ala.

E4 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

The ATM was introduced as DeLaRue Instruments with Barclay’s Bank installed 10 cash dispensers at branches of the First Pennsylvania Bank in Philadelphia.

Americans were dismayed when Jackie, the adored widow of President John F. Kennedy, married Aristotle Onassis, 23 years her senior.

Vietnam kept them apart, but Rebels of ’68, Mike and Sue Liapis BHS sweethearts are about to let love overcome the norm celebrate 50th anniversary

By Hannah Cook hcook@bemidjipioneer.com

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com

within 13 months. That was because we had that work ethic and good education in Bemidji. I wasn’t the best student in my class. That was Trish Williams (Quistgaard now). When I went in the service … they called out 15 names of people who scored high in tests, and wouldn’t you know it, I scored high. I was surprised by that. Thinking back, when you think of the education in Bemidji it wasn’t as surprising. Once when I got a B in biology, and I thought I did better than that, the teacher said, ‘You know, Dennis, anywhere else that would be an A’. It was high achievers.”

Dennis came home from Vietnam in November 1969.

“Like all Vietnam veterans I was processed out of the service at San Francisco,” he recalled. “When I was at the San Francisco airport I realized how unpopular veterans were. As I sat waiting for my flight home I saw a man glaring at my Vietnam medals. He wanted to punch me. Welcome home!”

After reuniting with his bride, Shaff went to college and eventually landed a job with United Parcel Service in Minneapolis. He spent most of his career with UPS in Arizona as a supervisor in the industrial engineering department. After retiring from that job, he sold commercial real estate and later managed 50 homeowner association communities in the Phoenix area.

Dennis and Candy have two children and seven grandchildren all living near them in Arizona. They come back to Bemidji every two years to catch up with friends and family.

Submitted Photos

(Top) Candy Statton and Dennis Shaff were married on Aug. 31, 1968 in Bemidji. After a brief honeymoon at the North Shore, Dennis shipped off to Vietnam and they were apart for 13 months and two weeks.

(Bottom) Voted "Cutest Couple" of the Bemidji High School Class of 1967, Dennis and Candy Shaff will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month.

Sue and Mike Liapis in 1968 and now.

Dances were held once a month at the Bemidji Town & Country Club and everyone went to church dressed in their finest clothes.

The impending Vietnam War affected many people in 1968, and Mike and Sue Liapis were not immune.

Michael was drafted into the Army for three years in February 1969, causing the couple to go through rough times of moving and separation after only being married for a few short months. They lived in Washington, D.C., and in San Francisco before moving back to Bemidji, where they set up permanently after Mike was released

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from the Army.

“The size of the town (is what changed the most), but also when we went to college, credits were $6.25.

Books cost probably just about as much as tuition,” explained Sue. “The price of things is what has changed so much since 1968.”

One thing Sue believes hasn’t changed over the years is the sense of community in Bemidji. “Bemidji still seems smalltown in some ways; the city boundaries haven’t changed that much, there was probably about 10,000 people living in Bemidji.”

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Bemidji High School sweethearts Dennis and Candy (Statton) Shaff will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month. They didn’t see each other for the first 13 months of their marriage.

“Thirteen months and two weeks, actually,” Dennis recalled recently in a telephone interview from his home in Arizona.

That’s because after a brief honeymoon on the North Shore of Lake Superior, Dennis shipped off to Vietnam to complete his service in the United States Army, while Candy worked at Northern National Bank in Bemidji. Their only contact during the next year was by mail, plus one expensive phone call from Southeast Asia to Bemidji.

“It took two hours to get through,” Dennis said. “I guarantee you some of our friends who were working at the phone company were listening in.”

Dennis and Candy graduated from BHS in 1967.

They were voted “Cutest Couple” of their senior class. Dennis was class president.

After the Vietnam War heated up with the Tet Offensive in late January 1968, Dennis decided to volunteer for the military draft, committing to 19 months of service.

“I was working 45 hours a week at Piggly Wiggly,” he said. “A lot of us wanted to go in (the service). There were so many parents who were WWII veterans, so you just wanted to serve. Every night on the news you saw Vietnam War, Vietnam War. When Tet came about in ’68 that really showed that we were so surprised by what happened. That’s when (President Lyndon) Johnson started accelerating the amount of people going to ’Nam.” Dennis served in a combat support unit, with topsecret clearance. He flew all over Southeast Asia but was not involved in combat. “I was fortunate not to have to go into the bush,” he said. “My cousin went out on patrol and was the only one to come back alive.”

Shaff credits his upbringing and education in Bemidji for his success in the Army.

“I think because of growing up in Bemidji I did go up my rank really fast, in record time,” he said.

“I was an E5 (sergeant)

A Catholic marrying a Presbyterian could be considered scandalous back in 1968, but that didn’t stop Mike and Sue Liapis.

“We were the first couple that had our Presbyterian minister, (Rev. Witmer), participate in our wedding at the Catholic church,” said Sue, recalling that special day of Dec. 7, 1968. “Then we had our reception in the Presbyterian church.”

Sue recalls her bridesmaids wearing olive green dresses with white lace accents, which was popular at the time.

Mike and Sue were high school sweethearts when Mike joined Sue’s 10th grade class, and the relationship continued on to college at Bemidji State College, now Bemidji State University, where the couple got married at age 20.

Sue went against the flow in college as well, choosing to attend school for biology rather than teaching, which was the norm at the time for female students. Her parents had always thought she should be a teacher, but it never appealed to her as much as being a researcher. Mike majored in business, and though the two’s college careers were interrupted, both managed to graduate.

“Back in those days, you wore a dress all the time,” Sue said. “Bemidji was really a small town. We had the downtown, and the Red Onion drive-in restaurant was way out of town.”

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BEMIDJI 1968

U.S. life expectancy was 66.6 years for males and 74 years for females.

“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” debuted as an NBC-TV series and sets a standard for sketch comedy.

E5 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

The Music Men Shades of Soul were traveling

By Jordan Shearer jshearer@bemidjipioneer.com In a revolutionary era for modern music, several local musicians were making their own footprint in the regional scene in 1968. The group “Shades of Soul” drove around wearing dark green suits playing for anyone who wanted to listen. With a shifting roster of musicians, the group performed from the mid-1960s to the early and mid-1970s. In its early years, the band had nine members, which included brass players.

Later on, their numbers shrunk to four or five.

“Back then we all had matching suits. It was quite an affair,” said Tomy Hegland, who played guitar for the

group.

The group bought an old school bus. During the trip back from one performance, the motor broke down. They purchased a replacement motor, only to have that one break down shortly thereafter.

“We painted it kind of a lavender purple color,” Lewy Ronken, a guitarist for the group, said about the group’s school bus.

The band played multiple shows at Bemidji State College, including one that Hegland remembers being captured on video.

The band also would rent out armories and town halls to perform.

“Our most steady stock was the Gonvick Hall.

After all expenses, we averaged $22 a piece. And

back in those days, that wasn’t bad because (the) dollar was worth a heck of a lot more back then,” Hegland said.

The group covered popular bands of the day, such as Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; and the Temptations.

“One song that sticks out in my mind was ‘Aquarius,’” Hegland said of the song “Age of Aquarius” from The 5th Dimension. “It was new at the time and we were playing at the armory in Crookston, Minn., and that crowd just went crazy.”

Even though they played popular songs of the time, it wasn’t always easy learning them. Since they didn’t have access to sheet music, one of them had to learn the songs by ear and then teach it to everyone else in the group.

“I had to teach everybody their parts; it took a long time,” Ronken said.

“You’d have to listen to the record and pick out the notes. I was the one who had the best ear.”

Dennis Peterson of Bemidji remembers an active music scene from 50 years ago. He recalls hearing bands at venues like the Armory, M100 at Bemidji State College, the Bemidji High School and St. Philip’s school gym-

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nasiums and the Masonic Temple.

“Some of the best bands were around in the late 1960s,” Peterson said. “Everyone looked up to Benson Obermyer Fruit Stand Band or the ‘BO’ band which became Podipto. They were the best by far and had a strong following. Shades of Soul was a great show

band. Our band, The Crimson Effect, was 196769 and we played high school dances, resorts in northern Minnesota and the St. Philip’s gym where we won a Battle of the Bands with the band Podipto as the judges, We won over the Wonder Jug. Other bands in the late ’60s were Juniper and 21st Amendment.”

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U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale presents flowers to Bemidji State College Homecoming Queen Donna Clemings of Stillwater in front of a capacity crowd at halftime of the 1968 football game. St. Cloud State defeated the Beavers 17-13 at what is now named Chet Anderson Stadium.

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, banning discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin.

The Bemidji Jaycees held a drive for “Project Handclasp” for orphans in Vietnam. Items collected were food, clothing and school supplies.

Some 15,000 Latino high school students in Los Angeles walked out of classes to press their demand for a better education.

E6 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

‘I KNEW IT WAS GOING Vietnam claims 3 TO BE A LONG YEAR’ from Bemidji in 1968

Memories of Vietnam do not fade quickly

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com Fresh out of Northome, 20-year-old Al Curb spent 1968 in the jungles of Vietnam, fighting in a war that was being questioned back in the United States. But there were no questions for Curb, only thoughts of survival.

“You don’t want to think your time was a waste,” said Curb, now 70 and a resident of Bemidji.

“Because I saw a lot of young guys die. You hate to hear it, but in the big scheme of things, it was.

It was a money-making thing, and our government let us down. It wasn’t the people. When I came home, that was discouraging. I’d be in an airport and have empty chairs by me, and people would stand; nobody would sit down by you if you had a uniform on. That happened quite a bit to me.

But it didn’t matter to me because I really didn’t care, if they’re that small.

That’s just the way it was.”

Curb graduated from Northome High School in 1966 and attended Bemidji State College for a short time. He was drafted into the Army in August 1967 and went to Vietnam on Feb. 2, 1968, when the bloody Tet Offensive was ramping up.

“I arrived during Tet, which was really a bad time,” he said. “We got off the airplane and they told us to run to the dump trucks, I mean literally run, because we were getting mortars. Training is one thing, but the real deal is a whole different ball game. I just grabbed my bag and took off running. No weapons or anything. And we got up in the dump trucks and they were all sandbagged up the walls and stuff.

You could hear the rounds going off up the side of the trucks, pinging, you know.

That was my first impression of Vietnam. Then I knew it was going to be a long year.”

A costly battle

Curb was wounded on April 11. Here is his account of that day: “We had three companies on file going through the jungle. There were seven of us, and I was the radio man, third man in file. We’d go out about 100 yards in front of the file and do a big cloverleaf, then another, and when we were out front, that’s when we got hit. We were on top of a berm making a turn and they started

When I came home, that was discouraging.

I’d be in an airport and have empty chairs by me, and people would stand; nobody would sit down by you if you had a uniform on.

AL CURB shooting us. Five of the seven were killed instantly. Another was shot… but he was alive. I got shot in the shoulder and leg. I had my radio on my back. The (shot) that hit the tree above me rained shrapnel all over me, and I got it in the shoulder and the right leg, and my radio was full of it. So if it had not been for the radio I probably would have been killed. It knocked me down (along with the other guy) and we fell back into this water ditch.

He was kind of moaning and I just grabbed him by his collar and I started going back toward the file, going through this water.

I dragged him back. But those five guys laid on the berm and you could see the shells going into them.

They killed them all. I knew they would kill them all, because that’s what we did, too. We were trying to survive.

“A few days later this doctor came in and said, ‘Well Mr. Curb, do you want to go home?’ He said it in such a nice way. My first thought was, ‘Well, yes, I want to go home,’ but it didn’t come out that way. All of a sudden I thought of my guys that were left back there and now maybe they were weak. You lose 2-3 people out of your platoon you feel more vulnerable, very weak, but if even one guy comes back you feel so much stronger, and so I said I can’t go home, I have to go back out.

“I went back out, and I wasn’t a very good soldier at that point, because I was so scared all the time, nervous.”

Time for a change

After nearly 11 months in Vietnam, Curb agreed to go on R&R. He was sent to Australia, and when he returned to ’Nam his captain told him it was time to go back to base camp until it was time to go home.

“I didn’t have a chance to even answer him,” Curb remembers. “I just

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sat there numb. I understood because I was scared to death on the way out, looking down and there’s Viet Cong everywhere, and they’re trying to kill you. I was never back in combat.

Of the 25 that I trained with, 18 were killed, and all of us were wounded.”

For his final six weeks in the war, Curb drove a jeep for a priest. “That’s all I had to do, keep his jeep clean,” Curb said. “We lived in a tent with sandbags, but it was like the Hilton to me. I had a real cot, I had a blanket. We had been living out in the woods like deer for several months.”

Curb has vivid memories of his final day in Vietnam.

“I do remember loading the plane up when we were leaving,” he said.

“We were in a big file, 225 of us, and we had to wait until all these young men got off the plane.

Now we’re all tanned and leathered and wrinkled, beat up. And all these young kids get off that plane and they’re white, just fresh and they’re laughing and joking as they’re walking by us. I know they stared at us like ‘What is wrong with these guys?’ All I could think about, and I never forgot it, is that half of you are not coming back. And they didn’t know that yet.”

Back to Minnesota

Like many Vietnam veterans, Curb suffered from the effects of war. He was happy to be back home in the Bemidji area, but things were different.

“It felt weird,” he recalls. “Any little thing would set me off. It took a while. But it was great to get home. It’s almost like you didn’t expect it.”

Richard Dewey Vick

Thomas Charles Lewer

Robert Wayne Glidden

By Sue Bruns Special to the Pioneer

missing in action, including three young men from Bemidji who were killed in Vietnam in 1968, which was the bloodiest year of the war, when 16,899 Americans perished.

On Feb. 8, Thomas Charles Lewer, 20, a Marine Corps corporal and machine gunner was killed in action in the Quang Tri Province of South Vietnam. He started his tour of duty in August 1967. Just 12 days later, on Feb. 20, 1968, Richard Dewey Vick, Army PFC, was killed in the Quang Nam Province of South Vietnam. He had started his tour of duty there in late November 1967, less than three months before he was killed at age 22.

Army PFC Robert Wayne Glidden was killed in action on April 20, 1968, in the Binh Dinh Province of South Vietnam. Glidden was on night duty with the 173rd Airborne when he was killed. A 1966 graduate of Bemidji High School, he had enlisted in the Paratroopers and first served at Fort Bragg. He was 19 when he died and had been in Vietnam less than two months.

Information about other Minnesota soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam can be found at http:// virtualwall.org/istate/ istatmn.htm In addition to the three

men from Bemidji who died, the site also lists those from area communities who were killed in the war Bagley – SP4 Charles J. Feddema and CPT James J. Shereck Bena – SP4 Dale Schummer Blackduck – SSG Allan Koebernick and SP4 Clarence Lossing Cass Lake – LCPL John A. Smith Clearbrook – PFC Gerald B. Bagaason and CPL Dennis L. Nelson Fosston – WO Harold L. Algaard and Gonvick – PFC John O. Sundquist Grygla – SPr Mark D. Holte and CPL Roger A. Holte Lengby – PFC Leo Vernon Beaulieu Nevis – CAPT Roland R. Obenland Park Rapids – PO3 James W. Ashby, SP4 Donald C. Green, CPL Gary L. Rehn, and SP4 Vincent L. Shepersky Pennington – PFC Mark A. Anderson Ponemah – SGT Ronald M. Cloud Red Lake – SP4 Richard M. Krossen Shevlin – PFC Richard Dean Power Solway – Sgt Lloyd L. Willard Walker – LCPL Max A. Nelson

Bemidji in 1968 was, to some extent, reflective of the two wars going on at the time: the war in Vietnam and the war at home to protest the war abroad.

While protesters on college campuses across the country chanted “Hell, no, we won’t go,” or “Stop the war, bring the GIs home now,” many places of business in downtown Bemidji had decals in their windows that said, “Love it or leave it.”

Meanwhile, young men who had served and survived were coming home with physical and emotional battle scars. Returning veterans found the normalcy of life back home in perplexing contrast to the world they’d left in Vietnam.

Many were taunted and defamed for their service; others, merely ignored.

Some enrolled in classes at Bemidji State College on the GI bill.

According to U.S. Census Bureau information, almost three times as many men from Beltrami County served in Vietnam than in any other conflicts. The Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., lists all of the 58,267 known soldiers who either died or were

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The world population was 3.5 billion. In 2018 the world population is 7.6 billion.

U.S. minimum wage was $1.60 per hour.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono posed nude on an album cover. According to Lennon, the sight of “two slightly overweight ex-junkies” in the nude proved to be too shocking for music retailers, who sold the album in brown wrapping paper.

E7 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

RED LAKE’S ROGER JOURDAIN FIGHTS FOR INDIAN ISSUES AT NATIONAL LEVEL Longtime leader appointed by President Johnson to national council

By Grace Pastoor gpastoor@bemidjipioneer.com By 1968, Roger Jourdain had been ruling Red Lake as its first elected chairman for nearly a decade.

The tough, nearlegendary leader was a household name, thanks to fight after fight with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other branches of the federal government, as well as for his sometimes-controversial work at home.

So Jourdain’s 1968 appointment to, and brief stint on, a presidential council was nothing out of the ordinary.

An inaugural member of the National Council on Indian Opportunity, Jourdain did what he did best: fought to make his reservation more independent.

And while this particular fight on this particular council is often lost in the shuffle, according to historian and author Thomas Britten, its accomplishments quietly live on.

“It’s certainly been forgotten,” said Britten, who authored a 2014 book about the Council. “It was a short-lived council that did way more for Native Americans than what most people give it credit for. That is, you know, it exercised kind of a disproportionate amount of influence, particularly given its tiny budget. It did a lot of good for Indian people that has not been recognized.”

President Lyndon B. Johnson established the council in March 1968 in response to what Britten’s book calls the “dysfunctional” relationship between tribes and the federal government.

And though the Council’s original goal was to connect Native Americans

Bemidji Pioneer file photo

Red Lake Tribal Chairman Roger Jourdain, left, is shown with Wendell Chino, tribal leader of the Mescalero Apache in 1989 on the shores of Red Lake.

nationwide with government resources, it ended up changing the way tribes and the federal government provided services to band members.

Jourdain — who had already been fighting the Bureau of Indian Affairs for years by the time the Council was formed — was one of the first appointees. Chosen by friend and political ally Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Jourdain was already familiar with the concepts addressed by the NCIO — particularly selfdetermination.

“Under President Nixon he introduced kind of a revolutionary new Indian policy that really focused on giving tribes greater control over government programs and services,” Britten said. “Instead of having the BIA or some other government agency

come into the reservation and running a program, instead they said ‘No, hey, here’s a jobs program for example, we’re just going to give complete control over that to the tribe and let them administer it….Roger Jourdain would have participated in this.”

Though Jourdain served just a two-year term on the council, which dissolved after six years, its impact is still seen in Red Lake today.

“Tribal governments are much more powerful nowadays than they were prior to the council,” Britten said. “The NCIO’s really pushing for government programs and services to be administered by tribal governments, that has really empowered and strengthened Native American nations today.”

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Walter Cronkite, in a CBS-TV special on his tour of Vietnam, said the U.S. war effort was “mired in stalemate,” amplifying public skepticism of the war.

Muhammad Ali was barred from boxing because of his conscientious-objector draft status.

In a 2008 documentary, Patrick Buchanan called 1968 “probably the worst year in American history.”

E8 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

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By Austin Monteith amonteith@bemidjipioneer.com The year 1968 was pivotal in many areas, and that goes for the Bemidji State men’s hockey program as well.

The 1967-68 season is significant not only for the opening of the John S. Glas Fieldhouse, but also for the banner that was raised to its rafters following that season.

That year, the Beavers won the first of the program’s 13 national championships, setting a foundation of success that continues 50 years later.

Playing their second season as members of the International Collegiate Hockey Association — which also included St. Cloud State, Lake Superior State, Wisconsin StateSuperior (now UW-Superior) and Lakehead University (Ontario) — Bemidji State College managed only a .500 record (6-6) against conference opponents, but finished 16-8 overall.

That was enough to earn the Beavers an invitation to the inaugural NAIA Tournament in St. Paul that March, where they faced Boston State in the semifinals, easily discarding the New Englanders to the tune of 11-0.

Awaiting BSC in the title game at St. Paul Auditorium was ICHA rival Lake Superior State, which had swept the regular-season series with the Beavers, winning all four contests.

The game went to overtime knotted at 4-4.

Almost four minutes into the extra period, Terry Bergstrom scored to bring home the Beavers’ first national title.

“Both teams were Division I quality hockey teams, no doubt,” said Bob Peters, who was in just the second season of his legendary 34-year run coaching the Beavers.

Bryan Grand, who claimed MVP honors at the tournament, nearly won the game in regulation when his shot hit the pipe with 1:11 left.

“We happened to have just a lot of really good players that came here starting about (1967-68) and obviously for lots of years afterward,” said Grand, a 1970 BSC graduate.

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Barry Dillon and Jim McElmury, were named the first All-Americans in program history following the win.

Many members of the team had the talent to play NCAA Division I hockey, Peters said, but there just weren’t enough opportunities.

“There were more quality players available than there were college hockey teams available,” he said.

The overtime victory was just the beginning of a four-peat. Bemidji State would go on to win national titles in the next three seasons, claiming seven (’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’73, ’79 and ’80) before the end of the NAIA era.

“It’s always a fine line between winning and losing,” Peters said. “But you have to have outstanding people. Just outstanding people and outstanding athletes as well.”

The legacy established by the 1967-68 team continues with 13 national titles and a Division I program 50 years later.

“I thought it was a glorious episode in the growth of hockey at Bemidji State University, right then,” Peters said. “With the advent of the rink and the incoming talent that was available to us, we put it all together and the foundation was laid. Which had a profound effect on recruiting, and consequently, the Beavers enjoyed 13 national championships.”

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

The first Special Olympics opens at Chicago’s Soldier Field, with more than a thousand athletes with intellectual disabilities competing in 200 events.

On May 27, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that burning a draft card is not an act of free speech protected by the First Amendment.

The Apollo 8 crew sent images of Earth taken from space while reading from “The Book of Genesis.”

E9 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

A HOME ‘FIELDHOUSE’ ADVANTAGE John S. Glas Fieldhouse dedicated in 1968

By Austin Monteith amonteith@bemidjipioneer.com Before the Beaver hockey programs moved into the Sanford Center, Bemidji fans spent their winter nights at a different venue across town for more than 40 years.

The John S. Glas Fieldhouse opened its doors in November 1967, but was dedicated on Feb. 10, 1968, and has since been a landmark on Bemidji State’s campus. The arena was originally christened as the Bemidji State Fieldhouse before being renamed in 1975 for Glas, the school’s acting president at the time of the building’s

completion.

Prior to the fieldhouse’s construction, the Beavers had played at outdoor rinks for many years. After initially playing at the Bemidji Sports Arena in the late 1940s, the program went on hiatus until starting again in 1960.

From 1960 until the BSC Fieldhouse opened, the Beavers played outdoors.

After first skating one season at the 17th Street Rink — at the old high school athletic field — the team later played seven seasons at the College Rink (also known as the 19th Street Rink), south of the physical education building and gymnasium.

The bouncing around from venue to venue, which earned the squad its “Hard Luck Boys” nickname, ceased in 1967-68 as the team finally found a permanent home.

The fieldhouse opened with an intrasquad scrimmage Nov. 11, 1967, before hosting its first game Nov. 17, 1967, against the Minnesota Nationals. A standing room only crowd of 3,062 witnessed the Beavers fall 6-5 to the team comprised of Olympic hopefuls. Goalie Len Kleisinger was officially credited with an eye-popping 72 saves in the loss.

The Beavers would have an easier time on dedica-

Photo courtesy of BSU Photo Services.

The Minnesota Nationals defeated Bemidji State 6-5 in the first game played at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse. tion day in February when BSC walloped St. Cloud State, 19-1.

The new facility helped attract recruits at a time when heated indoor rinks

The NHL comes to town in ’68

By Austin Monteith amonteith@bemidjipioneer.com

Most local sports fans know Bemidji was the original training camp home of the Minnesota Vikings from 1961-65.

But some may forget the Minnesota North Stars also paid Bemidji a visit in the 1960s.

It happened 50 years ago, in the fall of 1968, when the then-named Bemidji State Fieldhouse was not even a year old.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, a capacity crowd packed the recently constructed venue to watch the North Stars take on their appropriately named farm club, the Memphis South Stars, in a preseason exhibition.

Entering just their second NHL season, the North Stars featured such players as Bill Goldsworthy, Lou Nanne and J.P. Parise, the father of current Minnesota Wild star

organization, from their inaugural season through 1970-71, before embarking on a career as an NHL coach and front office executive. He would soon begin spending his summers in Bemidji working at Bob Peters’ hockey camps before making the community his year-round home about 30 years later.

Johnston spent most of the 1968-69 season with the AHL’s Cleveland BarSubmitted photo ons, but appeared in 13 games for the North Stars.

Zach Parise.

The Saskatchewan native Also in the lineup that can’t quite recall which night was a defenseman team he suited up for on who later became a longthat September night in time Bemidji resident.

Bemidji, but Johnston said Marshall Johnston he does remember the played in the North Stars outcome of the previous

were not as common.

“It was a huge upgrade,” said longtime Beaver coach Bob Peters, then in his second season.

“You have to consider a lot

of rinks, indoor rinks and outdoor rinks, many of them didn’t have heating.”

For 43 seasons, Bemidji State had quite the homeice advantage at “The Glas.” The Beavers posted a 502-145-41 record in 688 games played at John S. Glas Fieldhouse before departing for the Sanford Center in 2010.

“I know at that time for sure, and through the years that I played, crowds were really, really good,” said Bryan Grand, a sophomore center on the 196768 Beavers. “Most games it was a full house…. The crowds were as good as it could be for small college hockey for sure.”

North Stars play exhibition at Fieldhouse game the teams played that preseason. The South Stars, including Johnston, pulled an upset win over their parent club in that contest.

“We’re all a part of the same organization, but it was kind of a feather in our hat because we were with the minor league team that beat the NHL team,” Johnston said.

However, the North Stars prevailed, 6-2, over Memphis in their next game at Bemidji, with six different North Stars tallying goals in the victory.

Two days later, the North Stars traveled to Duluth for an exhibition with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Johnston has since spent

many a night in Bemidji since that exhibition 50 years ago at BSC Fieldhouse.

“It was in ’69, the next year in the summer of ’69, I came here and worked at the BSU hockey school for Bob Peters,” Johnston said. “We rented a place in town for a couple or three years, and then this (place) where I am right now, right across the lake…. We spent the summers here for about 30 years I suppose until 2000, and then we built a yearround home here at that time.”

Who would have thought one North Star would stick around Bemidji, nearly 50 years after that game?

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Back row: Corey Peterson, Shawn Zabrocki, Nick Clausen, Charlie Ward Middle row: Daren Bentler, Dustin Prchal, Adam Falk, Dave Brinkmann Front row: Jackie Peterson, Helen Glen

THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Figure skater Peggy Fleming won the USA’s only gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

E10 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

“Hair” opened on Broadway, starting a run of more than 1,700 performances and introducing mainstream theater-goers to sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll and draft resistance.

JACKS’ 67-68 HOCKEY SEASON ENDS IN SUB-REGION FINAL

By Ryan Pietruszewski rpietruszewski @bemidjipioneer.com

The Bemidji High School boys hockey team finished its season with a 12-9-1 record in the 1967-68 season.

In the sub-regional playoffs, the Lumberjacks defeated Crookston in a tight 3-2 battle to earn the right to play East Grand Forks, which finished the regular season in last place in the sub-region standings, in the sub-region championship.

East Grand Forks had defeated Moorhead 6-3 and Red Lake Falls 4-0 in the playoffs already, and they kept their momentum going against the Jacks with a 5-2 win on a Saturday night.

In Bemidji’s game against Crookston, junior

Tom Reise put the Jacks on the board with a goal just before the first period ended to tie the game at 1-1.

Reise – who later went on to play for Bemidji State College from 1969-72, tallied two assists in the second period, with Mike Langlie and Ernie Blackburn scoring the goals.

Crookston got a shot past BHS goalie John Keenan in the final 10 seconds of the second period to pull within a goal, but Keenan refocused and was sharp through a scoreless third for 20 total saves in the 3-2 win.

In the championship against the Green Wave, the teams traded off goals in the second period for a 1-1 tie with a frame to play, but EGF took over in the final frame for four goals and a 5-2 win.

Photo courtesy Bemidji High School

Tom Reise was a leading scorer for the 1967-68 and 1968-69 Bemidji High School boys hockey team.

Blackburn scored the second-period goal for the Lumberjacks, while freshman phenom Gary Sargent buried a shot with a minute left in the third for a 4-2 deficit, giving Bemidji a reason to pull the goalie.

But East Grand Forks

Hershey bars cost 5 cents.

Reise, Sargent lead Lumberjack hockey to playoff runs

plenty of reason for optimism. Brothers Larry, Jeff and Keith Baumgartner had added firepower to the lineup when the family moved to Bemidji from Roseau the previous year, and Sargent was a player to watch as he entered his sophomore campaign.

The Jacks went 18-2 during the regular season and defeated Indus in their Photo courtesy of Minnesota Region 8 opener. But the Hockey Hub season came to a crushMinnesota North Star Brad ing end in the semifinals Maxwell congratulates at the John Glas Fieldhouse teammate Gary Sargent af- in Bemidji as Roseau beat ter Sargent’s goal in 1978. the Jacks 3-0, avenging a Sargent was just getting his regular-season loss. high school career started “We were rolling pretty in 1968 as a freshman. good,” said Reise, who as a senior led the team in scored an empty-netter scoring with 47 points. and earned the trip to the “It was a magical season. region semifinals, where it We had pulled in some faced Thief River Falls. really good players when As the 1968-69 season the Baumgartners came to town, and Gary Sargent approached, there was

was just a total athlete.”

Reise said the games were extra fun because of the enthusiastic crowds at the rink.

“Back then it was always packed,” Reise said. “There was no texting or other diversions. It was the thing to do in the winter.”

Sargent later played for BSC for the 1972-73 season, was drafted 48th overall in the third round of the 1974 NHL Draft and played 402 games in the NHL, split between the Los Angeles Kings and the Minnesota North Stars.

In his eight-season NHL career, he recorded 61 goals and 161 assists for 222 career points.

Stanley Cup champion T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals, a 2005 graduate of Warroad High School, is Sargent’s cousin.

took 14 teams to the state tournament.

To Schwartz, he was a lot more than just some basketball coach.

“After my father, Bun Fortier was the most significant guy in my life growing up. I can’t tell you guy, and that’s the coach, enough how important he Bun Fortier. He was a was,” Schwartz said. “He highly motivated super coach, and he got more out was a strict authoritarian figure. He was a short, bald of us than we should have been able to give. He was so guy, who, when he glared at you, you just shrank good.” back from fear that he was Fortier took over the head coaching job at BHS in going to come over and strangle you. the fall of 1949 and, in 20 “The reason that he was years manning the post, he

so successful is that he had us in better physical shape than anybody else.

We pressed every team all game long. By the fourth quarter, every other team was out of gas, and we were starting to kick it in gear.”

Now 68 years old, Schwartz works as an investment advisor in Wisconsin. He’s married with a daughter and a granddaughter, and he said he looks forward to visiting Bemidji in mid-August for the 50-year class reunion.

Bemidji’s streak of basketball titles ends with stunning loss “He was like 6-foot-7 or 8 and he was just a huge lumberjack kind of guy, and he swung his elbow With 15 straight district and caught me right in championships, a future the head. I guess I was Minnesota State High important to the team, and School Coaches Hall of I never recovered and we Famer in Clarence Alexanlost the district. It was the der “Bun” Fortier, and a disaster of the year.” star senior center in Doug Despite losing arguably Schwartz, the Bemidji High the team’s best player, School boys basketball team Fortier still coached the had high expectations for team to the district chamthe 1967-68 season. pionship, where they faced But during practice Littlefork-Big Falls, a team against the Bemidji State they defeated 49-43 on College freshman on Jan. Jan. 13 with a fully healthy 23, Schwartz’s 18th birthSchwartz. day, he suffered a conThat was the Vikings’ cussion and “never really only loss, however, as they came back” after missing a went into the championmonth of the season. ship with a 19-1 record “I was the center – I was and kept the momentum the biggest kid on our team going through that contest, – and they had a much topping the Lumberjacks bigger guy,” Schwartz said. 61-45.

“That was a huge disappointment. We knew those guys. We had played them before in previous years,” said Schwartz. “They were a good team. I can’t take anything away from those guys from Littlefork. They were some good athletes, and they were hungry. They wanted to beat Bemidji. Of course, everybody wanted to beat Bemidji. You’ve got to give them credit. They came out and played a good game, and they beat us.”

The year prior, Bemidji won the district and made it to the state tournament, where they beat Hayfield but lost to the eventual champions from Edina and ended up with fourth place.

On what made the teams in those years so good, Schwartz said, “The key can be summed up in one

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The 1967-68 Bemidji High School boys basketball team. Front row, from left: Wayne Olson, Bill Heilman, Doug Schwartz, Jerry Fruetel, Joel Haugen, Jerry Oelrich and Tom Hill. Back row: Assistant Coach Phil Buhn, Arden Nelson, Bill Hubbell, Tony Burke, Dwayne Vanstrom, Greg Beaumont, Tom Tolman, Assistant Coach Jack Luoma and Head Coach Bun Fortier.

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Minnesota’s Eugene McCarthy nearly upset Lyndon Johnson in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Shirley Chisholm of New York became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A’s pitched a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins.

E11 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

Memories of neighborhood grocery stores

By Cecelia Wattles McKeig Special to the Pioneer

Photo courtesy of Lueken family.

In this photo taken from Library Park, Lueken's Foods is shown at its 505 Bemidji Ave. N. location, now home to the Watermark Art Center.

Next to it is the former Masonic Temple.

Photo courtesy of Johanneson’s, Inc.

John's Super Valu at 1819 Bemidji Ave. N., was built in 1961 and drew a large crowd to its grand opening event.

Standing the test of time Lueken, Johanneson grocery businesses still going strong

By Dennis Doeden ddoeden@bemidjipioneer.com Marketplace Foods and Lueken’s Village Foods are the lone survivors of what once was a bevy of grocery stores in Bemidji.

In 1968, while some neighborhood markets were still in business, a few competing regional supermarkets gave shoppers plenty of choices.

In addition to Lueken’s Foods at 505 Bemidji Ave. N., the predecessor to Lueken’s Village Foods, and John’s Super Valu at 1819 Bemidji Ave. N., the predecessor to Marketplace Foods, the town also had Red Owl and National Tea in downtown locations and Bemidji IGA on the north end.

“Back in those days you had different suppliers that helped their retailers grow, and in the late 1960s Red Owl started to fade out and Super Valu really became a player,” said Keith Johanneson, whose father, John, started the family business.

“But the reason why is that real estate dictated the growth of these grocery companies. If they were dated facilities, they slowly would fade away and when they built new ones they became the player in many markets.”

Jan Lueken, whose late husband Joe brought the family business into prominence, remembers how competitive the grocery business was 50 years ago.

“It was really really stiff,” she said. “Joe understood the importance of loyal employees and good customer service.”

Joe and Jan Lueken moved to Bemidji in 1966 when Joe agreed to help his older brother, Hank, run the grocery store at the site where the Watermark Art Center is now located. In 1969, Joe purchased the store

Photo courtesy of Jan Lueken

Florida. Jan said the down payment was made possible when Bemidji State College bought their home on Lake Boulevard to acquire land for construction of Bangsberg Hall and parking lot.

She has fond memories of family time at the lakeside store.

“When our two oldest sons (Michael and Jeff) were little the store would close on 6 p.m. on Sundays and we would go in with our two youngsters who would help us remove the prices,” she said. “Remember they were stamped on items then. The boys and I would do that. Joe would check the price list, because there were always increases or decreases. He would come around and stamp the new prices on.

Afterward, she said with a laugh, the family would often go out for pizza at Dave’s, then head home to watch “Mission Impossible.”

“That was on our black-and-white TV,” Jan said. “They actually looked forward to that.”

A few blocks to the north of Lueken’s, John Johanneson was building a business in his new store that was built in

John’s Super Valu that was located in the 400 block of Bemidji Avenue, next to the old Lakeside Hotel. The new store quickly became better known as Super John’s, because that’s how Bemidji State College students made out their checks when they shopped at the close-to-campus store.

“It was a state-of-theart store, and we became the lead grocer virtually overnight,” said Keith Johanneson. “We even had some of our own private-label products that were Super John’s.

We had a Super John’s private stock beer, which was kind of a novelty. It became a brand.”

Red Owl, based in Hopkins, Minn., was a big player in the Upper Midwest grocery business.The Bemidji store was located at 320 3rd St. NW, where Bemidji Co-op is now.

National Tea was part of a national chain that tended to be a little smaller than the supermarkets. Its store here was at 214 5th St. NW, where RiverWood Bank is now located.

Bemidji IGA’s address was listed at 224 W. Highway 2, which is the current site of Buffalo

001755104r1

The Old Schoolhouse The Carr Lake School, built in 1917, was used by the school district until 1972. It was purchased by Herb and Lois Dale in 1973 and renamed THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE.

Herb Dale in front of the Carr Lake School in 1973.

Photo courtesy of Johanneson’s, Inc.

Joe Lueken pictured in his office at the Lakeside location, John Johanneson started a meat market in North Dako505 Bemidji Ave. N., circa 1968. ta in 1940. The family moved to Bemidji in 1957 to start what is now Marketplace Foods. He is pictured here in from Hank, who moved to 1961 to replace the former his John's Super Valu store at 1819 Bemidji Ave. N. Wild Wings.

“We were virtually the first major business to exit the downtown and come out on the north end of Bemidji,” Keith Johanneson said. “It was kind of a game changer, because later on all of Highway 2 started developing and filling up with new retail.”

As time went on, the Lueken and Johanneson family owned businesses continued to grow as the competitors went out of business. Lueken’s eventually built new stores on the north and south side of town, and the Johanneson family had stores at the current site of Gander Outdoors, the current site of St. Michel Furniture and eventually the current Westridge location of Marketplace Foods.

But the business continues to evolve as consumer habits change.

“When we were operating back in the ’60s you had big carts full of groceries going out of there,” Keith Johanneson said. “People were buying the health and beauty care, paper goods, we sold 50-pound bags of flour, now we sell flour

in a two-pound bag. Our baking sections are not very formidable anymore because people don’t know how to bake.”

In addition, stores like Target and Walmart, and even Menards, are selling some grocery items.

Joe Lueken died in 2014 at the age of 72, two years after passing up a chance to sell the family business to a national chain and instead gave the business to the employees who helped build it.

“Joe loved the store,” Jan Lueken said. “He never distanced himself from his employees. He always worked alongside of them.”

John Johanneson, who opened his own butcher shop in 1940 in North Dakota, died in 2001. But the family business has been going strong for 61 years in Bemidji and 78 years overall.

“When we built a brand new store in the market, one of the first that had been built in years, it took off like a rocket and was basically the foundation of what our company is today,” Keith Johanneson said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in The Depot Express newsletter of the Beltrami County Historical Society in 2014.

It is reprinted with permission from the author and the BCHS with updates. Some stores that were included in the original article but closed by 1968 are not included in this version.

One of the memories many of us share is that of the neighborhood grocery — the kind of place that just did not change much. A kid could ride his bike there to pick up a quart of milk for supper, or approach the owner with a note and a quarter from his mother when he was sent to pick up a pack of Lucky Strikes or Camels. Most of the time the owners were patient with us when we counted our pennies or stammered when we could not remember just exactly what it was we were supposed to buy to bring home to mom or grandma. Occasionally, there would be a grumpy day.

I remember once when the proprietor finally got tired of a customer who consistently came in to buy three eggs and four slices of bacon. In a loud voice so everyone in the small store could hear, he announced, “I sell eggs by the dozen and bacon by the pound. If you want breakfast, try the cafe down the street!”

There was an amazing number of grocery stores throughout the Bemidji area that served the neighborhoods before the arrival of the Handy Andy, Hartz, Red Owl or National Tea. Some of these continued for several decades. There are about 250 entries for this kind of family business in Bemidji between 1904 and 1994. Many are in the same building but under new ownership or new names.

Hulett/Dicaire Grocery 1101 Irvine Ave.

One of the most enduring locations was the grocery at 1101 Irvine Avenue, best known as Dicaire Grocery, Berg’s Grocery, and as Sunflower Foods although it had other owners and other names. It was first owned

by Charles Hulett in 1904.

Pierre “Peter” Dicaire had the store by 1910. He was born in 1851 at Ottawa, Canada, and married in Wisconsin in 1885. He and his wife Alice moved to Bemidji in 1902. While

MEMORIES: Page E12

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THIS WAS

BEMIDJI 1968

Yale University, after 267 years, decided to admit female undergraduates, beginning in 1969.

Douglas C. Engelbart’s 90-minute demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco included the world’s first mouse and word processor.

Arthur Ashe won the U.S. Open, becoming the first black man to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

E12 | Sunday, July 29, 2018 The Bemidji Pioneer

From Page E11

Peter ran the store, Alice spent her life caring for her family, and most of all for her daughter Christine who was paralyzed. Pierre died in 1934 but during the years he lived in Bemidji, he took an active interest in the affairs of the city, and was well known as a tinsmith as well as the proprietor of the grocery store.

After his death, the store was owned by Mrs. Blanche Vincent from approximately 1937-1940. It next belonged to Peter and Carrie Larkin from about 1946 to 1950. John and Nine Berg purchased the neighborhood grocery in 1950. After that it was known as Berg’s Grocery for 15 years. Mr. Berg died in 1951, but Mrs. Berg operated the grocery until 1965 when she moved to Northern Township. It was listed for one year as Minnie’s Corner Grocery, run by Minnie Stone in 1966. Alice Lokken ran it as Lokken’s Grocery from 1967 to about 1970. It was Bruce’s Grocery, Conrad Bruce (1970); Evans Grocery, Harold Evans (1972); Frank Trombatta ran it under the name Good Earth Foods. At one point the building housed a pawn shop as well. The business was known as Sunflower Foods from 1976 through 1980. Penny Smith owned it in the early 1980s and she had a ceramic shop in the back. In 1990, it was Cameron’s Food Store, run by Earlean Cameron. It is not listed in 1993.

Conat’s Grocery/ Toombs Grocery/ Stevens IGA

609 4th St., Nymore

Walker & Earle Grocery.

Clarence and Elsie Conat owned this Nymore Grocery in 1946. Earl & Don Toombs purchased the Conat Grocery in October 1947 and operated it until 1955. In 1955, George and Clara Stevens bought the grocery store and operated it as Stevens IGA until 1972 when their son Dave bought the store and they retired. Hazel Lortie and Marvel Rabe both worked for more than 20 years at this store.

Daylight Store

1214 Beltrami Ave.

The Daylight Store was one of the longest running grocery stores in Bemidji. The last time I looked, the grocery sign was still hanging there. It was a popular hangout for high school kids and also a popular warm up spot for those who walked to the high school on 15th Street.

The first owner listed in Arthur Knutson who owned two Daylights stores in 1927, one in Nymore and this one on Beltrami Ave. Maxwell “Max” LaCore operated the Daylight Gro-

cery from 1930 to 1944. He later owned the Campus Food Mart at 1026 Birchmont in the 1960s. The Daylight Store was owned

by Eugene Keable after WW II, and in 1951 it was owned

by Harold Hellekson. At one point it was also owned

by Frank and Hilda Rom. John and Josephine Gordon moved to Bemidji in 1952.

They owned and operated Gordon’s Daylight Grocery for over 35 years. John Gordon died in 1972. Mrs. Gordon then ran the store until 1989 when she retired and moved to Northfield.

Neil and Connie (Wilson) Grimsley owned the store in the 1990s. They changed the name back to the Daylight Store.

Skime Grocery

319 Central Ave., Nymore

Arthur Knutson started a grocery at 323 Central in the 1920s. He moved his grocery to 319 Central Avenue and renamed it the Knutson Daylight Store about 1927. In 1939, Elmer and Marlyce Skime moved to Nymore, where they bought and ran the grocery store and later changed the store to a locker plant. In 1960, they sold the locker plant to their sons, Glenn and David. Glenn Skime entered the U.S. Navy in 1951. He was discharged in 1955 and returned to Bemidji to work with his father at the Nymore Locker Plant.

He continued operating the locker plant and in 1970 started a second career as a firefighter for the city. He closed the locker plant in 1971.

Holeen/Allen’s Fairway Store 812 Beltrami Ave.

The complex at 812-814 Beltrami Ave. originally was the residence of Cliff and Mary Montague. In 1911, Mr. Montague won a prize for the beautiful garden at this location. For years, the grocery was housed at 814 Beltrami. Henry Miller had a grocery there in 1913, and in 1920, it was called the Midway Grocery. Henry Brakke ran a grocery store at 1024 Birchmont from 1918 until about 1924. He then purchased the Midway Grocery and changed the name to Brakke’s Variety Store. By 1934, Brakke had moved the grocery business next door to 812 Beltrami, and the 814 address became the site of the Cottage Studio owned by “Rich” Richardson, one of Bemidji’s first photographers. It then became the home of the Scherling Photo Studio.

Brakke’s grocery at 812 was next known as the Holeen Grocery. Verland Allen, who had previously managed the local Woolworth store, purchased the Holleen grocery and took possession in 1945 when Carl Holeen moved out west. Verland and Onolee Allen operated Allen’s Fairway Grocery from 1945 to 1969. By 1984, it housed a business called

the Craftsmen’s Touch. The building is still there across from Central School.

St. John’s/Nutzman’s Grocery 325 Minnesota Ave.

Schroeder first operated a general merchandise store at this corner and called it Schroeder’s Groceries.

It became the site of the People’s Coop and then the Ganter Bakery in 1924-25.

Felix St. John owned the store during the 1930s and 1940s. Mom and I walked to the store in all seasons.

On a Sunday afternoon in 1941, we were shopping for a few groceries when the bombing of Pearl Harbor was announced on the store radio. Mom put me on a sled and hauled me to our home in the night watchman’s shack at Grinol’s pulp yard. St. John’s had a soda fountain and they made their own ice cream. They had a driveup window that served frosted malts. The store next belonged to Earl Utter.

They received an “off-sale” beer license in 1950. Elmer Lyons owned the grocery in the 1950s. Edith and Elmer ran the grocery store. Then it belonged to William and Hansel Nutzman. Wm. Nutzman (1963). It was still a grocery on the tax list in 1969.

loads of candy and popsicles that they would split in two. It also had some gambling for the kids. Rongstad recalled that it had a penny gumball machine that had striped gumballs scattered throughout that you could redeem for candy or get seven pennies. Vincents closed the store in the 1970s but continued to live there and converted it to a residence. The building is still there.

Park Avenue Food Mart 1216 Park Ave.

Herman and Cora Prochnow moved to Bemidji in 1939. The family owned this neighborhood grocery for decades. It was on Park Avenue, but there was no cross-street. They were known for giving out spe-

Photo courtesy of Beltrami County History Center

The building that housed Gordon's Daylight Grocery still stands at 1214 Beltrami Ave. NW. cial treats to the kids. Cora died in 1966 and Herman died in 1972. Their daughter Orlette continued to run the store into the 1980s.

Cecelia Wattles McKeig was born and raised in Bemidji. She is the author of several historical books, including “Bermidji … A Snapshot of Bemidji 1940-1960” which is available for purchase at the Beltrami County History Center. Her new book on Bemidji in the 1960s will be out within a year.

Located on beautiful Lake Bemidji Join us for our daily happy hour specials from 3-6 and 9-11

Schmunk’s Grocery

929 Lake Shore Drive NE • 218-444-2310

200 Lake Ave.

Probably the longest running grocery store is Schmunk’s on Lake Avenue in Nymore. Phrases such as “turn left at Schmunk’s Store” or “continue straight east from Schmunk’s store” were common. People often used it as a reference point in giving directions for a drive around the lake, or included it in directions for a neighborhood rummage sale.

Otto and Lillian Schmunk operated a gas station for Western Oil and Fuel at that site starting about 1937. The firm was known as Otto C. Schmunk & Son, selling gas and groceries.

The “son” was Harry Otto “Sonny” Schmunk, who was born in 1924 in Bemidji. Harry attended college at the University of Minnesota. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He owned Schmunk’s Corner Grocery from 1949 until 1992. The Otto Schmunk Bicentennial park across the street was dedicated in June 1976. The building has been remodeled and now houses Canine Divine.

Vincent’s Grocery 2201 Irvine Ave.

This store was located across the street from Greenwood Cemetery. It was owned by H. J. Conat from 1924 into the 1930s. It was owned by Maude Olson in 1946. By 1951, it was owned by Foster and Dorothy Vincent. Ron Rongstad recalled on Facebook that the Vincent Grocery had

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She was a lifelong teacher and had served as a missionary in Colombia, South America where she had helped start a girls’ school.

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