WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU???

The Bismarck High School Class of 1981 monthly update

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a positive, safe and supportive environment for all classmates in which we can share our personal lives. The staff reserves the right to publish only information that we feel is within the supportive spirit of this newsletter. Information which we feel is intended to be negative, class polarizing, mean-spirited will not be published at this site. That is not the avenue we want to take with this newsletter. The staff.

Volume 28, April 2003

 
THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT
EACH AND EVERY MONTH

This was sent to me this month by Laura McDaniel. I think it captures what we are all about in just a few short paragraphs. It is food for thought and it is the reason that this newsletter comes together each and every month. Though we may not see each often enough, it is nice to know that with the touch of a button we are all here for each other. I think we are a very lucky bunch! Thanks Laura for giving what we all take for granted a "voice"!

"In-depth and Personal with…JoLyne Wilson Palumbo"

Name: JoLyne Wilson Palumbo
Career/occupation: Southwest Airlines reservation agent, prior to that I was a stay-at-home Mom for 8 years ~ the toughest job in the world!
Home: Moore, OK..Claims to fame~Toby Keith and Kelly Coffey, the May 2.1999 F 6 tornado. (OK sure knows how to grow country stars)
Family: husband Robert, Sons Christopher (10) and Matthew (8), 3 dogs~Lucky, Little Bit and Tito, and 2 fish tanks with over 20 fish, various neighborhood kids ~ I run a zoo....
How did you meet your spouse: My dear friend Loretta introduced my to her brother-in-law. She is now my sister-in-law!
Spouse's occupation: Autoworker with General motors for almost 25 years. Currently working as an ergonomist (if you ever get the chance to tour an auto plant, do it! It is an amazing process)
Greatest Accomplishment: Everday living with a smile
People whom you admire and why: my parents, all parents who "do it" everyday with no fanfare working to raise decent human beings.
What do you have in your pockets: lipstick, chapstick, money
Fantasy or Reality job: I'm living it at Southwest Airlines ~ The LUV airline
Latest book you have read: kid's books, something political, biographical or historical. Who moved my Cheese (which I refer to almost daily)
Favorite music/musicians: Eagles, Harry Connick, Jr, just about anything but Rap, saw Paul McCartney in concert ~ AMAZING!
Recommended movies: I love movies so way to numerous to mention..Anxiously awaiting Harry Potter 2.
Favorite city and why: New Orleans and San Francisco ~ As far as I'm concerned no explanation needed.
Where have you traveled: Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, cruises, many states..
Favorite place to vacation: Cape Cod, anyplace there is a beach
Favorite foods: New Mexico Mexican, Mongolian BBQ, Italian, Mom's fried chicken and potato salad, Wisconsin Cheddar soup served in a bread bowl (a specialty of The Bison Witch in Norman OK)
Hobbies: sewing, reading, movies. Started crocheting and golfing this year (how old am I ?!?!)
Pet peeves: whining...either offer a solution or shut up
Memories of Bismarck: It was a great place to grow up! Surviving all those stupid things we did ~ Hoping our children don't try them!
Memories of BHS: spent my sophomore year there before moving to Gallup NM so not as many as most of you. I loved the building and the fun of the weekly social events surround sports.
Who were some of the people you hung out with in high school: Claire and gang, my first sweetheart, my older brother Kent and his friends.
Involved in any activities in high school: In NM I was involved in Staters and Drama
Favorite teachers and why: all of them for their tolerance of adolescence. I think teachers are a special breed who are under appreciated and underpaid.

A little ND humor!

I receive so much ND humor, that each month I will try to share something with you! For some reason only people who live in ND or are from ND can appreciate it or relate to it! Some you may have seen, some not, but heck maybe it will make your day! I promise to keep it clean!

 
RULES FOR "NEW" NORTH DAKOTANS
Submitted by Mark Peltz

This list of rules will be handed to each person as they enter the state of North Dakota

That slope-shouldered farm boy you are snickering at did more
work before breakfast than you will do all week at the gym.

It's called a "gravel road." No matter how slow you drive, you're going to
get dust on your BMW. I have a four-wheel drive because I need it.
Now drive or get it out of the way.

We all started hunting and fishing when we were nine years old.
Yeah, we saw Bambi. We got over it.

Any references to "corn fed" when talking about our women
will get your butt kicked...by our women.

Pull your pants up, and turn your hat around. You look like an idiot.

If that cell phone rings while a bunch of mallards are making their final approach,
we will shoot it. You might hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.

No, there's no "Vegetarian Special" on the menu. Order steak. Order it rare. Or, you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the two pounds of ham and turkey.

Yeah, we have sweet tea. It comes unsweetened in a glass with
two packets of sugar and a long spoon.

You bring Coke into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice.

So you have a sixty thousand-dollar car. We're real impressed.
We have quarter-million dollar combines that we use two weeks a year.

Let's get this straight. We may have one stoplight in town.
We stop when it's red. We may even stop when it's yellow.

Our women hunt, fish, and drive trucks-because they want to.
So, you're a feminist. Isn't that cute?

Yeah, we eat catfish, northern, walleye and turtle too.
If you really want sushi and caviar, it's available at the bait shop.

They are pigs and cows. That's what they smell like. Get over it. Don't like it? Interstate 90 & Interstate 94 go two ways....Interstate 83 goes south......get on one of them.

The "Opener" refers to the first days of fishing and deer season.
They are religious holidays. You can get breakfast at the church.

So what if every person in every pick-up waves?
It's called being friendly. Understand the concept?

Yeah, we have golf courses.
Don't hit into the water hazards. It spooks the fish.

"CLASS FLAVORS"

This month our recipe is compliments of me, I figured it was about time I submitted a recipe. The recipe is called "Sticky Coconut Chicken". Actually this is not my recipe, this is a recipe I got from a good friend of mine. It makes a great dinner, especially when served with Thai noodles and grilled pineapple. Enjoy!

To access recipes, go to the "class flavors" link on the website.


RESTAURANT REQUEST

Kelly (Malard) Anderson and her family are headed to Phoenix this summer. They are wondering if any of our Phoenix classmates could send them some great restaurant ideas. They like any type of food, their only requirement is that the rest. be "kid friendly." They are also interested in what types of "touristy things" are available to do in and around the area. You can either contact Kelly directly, or send them to me and I will forward them accordingly.

Tammy (Schlinger) Siems and her husband Wally are headed to Las Vegas at the end of April to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Tammy and her husband are looking for great restaurant ideas and some ideas of what to do rather than just gamble. They are also hoping to hook-up with some of the BHS classmates! You can either contact Tammy directly, or send your ideas to me and I will forward them accordingly.

 Here’s looking at you babe!!

If you haven’t been to this site, I suggest you check it out! Rick and Trish Steinke have added some adorable pictures on their son Jonathon, and Tom Gerhardt has uploaded a very nice photo of himself and President Bush, yes President Bush. Also in the photo is his wife, and two of his children, see background story under life highlights. Rick and Trish’s photo can be found in "It’s all About Our Families," formerly called the Holiday Wishes Album.

Contact me for the access information.

FAMOUS QUOTE….

The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it,
But what they become by it! -Author unknown

BIRTHDAYS!

Happy Birthday to the following people! Troy and Myra are turning 41, the rest are 40!

Troy Bernhardt
Myra (Kordonowy) LeCaptain
Lori (Grishkowsky) Pettis
William Brown
Kathy (Nies) Tschosik
Scott Gefroh
Maren (Swenson) Waxenberg
Connie (Wiedrick) Samuelson
Perry Jahraus
Kristi (Backstrand) Learn
Megan (Gerboth) Affa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!
We hope you have a wonderful day!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

JoLyn (Wilson) and Robert Palumbo – 12 years
Jon and Frankie Kuehl – 14 years
Tammy (Schlinger) and Wally Siems – 15 years
Wendy (Rios) and Tony Bosch – 16 years
Laurie (Brady) and Tim Wolf –17 years
Tom and Kim Gerhardt – 18 years
Barb (Morlock) and Kirby Steinke – 19 years
Leroy and Brenda (Jundt) Gross – 20 years

Our sincerest congratulations to all of you!

Todd gives us his view, and he is …..
"TOTALLY UNCENSORED!"

Compliments of Todd Jueth
Please note: Todd’s views are strictly his own. They are provided for our reading enjoyment and do not necessarily reflect the views of those associated with the Class of 81, it’s newsletter, or its website. Comments sent to me will be forwarded to Todd or you may e-mail him personally at toddjueth@msn.com. Thanks, Lauri

Did you ever wonder what you are about, did you ever stand up for what you believe in or did you just take the safe route and did all the things that were expected of you? Now that you are 40 going on 50 do you still take time to relive where you came from? Do you ever take time to think of the good old times, do you take time to tell your loved ones that you love them or are you waiting for the time that you wished you would have said it to them? Do you take the time to think what the hell Mike Duffy is doing or any other classmates? Are you all caught up in this cluster of world events? Do you ever stand back and enjoy a sunrise or watch a beautiful sunset because, you know, you are not guaranteed to see another one. Are you all caught up in "they are doing this," do you respect that you have your health and that this is just as good? Are you correcting the things in your life that need fixing or do you think somebody else is going to do it for you? When you have a rough morning with your child do you make sure that you tell them that you love them before parting for what we think is another hectic day? Are you really trying to keep up with the Joneses or would you just be happy with what you have accomplished in life so far?

You have to step back in your life and take things for what they are. Don't read too much into it - enjoy the good things. I print my section of the newsletter and sometimes I pull it out of nowhere but I personally type what comes to thought. I do have strong beliefs. First are God, and family - you can’t have one with out the other. Everything else in life that is dealt to me I deal with. We have classmates that have been called out to defend our freedom whether we like current events or not but we all need to be supportive of them and their families to show that we believe in the cause. If I say we should, and you say we should not it really doesn't matter to the one who is there saying I have to.

In the North Dakota legislature they are trying to figure out how to stop the outward migration of people. The main subject on the news was pretty much about people of our era. They have gone to different states and interviewed past NoDaks to find out why they won’t come back and, or, what it would take for them to return with their families to our fine state. Well, you and I both know that it starts with a good paying job. And there are not a lot of them around here to keep the majority. But what I would like all of you to think about is why you have left, what makes you established at your present jobs. Think about what it would take for you to live back home in North Dakota and any other variables that come to mind. This is a very strong subject here, for North Dakota is a dying state because we are not sure how we are going to survive with an aging population and nobody to pay the taxes to make us progress. Farming sucks because our legislatures forget what makes the world go around. We are an agricultural state but nobody wants to give the farmer the price he deserves for the product he farms. If the farmer makes money here we will all make money. But this is God’s country and, in our eyes, who the hell would not want to raise a family here with low crime, clean air, not a lot of hang-ups. You can travel to the bright lights but then always come back to the safe comfortable life. In today's society what's the price for peace of mind.

  The Bismarck Demons basketball team placed 4th in the state basketball tournament. Going into the tournament there was no clear-cut favorite to win so it was anybody's tournament. In the semifinals the Demons were locked in a tight game with Dickinson who was rated #1 in the state for most of the season. With about 1:46 left in the game and the Demons down by one point, Dickinson was to shoot a foul shot when a technical foul was issued to the Bismarck Demons head coach Steve Miller for coming on to the playing floor. Well, that gave Dickinson 4 foul shots and the ball out of bounds, which turned into a 5-point swing in favor of Dickinson. The Demons never recovered and ended up with the loss.

Spring is here - one of my favorite times of year. We have had a long cold spell up here - I mean 30 below, so it has been nice to see temps get up in to the 40s. Now, that probably doesn't seem to warm to you but trust me that's shorts weather up here. My god do you know what it’s like (or I should say do you remember) to go out when it’s 30 below and start your car and sit there and hear the poor motor rumble and clank until the oil gets moving around while you are freezing your ass off sitting in your car. You have to let it warm up because the darn car don't want to move until it’s warm. So you usually end up going thru a tank of gas a week - that's 1/4 tank to drive around and 3/4 tank just to warm up your car all week.

I love the outdoors and have always wanted to fish for monster northerns this time of the year. Well, I finally got my chance. You might think it’s easy but, first you have to go to Wolf Creek - that's on the big lake and this time of year the ice is melting away from the shore line so you have to take a step ladder along so that you can put one end of the ladder on the shore and the other end on to the ice. And then you walk across the ladder over the open water and put yourself onto a floating iceberg. Probably not the safest form of fishing, but living on the edge does have its benefits. We had great success fishing for about 4 hours. We pulled 13 northerns thru the ice and one went 22#s. Although a very nice fish, and most would probably mount it on the wall, I decided to let it go for I'm looking for the 30# fish. My wife is not too excited about me fishing this method but I always tell her I'm worth more money dead than I am alive.

Do you remember the Memorial Bridge? It’s very historic, but it has only 8 years of life left. It has deteriorated so much that it will be unsafe to travel across and the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) has laid out four different plans to fix the problem. They are: 1) Rehabilitate the existing two lane bridge at 43 million dollars, 2) Build a new four-lane bridge and remove the existing bridge at about 93 million dollars, 3) Rehabilitate the existing bridge and add a new 2 lane bridge beside it for 48 million dollars, 4) Do nothing. If they go ahead and repair the old bridge it will be good for only 10 years. If they build a new bridge it will be good for 50 years. So if you keep the old bridge and build a new one beside it you will still have to go back in ten years and repair the old one again. I say that we pretend it is a bridge in Iraq and blow it up. Then build a new four-lane bridge and be done with it. We will call it the Liberation of the Memorial Bridge. Bismarck and Mandan will each be responsible for 10 percent of the cost of any of the projects and they are not happy about it. So, the two cities will bicker for 8 years until the bridge collapses and they have 100 million dollar lawsuits.

Well I have to cut it off here for I'm off to Minneapolis to take in the sweet sixteen in the NCAA college basketball tournament. Lauri is always bragging about anything from Wisconsin and her Badgers are playing in the Metro Dome. We will see if they can make the final four. Go Badgers.

That's the Uncensored News as I see it and I'm out of here C-ya next month.     

(anyone who follows basketball now knows that we are down to one team from Wisconsin, we started with three in the NCAA tournament! At this house we are now cheering for Marquette, who by the way are headed to the final four, have to stay loyal to the state!! Plus Marq. is only about 20 minutes away, it’s the local team! Bummer about those Badgers-hope you didn’t lose the house payment Todd!!)

Also, it was recently announced that Starbucks is bringing a freestanding location to Bismarck. They are also rumored to be moving into other parts of the state.

DO YOUR TRAVEL PLANS INCLUDE A TRIP TO NORTH DAKOTA this summer, next year?
If your vacation plans include ND, here is an update on some of the events that are going on concerning the Lewis and Clark celebrations. All information was gathered from the Bismarck/Mandan Conventions Bureau Website. http://www.bismarck-mandancvb.org/

LIFE HIGHLIGHTS

Don Nelson has let us know that he is okay, wherever he is. We do know that he is in the Middle East somewhere and that he is busy keeping our troops equipped with working compressors, air conditioners, generators, etc. His shifts are long, 5:30-7:00, and sleep is hard to come by due to the noise of the planes taking off and landing on the near by airstrip. Security is much increased since March 19th, and they have to carry around "battle rattle" all of the time. He defined "battle rattle" as his helmet, flak jacket, web gear with canteen, ammo, gas mask, chemical warfare suit, rubber boots, rubber gloves and M-16, so they are loaded down. He said it is tough doing work with all that gear, but they try to limit their work to just essential "must have jobs" so they don't have to carry it around so much. He promises to keep us posted on how things are going, and he is hoping it stays quiet!

Submitted by Tom Gerhardt, this is the story which supports the photo on ofoto.com.
"I have visited the White House several times but have never enjoyed even a glimpse of the President. I never expected to meet the President while serving in Lithuania. During the President’s visit to Vilnius Nov 02, Mr. Bush stopped by the Embassy to greet & thank the Embassy Staff for the herculean effort required to host an overseas Presidential visit. Several memos were sent which strictly stated NO posing for photographs with the President. When the Mr. Bush saw my wife & I with our 2 daughters he asked for my camcorder, which he then gave to one of his Secret Service Agents. Mr. Bush then posed with us & stated, "This is Gloria & Joy, proud Americans." A few months later the White House photographer sent me a picture he had taken. I was able to extract a picture from the camcorder tape albeit poor quality."

CONGRATULATIONS…

Our sincerest congratulations to Megan (Gerboth) and Dean Affa, they are expecting their second daughter on July 30th. According to Megan, she may now be the oldest "new" mom in our class, more power to you Megan! Go Girl! She promises to keep us posted on the impending arrival.
Megan, at this point we may just give you the award, every day the competition is a day older and less willing to participate! Definitely no competition here! But I did get a notice that another classmate is also expecting in July, we will have big news to share in the August newsletter! Lots of babies on the way!

Shari (Buck) Proulx has let us know that she also is expecting a big arrival in July, her second granddaughter is on the way! She also promises to keep us posted!

Congratulations to Marlene (Vetter) Janzer, (CHS81) she has accepted a new position with Edward Jones. She is now the Branch Office Administrator of their Bismarck Office. She told me that she had been at her previous position for over nine years and knew everything; she is quickly finding out that she now knows nothing! It is a wonderful position, but boy does she have a lot to learn. Good luck Marlene, you will do a wonderful job!!

Condolences

Our sincerest sympathies to Carol (Faller) Gloria and her family.
Her father, Leo Faller, passed away on March 24.

New Phone, New E-Mail Addresses, and
New Postal Addresses

We have new postal and e-mail addresses on David Horner, Dan Raszler, Marlene (Vetter) Janzer, Penny (Berquist) Barrick, Kathy (Bailey) Erickson, Leanne (Curtiss) Dorsey, Keith Mantz and Lori Ford Moore.
If you would like any of the new info., contact me!


Personal notes:
Does anyone know how to reach these people? We will take any information that
you may know on any of them, sibling’s names, parents, old work places, etc.!
Dan and I would love to "refind" these people! Dan and I do realize that some people may not want to be found, though we would prefer they tell us that directly and it will be documented accordingly. Out of respect, we will not bother them again.

Notice this list does not contain as much info. as you got via the private e-mail, that is to protect the privacy of our classmates.

UPDATE: Those is red have been located! To all of you who sent in correct information, made phone calls, checked alumni books, etc., THANK YOU! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Donald Grenz, everything in the reunion book is wrong
Karen Anderson - ND, ? phone, ? address
Troy Bailey- ? address, no phone
Beth (Nelson) Schumacher- ? address, no phone
James Barth- ? address, phone is wrong in the reunion book,
Paul Mundell- ? address, no phone
Anthony Roll- wrong number
Robin Diede- no phone, ? address, no e-mail
Brenda (Remmick) Baumann- no phone, ? address
Tim Mattis-phone is disconnected
Sara (Jensen) Fritz- no phone, no address
LeAnn (Leben) Holkan- ? address, phone is disconnected
Sandra Schumacher- ? address, no phone
Rita (Ziegler) Keller - ? address, phone is disconnected
David Gelvin
Eileen Dosch - ? address, phone is disconnected
Wendy (Halpern) Tippett
Penny (Slavik) Meier-phone is disconnected, ? address
Mary (Sweeney) Crompton - phone is disconnected, ? address
Kathy Wilson - no phone listed,
Wade Marsh-in Phoenix, Az, maybe in Mesa, no real clues
Laurie Paul - no phone number, though we do have a confirmation on her address.
Joyce Sperle- ? address, no phone number
Lori Wenger- ? address, no phone number
Jeffrey Conner
Timothy Miller
Timothy Steckler-? address, no phone
Carol Zentner
Richard Hoffman - ? address, no phone
Janet (Cripe) Laudenslager-no phone number
Daniel Froehlich-? address, no phone number listed
Karla Gallagher-? address, no phone number
David Gregware-? address, no phone
Jim Grenz- no phone number
Carla Hanson - no phone number
Roberta (Hellwig) Rivera - ? address, no phone
Gayle Johnson - ? address, no phone
Marilyn (Meidinger) Lysford - ? address, no phone
Laura Minar - ? address, no phone
Sandy (Unruh) Frieze - no phone
Andrew Prussing -? Address, no phone
Debbie Beston
Marco Brecada
Corrine Feist
Debra (Freadhoff) Berger- ? address, no phone
Jerry Hulm
Charles (CD) Johnson
Pamela Krogen
Brenda Loveless
Carlos Machado
Kelly Meyers
Regina Muncy
Joe Poitra
Theresa Ralston
Susan Scott
Cheryl Sparks
Dennis Thompson
Doug Thompson
Mark Werner
Lorraine White Eagle
Richard Wright

If you guys are reading this could you please get in touch with me! Your addresses have changed, your phone numbers are disconnected, your e-mail boxes are full, or we have no clues on how to contact you! I am trying very hard to keep everyone in the loop and my information up to date! Thanks very much! Lauri