Remembering teachers past

As Chadron celebrates its 125th anniversary next summer, there’ll be an abundance of school reunions. It'll be an opportunity to rekindle many memories -- including those of teachers at Chadron High, Chadron Assumption and Chadron Prep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elmer Dudden taught Vocational Agriculture for three years at Chadron High School (1959-1962) and then returned to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

While there, he received an M.S. in Public Administration with a minor in history. In 1965, he began teaching at Lookout Mountain School in Golden, Colorado, a correctional school for delinquent teenage youth. He worked in the Vocational Department there for 27 years. During that time, he married, became a father, and used his free time to build four or five houses.

Retired since 1992, he and his wife, Elaine, continue to live in Golden with a grandchild, Kimberly. They live on a five-acre ranch with four horses. They bought the horses so that two granddaughters could participate in Westernaires, a precision riding group that performs at the national Western Stock Show and regional events.

He is active in both Lions and Optimists service clubs and has served on the local Water District Board for over 20 years. He says he’s also been active in conservative politics. Mr. Dudden says his health is still very good, and he feels blessed for many things – including his experience at Chadron High School. He says he’d enjoy a phone call or visit from any FFA students who were in his classes.

Remembering teachers past

Robert “Bob” Folsom taught music at Chadron High School from 1956 through 1958.

Born in Minnesota, his family moved to Chadron, and he was a 1943 graduate of Chadron High School. During World War II, he served in the Army, but we know nothing about his tour of duty. He returned to Chadron and earned a degree from Chadron State in 1949 – later picking up a Master’s in Music Education from the University of Nebraska.

Besides Chadron, he taught in Ravenna, Nebraska; Trinidad and Brighton, Colorado; and Lewellen, Nebraska. His longest tenure was in Benkelman, Nebraska, where he headed the music program for many years. Folsom married “Modie” (Pack) Wood in 1965 and they happily shared a home until 1999, when health required that he be moved to a nursing home in North Platte.

An avid model railroad enthusiast and amateur radio control pilot, Folsom was also a member of the Benkelman Methodist Church, the Lions Club and American Legion.

According to the Benkelman Post, Bob Folsom died in July of 2000 and was survived by his wife, four daughters and a son, as well as two brothers, a sister, and 15 grandchildren.

"Speck" Brown dies at 71

Another well-known alum from the 1950s at Chadron High School has died.

Ronald Louis Brown died last Friday (2/19/10) at his home in Montgomery, Illinois, a suburban community just west of Chicago. He was 71 years old.

Ron was born in Chadron to Charles and Hazel Brown on March 21, 1938.

“Speck” was a four-year letterman in football and basketball during the mid-1950s at Chadron High and served as Vice-President of the Junior class in 1954-55. Long-time Chadron writer Con Marshall remembered that "All three Chadron basketball teams won district championships, but only Chadron High reached the state tournament. The Cardinals won the Class B district title by beating Bridgeport 69-38 after losing to the Bulldogs 67-66 the week before and downing Bayard 58-49 after falling to the Tigers 83-63 in February. Chadron then topped Valentine 55-54 in the regional playoff. Coached by Verne Lewellen, it was the Cards’ first trip to state since 1933. At state, Hebron beat Chadron 56-50 as the Cards made just half of their 32 free throws."

A 1956 graduate of Chadron High School, "Speck” was among the handfull of varsity basketball players who also coached 5th and 6th graders, and he called his team the “Wildcats.” Both “Speck” and his older brother Clayton were athletes and well known throughout the community. You'll find a Ron Brown in several of the photographs we've posted in our Chadron Public Schools Photo Gallery.

According to his obituary, Ron did a tour with Army Special Forces after high school. He later went to work in the automotive industry.

Ron Brown was preceded in death by his daughter, Valerie Nicholson; his sister, Ermel Brown; and his parents. He is survived by his wife, Beatrice, and children: Kimberly (Les) Fugate and Victor Davidson; four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Also surviving are his brother Clayton Brown and sister Marjorie Williams.

Read Ron Brown’s obituary in the on-line Chadron Record.

Chadron women named Honorary Mayors

Every year, a fairly good-sized group of former Chadron area residents gather for a luncheon and get-together in Mesa, Arizona. Long-time friend and retired newspaper guy Mike Smith is a regular attendee of Chadron Area Reunions (CAR) and provided the Chadron Record with the following story. He has kindly allowed us to use the story on High Plains Almanac. You'll find additional photos from the event in our photo gallery for the Chadron Area Reunion.

By Mike Smith

Evelyn Roberts and Lois Christensen, Chadron residents until they retired to Arizona in the mid-1990s, were recognized Saturday, February 6, as “Honorary Mayors” of Chadron for the day for their decades-long contributions in the Chadron area.

Chadron Mayor Donald Grantham issued proclamations and certificates of appreciation for their service and good-neighbor achievements. The documents were presented – to their surprise – at the annual Chadron Area Reunion in Mesa, Arizona.

Mrs. Christensen was born in Chadron in 1919 and celebrated her 90th birthday December 27. She ranched with her late husband Franklin and family most of her life. Mrs. Roberts, now 95, moved to Chadron in 1928 as a youngster and ranched with her late husband Vic near the Christensens, 15 miles north of Chadron below the South Dakota border.

Family members attending were Mrs. Roberts’ brother-in-law Bob Roberts and his wife Barb of Mesa, and Mrs. Christensen’s son Ron Christensen and his wife Sonya, and her daughter Jerrie Roberts.

The reunion drew 37 former or current Chadron area residents.

The next day, Connie Rasmussen and Karen Pope of Chadron State College were hosts at a CSC reunion in Sun City, Arizona. Their event attracted 17. Mrs. Rasmussen is executive director of the Chadron State Foundation; Mrs. Pope is director of CSC Alumni and Giving.

Attending the Chadron State reunion:

Rich and Micki Seiwert, and Harold and Daisy Mundschenk, Sun City West, AZ; Marcella Warren, Peoria, AZ; Carl and Diane McManis, Goodyear, AZ; Fred and Delores Fisher, Surprise, AZ; Maria Daniels, Darrell Dedic, and Mike and Jo Smith, Sun City, AZ; Cash and Deanna Franklin, Gering, NE; and Connie Rasmussen and Karen Pope, Chadron.

Attending the Chadron Area Reunion:

Evelyn Roberts, Ron and Sonya Christensen, and Lois Christensen, Tempe, AZ; Bob and Barb Roberts, Clayton Luther, Wilma Quelle, Hank Reitz, Brian Wadsworth, Bill and DeeDee Smith, and Dick and Sharon Colacino, Mesa, AZ; Dorothy Gregson and Jack and Lora Miller, Apache Junction, AZ; Jerrie Roberts, and Larman and Olga Wilson, Phoenix, AZ; Ron and Cheryl Moody, Chandler, AZ; Joan Van Sant Shoop and Will Louis, and Harold and Daisy Mundschenk, Sun City West, AZ; Fred and Delores Fisher, Surprise, AZ; Mike and Jo Smith, Sun City, AZ; Harold and Norma Lee Perkins, Sidney, NE; Charles and Marge Finley, Sutton, NE; Caryle Colerich, Farmington, NM; and Connie Rasmussen and Karen Pope, Chadron.

Who's in First?

Floanne "Bunny" Apa Nitsch was kind enough to share this First Grade photograph taken at East Ward school in about 1951. It's the latest of several class photographs we've begun collecting from Chadron Public Schools over the years.

Many of these youngsters went on to graduate with the CHS Class of 1963. Teacher Myrtle Forbes is standing at right. You'll likely need to click on the photo to see a larger image, or you can visit our Chadron Public Schools Gallery and select an even larger image from the menu.

We need help identifying many of these folks. So send us an e-mail with your thoughts, or you can just leave them in the Comments link below this posting. Those who can be identified include:

Front Row (left-to-right): Ron Wilkinson, Jolene Byerly, David Hood, Janie Irish, ?, Jim Coleman, Junie Clark, Don Richardson, Tom Saults, and ?;

Middle Row: Pam Peterson, ?, Janice Adkins, Floanne Apa, Jerry Bauman, Barbara Haag, Cy Hall, Judy Gatzmeyer;

Back Row: Bob Doell, ?, ?, ?, Linda Strom, Bob Sewell, Dianna Marcinkiewicz, Rick Carlson, Pam Jones and Lois Sloniker.

Visitor from Pepper Creek Ranch

We’ve been fascinated with family history for a long time.

Thanks largely to a burgeoning sector of gray-haired baby boomers, genealogy remains one of the fastest growing hobbies in the country. Computers have become an invaluable resource, and reams of new data are added every week.

Much to our chagrin, we’ve come to learn that not everyone shares our passionate yearning to know more about our ancestors. Young people, particularly, seem almost immune to contracting this affliction, but many will eventually succumb.

Some time back, we happened across this poem, Visitor, penned by Chadron native Jill (Colwell) Burkey. Jill's piece Pregunta won first place in the 2009 Denver Woman’s Press Club’s Unknown Writer’s Poetry Contest. But it was her honorable mention entry, Visitor, that really caught our attention. We were moved when we heard her read it, and she has graciously allowed us to share her poem here. You need not be a genealogist to appreciate the truism that it conveys.

Visitor

When you are a child, you assume
you will go on never knowing anyone
who rests beneath a sad stone.
Death is before your time –
just a name and date your parents visit.
Then one day in June, you’re thirty-four,
buy a dozen light-pink roses
and deliver the better part of your bouquet
to the cluster of graves that is now your family –
the grandpa who called you "frizzletop,"
the great aunt who always served dilled beans.

So much history in too little ground,
but there they are, mingling
at a permanent cocktail party, sitting
two by two on a long car trip,
a tall dandelion the groundskeepers missed
now an arm waving to you out the window.

The four leftover roses you bring home
wilt by your windowsill, and you begin
to feel the wheel on the watch turn
towards your generation, the engraver’s
chisel itching to scratch your name.
--Jill Burkey

Copyright 2007

Jill grew up on Pepper Creek Ranch, twenty-two miles south and eight miles east of Chadron. Her great-grandparents, Earle and Jeannette Colwell, founded the ranch in 1915.

A 1990 graduate of Chadron High School, Jill went on to earn a BA in English and Business at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She married Todd Burkey, and they moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where she is now a freelance writer and stay-at-home mother of two elementary-aged children, Parker, 8, and Brooke, 6.

That’s Jill and family in the photograph at right. Just click on the image to see a larger version.

Many old-timers will remember Mr. and Mrs. Bill Colwell, who ran the Pepper Creek Ranch for many years. The Colwells were also involved in a wide range civic affairs in the region. Their son John Colwell – Jill’s father – was a 1961 graduate of Chadron High School, and that class is planning a reunion next summer (July 2010) in Chadron. John and Peggy were quite well known in and around Chadron for many years. They now divide their time between Grand Junction, Colorado and Arizona.

Many thanks to Jill Burkey for sharing this great poem – and photographs – with us.

A blast from the past: Colacino's

Ask almost anyone who grew up in northwest Nebraska in the mid-20th century about Colacino’s, and you’ll see a smile emerge – along with lots of memories!

Really old-timers will recall when the place was known as Kelso’s Pavilion. It was located along U.S. Highway 20 about two miles east of Chadron.

No one seems to know for sure when the pavilion was built, but it was likely sometime between World War I and the Great Depression of the 1930s by Art and Nels Kelso. And it wasn’t just a single-story, frame dance hall. There once was a swimming pool, a bath house, observation deck, and even a boat pond!

We first remember the popular dance hall from the late 1940s, when Tony and Nancy Colacino bought the pavilion, according to their son, Dick, who now lives in California. By that time, the pool and pond were gone, but the pavilion was still a jumping place with lots of live entertainment – bands that came from all across the region, and eager patrons that would drive in from across the panhandle, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

“A lot of soldiers came up from Fort Robinson,” remembers Colacino.

Nancy and Tony Colacino had operated the White Lunch café in downtown Chadron for several years after World War II. That business was located on the west side of First & Main Street, just south of where a Safeway store had once been located. In the late 1940's or early 1950's -- we don't know exactly when -- Colacinos opened up a supper club adjacent to their dance pavilion east of town.   That's when Louie Apa took over operation of what became "King Louie's White Lunch," which remained at that location until at least 1955.  We well remember Louie relocating his restaurant business to a new location on the north side of West 2nd Street for several years.  That's about the same time that H & R Block moved in to the old King Louie's location at Second and Main. An aerial photograph of the Colacino Supper Club, taken in 1953, is shown above.

In its day, the supper club was a one-of-a-kind in the area, and it was a very popular place. Among their regular customers was prominent banker C.F. Coffee and his wife. We’re told that sometimes the club would open early, just for them. In any event, Colacino Supper Club established its own large clientele – somewhat different customers than those who showed up on weekends for a good, sometimes even rowdy, time at the pavilion!

We’ve posted a few higher resolution photographs of the pavilion and supper club in our Early Chadron gallery. Our thanks to Dick Colacino and his daughter and son-in-law, Tina and Kevin Stopper, for giving us access to the aerial photograph of the old Colacino business.

After her mother died, young Mary Colacino operated the supper club with her father, and the business continued uninterrupted until the summer of 1965.

That’s when Colacinos sold the business to Harold and Norma Miller, who had previously owned the 120 Bar in downtown Chadron.  The property was later owned by the Nixons. A 1985 news story in the Chadron Record suggested that the supper club was "torn apart."  However, Colacino's niece, Bunny Nitsch, advises us that the Supper Club was not torn down, but still exists as a home.


In later years, the pavilion was painted pink and was popularly-known as the Pink Panther. It continued to be a site for weekend dances. By the mid-1970s, Gil and Roger Nitsch owned the property, and they converted the venerable old hall into a pig barn.

Alas, in 1985, the roof collapsed and the structure was tore down. Colacinos was no more.

No more dancing, no more squealings;

we’re left with just nostalgic feelings.