Old friends,
Memory brushes the same yearsSilently sharing the same fears
Paul Simon
As adults we did not live near each other but he read this blog and would email his comments. (One of my posts was ghost written by him Big Time Tales) Plus, we shared a love of baseball so naturally we became email pen pals, sitting on virtual Cheers stools.
Dave, do you remember Boo Johnson? His dad was a herdsman for Doc McIver across from Smizek’s farm. Anyway they had an old Studebaker with suicide doors in the back. The doors had the hinges in the back of the door so they opened front to back - dangerous. Boo was always driving around. We would do any thing to go for a ride. I suppose he was about 15. One day he was giving some of us a ride. I was in the front and 2 of the Logan kids were in the back . He always drove recklessly fast and we went around a corner fast and one of the back doors on the ditch side opens up and one of the Logan kids went rolling down in the ditch. Big laugh but he could have easily gotten killed. The last time I rode with him there was me and Johnny Logan. It was at night and he played chicken with a school bus. Drove right at it on the wrong side of the road. I got so scared thinking he wasn’t going to turn off. That was about 30 feet from death’s door - the last ride for me. He also put a spike on the railroad tracks. Almost derailed a freight train at the crossing in Lowry. Soo Line sent a railroad detective to find out who did it. He confessed but I never found out what penalty he got .. wasn’t long after that he left town.
When Hayenga boys - Jerry, Tubba and Roger moved to Lowry they brought rubber guns to town. They were a Buntline Special shaped gun made out of wood that shot strips of rubber made from inner tubes. You cut out a rubber strip about 1 half to 3 quarter in wide , and the width of InnerTube and you tied 2 to 4 knots in them. The more knots you tied the more power you had and the farther you could shoot. It would go about 20 feet but if you tied too many knots they would not stretch on the gun and break. Awful tough on the fingers but we were always trying to get the max out of them. We would go up to the Lumber Yard and look for scrapes of 1x6 pine boards. Either good old BIll Thompson or Gust Hanzlic would saw them out for us kids. We would have the gun pattern drawn out on a 1x6. They must have sawed about every kid’s gun that played RubberGuns. We did that every summer. Almost every kid in town played, young and old prob 7 to 16 years old. We almost always played in Bud Molanders Equipment combines and so forth good hiding spots we would choose up sides. Even amount of kids on a side. When you got shot you were done. The team with someone left won. We played all summer long almost every day.
Dave, my uncle Fred drove a supply truck in WWII. They hauled supplies into Burma. Fred always said over the Hump into Burma. They called themselves The Red Ball Express. My other uncle Oliver I always heard was a supply sergeant. He sent home so much war memorabilia. Did I ever take you up to my Grandma Chan’s above the bar and show you all the atuff ! Had a big display case. He sent home a whole German SS uniform. Black StormTrooper Boots and all. Stuff looked like it never was worn. 2 beautiful sabers in the scabbards. Rations that the Germans ate. Must have had at least 35 different German knives and daggers they carried. Had every thing imaginable. Even sent home a brand new MI Carbine Rifle plus 1500 rounds of ammo! Sent home 2 brand new Italian 6 mm Rifles that still had Grease in the barrels - never been fired. I use to sneak the MI out and take it out by Horse Lake in the Dump Ground .I eventually shot up all the Ammo. There was even a dummy grenade and a 45 automatic pistol. I use to live up there admiring all those treasures. I asked uncle Vic if he ever killed anyone but he would not say. Clarence and Phil never would talk about it either. My Dad stayed home and ran the bar. He never passed his physical, was almost blind in one eye.
Dave, do you remember when you walked on the sidewalk on the south side of the bank. There was a steel grate over a window well that allowed light into the bank basement. It was about 5 feet deep. I would check this 2 or 3 times a day. Half of the time there was money on the bottom. I would go home and get a long stick and I’d chew a piece of bubble gum to put on the end of the stick and I’d fish out the money - sometimes up to 50 cents I’d get out. To this day I think Howard Lysen would throw money in there because their store was across the street He would like watching kids trying to get it out.
I have lots of stories just have to remember them Dave.
Big Time
Copyright © 2025 Dave Hoplin
His one post in no way exhausted his story bank. So this is in tribute to the great story teller.
Dave , this is your old buddy Davy Chan. Big Time. Been reading your stories on Lowry. Pretty darn accurate.
Dave, do you remember Lloyd Quist, the 6th, 7th and 8th grade teacher and principal? He had his pets. He had a 1952 green Dodge car and at noon hour he would drive around Lowry holding the pets. Looked like he was letting his pets drive his car. I was in 4th or 5th grade this happened almost every day. One day some of the kids plugged up his exhaust pipe with a potato when he left to go home. You cannot believe what it sounded like it was missing sputtering and making all kinds of noise. But he drove it to where ever he lived.
In the evening us guys would play a game on bikes called Ditch. This was a individual game every one for himself. Each guy would take off and drive his bike when you saw another guy you would try and catch him. You had to get within one bike length and overlap his rear wheel to make a capture. The last guy not captured won the game. But it was a dangerous game to play in the dark. You rode through yards and all over trying to get away. You had to watch for clothes lines. One time Gary Thompson hit a clothes line and it took him right off the bike. Lucky he did not get hurt.. too bad.
Lowry also had a Pee Wee Midget and Junior Legion Baseball Team for the kids in town and kids from the farms in the area. We guys had lots to do in the summer time. Four or five of us figured out different ball games to play like 500. A hitter would hit fungoes to a group of fielders who would fight to catch the ball -100 pts for catching a fly ball, 50 pts for on the first bounce and 25 for a grounder. First one to 500 got to be the hitter for the next round. Hoppy and Big Time would spend a lot of time trying to perfect our curve ball.
One Morning after Halloween there was a clanging noise heard in town coming from the water tower. Someone hung a life size dummy from the top of the water tower hanging down about half way down so when the wind blew you could hear it hitting the tower. Chester Bennett, then Mayor, suspected who did it. Gary Thompson was always doing something to get into trouble.
Dave, do you remember when Lowry had a gang. Called themselves Midnight Raiders. They wore IH implement straw hats from Bud Molander's and red bandanas. I was to young to be in the gang, had to be age of Tuba, Jerry Zavadil or GaryThompson. I remember when Jimmy Smith and John Femrite were sleeping in a tent at Smiths and Tuba and Jerry Zavadil and Rodney Stivland threw a whole pack of Black Cat Firecrackers in the tent. Did they fly out of there. Cal came out and chased them. Anyway they all got away because it was dark. Tuba said Rodney got so scarred he ran all the way home, about 2 miles .
Dave, do you remember when Lowry had a gang. Called themselves Midnight Raiders. They wore IH implement straw hats from Bud Molander's and red bandanas. I was to young to be in the gang, had to be age of Tuba, Jerry Zavadil or GaryThompson. I remember when Jimmy Smith and John Femrite were sleeping in a tent at Smiths and Tuba and Jerry Zavadil and Rodney Stivland threw a whole pack of Black Cat Firecrackers in the tent. Did they fly out of there. Cal came out and chased them. Anyway they all got away because it was dark. Tuba said Rodney got so scarred he ran all the way home, about 2 miles .
Dave, my uncle Fred drove a supply truck in WWII. They hauled supplies into Burma. Fred always said over the Hump into Burma. They called themselves The Red Ball Express. My other uncle Oliver I always heard was a supply sergeant. He sent home so much war memorabilia. Did I ever take you up to my Grandma Chan’s above the bar and show you all the atuff ! Had a big display case. He sent home a whole German SS uniform. Black StormTrooper Boots and all. Stuff looked like it never was worn. 2 beautiful sabers in the scabbards. Rations that the Germans ate. Must have had at least 35 different German knives and daggers they carried. Had every thing imaginable. Even sent home a brand new MI Carbine Rifle plus 1500 rounds of ammo! Sent home 2 brand new Italian 6 mm Rifles that still had Grease in the barrels - never been fired. I use to sneak the MI out and take it out by Horse Lake in the Dump Ground .I eventually shot up all the Ammo. There was even a dummy grenade and a 45 automatic pistol. I use to live up there admiring all those treasures. I asked uncle Vic if he ever killed anyone but he would not say. Clarence and Phil never would talk about it either. My Dad stayed home and ran the bar. He never passed his physical, was almost blind in one eye.
Note: 5 Chan brothers served in the army during WWII.
Dave, my wife passed so it's just me and my Golden Retriever Sadie. In my last email I left part of my story out. About the Christmas lights Bennie and I use to try shoot them out with a 22 rifle . Never could hit any in the dark. And, oh yes, if you were from Lowry you were a Leghorn. Dave. couldn't believe it, but Chuck Thompson actually hit a home run. He played first base. Lowry even played Willmar but got smoked bad . You remember Myrtle Benesh? She always kept score of the game in a score book. I use to go to a game once in a while with them. She never missed a game because she was score keeper. We went to either Melrose or Freeport when Lowry was playing one of them in a night game. Frank and Myrtle were my great uncle and aunt. Frank use to chew Copenhagen Snuff. They drove a 1949 old gray Dodge. Frank had a coffee can between them in the front seat and he would spit in the can. Nearly made me throw up. Yes That was the good old days
Dave I think the school janitor was Carl Anderson. He lived in the big White House on the corner across from Iver Femrite's. After him it was Arnold Rundgren. Dave, if you got a chance to work in cafeteria, you got your lunch paid for for the week When you went down to the lunchroom in the basement there was a pipe that was in the ceiling about a foot down. Every guy that came down the steps fast would try to swing on the pipe. Kenny Hagen missed it and landed on his back and head. After that no more pipe swinging. The room where the bell was was the sick room. If you got sick teacher would take you in there and take your temp. When Asiatic flu came everybody was getting it. I told teacher I was sick she took me into bell room and took my temp. She left for a few min. I took thermometer and put it on the radiator. When she came back my temp was 103 sent me right home. Dave, do you remember how certain kids would bail out of the swings into a snowbank-dangerous. When I was in second grade, Miss Rollofson from Barrett would have you line up in front of door after recess. I came running up to line up put my hand through the glass on the door - 16 stitches almost lost use of right hand. Lucky, could see tendons in arm.
Dave, my wife passed so it's just me and my Golden Retriever Sadie. In my last email I left part of my story out. About the Christmas lights Bennie and I use to try shoot them out with a 22 rifle . Never could hit any in the dark. And, oh yes, if you were from Lowry you were a Leghorn. Dave. couldn't believe it, but Chuck Thompson actually hit a home run. He played first base. Lowry even played Willmar but got smoked bad . You remember Myrtle Benesh? She always kept score of the game in a score book. I use to go to a game once in a while with them. She never missed a game because she was score keeper. We went to either Melrose or Freeport when Lowry was playing one of them in a night game. Frank and Myrtle were my great uncle and aunt. Frank use to chew Copenhagen Snuff. They drove a 1949 old gray Dodge. Frank had a coffee can between them in the front seat and he would spit in the can. Nearly made me throw up. Yes That was the good old days
Dave I think the school janitor was Carl Anderson. He lived in the big White House on the corner across from Iver Femrite's. After him it was Arnold Rundgren. Dave, if you got a chance to work in cafeteria, you got your lunch paid for for the week When you went down to the lunchroom in the basement there was a pipe that was in the ceiling about a foot down. Every guy that came down the steps fast would try to swing on the pipe. Kenny Hagen missed it and landed on his back and head. After that no more pipe swinging. The room where the bell was was the sick room. If you got sick teacher would take you in there and take your temp. When Asiatic flu came everybody was getting it. I told teacher I was sick she took me into bell room and took my temp. She left for a few min. I took thermometer and put it on the radiator. When she came back my temp was 103 sent me right home. Dave, do you remember how certain kids would bail out of the swings into a snowbank-dangerous. When I was in second grade, Miss Rollofson from Barrett would have you line up in front of door after recess. I came running up to line up put my hand through the glass on the door - 16 stitches almost lost use of right hand. Lucky, could see tendons in arm.
Dave, do you remember when you walked on the sidewalk on the south side of the bank. There was a steel grate over a window well that allowed light into the bank basement. It was about 5 feet deep. I would check this 2 or 3 times a day. Half of the time there was money on the bottom. I would go home and get a long stick and I’d chew a piece of bubble gum to put on the end of the stick and I’d fish out the money - sometimes up to 50 cents I’d get out. To this day I think Howard Lysen would throw money in there because their store was across the street He would like watching kids trying to get it out.
I have lots of stories just have to remember them Dave.
Big Time
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Copyright © 2025 Dave Hoplin
Wow - that wa fantastic! The good old days.
ReplyDeleteSid Stivlan
Dave Chan…What a gift in your life Dave.Someone once said that
ReplyDelete“It’s easy to make a new friend, but it’s harder to make an old friend, it just takes longer.” Enjoy your life time memories Dave, you have put in the time. 💈