A Brief History of RHS Girls Basketball
In the middle of the Twentieth Century, one might never have known that Rolfe High School once sported a girls basketball team. But a photo that I discovered in the 1970s provides evidence that the school did sponsor a team early in the century.
The Basketball Petition
The girl likes sports, but her school has no sports programs for girls. In seventh grade in 1957, she heads a petition drive, requesting the school board to start girls basketball.
Valentine’s Day
The imminent arrival of Valentine’s Day gets some people thinking of the color red, yummy-but-not-so-healthy desserts, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, candlelight dinners, cupids on Hallmark cards, and romance between two people of the opposite sex.
Miss Edna M. Marcum
Miss Marcum, herself a Rolfe native, was a RHS educator from 1913 until 1966. Now that I am signing up for Medicare, I thought I was nearing the “old age” that she seemed to be when she served as principal when I was a RHS senior, but she was 77 years old in 1963.
Gardening Circles
The White House garden is a reminder of the Victory Gardens during World War Two. In this era, victory can mean finding successful strategies to deal with the dire social, economic, and environmental challenges that confront the nation and world.
RAGBRAI 2007 Parades through Rolfe
The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride across Iowa went through Rolfe in 2007. I regret not videotaping more variety or heading east where a farm couple, Mike and Joni Behrendsen, served root beer floats.
The Sernett Family and Rural Heritage
I had gone to Pocahontas County to attend the funeral of Bob Sernett. Bob and his wife Monica Sernett had lived across the road from my grandparents. They were of Bohemian descent and seemed to have more fun than we Gundersons of Norwegian heritage had.
Demolition of the Rolfe School Building
The space where the old, three-story part of the school stood is now simply air. Seeing the site at this stage has a much heavier and more mystical impact on me than observing the demolition several weeks ago when the building was knocked down.
High School Reunions
I went to my first RHS all-class reunion in 1955 when I was 10. Mother and older sister were traveling. Dad was on the reunion committee. He took my brother and me to the banquet where former Superintendent M.D. Anderson was the honored guest.