Welcome to the Minneapolis Roosevelt Senior High Class of 1959 Website

Wishing the Class of '59 a Warm and

Beautiful Spring!

Have you moved, changed your phone number or e-mail address?

Please let me know if you have changes to any of the above!  I am preparing for our 2019 Reunion mailing and want to get the invitations to the correct address.  You can call or text me at:  206-550-1039; e-mail me at:  patti_lt@hotmail.com; or go to your "Profile" on this website to make the changes.  Thanks so much!! 

Patti (Bluml) Timmons

This is an excerpt from BioQuick News:

From Pond Hockey to Top of Scientific World--U Minnesota Honors Distinguished Alumnus, World-Class Immunologist Dr. Ronald Faanes

Tue, 10/30/2018 - 13:35 — bioquicknews

On October 11, 2018, the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences (CBS) honored one of its own—eminent immunologist Ronald Faanes, PhD—at the College’s annual Recognition and Appreciation Dinner at Memorial Hall in the McNamara Alumni Center. Dr. Faanes, who received his BS (chemistry) and PhD (microbiology) from U Minnesota, was the keynote speaker at this year’s dinner, which drew a crowd of 300 donors, faculty, and student scholarship winners. Ron was introduced by CBS Dean Dr. Valery Forbes (https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/valery-forbes), who noted that as a pupil and mentee of longtime CBS faculty member Dr. Palmer Rogers, “Ron brings a wealth of insight, and some really great stories, about the revered scientist and teacher for whom the Palmer Rogers Microbiology Scholar ship is named.” Some of Dr. Rogers family were in the audience and they could not help being moved by the poignant memories of Palmer that Ron would recount in his address. Ron, who had also played hockey for the Gophers, had moved on from U Minnesota to work first as a tumor immunologist at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, the research arm of the renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York. Legendary U Minnesota physician/scientist Dr. Robert Good, who had led the team that performed the world’s first successful human bone marrow transplant between persons who were not identical twins and is regarded as a founder of modern immunology, had just been named Director of Sloan-Kettering and he brought many of his best scientists, including Ron, along with him to New York.

Already, in graduate school in Palmer’s lab, Ron had shown the scientific talent and instinct that ultimately would take him to the top of the scientific world. He did experiments that demonstrated the existence of the key information molecule, messenger RNA (mRNA). The existence of such a molecule, which could transfer information from the DNA code to the protein-producing machinery, had been hypothesized, but its existence had never been rigorously proven. Ron’s experiments proved this. However, in the highly competitive world of science, similar work in a different model system by an already well-known scientist, Sydney Brenner, was widely credited as the work that proved the existence of mRNA. Brenner went on to win the Nobel Prize for this work and other towering scientific accomplishments. But on mRNA, U Minnesota grad student Ron Faanes had been right there with him.

Ron went on to other major accomplishments in his long scientific career, including being one of the first labs to demonstrate the process of T-cell killing, which is now at the foundation of recent advances in cancer immunotherapy. After Sloan-Kettering, Ron moved on to global pharmaceutical giant Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, where he became Head of Immunology and worked for 22 years. He retired in 2003 and spends his time these days, Dr. Forbes said, building large radio-controlled model airplanes, playing a little golf, and helping his wife of 55 years, Sharon, who is a retired nurse and U Minnesota Duluth alum, with her many volunteer activities in the community. Ron also helps organize a senior charity hockey tournament, which he founded 10 years ago, in order to raise money for important health causes, including diabetes.

Dr. Forbes said that “As Ron will tell you tonight, he was not always the most likely candidate for such an illustrious academic and scientific career. His story is one of inspiration for all of us who have struggled—just a bit or maybe even quite a lot—to find their place in the world.”

Dr, Forbes also included a quote from BioQuick Editor & Publisher Mike O’Neill, who had done his college senior thesis work in Ron’s Sloan-Kettering lab in 1975-76, and who was in the audience at this event honoring his early mentor and life-long friend.

“My year in Ron’s lab changed my life and afforded me the great experience of working closely with a truly great scientist and also one of the very finest human beings I have met. In the lab, Ron was a great and enthusiastic teacher, who was infinitely curious, hard-working and brilliantly insightful. He was unselfishly dedicated to advancing the skills and knowledge of the students in his lab and would go out of his way to guide us in the right direction. The University of Minnesota can be quite proud of the brilliant scientist and even finer human being who started out many years ago as a young Golden Gopher and today is coming home.”

With that, Dr. Forbes welcomed Ron to the podium to give his address.

In his talk, Ron showed his characteristic modesty and sense of humor, and only indirectly hinted at the tremendous natural gifts, that, together with very hard work, carried him from U Minnesota to the pinnacles of world-class science.

Ron said that the evening is “a night to acknowledge the great generosity of so many donors to the Palmer Rogers Scholarship. As one of the donors (and a six-year student in the Rogers lab), I’ve been asked to share my story with you.” And what a story it was.

Ron began by saying, “I’m going to tell you a little bit about my tenure here at the University and tell you about the six years I spent with a great role model, Palmer Rogers, and the faculty of the Department of Microbiology. Also, I’m going to offer you some thoughts about the significance of those two impressive forces – the University and Palmer – in my own life and career.”

Ron began with a description of his early academic days that did not augur well for a bright scientific future.

“As Valery mentioned, I was not the most likely candidate for an academic and scientific career. In fact, anyone looking at my early college performance would be surprised to see where I’ve ended up. A large part of the credit for what has happened in my life results from the 14 years I spent on this campus, and the great faculty it was my privilege to train with.”

“I’m a Minnesota native who grew up in South Minneapolis and graduated from Roosevelt High School. I’ll be honest--I was an enthusiastic multi-sport high school athlete, but a terrible high school student. My high school grades didn’t reflect it, but I loved chemistry, math, and public health.”

To read the entire article, go to:  http://www.bioquicknews.com/node/4829

Ron & Sharon (Dunning) Faanes at the University of Minnesota,

College of Biological Sciences Presentation

A Recent Conference in India Highlighted the Contributions of

Gail Omvedt Patankar:

Bharat Patankar & Gail Omvedt Patankar, following the Conference

  Stepping Around the Cowcatcher

Words of praise for this story about the South Minneapolis of our youth from Doug Butler:  "I recommend this book as it was written by a '57 RHS grad recalling his childhood memories(and ours) growing up in south MPLS. Check it out."

Hank Gallagher gave a presentation of his book at the Arizona-RHS Luncheon in February 2018--so much fun listening to our history.   After re-reading my copy--it brought back so many memories.  I think we could all add additional escapades of our own!!   

Another book about life in the Twin Cities a bit before "our days"!

From Stanley Gordon West’s novel, Growing an Inch (page 62):

“It’s funny how I hear my boyhood sometimes.  It comes to me out of darkness on puppy dog paws and the taste of jaw-breakers.  It tiptoes out of quiet moments in knotted high-top tennis shoes and corduroy knickers.  It wings on the call of a crow or the smell of pine, sunlight reflecting off a lake.  It won’t lie down; it won’t let me forget.

“I hear my boyhood sometimes like a chum calling me to come out and play.  It tells me to remember, to speak of moments that flew away, that are flying now out towards the stars, ripples across an unending sea.  My boyhood tells me to remember those things, those times, to bring them back to earth.  Say them out loud or write the words on paper, keep them from being lost out beyond the sun.  But sometimes I don’t want to remember.  I don’t want to write them down, I want to forget.

“My boyhood won’t relent.  It paces somewhere behind my hearbeats; it won’t go away.  It is unfinished.  Remember, it tells me, remember.  Write it down.  It will happen again in the hearts of those who read.  No one warned me how swiftly it would fly away.  My boyhood comes to me and warns me, tells me it will be gone forever, as though it never happened.

“I hear my boyhood sometimes.”

Stanley Gordon West (1932 – 2015) grew up in St. Paul and attended St. Paul Central High School.  He has written three fiction books about life during his high school years.  You will find West's books a lovely trip down Memory Lane, with two of the books revolving around mysteries!

6th Annual Roosevelt Foundation Golf Tournament - 2018

Why are We the Teddies???

Our Haus - Mike Gwiazdon

Sportsman & Ski Haus celebrates 50 years in business in the Flathead Valley

By Molly Priddy // Jun 13, 2018 

Plenty can change in a valley like the Flathead in 50 years.

More people, more houses, more of the modern world continuing its encroaching march on wild places; in 1968, there weren’t yet 40,000 people in Flathead County, compared to about 100,000 estimated living here now.

But as important as it is to keep track of the changes, it’s also key to note what hasn’t changed in all that time: a love for the outdoors, the desire to be in and near nature, and the need to be properly outfitted for such adventures.

And for half a century, folks in the Flathead have been able to turn to Sportsman & Ski Haus, a local powerhouse for outdoor essentials that celebrates 50 years in business in 2018.

“One of the reasons we built this store is because of the community supporting us,” Sportsman & Ski Haus President Mike Gwiazdon said last week. “We’re a big part of the community, and that’s important.”

Gwiazdon said this from his office in Sportsman’s Kalispell store, an 80,000-square-foot behemoth full of the latest and greatest gear and clothing for outdoor adventures on land and water (and air, according to a display tent that can hang in the trees).

But he knows the store wasn’t always this prominent or large. Sometime around 1964, the Sportsman Surplus store popped up in Kalispell, at the junction near U.S. Highways 2 and 93. In 1968, Mel James and Don Burks purchased Sportsman’s, which at that time measured 40 feet by 90 feet. After buying the shop, Burks and James built a 260-square-foot addition for the ski department, officially renaming the shop Sportsman & Ski Haus.

In 1973, Gwiazdon came on board as the ski haus manager, after five years as the equipment and rental manager on Big Mountain. Gwiazdon was the manager for six or seven years before Burks and James offered a partnership in the store, making him the merchandise manager.

In 2000, the original owners retired, and Gwiazdon became the president. Most importantly, the company became employee owned, and those who had been there long enough were able to buy into it.

That option made a big difference to some long-term employees who stayed on. Kyle Joos, who has been managing the store for 17 years, said the employee benefits at Sportsman make the staff feel cared for and important. Lorna Moore, who has been working at Sportsman for 33 years and who others refer to as “the backbone of the Whitefish store,” said there was always room to move up the ladder at the company, and that Sportsman invested in its own personnel.

“We all started in entry-level positions,” Moore said, looking at a group of nine employees who have been with the company for more than 20 years.

“It’s a unique attribute to this company,” Joos said.

The store grew in its original location, adding on over the years to eventually become 22,000 square feet. But it wasn’t enough. The store needed more space, and in 2005, the company made the decision to move from its home for 39 years to north of town in the Hutton Ranch development.

Lin Gwiazdon, who has worked at Sportsman for 38 years, was on staff for nine years before she became Mike Gwiazdon’s sister-in-law. She said the move to the current location was “emotional” after working for so long at the previous location.

“I was so emotional,” she said. “We couldn’t believe what we had built!”

The 55,000-square-foot store opened in 2007, and within six years Sportsman was expanding again, bringing the store to 80,000 square feet and adding more golfing experiences and an archery range.

In 2010, Sportsman’s acquired four Tri-State Outfitters stores in Washington and Idaho, growing the outdoor empire even more.

With 45 years at Sportsman under his belt, Gwiazdon has his eyes set on retirement at the end of June. He’ll still consult for a year, but this will be a big change for a man who has worked ever since he was a teen.

“I’ve been here 45 years, which is a long time,” he said. “I’ve never not worked in my whole life.”

As for his ascendency in the company, Gwiazdon said it came down to luck and hard work.

“I was in the right place at the right time, and I was always the hardest worker of anyone around me,” he said.

He was also passionate about the outdoors, which is a unifying trait among all the employees at Sportsman. Customers buying skis are buying from a salesperson who also skis and knows everything about the products. That personal touch is what sets the folks at Sportsman apart, he said.

“We’re sharing our passion,” said 23-year employee Dave Schmidt.

“We work with great people,” Joos said. “Our customers are amazing, and we sell fun stuff.”

Mike Gwiazdon is on the left.

Mike Gwiazdon Celebrating His Store's 50th Anniversary

Remembering Our Favorite Childhood Places!

Hall of Fame Members - 2018

The Roosevelt Foundation Hall of Fame Banquet was held on Saturday, September 22nd, 2018, at St. Mary's Event Center in Minneapolis.  Here are the new members (some names you will recognize quickly!):  Medaria Arradondo ('85), Bryon Barnett ('73), Al Cannon (our amazing Biology teacher), Michael Corcoran ('58), Doug Englund ('57--Gary's brother), Margaret Erickson, John Hines ('71), William Knutson ('41--Sharon's brother), Stuart Lindman ('39), Mac McInroy, Nancy Nelson ('65), Evan Ringquist ('80), Paul Sorlie ('61--Todd's brother), John Thomas ('93), Mary Tjosvold ('61--Dale's sister), and John C. Wells (our principal).  While no classmates from '59 were selected this year, the group includes the siblings of four of our classmates--awesome!!

For information about the Hall of Fame, contact Barbara Hanson Pederson at bpederson1@comcast.net, or check the Foundation website:  www.roosevelthighfoundation.org.

Congratulations to this year's nominees!

RHS-Arizona Reunion - February 20, 2018: 

Another successful luncheon gathering was held.  Photos are posted under the heading "Arizona Reunions" in the left-hand column on our Home Page.  We had ten from the Class of 1959.  Attending from our class:  Renae Bendik, Bob Blix, Patti Bluml, Dutch Fischer, Joel Hase,  Jack Landstad, Diane Lindberg, Elly Nyberg, Sharon Thor and Doug Zubick.  Unfortunately, Bob, Joel and Doug do not appear in any of the photos. 

Make certain to read a copy of Stepping Around the Cowcatcher by Henry Gallagher, RHS '57.  It is a fun read reminding us of our grade school and junior high days!  The author, Henry Gallagher, was at the RHS-Arizona Reunion Luncheon February 20, 2018. A great presentation was enjoyed by all of those at the luncheon.

If any attendees have photos to share, please send them to me!  Thanks so much!

Join us next year! Andy Wangstad at andy@rhs-az.com for more information.

Dale Tjosvold's Mother: 

 
At 95, Margaret Tjosvold continues to be a role model model for family, friends, colleagues and the community.

October 1, 2013

Born on Oct. 14,1918 in South Minneapolis, Margaret Tjosvold began her journey of care, compassion and cooking. Her mother, Rosa Camile Williams, was a nurse at Deaconess  Hospital and went to people’s homes to care for them, providing  massages and baths. Rosa grew up on a farm in Iowa and  developed a love for the land, leading to her ownership of  multiple properties over the years. She moved to one of those  properties in the 1950s - a farm in Coon Rapids. At Rosa’s  death, Margaret inherited six acres of that farm in Coon Rapids.  It is now the main campus location for Mary T. Inc. Rosa greatly  influenced Margaret’s values of caring for people with disabilities  and the elderly, taking risks, remaining positive and sharing lots  of good food!
 
Margaret married Dale Tjosvold and raised a family of three children - Dale Jr., Mary and Dean (with grandchildren Jason, Lena, Wesley and Coleen). She began a working career at  JC Penny, becoming the first woman to manage the catalog department. Her career at JC Penny spanned 25 years, from 1951 to 1976, when she left and co-founded Camilia Rose Convalescent  Center (now Camilia Rose Care Center) with her sister, Agnes Mallary, and her daughter Mary T. In addition, Margaret and Mary T. focused on Camilia Rose Group Home, which became the first business in the organization today known as Mary T. Inc. Their vision was for a campus that would include a children’s center, homes for people with developmental disabilities and  a senior retirement center. That vision has expanded into the current configuration of Mary T. Inc. with services for people with disabilities, independent and  assisted living for seniors, home health and hospice care,  various types of rental housing, customized concierge services  and assistive technology. MTI also serves people with brain  injury in Maryland and seniors in a rental community in Casa  Grande, Arizona.
 
Margaret continues to be the heart of Mary T. Inc. with her  compassion, caring and concern for the people who are served.  Each year Margaret cooks for 100 clients who attend camp at  Bay View Lodge; purchases and wraps individual gifts for people  in Mary T. Inc. homes and programs; and helps plan many  parties, dances and dinners for the people Mary T. Inc. serves.  In 2003, Margaret and Mary T. opened the Margaret Tjosvold  Primary School in Santa, Bamenda, Cameroon. They continue  to support the school with staff salaries, exam fees, books,  clothes, supplies and a second school building. Their philanthropy  in Cameroon has extended to the Heiffer Project, as well as  supporting a VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity)  mission, providing eyeglasses to 3,500 people.
 
At 95 (now 99), Margaret serves as a role model for us all - philanthropy, compassion, care for the most vulnerable people in our community, spreading joy, a positive attitude and a continuing vision of a better world. We celebrate her 95 years and are grateful for her contributions to the lives she touches daily.
 
Happy Birthday, Margaret! 

1555 118th Lane NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55448   •   (763) 754-2505   •   (888) 255-6900

There were some great photos with the article, but I couldn't copy them!  Margaret's daughter, Mary--Dale's sister--continues her mother's passion for helping others.  Mary, too, was an RHS graduate.  (Dale's father, Dale, died in 2014 at the age of ninety-six.)
  

For Those of Us Who Attended Howe Grade School:

Here's a June 1953 photo of four of the Howe "boys"--now all gone!  Sweet memories!

Martin Stoesser, Bruce Brenden, Roger Golemen & David Hewitt.

A Video from Ron Faanes:

Check out this video on YouTube about Excelsior Park:  

Does anyone have or know how we can get additional copies of the Sagamore for classmates who are missing theirs??  Please let me know if you have any information!

While watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS last night, I was reminded how those of us who attended Howe Grade School learned to sing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (in part music) because the verses were written by Julia Ward Howe.  How many remember this??  We know--due to its religious nature--that current Howe students probably don't learn the song, but we all loved singing it!  Do today's students know what "part music" is??  Hmmmmmm!  We learned so much, way back when!!

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, Glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His day is marching on.

(Just the first two verses.)

DO YOU HAVE PHOTOS, MEMORIES. OR ?? TO SHARE WITH ALL OF US?!  PLEASE ADD SOMETHING TO OUR WEBSITE!!  Or Send me things, and I will scan and add them!

Would you like copies of our RHS Standards??  Ron Laugen sent his to Cathy Maloney Bailey.  When she is finished reading them, she would like to pass them on to someone else.  Please let me or Cathy know if you are interested.

From Pat Kennedy:

I think my fellow Teddies will get a kick out of this--"Teddy Roosevelt Gets Knocked Out".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtwHeRwjlkc (Copy and Paste into your browser and look for "Teddy Roosevelt Gets Knocked Out".)

It is a good time to remember our history!  This link is listed under the "Announcements", but Ron Faanes brought it to our attention again!  Happy Memories: 

In addition, you can find memories on Facebook under "Old Minneapolis".  Fun to see the photos!  (You don't have to belong to Facebook to look at these photos!)

Check out the following link to see what Ron Faanes has been up to:  www.mnhockeymag.com

 

Happy 100th birthday, Hiawatha!

MINNEAPOLIS – Hiawatha Community School is celebrating its 100th birthday — help celebrate the centennial! Travel back in time with students singing songs from the decades, enjoy fun carnival games and eat delicious local fare.

Built in 1916, Hiawatha maximizes individual student potential through the use of technology, differentiation, critical thinking and high expectations within a nurturing and diverse community of learners. It was recently named a School of Excellence by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association. This prestigious honor was awarded for the school’s commitment to 21st-century teaching and learning.

Hiawatha Community School
4201 42nd Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55406

 

 

For those of us who attended either Hiawatha or Howe, here is the latest on the schools:  Hiawatha Community School is located within a culturally diverse, urban community.  Pre-K-2nd grade are housed at the Hiawatha Campus and 3rd-5th grade are housed at the Howe Campus.  The two campuses are about six blocks apart.

A 75+/- Birthday Reunion Luncheon--September 15, 2016!!  (Added to this post on:  9/29/2016)

A big Thank You to all of our classmates who so kindly donated money to our class luncheon!  It is so helpful in off-setting the cost of mailing, door prizes, etc., etc.  Your generosity is truly appreciated!

Our luncheon was an awesome event, attended by the group listed below (if I forgot you, please let me know)!  The food was delicious and the rains held off until everyone headed for home. 

Our tables beheld beautiful arrangements of prairie grasses picked and designed by Cathy Maloney Bailey.  These were awarded to classmates as door prizes, along with bottles of wine selected by Hal Rogers, gift cards and more.

I have posted the photos that Ron Faanes and Ron Starkey--our photographers extraordinaire!-- took for us, in addition to photos that Bonnie Moline Sjoberg took.  Sorry that I have not added names to all of the photos yet--still feel like I am in a catch-up mode since returning from the Twin Cities!!  It is my priority to get them labeled within the week!  I will need your help in identifying classmates and their spouses/partners!

Thanks to those who attended!  Please mark September 2019 on your calendars for our "60th" Reunion.  Here's a "savings plan" for all:  put a jar, container, etc. on your kitchen counter, and every week drop in a dollar.  By 2019, you will have enough money for our reunion luncheon, plus some!

We look forward to seeing many of you in 2019!!

Additional Reunion Luncheon Photos:  If you took photos and would like me to add them to the Reunion Photo section, please send them to me in a jpg format, and I will post them.

Roosevelt Hall of Fame Nominations for 2020:

1.)  You may download Hall of Fame guidelines and a downloadable nomination form at http://roosevelt.mpls.k12.mn.us/roosevelt_hall_of_fame.

2.)  You make make your nomination directly on line at the RHS Foundation Website:  http://roosevelthighfoundation.org/hof/hall-of-fame-nomination-form/

There will be another group selected for 2020, so you can continue to send in nominations for the future date.

Reunion Photos:  (1/29/2015)

Ron Starkey's and Ron Faanes' Reunion photos are under the heading:  "Roosevelt 1959 - 2014 Reunion Photos", on the left-hand side of the page.  I have added names to the photos--primarily where there are close-ups of classmates.  I have not included the names of spouses/friends who were not classmates.  Unfortunately, there are people I can't identify--how sad is that??!!-- so please do not be offended if I have not identified you, but do let me know which picture you are in so I can add your name.  Thanks so much!  (patti_lt@hotmail.com)

Directory Updates:

Let me know if you need any updates about our classmates--addresses, phone numbers, etc., etc.  The list is too long to keep adding to it on the website.  It turns out we all do a whole lot of movin'!!​

Yearbook Photos:  

All yearbook photos are now on our individual "Profiles".  In case you've forgotten how we looked 50+ years ago, just type in a name and check out the photos.  In addition, the full page yearbook photo pages can be found by clicking the words "Yearbook Photos" on the left-hand side of the Home Page.

RHS Logo Hats, Etc.:  If you are interested in ordering the hats, visors, towels, sweatshirts with the RHS embroidered logo, information can be found on the left-hand side of the page under:  "RHS 1959 Embrodered Hats, etc.".