Coming in September…
MSUM ALUM’S NOVEL ‘PEACE LIKE A RIVER’
CREATING A BUZZ IN PUBLISHING CIRCLES
“From my first breath in this world, all I wanted was a good set of lungs and the air to fill them with??given circumstances, you might presume, for an American baby of the twentieth century.”That’s the first sentence Leif Enger wrote in a private struggle to empathize with his oldest son’s fitful asthma attacks, a literary exorcism for a very literal family crisis.

“It was frightening watching him gasp for air,” Enger said. “I just wanted to get a handle on what he was going through.”

Six years and 320 pages later, that simple sentence grew into “Peace Like a River,” a captivating novel of faith and family adventure will be released in September by Atlantic Monthly Press.

While his son’s asthma is now under control, Enger’s personal life has the potential to become unruly, considering the promising commercial success of the book.

So far he’s received a $150,000 advance for its North American publishing rights along with a Book of the Month Club main selection, a Reader’s Digest select edition condensed book and a six-week, 25-city book signing tour beginning in mid September.

Hollywood producer David Brown (“Jaws,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Chocolat”) optioned screen rights for the novel, which has also been sold to publishers in eight other countries. Already it’s received a starred review from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, while HarperCollins will release an audiobook as hardbacks hit the stores.

“It’s starting to get busy around here,” said Enger, who lives in a remote 56-acre farmstead in the Brainerd Lakes area with his wife Robin and sons Ty and John. “But I’m sure my family will keep my feet on the ground. My priority is to guard our privacy.”

“Peace Like a River” is the first-person account of an 11-year-old asthmatic boy named Reuben Land describing a series of adventures, tragedies and, yes, miracles that envelop his family in the winter of 1962.

Set in the mythical Minnesota town of Roofing, the story revolves around Reuben’s widowed father, Jeremiah Land, an unambitious yet devout school janitor with some astonishing New Testament skills.

While nursing Reuben’s asthma attacks and oblivious to his nine-year-old daughter Swede’s searching literary precocity, Jeremiah suffers his own convulsive battles with faith. Then the family’s fragile equilibrium shatters when Jeremiah’s oldest son Davy, 16, in a fit of frontier justice, kills two young punks who threaten the family.

When Davy escapes from jail before sentencing and heads for the North Dakota Badlands on horse, the family pulls up roots and embarks on a journey to find him—in an Airstream trailer bequeathed to them by a traveling salesman.

On one level, the book is a heroic and spiritual quest filled with adventurous allusions to Mark Twain, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Zane Gray and Butch Cassidy. The language is vivid, lyrical and chiseled. The characters lace their conversations with Biblical references and cowboy lore. The landscape is strewn with Midwestern blizzards, tornadoes, buttes, hunts and empty spaces.

Enger denies weaving any grand philosophical theme into his narrative. “I was completely absorbed in telling a story,” he said. “I’m not an academic, nor am I qualified to discuss the literary merits of this or any other novel.”

Yet it’s hard to ignore the buoyant possibilities of miracles, grace and glory that course through his pages; the conflicting comforts and strains of family bonds; or redemption to be found in forgiveness and choices.

And at its heart, maybe, the novel asks: How does your faith measure up in a very complex and bewildering real world?
“Once torched by truth,” as one of Enger’s characters suggests, “a little thing like faith is easy.”

Enger, 40, is already undergoing his own test of faith. He quit his 16-year job as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio last year to become a full-time novelist.

“I loved my radio career and I wouldn’t have quite it for anything else,” Enger said. “It’s where I learned to write concisely. But I’ve

wanted to be a writer since I was 16 years old. So now I’m a full-time novelist. Can you believe that?”
This isn’t the first excursion into fiction for Enger, who earned a degree in mass communications and English at Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1983.

Writing under the pseudonym L.L. Enger, he and his brother Lin, who teaches English at MSUM, wrote six and published five mystery novels about a 6’6”-tall ex-Detroit Tiger slugger Gun Pederson who retreats to Minnesota’s north woods to escape a tragic past.

The first four mysteries??“Swing,” “Comeback,” “Strike” and “Sacrifice” ??were issued by Pocket Books, the oldest publisher of paperbacks in the country. The last, “Sinner’s League,” was released in hardback by Simon & Schuster’s line of mysteries, Otto Penzler Books.

“They were mid-level successes and the publisher eventually dropped us,” Enger said. “I think we were both pretty much worn out on the series.”
The two brothers, who grew up in Osakis, Minn., seem headed in similar directions. Lin, the English professor, is in the midst of writing his own novel about a Scandinavian immigrant family.

Leif wrote “Peace Like a River,” a title he co-opted from one of his favorite hymns, between 5 and 7 in the morning before commuting to work at his Minnesota Public Radio office in Brainerd.

“The story just took off. It wasn’t hard labor at all,” he said. “I think it’s because I wrote in the voice of an 11-year-old boy. The world, as it’s been said before, seems much more intriguing through the eyes of a child. I’ve also been told that a writer doesn’t have much to say until he’s 35. Well, that’s about how old I was when I started this novel.”

His wife Robin (just a few credits shy of earning an MSUM art degree) and two sons were his closest editors and critics. “Nearly every day I’d read to them what I’d written that morning. And Robin always seemed to know when something didn’t work. In any case, all of them are highly invested in the book.”

He finished the first draft on Dec. 31, 1999. “It took me another three months to clean it up, then trim about 20,000 words.“
Enger didn’t exactly know what he had. “Family and friends seemed to like the book,” he said.

But literary success tends to feed on objectivity, not relationships. And considering today’s congested fiction market, that would only come through the unsentimental eyes of a New York agent.

Still a rookie in the publishing game, Enger had to page through a copy of The Writer’s Market to find an agent. His method was simple: chose the first agency alphabetically listed in the book (the Aaron Priest Agency), another agency in the middle of the list,then another at the end. He mailed each a copy of his manuscript.

“I didn’t have any expectations at all,” he said.

At 11 a.m. last year on June 24, Paul Cirone, a young agent from the Aaron Priest Agency, called Enger to say he’d like to represent him. Within the next month, six publishers expressed interest in “Peace Like a River” and four attended an auction to buy the publishing rights.

“That was nail biting time,” Enger said. On July 24, Elisabeth Schmitz at Grove/Atlantic—who also edited Charles Frazier's best-selling first novel “Cold Mountain”—made the top offer for the North American rights. It will be the publishing house’s lead title this fall.

“It’s simply the most exciting discovery of the year,” said Schmitz, who reviews between 15 and 20 book manuscripts a week. “The novel has gripped every reader at Atlantic since the day we bought it. It’s a beautiful, uplifting and brilliantly told story that should appeal to readers of all stripes.”

“Peace Like a River” already created a stir at the BookExpo America 2001 this summer in Chicago, attended by nearly 22,000 book buyers, writers, editors and publishers. According to Publishers Weekly magazine: “For the first time in many years, there was a buzz book at the show. In fact, there were two. Again and again, booksellers enthusiastically recommended “Peace Like a River,” a debut novel by Leif Enger, and ‘The Corrections’ by Jonathan Franzen.”

The article continues: “ ‘Peace Like a River’ impressed the many booksellers who received advance readers’ copies before the show. ‘It’s a really hopeful book,’ said Alaine Borgias, Village Books, Bellingham, Wash.”

While it’s dappled with Christian and Biblical references, Enger said his book isn’t a religious novel. “Sure, I’m a Christian. But I don’t know how anyone can write a book without incorporating in it something about his or her faith. I believe we are defined by our faith, or our lack of it. No, this is no more a Christian novel than ‘Crime and Punishment’ is.”

Psalms and Proverbs, however, are among his fondest writings. “Every time I read them, I learn something. They teach me how to live.”

But of all authors, Robert Lewis Stevenson and Mark Twain are among his favorites, and they both get some attention in “Peace Like a River.”

“Stevenson and Twain tell wonderful stories using such concise and interesting language,” Enger said. “It’s meaningful writing that lasts.”

It’s no coincidence, then, that there’s scant mention of the news in “Peace Like a River,” not a single reference to John F. Kennedy, who was president during the novel’s timeline, nor to Vietnam or the counterculture movement.

“The mass media is so intrusive and so everywhere now” said Enger, who, as a reporter for most of his adult life, knows a little something about that topic. “It seems to distort so much just by its presence.”So does Enger subscribe to William Faulkner’s notion that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism?

Maybe. Enger hints that he purposly omitted the mass media from his plot, giving that winter’s escapade a wash of innocence and more gravid sense of possibilities. The only media cited—a couple newspaper reports about Davy’s shooting and escape—only circle, but never hit on the truth.

A more sincere search for understanding seems to come from the cowboy poetry written by Reuben’s younger sister Swede—“for whom all the world was an epic poem.”

Swede’s poetry follows the fictional exploits of the evil bandit Valdez (“the kind of villain who’d dig for earwax to groom his mustache”) and his conflict with the cowboy hero Sunny Sundown.

“Writing those narrative poems was fun,” Enger said. “One day my youngest son came up to me and said my story needed cowboys in it. I agreed, then asked him what I should call this cowboy. He said. ‘Sunny Sundown,’ and that’s how these poems evolved.”

Enger’s biggest leap of faith takes place in the second to last chapter, an inspiring dreamscape into a mystical dimension.
“It was a risk for me, “he said.

An infinitely pleasant place, as Reuben says when he first enters this dimension: “I laughed in place of language.”

His only hint at its import is to suggest that who’s saved may be more surprising, and the road there more difficult, than we’d like to think.

That chapter, however, may be what clearly separates “Peace Like a River” from the ordinary. It punctuates the book’s intimation that the peace that comes through the certainty of faith also makes everyday events and relationships seem miraculous.

For Enger, of course, it’s just a story. And this winter he already started writing his next novel. “It’s completely different, but some day I might return to the Land family and sort out what happens to them. I already miss writing about them.”

He didn't know it, though. He was just a farm kid then, fishing in a Lund boat with his dad on Big Cormorant Lake. That was 52 years ago.

"Who would have guessed?" he smiled.

Today Lovold is president of the Lund Boat Company headquartered in New York Mills, Minn., an enterprise synonymous with quality and affordability that dominates the fishing and recreational boating market in North America and Canada.

Lovold, who came to MSUM in 1962 to become a teacher, ended up studying business. Now he oversees 575 employees in New York Mills and another 200 at a satellite plant in Steinbach, Manitoba. Together they produce about 16,500 new boats a year in over 60 models ranging from 12 to 21 feet long and retailing from $1,200 to $40,000.

Lund's signature red and silver boats (now they come in seven colors, designed to coordinate with the hues of today's SUVs and pickup trucks) dot the North American outdoor landscape like no other watercraft.

Of the 380,000 utility boats registered on just Minnesota waters last year, 95,500 were manufactured by Lund.

This spring, Lund skipper Lovold and Lund Boats were inducted into the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame, recognizing the company as a legitimate northwoods icon.

Lovold's pilgrimage from Lake Park, Minn., farm kid to corporate president was an exercise in learning the boat business from the keel up.

The son of a teacher ( Hazel Anderson, who earned a teaching certificate at MSTC and taught her entire career in Lake Park and Audubon) and a father who was both a farmer and heavy equipment operator, Lovold grew up with a disciplined scholastic record and a natural interest in machinery.

"I started working part-time at the Silverline Boat Company while I was a student at Moorhead State," Lovold said. "I was just loading boats onto trailers then, but I knew that selling boats would be my career. It overtook my interest in teaching to the point where I quit school to work full-time at Silverline."

While Lovold continued to take business courses at MSUM, he soon became the youngest salesman Silverline ever hired. At the age of 23, the company sent him to Springfield, Mass., as district sales manager. Two years later he was stationed in Columbus, Ohio, as Silverline's sales manager for a six-state district.

"I guess I learned my job through the school of hard knocks," he said. "I wore down a lot of shoe leather and knocked on lots of doors. I studied the product, built relationships with dealers and put in lots of hours. As my first sales manager at Silverline once told me: 'Tell your story, tell it like it is, and tell it often enough, then you'll be successful.' He was right."

In 1977 Lovold switched his professional moorings, becoming the 77th employee hired by Lund Boat Company. As vice president of sales, he worked under the wing of company namesake Howard Lund, who started the business in 1948 as a hobby.

Lund, who studied mechanical drafting and fabrication at Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis, worked in the Mare Island Navy Yard during World War II, servicing ships and submarines that came into harbor. That's where he learned to work with an increasingly popular metal, aluminum. When the war ended, he moved back home to New York Mills, where he opened a sheet metal shop.
While Lund crafted his first boat out of wood at the age of 10, he built his first aluminum duck boat in his garage using some of the experience he acquired at the naval boat yard. He parked that aluminum boat on top of his car at his home on Highway 10, in full view of passing lake traffic.

It was pure serendipity when a boat salesman from Inland Marine Corporation of Minneapolis stopped at Lund's house to ask about the sleek aluminum boat on his car. Before leaving, the salesman placed an order for 50 of them. That set of circumstances launched the Lund Boat Company.

Today Lund Boats has more than 350 dealers in North America and Canada, and is currently going through a $3 million expansion at its New York Mills facility that's expected to add 40 more employees. Annual growth for the company in recent years is in the 15 to 20 percent range.

Following in the wake of Mr. Lund, who retired in 1980 and now lives in Detroit Lakes, Lovold took the helm of a company that was in the process of putting its stamp firmly on the North American boat market.

The reason: the development of Lund's Mr. Pike 16, introduced to the market in 1978. "At the time, it was the first deluxe multi-species fishing boat produced for the American market," Lovold said. "It featured a flat carpeted floor, soft comfortable deluxe pedestal seats, live wells and rod storage. It was the turning point for the future of Lund Boats."

The new American outdoorsman, a product of the baby-boomer generation with growing discretionary incomes and families, was becoming accustomed to creature comforts. And Lund had the forethought to create an ideal product for them.
That same year, Lund Boats became a division of Genmar Holdings, a company led by Minneapolis financier Irwin Jacobs and the second largest boat company in the United States..

"The success of Mr. Pike 16 gave us the confidence to develop our first truly big water fishing boat called the Tyee (a Chinook word for chief)," Lovold said. "We built our first Tyee in 1982. It was the first big water boat that offered a full windshield for comfortable cruising, along with fold-down fishing seats and a livewell." (Its modern-day big cousin, the Baron, is now Lund's premiere big-water boat, a 21-footer with an 80-gallon gas tank rated to carry a 225 horsepower engine.)

In the late 1980s, Lund launched its first tournament model boat, called the Pro V. Today those tournament boats??coming in 16', 18', 19' and 21 lengths??comprise over 30 percent of the company's gross sales.

So why is this Minnesota company--in a state that also includes the headquarters of Crestliner in Little Falls and Alumacraft in St. Peter--so successful?

"Quality," Lovold doesn't hesitate.

"It may sound trite, but Lund is absolutely committed to quality, craftsmanship and durability," Lovold said. "Our founder, Mr. Lund, grew the company on those qualities and we've never veered from his standards. We just built on the philosophy that Mr. Lund had in place."

It's apparent if you happen to tour the Lund manufacturing plant in New York Mills.

It starts with the factory workers, who begin each shift and end each break by performing a series of stretching exercises to flex and help avoid muscle injuries. It extends to the machinery, where automatic shut-off mechanisms surround all the robotic, cutting and router equipment. Meanwhile, two full-time nurses are stationed in the plant during both shifts.

"OSHA's worked with us closely over the years to help us make this facility as safe as possible," Lovold said.

Ten percent of the work force also attends Lund University, a modern classroom located above the manufacturing floor where courses in sales, manufacturing and supervision are offered through Northwest Technical College.

The Lund headquarters is located on 29 acres of land on the western edge of New York Mills, along Highway 10.

It's all aluminum at the start of the assembly line, where computer-controlled routers cut patterns for various boat hulls and components.

Lund was among the first boat makers to use aluminum, then considered a virtual "space-age" material when it first started making watercraft in 1948. And marine-grade aluminum is still the mainstay of its production facility.

"It's lighter, more durable and more economical than other materials and needs little maintenance," Lovold said.
Today the fabrication department processes about 13 tons of aluminum a day.

After the patterns are cut, the next stop for a new boat is the assembly and welding departments, where more than two tons of rivets are used monthly.

Unlike other utility boat manufacturers (who rely on welds), Lund uses its signature double-riveted construction to hold its boats together. "We use rivets just like every major aircraft builder in the world does," Lovold said. "No argument for welding or any other connection method can outweigh that fact."

Lund hulls are also double-plate from bow to midship, where the boat takes its harshest pounding. "Decades ago we experimented with double-plating the aft," Lovold said. "But we soon learned that the extra weight is what turns a boat into a tub."

The next stop on the assembly line is the floatation and rivet test tanks, where each new boat is checked for leaks, durability and performance before moving down the line into the foaming department. That's where each boat, within internal cells, is injected with a predetermined amount of urethane foam. The foam keeps the boat afloat in the event it's swamped.

Then comes painting and final assembly, including carpet, fuel lines and tanks, electrical systems, controls and hardware.

"Each Lund boat is built to the exact specifications of a dealer's order and today we build over 225 new boats each week," Lovold said.

The manufacturing plant can build any Lund boat in one to five days depending on the size and complexity of the model.

And unlike a typical new automobile coming off the assembly line, forget about depreciation. Most used Lund boats will return a high percentage of their original purchase price to the owner, setting one of the highest resale values in the industry.'

Lovold and his wife, Cher, who've lived on Big Cormorant Lake for 25 years, have three grown sons, all design draftsmen. And, of course, their dock harbors only Lund boats.

In sync with the times, however, 95 percent of Lund boats today are sold to trailer boat families, Lovold said, who travel throughout the United States and Canada to fish.

"The secret of our success is very basic," Lovold said. "We have the right product, the right prices, the best dealers and the best employees in the industry."

It also helps to have 50 professional fishermen on Team Lund (including Al Linder and "Mr. Walleye" Gary Roach) who help design and test the products that we build.

It's no wonder, then, that the typical Lund owner will buy an average of four??yes FOUR?? Lund boats in a lifetime.
(Public tours of Lund Boats are available at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For large groups, call the company at 218-385-2235 for arrangements.)

1940s
Peter Inberg is retired and living in Wildomar, CA. He would like to hear from his classmates who attended in 1940-41. Peter’s father graduated from MSTC in 1932 and is mother in 1933. His e-mail address is: sping@mymailstation.com.
Emily Tolbert Elliott ’43 (elem ed) retired after 33 years in the classroom and now volunteers for adult education, GED studies and literacy programs. She lives in Villard, MN.
Maxine Champ Schultz ’44 (elem ed) lives in Glyndon, MN with her husband, Paul. She is retired now and enjoys seeing all the trophies and ribbons her eight grandchildren have earned.
Molly Preston Flood ’45 (elem ed) grew up in Moorhead and went to school on campus from “cradle roll” through graduation from college. She now lives in Charleston, SC.
Lucille Lincoln Halstead ’46 (elem ed) lives in Granite Falls, MN, with her husband, Harris. Their home was severely damaged by a tornado in July, 2000, so they have moved to a new apartment.
Jesse J. Elllingworth ’49 (social st) ’55 (MS) was one of the first to receive a master’s degree from MSUM. He is retired and lives in Coon Rapids, MN, with his wife, Donna.
Clayt Lee ’49 (indus ed) is a retired school administrator. Clayt spends winters in Plancentia, CA, and summers at his cabin in Donnelly, ID. He has wonderful memories of MSUM, of the Owls, the tennis team, and especially Dr. Soc Glasrud.

1950s
Gordon Raaen ’51 (Eng) lives in McVille, ND, and enjoys his retirement after many years of teaching at Phoenix Union High School and Alhambra High School.
Alda Jorve Rydin ’51 (elem ed) retired in 1998 after 34 years of teaching. She taught in Sleepy Eye (where she now lives) and Brainerd, MN, and Davenport, Iowa. Alda keeps busy tutoring, serving in the library board, and working with Dollars for Scholars, Lutheran Brotherhood, the Federation of Women’s Club, MEA Retired, and her church.
Betty Jacobson ’52 (elem ed) and Clifton ’54 (phy ed) ’65 (indust ed), both retired teachers, live in New Brighton, MN. They both enjoy playing bridge, traveling, volunteering and keeping an eye on their 14 grandchildren.
Keith “Skip” Ewger ’52 (phy ed) is retired and living in Sun Lakes, AZ, with his wife, Bonnie. The Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association inducted Keith into the Hall of Fame during the CIF championship finals. Keith coached basketball at North Torrance High School and Mira Costa Community College.
Charlotte Wiger-Achettien ’52 (elem ed) ’68 (BS), taught elementary school in Morris, Hancock, Annandale, and Moorhead, Minnesota. She is now retired and lives in Marble Falls, Texas, with her husband, John.
Augie Mueller ’55 (science) lives in Vestal, NY, with his wife Joan. He is retired and now has time to travel, bicycle and ski.
Alan Hendrickson ‘576 (Eng) is retired and lives with his wife, Dolora, in Morris, MN, where he taught for many years.
Kay Colwell Resengren ’59 (art, Eng) ‘ 88 (BS), just retired after many years as an art teacher. She lives in Hallock, MN.
Faye Colmark Paster ’59 (elem ed) 68 (BS) lives in Paynesville, MN, with her husband, Jim. Faye retired in 1999 from the Robbinsdale school district. Both Faye and Jim now work as volunteers with gifted students in the Paynesville schools.

1960s
John Kjera ’61 (soc st) and Marlene ’58 (elem ed) ’62 (BS) have retired from teaching  and live in Fifty Lakes, MN.
Tyrone Birkeland ’62 (psych) completed both an MA and MS and received his doctorate from the University of Wyoming. He taught for 37 years, most of the time at Northland College in Thief River Falls, MN, where he still lives. He was twice voted Northland Teacher of the Year and received an excellence in teaching award from Burlington Northern.
Clifford Olson ’63 (Eng/soc studies) lives in Breckenridge, MN, where he is still working for the Wilkin County Highway Dept. He is active in his church, and he enjoys reading and writing poetry in his spare time.
Alton Fiskness ’63 (math) is currently involved with three part-time activities:  retirement, teaching and coaching, and working with Luther Seminary students. He lives in New London, MN, with his wife, Carolyn.
Rosemary Blazer ’65 (elem ed) is retired and lives in Mahnomen, MN, with her husband, Arnold. Rosemary keeps busy fishing and boating, spending time with her grandchildren, working with the VFW Aux., and serving as an officer on the County Home Council.
Mary Ann Junge Conrad ’65 (elem ed) retired in 1999 after teaching first grade for 34 years at Atkinson Elementary School in Barnesville, MN. She now lives in Breckenridge, MN.
Patrick Day ’66 (Eng) is Dean of Education for Technical Programs and Chief Academic Officer at Ridgewater College in Wilmar, MN, where he lives with his wife, Diane.
Mike Delaney ’66 (bus admin/mgt) would like to here from mid-60’s TKE brothers.  His e-mail address is fmd@columbia-center.org.
Ruthe Pierce Dustrud  ’66 (elem ed) is a second grade teacher in Apple Valley, MN. She lives in Prior Lake with her husband, Chuck.
Douglas Koenning ’66 (health/PE) retired in June after 34 years of teaching and coaching in the Stillwater, MN, schools. Doug plans travel in his RV and spend summers on Lake Superior. He and his wife, Dianne, live in Wilson, WI.
Lyle Current ’67 (Eng) lives in Cassopolis, MI, with his wife, Karen. Lyle has taught English and history at the high school level for 34 years and says he’s not ready to retire yet.
Raph Gonshorowski ’67 (health/PE) is retiring after teaching school for 33 years in Washington, Iowa, where he lives with his wife, Linda. He plans to spend his time working on home improvement projects, relaxing at his lake cabin on Big Pine Lake near Perham, MN, and watching his daughter play basketball.
Maureen Turner Henry ’67 (elem ed) lives on a farmette near Meyersville, MN, with her husband, James. Maureen is a co-founder of the Ark for Greyhounds, rescue for retired racing greyhounds. She and her husband have two retired racing greyhounds, two Irish Connemara horses and five cats.
Ralph Herbst ’67 (geography/indus ed) is retiring after teaching auto mechanics at Fargo South High School for 34 years. Ralph and his wife, Evarae, live in Moorhead, MN.
LuAnn Rudh ’68 (elem ed) is now a substitute teacher in Fergus Falls, MN, where she lives with her husband, Michael. Lu Ann taught full time for 17 years, including 2 years in St. Paul Park, MN; 1 year in Muncie, IN; and 14 years inWaconia, MN.
Sharon Webster Kennelly ’68 (Eng, speech) and her husband, Bill, live in Madison, WI, where Sharon is a substitute English teacher.
David Cusey ’68 (bus admin) and Becky Rix Cusey ’72 (bus ed) live in Moorhead, MN, where they own Cusey Real Estate.
Richard Piper ’68 (indus ed) is the business development manager for Sioux Steel Company’s Pro-Tec Building Division. Richard and his wife, Loretta, live in Vermillion, SD, and he enjoys fishing and camping.
Bruce Hagevik ’69 (psych) has worked for 28 years as a reporter and anchor for WCCO radio in Minneapolis. He and his wife, Marvette, split their time between the Twin Cities and Miami Beach, FL.
Stanley Olson ’69 (acct) is a grain and hog farmer in Madison, MN. He is active in his church, the Am. Legion, Lutheran Brotherhood, and he is an avid high school sports fan.
Marilyn Gonshorowski Russell ‘ 69 (elem ed) is in her 19th year teaching first grade in Virginia Beach, VA, where she lives with her husband, Jim. She has a second career selling Mary Kay cosmetics.
Jack Briggs ’69 (elem ed) lives in New Brighton, MN, with his wife, Terryl.  They have been selected to lead a delegation of “Student Ambassadors” to Europe this summer.
Harriet Olson ’69 (elem ed) retired after teaching for 31 years, mostly second grade. She and her husband, John, live in Lake Park, MN.
Bob Wilkie ’69 (acct/bus admin) is a senior team coordinator for the large mid-size business division of the Internal Revenue Service. Bob lives in White Bear Lake, MN, with his wife, Beth.
Judy Cooper ’69 (speech) received a grant from the Walker Foundation in Minneapolis to produce her original stage play, “What’s the Matter with Sara Jane?” The play is an adaptation of Fannie Hurst’s 1930’s-era novel about a young black woman who denies her heritage, and the friendship between two single mothers—one black, one white. The play will be produced at the Central City Theatre, Minneapolis, MN.

1970s
Judy Pulczinski ’70 (elem ed) lives with her husband, Dominic, in Greenbush, MN, where she is a teacher for the Greeenbush/Middle River School District.  Judy is currently working on her Media Generalist Licensure.
John Wagner ’71 (soc) ’84 (MLA) joined the Army after graduation from MSUM. In 1975 he became a police officer in Fergus Falls, MN, where he is now the Chief of Police. He also graduated from the FBI National Academy. John and his wife, Karma, live in Fergus Falls.
Clinton VanCamp ’71 (phy ed/health) is the lead engineer for WorldCom, California/Nevada Facilities. He is also an adjunct professor in data communications and computer applications at American River College. Clinton and his wife, Reiko, live in Davis, CA.
Rodney Harris ’71 (indus ed0) ’81 (MS) retired after teaching at Fargo South High School for 27 years. He owns Performance Auto, which sells high performance parts to racers of all groups and classes. Rod and his wife, Margaret, live in Fargo, ND.
Doris Kelley-Thiessen ’72 (elem ed) is a retired school librarian. Doris and her husband, Peter, live in Sidney, MT.
Larry Hlavsa ’72 (hist) lives in Calistoga, CA, with his wife, Resurecion, and their three children.  After 23 years serving in Minnesota libraires, Larry became Ligrary Director of the St. Helena (CA) Public Library last January.
Don Kurpiers ’72 (math) teaches algebra to grades  8 through 10, manages the St. James public schools credit union, and broadcasts St. James sporting events. Don and his wife, LeAnn, live in St. James, MN.
Diane Peterson ’72 (elem ed) lives in San Antonio, TX, where she is an office manager for J.R. Inc. She received her MBS from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in May. Congratulations, Diane!
Esther R. Fust ’72 (speech/lang/hearing) is retired and lives in Hankinson, ND, with her husband, Clements Preble. Esther enjoys traveling, camping, reading, and adding to and indexing her sheet music collection. Her next goal is to become really computer literate.
Craig Randleman ’72 (indus tech) owns North Central Repair Services, which does wholesale watch and clock repair for jewelry stores. He lives in Ortonville, MN, with his wife, Kippy.
Ken Krajsa ’72 (fin) was appointed senior vice president of construction lending for State Bank of Fargo.  Ken and his wife, Kay, live in Moorhead, MN.
Nancy Thorson Childress ’72 (elem ed) is a social worker for the State of Indiana. Nancy and her husband, John, live in New Albany, IN.
John Stolpman ’72 (soc) his wife, Shirley, and their two teen-agers have lived in Anchorage, AK, for 21 years.  He works for a private non-profit addictions treatment program.
Tim ’72 (hist) and Wendie ’73 (elem ed) Madigan are empty nesters living in Faribault, MN.  Tim is the City Administrator and Wendie works for Omni Air International.  Last November Wendie flew to Frankfurt, Germany, to help bring the USS Cole troops back to the USA.
Keith Backhaus ’73 (fin) recently joined Internat’l Multifoods Corp. as national sales business development manager. Keith lives in Ramsey, MN, with his wife, MaryKay, and their children.
Connie Hetzler Weber ’73 (speech/lang/hearing) has made the transition from the busy pace in Atlanta, GA, where she lived for 25 years, to a tranquil life in the mountains of North Tazewell, VA. She is working as a medic and is engaged to a gentleman from Minnesota!
Yvonne Hanzal ’73 (speech/lang/hearing) ’75 (MA) lives in Jamestown, ND, with her husband, Steven. She works with severely emotionally disturbed adolescents at the ND State Hospital.
Beth Michaels ’73 (elem ed) lives in Marietta, GA, where she has been a professional pianist for 16 years. She released her fourth and fifth piano CD’s last year, featuring pop and Broadway selections.
Susan Renaud ’74 (crim just/soc work) 77 (MA) works in customer service for the Federal Credit Union, and volunteers on the Bostom Harbor Islands. She lives in Needham, MA, with her husband, Bruce.
Nancy Pauls Peterson ’74 (spec ed) ’88 (MA) lives in West Fargo, ND, with her husband, Terry. She has been a teacher in the West Fargo School District since 1974, and says she enjoys the challenges of teaching.
Carol Burns ’74 (spec ed) teaches special needs students in grades one through six in Mankato, MN. She and her husband, Mike, are enjoying recreating their lives as empty nesters.
David B. Johnson ’74 (mgt) is sales manager for Mid-States Wireless, providing wireless communications for commercial and government entities. Dave and his wife, Mary Jo, live in Moorhead, MN.
Mary Morinville ’75 (bus admin) is the new vice president of Wells Fargo Services Co.  She will manage the firm’s banker connection site in Fargo. Mary lives in Moorhead, MN with her husband, David.
Wayne Dahl ’75 (liberal arts) is video director and editor for White light Productions. He and his wife, Karen, live in Sandy, Utah, where they moved in 1997.
Jerry Lee Matz ’75 (mass comm) lives in Lee’s Summit, MO, with his wife Karla. Jerry is in his 26th year in broadcast television and his 15th year in Kansas City, where he is employed by WDAF-TV/ Fox Entertainment.
Cathy (Schmit) Johnson ’75 (elem ed) lives in Breckenridge, MN, with her husband, Reed, and their two children. She teaches first grade at Campbell-Tintah Public School.
Susan Skulstad Engel ’75 (elem ed) is the sales and marketing director for First National Bank in Bemidji, MN, where she lives with her husband, Steve.
Mark ’75 (acctg) and Linde Ose ’76 (indiv mgr) live in Grand Forks, ND. Mark is a CPA for Brady, Marty and Associates and Linda is a homemaker. Their son, Matt, is a student at MSUM!
Darrell Lindgren ’76 (acctg) is CFO of the Individual and Small Group Division of WellPrint Health Networks. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Valerie Vanyo Ritland ’76 (spec ed) ’91 (MS) is the principal of St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Moorhead, MN, where she lives.
Bonnie Coffey ’76 (spec ed) is president of CopyMed Incorporated. Bonnie says there are a lot of women like her, who were teachers and have now started their own businesses. She enjoys meeting MSUM alums wherever she goes. Bonnie and her husband, Tony, live in Anoka, MN.
Lucille Larson ’76 (indiv major) is retired and volunteers as a senior companion to elderly people living in their own homes.
She lives in Fergus Falls, MN.
Deb Wimmer ’77 (elem ed) teaches third grade at Lincoln Elementary in Fargo, ND, where she and her husband, Brad, live.
Jeffrey Brunelle ’77 (comp sci) is a systems analyst for St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance. Jeff and his wife, Jann, recently adopted two children from Kazakstan, uniting them with their younger sister whom they adopted five years ago. The Brunelle family lives in Shoreview, MN.
Nancy Froysland-Hoerl ’77 (music) is a voice instructor for Westminster Choir College, an active performer on the east coast and has performed in Paris, France and Barabados. Nancy and her husband, Scott, live in Yardley, PA.
Betty McCullough Ellingson ’77 (speech/lang/hear) received her master’s degree from UND in 2000. She has been working in special education for a district serving several rural schools in North Dakota. Betty and her husband, Mark, live in Reynolds, ND.
Danny ’77 (speech) and Merilee ’79 (elem ed/spec ed) Ottoson live in Pelican Rapids, MN. They are in their 22nd year of evangelistic ministry traveling throughout  the world with their two sons, sharing the gospel.
Lin Russell ’77 (elem ed) lives in Edmonds, WA, where she teaches 5th grade at Brighton School. This will be Lin’s 6th summer as a Civil War re-enactor at the Civil War Institute in Gettysburg.
Agnes Schares ’77 (MA reading) works for Asante Health Systems as a transportation scheduler/hospitality aide. She lives in Medford, OR.
Roger “Rock” Gullickson ’78 (phy ed) and his wife, Terry Jean, love touring the US on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In 2001 Rock received the President’s Award from the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society. In 2000 he became the head S & C coach for the New Orleans Saints. Rock and Terry live in Drestrehan, LA.
Dan Olson ’78 (Eng) teaches high school English and coaches varsity football for the Brandon Public Schools. Dan and his wife, Diane, and their three children live in Brandon, MN.
Janet Oian ’78 (nursing) says she enjoys retirement at the lake, but still works for Heartland Health System on a PRN basis. Janet and her husband, Stanley, live near Dent, MN.
Linda Long ’78 (early child ed) ’89 (elem ed) teaches at NayTaWaush Elementary.  Linda and her husband, Brad Hanson, live in Rochert, MN
Steven Hartman ’78 (fin) was named North Dakota General Office Agent of the Year for New York Life Insurance where he is a 21-year veteran and Million Dollar Roundatable member.  Steve lives in Fargo with his wife, Linette.
Robert Dingman ’79 (phil) lives in Cambridge, MA, with his wife, Martine Fisher. Robert is a clinical instructor of psychology at Harvard University Medical School, teaches in the family therapy training program at Cambridge Hospital, and also has a private practice.
Rebecca Smidt Fredricksen ’79 (elem ed) has been a teacher in the Triton Public Schools for 22 years. She has taught special ed, 2nd grade, 3rd grade and is currently in her 10th year as a 6th grade teacher. Rebecca and her husband, Buck, and their two children live in Stewartville, MN.
Roberta Radford ’79 (soc wk) is retired and lives in Moorhead, MN.  Roberta volunteers with Reach to Recovery, an epilepsy support group, and the Hjemkomst Center.
Barbara Aukes Pates ’79 (mass comm) is corporate advertising manager for Scheels All Sports. Barbara and her husband, Mikkel, and their two children liven in Fargo, ND.
Patricia Paula ’79 (elem ed) left teaching to pursue a new career in the computer/web page business. Since January she worked as a job controller for Psi Web Studio.  Patricia and her husband, Frank, live in O’Fallon, IL. Patricia says she would like to have a beer at Mick’s Office again…if it’s still there!

1980s
Martha Cleveland ’80 (mass comm) lives in St. Paul, MN, with her husband, Paul Tosto, and their two children. Martha is an editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and says the wants to be a master gardener when she grows up.
Chris Storseth Gerving ’80 (soc wk) is a social worker for Med Center One in Bismarck, ND, where she lives with her husband, Mark.
Kimberly Trosvik Koeck ’80 (phy ed) teaches developmental adapted physical ed in the Moorhead Public Schools. Kim and her husband, George, live in Fargo, ND.
Michael Bruhn ’81 (bus adm) owns Bruhn Optical in Park Rapids, MN, where he and his wife, Julie, live wither their son. Michael still finds time to distance run and compete in road races.
Virgena Sage Weiseler ’81 (crim just/soc wk) is administrator for the Dept. of Social Services, Child Protection Services for South Dakota. Virgena and her husband, Dennis, have two children and live in Pierre, SD.
Karen Thingelstad ’81 (bus adm) is procurement manager for Minnkota Power Cooperative. She lives in Grand Forks, ND, with her husband, Todd.
Larry Odland ’82 (crim just) is a social worker at the VA Hospital in Fargo, ND, where he lives.
John Klocke ’82 (mass com) lives in Fargo, ND, with his wife, Janet and their four children. He is director of development for Village Family Services, sings professionally and is involved in community theatre. Most recently he played Daddy Warbucks in a production of “Annie”.
Ann ’89 (mass com) and Dan ’82 (phy ed) Kohler live in Grafton, ND, with their two children. Ann works for First United Bank and Dan works with the developmentally disabled.
Kevin ’82 (acctg) and Leslie Stockman Gourde ’80 (nursing) live in Fargo, ND, with their three children. Kevin is a CPA and CFO for Wanzek Construction, a heavy industrial contractor.
Susan Cowan ’82 (acctg) is an accountant with Johnson Concentrates. Susan and her husband, David, have a farm where they raise wine grapes, cherries, pears and apples. They live in Sunnyside, WA.
Keri Pickett ’82 (art) is a self-employed photographer living in Minneapolis, MN. Her second book, Faeries, Visions, Voices, and Pretty Dresses, was just published.
Trish Vallely ’82 (elem ed) recently moved with her daughter to Highlands Ranch, CO. Trish is employed as a mortgage loan officer with Diversified Mortgage Co.
Scott Thoreson ’83 (bus admin) is a hospital administrator for Springfield Medical Center-Mayo Health System. Scott had advanced to Fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives. This is the highest level of professional achievement in the ACHE. Scott lives in Springfield, MN, with his wife, Gwen.
Teri Kaminski-Peterson ’83 (sp/lang/hearing0 and ’84 (MS) is a self-employed speech pathologist living in Brainerd, MN.
Ilo Lewis Myhra ’83 (math) is employed by Keane, Inc. as a principle software consultant. She lives in Rochester, MN, with her husband, James. In her free time she plays the French horn in the Rochester Civic Music Community Band, and plays softball and volleyball.
Mark Prince ’85 (bus admin/mgt) lives in Chanhassen, MN, with his wife, Valri, and their children. Mark owns Golf Landscapes, which specializes in the design and construction of realistic, synthetic, bent grass putting greens. Golf Landscapes serves as an exclusive distributor for Softrack Turf Systems, which has named Mark dealer of the year for the past two years.
Steve Urness ’85 (mass comm) lives in Red Lake Falls, MN, with his wife, Rhonda. Steve is news director for KCNN Radio in Grand Forks, ND. His first day on the job, June 13, 2000, he covered news of a 10” ? 20” rainfall!
Jeff Jones ’85 (ind illust) is a curator of transportation antiques, such as toys, signs and automobiles. He lives in Sabin, MN, with his wife, Sheryl.
Jon Nyland ’85 (indus tech) is vice president of manufacturing and quality for Digi Int’l. He lives in Chanhassen, MN, with his wife, Beth, and their baby.
Robyn Gray ’85 (bus adm) is director of finance for the law firm of Gray Plant Mooty Mooty and Bennett. Robyn enjoys living in Minneapolis where she spends her time gardening, enjoying the lakes, attending great theatre events, and tending to her “canine children” Alex and Buddy.
Bill Russell ’85 (mktg) is senior vice president of retail banking for the Stte Bank of Fargo.  Bill and his wife, Roberta, live in Fargo, ND.
Raymona Abouzeid ’86 (indiv major) recently published a book Peace-ing Together One Family. In her efforts to promote a more peaceful society, Raymona was inspired to write an educational program that incorporates peace solving strategies into a child’s everyday life. The book can be viewed at www.iuniverse.com.
Mike Kennedy ’86 (bus adm) lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with his wife Rita, and their 3 children. He is an elevator operator for Busch Agricultural Resources.
Diane Grieve Bower ’86 (hotel/motel/rest mgt) is sales/district manager for First American Home Protection. She lives in Rowlett, TX, with her twins.
Mary Schmidtbauer ’86 (mass comm/Eng) works as loan unit manager for the University of Minnesota financial aid. She recently hired another MSUM grad to work for her. Mary lives in Little Canada, MN, and is busy planning her October wedding.
Jon ’86 (phy ed) and Lisa Smith ’90 (elem ed) Dreyer live in Montevideo, MN, with their three children. They both teach and coach for the Montevideo Public Schools and enjoy spending summers on East Battle Lake.
Kevin Nelson ’86 (acctg) has passed the certification for CMA and CFM through the Institute of management Accountants and is employed as an audit manager in charge of international accounts. Kevin and his wife, Jeannette, live in Fort Wayne, IN.
Steve Bergeson ’87 (art/pol sci) has been hired to be the principal for Minneota High School. Steve lives in Canby, MN, with his wife, Nancy, and their children.
Marc Hanson ’87 (internat’l bus) lives in Fargo, ND, with his wife, Valerie and their daughter. Marc is an independent sales associate with AFLAC-quack! quack!
Timothy VanZee’87 (fin) lives in Denver, CO, with his wife Susan, and their three children. Tim works in sales for Allstate.
Joe ’87 (biol) and Beth ’88 (soc st) Simmert live Grand Blanc, MI, with their three children. Joe is a pediatrician.
Carolyn Peterson Bartuska ’87 (mktg) is co-owner of North Star Packaging, a packaging supply firm that custom manufactures bags for everything from bird food to cement. Carolyn and her husband, Jack, live in Forest River, ND.
Barbara Ratchenski Moon ’87 (acctg) is a self-employed consultant. She lives in Eagan, MN, with her husband, Steve and three children.
Elizabeth Fortune ’87 (bus admin/indiv major) lives in Tucson, AZ, where in 2000 she opened Saguaro Springs, an inpatient treatment residence for eating disorders.
Amy Kaatz Walquist ’87 (sp/lang/hear) is an at-home Mom with two active preschoolers. She started her own home business, Country Peddlers Company of America. Amy lives in Big Lake, MN, with her husband, Scott, and their family.
Tracee Buethner ’87 (acct) is employed by Widmer Roel & Co. in Fargo, where she lives, as audit manager to provide audit, accounting and business development services.
Mark Emmert ’87 (mass comm/hist) is assistant managing editor for sports and editing at the Duluth News Tribune. Mark lived in Indiana for seven years, and says he is glad to be back in Minnesota. Mark and his wife, Jana, and their son live in Duluth.
Bruce Kammen ’87 (crim just) lives in Hastings, MN, where he is a detective for the Dakota County Sheriff’s Dept.
Jean Walker ’87 (math) is a technology coordinator for the St. Paul Public Schools. She lives in Eagan, MN.
Joe ’87 (fin) and Kim ’85 (legal asst) Bauman live in Rochester, MN, with their three children. Joe is a sales rep for Forest Pharmaceuticals and Kim works as a paralegal at Dunlap & Seeger, PA.
Scott Anderson ’88 (bus admin) is an account manager for Stanley-Bostitch Fasteners, covering MN, ND, SD and WI. Scott and his wife, Lesly, and their children live in Fargo, ND.
Lynn Smith ’88 (fin) lives in Wheaton, IL, with her husband, Raynie. Lynn works for Wireless Facilities, Inc. as acting-director of site acquisition for 11 states.
Janet Anderson ’88 (indiv major) is an administrator at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. She recently married Dr. Michael Reagan and they plan to settle down for a while in the St. Cloud area.
Joyce Kakac ’88 (nursing) took early retirement so that she would have time to accomplish some of her dreams and goals. She lives in Barrett, MN, where she continues to work part-time as a registered nurse.
Alan ’88 (mgt) and Lisa Boe ’90 (acctg) Anderson live in Ottwa, IL, with their three sons. Alan is a minister for Faith Lutheran Church and Lisa is a homemaker and busy Mom.
Lauren Falkner ’88 (mass com) is director of community relations for the YWCA in Fargo, ND, where she lives with her husband, Mike.
Theresa Sharp Lee ’88 (acctg) works in payroll accounting for OtterTail Power Company. She lives in Fergus Falls, MN, with her husband, Timothy, and their two children.
Gregory ’89 (lib arts/math) and Deirdre ’92 (lib arts) live in New Britain, CT, with their two children. After working as an engineer for eight years, Greg changed carreers and is now a middle school math teacher. Deirdre teaches elementary school.
Jill Trites ’89 (indiv major) received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Continuing Ed. at the U. of Minn. for her work teaching first year writing courses to inner city residents and for her work teaching reading, writing and public speaking courses to refugees and immigrants. Jill lives in St. Paul, MN. She sends a warm greeting to all the check-writers who showed her two forms of ID while she worked at the MSUM bookstore in the late 1980’s.
Tamara Freih ’89 (elem ed) is project/bilingual resource teacher for the Lynwood School District. She lives in Lakewood, CA
Vicki Billehus Spielman ’89 (mass comm) is a senior communications consultant at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray.  She lives in Brooklyn Park, MN, with her husband, Pat, and their son.
Dave Ladd ’89 (pol sci) is manager of gov’t relations for AgriBank, which is part of the Farm Cridit System. Dave lives in Brooklyn, Park, MN.
Bradley Noeldner ’89 (mktg) is city manager for the Village of Paw Paw, MI, where he lives with his wife, Renae, and their two children.
Tammy Danielson Deike ’89 (legal asst) is employed by Crest Chemical as a bookkeeper. She and her husband, Harlan, also have an auction service. They live in Wahpeton, ND, with their two boys.
David ’89 (econ/bus adm) and Dorothy ’88 (art) Bialke live in Maple Grove, MN, with their two children. Dave is an attorney with Cousineau McGuire and Anderson, and Dorothy is an art teacher in Minnetonka.
Jackie Rambousek ’89 (legal asst) and Steve ’89 (mgt/mktg) Schuler live in Rochester, MN with their twins. Jackie works at the Rochester Athletic Club and Steve is store manager for Audio King/Ultimate Electronics.
Diane Lynn Hillstad Spaeth 89 (elem ed) and her husband, Bob, operate a bison ranch near Mahnomen, MN, where they live with their four children. Diane teaches math at Mahnomen High School.

1990s
Kimberly Wold ’90 (fin) was promoted to general manager of Media Productions of Fargo, where she lives, and corporate treasurer of Audio Media Corporation.
Debra Miele’90 (MS reading) lives in East Stroudsburg, PA, where she works as a preschool teacher. Debra is vice president if MCAEYC, a county affiliate of the Nat’l Assoc. for the Education of Young Children.
Carol Bergeron ’90 (music) lives in Houston, TX, where she is the assistant manager of sales and advertising for the Houston Symphony.
Nancy Kelley-Gillespie ’91 (soc wk) is working on her PH. D. in social work at the University of Utah. She lives in North Salt Lake, Utah, with her husband, Glen.
Charmin Coulombe ’91 (math) is a CAD technician with DSGW Architects. Charmin lives in Duluth, MN, with her husband, Todd, and their two children.
Diane Tumberg Nelmark ’91 (office adm) works as a human resources assistant for Sato Travel in Ely, MN. Diane and her husband, James, a stay-at-home dad, have two pre-school girls.
Rhett Neuman ’91 (fin) lives in St. Croix Falls, WI, with his two children. Rhett is a financial planner with First Union Securities and enjoys golfing, hiking, biking, skiing, and keeping fit.
Jodi Rominsky Wahlund ’91 (legal asst) is the owner of BathCrest of Delaware Valley.  Jodi and her husband, Andrew, live in Elkton, MD, with their three sons.
Toni Huck ’92 (acct/fin) was named vice president, credit officer at the State Bank of Fargo. Toni, who lives in Fargo, ND, is a CPA with eight years of banking experience.
Carmen Olson ’92 (acct) has received both the CPA and CMA certifications. Carmen and her husband, Cal, live in Greenwood, IN, where she is an accountant.
Timothy Newton ’92 (acct/econ) and his wife, Angela, live in Sioux Falls, SD, where Tim is controller/CFO for Myrl and Roy’s Paving. They have one child and twins on the way!
John ’93 (const mgt) and Lori Toelle ‘93 (soc wk) live in Detroit Lakes, MN, with their children. John works for Aggregate Industries as a project manager and Lori is taking a break from being a school social worker to be an at-home Mom.
Lisa Liebhan Kilenic ’93 (legal asst) is a corporate recruiting consultant for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and also teaches kickboxing. Lisa lives in Waukesha, WI, with her husband, Tom, and their two children.
Trish Schrom ’93 (MBA) is Dean of Occupational & Off Campus Programs at Fergus Falls Community College. Trish and her husband, Mark, live in Moorhead, MN.
Mark Knutson ’93 (bus adm/fin) is finance manager for Tharaldson Lodging.  Mark and his wife, Cassandra, live in Fargo with their two children.
Marlys Vettleson Knutson ’93 (MS) just completed her 22nd year teaching business courses in Warroad High School. Marlys and her husband, Harland, live in Warroad, MN.
Cynthia Miller ’93 (mass com/pol sci) is a book publicist and web content manager at Meadowbrook Press, in the Twin Cities, where she lives. Cynthia says she loves to travel, thanks to Eurospring which got her started.
Denise Woodcock ’93 (elem ed) teaches first grade in Mounds View as one-half of a job-share team. Denise lives in Coon Rapids, MN, with her husband, Mark, and their son.
Matthew Thomason ’93 (fin) has been promoted to assistant vice president and personal banking office by State Bank of Fargo.  Matt and his wife, Jill, live in Moorhead, MN.
Kent Tweten ’93 (bus admin) recently opened Coach’s Sports Pub and Buffet on Moorhead’s Center Ave. in the former Trader and Trapper building.
Paul Geppert ’94 (fin) is a senior installation services rep. for Precision Computer Systems.  Paul and his wife, Jennifer, live in Sioux Falls, SD.
Michelle ’94 Aitchison (phy ed) works for Healthsouth in Grand Forks. Michelle and her husband, Mark, and their children live in East Grand Forks, MN.
Angela Lueck ’94 (mass com) is a reporter for the Houston Community Newspapers in Seabrook, TX.
Robyn Gust ’94 (phy ed) has been selected to be a member of the Sports Medicine staff for the USA Deaf Team when they train and compete in the World Games for the Deaf. She lives in Minot, ND, where she works for Trinity Sports Medicine.
Darren Johnson ’94 (soc st) is a teacher/coach at Fort Frances High School in Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada.
Marni Pietrzak ’94 (mkt) is the Channel Development Manager for BeAtHome, Inc.in Fargo, ND, where she lives. Marni is responsible for the recruitment and management of sales and installation for the western U.S.
Darla Hess Schroeder ’94 (Eng) lives in Langdon, ND, with her husband, James and their two pre-school daughters. Darla finds being a homemaker a very challenging career choice and can’t imagine doing anything else right now.
Jason ’95 (mass com) and Kinberly ’94 (psych) ’97 (MS couns) Schumann live in St. Paul, MN.  Jason is employed by GCI Tunheim public relations firm as an account supervisor.  Kim works for the Univ. of St. Thomas.
Suzanne Correnti ’95 (acct) is a corporate and tax law attorney in Kansas City, MO.
Mike Neunsinger ’95 (fin) is employed by First International Bank and Trust, Fargo, as a trust representative. He specializes in employer sponsored retirement plans and investment management. Mike lives in Nevis, MN.
Lisa Moe ’96 (fin) has joined the Fargo office of Edward Jones as an investment representative.  Lisa and her husband, Brian, live in Fargo, ND.
Jill Wittmer ’95 (elem ed) is director of education ministries at Celebration Lutheran Church.  Jill, her husband Chad, and their daughter live in Sartell, MN.
John Knight ’96 (crim just/pol sci) has joined the Minneapolis law firm of Lindquist & Vennum PLLP as an assiciate attorney practicing in employee benefits and compensation. He received his law degree at the U. of Wisconsin Law School.
Julene (Julie) Carl ’96 (speech lang path) works at Sioux Vocational Services in Sioux Falls, SD, where she and her husband, Gary, live with their twin daughters. Julie would like to hear from other Grier Hall people from 1994-96.  Her e-mail address is jcarl@midco.net.
Joe Benz ’97 (soc wk) is a recruited with border Foods, a franchise of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC.  He lives in St. Paul, MN.
Doug urchill ’97 (fin) was recently promoted to account officer with Community First National Bank in Fargo, where he lives.
Patricia Anderson ’98 (bus admin) is the new director of human resources at Innovis Health in Fargo.  Patricia lives in Hawley with her husband, Clair.
Michelle Halverson ’98 (soc wk) is a social worker for the Arthur Good Samaritan Center. Michelle and her husband, Craig, and their son live in Casselton, ND.
Paul ’99 (mass comm) and Lisa Mounts ‘99 (mass comm) Dekrey recently decided to “tie the knot” and are living in Fargo, ND.  Paul is a web technologist for Fujitsu Softek, a software company based in Sunnyvale, CA.  Lisa is marketing coordinator for the Fargo office of Eide Bailly LLP.
Nicole Ehlert ’99 (bus admin) was promoted to mortgage banker for the American Federal Bank in Fargo.  Nicole lives in Breckenridge, MN.
Stacey Downey ’00 (bus admin) works in the Moorhead office of Wells Fargo Bank as a personal banker.  Stacey lives in Dilworth, MN.

She's replacing Betty Gunderson, who recently became the university's director of alumni relations.

Peterson, a marketing graduate of St. Cloud State University, comes to MSUM from the Minn-Kota chapter of the Red Cross where she was public relations and development director. She has 20 years experience as assistant manager for Dayton's in West Acres and five years as store manager of Kohl's Department Store in Fargo.

She and her husband Greg have three children, two of them enrolled at MSUM, and live in Moorhead.

In her new position, Peterson will supervise the university's annual phonathon, and community and campus campaigns.

* Bolton, who grew up in suburban Los Angeles, came to MSUM in 1979. A specialist in social sciences and English, he holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Stanford University and a doctorate in American studies from Washington State. Before coming to MSUM, he taught high school and community college for 17 years in California. He served as director of the university’s New Center for Multidisciplinary Studies from 1994-96. He and his wife Helen will retire in Moorhead.
* Charon, a Minneapolis native, earned an undergraduate and doctoral degree at the University of Minnesota and taught 11 years at St. Paul Harding High School and one year at Highland Park High before joining the faculty at MSUM in 1972. He chaired the sociology department for eight years and during his tenure published four sociology textbooks—three of them currently in their fourth to seventh editions. His fifth textbook, “Social Problems: A Reader With Four Questions,” will be published this year. He was also a university nominee for the Carnegie Professor of the Year award. Charon and his wife Susan will retire in Henderson, Nev., just outside of Las Vegas.
* Farrell, raised in Racine, Wis., earned her undergraduate degrees and doctorate at the University of Wisconsin and began teaching at MSUM in 1986. A specialist in Russian and modern European history, she spent 1992 lecturing at Kiev State University in the Ukraine under a Fulbright grant. She’s also studied and lectured in Poland, Russia and the Republic of Georgia with her husband, an economist at Oregon State University. She will retire at their home outside of Corvallis, Oregon.
* Gullickson, raised in Fargo and a graduate of Shanley High School, earned an English degree at MSUM in 1960 and taught four years at Fargo Central High before joining the faculty at the MSUM Campus School. After earning a master’s degree here, she joined the university English faculty as a specialist in English education and young adult literature. She chaired the university’s Freshmen English committee for nearly two decades. She will retire in Fargo with her husband Warren.
* Offutt, originally from Bayport, Minn., has been teaching at MSUM since 1980 .A reading specialist, she earned her doctorate in teacher education from the University of North Dakota and a master’s degree in learning disabilities and reading from MSUM. She also did post-doctoral studies in the neuropsychology of reading at Oxford University in England. Before coming to MSUM, she was a learning disabilities specialist for four years at Fargo South High, where she established the first high school learning disabilities program in North Dakota. From 1996 to 2000, Offutt also served as director of MSUM’s New Center for Multidisciplinary Studies. She will retire in Moorhead.
* Richman, originally from Miles, Iowa, came to MSUM in 1967 after earning his master’s degree in geography from the Michigan State University and teaching public school one year in Clinton, Iowa. Named Teacher of the Year here in 1972, he was the chair and only faculty member in the university’s geography/geology department between 1982 and 1993. Richman ran for a city council seat in Moorhead in 1970, but lost on a flip of a coin in a tie vote. He went on to serve on the city’s charter commission and the Clay County solid waste management committee. He will retire in Moorhead.

“I got dizzy,” he said. “It’s high blood pressure. I’m here because I don’t have any money or medical insurance."

He and his girlfriend, who had been living in a tent in Oregon, came to Fargo in December on a Greyhound bus.

“We’re just trying to put our lives back together,” he said.

Three chairs down sits a 23-year-old Native American woman from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, on parole for check forgery. “I had to get away from the reservation,” she said. “All people do there is drink.”

She’s living at a halfway house in Fargo and cleaning rooms at the Ramada.

Both were waiting to see a nurse at Homeless Health Services, a walk-in clinic located in the basement of the Fargo Salvation Army building.

“It’s a perfect location,” says Dave Williams, program director for the clinic, one of 135 federally funded homeless health care facilities in the United States “Last year we provided health care to more than 1,100 unduplicated patients here.”

It’s 8:30 a.m. and about 20 people are eating a free breakfast in the Salvation Army kitchen across the hall. A parade of solitary men drift out, some rolling cigarettes, others talking to themselves. A sign in the dining area affirms that “Jesus was Homeless.”

Fifteen years ago, Williams would have felt more comfortable as a patient rather than a director at the clinic. Back then, at the age of 37, he’d spent nearly two decades struggling with drug addiction and life on the streets. His resume included a year in the North Dakota State Penitentiary for possession with attempt to distribute, and a heroin addiction that escalated into a $150-a-day habit.

That’s when he returned to Moorhead from California and was arrested trying to fill his mother’s elapsed prescription for Tylenol with codeine.

“I eventually went back to the pharmacist there and thanked him for calling the police,” Williams said.

After five days in jail, sick and sleepless from drug withdrawal, Williams started to feel better.

“For some reason I realized that if I didn’t deal with my problem then, I’d end up in prison again,” he said.

After 35 days in treatment and three months in a Barnesville halfway house, Williams studied at Moorhead Tech for a year before enrolling in MSUM’s New Center for Multidisciplinary studies, an alternative entry program for students who don’t meet the university’s requirements for admission, but show promise to succeed in college.

Clean ever since, Williams graduated in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in social work and secondary major in criminal justice, and the next year joined the Homeless Health Services as a case manager. Two years ago, he was promoted to program director.

“I realized that just because I ‘cleaned’ up and stopped wreaking havoc on society, I wasn’t owed anything and would have to work for and earn everything I got,” he said.

Because of his resiliency, Williams was selected this year to receive the fifth annual Delmar G. Corrick Spirit and Vision Award. It’s presented annually by the faculty of the New Center to a graduate who exemplifies the spirit of Corrick, who retired in 1997 after 21 years at the university, 16 of them as director of the New Center.

Corrick’s egalitarian vision of higher education and his belief in the potential of the human spirit prompted the New Center to create an award in his honor.

“I was pretty skeptical about the New Center at first,” Williams said. “The stigma is that it’s for dummies. Then I met Dr. Corrick and experienced the family atmosphere they’ve cultivated for New Center students. Today I can’t express enough gratitude about how it changed my life.”

Now Williams is trying to help others change their lives.

“Homelessness doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “It can happen to any of us. Too many people today are just a paycheck away from being out on the streets. The fact is, the homeless population is not only growing, it’s changing.”

The stereotypical hobos and vagabonds of old??like the dancing Mr. Bojangles, Red Skelton’s sentimental Clem Kadiddlehopper or Charlie Chaplin’s comic tramp—are passé.

“More than half of people who are homeless today suffer from drug abuse or mental illness,” Williams said. “And almost 40 percent of them now are women and children.”

Ironically, despite a booming economy, homeless numbers continue to increase, Williams said. Part of the problem is a critical shortage of low-cost housing, an increase in dysfunctional families, the continued deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, and an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse.

Williams said the largest population of the homeless are single men between the ages of 25 and 45, followed in numbers by single women and women with children. In Fargo, about 70 percent are Caucasian and 30 percent Native America, with minimal numbers of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

Homeless Health Services, developed in 1989 with the volunteer help of several area physicians, is now under the administration of Family HealthCare Center of Fargo-Moorhead (which provides health care to the low-incomed and growing refugee population). The homeless clinic itself is supported by an annual federal grant of just over a quarter million dollars along with some local fund-raising projects.

“Thanks to the Salvation Army, we have our walk-in clinic located in their building across the hall from the kitchen where they serves breakfast and lunch to the homeless every day,” Williams said. “It’s a convenient location. And we do a lot of individual case management there.”

Williams also regularly visits the local shelters??the new Life Center, Churches United for the Homeless, the Dorothy Day House and the YWCA shelter for women and children.

He also does some outreach in downtown Fargo to build a rapport with the homeless population. “Maybe I’ll ask them if they need a tube of toothpaste; want their blood pressure or blood sugar tested; if they need a meal. Over the years, and with my experience, I’ve developed an eye for spotting the homeless. They’re not necessarily dirty or in ragged clothes.”

The issue has received lots of local attention since the tragic death of Clovia White Lightening, a homeless woman found dead beneath a bridge in downtown Fargo. And because of a recent survey targeting panhandling as a major impediment to the downtown business climate.

At any given day, Williams said, the homeless population in Fargo-Moorhead hovers at around 500. “The local homeless coalition did a survey and counted 498 spaces for the homeless in local shelters, low-income hotels and transient rooms. That seems about right. But many of them move in and out of town, and in and out of homelessness.”

That explains why the homeless clinic treated 1,100 unduplicated people and totaled 5,000 individual encounters last year.

Williams is part of a local group that recently applied for a half-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to build a shelter for the most chronic of the homeless—a controversial “wet house” that, unlike most shelters, wouldn’t require sobriety as a condition of entrance.

Williams concedes that many of the homeless choose their lifestyle willingly. “But it’s a choice often impaired by addiction. I’ve always been a believer that unconditional abstinence is the only way out of an addiction. While total abstinence remains the ultimate goal, I’ve discovered over time that there are different approaches in getting to that point.”

He admits the “wet house”??a term he dislikes??will be controversial. But he believes in the long run the effort may provide hope for some of the most hopeless cases.

“I enjoy this work because I feel I’m giving something back,” Williams said. “It’s an ethic I picked up in treatment.”

Williams, a 1967 Moorhead High School graduate, was raised near the Concordia campus by middle-class parents. “I had a normal childhood except that I was shy and had some self-esteem problems. I guess I was 16 when I had my first taste of liquor. I knew then I had a friend with that first buzz. The booze allowed me to step away from my insecurities.”

Riding the Sixties counterculture wave, he experimented with marijuana and LSD before he and a couple friends moved to Seattle. “We thought we were cool,” he said. “At least I needed that feeling.”

He gorged drugs in Seattle, married at the age of 20, got divorced three years later, then traveled the country in that same psychedelic circle before settling in San Diego. By that time he’d experimented with nearly every drug available, from Amphetamines to tranquilizers.

But in San Diego he met his match: heroin. “It was the perfect escape,” he said. “Nothing seemed wrong with the world on that drug.” Except that his thirst for the euphoria developed into a $150-a-day habit.

“I owned a carpet dying business then, and I was making good money,” he said. “The problem was I’d do a job, make a couple hundred bucks, then blow it on heroin. It’s surprising how long it took me to realize that I was addicted.”

During his last six months in San Diego, Williams lived in the back of his Chevy Luv pickup, carrying a sleeping bag, blankets and a small dresser with his clothes. “At that point I was kind of near the end of my trip. The struggle reached a point where I couldn’t keep going much longer.”

As a survivor of homelessness and addiction, Williams understands the despair, the hopelessness and the dependencies that haunt street people.

“You never know when someone will make a change in how they live,” he said. “That’s why I’ll never give up on anyone, even though they may have given up on themselves.  I may not be an extremely religious man, but we all could do worse than modeling ourselves on the compassion of Jesus.”