Skeptics have challenged Stan's claim that he and his siblings walked to a one-room country school. Photographic evidence is hereby offered. The closeups show Steve and Solveig in one shot and Stan and Linda in another. The photo was taken circa 1957. If you click on it, it enlarges real nice. 
One of our classmates, Lorlee Bartos, is not in the photo. Lorlee is Roman Catholic. Sometimes she attended the Catholic School in town, St. Something. Which may explain a lot of things, but not some things. Lorlee is still a dear friend and corresponds from her home in Dallas where, among other things, she dabbles in the local political scene and has developed somewhat of a reputation as a rabble-rouser. 
As a community organizer (sometimes one-woman community organizer) Lorlee has opinions about real estate development. So it was no surprise when she responded to our publication of the Lake Andrew plan. Her email follows:Stan:
We can never go home again, or we won't recognize it as such. It looks like a nice plan - I just wonder where 10,000 people are going to come from and what it is they will do for jobs.
Ah well. Until about 4 years ago, my mom used to live on the corner there at the Lake Andrew Road -- in the house next to the Gulbranson's house and every time I visited when I was there I would take a walk down towards your old house and was just constantly amazed at the new houses that kept popping up.
Then I drove around Union Lake where we used to go swimming -- the east of our farm. It was a tiny little lake with no houses and now it is totally surrounded.
Guess you can't stop progress, but sometimes one wonders what the definition of progress is.
Lorlee
Lorlee got a look at the photo and sent this note:
I recognize most of the kids in the photo -- how nice and nostalgic. Yes, that would have been the year that the Bartos family went to school in town at St. Mary's under pressure from the local parish priest. Don't know if it was the reason I am a lapsed Catholic or not or if it explains anything. Also don't know if it was a better education than the one room where you could soak up all of the lessons going on -- even if you weren't sitting up at the front table.
Somewhere I have the photo from the year before when you and I would have been in 4th grade and when I think we had the 7th and 8th grade back for those few years.
One of these days if I remember where I have it, I will bring it to the office and pdf it to you.
Lorlee
Somewhere I have the photo from the year before when you and I would have been in 4th grade and when I think we had the 7th and 8th grade back for those few years.
One of these days if I remember where I have it, I will bring it to the office and pdf it to you.
Lorlee
Hey Lorlee: Thanks for the note. Now Bev Roers Korkowski has challenged us to name all the names in the big photo. Can you do it? Check this out:
Row one, front to rear. First grader Tom (The Mouse) Wagner, Dick Halstead, Ronald Klimek, Earl Anderson, Gary Halstead, Harvey Hiebel. Row two, Vicki Karrow, Jane Anderson, Merle Trousil, Steve Rolfsrud, Roger Kluver, Alan Chan. Row three, Maynard Keller, Rodney Hiebel, Donovan Williams, Solveig Rolfsrud (got it, ei-ei-o). Row four, Stan Rolfsrud, Darrell Williams, Carol Navratil, Mary Kluver, Marlow Kluver. Row five, Tom Navratil, Rodney Karrow, Maynard Keller, Doris Kluver. Row Six, Roland Trousil, Linda Rolfsrud, Warren Trousil, Wesley Hiebel (eighth grader).
Teacher is the late Mercy Lovelace Peterson, or -- may the Lord forgive us our evil and may the dear woman rest in peace --, "old Mercy Pester-snot."
