Summer 1966 at 210 North 42 Street. Rapid City.

Summer 1966. Kim was 9. I was 8 My Baptism Year, Kevin was 5,
Janice and Jon were 3 and Jilane was 18 months.

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From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Valley of the Pleasant Grove

Hello Clan,
Our family moved from 38 East Signal Drive to the South Canyon neighborhood of Rapid City in 1965. We rented a home at 210 North 42nd. Street. It was sad leaving Signal Heights but South Canyon opened new opportunities for a young family.

I remember the day this picture was taken. The photographer worked out of his car. He knocked on the door and offer a picture package if mother was interested. She said yes. He brought in his equipment. While he set up we rushed through the house getting into our church clothes. You'll notice I'm wearing something nicer than that last picture of 'anything that buttons or snaps is a go'. I was 8 and either just baptised or about to be.

Now, this may well be one of the only pictures in existence of Jon not acting stupid. It was a miracle and as soon as the flash ignited Mom knew she had a masterpiece. I'm sorry to see the picture has degraded over the years but now it is digitized and protected for ever. In this picture I apologize for Janice. Notice she doesn't know what to do with her hands. Secondly - the tongue. She had an adult tongue in her small head. It was so big she couldn't keep it inside her mouth. It was sticking out all the time. We teased her about it relentlessly. I'm surprise she isn't traumatized about it today.

The six of us were very close. The three boys shared a basement bedroom, so did the three girls. The upstairs had a kitchen, living room, a small master bedroom for mom and dad and another bedroom we called the TV room. That's where we went to watch TV. I remember our favorite shows were Bewitched, Green Acres, The Andy Griffth Show, The Wild Wild West and of course Johnny Quest.

We attended South Canyon Elementary School. Kim's best friend lived across the street. Her name was Pandora. When our chores were finished we'd ride our bikes to a wooded area with watered by a small creek we called Monkey Village. We swung from trees, had forts and general just played and hung out all hours, only going home to eat and bed. We also lived close to the hills and spent hours hiking and exploring. live was different then. Much simpler.

STORY BOOK ISLAND

Jilane at Story Book Island

Here we are a few years later. Jilane is older now. We're at Story Book Island. Remember visiting Story Book Island during the family reunion a couple years ago? We went there a lot as kids for two reasons: 1. It was fun and 2. IT WAS FREE!

Jon at Story Book Island

Jon looks to be about 5 in this picture. Jon was the most loving outgoing kid. He embarrassed me all the time. Where ever we went he'd walk up to total strangers and introduce himself and start a conversation. Never a fear never a worry. He talked and laughed and talked and laughed. Oh, I should add, he did all of that when he wasn't tripping. The kid was a danger to himself. He was always tripping and falling forward - right onto his face. We always used to say how lucky he was to have a pug nose.