Some history...trips down memory lane

Coach Julius "Evy" Evenson is shown working as an umpire in a JV-level fastpitch game in April between the Jaguars and Holdingford. Fun fact: the site of the game, played on the fastpitch diamond at the elementary school, is where Evy played high school baseball for the Brooten Buccaneers in the early 1960s.

I saw this and countless other types of historical information in the Belgrade Centennial book...the first football game held at the current location of the high school football field was on Friday, September 9, 1983. That night the Belgrade Redmen beat Eden Valley-Watkins 14-0. Gregg Weller, father of a handful of past and current B-B-E Jaguar athletes, was a co-captain of that 1983 team that ended up as Prairie Lakes Champions for the second year in a row.

I also found this interesting. During the 1985-1986 school year, the Belgrade school district added "Elrosa" to the official school name. From 1985 to 1988, the school district and the athletic teams were promoted under the name "Belgrade-Elrosa" before the athletic pairing with Brooten in the summer of 1988.

Total enrollment for the Belgrade(Elrosa) district peaked in 1969-1970, when the K-12 enrollment was 864. The total B-B-E K-12 enrollment slipped below that figure somewhere around 1999-2000.

A high school wrestling program was added to the Belgrade school in 1965-66. It was added in Brooten in 1970.

Keith Clementson, who I remember as my physics teacher at B-B-E in the 1990s, first started teaching in the Belgrade school district in 1967. He retired around 1999/2000 but still substitute teaches at area schools. I ran into him at the high school last week and enjoyed some fun conversation with him.

Dorothy Anderson, who was my junior high English teacher at B-B-E and who I give a ton of credit for teaching me proper grammar and how to write, first started teaching in Belgrade in 1968.

Julius Evenson, who most recently coached 8th grade football for B-B-E last fall and 7th grade boys' basketball this past winter, first started teaching (Phy. Ed.) in Belgrade in 1973. "Evy" as we know him was a Brooten Buccaneer athlete in the early 1960s. He has coached numerous sports through the years, too many to mention, and coached two West Lake Conference champion baseball teams for the Belgrade Redmen during his head baseball coaching tenure between 1974 and 1985. Coach Evenson's 1984 baseball team lost in the Prairie Conference championship game 7-6 in an extra inning to Grey Eagle.

Also starting at Belgrade in 1973 was Robert C. (Bobby) Cassidy, who taught social studies and served as head girls' basketball coach from 1974 through 1992 with the Redmen and then B-B-E Jaguars programs. A truly remarkable coach, he guided numerous conference and district champion teams in his tenure.

Coach Chuck Marks started teaching at Belgrade in 1977 and served as head wrestling coach for many years after he came to Belgrade through his coaching retirement in 2001. His first year as Redmen head coach was 1980-81 after he took over the program from Industrial Arts teacher Ed Arneson (my shop teacher). Coach Arneson was head coach of the Belgrade wrestling team from 1973-1980. Also starting at Belgrade in 1977 was now-retired counselor (and coach) Bruce Wing. Starting at Belgrade in 1978 was current high school math teacher Scott Gibson, who was also my high school math teacher. My junior high reading teacher Ann Cassidy started teaching in Belgrade in 1979.

Phil Olson, who retired from teaching instrumental band in 1983 at Belgrade schools when Jim DeRose took over the program, started teaching in Belgrade in 1949. At that time, not a single student in Belgrade could play an instrument, as band was put on the "back burner" in 1942 as a result of World War II when a suitable band director couldn't be found. Olson is a current local columnist and historian.

Coach Dennis Weimerskirch started teaching and coaching in Belgrade (his alma mater) in 1962. As head coach for both the Belgrade-Elrosa Redmen and B-B-E Jaguars, his teams won 83 games from 1978 to 1988 in 11 seasons with a win/loss mark of 83-26 including numerous West Lake and Prairie Lakes Conference championships, including the final season in 1988 as the B-B-E Jaguars. To those who know him, the man we affectionately call "Weimer", his 1982 and 1984 teams had undefeated regular seasons. He retired from coaching after the 1988 season and from teaching in 1997. Starting with the 1982 seasons, Weimer's Redmen teams won 17 Prairie Lakes Conference games in a row until the 1985 season, when Belgrade-Elrosa lost to conference arch-rival Osakis/Villard. His 1980, 1982 and 1983 teams competed at the state level of competition. Just one of Weimer's 11 teams finished with a sub-.500 record (1987, 3-5).

Here's Weimer's season records as head coach:
8-2    1978
8-1    1979
8-2    1980 lost to Holdingford in state playoff opener
5-3    1981
12-1    1982 Class "C" state runners-up
9-2    1983 lost in state semifinals
10-1   1984 lost in Region VI championship
7-3    1985
5-4    1986
3-5    1987
8-2    1988 (first year of the B-B-E Jaguars)

P.S. - the photo I posted below, asking if viewers recognize the building...is a photo of the Brooten High School around 1912 after a large brick addition was added.