Table of Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE: One of the very few things I learned while studying Journalism at the University of Minnesota-Duluth was to minimize the number of quotes in a story. I’m intentionally violating that principle in this story. Why? Women/girls didn’t have much of a voice in the era of this story. This was their chance to tell their story…and I let them do just that.
Dedicated to the women who never had the opportunity to participate.
100 Years Ago: Two Harbors, Minnesota - August 26, 1920
Sixteen-year-old, Bernice Holm walked into the Rock City General Supply store and tapped her father on the shoulder.
“Hi dad, the girls and I are ready for that big rematch this weekend. Do you think you could take the day off to go with us?
‘Sure, Bernie, we are running low on some supplies, so I was planning to go to Duluth anyway.”
“That’s great, Dad. Is it OK for me to use the telephone?”
“Sure, Bernie, but make it quick. I don’t want you disrupting all the customers again—and remember it’s a party line so everyone else in town might hear what you’re saying.”
“Don’t worry, Dad–I’m not calling my boyfriend this time. I’ll be quick.”
“Hello, Operator, I’d like to make a call to Lena in Proctor.”
“Which Lena in Proctor?”
“Oh no. Well, I think her last name ended with “son”—like Swenson.”
“Well, in Proctor, we don’t have a Lena Swenson, but we have a Lena Anderson…and a Carlson, and an Ericksson, a Lena Gustafsson, a Hanson, a Johnson, there’s a Lena Larson, or a Nelson if you’d like, a Nilson, an Olson, a Peterson, Torgerson…”
“That’s it! It’s Lena Torgerson. Please connect me.”
“Hi Lena, it’s Bernice Holm up in Two Harbors. We are ready for the rematch. How about Saturday at noon at your place?”
“Sure, Bernice. You think you’ll be ready for us this time?”
“You just wait and see Lena. Just wait and see.”
“OK Bernie, looking forward to seeing you and the girls. Should we plan on refreshments just like last time up in Two Harbors?”
“Most certainly, Lena. See you on Saturday.”
On that same day, unbeknownst to Bernie or Lena, Tennessee became the 36th state to decide that the following twenty-nine words were worthy of a Constitutional amendment.
“The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Women finally had the right to vote.
At 10:00 am on Saturday, Gus Holm stood outside the train depot in Two Harbors. A quiet, foggy morning was about to be awakened as the sound of a train whistle signaled the beginning of a basketball adventure. Bernice tightly squeezed her father’s hand as the 3-Spot locomotive labored to a stop in front of the depot.
“How many train rides is this for you, Bernie?”
“This is my 4th dad and it’s just as exciting as the first. Look, there’s Gerda Nelson—she’s got our basketball.”
“Good morning Bernie, good morning Mr. Holm, I brought the ball, I get the window seat,” said Gerda.
“OK Gerda, but it’s mine on the trip home,” replied Bernice.
Soon, Ruth, Bessie, Esther, Amanda, and Edna arrived—each with a parent in tow, then boarded the passenger car for the trip to Duluth. As the steam engine roared to life, the girls from Team Two Harbors couldn’t contain their excitement.
“Can you believe we are taking a train trip just to go play basketball?” said Edna.
“Hey look, some boys are out there holding a sign,” said Bessie. “It’s the boy’s basketball team!”
All the girls rushed to the windows on the Agate Bay side of the train.
“What does it say, Bessie?”
“Beat Proctor…it says Beat Proctor!”
“How about that, girls? How about that?” said Bessie.
Gus had to care for business in Duluth while the other parents chaperoned the team in Proctor. Hours later, Gus was waiting for Bernice at the train depot in Duluth. The girls had taken the short train ride from Proctor to Duluth to pick up more passengers.
“How did the game go?”
“It was so much fun, Dad. Proctor won the first game 15-9. But we won the second game 15-12. So we decided to play one more game and beat them 15-14. When it was over, we shared our pasties from the Lutheran church and they provided apple, strawberry, and blueberry pies for dessert.”
“Nice group of girls?”
“Well, during the game, I wanted to shove one of them to the ground—she just wouldn’t stop yapping. But afterward, they were all very nice. And that girl I didn’t like makes the best cookies I’ve ever had. Did you get all your supplies for the store?”
“Sure did–already loaded on the train. Speaking of which, we better climb aboard. This is the last train back to Two Harbors today.”
This story is pure fiction. Right?
Not so fast.
In her book “Daughters of the Game,” Dorothy McIntyre, cited the following passage from “The Agate,” the 1920 Two Harbors yearbook:
“Practice was found all the more difficult because in previous years we had all been used to playing boys’ rules, and because we wished to take part in interscholastic contests we found it necessary to change to girls’ rules. Imagine our disappointment when we learned that instead of playing and traveling all over the court we had to stay in our little division or court as it is called. Of course, we all rebelled at first, but our desire to play outside teams won out and so we buckled down to learn girls’ rules; that is, we tried to.
The first game with Proctor started at last, and although the ‘outside’ umpire called only 18 fouls on us for over-guarding, it ended in our favor. Later, we were rather indirectly informed that we played boys’ rules instead of girls’. Of course, this was a thorn in our side so we began immediately to reform.”
Yes, 1920.
Four years later, the high school boys team would win the state championship. Perhaps they were inspired by the success of the girls?
Their trip to Proctor was about more than basketball. It was evident that women had been staking their claim. Men had been competing in the Olympics since the Flintstones era. Women first participated in the Olympics in Paris in1900. They’d broken the barrier in tennis, golf, sailing, croquet, and equestrian events. Women’s basketball wouldn’t debut until 1974, but the girls of Two Harbors were go-getters. They were playing James Naismith’s newly invented sport a half-century earlier. Seems fitting that a relative of Naismith–Vina Naismith, would settle in Two Harbors to teach shorthand at THHS in the 1950s.
1920 seems more fun than 2020.
A Man's Town
Women played an essential role in the early days of Two Harbors. But they probably weren’t playing much. Logging. Railroads. Fishing. Mining. Shipping. Whiskey Row. Dirt floor log cabins. Horrendous winters. That was the north shore of Lake Superior in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mental imagery doesn’t exactly exude a vibe of permissiveness for women to ascend beyond traditional gender roles.
The town’s claim to fame was a burgeoning company founded in 1902 named “Minnesota, Mining and Manufacturing.” The name conjures images of a hard city. Cold Minnesota. Rugged, dangerous mining. Smoke-stacked manufacturing.
Years later, our town’s rugged heritage was condensed to two characters—3M. The conjured imagery? Sticky notes.
Two Harbors would change. Minnesota would change. The country would change.
The heroic efforts of the women of the late 1800s and early 20th century in Lake County were predominantly undocumented. We’ve lost those names and stories, possibly forever. A simple truth through the ages has been that the victors write history. In many ways, women were not in positions of power. Women weren’t writing the stories.
1884 – The first shipment of iron ore arrives in Two Harbors from Sudan
1886 – The railroad was extended from Two Harbors to Duluth
1888 – The village of Two Harbors was organized
1900 – Telephone service begins in Two Harbors
1907 – Two Harbors is incorporated as a city
1925 – US Hwy 61 between Duluth and Two Harbors was built
1928 – US Hwy 61 was paved
1964 – Civil Rights Act was passed
* Credit: “Two Harbors 100 Years”
Exclusion and Seclusion
Women’s participation in sports now had an upward trajectory. Unfortunately, it almost immediately flattened. News at home and abroad impeded progress. The Great Depression of the 30s, followed by World War II in the 40s, forced a nation to deviate from its previous course. Without those events, perhaps girls’ participation in high school sports would have happened decades sooner.
But there was another obstacle.
American society.
Women joined the workforce in unprecedented numbers as men were off to war. They proved their restrictive gender roles were arbitrary. Yet, America was in no hurry to mobilize support for girls to participate in sanctioned high school sports. Paradigms were slow to shift, but America wasn’t devoid of progress.
Babe Didrickson Zaharias won two gold medals and a silver in the 1932 Olympics and was a multisport star into the 1950s in several sports, primarily golf.
One story that gained notoriety was the “All American Girls Professional Baseball League” which operated from 1942-54. Popularized by the movie “A League of Their Own,” the league undoubtedly inspired women who believed they had a rightful place on the playing field—not just in the bleachers.
Minnesota even had a team in the league—the Minneapolis Millerettes played at Nicollet Park in Minneapolis in 1944.
That state to the south—Iowa, was a progress leader. Unlike Minnesota, traction in Iowa greatly accelerated after WWII, then their state girls’ basketball tournament was televised in 1951 with coverage in nine states. Examples beyond Iowa are tough to find.
Television provided impetus. The first Olympic Games to be televised in the United States were the Winter Games in Squaw Valley in 1960. Coverage of women’s downhill skiing and figure skating were included.
A greater impetus burst onto the scene in late August in Rome. Wilma Rudolph—born on June 23, 1940 in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee, overcame scarlet fever, pneumonia, and polio during her childhood yet became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics.
America loves a winner. Rudolph was just that. But Wilma’s accomplishments and life are one of the most underrated, under-reported stories of 20th-century athletics. You don’t have to look far to understand why. Our culture placed two strikes against her—black and female. Today, she’d be a household name—and very wealthy. Her limited fame in that era couldn’t elevate her from a challenging post-Olympics life.
Discrimination based on race and gender were outlawed by The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yet, the 1965 issue of the Two Harbors High School Yearbook would not contain a single picture of girls participating in competitive sports.
Women weren’t defeated by any means. In a sporting sense, they competed. Their progress wasn’t tracked on a scoreboard or with a stopwatch. It was recorded by a measure of respect—an allotment of new acceptance as they moved beyond stereotypes. Wise men surely knew this was right. Insecure men inevitably resisted. Perhaps it was men with wives, daughters, or sisters who helped invoke change.
We might never know for sure.
1956 – Girls’ basketball in Iowa
Wilma Rudolph – 1960 Olympics
The Outlet - Girl’s Athletic Association (GAA)
The daughters of Bernice, Gerda, and the rest of “1920 Team Two Harbors” weren’t likely to abandon the basketball courts during their teenage years just because the high school didn’t give them a jersey with their name and number on the back.
Based on THHS Yearbook pictures as far back as 1955, the Girls Athletic Association—better known as GAA, provided a recreational outlet for girls. The 1965 Yearbook had this caption:
“Action, excitement, and adventure are the key words to GAA activities. The girls participate in such exciting sports as volleyball, basketball, and speedball, learning the value of sportsmanship and team play. Overnight camping trips, hikes, and cookouts are preparations for the summer canoe trips anxiously awaited each year. Initiation, under the gleeful guidance of the sophomores, subjected new members to hilarious fun before they became full members of the organization.”
- In Their Words -
CLARINE NORTHEY
“We also had GAA in Chisholm during my high school years—it had been going on for quite some time. We had a group of girls who would play basketball together—often just for fun—sometimes during gym class. We were only allowed to play half-court basketball. That was frustrating. I always felt like “we can run like the boys; why are you telling me that we can’t run full court?” We enjoyed playing kickball and touch football during gym class, but we’d occasionally organize some games ourselves.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“GAA in Proctor was mostly about team sports. We did have an impressive tennis team too, although I didn’t play. I was able to play girls softball in the summers. I participated in GAA in school–these experiences whetted my appetite for girls to be able to participate in sports by majoring in physical education in college.
We also played badminton. GAA went away in the mid-’70s as girls now had a track team, swim team, volleyball, and basketball teams.”
JOYCE ERNO KORPI
“We played a lot of sports in GAA—volleyball was a big one. Teams from Silver Bay and Duluth occasionally came to town on a Saturday. We would have bake sales to earn money so we could host them in our tournaments. Most of the time, we’d just play amongst ourselves—it was good exercise.
Swimming was somewhat competitive, but the other sports were just for fun. I kept playing volleyball and softball after graduation. It definitely would have been fun to participate in varsity sports.
I grew up swimming, so Aqua Maids was a lot of fun for me. It was fun to see so many people attend our annual shows.”
MARY MAHADY SPANG – CLASS OF ’72
“I graduated in 1972. This was two years before Title IX was implemented in Two Harbors, so we had some sports getting organized but it was nothing like what is available nowadays.
Synchronized swimming was big but not competitive. We did have a girls swim team that competed with a few other schools. Pat McKenzie organized things. I was fortunate to live across the street from Chuck Halstead. He was successful as the coach for the boys for many years and he would take his daughter Sandie and me to the pool and provide additional coaching on how to do strokes. I participated until high school but then had to choose between swimming and a job my senior year. The job won out as I knew I needed to save money for college.
My passion was actually track. At that time, we ran in yards not meters, so it is hard to compare our performances with those of student-athletes today. My mentor for track was Dean Gelineau, an older sibling of my classmate Mary Gelineau Sjodin.
Dean was among the top competitors in the state in hurdles and long jump. He is the one who taught me how to do the long jump and how to do starts for sprints. We were able to practice on the track at times when the boys were not using it. Pat McKenzie did arrange for us to compete with other schools and transported us.
Years after my high school graduation, my husband and I sold a home in rural Eveleth, and the wife of the couple who purchased it was a high school track athlete. She was the winner of the 220-yard race in the first Minnesota Girls High School State meet. I remember that my best time was better than hers. To this day, I enjoy watching track and follow distances in the long jump feeling satisfied that with less sophisticated coaching and training than today, I was able to have jumps that would still be competitive.
Linda Hoffman was a new, young teacher in Two Harbors. She was our cheerleading advisor, and I believe she was integral in getting gymnastics started that year. Honestly, I do not remember a lot of talk about changes coming for girls in sports, but I do remember feeling shortchanged with regards to opportunities. At that time, we still had segregated gym classes. While the boys played speedball and basketball, the girls square danced with each other and spent days learning to bowl with imaginary bowling balls. Our basketball was Iowa rules–six on a team, no crossing the centerline, only dribble three times–basically not much fun. And we played a lot of badminton. We did all these activities while wearing one-piece blue snap front gym suits that we referred to as monkey suits. In retrospect, we were not allowed nearly the level of physical activity that the boys were. As I think about it now, I cannot help but wonder if that was because it was not ladylike to be good at athletic things. I do remember my dad telling me that I needed to be careful because if I ran faster than the boys, they would not want to date me. Fortunately, those attitudes have changed and girls today are blessed with more options and opportunities in sports than I could have imagined back in 1972.
It was fun to think back about it and reminisce a bit. I suspect if there had official girls’ sports teams when I was in high school, my class would have been outstanding competitors as there were many talented athletes among us.”
MARY GELINEAU SJODIN
“I played softball in 6th grade, and in grades 7-12. I also played competitive traveling softball.
I was self-motivated to play sports. I never liked tea parties or dolls, which my two sisters did, so I played with my older brothers. Back then, I was considered a “tomboy.” Athletics came easy to me. I was waterskiing at age 5. I did have to overcome my nerves in speed swimming. I would get an adrenaline blast and frequently had false starts off the block.
My most memorable moments were running track. I broke the school record in the 50-yard dash. The male coaches didn’t believe a girl could run that fast, so Miss McKenzie challenged their comment and made me run against the fastest boy. I was embarrassed, but I prevailed and beat him.
Sports impacted my adult years. I coached girls’ softball and high school girls’ track. It was difficult switching to meters instead of yards.
My two coaches were Miss McKenzie and Linda Hoffman and I liked them both. One of my funniest memories was Linda Hoffmann, at the time was a new teacher, and we were just starting a gymnastics program. I was her guinea pig. She had a book on different stunts, and she knew I was fearless, so she would read what I was supposed to do, and I would attempt the stunt. I have to admit I had a lot of sprained ankles. There was another incident where I broke one of the uneven parallel bars doing a leg drop from the top bar to the lower bar.
My most frustrating times were playing GAA. Most of the girls were not into athletics, so the competition was not there. The activities in GAA also bored me to death.
Oh, and yes, I tried to continue some sports activities. I am an avid golfer and have biked across Minnesota many times.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“Mary Gelineau Sjodin was a hell of a competitor!”
WENDY RUBERG
“I was influenced by participating in different activities in gym class back in grade school with Mr. Keeler. I enjoyed anything competitive.
I was very frustrated in high school that girls didn’t have the same opportunities as the boys did to play sports. I remember going to my guidance counselor and asking him why the boys had so many sports, and we only had GAA and synchronized swimming. I also asked Pat McKenzie about it, and neither of them could give me a good answer. I think the first time I asked, they said there wasn’t enough money.
I did love GAA, though. Pat McKenzie did a wonderful job coaching us in volleyball and basketball so we could attend a couple of tournaments, which were the highlights of my year. Of course, we never had any spectators or anything. I also went on a canoe trip with Pat up in the Boundary Waters, which was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been to. I always regretted that I hadn’t gone on more trips with her. She was definitely a role model for me, and I was able to tell her how much I appreciated what she taught me. I shared with her how much I still loved volleyball at that time. She’d probably be surprised that I still play on a Community Ed team today.”
Leading the Cheers
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“How did you become a cool kid – a cool girl? You became a cheerleader. I wanted to be cool, like Brenda Quigley! I wanted to lead the school in supporting our football and basketball teams. Again, we were under Mrs. Hoffman’s direction. Cheerleading wasn’t just about cheering at a game. We practiced, sometimes twice a day. We made signs—not the kind made today but big, long signs painted by hand.
We had to do fundraisers to pay for our uniforms—we earned enough to pay for the sweaters and shoes. We, or someone else, had to sew our culottes to wear with our sweaters. Imagine telling a cheer squad today that they would have to do that—LOL. We also sewed pants to wear as part of our uniform. We led pep rallies and kangaroo courts. We had to be loud, proud and involved. Rain or snow at a football game, we still had to be out there with the team. We had more strained/pulled muscles and hoarse voices than the majority of students. We also had the opportunity to meet boys from other towns—which Coach Hoffman did not like, or maybe she didn’t know.
Cheerleading was one of the best things I remember from high school and attribute it to bringing me out of some of my shyness. I liked it so much, had been coached to a higher level of cheering that I continued to cheer in college. Marcy Neil, Genie Ahearn and I were football and basketball “B” squad cheerleaders in 1972-73. At tryouts that spring, we were the first 9-10th graders to make varsity cheerleading. Some upperclassmen were not happy with that. We paved the way for those that followed us to also make the teams. When I entered college in 1976, I tried out for the Moorhead State Dragons cheerleading squad. I was the firstt freshman to make the varsity squad. I attribute that to the training and hard work we were challenged with as a THHS cheerleader.
The most challenging day as a THHS cheerleader was the game where we switched places with the hockey cheerleaders. They cheered at a basketball game, and we cheered at a hockey game. The transition from skates to a floor is a little easier than floor to doing jumps and sometimes just moving on skates.
I did find out at the playoff game between THHS and Hibbing where it was the showdown of Jim McDonald and Kevin McHale that I was supposed to only cheer and not tell the refs that he also needed to call fouls on McHale. He came over to me, stopped the game, and told me if I wanted to do more than cheering, I needed to be in the crowd. I should have realized then that I wasn’t as shy as I thought.”
JAN SCOTLAND SWANSON
“As a football and basketball cheerleader, I was always proud to be part of the team spirit that strengthened us as the Class of 1969 and the community of Two Harbors.”
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“As a senior hockey cheerleader in 1976, I ordered the uniforms and learned THHS AGATES are the only team with that nickname in the USA. Aggies, yes–AGATES, no.”
The Great Outdoors with Kenz
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Perhaps the most enthusiasm among contributors to this story was offered by those who went on the many canoe and camping trips with Pat “Kenz” McKenzie.
A trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in 2020 is not for the faint of heart. By comparison, traversing the BWCA in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, was particularly arduous before the advent of Gore-Tex rain gear, satellite navigation, modern campsite cooking gear, water purification systems, lightweight waterproof tents and backpacks, Kevlar canoes and carbon fiber paddles.
The lack of modern luxuries didn’t impede one woman’s love of the wilderness.
- In Their Words -
JOYCE ERNO KORPI
“We went on canoe trips many times with Pat McKenzie. My twin sisters, who are three years older than me, also went on several trips, so Pat had been doing this for quite some time. She took my friends and me to Lake One and Lake Two up by Ely. We even took a trip to the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I think most of them were connected with the Girl Scouts. We went to Isle Royal for a week–we took the Winona and Hiawatha across to the island. I remember that there were six or seven of us. We hiked the entire island from end-to-end with 45-pound backpacks. We usually set up and slept in lean-to tents, but sometimes we stayed in cabins with bunk beds. Every night, we’d sit around the campfire telling stories. We had wonderful times. “
JULIE DAHL WISTROM
“Kenz did girls camping trips in the summer on her own time. Started in 7th grade with a bus trip to Gooseberry, and by the time we were Seniors in high school, the adventures progressed to 10 days canoeing in the Boundary Waters. We learned so much from how to portage and paddle a canoe, cook over a campfire, wash dishes in the lake, make kool-aid from dipping in deep clear lake water, and hide our food packs in the trees away from the bears and how to pitch a tent. Our senior year, she said we graduated to going on our own though she picked a route for us. Many of us still enjoy stories from those summers in the boundary waters. She had also taken a group of senior girls on a road trip to Alaska in her station wagon in the late ’60s. This is not competitive sports-related, but Pat greatly influenced women in that transitional age.”
MARY GELINEAU SJODIN
“I did go on every canoe trip with Miss McKenzie. They were amazing trips, and the majority of the participants were speed swimmers. We learned a lot about camping and survival. We were hanging bear bags, cooking on reflector ovens, filtering water and handling canoes.”
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“Although the BWCA canoe trips weren’t sponsored by THHS, they were supported by them and led by Kenz and played a big part in a lot of young girl’s lives from Two Harbors! It also gave us exposure to working with Kenz and, wanting to be on a team she coached. They started when you were in 8th or 9th grade, where you got to go on an overnight camping trip to Gooseberry with her. From there, as you got older, you got to make longer trips or become a chaperone. Throughout my high school years, I looked forward to these trips. There was no glamping, no fresh meat other than the 1st night, you drank fresh, clean water out of the lake, which was so good, and you pitched your tent by throwing the main rope over a sturdy tree limb. On these trips, once we left the canoe rental and supply store, we were removed from civilization. Typically, we did not come into contact with any other human, and we could not associate with them if we did. We had to make sure our days of food remained with us, so we hoisted the food packs up high and away from those nightly scavengers, yes the bears, etc. The other thing, if it was windy and you were on a portion of the BWCA with a “big” lake, you could not use your paddles and tarp to create a sail. You paddled and paddled some more against the winds or with them.
Out trips started when we all met at Kenz’s house, soaped up the pans with Ivory soap, set our menus—to this day, I still like Lipton’s chicken noodle dinner in a bag and Bisquick coffee cake. We’d put together our packs and got ready to take off bright and early the next day. Scorching sun or pouring rain, we had a job to do and ground/water to cover. We persevered each day! Kenz had our routes laid out, portages to look forward to, and good times to be had by all. These trips were challenging!
Challenging brings up a memory of one particular trip. As you got older, you were able to serve as a chaperone for the younger girls besides taking your own trip with Kenz – two canoe trips in one summer—who wouldn’t love that? On this trip, Laurie Hammer, Jeanne Leffring, and I were chosen to go as counselors/experienced “older” girls. The first day was a shortened day, as we didn’t hit the water until 11 am. She started the chaperones out in one canoe and was going to have us separate on the other days to go with the younger girls to direct them in shooting rapids and portaging. Beautiful day, get to the 1st set of rapids. BAM – we go over a sharp rock that cuts a 3-4” X in the bottom of our canoe. As the canoe is filling up with water, we try to get off the rocks where my paddle is now lodged between the canoe and rocks. How do you remedy that? Jeanne jumps out of the canoe and is pushing us off the rocks. While we are trying to get out of our predicament, one of the other canoes with Deb Smoger, Pam Wick and someone else broadsides us. We finally get to the shore, where we are met by a less than happy Kenz. She told us if we can’t fix it, we will have to leave and return home. We repair the canoe and are told, the 3 of us will need to stay in this canoe the entire trip, and we will not be able to shoot any rapids but will need to portage all of them. We headed back out and were told to be careful and not hit any more rocks. We are in the middle of the lake and BAM, there is a big boulder sticking up and we were attracted to it. We get stuck on top of it, are scared to death and again, Jeanne jumps out of the canoe and is pushing us off of it. How no one saw her standing in the middle of the lake is beyond me. The beginning of the trip should have been an omen as to what the trip was going to bring. Excessively hot, horrible sunburns, wood ticks, paddling against a cold wind that was bringing up white caps on the lake that were going over our canoes, seven portages in one day – many of them, we had to make our own trails, sinking in mud up to our knees/butts, but we still loved it and would do it again and again. Pretty sure on that trip, the three of us got yelled at more than the normal due to the start of the trip.
What did these trips teach us? It showed us that Kenz was willing to give up her personal time, her summers to help us have a pleasurable experience, learn how to survive in the wilderness, how to respect our wilderness and natural resources, and how to work together towards a common goal and enjoyment. No doubt, she gave up a lot of her money for us!
Let me mention; there are no porta-potties or latrines in the wilderness. We packed-up and made camp at a different site each night. We even had a contest to see who could make the best toilet. We had to dig; sometimes we made a path and even a cover for where you went to the bathroom. Oh, the memories.”
JANE HOSETH DeLONG
“Pat took us on summer canoe trips. They were the most well-organized trips ever! We would go to her house and package up small bags of food and ingredients for each meal, then pack them precisely in the backpacks for our trips.”
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“It began in 7th grade with an overnight camping trip—just one night. Each year, days were added until Senior year we were in the BWCA for eight days. We’d go so far back, on the Canadian side, we never saw another camper. We used WWII canvas tents and backpacks borrowed from the boy scouts and used maps so old entire lakes had disappeared entirely or had dissolved into bogs. It seemed like every time we returned to Kenz’s station wagon—usually at Sawbill Landing, it had been vandalized in some way with flat tires or a stolen radiator. All any of us cared about was getting a cold bottle of Coke.”
July 4, 1969 - Volleyball Showdown
LAKEVIEW PARK – TWO HARBORS, MINNESOTA
As the Apollo 11 crew made final preparations for their mission to the moon, a northerly breeze filled the makeshift volleyball court at Lakeview Park with the aroma of charcoal and barbecued chicken during the Jaycees’ annual Independence Day cookout.
Two Harbors High School had been on summer break for a month. A dozen boys from the high school football, basketball, and hockey teams—past and present, were engaged in a hotly contested volleyball exhibition.
Between serves, the guys were scanning the sidelines for a girl they hadn’t seen in the unbearable four weeks. Did she make the trip all the way from Clover Valley? Or Knife River? Or Brimson? While women weren’t participating in sanctioned varsity sports, they profoundly influenced every game, meet—or holiday volleyball game.
Guys weren’t just playing a game—they were showing off.
Men are simple that way.
As impressive as they thought they were, they weren’t elevating the game to new heights. While serving, they would hold their ball in one hand and underhand scoop it with the other. You know—the same elementary T-Ball approach to serving that six and seven-year-old boys and girls apply to hitting a baseball. While the ball floated up, then gracefully back down, spectators had plenty of time to contemplate the validity of Isaac Newton’s hunch about gravity.
Just as the sun was lowering in the western sky, a couple of the guys quickly departed. Nancy from Knife River and Betty from Brimson had arrived. New priorities–volleyball wasn’t one of them.
“Who is taking their place?” one of the remaining guys yelled.
Within a split-second, someone rushed forward.
“I will!”
“I” was Mary Gelineau. She pulled her friend Barb onto the court with her.
On the other side of the net stood Tom and Dean. Ironically, they also went by the last name of “Gelineau.”
Dean looked at Tom, “can you believe this?”
Tom, “actually Dean, why would this surprise either one of us?”
Mary’s turn to serve arrived. She stared at Dean. Then, at Tom. Then tossed the ball three feet above her head, leaped almost as high, then windmill-slammed the ball. The ball rocketed over the net then landed between her brothers, both of whom seemed frozen. Witnesses later believed big brother Tom even flinched a bit.
“Ooohs” and “ahhs,” were gasped as the first firework of the day had been fired. Mary had been waiting 15 years to take the spotlight from her brothers.
Mission accomplished.
As she prepared for the next serve, Tom and Dean coached-up each other and their teammates, determined not to let it happen again.
It did.
Barb asked Mary, “Where did you learn how to do that?”
“I’ve been practicing up at the cabin this summer.”
Ah yes—the land of 10,000 lakes. On a summer weekend, didn’t every cabin have a volleyball or badminton net near the shore? Raise your hand if you ever saw a basketball backboard and hoop nailed 10-feet-high on a birch tree. Girls were playing croquet, swimming, and diving off the dock. They were water skiing, fishing, and evading incoming lawn darts just as nimbly as boys.
Then—annually—on the first Tuesday of September, the school bell rang, signaling for boys and girls to get back in their lanes. Competitive sports were for boys, not girls. It wouldn’t be long before “getting back in their lanes” for the girls meant Lane 4 at the track or Lane 3 at the swimming pool.
Title IX - Let the Games Begin
One of the most impactful sporting developments of all time was delivered in 1972.
Title IX.
From: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/title-ix-enacted
“Title IX prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. It begins: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Since the enactment of Title IX, women’s participation in sports has grown exponentially. In high school, the number of girl athletes has increased from 295,000 in 1972 to more than 2.6 million. In college, the number has grown from 30,000 to more than 150,000. Also, Title IX is credited with decreasing the dropout rate of girls from high school and increasing the number of women who pursue higher education and complete college degrees.”
Has there been a more impactful sports story?
The sports site, “Bleacher Report” does. They think there have been 177 more significant sports stories. Title IX is ranked #178 – right behind the moment that shook the sports world—and our country, forever—Lawrence Taylor breaking Joe Theisman’s leg on Monday Night Football. The legislation was also ranked eight spots lower than the renaming of a trophy. They’ve also listed “Introduction of the Blitz Linebacker” at #32, Introduction of the Shotgun Offense” at #114, and “Gatorade” at #91.
Some highlights of their rankings:
191 Jackie Joyner-Kersee Makes History
182 The WNBA begins
178 Title IX
177 Joe Theismann breaks his leg on Monday Night Football
176 Nadia Comaneci Scores 1st Perfect 10 in Olympics History in 1976
174 England Wins the 2003 Rugby World Cup on the Last Kick of the Game
170 Vince Lombardi Trophy Renamed
167 UConn Women’s Basketball Wins 90 Straight Games
165 Janet Jackson’s Wardrobe Malfunction
158 Constant Scores on the Screen
155 Martina Navratilova Wins 74 Consecutive Matches
151 Mike Tyson Bites off Evander Holyfield’s Ear
144 Gertrude Ederle Becomes 1st Woman to Swim English Channel
135 Kerri Strug Sticks the Landing
120 Tebowmania
116 Althea Gibson Follows in Jackie Robinson’s Footsteps
115 USC vs. UCLA: Game of the Century
114 Introduction of the Shotgun Offense
102 Williams Sisters Take over Tennis
91 Gatorade
73 Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan
69 1999 Women’s World Cup Team
54 Monica Seles Stabbing
48 Billie Jean King Wins Battle of the Sexes
40 Herschel Walker Trade Shapes Cowboys
32 Introduction of the Blitz Linebacker
Number 1 – Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
While I’ve never met the editorial board of bleacherreport.com, valid assumptions may be made regarding their judges:
- Male-dominated
- No valedictorians
- They don’t have mothers, daughters, or wives who participated—or were prevented from participating in sports.
Even with Title IX, progress was slow. Competition with boys teams for access to facilities would be contentious. Coaches were inexperienced. The competitive sports culture among high school girls and even college women wasn’t entrenched—this would change. Attendance at boys’ events generally far surpassed girls. Support from families would still sometimes tilt in favor of the boys.
While opportunities flourished for adolescents, high schoolers, and college athletes, women’s professional sports generally still lag well behind in attendance, television coverage, and revenues. A 2009 study found that ESPN’s Sports Center devoted just 1.4% of its air time to women’s athletics—source, ESPN’s “Nine for IX” series, episode named “Branded.”
This would be a marathon, not a sprint. But girls now had life-changing opportunities afforded them for the first time.
Impact of Title IX on Minnesota High School Sports
First State Champions by Sport
The Greatest Stories Never Written
In the decades to follow, yellow school buses—sides emblazoned with “Independent School District No. 381,” would be parked outside high school gymnasiums, swimming pools, hockey rinks, soccer and softball fields across northern Minnesota.
One September day back in the early 70s, the first trip for a Two Harbors Agates varsity girls sports team took place.
What might have been written, published and preserved?
Watching the facial expressions and body language of the swimming team members as each boarded the bus. Observing Pat McKenzie making sure the team was all on board, then settling into the front row—studying her clipboard plans for each event, but not before a deep sigh and a single thought:
“Finally.”
The bus driver closing the door, checking the rear-view mirror to ensure everyone was seated. Transmission into Drive, releasing the break—a slow roll begins towards decades of opportunity and pride.
Riding that bus. Monitoring the mood from the first to last mile. More pensive closer to the venue?
Arrival.
Then, the first girl to climb onto the starting block—her facial expressions—her teammates’ facial expressions. The first to dive into the pool. The first cheers from teammates. The first girl to win an officially sanctioned varsity sporting event.
The ride home—what were the comments?
“That was so much fun!”
“I was so nervous.”
“I can’t wait until next week.”
“We have a biology test tomorrow, and I haven’t studied.”
“Is anyone else hungry?”
Other firsts would follow.
The first time the basketball team walked onto the court. First warmups. First introductions—first opening tip at center court. The first time the scorekeeper put a “2” on the HOME side of the scoreboard at the Two Harbors High School gymnasium.
Gymnastics—that first floor-exercise routine in school history. At that moment, it was the most fabulous routine ever performed at THHS. The first meet win against other high school teams—the first of many— seriously—many.
The first spike of a volleyball followed by the glance at Mom and Dad in the bleachers with a “did you see what I just did?” look on her face. Parents nodding affirmatively with a prideful smile.
The first 100-yard dash—the first high jump. The bar was set. Literally.
Hundreds of future athletes would strive to go higher—go faster—more precision—more courage.
With each of these competitions, someone’s mother watched proudly—at least my girl got the chance to do this. A grandmother—it seemed so far away—now our day arrived. A great grandfather thought of his wife, long since passed—who would often beat him in their competitions. He sat there thinking, “if there is any justice in this life, surely she must be here in spirit too.”
Surely, she was.
- In Their Words -
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“I don’t think we participated in any actual gymnastic meets my first year, but we did the next year. More girls had joined the team, but we all were still relatively new to the sport.
None of us had ever even been to a gymnastics meet, let alone participated in one.
I think our first actual meet was in Carlton that year. None of us knew what to expect, so that was a little stressful, but it went well.”
JAN SCOTLAND SWANSON – Class of ‘69
“I remember neighborhood baseball teams playing at the John A. Johnson school. Whoever showed up could play. Two captains would take turns picking the teams. I remember when my older brother gave me his baseball mitt, but I had to learn how to catch with it. I was so excited when I caught that ball—I couldn’t have been happier if I’d won the lottery.”
My mom provided me with the opportunities to participate in Mrs. Strom’s dance class, brought us to ski at Gib’s Nob in Waldo every weekend, skating, swimming lessons at the old YMCA, and summer recreation baseball.
Thanks to all that practicing with my brother, I was pretty good at catching the ball and was allowed to play on the Senior High Girls Legion traveling team. Even though I didn’t know any of the girls, they were really nice to me. It was also when my mother passed away—a very lonely time for me. I was so afraid if I missed the ball, I would be kicked off the team. Coach John Cornell was very supportive and encouraging. I loved baseball. I’m not sure what I would have done during those years if I hadn’t bee allowed to participate.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“My first two gymnasts before a formal team were Nancy Olsvik Ojard and Kathy Leswick—two of my cheerleaders, started the program. The other girls were products of my elementary gymnastics programs. My program initially began with girls that displayed flexibility. I had the first two girls perform floor exercise routines to music during halftime at the basketball games. The little girls loved it!
Superintendent Bracken, who had a young daughter, approached me about working with the younger girls to get the program going. Connie Halsted too. Her sister Sande coached with me also.
Word got out, and we were asked to perform floor routines at the district and regional basketball games. I asked them if they would be interested in doing a gymnastics floor exercise program. “Yes,” was the answer, and the girls started cartwheeling, flipping, and leaping.
If I took a walk downtown, little girls would stop me and show me their cartwheels—it was amazing and flattering! They were so interested in gymnastics.
We went to state as a region winner in 1986 and returned home with a third-place finish, an individual champion on the bars–Barb Dufresne, plus medals for many of the team members. A true coach’s dream for me.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“From my memory, it took a while for basketball to be recognized. Christy Lind Voltz and Amanda Murphy younger than Stacy Ruberg were the stars that rose. I believe they both played on the volleyball team that went to state.”
LEE WICK
“The girls and boys track teams often traveled to meets on the same bus. One year, the regional meet in Grand Rapids ran long. Both track teams missed the prom. Many of them improvised and went to the Duluth Armory for “Battle of the Bands.”
CONNIE HALSTED LYSCIO
“My first competitive memory was performing at the John A. Johnson at a Gymnastics Expo. This may have been the first year Linda was in the district. Parents along the walls as we paraded in ready to show our skills. Mom somehow located the only leotard she could find that would fit me—undoubtedly, drove to Duluth to pick it up at the sporting goods store, probably CZ Wilsons. I discovered it was “see-through” a bit too late, only as I entered the gym. Coach Hoffman talked us through the demonstration.
My dreams as a little girl were to be an Agate Cheerleader and perform with the Aqua Maids (synchronized swimming). I don’t remember many other offerings. Cheerleading was very competitive back in the ’70s. Solos and duets in aqua maids were sought after. My earliest idols were Brenda Quigley and Tracy Johnson. Cheerleaders and gymnasts. Fast forward to the mid-70s – gymnastics was established, and we were fortunate enough to practice upstairs to the ice arena. Shin splints from running on the tile/concrete floor, slipping, and sticking to the floor was common following a hockey game concession sales that may or may not have been cleaned up very well. Practice times were divided between setting up and tearing down equipment, admiring the hockey players below–this had to make Linda nuts–and creating our routines. Many happy memories. I had to laugh reading about your trips to the State Hockey tournaments and how you entertained yourselves compared to Debbie Kortuem and myself spending nights in hotels for section gymnastics meets doing cartwheels up and up. down the hallways until “lights out.”
I believe the first girls’ varsity letters were awarded around 1974. The ability to order a letter jacket was huge. I remember pushback from us cheerleaders, not wanting the two looks to be confused. Oh, the things we worried about!”
HEIDI GOEDEL PUCHNER
“When I was in 7th grade, coach Linda Hoffman invited both Stephanie Himango and I to join the high school gymnastics team. What an honor and gift to have that experience. It was also a little intimidating. But what I remember most about that time was the acceptance from the “older” girls on the team including: Shelly Newham, Sue Larson, Jenny Kortuem, Amy Olsvik, Sharon and Martha Mealy, Annette Strom, Natalie Hoff, Jody Sletten, and Barb and Brenda Dufresne. Big shout out to all of them!”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“Jono Goedel, Geno’s son and Heidi and Sara’s brother, in my health class in the mid-’80s, remarked, “ do you have any idea how hard it is to have your sister be a much better athlete than yourself?” I still think that comment is pretty cool!”
JOHN GOEDEL
“That’s a true story. My senior year, I was a captain of the track team. Heidi was a freshman and everyone kept wanting us to race. She never beat me but was getting way too close for comfort!”
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“Having graduated in 1976, I feel that the emergence started to happen in 1974. Yes, there was cheerleading, but competitive sports like volleyball, track, and basketball didn’t seem to begin evolving until around 1973 – 74. It was during that timeframe (to my knowledge) where the girls’ teams started traveling to meet/games as the boys’ teams did. Although, we were limited as not many schools had “girls” sports.
I say that 1974 is the first year that the Most Outstanding Female and Male Athletes were recognized at the athletic banquet. I have to say proudly; I was the 1st recipient of that award. We were voted on by the coaches and teachers. This was a turning point in “girls” sports–we were recognized at the same level as boys Receiving that award, left me feeling empowered yet, put a lot of pressure on me for the next and following years.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“My first year here, RL Smith asked me to work at the cross country meet. I had never been to one before, and he said all I had to do was record the time and their name. I thought easy peasy. He neglected to tell me how many runners would vomit once they crossed the finish line—a real wake-up experience for sure That didn’t stop me from attending more meets.”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“Towards the end of the basketball season in 1971, Mrs. Hoffman told Tracey Johnson, Debbie Murphy, and me that she wanted us to do our floor exercise routines at halftime of some of the Two Harbors boy’s basketball tournament games at the Duluth Arena.
(Author’s comment: imagine the pressure!)
I know I was kind of worried that I wasn’t going to be ready with my routine or that it wouldn’t be good enough to do in front of the big crowd surely to be watching. Well, Mrs. Hoffman was having none of that type of talk! She calmly told me that she knew I could do it, that I WOULD do it, and that it would be great. I did do it, and I was so glad I did! It was a very fun, exciting, and rewarding experience. We ended up performing two different nights of the tournaments. That was during the 1971 basketball tournaments—the year Two Harbors advanced to the state tournament. Everyone seemed to be on a “basketball high,” and it was fun for me to have had a tiny part in that exciting tournament time.”
TRACY JOHNSON BERGE
“We watched all the other girls at the gymnastics meet, and their style was so different from ours. They had fast and energetic routines, and music like most do in gymnastics today. We had slow music and graceful movements. Our THHS floor group was categorized as “Novices” (entry-level). I remember taking first place in the Novice category.
Somehow Linda Hoffman got us into the Duluth arena to perform our floor routines at halftime. It was Brenda Quigley, Debbie Murphy and me. I don’t remember what game it was, but it was thrilling.
We were at a swim meet in Eveleth. During the diving portion of the meet, one of the girls from the Eveleth team hit the diving board executing an inverse pike dive. I jumped in and helped her out of the pool. Medical staff were called, and in the end, she was okay. The meet continued. My next dive was the same one she attempted. I made my approach and instead of jumping into the dive, I stopped at the end of the board. They gave me the equivalent of a “Mulligan” due to the accident and I completed the dive.
During free swim, we would practice diving. Many times it was Jerry Kaldor, Dan Peterson, and me (class of 72) together working on new dives, technique, and form.”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“During my years on the gymnastics team, THHS did not have the big 40’ x 40’ mat for the floor exercise. We had an assortment of mats for underneath the various pieces of equipment and for practicing our stunts for the floor exercise. However, we just did our floor exercise routines on the bare floor. It didn’t seem that bad, but I know I always had bruises on my back from doing rolls on the hard floor.
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
I do not quite know when the gymnastics program became competitive, but know by the time I had graduated, it was well on its way to becoming a developed and respected program at THHS. I know there was a team in 1975, just don’t recall a lot about them. I know Jane Hoffman was a star gymnast. Linda Hoffman was always at the helm and worked to get young girls involved. I remember attending Valley of Olympia – gymnastics camp in Brimson, MN starting in 1972. We went for one week, stayed in the cabins, ate at a buffet, and worked out all day long. I believe the cost to attend was $50. I earned my monies by washing my uncle’s car.”
Brenda Quigley Moe was instrumental in the gymnastics program and served as a role model, as well as helped mentor/coach us younger girls. She was one that was admired by many as she was not only a gymnast but a cheerleader. We were in awe when Mrs. Hoffman would take Brenda to UMD, and she would do a floor routine at halftime of one of the Bulldog basketball games. Marcy Neil and I were given that opportunity to perform during one of those games as well. Needless to say, that left us feeling empowerment as a THHS gymnast.”
Our practice gym was upstairs of the arena. We would pull out the equipment with the help of Bill Brakken and Steve Kirsch (they also helped with spotting). Shared our area with the hockey players and “The Place.” We didn’t have a fancy gym to hold meets or practice. Our meets were pretty much traveling to Grand Marais and Silver Bay. Again, at that time, not a lot of schools had competitive gymnastics programs.”
DEBBIE WILLIAMS ALM
“During my four years in volleyball, I think we had a perfect record. Zero wins.
We had three different coaches in four years. Our senior year, there wasn’t going to be a volleyball team because there was no one willing to coach. So a few of us seniors hit the teacher’s lounge in late summer and begged. Mr. Oskelewski was brand new, so he reluctantly agreed even though he knew nothing about volleyball.”
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“To be a part of the THHS swim team was an honor. Other teams respected us, we worked hard and achieved many accomplishments; we had one of the best and most respected coaches around – Kenz! We also had the support and opportunity to work with the great Oz – Ozzie Hatlestad. Lap after lap, cold water, pool being closed for half the season…it all built character and a work ethic in us. That work ethic was supported by a coach that was committed to us not just as swimmers but individuals and young women! She put in more steps walking up and down the pool deck, day after day coaching and pushing us than can be imagined. We all loved being at a meet. Kenz had everything figured out ahead of time–where we would place, who would win the meet and what we had to do to better ourselves and hopefully pull out a win.
On Nov 1, 1973, we were at the THHS pool, hosting the District Swim meet. Although we had won Districts the year before, we weren’t expecting or expected to win that year. Duluth East had a good team as had many of the other schools. It was neck to neck through the meet. It came down to the last events, one of them being mine, 100 yd breaststroke. I had done well throughout the year but, when you brought us all together, Kenz had me sitting at a hopeful 3rd. This was a particularly hard day as a fellow swimmer, Mary Pearson, and I had returned just before the meet from Jeff Nyquist’s funeral. Jeff had been a swimmer on the boys’ team. It was my turn–a couple of false starts by other swimmers, back on the blocks, nerves grow. Four lengths of the pool, close finish, I had gotten 1st place by a touch. I can still picture Ozzie at the end of the pool by the block and the look of excitement on his face when I touched. The joy on Kenz’s face, excitement, and being proud, I will never forget.. Those are looks, no matter how old you get, you just don’t forget. She jumped up and down, which was a lot of emotion coming from her. She hugged me repeatedly, and I believe, even shed a couple of tears. That had sealed our win of Districts that year. Mind you; there were a lot of others that did their job to get us to the point of winning. We had some awesome swimmers, and everyone did their part. There were a lot of camaraderies built through being on the swim team! Marcy Neil, Norrie LaFavor, Sara Aho, and many more.”
GAIL KRYSIAK ULREICH
“The first thing that popped into my head regarding girls in sports is the unique opportunity we didn’t fully appreciate during the late ’70s of girls being able to participate in two sports in one season. We were able to be cheerleaders–I know, varying thoughts on whether cheerleaders were athletes–and a sport at the same time AND we could letter in both.
Also, a chapter should be devoted to Linda Hoffman and how she built the gymnastics program. She dedicated her summers to elementary tumbling-schools, inspiring so many like me who previously would never have anticipated gymnastics playing a role in their lives.
On top of it all, my whole gymnastics career, Linda was pregnant and never let that be an excuse or an obstacle to attaining her goal of a thriving competitive sport at THHS.
One memory seared into my brain was her ban of tuna-fish-egg-salad sandwiches and Doritos on the meet buses. I never fully understood until I was pregnant many years later!!”
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“Curling with Kenz. How many can say they lettered in Curling? When people learn we had Curling as a sanctioned high school sport in the 1970s, they do not believe me. Kenz loved the sport and was a great coach. Great memories of Curling at the old TH Curling Club and the old curling club in Duluth. It was also fun to beat Duluth East twice in 1975.
During our first year in volleyball, we didn’t have uniforms—just gray t-shirts with numbers handwritten on the back with black markers. When it rained, the Volleyball team got kicked out of the big gym so the football team could run drills. In our second year, we shared maroon jumpers and shorts, which we shared with the girls’ basketball and track teams.
The nets we used were also primitive—not quite up to the standards other schools had. We didn’t even warrant a photo in the Nor’Easter!
When people learn Kenz started the Aqua Maids club in the early 60s, people are dumbfounded. We had grade 7-12 girls all competing for the same swimsuits; if you came late, you never know what suit would be left for you. Yikes. But every spring, it was the best show in town.
I wanted to do the “Punt Pass and Kick” competition but was not allowed—that was just for boys. I was also called “Harmon Killebrew” when I was up to bat in grade school at the Minnehaha. I took it as a badge of honor, but the boys thought it would put me down.
We had so many opportunities we had to try so many different sports in THHS gym classes. I assumed everyone bowled, cross country skied, learned gymnastics, modern dance, basketball, golfed, skated, played gym games, learned to swim, etc.
We had it good!”
SARA AHO LUKKONEN
“I was probably was swimming before I walked. We spent every summer at the cabin. My family moved to Two Harbors in 1968 when I was in 6th grade. I heard about a swimming team, so I joined in the 7th grade. Kenz put me on the butterfly. Not a stroke I was use to. I swam that for the first two years and in ninth grade, I beat the senior freestyle swimmer and did not have to swim the butterfly again.
Even at a young age, I had noticed that girl sports were not as important as the boys. We did not get the bleachers full of fans like the boys did. As far as games go there were the boys teams that you had to pay to get in to watch. We were lucky if anyone besides our parents would come for free. But I loved sports. Before I graduated I held all but the 500 freestyle records. Most of them were broken in the next few years. But the 50 free was held for many years—my boys were in high school by then. It made me so happy that the girl who broke the record was someone I taught to swim. Sports back in the 70’s were not as competitive as they are today.
The tennis season changed from spring to the Fall in my senior year. I played both. Tennis suffered because of swimming. I would swim the first 1/2 of the meet and the go play tennis. Chlorine in the eyes and playing in the sun was not fun.
Before basketball was officially sanctioned, Kenz tried to form a basketball team. She asked me to participate. I knew very little about basketball—none of the girls did. We only had a few organized practices. I think we only played one or two games.”
DEBBIE L’ESPERANCE WICK
“I was on the basketball team in high school. While we probably matched up well athletically, we lacked the dribbling, rebounding, and playmaking skills to compete. Coach Northey worked well with the team to grow our skills and strategy.
All the L’Esperance kids, including me, were good skaters—taking after my dad, who was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. I sure wish there would have been a girls hockey team when I was in school.
Track was my strongest sport and I had a tremendous coach in Linda Hoffman, who became a lifelong friend and godmother of my son. Linda influenced me to choose gym teacher as my professional goal, though eventually, I became a registered nurse.
An added benefit in track were the boys’ coaches – Geno Goedel, Dennis Herschbach, and RL Smith. These men helped me and the other girls develop our form and training. A specific practice drill would have me participating with the boys distance runners around the track in the passing drill. The last place runner would pass the pack to the front, the new last place runner repeating the same and so on. She disliked this drill but it was done to build her strength for the 220.
Per Lee (Sparky) Wick: One day—long before Debbie and I were married, I was standing with Geno and Dennis after practice and Coach Hoffman had Debbie running the 220. As she burned thru the curve Geno said, “Look at her, like a deer.”
There were no classes when we participated. All schools participated in one class and the girls state track meet was held at a different venue than the boys. Later in life, I participated in the Twin City marathon and various 10K and 5K runs in the Twin Cities and continue to run on a regular basis.”
PAM WICK SHERE
“Well, we were the country kids who had the good fortune of having parents who insisted we work hard and play hard and they saw to it that we too could be part of the school programs. Our training was not running down alleys to the neighbors but we had our own football and soccer games in the front yard, baseball in the field and track meets on the gravel roads with wagons and trikes our hurdles. I am sure we each had a concussion at one point in our young lives but that wasn’t really a concern then. You just sucked it up and played on.
The Nomadic Gymnasts
LINDA HOFFMAN
“We started as girls coaches in the area and began our teams. We were the coach, athletic director, Judge, etc. it was awesome, but the guys’ coaches didn’t like it because we wanted gym time. They didn’t want to share, so we got the late shifts. My team got sent to the arena upstairs, where we didn’t have to share. However, our girls vaulted towards the stairway because that was the length we needed—I am so grateful no one ever went over the railing.
Coaching clinics, studying body movement to perfect skills, being a choreographer was part of it too.
When we were at the arena on meet days, Steve Ruberg would have to haul the beam out of one of the windows and load all our mats and drive them to the John A for the meet and afterward bring everything back to the arena.
We were then moved to the John A. Johnson elementary school. We got new uneven bars, and they needed to be screwed into the floor. It was great as we could hold our meet in one facility. The only drawback was that our vault landing was the brick wall. So creative mat placement was necessary.
Then Coach Sando wanted the John A. Johnson school because there were two gyms for basketball, so we moved to the Minnehaha middle school. Our vaulters would start their run from the old kitchen and again vault toward a brick wall. After 1984 we were able to buy the floor exercise mat from the state meet, which helped our floor skills get higher and more difficult, and we no longer had to have floor diagrams as to where a mat would be placed for a difficult skill.
Our parents were behind us to host meets at the THHS gym, which was successful but again needing to move all equipment over to the school. No small feat. Then Geno Goedel was able to convince the basketball guys that we could run a 3-tier practice schedule between boys and girls basketball and gymnastics. We each had two hours of prime gym space.
Considering we needed to set up and take down each practice, we needed to be organized, which we were. “
ANDREW MOSCA – CLASS OF ‘76
“Two stories, neither earth shattering. But in the ‘old days’ as I remember, the school paid for new tennis shoes for the basketball team every year. But when girl’s sports came along that money was no longer in the budget. The summer before my Jr. year (summer 1975) we raised money for shoes by working with the Dept of Natural Resources picking Jack Pine cones for money. Jack Pines cones release their seeds only in fire, so the DNR would collect the cones and burn them to get the seeds. In any case that’s how we raised money for shoes that year.
The other memory I have is that before girl’s sports came along the boys basketball team pretty much owned the gym I remember one day we came up for practice and the girl’s volleyball team was using the gym for practice. They wouldn’t leave, but instead they challenged us to a game of volleyball, winner to get the gym. I don’t remember who won the game, but it does speak a new attitude of ‘belonging’ that girls felt then. I believe that was my Jr year.”
LARRY “BUZZ” DeLaROSBY
Girls Basketball Coach – 1976-1985
“The girls uniforms were hot (temperature) double knits that wore like iron and were used for volleyball, BB, and track in those early years. We did a birthday calendar fundraiser about my 3rd year to buy some nicer uniforms.”
LINDA HOFFMAN
“We also did fund-raisers to get better equipment. We were able to buy the floor exercise mat from the ‘84 state meet. That was huge. Phil DuFresne loaned them money to buy it and we fundraised to pay him back. His three granddaughters were in gymnastics and he came to all of our meets. Van Larson and Ray Magnuson also came to all the meets. They were so cool and supportive!
Basically, we would use the physical education equipment. Those girls were pretty much willing to try most anything I asked of them. Even that old balance beam— when we finally got a real beam, we took that old one apart and just used the beam to practice tricks/skills on it as it was placed on a mat.”
Help Wanted: Coaches
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Coaches for girls’ varsity swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, basketball, tennis. Must have ten years-experience coaching high school varsity girls’—or college women’s athletics.
Qualified Applicants: Zero
Independent School District 381 in the early ‘70s was much like the early days of NASA. Both were seeking candidates for jobs that hadn’t previously existed. The “Original 7” astronauts endured years of training before getting strapped to a rocket filled with highly combustible propellants. The original coaches at Two Harbors High School received no formal training before getting strapped to a rocket–well, that might be a slight exaggeration. Still, anyone who has ever coached understands the magnitude of the task.
That first moment when young, impressionable, enthusiastic athletes are staring at you—waiting for nuggets of wisdom to flow from your brain to theirs can be intimidating for some.
Coaching a sport, you may have never even played? Giving up your time for a cause that will inevitably lead to stress and some sleepless nights?
Commendable. Admirable.
Raising your hand to offer to help other people’s kids might be a strong indication that you are a good human being.
Modern-era coaches are surrounded by an abundance of resources to learn how to coach—countless books, videos, and coaching seminars. In the early ’70s, the first coaches of girls’ varsity sports teams walked into the first practice armed only with a whistle and a rule book. It was a different, challenging world for them.
- In Their Words -
CLARINE NORTHEY
“I don’t remember anyone approaching me to coach. I had been a Physical Education major in college. It seemed like the right thing to do. I just wanted to make a difference. I had no coaching experience. Therefore, I had a lot to learn. Thankfully, people like Bill Arntsen provided a lot of guidance—taught me how to coach. All these years later, I’m still very thankful for his help. Lyle also offered advice.
We had games where we’d lose 50-5. It was tough. I admit to taking out some frustrations on the woodpile back home.
Our girls didn’t start playing when they were young. Therefore, our ball handling, passing, and shooting fundamentals were sorely lacking. We were starting from scratch. But they worked hard.
We did have one girl on the team who was quite a good shooter, but she’d often skip practice. After consulting with Coach Arntsen, we had to be firm–either attend practice or don’t play.
Parents had a few things to learn too. One father wasn’t happy with a referee’s call against his daughter. He walked onto the court during the game and gave his glasses to the official.
I’ve always believed we have to have a society where men and women are working towards the same goals. I was a bit of a troublemaker when it came to fighting for women’s rights. I certainly ruffled some feathers along the way. Courage from the oppressed has a way of doing that to those in power.
We usually practiced at the Minnehaha Middle School gym. It was an adjustment to play our games in the larger gymnasiums in the area—including ours. We didn’t have nice uniforms – there wasn’t much of a budget for girls sports back then.
PROGRESS
“I believe it was the last game of our second year against Silver Bay in the Minnehaha gym. It was a close game all the way—never more than a few-points difference. We had been struggling all year, but now they were competing. When the game ended, the girls were yelling–celebrating–smiles from ear-to-ear.
Coach Arntsen was in attendance. “Clarine, that was as if you’d just won the state tournament!”
Pure happiness.
Amazing reaction. Truly amazing.
Especially considering they’d lost the game.
The final score told more than one story. Silver Bay took the 30-mile drive home as winners. The girls from Two Harbors walked home with something more important than a “W” – they walked home with pride, knowing that the girls from Agate and Burlington Bays were making progress and starting to earn some respect.
LARRY “BUZZ” DELAROSBY
Coached Girls BB at THHS for nine years. 1976 – 1985
“Title IX passed in 1972, but THHS didn’t start organized basketball until 1974. Even in 1976, many girls still hadn’t participated in competitive sports. None of them had developed skills through youth programs–which were non-existent for girls, so girls on those early teams lacked confidence. The effort was there, but the execution was not at a high level.
We had eight rubber basketballs and 70 girls on that first day of practice in the fall of 1976? Chuck Halsted found some more basketballs and a great assistant coach in Tim Graupman. Having not won a single game during the first two years, many girls must have thought that having a coach with some experience would guarantee a win, which it did one and a half years later. Nobody was cut from the team because running drills reduced the turnout to about 40 players after the first week. We did eventually get a couple of leather basketballs which were used for games.
The Struggle: The third game of that season was against Duluth East at our gym. They were already a good team that had started their program in 1972, and their coach had a philosophy of full-court pressing. The final score was 65 – 7. We didn’t get the ball over the half-court timeline until the second quarter. But, to the credit of the girls, we improved.
Seven games into our fourth year, the THHS Girls basketball team finally won our first game in history with a 36-34 win at Aurora-Hoyt Lakes. Some of the players had experienced losing for 3 and 1/2 years. After the initial excitement of winning that first win, the shouts of joy turned into tears of joy–from the coaches, too! The highlight of that bus trip back home was the radio playing Queen’s, “We Are The Champions,” with Coach Graupman belting out the end of the chorus “…of the world”. Seniors that year who had survived to get to that first win were Dani Dahlgren, Stacey Radosevich, Katie Hendrickson, and Terri Simard.
We lost a great young coach, Tim Graupman, to staff reductions. I never really got over that, but just as great to work with the next seven years was Kevin Morsette.”
MARION CARR
“I grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota near the small town of Medford. There were no girls’ sports teams at our high school, at least through 1969, when I graduated. Being a farm girl, I was strong from doing lots of chores, and I was tall, which would have made me an ideal volleyball player or basketball player. But I had little chance to play.
In college, I took the required phy-ed courses, concentrating mainly on my major: mathematics/teaching. It never occurred to me that I could have taken some coaching–type classes in college to make me more attractive to a school district looking for women coaches as they filled teaching positions.
I came to Two Harbors to interview for the position of Math 8 teacher, which turned into a Math 7 position as those with seniority moved jobs. I remember as I interviewed with Lyle Northey–principal at the Minnehaha, he asked me if I might be interested in coaching a girls’ volleyball team at the high school level. Of course, it ran through my mind that they might be more likely to hire me if I said yes, but on the other hand, I knew that I had no training as a coach. But I also knew that I liked playing volleyball, so I indicated I might have some interest. And as a new teacher, I knew the extra money might come in handy.
Long story short, they hired me for the math teaching job and asked me to coach volleyball as well. I was given a “Rule Book” and met with the AD to set up gym practice time and given a few guidelines and some information about using the gym. And I met the girls who wanted to join the team. As I recall, there were only about 10 or 12 that first year. (1973)
I believe I only coached volleyball for two years. I quickly realized that I didn’t really have the training to be a top-notch coach, although I did the best I could. After my second year, I felt it would be in the best interests of the team to find a person with a coaching background. I believe our record of wins/losses was a big indication that more coaching skill was needed.
As I recall, the girls who came out for volleyball really wanted to play. Some were quite skillful and others not so much. We had some very powerful servers on the team, and we all learned skills together. And we had fun and learned team-building skills which is a big part of the game.
One of the first things I learned as a coach is that when you travel to another school to play, be sure to bring your own first aid kit and supplies. As it turned out, one of our players sprained a finger or wrist, and I found that I had no ice packs in my kit. I was rather mortified to have to ask the other team’s coach to “borrow” an ice pack and as I recall, that coach was rather vocal in her contempt for a coach who would come so unprepared. I was quite embarrassed.
Another thing I quickly learned was that when you host a game against another school, you need to have a regulation playing court that meets all the requirements. Of course, for our first year, since no budget had been set up for volleyball, there was no money to purchase what was required. I think that our first year, home games were played using the same net and standards that the phy-ed classes used. Once again, it was rather embarrassing to be “less than up to par.” I was rather proud that by the second season, our volleyball court met all the requirements, which I think required a bit of financial investment.
An interesting (funny) story to share—since I was not from this area and didn’t have a good idea of how far away some of the schools were that we needed to travel to, I allowed the AD or his assistant to set up our bus schedule as to what time to leave. I believe it was our first trip to Wrenshall, and it seemed as it we were driving forever. I kept checking my watch, wondering if we’d have time for the girls to change into their uniforms and warm up. Finally, I realized that we were running late enough that we’d barely arrive in time. So, I quietly talked to the team and told them we should probably try to change clothes in the back of the bus. It was rather hilarious as the girls ducked down between the rear seats to change as other girls stood to create a human shield from the male bus driver’s view. And then they changed places. Oh, did we laugh! Not sure if the driver caught on to what we were doing or not.
One thing I do remember is that we had fun as we played and learned together.”
Author’s note: During our phone conversation, Marion was very humble about her coaching capabilities. But there was one thing she had in abundance. She cared.
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“She, like so many 1st year women coach’s, never had the opportunity to play sports – but she was there for us.”
RICK RAY
“In my 35 years, the biggest difference I’ve seen is the girls have more opportunities but also more distractions with things like phones and video games. On a positive note, the weight room is so much better now. It certainly pays off for those who choose to use it. That wasn’t part of the culture when I started.
I was laid off from Husky Hydraulics during my first year of coaching, then went to work for North Shore Steel. Milt Larson was my boss and a big sports fan. He let me work around the schedule of the girls’ team. Without support like that, I wouldn’t have been able to coach.
But the biggest impact on my coaching of the girls was my wife, Kim. She was dying of cancer and insisted that I continue coaching—she knew how much it meant to me. Obviously, I stayed and there was a 13-year stretch where I always had at least one daughter in the program.
Every year seems to get more fun. The good times far outweigh the bad. After all these years, the only complaint I have is that the seats on the buses are not as comfortable as they used to be.”
SCOTT ROSS – Head Coach – Girls Basketball – 1995-2006
“The biggest change that I saw was the girls buy-in to strength training. Our 2001 team won the Lake Superior Conference despite being the smallest school in the conference consisting of Cloquet, Superior, Duluth Central, Denfeld, Proctor, Hermantown and Marshall. We won the conference despite shooting only 29% from the field for the year. We had girls who spent time in the weight room, therefore physically stronger than other teams. We missed a lot of shots but rebounded like crazy and had second and third attempts on a lot of possessions. We also went to the free-throw line an insane amount of times. That strength training has continued to make a difference in a lot of sports for us.
I had six girls go on to play college basketball. We have two girls playing I didn’t coach the girls any differently than when I coached the boys. That was a great 12-years for me—loved every minute of it.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“As an Agate, my most influential coaches were Rick Ray and Scott Ross. I was coached by Rick from 8th grade until I graduated High School. He was quite the joke teller so there were lots of laughs during practice. He always made it fun. Scott coached me my senior year and he was a great coach too. Rick and Scott made a great team. I also enjoyed being coached by Fred Kallio. He asked me to do shotput in track, and although I wasn’t really excited about it, I couldn’t say no to Fred. I ended up going to state in shotput and he was so proud. Fred was always smiling and so encouraging. I will always remember making it to state but having to throw as quickly as I could so I could get back to Two Harbors because I had a dance recital. I think every coach I had influenced me in some capacity, some just larger than others.”
HEIDI GOEDEL PUCHNER
“My Dad, Geno Goedel, was an exceptional track coach and I am grateful for his skill at being able to bring out the best in his athletes. Motivating each one individually. Knowing when to push and when to dial it back. Under his coaching I participated in three State track meets.
Beyond my Dad, I was blessed to work with several very influential coaches: Linda Hoffman (gymnastics), Pat Makenzie (swimming), Melanie Mojkowski (gymnastics, track, and diving).”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“Mrs. Hoffman was the main coach I ever had. She was my cheerleading advisor, my gymnastics coach, and my track coach. She was a wonderful coach! She believed in me, and she got me to believe in me. I also really liked her style as a coach. She always had everyone under control. Even though she was smaller physically than a lot of us, everyone sure respected her. She was always very nice to me, she was helpful, she was encouraging, she knew her stuff, she was very organized, and she was always prepared.
Mrs. Hoffman always wanted us to do our best, and I liked that characteristic. I remember one night at cheerleading practice, some of the girls were not super focused, and they were kind of slacking off. Mrs. Hoffman sat all of us down on the floor and told us that, how we cheered that night at practice is probably how we were going to cheer the next night at the game. She said that you couldn’t half-heartedly go through the motions at practice and then expect to turn it on at the game magically. You can’t just save your best effort for game night. You have to do your best every time you do something at practice, whether it is the first time you go through it or the tenth time. Otherwise, your half-heartedness becomes your new norm.
I have to hand it to Mrs. Hoffman. She built that gymnastics program from the ground up. She started in 1970 with two girls—Nancy and Kathy, doing a little halftime demonstration and expanded that program into having talented, top-notch teams that qualified for the state gymnastics meet numerous times. It was amazing how it evolved. In those early years, she coached us by herself. After I graduated, she hired some assistant coaches to help with the program. Mrs. Hoffman’s excellent leadership and knowledge, great help from her very competent assistant coaches, and a talented group of hard-working gymnasts—they had a fantastic run.
Mrs. Hoffman cared about the girls she coached. In April of my junior year, I broke my foot at my dancing lesson. Gymnastics season was already over for that year, but cheerleading tryouts to select the squad for the following year were to take place in exactly one week. With a broken foot, I knew I was not going to be able to even try out, so for sure I would not have a chance at being a cheerleader as a senior. I know there are worse things in life, but I loved cheerleading and I was so sad! Mrs. Hoffman came out to our house that same night and said that she would see about postponing tryouts until my foot was all healed. I will never forget her kindness that night. Mrs. Hoffman went above and beyond, and I can’t tell you how much that meant to me.
After I graduated from high school, I went on to teach dancing in Two Harbors for 40 years. I always remembered Mrs. Hoffman’s little pep talk, and I echoed her words to my dancing students many times over the years. Thank you, Linda Hoffman!”
The Influencers - Why We Play
Throughout the 60s, boys had been fighting with their brothers over two things every morning—the last bowl of Fruit Loops and possession of the sports pages of the Duluth News Tribune.
For many years, boys saw countless other high school boys wearing the Agates’ maroon and white uniforms. The Minnesota Gophers and UMD Bulldogs men’s sports teams could always be heard on the radio and occasionally viewed on television. The Twins went to the World Series in ’65 and were competitive for many years thereafter. The Vikings participated in the Super Bowl in January of 1970—and three more in forthcoming years—but let’s not revisit those. The North Stars joined the NHL in 1967. If they were really lucky, the boys could even attend one of these games in person—a memorable thrill to be sure.
Boys were immersed in watching other boys/men compete. Their dad played. Their brothers played. The kid constantly shooting hoops in the alley on 9th Avenue was a star player on the basketball team. Years later, you remember when he invited you to play H-O-R-S-E.
An eight-year old boy is playing hockey on the outdoor rink on 7th Avenue and the guy who just passed the puck scored two goals for the varsity team in the playoffs against Grand Rapids last night. That single interaction interrupts the boy’s plan to leave the rink because his toes were too cold. Two hours later, he finally sits beside the wood stove in the warming house to thaw out before slinging his skates over his shoulder and walking home.
As a 10-year old, a young boy watched the neighborhood boys on the varsity football team beat Silver Bay on Friday night—then a few players invited you to hike the ball during their touch football game in the vacant lot down on 2nd Avenue on Sunday. Next thing you know, the boy is pleading with Mom and Dad to go the next Friday’s game in Grand Marais. At that game, he arranges a game with other kids near the end zone—he makes the younger boys hike the ball while he plays quarterback.
He now understands the term “pecking order.”
Boys had an abundance of experiences like this. Role models everywhere.
Girls didn’t have the same level of immersion—the same volume of role models.. For example, the Minnesota Gophers didn’t have a women’s basketball team until 1973. Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of this story was that despite this paucity of female influencers, they were still wedging their way into these sports—essentially redefining gender roles, one neighborhood at a time.
Opening Night - First Ever Varsity Girls Basketball Game - 1974
On a cold Friday night in early December, Jerry and Beth exited their parked their car on 4th Avenue in Two Harbors. Then, each holding a hand of seven-year old Jennifer, they quickly walked towards the heavy doors leading to the gymnasium of Two Harbors High School.
Jerry handed two dollars to the ticket office clerk, then the family found a place to sit five rows behind the Agates’ bench. Moments later, the Pep Band began playing the school song while a dozen girls wearing nondescript maroon and white uniforms ran onto the floor.
Jennifer watched intently during warmups as Jerry explained that the objective of the game is to throw the round ball towards the hoop then hope it plops through the net. Each time a girl made a basket during warm-ups, Jennifer would say “plop,” then giggle, before reaching for another handful of popcorn.
The popcorn and a small 7-Up were competing equally for Jennifer’s attention during the first quarter. Seemingly losing her interest, Jennifer asked if she could explore the bleachers on the other side of the court where other kids were playing. Jennifer listened intently as Mom provided a few rules, then she was on her way.
She settled into the top row on the north side of the gymnasium, occasionally looking out the windows towards the illuminated outdoor skating rinks up near Highway 61.
Beth paid more attention to little Jennifer than the basketball game, yet something forced her to hone-in even more closely. Moments later, a smile appeared on her face and an elbow jabbed into her husband’s rib cage.
“What was that for?”
Beth nodded her head in their daughter’s direction.
Little Jennifer was standing, watching the game, knees slightly bent and waving her arms up and down.
“Oh, my. Is she playing defense?” Jerry quietly asked Beth.
Then, Jerry laughed as Jennifer jumped in the air, hands above her head just after the girls on the court competed for a rebound. She wasn’t done–she would later push those same little hands in the air, as if to attempt a free throw.
Beth tightly squeezed her husband’s hand, then said, “I think your daughter might be asking to return to this gym a few more times this year.”
“From what I’m seeing, next year too,” said Jerry.
After the game, the family returned to their frozen car. Traveling eastbound on 4th Avenue towards Burlington Bay hill, Jennifer began her postgame speech.
“Mom, can I get a shirt with number 10 on it?”
“Why sweetheart?”
“Because number 10 is my favorite player basketball player in the whole wide world. What is her name, Mom?”
“Her name is Pam, sweetie.”
“Someday, I’m going to be a great basketball player just like Pam.”
Before reaching 1st Street, Jerry slowed and stopped the car.
“What’s the matter Jerry, car trouble?”
“No, the car is fine. I just have something in my eye.”
“Oh…yes…I see that. You had those in your eyes the day Jennifer was born too.”
- In Their Words -
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“I don’t think we participated in any actual gymnastic meets my first year, but the next year we did. More girls had joined the team, but we all were still fairly new to the sport.”
“None of us had ever even been to a gymnastics meet, let alone participated in one.”
“I think our first actual meet was in Carlton that year. None of us knew what to expect, so that was a little stressful, but it went well.
I was involved in the gymnastics program in its “infant years,” and I didn’t begin to scratch the surface of the all around skill level achieved by those girls on those state-bound teams of the mid 80’s – ’90. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun doing it, and it makes for some of my favorite high school memories. It was great seeing that program grow and grow over the years. It was a big part of my life back in the day, and over the years, I always enjoyed going to the gymnastics meets and watching the lady Agates in action.”
JANE HOSETH DeLONG
I was born and raised in Two Harbors, as were my parents and 3 older brothers. My Dad (born in 1913) was active in City and THHS Sports. My three older brothers were very active in Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, etc. Maybe they all ‘inspired’ me to be active. However, I don’t remember being ‘inspired’… its just what we did.
My first organized activities that I remember were walking a mile to the DM&IR Clubhouse in freezing cold weather to take swimming lessons. I was about eight or nine years old. When I was done, I often stopped by one of the card tables in the lobby and said hello to my grandpa who was playing cards with ‘the guys’.
CONNIE HALSTED LYSCIO
“With my dad being Chuck Halsted, the football coach, and me being the youngest of three daughters, I somehow felt I was his last “shot” at parenting an athlete. I also learned at a young age it was more than a bit enjoyable having a group of future football players congregating in my front yard wanting to impress “Coach Halsted” and gave me an opportunity to be one of the guys. I made life long friends and also learned I could out run some of them after catching an errant pass that ended up in MY hands. Thankful Dad and Mom both taught me how to throw and catch a spiral.”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“I do recall going to Open Gym sometimes on Saturday afternoons with my friends and working on the tumbling mats. Plus, I always took dance lessons in Duluth all during the school year, and I attended summer dance workshops in the cities, so I guess that helped me, in general, with my gymnastics. I also used to help Mrs. Hoffman teach gymnastics during her Summer Gymnastics Program for the elementary school girls. I always enjoyed that, and I wish there would have been something like that when I was young.”
MARY MAHADY SPANG
“Growing up we played outside whenever possible. My neighborhood had more boys than girls. We all played together. We did things like block off the street to play four square in the large concrete squares of the road. We walked all over town on home-made stilts. We went sliding and skating in the winter. We went home for lunch when our mothers blew whistles to signal it was time to eat. We were not boys and girls doing these things…we were just kids who enjoyed physical activity. We had our physical education classes together through grade 6. It was not until grade 7 that suddenly girls and boys were no longer together in physical education classes. I guess that was when I first became really interested in organized sports. Those organized sports were really like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. We could see them but but not play them. I was an avid fan of all sports but especially swimming, track and hockey. I did have a difficult time understanding why boys could play and we could not but I did not question it much at the time because it was our reality. Role models for women my age did not include many “jocks” and the only name that I can really think of as a female athlete is Billie Jean King and I was not fond of tennis so she did not inspire me. We did not have the variety of female athlete role models like the girls do now.”
MELANIE JOHNSON MAJKOWSKI
“We moved to Sliver Bay after third grade and returned to Two Harbors in 9th grade. I don’t remember watching many sporting events on TV. Maybe women’s gymnastics—the Olympics. While in Sliver Bay I was always outdoors having fun with my friends—biking, running, playing various games. It was just a natural progression to join the sports teams. I don’t remember going to any girls high school sporting events when I was young, but I dd go to a lot of boys basketball games. I do remember being inspired by Olga Korbut and especially Billie Jean King when she beat Bobby Riggs. In those early days of participating, it seemed like it was more about having fun than competing. (Yet Melanie participated in the state tournament multiple times). I don’t have any bad memories—I was very fortunate.”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“I guess my first experience in playing a sport would have been in Mr. Keeler’s gym class at the John A. Johnson. I remember playing kickball, volleyball, basketball, softball, tumbling, boomerang, square dancing, and, of course, relays with the ever-popular scooters. At home, I also played softball, kickball, badminton, etc. with the neighborhood kids and my family. Also, in 6th grade, I was in a very brief, once-a-week after-school program of girl’s basketball that only went on for about one month.
My main actual organized sport that I participated in was girl’s gymnastics from 10th – 12th grade, but I also went out for track in 10th grade.
When I was a freshman (1969-1970), I was watching a boy’s basketball game, and at half-time, two senior girls (Nancy Olsvik and Kathy Leswick) came out and did their gymnastics floor exercise routines. I really enjoyed watching them, and I thought it looked like fun. I had taken dancing lessons since kindergarten, and I loved to dance! Floor exercise routines incorporate a lot of dance-type moves, as well as stunts. I was also fairly limber, and I always liked doing cartwheels, splits, backbends, etc., too, so those floor exercise routines were right up my alley.
Later that spring, I tried out to be a “B” Team football and basketball cheerleader (again, because I enjoyed that type of dance-related activity), and I made it as a cheerleader for the following year, which would be my sophomore year. As a junior and a senior, I was on the Varsity squad. Mrs. Hoffman was our advisor every year. Being a cheerleader led me to Mrs. Hoffman, which in turn led me to gymnastics.
The year I joined track, some of my friends were going out for track, so I thought I would join them. I figured it would be good exercise, and it was.
Mrs. Hoffman would have been my main motivator. I don’t quite remember when we held our first gymnastics practice, but I think it was at some point during the winter of my sophomore year (1970-1971), which was the year after Nancy and Kathy had performed. I think Mrs. Hoffman perhaps told all of us cheerleaders that she was starting up a gymnastics program and encouraged all of us to attend. I imagine she probably thought we could work on some tumbling skills that we could incorporate into our floor cheers. It didn’t take any convincing to get me to attend. I knew from the start that I wanted to be on board. Plus, I really liked working with Mrs. Hoffman as our cheerleading advisor, so I knew I’d enjoy gymnastics with her, too. During my first year of participating in gymnastics, I think we just practiced once a week. I remember going to the THHS gym every Thursday night after supper, and I think we just mainly worked on tumbling skills and floor exercise routines. As I recall, during my second year of gymnastics, the balance beam, the uneven parallel bars, and the vaulting horse were added to the mix, and we started practicing four nights a week. Also, it was either during my second or third year of gymnastics that our practices were moved to upstairs of the arena.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“I used to go to a lot of volleyball and girl’s basketball games as a kid. I also loved watching gymnastics meets at the High School. The Agates were so talented and fun to watch. Many of them had made it to state which was amazing.”
STEPHANIE HIMANGO
“I didn’t see boys or girls, men or women. I just saw athletes. And I wanted to do what they were doing.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“I remember playing basketball in 5th grade at the Minnehaha Middle School. I think we played about three games a season and it was always against Silver Bay and Grand Marais. It’s crazy how much times have changed even since I have played. My daughter’s are in 3rd and 6th grade and they have both been playing volleyball and basketball for years already.”
SUE LARSON IKNAYAN
“Gymnastics changed a lot in the ‘80s. The younger girls like Stephanie Himango, Barb Dufresne and Heidi Goedel came in & were fearless. We were doing forward rolls and cartwheels–they were doing back handsprings and aerial cartwheels. They had advanced so far—and the sport of gymnastics was rapidly evolving.
We had some good coaches that were former gymnasts who were helpful-Connie Halsted, Mel Johnson, Karen Nordean-Morsette. And then we also started getting help from male coaches–Bill Ortman, Tom “Coach” Swanstrom, and Geno Goedel.
Linda Hoffman recruited a bunch of us Junior High and Senior High School girls every summer to help with gymnastics camp. -it started out being held upstairs in the hockey arena. So we watched these little girls like DuFresne, Himango and Goedel go from just learning the basics to becoming really good athletes.
Linda was a motivator, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She wouldn’t let you say, “I can’t.”
And she really cared about the girls she coached. That went beyond high school coaching days, carried into adulthood.”
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“Having grown up on Lake Superior in Larsmont, we didn’t have the kids from the block to run around with after school. No one inspired me to try sports–it was new, fun and we got to be on a TEAM. We got to run, jump, hit, throw. It had never been an option for us.
But THHS had the “activity bus” to get us home after practice Monday – Thursday. Think about walking 1/4 mile through the woods in January at 20 below zero. You’d hear the wolves howl, then walk fast. You’d smell a skunk up ahead, then walk slow.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“I remember playing varsity BB in 8th grade. I was so nervous to play with the older girls. I was terrified of messing up. I had to put my fears aside and just play. I also remember being at Elite Camp in Minneapolis with all the cities girls. I was so intimidated by some of them. My coaches were college players which was also intimidating. Again, I had to just play hard and adapt to playing with girls I have never met or played with before. Once I was in college one of the girls that intimidated me the most was now my teammate and my coach was now one of my biggest competitors on a national championship team.
There weren’t as many opportunities for offseason training in our area back when I was in school as there is now. I participated in a couple camps during the summer in the cities. I also joined the Silver Bay girls and played in the Star of the North State Games with them. They were always our rivals in sports but when they asked me to play, I couldn’t say no. We all became great friends and I had so much fun playing with them.
When we would get home from a game we had to go inside the equipment room to call our parents to come get us because we didn’t have cell phones. Sometimes the gym was set up for gymnastics so we would take our shoes off and play on the equipment (sorry Mrs. Hoffman). It was so much fun! Another funny memory is I was shooting an arrow in gym class with Mr. Keeler the last hour of my school day. A piece of the arrow ended up in between my thumb and pointer finger. Mr. Keeler was so nervous about me getting blood on my white volleyball jacket. I had a huge game against Silver Bay that night so got the arrow removed at the clinic, made it to the game on time and with no blood on my jacket.”
STEPHANIE HIMANGO
“My earliest memories of sports — as a spectator and a participant — took place at the hockey arena and the baseball field in Two Harbors. My older brother Shannon played hockey and baseball, and I loved to watch his practices and games. I admired and respected him, so I wanted — then and now — to be like him. I still remember how it felt going through the big set of doors to the cold noisy air of the arena.
There were no girls hockey teams back then, so I joined the boys hockey team, and I played for two seasons. I think Squirt B and then PeeWee B. I remember being aware of my “otherness” at the time. I remember wanting to participate anyway. I realize someone out there must have had to say “yes” to this strange exception at the time. Whoever that was, I am grateful to them. There were lessons learned in my awareness of being other: Accept people who are not like you. Do hard things. Show up anyway. You belong, no matter what others may think.
For a while, some time around 1979, there were also two other girls on the boys hockey team: Monique Talbott, Jenine Rose and myself.
At the same time, I was developing an interest in gymnastics. Because hockey and gymnastics were both winter sports, I knew at some point I’d have to choose.
During the summer months, I remember snatching a discarded twin mattress from the trash area behind the hospital and dragging it across 12th avenue to use as a crash pit so my friends and I could practice back handsprings. We’d practice on that thing all day, all summer long. In those very early years, I vaguely remember taking gymnastics classes with other girls under Mrs. Hoffman’s guidance… and sticking together the velcro ends of the red, blue and white mats to connect across the gymnasium floor for tumbling passes. When I was in 7th grade, I joined the varsity gymnastics team. For all those years until high school was over, I was lucky enough to attend summer gymnastics camp at UWS (University of Wisconsin Superior) with my dear friend, teammate and every-summer-at-camp-roommate, Heidi Goedel. We knew that off-season practice in the form of camps and weight-lifting and running would give our team an edge come winter.
I participated in diving, gymnastics and track in high school, and while my memories are many, they are more conceptual than detailed.
Gymnastics was my favorite sport. The team was like the engine that could — led by head coach Linda Hoffman. Our little school started being recognized as a competitor in gymnastics, and the town of Two Harbors embraced our team and showed up to our meets. I can’t describe the awe and excitement we felt when we found out we were graduating from the folding velcro floor mats to an actual blue carpeted floor exercise matt. I don’t know how it happened, but I know for sure a lot of people worked very hard to make that happen. That investment in our team told us others backed us and believed in us.
During the competition season, there were a lot of late nights at practice, juggling ever-changing practice times with the basketball teams, and many bonding bus trips to and from away meets. I realize now how that also meant a lot of juggling for our coaches and their personal lives, and also for our parents, their jobs and their lives. They all contributed to making the opportunity of sports available to us.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“My mom was a huge reason why I placed sports. As kids, my brothers and I were around sports all the time. We used to have to sit at the tennis courts every Saturday (it was the worst ) while my mom played tennis with her friend. She played in a volleyball league too so some nights were spent watching her play volleyball. She starting coaching volleyball when I was in middle school. In 6th grade I started diving and I loved it but once 7th grade came, I ended up joining volleyball because my mom was the coach. I have loved it ever since and still play competitive volleyball to this day.
I just loved all sports! I don’t think I needed much motivation but my parents and grand parents were so supportive of me and that was motivation to do well. They never missed a game and were my biggest cheerleaders. If they weren’t so supportive it may have been different. Of course, I wanted to make them and my coaches proud.”
SUE LARSON IKNAYAN
“I would say that having four older brothers that were active in sports, that played a part.
Probably a bigger piece of it was friends-we all did it together. It was a great life lesson to be a part of a team. For gymnastics, the 1976 Olympics & Nadia Comaneci really put the sport in the spotlight.”
Mothers and Daughters
APPLES DON’T FALL FAR FROM THE RUBERG TREE
As this story was compiled, it became unwittingly apparent that I’d connected with a mother and daughter—it took this author approximately 30 minutes to put 2+2 together. Hey, there are a lot of Rubergs in Two Harbors!
A fun exchange follows, particularly a subtle comment about watching tennis.
WENDY RUBERG
“I feel I passed my love of sports on to my children and my grandchildren and was so happy they enjoyed them as much as I did. They all knew I was their number one fan and couldn’t wait for the next game. I was so thrilled that my daughter Stacy had all the opportunities that I missed out on and now her daughters have even more.
I remember loving sports way back in grade school. I would be the first one out on the playground after lunch with a bat and ball in my hand. Softball was another sport I played into my late 30s.
Volleyball has probably always been my greatest love but now pickle ball is a close second. We play as offense as the weather permits. I had my grandson out playing with me just a couple of days ago and I think he enjoys getting out with grandma. At least I hope he does.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“My mom was a huge reason why I played sports. As kids, my brothers and I were around sports all the time. We used to have to sit at the tennis courts every Saturday (it was the worst ) while my mom played tennis with her friend. She played in a volleyball league too so some nights were spent watching her play volleyball. She starting coaching volleyball when I was in middle school. In 6th grade I started diving and I loved it but once 7th grade came, I ended up joining volleyball because my mom was the coach. I have loved it ever since and still play competitive volleyball to this day.
By the time I came along, there were lots of opportunities for girls to play sports.
I just can’t imagine my life without sports. I still enjoy a good competitive game of volleyball, basketball, or any other sport I have a chance to play. I am a mom now and I enjoy watching and coaching my girls in volleyball and basketball . I look forward to the life lessons they will learn, the friendships they will make, and the way sports will shape them to be successful women in the future.”
"Kenz"
As memories and stories were captured for this story, it became apparent that a legend larger “Pierre the Voyager” spent her adult life in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Her name was Pat McKenzie. Born in Virginia, Minnesota, she left an impression larger than a Paul Bunyan footprint.
- In Their Words -
LINDA HOFFMAN
“My memories are starting a teaching and coaching career from basically nothing. My mentor, Pat McKenzie, was truly there for me all the way. She brought me to the women physical education coaches get togethers, where the groundwork was laid for gymnastics and the other sports too. We were mostly involved with GAA (Girls Athletic Association). As our interests grew personally, we attended and hosted clinics, learned about scheduling, discussed how we would/could schedule contests etc. For me, it was an exciting time as I had gotten involved with Swedish gymnastics team while I was finishing at UMD. It truly whet my appetite for the sport! At these clinics I discovered there were other women PE teachers that liked the sport too and thus gymnastics arrived at THHS. I remember vividly that Pat encouraged me to come along and attend the swim meets. I basically knew nothing about competitive swimming, but again, I learned. Since my husband Mike went to school and worked afternoons, Pat filled my life with girls swimming. I remembered thinking once I graduated I would no longer be riding school buses—so much for that, I rode them for the next 30 years.
Pat McKenzie was a complete influence on girls in the camping & canoeing world. She had been a Girl Scout leader early on too. She empowered girls. Pat was an awesome colleague and mentor to many girls from THHS.”
CONNIE HALSTED LYSCIO
“Aqua Maids let by Pat McKenzie was a highlight. Sixty-plus girls in the THHS pool learning routines to perform at our two, sold out, nightly spring performances. The patience Kenz had was otherworldly.”
JOYCE ERNO KORPI
“Pat McKenzie was one of a kind—there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for anyone. Just incredible. She was a great leader who taught us so many things.”
DEBBIE SMOGER OTTEN
“Kenz was the heart and soul of athletics of all types in THHS. The opportunities she gave us will never be matched. Kenz had a way about her that even the most unathletic or most disinterested students felt compelled to at least try.”
SARA AHO LUKKONEN
“Kenz was a very nice person. She did her best. I think that if she had not gotten some of the girls sports going, I don’t think that many others would have stepped up while I was in school.”
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“THHS offered us positive experiences and played a role in who we are today. When it comes to Kenz – as Debbie Smoger Otten once put it – she was the real deal. So many women coaches never had played any sports, they read us the rules out of a book—not Kenz. In my opinion, Kenz was a great leader, she taught us to work our hardest and to develop leadership skills. What she offered to us was priceless. She not only offered her all and her heart in what she did and her dedication to us, she was a rock for many of us. She molded many young girls for the better and kept us on track! I am honored to have been coached by her, respected her, even though am sure I gruffed about how hard she was working us but learned so much from her. Not just about a sport but being a giving person and strong woman! I wish I had pictures of her but, she was a very modest person and really did not like having her picture taken. You just knew she was proud of you and as an athlete, you wanted to do that for her!”
MELANIE JOHNSON MAJKOWSKI
“My love. She just wanted to help girls to live full, happy, adventurous lives—and not just in the swimming pool. She started the swimming program to keep the girls in shape and out of trouble. Also, every Sunday in the winter, a group of us would meet at the arena then go cross country skiing. Then she’d have us over to her house to eat. She was a very private person, but so caring. I know that she’d often take groups of girls to the BWCA in the 60s. Those trips stopped by the time I crossed paths with her, but we often went canoeing on Lake Superior with her and others. I think her family had a cabin in the Ely area. The BWCA, camping, being outdoors—that was her life. She was always very proper—strict, but fair. She kept track of everything. When we graduated, she gave us a laminated index card with all of our best times, along with a photo book.
I have to share one more thing about Pat. She was all about wolves. Loved them. She died in the November of 2002. As I drove home from the visitation, I had to stop my car because a wolf wandered out onto the road. It stopped and stared at me for about 10 seconds before walking off into the woods. That just gave me goose bumps. Like, what just happened here???”
LAURA HANSON ANDERSON
“Kenz was not only the the face and force of girls athletics, but as role model in life activities. Who else would take 20 squirrelly teenage girls out into BWCA for a week to learn the basics of camping, fishing, canoeing? At least the Ely laundromat was not too far so the 20 sleeping bags could be dried daily due to torrential rains with small streams flowing through the tents. Fun times”
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“This was a sport that allowed many of those that did not participate in competitive sports to participate. Many fun years were had by many young women. We all LOVED Aqua-Maids. Later in life, when you talked about participating in synchronized swimming, you most likely were met with a, “WOW”, that is so cool. We never had anything like that. Small town THHS impressed even some of the big school kids. Kenz was in charge of it and worked countless hours in putting together routines, coordinating practices for each grade and putting up with us all. An Aqua-Maid season culminated in two nights of shows as well as a matinee show for the grade schools. At the end, we had an ice cream party at Kenz’s house – coordinated and paid for by her.”
SHIRLEY NELSON MARTINSON (Class of ’63)
JANE HOSETH DeLONG
Miss McKenzie was the ‘director’ of all the swimming. She arranged for an annual water show of the Aqua Maids and we even participated in an All-State Competition show in Ely. I remember feeling badly that they had such an old pool. I can still do a ballet leg today. I now swim about 3 times a week, and always do one ballet leg each session.
We also had swim meets for the competitive swim team with nearby schools (arranged by Miss McKenzie). I remember one time I jumped the gun on the start and swam the whole length before they pulled me back.
I am 70 years old, and went to a resort pool here in Phoenix today and did laps with the skills Pat McKenzie taught me. Yes, she deserves a statue. Also, she taught Red Cross Life Saving classes and Red Cross Canoe classes. I still have those certificates today. I continued taking Life Saving classes and received my Water Safety Instructor certificate. I was certified be a Life Guard or Swimming instructor in my young adult years. Another interesting point about ‘Kenz’… she never got into the water. She taught us from the deck and I’m sure she learned Synchronized Swimming from reading about the skills.
It wasn’t until years later I realized what a special, all-inclusive program and coaching talent Miss McKenzie offered us at Two Harbors High School. I thought it was what all schools offered. For that I am thankful! Miss McKenzie is by far the most influential coach, athletic teacher I have ever had and she still influences me today. I wish I could tell her that.”
Jane, we are all hoping you just did.
Life Lessons
Study after study has shown the physical, emotional and social benefits of participating in youth sports. Fortunately, society has evolved so there’s no longer a debate as to whether girls be provided the opportunity at acquiring these same benefits as boys.
- In Their Words -
STEPHANIE HIMANGO
“I remember how we learned the importance of cheering for each other as each teammate took their turn on every event. I remember the importance of a hug or pat on the back after a tough, not-your-best-day routine. I remember hearing Mrs. Hoffman’s voice cut through the noise, uplifting our energy when one of us was struggling to finish our last tumbling pass. I remember the empowering presence of coach Melanie Johnson Majkowski stepping closer to the beam when we were throwing a new skill for the first time in a meet. I remember the charge that would blast through our team when we were given our “1 minute touch warmup” on floor exercise. Billy Idol’s “Mony Mony” would come blaring out of the speakers as we came blaring out of every corner of the floor matt, criss-crossing, flipping and having so much fun. To this day if I hear that song, it takes me back to that feeling of energy and excitement and teamwork.
More than anything, the camaraderie that was developed and the sense of facing fears is what sports taught me. We were all vulnerable. And we all had to be courageous together. We were all doing our best. We all wanted to be better. We all accepted each other for the good qualities we could bring. We learned that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. We learned that our hands ripped when practicing long enough on the uneven parallel bars. We also learned that you develop callouses. A body can get stronger. A mind can get stronger. Even a heart can get stronger.
While we naturally worried about teenage issues like having the right maroon and white ribbon for our pony tails, or that our leotards might not fit us right, we forgot about all of that when we competed, and that is the best lesson. The meaning and the fun was in the effort. In the toil. And, even in individual sports, the joy was in doing it together.”
Author’s Note: Stephanie is too modest to mention the following details about her career.
From: stephaniehimango.com
“Stephanie has earned five Emmy® Awards for her work in three different Emmy® communities: Sports, News & Documentary, & Daytime Creative. Currently a writer and producer on the CBS television program The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca, Stephanie has also covered eight Olympic Games as a producer and writer for NBC Olympics. She is also a published author of two books. One is called Another Door Opens, a blog-turned-book of non-fiction short stories. (Stay tuned for Another Door Opens, the PODCAST!) The other book is a fable called Get In The Ring: The Tale of Bruno the Boxer. It’s a magical little tale centered around a young boxer named Bruno and his coach Pops. With his coach’s guidance, Bruno learns that exercising courage and taking ACTION consistently is the only way to grow and realize his potential, both inside and outside the ring. For more than a decade, Stephanie was a network news producer, covering a broad range of national and international stories for NBC Network News.”
JAN SCOTLAND SWENSON
“Every night after school, I would head to the swimming pool or to the gym to practice basketball, volleyball or cheerleading. I loved swimming. Miss McKenzie provided a safe and healthy environment for many of us. I want to express my thanks to her and others who put all their time and energy into extra-curricular sports. I am truly indebted to them. They helped shape my life for the positive.”
STACY RUBERG JOHNSON
“Playing sports has had a huge impact on my life. My success in school, my career, and life have been because of sports. Where do I start? Sports has not only taught me the value of teamwork but so many other valuable skills. It taught me self-discipline, leadership, self-confidence, time management, and what it takes to be successful. It taught me to persevere when times get tough, and that often times success doesn’t build character, failure builds character. I learned how to set and achieve goals, overcome loss, handle adversity, and how fun it is to win and celebrate hard work. I was blessed that I was able to play college basketball for two amazing coaches. Karen Stromme and Dave Stromme will never truly know how much they impacted my life. Also, my two very best friends today were my teammates in college. The relationships you make while being part of a team is like no other.
I played basketball, volleyball, and ran Track (relays, high jump, triple jump, shot put) for Two Harbors and graduated in 1995. I went on to play BB at UMD and graduated from there in 1999.”
WENDY RUBERG
“Sports have been such a part part of my life. I can’t imagine life without them. I feel truly blessed to be healthy and fit enough to enjoy them all.”
BRENDA QUIGLEY MOE
“The incident that initially caused me the most angst (the basketball tournament performances) actually turned out to be one of the highlights of my gymnastics memories. It was the first time I had done my routine in front of a large crowd, and everything went well with the performances for all three of us girls. I was so happy that Mrs. Hoffman had insisted I do it. I felt like I had accomplished something. Afterwards, people were so complimentary, and it was a very rewarding experience. In either my junior or senior year, some of us again performed as the half-time entertainment at the basketball tournaments, but this time it was at UMD, and I don’t even think it was at a Two Harbors game. We didn’t take part in a lot of meets back in those early days of the gymnastics program, but I still felt good if things went well at a competition.
I never achieved the advanced skill levels of the girls that came along after me, but I really enjoyed the experience. Mrs. Hoffman (who, these days, I now call Linda 😊) was great, and she was a huge influence in my life. Interestingly enough, our two daughters were not in gymnastics, but when they list their all-time favorite teachers, Linda is on their “A” List! They had her for gym and health, I think. They loved her, too! They appreciated her genuine concern for kids, her enthusiasm for whatever she was doing, and her friendship. It’s neat that she could work with both me and our daughters.”
MELANIE JOHNSON MAJKOWSKI
“The experiences of performing in front of others—diving off the board, my routine on the balance beam, with others watching just makes everything else so much easier. My participation always had me looking to the future—what can I do better this week, this month, next year. It gave me something to constantly strive for. The more you participate in life—no matter what it is, makes everything else better. I think we were fortunate up here. Small towns. Neighborhood kids playing outside together. So many opportunities available to us.”
JANE HOSETH DeLONG
“The introduction to so many sports made it easy to participate as an adult in many recreational activities such as golf, tennis, bowling. The discipline of having to be at sports practices early in the morning and after school, helped me learn to budget time for work and exercise. The best is having lifelong skills.
A few years after college I was able to get back into more sports type activities. Now I walk 10,000 steps/day, swim and bike. I think the desire to keep moving does stem from a great start in Two Harbors as a youth.
I retired as a VP of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana doing Strategic Planning, HR, etc. The Corporate Fitness Program reported to me so was glad I had a great attitude towards fitness and health. “
MARY MAHADY SPANG – CLASS OF ’72
“My memories are that we learned a lot from participating in the camping trips. We did not just learn how to paddle a canoe, plan and pack meals, carry heavy packs and pitch tents. We learned how to work in teams, to support one another, and how to persevere when the going got rough. We also had a lot of fun!
We may not have had organized sports but we did have this opportunity. I doubt a teacher would be able to do this independently like Pat McKenzie did back in the days before society was all about lawsuits. It is hard to imagine a single teacher traveling with a group of minors into the wilderness nowadays. There would be so much paperwork no one would want to participate. So I guess while we did not have the opportunity to participate in sports like girls do now, we did have some opportunities not available nowadays. I believe some of what we learned on these canoe trips is similar to what girls can now learn when participating in organized sports.”
SUE LARSON IKNAYAN
“Remembering these times of growing up in TH, it has personally made me be more aware of all of the good in it. In this time of everything so messed up in the country, our state, the world….gratitude is a necessity to have. So thank you, for your desire to write it down.”
TRACEY JOHNSON BERGE
“Participation in sports was great for my confidence. It provided me with the tools I needed to move on after graduation and support girls/women in sports (Gymnastics, Synchronized swimming, Girls Hockey, Basketball, Softball and Volleyball).
One of our daughters played ice hockey with the boys in Southern MN (85-93). There wasn’t a girls team at the time and more than once I was asked by parents of the boys how long I would allow my daughter to play hockey. I would tell them, “as long as she wants”. In 1997, me and two other moms from the Faribault Hockey Association Board formed girls hockey in Faribault, MN. It has since moved to the public schools and continues today. One of our granddaughters played all through high school and at Hamline University.”
LARRY “BUZZ” DeLaROSBY
“My twin daughters were born in 1983. Girls athletic programs had become well-established and skill development of girls in sports was evident. It actually took another decade for individual and team play to reach a level that made meets and competition interesting to watch without having a personal connection. Not just “That’s my kid”, but more like “Did you see that girl shoot, dribble, run, swim, jump–that was amazing!”
I’m so happy that my daughters–not just my sons, had the opportunity to enjoy sports.
Today both my daughters are successful college swim coaches whose teams have won conference championships and they have both coached NCAA Division III national champions. Without that opportunity in the 1990s to play games and grow athletically, they would not be enjoying coaching now.”
HEIDI GOEDEL PUCHNER – Class of ’88
“Playing sports was a big part of my life growing up and has played an influential role in the person I am today. Through sports I’ve learned accountability, self-discipline, work ethic, leadership, persistence, grit, humility, trust, how to be a team player, and even how to fail. I can honestly say that the experiences I had playing sports were some of my favorite memories growing up.”
The Toughest of Life Lessons
DEBBIE LEVENSKE MYERS
“One memory that is forever engrained in gymnasts minds during 1975 was that of Judy Lorntson from Silver Bay. Being you competed against the same teams repeatedly, you garnished friendships with girls from the other towns. Judy was a friend of many of ours. Judy worked hard to expand on her skills and attempted them, sometimes with success, sometimes not. On Saturday, March 1, 1975, the sub-region meet was being held in Hermantown. Several of us were not able to compete as we were serving our 9-week suspensions. We still attended the meet to support our team, the other teams we had repeatedly competed against and friends we had made. Judy took to the floor to do her routine. Half way through the routine, Judy attempted a back somersault. She would have been the 1st in the area to have done one. We anxiously watched and hoped for her success, the gym would have erupted in cheer. A dead silence fell upon the gym, Judy had not gotten her rotation and had landed on her neck. After what seemed many minutes of silence, all you could hear was, “I can’t move”. Judy had broke her neck and later that week, passed away. To experience that at our age, with someone we knew and considered a friend, was heartbreaking. As young as we were, it caused us to reflect on us, our skillsets and what we were willing to try as well as friendships. I can still vividly see the day.”
MARY MAHADY SPANG – CLASS OF ’72
“My fondest memory of the Boundary Waters trips is when we were able to take our classmate Julie Hedin with us. She had bone cancer and was not able to do any of the work involved in the trip but we all took turns doing her share of the work so she would have an opportunity to participate. She passed away during the school year following that camping trip.”
Front Row Seat - Charlie Halsted
CHARLIE HALSTED – FORMER COACH AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
“There were challenges in the early days—many people were antagonistic about the idea of girls’ sports. I always felt it was short-sighted.
Our school district didn’t budget enough money for athletics, and I had to make some decisions that frustrated some of the male coaches. There were times when coaches walked out of my office, shaking their heads, but we had to protect the interests of the girls.
We did have significant numbers of girls participate in GAA in the ‘60s. Even so, they were restricted in what they could do, such has half-court basketball. Some of those restrictions were silly.
I was raised with the philosophy that we set the stage for those who follow you. I’m 91 years old now and the changes I’ve seen in women’s sports are fantastic. Once they were given the opportunity to compete, it was amazing to see how quickly they were able to walk up that stairway and reach plateaus it took many years for the boys to get to. Given the chance, they proved what they are capable of accomplishing. They wanted to show everyone they could excel just like the guys. It’s extraordinary to watch them now.
There have been some great stories nationally like UCONN with their great coach—Geno Auriemma, and Tennessee with Pat Summit. They’ve had some great coaches leading those women’s teams. There were growing pains along the way–administrators slow to hire women as head coaches, and others who weren’t comfortable with the idea of men coaching girls/women.
Girls still aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I enjoy watching them because I know how hard they’ve worked to achieve that success. They’ve earned every bit of praise they’ve received over the years.
When you think about the two leaders—Pat McKenzie and Linda Hoffman, they were such contrasting personalities. Pat devoted her life to girls and education. She was quiet. Didn’t like the spotlight. Meanwhile, Linda was very confident and fit into the coaching world very well. She wasn’t going to take shit from any of the guys. I remember two or three times when she was advocating for the girls and the guys didn’t want to compromise. I had to side with her & tell the coaches of the boys’ teams that “this was fair.”
Pat and Linda took different paths to success—but they both got there.
Author’s note: Our lengthy phone conversation drifted into current events which clearly frustrated Coach Halsted. His father had once run for governor of Minnesota and he was frustrated that people don’t read enough to understand the perspective of others. The conversation ended with Coach Halsted offering the following simple thought:
“When you look at things today, we have to have more fairness in this world.”
Fast Forward, Then Rewind
More than 40 years after coaching her last game, Clarine Northey was walking the halls of the new high school in Two Harbors. Not far away, she heard a noise. That unmistakable noise.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam—bam—bam.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam..
Basketballs. Dribbling. Ball-handling practice. Then a whistle, followed by silence.
Another whistle.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam.
Another whistle.
Clarine stopped for a moment. Memories flowed. Participation in the “Girls Athletic Association” during her high school years in Chisholm. Her first coaching job in 1975. The Minnehaha gym. Bill Arntsen. The post-game celebration of great progress even though in a losing effort.
She walked closer. Sneakers squeaking. Another whistle. A coach was taking charge, just like she had. Clarine opened a door to see the 2017 THHS girls’ basketball team practicing. She sat down near the top row of the bleachers in an otherwise empty gymnasium.
Completely impressed. Memories of her very first practice. Dribbling lessons. Shooting lessons. Contrasted with what she was now seeing—the way these girls carried themselves on the court. Confidence. Composure. Belonging. Heck, even nice practice uniforms. She wasn’t just witnessing a practice. She was witnessing decades of progress.
Decades of progress for girls. Decades of progress for women.
As practice appeared to be ending, Assistant Coach Rick Ray blew his whistle then gathered the team. This was unusual. Head Coaches blow whistles. Assistants just wear them. But Coach Ray is girls’ basketball at THHS. His 35 years of devotion to the girls is proof. He recognized the importance of the moment.
The gym had gone Sunday-morning silent. Rick led the team in Clarine’s direction. While standing courtside, Coach Ray—with players gathered around, looked up at Clarine.
Before he said a word, tears welled-up in Clarine’s eyes.
“Girls,” Coach Ray said, “you might not know this but you owe a debt of gratitude to the woman up there watching you practice. Her name is Clarine Northey. We call her Coach Northey—the very first coach of a girls’ varsity basketball team in Two Harbors High School history. If it wasn’t for Coach Northey, the girls on that first team, and others who followed, we wouldn’t be here today.”
The final words of his sentence were slightly obscured as, one-by-one, the girls brought their hands together and clapped for Clarine. Others raised their arms above their heads. There were whistles. Not coaching whistles. Celebration whistles. All shouted “thank you Coach Northey!”
Full circle. For Clarine. For all girls’ sports. Common bonds—old and young. Showing honor and respect. The best of sports. The best of life.
Unknowingly, the girls on the court that day were clapping for the others. Other trailblazers. Others who staked their claim. Girls and women who wouldn’t take no for an answer. For those who wanted the opportunity but had no outlet.
Perhaps, also for the girls who rode that train to Proctor back in 1920, as if to say:
“To Bernice, Gerda, Ruth, Bessie, Esther, Amanda and Edna – we are still here— still playing—still loving the game—still honoring our sisters. Thank you for taking those first steps for us.”
“And by the way, if you can hook us up with a train trip to a game, that would be great.”
This was the story about girls and women in one small town—Two Harbors, Minnesota. Replace “Two Harbors” with any other small town in our state—Silver Bay, Ely, Eveleth, Warroad, Red Wing, Worthington. Same stories—different names. From pioneers to volunteers—girls were pushing, women were leading—all were competing. Not always competing to win a game. Competing for something more:
Respect.
Opportunity.
Equality.
In the 1960s and 70s, women like Pat McKenzie, Linda Hoffman, Clarine Northey, Marion Carr and Melanie Johnson and others reached out their arms to lift and guide these girls. Decades later, those same girls—now women—with a lifetime of experiences, spent hours recalling and sharing memories in recognition of important progress in the history of our home town.
Has it made a difference?
In 2020, more girls than boys participate in high school athletics at Two Harbors High School.
Put me in coach…
…I’m ready to play.
Contributors
My sincere thank you to the following contributors and others who influenced this story:
Clarine Northey, Marion Carr, Chuck Halsted, Connie Halsted Lyscio, Mary Gelineau Sjodin, Mary Mahady Spang, Debbie Levenske Myers, Sue Larson Iknayen, Stephanie Himango, Tracey Johnson Berge, Brenda Quigley Moe, Scott Ross, Larry DeLaRosby, Andrew Mosca, Rick Ray, Bob Nyberg, Tim Graupman, Debbie L’Esperance Wick, Sara Aho, Jan Scotland Swanson, Jane Hoseth DeLong, Sarah Aho Lukkonen, Pam Wick Shere, Stacy Ruberg Johnson, Wendy Ruberg, Heidi Goedel, John Goedel, Debbie Smoger Otten, Jan Scotland Swanson, Melanie Johnson Mojkowski, Joyce Erno Korpi, Julie Dahl Wistrom, Laura Hanson Anderson, Lee Wick, Gail Krysiak Ulreich and last, but certainly not least, Linda Hoffman.
Thanks to Bob Nyberg for the tip regarding the “Daughters of the Game” book.
**The July 4 volleyball story never really happened. I simply thought it conveyed the sibling rivalry that existed in some families. My thanks to Mary and Tom Gelineau for blessing the story.
Proofreaders: Carol and Dennis Healy, Charlie Dahl, Larry Smith, Vickie Stotler-Smith.
Credits, Resources Etc.
“Daughters of the Game,” Dorothy McIntyre
Clyde Birkholz – Photo Editor, “Two Harbors – 100 Years” – granted permission to share several pictures.
Elise Poe Johnson – Class of 2020 – Female Athlete of the Year – supplied Yearbook pictures – late 60’s, and 1970s used for research, networking and/or shared in this story.
Personal Photos: Debbie Levenske Myers, Tracey Johnson Berge, Debbie Smoger Otten
RESOURCES:
ESPN’s “Nine for IX” ten episode series.
The Minneapolis Millerettes
https://aagpbl.org/teams/minneapolis-millerettes/1944
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/title-ix-enacted
Thomas,
Another great story about childhood in Two Harbors. Thanks for all of your work to bring the memories back to life. You made many people very happy with your effort on this story. It helps us understand how positive change can.happen.
Linda and Pat McKenzie were amazing. I had the pleasure of having Linda as a homeroom teacher for several years in high school. She was a fun person to be around. Then, Rick Ray and 35 years. Hats off to to you, Sir!
Finally, the story about Clarine in the bleachers watching BB practice and the players response brought tears to my eyes.
Nice work!
Brother Larry
Thank you!
Another great trip down memory lane Tom! You did a fabulous job, I loved the approach from all the different angles. I always admired the athletic abilities of my female classmates of 1972. For years I had wished that they had the same opportunities as we did. My wife, Jean, graduated from high school in the small town of Aitkin, MN in 1974. She got the chance to participate in a few sanctioned sports and qualified for the State tourney in track. To this day those are some of her fondest memories of her high school years. Thanks Again! Keep up the Great Work!
Mark Krysiak
Always Proud and Thankful of my roots in Agateville!
Thanks Mark!
Tremendous job! This will be a very popular story I’m sure. Thanks for all the research and work on this.
Thanks Lee…and thanks for your help!
Tom…I heard about your writing & am grateful that I was able to locate this. It is wonderful. I have always been so grateful to Linda Hoffman, Kenz & my parents who encouraged a scruffy tomboy to play like the boys. I was always at the outdoor skating rink, putting the skates on prior to the warming house opening up. I loved watching the fellas play hockey( even as I was stuck skating around the rink for hours). I so enjoyed reading my classmates words(Tracy Johnson, Mary Gelineau, Mary Mahady) All exceptional athletes( & people). The class of “72 had so many great gals who were excellent athletes. We could have fielded great teams. Nadine Scotland was an exceptional athlete & possessed such a strong character. Patty Trafford was a great athlete as well & could smack a golf ball around.(her Uncle was Ray Magnuson)….I think the reason so many of us from that era are life long “recreationalists” is because we always wanted to participate vs just be spectator cheering the fellas on. I am sure that is why I am this crazy 66 yr old lady who bikes 5000 yearly, hikes the Manitou Incline, 14ers & x country skiis every chance I get. I think we are still making up for lost time. Thank you for your great writing, always thank you to LInda, Kenz & my parents who nurtured this long ago tomboy. I need to also say, it was not only my dad who was a great athlete. My mom was Peggy Fleming on skates, a great golfer & always beat my dad bowling.( sorry dad)
Your work is exceptional Tom…please greet your mom & Larry for me. I think the world of both of them
Sande McLeod(Halsted)
Thanks Sande!
another gem of reading history I stumbled upon today. Great writing to bring it all together. It made me feel how lucky I was to grow up in Two Harbors during the glory days of a small town.
Thank you Tom. Brings back great memories.
You’re welcome, Paul. Thanks for taking the time to read it.