Do you remember Bob Hope singing this song after his USO shows that were aired on TV?
I hope more of you will send in a few of your fond and fun memories from school, and a picture or two to go along with those memories and your school profile.

Also below are other examples of "Memories" by students of Manning schools; including one wonderful tribute of a classmate and the tragic accident that occurred.

While we want your fun and fond memories about your school days we realize that for some students there were sad, even tragic moments. Some of you have memories of a school student or classmate who passed away. At the time some of you probably had never been to a funeral; maybe it was for an "old" relative.
I have a school memory of such a tragic event. School hadn't started yet and many students were just arriving by car or bus. I was inside the school building standing by my locker when I heard shrieks and screams from several girls. At first I thought someone was literally being killed or physically attacked. It didn't take long to find out what had happened.
I think Jeff Wanninger describes best what happened that early morning at school so please read below.

"Save A Place For Me"
It all began as a typical school day for me, as I was a sophomore in 1974. As I pulled my car into the school parking lot, not knowing this would be a day that would have an impact on me for the rest of my life. As I got out of my car and started walking toward the school entrance, I remember talking and laughing with friends. Giving everyone a hard time, hoping to make them laugh or smile was a way of life for me.

But in a matter of seconds the mood of everyone became very sullen. Two classmates came running out of the front doors crying hysterically, as they screamed phrases such as "It can't be" or "Please God, tell me it's not true!"

I asked them what had happened. As they tried to answer, their cries turned to screams. One of the girls finally mumbled "She's dead." Then she took off running. I wanted to stop her and ask her who but no words came out of my mouth.

Still not knowing any more than a life had been taken, I walked through the doors and entered the school. Something was terribly wrong, everyone was crying and embracing each other. As I bit my lip holding back my tears not yet knowing even what had happened.

I approached some classmates to ask them what had happened. Although I asked and wanted to find out the happenings, I had this strange feeling I wasn't ready for what I was about to hear. I remember briefly looking around to see what girls in my class were there, hoping to see them all.

Then I was told Diane had been killed in a car accident. I remember my head suddenly dropping, my knees became weak and every ounce of energy in me was sucked right out of me in a split second. For a short time it seemed everything around me was in slow motion. I stood in shock and silence until becoming overcome by tears.

Not only had I, but the Sophomore class, Manning High School and the whole world had lost a truly great individual. She was not only a friend, but someone with a great sense of humor, personality and very bright future.

The previous night I remember sharing laughs with her. How could things change so suddenly? I kept thinking to myself, please Jeff wake up, this is just a bad dream. But it wasn't.

I remember that day in school as many students were questioning God. They kept asking how he could have taken someone so special. I myself for several days was confused. Then it dawned on me, she believed in God and was in Heaven waiting for us to join her someday. Although life makes no sense at all sometimes, I do know that because of one death I'll believe in God the rest of my life so I can meet my family and friends. So God "Save A Place For Me."
Jeff Wanninger - circa 1995

Keith Pfannkuch attended Ewoldt No. 9 country school through the fifth grade and came to town school in the sixth grade. He participated in basketball and graduated in 1959. Keith's wife, Marilyn Vennink, attended Ewoldt No. 7 and came to town school in the third grade. It was a big scary adjustment for this little girl from the country. She was terrified when she had to slide down the spiral fire escape during fire drills. She didn't like the hot lunches (she only had cold lunches in country school), and one day when they had wieners and sauerkraut the lunchroom duty teacher made her eat the sauerkraut which made Marilyn throw-up. She had told the teacher she didn't like it. After this harrowing experience Marilyn made the adjustments to town school life and participated in girls' glee club, mixed chorus, along with marching, pep, concert, and jazz band. She also was a member of the Student Council and graduated in 1961.

Keith and Marilyn have two children, Kent and Kurt. Kent participated in track and football and graduated in 1982. Kurt was very active in band and vocal musical programs, and took a lead roll his senior year. He was a member of the All-State Band for three years, the National Honor Society, and received the John Phillips Sousa award when he graduated in 1986.

Pamela (Foley) Palmer MHS 1969
Pamela attended Manning Schools for thirteen years. She graduated with the MHS class of 1969. She was active in vocal and instrumental music. Pamela graduated from NWMSU in Maryville, Missouri, in 1973.
She taught kindergarten for two years in Thurman, Iowa, before moving to Winterset, Iowa, where she taught kindergarten and first grade for thirty-one years. Pamela retired from teaching full time in June of 2006. For the past three years she has been a substitute teacher in the Winterset School District. She is married to Steve Palmer who is a supervisor at Dee Zee Manufacturing in Des Moines. Their son Nick is twenty-three and a student at Kaplan University in Des Moines.
"I will never forget the fire drills in the old grade school in the mid 1950s. Students had to sit down, grab their elbows with their hands and start down a dark enclosed cylinder fire chute, It was a dark twisting ride to the bottom. It was great to see daylight and have someone waiting at the bottom to catch you. I think I cried every time we had a drill. Someone would always go right before me to be kind and slow me down a little."

Kary (Johnston) de Kooker
Former member of MHS 1989
"I have sooooo many fond memories of my time in Manning (8th grade through my Junior year in high school). Firstly, I DID NOT WANT TO MOVE TO MANNING! As an 8th grade girl that was a tough time to move, but it didn't take long for me to come to love it in Manning - and then I didn't really want to move for my Senior year of high school, but I also wanted my last year at home to be with both my mom and dad. My dad had taken a job up near Emmetsburg at a bank and was there during the week and at Manning on the weekends for most of my Junior year... so I decided I would move my senior year to Emmetsburg. I still consider Manning "Home: although I rarely make it back.

While at Manning I participated in many extra-curricular activities including several school plays. I was 'Kim McAfee' in Bye Bye Birdie, 'Annie' in Annie Get your Gun, and 'Maria' in the Sound of Music. I was a member of All State Choir in 1986 and 1987, in Swing Choir, went to state in golf in 1987, played volleyball and basketball.

For memories... in 8th grade during science I burned my lips on the glass tubing we were heating to bend... and after my visit to Nurse Diane Genzen she called me "Hot Lips." I had tons of fun rehearsing for the musicals with our director and teacher Mr. Steve Linn, cruising Manning, Cliff's after games, and hanging out at the Manning Community Center. What stands out most in my mind is beating Mr. Scott Robinson in a round of golf! - of course, he's the one who corrected my swing so that I could beat him. Even if I didn't officially graduate from Manning that's still my class."

There is a long list of teachers that played a major role in my life. Most important are my parents, but of those I did not call Mom or Dad, I would recognize two who I believe got me started in the direction I now find myself.

Mr. Donald Klinker
Mr. Don Klinker taught junior high social studies at Manning Junior High when I was in 7th and 8th grade from fall of 1969 to the spring of1971. This included geography, civics, and American history. I was an OK student by this time but did not have a class or subject that I had latched onto as being a favorite. That all changed with Mr. Klinker’s class. Something clicked for me. I cannot even tell you exactly how he did it but I enjoyed his class and I did well. I am not sure the methods he used would be advisable now to young teachers, but they worked for me. Social studies and American History in particular became my subject, no matter who or where it was taught. I now have both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in social studies education. I taught social studies for several years in three school districts. I have been fortunate to have trained prospective social studies teachers at two universities, and now I run a middle school as a principal, but never stray far from one of my social studies classrooms to listen in and sometimes get pulled in to team teach it. I would have to say that all started with Mr. Klinker’s 7th grade social studies class.

Mr. Douglas Duane Boersma
Coach Boersma taught junior science and coached all the junior high sports of football, basketball, and track. In the classroom, you wanted to pay attention to catch the joke as well as the point. He liked to show off at times, playing with acids or mercury - for which we would now call HazMat and shut a school down. He played around with mercury to demonstrate its characteristics as a liquid metal. He was prone to be pulled off subject at times by well placed questions from his students which might lead to nice long discussion of his philosophy on people, politics, and life in general. They were as interesting lessons as anything he taught specific to the science curriculum.

It was as a coach though that he made the most impact on me. I was overweight (a usual problem) and way out of shape as a 7th grader trying to play football for the first time. I could not run across the room without stopping to rest let alone the ten nightly laps we had to run across the school yard (back stop to the tree on the west end) behind the old high school every night- but he made me do it. He would have us go over and get old tires from Rix's and put them on the hill next to the band room and run up through them uphill- and he made me do it. He made us do the tackling line, even against the 8th graders. This group included Keith Stribe, Gary Graner, the Renze and Karsten brothers (Paul & Randy - Jeff & Jim). Jeff Karsten in particular was the one guy you did not want in your tackling line because he knew how to put you down hard. I must have outweighed him by at least 70 pounds, but he would pick me up just the same and slam me down with a textbook tackle on that nice grass bare practice field. Practice could be fun, too. Coach was not opposed to running "exotic" plays- flea flickers, the guard around (my favorite) and others that were as fun to practice as to use in a game. When it was discovered that one of the guys could place kick the ball fairly well- we might spend most of the practice on extra points and field goals either down at the football field or over a power line at the practice field. This is at a time when most high school teams went for two after touchdown rather than kick the extra point.

Basketball was much the same- the 8th graders were lean and quick, they liked to run and that is what we did nightly. Wind sprints from 10 down to 1. We practiced in the old high school gym when the varsity had a game but more often in the fellowship hall at the Lutheran Church. There was no bus to the church, we walked from school. In the winter cold, snow, uphill, (honestly) and hauling books, gym bag, and in my case, a trumpet, it got to be a pretty good work out in just getting to practice. Coach did not have set style of play. Those 8th graders were quick and could run circles around most teams- the Harlem Globetrotters are the only other team I can remember running a three man weave at the top of the key. They would hypnotize the other team with that play and to get an easy layup after they would whip a pass to Jeff Drees or Jon Ahrendsen under the basket left unguarded. We as 8th graders did not do that- we were slower and bigger (or at least I was slower and bigger) and we played a different game from that group. They played man to man defense, we played zone. They pressed, we hustled back to our zone. Different players, different approach- he did not force the team into one style, he adapted to what players could do.

That first spring came and the subject of track came up in Coach's class. I had no real interest in track. I did not like to run. We had just moved into town in January so I had no "have to help out on the farm" excuse. Coach told me "You should be out for track " and when I could not get a word of protest out he let me know he was glad I agreed. I was out for track. It was the best thing a coach did for me. Track helps all athletes, regardless if you can run well or not. I could throw the shot but he made sure I ran every night as well. I think it was pretty entertaining to see Paul Weis and I racing each other for a quarter mile- I could never catch quite catch him but just trying helped me most. Coach pushed me. "Go Row" seemed to be his mantra. Young Kevin Boersma (maybe 4 or 5 at the time) would walk around his house saying "Go Row" not knowing who or what Row was but his dad said it a 100 times a night so he would, too.

I do not think I had the most memorable of high school athletic careers. But I did earn a varsity letter in one sport all four years (track of all things), and I lettered in four sports (basketball more for showing up for practice for four years more than for playing time) and those were situations that did not happen all that much at the time. I also got to back up Kevin Pfannkuch and Rex Sebenecker one year and played alongside Jeff Siepker, Pete Croghan, and in front of Lynn Mork the next year on Manning’s first state playoff team. I was the warm up partner to Dave Kusel and we combined for 43 points one night (I had two, "Howard" chipped in 41 for the school record). I got to play with a lot of good guys and good ballplayers but none of it may have happened if a junior high coach did not keep after a fat 7th grader to keep moving and sticking with it.

I do not know what happened to Mr. Klinker outside that he left Manning to farm or something while we were in high school. Coach Boersma left teaching for the insurance business and I made it a point to try to stop by his office when I was in town to say hi. He appreciated that I still called him coach, even 30+ years after I played for him. I miss that opportunity to talk to him now.