Excerpts from Hiram Drache Foreword

My first thoughts after finishing a very enjoyable few hours reading this book were that it could have been titled, A Little Boy’s Heroes; The Rise and Decline of A Small Town; or A Nostalgic Journey. I was born and lived in a small farm-service village in southern Minnesota. After graduating from country school I rode the first bus in the community that transported students to high school in Owatonna, Minnesota.

While reading the story I thought back to my days when we country students occasionally were referred to as “dumb farmer,” “plow jockey,” “hayseed,” or “hick” by the big-time city kids, an experience had by many others during the transition years from the last 1920s to the 1950s after which the country schools basically disappeared from the scene. This was a strong theme that author Eric Bergeson used throughout the story. Bergeson, a very successful nurseryman in the Red River area, uses his writing talents to provide weekly columns for area newspapers making him an excellent choice to write this account for he was aware of the transition. In some respects the story seems to be a fantasy, cleverly woven into a socio-economic and cultural history of what was happening in agriculture and small towns throughout rural America….

The achievements of a small number of highly motivated and team-centered athletes united the residents with the sense of community and pride. This is what makes the story unique. Bergeson has done a splendid job weaving these events into a free-flowing, interesting, and enjoyable read.

Accolades go to Clarence Stennes who made his heroes from the fifth grade come to life by providing the means to record part of his hometown history for future generations to enjoy. He collected material for a half century to make this fine addition to Americana possible.

Hiram M. Drache
History Professor Emeritus
Concordia College
Moorhead, Minnesota