There we were, over 300 of us, gathered to celebrate memories held dear from attending the Sheldon Public School. Our square brick school building no longer stands and most of the buildings on main street are gone, but the spirit of the place could almost be touched this day as it hovered over the occasion on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
The high school closed in 1996 while the elementary school continued several years more before closing the doors in 2008. The gymnasium, built in 1960, was the site that spring of its first event, the graduation ceremony for my senior class. It still stands as the remaining landmark. While the shingles on its roof are starting to look beaten and weathered, one can still read the letters that roofers weaved into them - S H A D O W S. Without modern facilities, the gym can no longer host events. In fact its east end stands open and gaping to allow all types of critters to come and go.
Our athletic teams wore the name SHADOWS on their uniforms. Someone might know when the mascot name was first adopted, but that’s likely lost in history. Perhaps it was chosen when a few people sat around brainstorming and stopped wide-eyed when one of them suggested SHELDON SHADOWS. “Hey, that’s it! Sounds good.” Now a shadow isn’t something you can hold or pet so we never had a replica of it to sew on our uniforms, but maybe that Shadow hovered over us this day.
Fortunately, a rather large gathering space that could host such an event was recently built on the east end of main street. The building is the result of a collaborative effort which the community center and Enderlin-Sheldon Fire Department shares. The caterers prepped the delicious food in the modern, shiny kitchen on the north end of the community center’s side of the building and dished out the meals from the large serving windows where they offered a choice of beef or turkey. I asked one of the servers if they had enough food on hand. She replied, “Ask me at the end.”
The large collection of Sheldon’s class graduation pictures and other miscellaneous community memorabilia found a permanent home on the walls of this center. It took a great deal of volunteer effort to gather and prepare all the items for permanent display. Speaking of volunteers, the work of a six-person committee that brought us together for this reunion need to be congratulated. They are Becky Spiekermeier Radtke, Betty Bartholomay Luther, Claudia Anderson Janz, Pat Swanson Olson, Leon Bartholomay, and Dan Spiekermeier.
Over three hundred plus attendees came from many places. A quick glance at the parked cars revealed alumni traveled from many states. The couple traveling the longest distance to attend was Jim Bueling and his wife who came from their home in Kiev, Ukraine. The honor of representing the oldest class in attendance went to Connie Spiekermeier who graduated in 1949. She proudly held the certificate of appreciation the committee awarded her for dedicating her time, effort, and community knowledge to this reunion and those in the past.
Norm’s Bar worked in concert with the event by serving a spaghetti supper on Friday as well as providing a thirst-quenching oasis. The Lions Club, an active group in the community for many years, served up a pancake breakfast in the morning. There’s more. A raffle raised a nice sum of money to donate back to the center and fire department. A photographer took pictures of each class. The hayride trailer filled and drove groups around town. A few classic cars sat ready for inspection on the street. An open air street dance featuring oldies started at 7:00.
What is left to say? The camaraderie was in full bloom and smiling faces were the order of the day. Time had its way of spreading people apart, but this reunion brought them back together. Memories of good times, sad times, youthful antics, dreams for success, favorite teachers, and more have made up for the sum total of the Sheldon Shadow experience. We can only wish for more of the same.
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