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Oral Histories from the Class of 1960

Although they were only four when WWII ended, the Class of 1960 remembers PTSD dads, overworked parents “essential to the war effort at home” - and German POWs. Worland’s population had more than doubled to about 5,000, making it the sixth largest city in Wyoming! It had three movie theaters, two flights a day to Denver, and attitude: From their 5th grade on, invincible Worland High School won the state football championship six out of eight years. Naturally, ‘60 won their senior year.
 
In this oral history collection, 20 classmates relive the times, sometimes with raw detail. But, when they edited and talked through their transcripts, they cut loose! Let ‘er buck! You might think their stories are tall tales, but they are true. Like: Dennis Bower really did  lower his Chevy so far down he could barely slip a pack of cigarettes under it...but how did he cross the dips on 10th? Read more to find out!


By Cathy Healy and team:  Bonnie Laine Bailey DeFreece, Joan Walseth Purcell, Joanne Culbertson Jeffres, Joyce Taylor Spence, and Peggy Steele Porter
Alex Briceno Montoya
Carol Woodhams Day
Cathy Healy
Cathy Salzman Gotdfredson
David Scheuerman
Dean Frederick
Dennis Bower
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Grant Ujifusa
Jack Iverson
Joan Walseth Purcell
Joanne Culberton Jeffres
Joyce Taylor Spence
Laine Bailey DeFreece
Loren Laird
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Lowell Peterson
Peggy Steele Porter
Ray Gotfredson
Rick Hake
Sharon Chagnon Frisbee
Tom Fujikawa


Alex Briceno Montoya | Oral History Interview: August 4, 2022

A natural salesman, Coulson’s Department Store hired Alex as a bi-lingual teenager to sell to the Mexican beet field workers. Before long, he played trumpet and managed his cousin’s band: Sal and the Sons of Sound.
Alex Briceno Montoya
Alex Montoya
Read Alex's Story

Carol Woodhams Day | Oral History Interview: October 7, 2022

No one describes better than Carol the games that kids played. She couldn’t resist finding out what would happen if she stuck her tongue on the freezing cold metal of the slide on the playground.
Carol Woodhams
Carol Woodhams Day
Read Carol's Story

Cathy Healy | Oral History Interview: June 10, 2022

Cathy was crazy to see the world and has. She went to Saturday matinees and Sunday matinees and when Doris Day danced on tabletops, Cathy danced all the way home.
Cathy Healy
Cathy Healy
Read Cathy's Story

Cathy Salzman Gotdfredson | Oral History Interview: August 1, 2022

German POWs on their farm near Worland, switched to ranching outside Ten Sleep where Cathy became a barrel-racing pianist. So smart, her 4th grade teacher jumped her a grade. Naturally, she taught school.
Cathy Salzman
Cathy Salzman Gotfredson
Read Cathy's Story

David Lloyd Scheuerman | Oral History Interview: January 13, 2022

Chores before school, right after school and weekends, with time out for church and baseball. Dave once pitched against Reggie Jackson; struck him out the first time. Henceforth Reggie skunked him. Flew B-52s with atomic bombs.
David Scheuerman
David Scheuerman
Read David's Story

Dean Frederick | Oral History Interview: August 10, 2022

Figured out how to sneak out of last-period home room and go to work early – until he was caught. Computer pioneer – part of the first efforts to bring down the cost of long-distance calls.
Dean Frederick
Dean Frederick
Read Dean's Story

Dennis Bower | Oral History Interview: June 27, 2022

No one was cooler—Dennis painted his cars nearly more often than he washed them. By high school, he bought old cars, fixed them up and sold them. Led the Dragging Main procession during the 62nd reunion in his glamorous ’54 Olds.
Dennis Bower
Dennis Bower
Read Dennis' Story

Grant Ujifusa | Oral History Interview: June 2, 2023

Grant was Japanese on the farm and regular guy in school, as the QB of the state champs ‘59 Warriors and governor of Boys State. The Emperor of Japan knighted him for his work to redress the treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII.
Grant Ujifusa
Grant Ujifusa
Read Grant's Story

Jack Iverson | Oral History Interview: March 29, 2023

Insider scoop on the Apes and Tea Drinker cliques, how a new football coach was brought in senior year to again win the state championship, and how Jack elevated academics + sports as a national awardee principal in Cheyenne.
Jack Iverson
Jack Iverson
Read Jack's Story

Joan Walseth Purcell | Oral History Interview: June 22, 2022

Joan and her family skied at Meadowlark after church – to get to the rope tow, they got pulled across the lake on an upside-down car hood that was pulled by a tractor. Worland’s you’re-safe lifestyle trained Joan to comfortably open hearing opportunities for inner-city children in projects.
Joan Walseth
Joan Walselth Purcell
Read Joan's Story

Joanne Culbertson Jeffres | Oral History Interview: May 10, 2022

A Culbertson of Culbertson Avenue, Joannie’s great-aunt Mary came out from Iowa on a lark and homesteaded. More than a Girl Scout, with her dad, she kept bees, shot skeet, swam from her tadpole years. 
Joanne Culbertson
Joanne Culbertson Jeffres
Read Joanne's Story

Joyce Taylor Spence | Oral History Interview: June 23, 2022

Everyone worked, the girls mostly babysat, or car hopped. The final “oil kid” to join the class, Joyce pocketed good money by painting designs on cars while free drawing for the annual and school paper. This entrepreneur advises others about their finances.
Joyce Taylor
Joyce Taylor Spence
Read Joyce's Story

Laine Bailey DeFreece | Oral History Interview: June 14, 2022

Quietly mischievous, Bonnie Laine made up a society-page story about her mother having a ladies party, laden with what they ate and who was there. The Daily News published it. She’s inspired kids to write with imagination in Denver, Saipan and Taipei.
Bonnie Laine Bailey
Laine Bailey DeFreece
Read Laine's Story

Loren Laird | Oral History Interview: August 1, 2022

Still lives in the farmhouse where his father was born. His grandfather earned the land by helping dig the canals. A bit of a character, Loreny got kicked out of UW for playing tennis naked; when he returned after the army, finally got interested in college.
Loren Laird
Loren Laird
Read Loren's Story

Lowell Peterson | Oral History Interview: June 16, 2022

Straight arrow who went poaching one night to help feed a hungry family, during banking days experienced an armed robbery, key in saving Worland from drinking chlorine-river water to mountain-creek delicious.
Lowell Peterson
Lowell Peterson
Read Lowell's Story

Peggy Steele Porter | Oral History Interview: July 25, 2022

Gives insight into life without antibiotics nor TV -- survived rheumatic fever by lying in bed for a year. Master pacer in the Job’s Daughters Drill team. Always wanted to be a wife and mother – by age 30, she was raising four teenagers (including stepchildren) and a toddler.
Peggy Steele
Peggy Steele Porter
Read Peggy's Story

Ray Gotfredson | Oral History Interview: August 1, 2022

Started school in Worland, then transferred to a primitive one-room school in the Big Horns, finally back to WHS. Vo-ag competitive judging made Ray such a skilled speaker that his college speech teacher turned the class over to him. Dragged Main backwards.
Ray Gotfredson
Ray Gotfredson
Read Ray's Story

Rick Hake | Oral History Interview: October 9, 2022

Shot off rockets in high school and didn’t slow down. Became a rocket scientist, then became head of a large group of Reagan Star Wars rocket scientists. No one clarifies the “Kick the Can” game better. 
Rick Hake
Rick Hake
Read Rick's Story

Sharon Chagnon Frisbee | Oral History Interview: October 10, 2022

That girl!  Sharon hooked a ride on a freight train, could type 100 wpm but instead repurposed WWII planes for firefighting, then drove the school bus for ranch kids out of Hyattville – the snowplow would follow in her tracks.
Sharon Chagnon
Sharon Chagnon Frisbee
Read Sharon's Story

Tom Fujikawa | Oral History Interview: October 8, 2022

State champion wrestler at 114 pounds, Tom kept strong by hauling 100-pound sacks of potatoes from his parents’ truck farm to the school cafeterias. Renown fishing pharmacist. ​
Tom Fujikawa
Tom Fujikawa
Read Tom's Story
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  • Home
  • Exhibits
    • The Ancient Basin
    • The Last West
    • Mezzanine Exhibit
    • Temporary Gallery >
      • Dinosaurs Among Us
      • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Guided Tours
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening of Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw >
      • Quick Draw Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Education
    • Youth Programs >
      • STEAM Saturdays
      • Youth Scholarship Application
      • Guided Youth Tours
      • Scavenger Hunts
    • Adult Programs >
      • Speaker Series
      • Art Workshops
  • Calendar
    • Speaker Series
    • An Evening with Shakespeare
    • STEAM Camp
    • Montana Shakespeare in the Parks
    • Art Exhibit & Sale
    • Mini Mammoth Mixer
    • Mammoth Quick Draw
  • Visitor Information
    • Directions
    • Hours & Admission
    • Museum Social Impact Study
    • Passport Program
    • Guided Public Tours
    • Guided Youth Tours
    • Visitor Survey
  • Join & Support
    • Membership >
      • Individual & Family
      • Business & Corporate
    • Support Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Facility Rental >
      • Capacity, Amenities, & Rates
      • Rental Request Form
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Job Openings
    • Our History
    • Strategic Plan
  • Resources
    • Rico Stine Glass Plate Collection
    • The War Babies of Worland Oral History Collection
  • Gift Shop
  • Mammoth News