NHS 1965 News

I was selected to receive two tickets for the presidential inauguration from Congressman Dan Lungren of Sacramento.  He is the former California Attorney General and had visited our child abuse and neglect program at UC Davis Medical Center (caarecenter.org) several times over the years, and he is very good on the issues.  I emailed him the morning after the election asking for tickets for this historic event.  Every congressman received 200 tickets to distribute. I asked my sister JoAnn (NHS Class of 1970) to join me and we were on our way to Washington D.C. We had great tickets — in the standing blue section immediately behind the seated section below the Capitol

Everyone that JoAnn and I met at the inauguration was positively buoyant, happy, and friendly.  People just started conversations and introduced themselves to one another on the monument grounds, in the metro, and at adjacent tables in restaurants.   It was an amazing experience to be among a million people at the Sunday concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial singing together with Garth Brooks, “Bye, Bye Miss American Pie”, other pop songs that we all know, and the national anthems.  An estimated 2 million people were at the Inauguration.  Everyone was respectful, careful with one another in such large moving groups, joyful, and fun to talk with! Signs were everywhere in restaurant windows about celebrating change and moving forward.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the Adams Morgan area of NW Washington.  So many interesting people — the sound design engineer for the inauguration, congressional staffer, pastor, literary agent, parents with young children.  We would eat breakfast together and come back at the end of each very cold and exhausting day and tell our stories;  then watch CNN to get full coverage of what occurred that day.

We also went to the Blue Diamond Inaugural Ball hosted by Jackson Browne at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  He played the entire time from 8 p.m. to midnight with his band.  Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills and Nash) also played and sang with him.

The “call to action” from President Obama is strong and compelling  There is something about President Barack and Michelle Obama that makes you want to do more, and to figure out what that can be for our community. What are the various possibilities for us in Sacramento?  Augment the Channel 10 Coats for Kids Drive that got 40,000 coats donated this past year? Work with Habitat for Humanity? Figure out how to raise money for Afghanistan to build infrastructure to resist the Taliban? Provide needed food, clothing, and household supplies for needy CAARE Center families? Reduce driving and consumption of gas? How can we coordinate with other individuals and organizations who have similar interests? What steps and organizing can we undertake to strengthen our community?

It was a memorable experience and I was glad that my sister JoAnn and I could go together.  We had a lot of fun together.

Written by Marilyn Strachan Peterson  and posted and edited by N. Larsen

Marilyn Strachan Peterson traveled to Tucson and spent Thanksgiving weekend with us.   We had a great time sampling the boutique wines of Arizona.  This picture is taken at Sonoita Winery with the Santa Rita mountains in the back drop.  A great time was had by all.

Sonoita Winery with the Santa Rita mountains

As always,
Janice Schumacherand Tom Severson

posted by n. larsen

In September 2005 the Northfield School board approved the sale of the old middle school at fourth and union streets.  Carleton College offered to buy the middle school and the facility was sold to Carleton College for $452,000.

The building opened its doors in 1911 as the Northfield Central High School.  An auditorium wing was added in 1937 followed by an east wing/gymnasium in 1954.  In 1966 it became the Northfield Junior High School and then Northfield Middle School in 1982.  With construction of a new Middle School the last classes were held in the old school in 2004.

On October 14, 2008 Carleton College unveiled the plans for its proposed $50 million Arts Union facility to the public for the first time at an open house. Updates of Carleton’s vision for this space is for the building to be a workshop where artists are in collaboration with one another.  They see it as a working facility populated by students, faculty, artists and community members.  The site will put studio art, art history, cinema and media studies, English, dance, theater all together in one space.  It will be called the Arts Union.

The following is an animation produced by Carleton College to show what the finished buildings will look like. It is quite impressive: