With a knock on the door of our 7^th grade classroom at Cascade JHS, the Vice Principal entered escorting a new student…. Tim Hepner. Turns out his family had moved about a block from where my family lived, so we walked back and forth to school through Junior High. Tim had moved from Lead, South Dakota and told me about the huge gold mine there and the ‘ghost town’ of Deadwood, where Wild Bill Hickock was buried. He was pretty much a regular around our house, where we’d play basketball, fish for trout on Soos Creek, or on Green River for steelhead and salmon. I probably saw him last at GRCC in 1973. I’ve visited the Black Hills several times in the intervening years and would think about Tim when passing through Lead, or seeing Wild Bill’s grave. I wouldn’t describe the current Deadwood as a ‘ghost town’, as it certainly has experienced a new boom post the HBO Series. Not sure if he ever saw the current town? Rest in Peace, Timmie!

Posted on: Jul 18, 2022 at 8:44 AM

I think it was during third grade at North Auburn, while practicing for the Christmas pageant. Someone came up with a version of "venite adoremus" as venite Audrey Muse. Always thought that was clever.

Randy and I were in the same class for 5th and 6th grades at North Auburn. We were very close during those years. I remember playing lots of baseball (he would regularly strike me out if we were on opposing teams), going to Tacoma Giants games, trick-or-treating on Halloween, being cabin-mates at 6th grade spring camp, and playing down by the river. Our interests went in different directions after that period, although we were both avid anglers and regularly crossed paths on the river. One mid-December afternoon in 1971 we were fishing "the slabs". Randy hooked a large steelhead, which he deftly fought. I was able to beach the fish when he got it to the shallows and handed him a beautiful 16 pounder. I'm not sure about the last time I saw Randy. I think it was in the gym at GRCC in 1972 or 73. What I can vividly remember is his glee when he'd strike me out and the exhilaration when the fish was in his hands. RIP Randy.