Sally Peters Aschim

Rick Aschim, an NTCHS graduate from Sunburst, and I met via my sister Sandy (Peters) Simons and her friend, Rick Schock. A year later we were married in a huge wedding at the ages of 36 and 35. We had Rhett when I was 37 and Whitney when I was 39. I recall being at my 20 year class reunion very pregnant with my firstborn, Rhett, at that time. Norm Kalbfleisch was the only person who danced with me during that reunion. Now that is a true (and brave) friend!

Rick, a graduate of Northern Montana College, went onto get his Masters degree, teaching for four years at Hinsdale and then for twenty-three more years as the 5th grade teacher at Sunburst. He retired from teaching to get trained as a Customs Agent for the U.S. Canadian border. He misses teaching, the students, the staff, and the schedule, but his Homeland Security job more than doubled his Masters degree teaching salary in less than three years.

I graduated from Montana State University Bozeman with my Elementary Education degree. Recently, I got my Masters degree in Reading/Literacy via Walden University online. I taught Kindergarten/English/Music/Art/P.E. in Logan for 1 year, Gr. 1 in Belgrade for 5 years, Gr. 2 in Conrad for 7 years, Gr. 7/8 English/Reading/History in Sunburst for 4 years, and the other 16 years in Gr. 2 here at Sunburst Elementary.

I am also an Arbonne Consultant (Swiss skin care/health care anyone?) and an Uppercase Living Demonstrator (vinyl lettering for your home or gifts anyone?), but Motherhood has been my favorite career of all time. I should have married much younger and followed in Aunt Nita's footsteps. Two kids growing up and leaving fast is gonna kill my Momma heart, but everyone else has survived Empty Nest Syndrome, so I'm praying I do as well.

Rick's mom, Doris Aschim, 85, lived on the family farm until just this month with her son, Sid, but is now residing in Shelby at the Marias Rest Home. My mom, Vivian, 81, and dad, Bud, 88, still live at home on the Ledger farm. My brother, Terry, and his wife, Julene (Powers), and their 3 children keep a close watch on Mom and Dad. Mom's health and beauty is wonderful. Dad has had his bouts with heart issues and macular degeneration, but he is a pretty amazing, in spite of the years trying to break his spirit.

In summertime, we hit Tiber Reservoir for 4th of July campouts in our camper trailer, get to the mountains for 1 campout, and have taken a trip to Disneyland with Ter and Julene's family. We recently took in Disney World with a few Sunburst families.

Except for Rick's sister, Julie, who died in a car accident early in our marriage, all of our brothers and sisters live in Montana so we touch bases with them all occasionally, luckily, for family events, holidays, birthdays, and all.

God is good, we are blessed. We're excited to see you all!

Hmmmmm. I think I'll remember forever the quality and caliber of our choir and select singing groups. SHS had powerful vocals from both males and females. I'll be grateful to Mr. Mumbower and the musical people I witnessed those four years. "Something Told the Wild Geese" and "Do you Hear What I Hear" stick in my mind among many other great tunes. "My Fair Lady" with Les Alouettes was very fun. So were the music festival trips to Missoula. I remember we got to go see the Cowsills in concert. "Will you still love me, will ya still need me, when I'm 64? You'll be older, too..."

Pep club. Our Pep Club was LOUD and involved. We decorated the halls and our cheerleaders didn't need to egg us on to yell. We just did.
Our cheerleaders were great, but I think the year Sandy and the gals won the cheerleading award was such a cohesive, cute group.

The dances. Holy cow! There were at least 5 live high school bands to choose from for EVERY home game. It was either the multi-purpose room or the Civic Center. Dances were just expected, and the musicians were something else. Nowadays, it's CD players of disc jockeys. Live music...especially from teenagers...does not exist. I also remember being President of the Wallflower Club and not dancing at all, which was a real bummer, but back then group dances and girls dancing with girls was a no-no.

My key memories of SHS are happy, safe, and warm. We were fortunate to attend a high school which felt that way.

Much thanks and gratitude to our patient teachers. I recall a few bratty moments on our part (squirt gun, water fight in Math class). Please forgive us!