Memories of the Class of 1956!

Written by Joyce Mortison

Dear Class of 56,

We all have a lot of memories of our years in our sweet hometown of Pierre. As we look back, it is sometimes with wonder and gratitude that we are still alive!

One of my memories is when Tony Hengel, Agnes Thorne and I hit a train coming home from City Band practice. We were in 10th grade at the time. After City Band one evening, we headed up Highland Avenue from the old City Auditorium. When we reached the railroad crossing, not one of us saw or heard the signal box siren. The first thing I saw was a huge yellow train engine filling up the whole windshield. Our bumper attached to the train, and we were dragged along the tracks for about 50'. Our back bumper tipped over the signal box. We bumped along the tracks for about 50' and then were "flung off" like a rock. We headed back down the grassy hillside beside the road at a fast speed. We hit a wooden storage building at the bottom, going thru the north end and exiting thru the east end of the building. I kept wondering when it was all going to end, as there were four different impact crashes. When we finally came to a stop, Tony's first words were "Oh Me, Oh My", (sort of the understatement of the year). Since the car was destroyed, it was hard to get out of it. We finally crawled out of the car and all the wooden beams and roofing from the storage building, which had collapsed on top of us. The first person I saw was the Train Engineer holding a lantern. His first words were: "Did you come out of that car?". He was surprised anyone survived, as the train had killed several teenagers just the week prior in Rapid City and this collision looked just as bad.

When I got home, my parents would not believe me that I had been in a train crash. They did not believe it until they went down to the crash site the next morning. Meanwhile, Agnes and I went to classes the next day - I specifically remember Biology. We had only scratches and bruises.

It was an unreal experience, and our Guardian Angel was at our side. Our lives could have ended there. But by the grace of God we survived and had good lives and are still here!

Joyce Mortison