Jim Larson, Fergus Falls, Minn., writes that he can relate to many things which appear in this column. One of them is high school basketball. And he sends along a story of a game he was in which probably was like no other.

“I grew up in Wilton, N.D., a small town 20 miles north of Bismarck,” Jim writes in giving the background to his story.

“As a high school basketball player on the Wilton Miners team, I took part when we played in a conference called Missouri Basin (if I remember correctly). It included Wilton, Washburn, Underwood, Turtle Lake, Garrison, Max, Hazen, Beulah, Riverdale and Elbow Woods.

“Elbow Woods ceased to exist in the early 1950s when this area was consumed by Lake Sakakawea when it formed behind the Garrison Dam.

“Hazen and Beulah were directly west of Wilton, but across the Missouri River, so with no river crossing between Bismarck and the dam, we had to travel north to the dam, cross the river and then travel south to Hazen and Beulah. Those were long bus trips.

“There now is a crossing at Washburn.

“Riverdale was a new city that was established in the 1950s to accommodate the Garrison Dam construction workers and the government workers who were responsible for the operation of the dam. It was a thriving community.

“The Riverdale High School Knights were always a good basketball team.

“Riverdale now has diminished in size to become a small community overlooking the dam, no longer having a school or many of the businesses that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s.

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The game

“In 1958, my junior year of high school,” Jim writes, “Wilton High School hired a new basketball coach. His name was Roger Kiihn. He was a young, energetic guy who grew up in Bricelyn, Minn., (southwest of Albert Lea), then played college basketball and graduated from Ellendale (N.D.) Normal (later named Ellendale State Teachers College).

“Wilton and Washburn were bitter rivals in sports.

“During my senior year, 1959-1960, Wilton travelled to Washburn for a conference basketball game sometime in January or February.

“The first half was hard-fought and just plain ugly.

“We went to the locker room at the end of the first half, as teams usually do. We trailed by more than 20 points, had three starters on the bench with five fouls each, two of us had four fouls each and the substitutes all carried a few fouls.

“As we sat in the locker room hanging our heads, coach Kiihn came in and said, ‘Get dressed, boys, and get on the bus. We are going home.’

“Back in those days, teachers and coaches were never questioned. As good young boys, we changed into our street clothes, got on the bus and went home.

“After arriving home but before getting off the bus, coach Kiihn said, ‘Get to the locker room, dress in your practice gear and report to the gym for practice.’

“This was 9 on a Friday night, not a time we usually had practice.

“He proceeded to take us through a very intense hourlong practice before we could go home.

“We thought at the time he was upset with the officiating of the game, but as we looked back, we could see he was very disappointed and upset with his players.

“The Bismarck Tribune carried an article about this event in its sports section sometime between January and March of 1960, shortly after the game was played. There was talk of sanctions against Wilton High School by the North Dakota Activities Association. But to my knowledge, nothing really happened. I don’t think a team with a 5-13 record was about to win a state championship.

“I wish I would have kept that article.

“I went on to study music at Dickinson (N.D.) State Teachers College and the University of North Dakota,” Jim writes. “I taught instrumental music at Lidgerwood, N.D., and Breckenridge, Minn., before retiring in 2004.

“I have kept in contact with two of my teammates over the years and they both could verify this story. Don Hruby lives in Bismarck and Dean Trzpuc lives in Brainerd, Minn.

“This may be the only time something like this, taking a team off the floor at halftime, has taken place at any time or at any level of play in the history of basketball in North Dakota or in our entire country!

“It would be very interesting to hear some feedback from someone who remembers that event,” Jim says, adding, “I often wonder if the spectators attending that game are still sitting in that gymnasium waiting for the second half to begin!”

If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107, fax it to 701-241-5487 or email blind@forumcomm.com.