Brownton - addendum -letter
Deer River - northeast Minnesota; Brownton -
Years Represented: 1920s; 2009
McJohn Publishing receives touching and insightful letters and appreciates receiving permission to share this one with you:
Gwenn Smith, Deer River, sent the following letter to McJohn Publishing, July 2009:
"I purchased Daughters of the Game at a June 2009 meeting of retired Physical Educators in Grand Rapids. I was pleased that the book's co-authors, Dorothy and Marian, were present to introduce the book and to help us remember those that went before us.
As I was reading the book, I was very impressed with the open, honest, and friendly way the information was related. It made for interesting reading. I appreciated the comments about the changes that occurred when schools began hiring women physical educators since that was about my era (1960 to the present).
The importance of having trained physical education women was stressed to all of us Physical Education majors by our professors when I was in college at Bemidji State College
We were indoctrinated into the importance of setting an example so that young women and girls would emulate our actions. This was just about the time that girls were beginning to compete again interscholastically too. What an exciting time to be living in - and teaching and coaching!!
Then when I browsed the schools that had participated in interscholastic basketball games in the 1920s and 1930s, I was absolutely stunned to see my Mom's picture along with her sister as members of the Brownton teams!!!
I knew Mom had played basketball in high school, but it wasn't something that she talked about when we were growing up. Of course, this is one of the main points of the book: ask our mothers/grandmothers about their experiences so that we can benefit from them!!
Another sidelight happened when I was discussing the book with my daughter who is 34 and my daughter-in-law who is 36: neither of them realized what I had done athletically as a girl and a young woman. They did not know of my experiences with GAA (Girls Athletic Association) and WAA (Women's Athletic Association, nor of my coaching experiences at the University of Colorado, Bemidji State University, and high schools in Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Greenway and Deer River.
I will now make it a priority to write things down for them so that they can share them with their daughters.
Thank you, Marian and Dorothy, for working so hard to preserve this important and nearly lost history so that all of our daughters can benefit.
Gwenn Smith
Deer River, MN
Editor's note: Gwenn's mother, Hazel Wall, played on the Brownton girls basketball teams in 1925-1926 and 1926-1927. Hazel's sister, Florence played on the 1925-1926 team.
1925-26 team photo: Hazel Wall is in the back row, third from the left end (the player on the right). Florence Wall is in the front row, sixth player from the left.
1926-1927 team photo: Hazel Wall is in the second row, fourth player from the left.
Gwenn Smith, Deer River, sent the following letter to McJohn Publishing, July 2009:
"I purchased Daughters of the Game at a June 2009 meeting of retired Physical Educators in Grand Rapids. I was pleased that the book's co-authors, Dorothy and Marian, were present to introduce the book and to help us remember those that went before us.
As I was reading the book, I was very impressed with the open, honest, and friendly way the information was related. It made for interesting reading. I appreciated the comments about the changes that occurred when schools began hiring women physical educators since that was about my era (1960 to the present).
The importance of having trained physical education women was stressed to all of us Physical Education majors by our professors when I was in college at Bemidji State College
We were indoctrinated into the importance of setting an example so that young women and girls would emulate our actions. This was just about the time that girls were beginning to compete again interscholastically too. What an exciting time to be living in - and teaching and coaching!!
Then when I browsed the schools that had participated in interscholastic basketball games in the 1920s and 1930s, I was absolutely stunned to see my Mom's picture along with her sister as members of the Brownton teams!!!
I knew Mom had played basketball in high school, but it wasn't something that she talked about when we were growing up. Of course, this is one of the main points of the book: ask our mothers/grandmothers about their experiences so that we can benefit from them!!
Another sidelight happened when I was discussing the book with my daughter who is 34 and my daughter-in-law who is 36: neither of them realized what I had done athletically as a girl and a young woman. They did not know of my experiences with GAA (Girls Athletic Association) and WAA (Women's Athletic Association, nor of my coaching experiences at the University of Colorado, Bemidji State University, and high schools in Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Greenway and Deer River.
I will now make it a priority to write things down for them so that they can share them with their daughters.
Thank you, Marian and Dorothy, for working so hard to preserve this important and nearly lost history so that all of our daughters can benefit.
Gwenn Smith
Deer River, MN
Editor's note: Gwenn's mother, Hazel Wall, played on the Brownton girls basketball teams in 1925-1926 and 1926-1927. Hazel's sister, Florence played on the 1925-1926 team.
1925-26 team photo: Hazel Wall is in the back row, third from the left end (the player on the right). Florence Wall is in the front row, sixth player from the left.
1926-1927 team photo: Hazel Wall is in the second row, fourth player from the left.
Brownton 1925-1926
Brownton 1926-1927