We have begun learning about Loren Wood, who was born in 1947 in Tyler to Beulah (Yearous) Wood and Harold Wood. Loren and his siblings; older sister, Karen, and younger brother, Dean, grew up on the family farm northwest of Balaton.

Loren, as a farm kid, knew all about work. He reflected on what he learned from growing up in his family.

“I was taught good work ethics. I was willing to put in extra to get a job done, not necessarily just to get paid.”

The Wood kids had plenty of extended family members in the area.

“We always had Christmas Eve with my dad’s side grandparents. I knew my dad’s folks and my mom’s sisters. One lived in Balaton; one lived in Lake Wilson; and her brother lived in Balaton. So, we spent a lot of time with them. I remember the folks playing cards with them. Some of them were competitive, so you better play the right card (Loren laughed) or you would hear about it.”

The nearby aunts and uncle had families so Loren had many cousins. He maintained ties with those cousins.

“We started a Yearous cousins’ reunion years ago. We started with 21 of us who were cousins.”

The Wood kids attended Russell Public Schools via a school bus route that took them the five miles to town.

“The bus came and picked us up about 7:30 in the morning. We were some of the last ones to get on.”

The Russell schools expanded their circle of friends. Loren’s class included 32 students.

“We all went through grade school and high school together. When I was in grade school the gymnasium was in the basement. Like a lot of these schools, the ceiling wasn’t very high, but it was someplace we could go.”

The absence of a regulation-sized gymnasium was a challenge for the high-schoolers.

“They played basketball in the town hall downtown. That ceiling wasn’t very high. (Loren laughed) There were no bleachers, just one row of seats on each side. But once I got in high school, they built the new auditorium.”

Loren mostly enjoyed his high school years, but not so much the academics. His high school principal left an impression.

“Duane Pecks was his name. One time I and my friend, Marlin Buess, were walking down the hall. He was on the steps of his office and said, ‘Come here, you two.’ We walked over and he said, ‘You two made the B honor roll. (Loren laughed) Why can’t you do that more often?”

Loren and his friend, Marlin, had memorable, teenage adventures.

He and I did a lot of things together — some not-so-good. (Loren laughed) Every Saturday night we went to the Showboat, a dance hall on the shore of Lake Benton. They had some big names there like Buddy Holly. Of course, we’d always find somebody who could buy us beer.

One of Loren’s high school highlights was meeting a Balaton girl, Joellyn Johnson. Loren and that Balaton girl will be celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary this year.

“We met when we were still in high school at the roller rink in Balaton. We spent a lot of time in that roller rink — Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon.

Russell was the Wood’s family go-to for shopping and socializing.

“My sister was in band when I was in school and Russell had a bandwagon. They would play music on Wednesday or Saturday night. We’d take her to town so she could be in the band and we’d do our shopping or talk to neighbors. Russell had two grocery stores, a creamery, a gas station, a hardware store, a bank, a restaurant, Duthoy’s Drug Store, the telephone office, another café, the liquor store, a blacksmith’s shop and two elevators across the street next to the railroad tracks.

Russell had a train depot and its rail line serviced more than the grain trade.

“The train used to stop there. I had friends who had an aunt in Cottonwood. They’d get on the train in Russell and ride it to Cottonwood.”

World events did not occupy much space in Loren’s world, but Russell students knew of the Vietnam War.

“Going through high school, we heard about it, but didn’t pay much attention. Once I turned 18 I had to sign up (for the draft) at the courthouse.”

Loren graduated with the Russell High School class of 1965. He described his post-graduation plans.

“When I graduated I went to Canby Vo-Tech for machinery sales and maintenance. In the summer I apprenticed for J.I. Case, just east of town. Then I went back to school and worked part time for John Deere in Balaton. We were the first class to go through Canby Vo-Tech. They weren’t very organized and it got boring, so in January 1967 I went to the draft board and volunteered for the draft. I knew I’d have to go as soon as I graduated, so, I went ahead and volunteered. I got my notice to go to the Cities in February.”

He remembered the day he left Marshall on the bus.

“I got on the bus at the Atlantic Hotel. Mom wouldn’t come when I left, but Dad did. He said, ‘I hope you don’t have to go, but if you do, don’t volunteer for anything and keep your head down.’ (Loren chuckled) He’d been in WWII.”

Loren boarded the bus and departed for the Army.

Please visit our new exhibit at the Lyon County Museum, The Vietnam War and Lyon County, to learn more about the experiences of our area Vietnam veterans.