More than 140 years ago the Yankton High School (YHS) became the first high school in the Dakota Territory. Though the school has seen many changes over the years, it never waivered in providing an excellent education for children. Knowing that many generations have graduated from YHS, I was curious how families saw it change over the years. I was able to find four families to visit with about their tenure there.
YHS has had various homes over the years. Per Lori Rust, YHS and the Yankton P&D 125th Anniversary Special Edition, the first high school in 1875 started out on Douglas Avenue and after being destroyed by a fire was moved to Walnut and 6th Street. The third school was opened in 1916 at Walnut and 7th Street, the current Walnut Village site, an auditorium added in 1927 and trades building in 1930. The school moved to its fourth location at 2000 Mulberry from 1958 to 1996. This building was converted to the current middle school when the fifth and current facility was built in 1996.
Frohreich/Kussman
During Betty’s senior year, she met her husband DeWane at a harvest dance in Utica, SD, and the two married after she finished school in 1956. The couple, now married 58 years, have four children who all live in Yankton: Tim, Bob, Linda and Lisa. Betty chose to stay in Yankton near her family who is all nearby.
When daughter Linda attended YHS on Mulberry Street, only a couple of Betty’s teachers still taught. After graduating in 1982, she started at USD though later opted to work full time when given an opportunity. She spent 17 years at Alumax and later landed at First Dakota National Bank where she has been for the past 14 years. She and Yankton native Randy Kussman married and had two children, Jordan and Jenna.
Jenna graduated from YHS’s newest facility in 2010, 54 years and two buildings after her grandmother. She spent time in Lincoln and Omaha after graduation before coming back, now living in Crofton, NE and working at Unique Tan. After being away, she realized she wanted to be home near her family.
Each generation took part in different extracurricular school activities: Betty in play scene preparation, Linda in gymnastics and track before teaching piano lessons while Jenna took part in the Pioneer Club.
Mr. Schiller, an English teacher, was a favorite teacher of Betty’s. “He was good with the kids and you could talk to him and he could explain things. He was a good, good teacher,” she explained. She also enjoyed a shorthand class.
Linda, like her mom, also loved learning shorthand and really enjoyed classes taught by Deb Welter. “I liked her classes because that’s what I really enjoyed doing,” she reflected.
Curiously, Jenna asked, “What’s shorthand?” It shows how much things really changed over the years. Jenna really liked Mrs. Jill Mikkelson as a teacher. Linda and Jenna could count a handful of teachers that they had in common during their time at YHS.
Homecoming changed over the years among the three, having gone from Arickara Days with a parade of floats crafted from chicken wire and paper napkins for Betty, an absence of a parade during Linda’s years transitioning later to Pioneer Days with a smaller parade for Jenna.
Prom changed greatly over time as well. Betty attended her junior prom with her brother and her senior year with DeWane after obtaining permission from the school principal to take him because he was older and had been out of school for some time. Ladies donning long dresses and men sporting suits were entertained by a live band at the dance.
Long dresses were still in style at Linda’s prom. Dress shopping wasn’t a big deal, many just wore what looked nice and re-wearing a bridesmaid dress wasn’t uncommon.
By Jenna’s prom, there was an array of short and long dresses and dress shops even kept track to assure that nobody wore the same dress to the same prom. Dress shopping was fun but competitive. Prom spanned an entire day and could easily include getting hair done, group pictures with photographer, grand march, supper, prom dance, after prom party and group breakfast.
Linda reflects on her hometown, stating, “I was born and raised in Yankton and I never had any intentions of leaving my home town. I’m a hometown girl and wanted to raise my family here. I loved having great parks, a good school and the lake area to enjoy and we do just that!”
Nelson/Olson
Wanting to stay in Yankton because of the school system, they settled down and had three children: Jason, Heather and Derrik. Middle child Heather married Justin Olson and their family grew to include three children, two girls and one boy. After leaving for a few years, they came back to Yankton where Heather was a math teacher at YHS for several years before becoming the Assistant Principal at the Yankton Middle School.
While Heather started off at the same high school on Mulberry Street as her mom before moving to the newest facility and graduating in 1999, many changes happened over those years. Lynne saw the girls’ dress code relax from uniforms at the all-girls school to dresses at the public school, later loosening even more to allow jeans at the end of her senior year. While Lynne was accustomed to black boards, her daughter explained their excitement to encounter white boards, or marker boards, at the new facility. “I just remember we were so pumped!”
Though girls track was available for Lynne, sports were mainly for guys. Heather, however participated in a sports trio of basketball, volleyball and track. Reflecting back, some of her favorite memories are when the girls’ basketball team and boys football players would play pranks on each other.
Homecoming changed over the years as well, transitioning from “Arickara Days” for Lynne to “Pioneer Days” for Heather. The “burning of the ‘Y’” tradition continued while dress-up days and ‘The Gong Show’ later evolved. Homecoming was a big celebration in Lynne’s time as many kids didn’t have jobs or other sports commitments so many families attended the game and its preceding events. Lynne and her husband were even honored by being crowned Homecoming Chief and Princess.
One thing that didn’t change over the years? Some of the excellent teachers and many favorites. They were easily able to count off ten teachers still remaining after Lynne’s tenure. Her favorite was Mr. Miner, whom she explained was a really good teacher and as assistant football coach would make you look forward to his “Football Friday” sneak peek of what to look for in the upcoming Bucks game. Heather had many favorite teachers and coaches including Doug Pesicka, Bob Medeck and Judy Tereshinski (also known as Mrs. T. or Senora T. to her students).
Lynne laughed, explaining how her intimidation of some teachers followed her when she encountered them again through parent-teacher conferences for her children.
She found the evolvement of teacher-student relationship interesting. When she was in school, they didn’t interact with their teachers socially. She explained how her children, on the other hand, were much closer to their teachers than during her time.
Heather elaborates, commenting that many coaches were like a parent to her.
Though they each had a different school atmosphere, they agreed that they were given a great education through the Yankton school system. Lynne, now a nurse, explained that not many women continued to obtain a college education. Though she does wish there were more community support for our great school system, she continued, “I always felt like I was prepared for college and had a good education.”
Heather agreed with her mom. “That’s why I moved back,” she said. “I want my kids to have the exact same upbringing as my parents had, or as I had. I know Yankton and I know what I’m getting and I just wanted that for my kids.”
Pesicka
Dawn (Christensen) Pesicka came from a family of 9 who all attended school in Yankton. Seven of the children planted roots in their hometown including Dawn and husband Doug Pesicka. She describes the quaint town as a “peaceful, quiet but energetic place to live.” Though moving away for a few years, she knew that she and Doug would return to Yankton to raise their children to have them go through this school system.
The couple had a son, Tate and daughter, Nealy. Both children athletic, Tate participated in basketball, football and track while Nealy took part in basketball and soccer. Though both Pesicka children left town after graduation, they have come back to reside in Yankton for now. Tate, a USD graduate, enjoys his job at A-OX welding supply and likes Yankton’s strong sense of community, the lake and river and being back home near his friends. Nealy also a graduate from USD, serving as mental health aide at the Human Services Center, agreed with her mom that Yankton is “a great place, energetic and lively in its own ways.”
Though 27 years spanned among Dawn’s graduation from YHS in the 80’s through Tate’s in 2006 and Nealy’s in 2010, there was one commonality over the years. Mrs. Judy Tereshinski, one of Dawn’s favorite teachers. She laughs as she explains how she “threatened” Mrs. T. saying, “You absolutely will continue teaching until my children come into this school.”
And continue to teach she did! We laughed. Nealy said Senora T. as she refers to her, was her favorite teacher. Dawn loved all of her teachers from elementary school through high school, with special mention of Loy Gravholt, and continued, “I can’t speak enough about the teachers in our school system. I’ve enjoyed my teachers teaching my kids in high school. That’s been fun for me.”
Tate, like his mom, had several favorite teachers: Bob Beard, Jason Oswald and his dad, Doug Pesicka. He laughed, “Having your dad in the building, if you do something wrong he’ll know about it right away.” he continued, “Yankton has some great educators.”
Dawn appreciated the opportunities her children had by being able to participate in several activities. In her tenure, you were either out for band, or athletics, or plays, but didn’t go out for more than one activity. Her children had more options and took advantage of them, taking part in both athletics and plays.
Tate, reflecting on his Senior year, was recruited to take part in the YHS play production of Westside Story. Though a small part, his character “Red” yelling out two words, he admits, “that was one of the best experiences of my life.”
Several things changed after Dawn graduated from YHS, explaining how the adjustment in the homecoming celebration over the years was a huge change for her. Having been on the Arickara club during high school, homecoming, for her, was the highlight of every single school year. When Arickara transitioned to Pioneer Days, Dawn felt like it lost some of the power and enthusiasm behind it which her kids were missing out on.
Senior pictures were important to Dawn, explaining them as, “a really big deal. How many outfits can I wear, what poses can I do?” Tate admitted they weren’t such a big deal to him. “But you’re a guy,” his sister cracked as we all laughed. “It’s still a big deal,” Nealy said. “It’s very important to pick out pictures when you’re a senior.”
Tate compares his high school on Summit Street to his mom’s school on Mulberry Street. “It’s weird for me to think about my mom going to high school at the now middle school.
It seems so small.” Dawn added, “I love that my old high school is a middle school now.”
Specht/Silvernail
Deb (Budig) Specht moved to Yankton the summer before her sophomore year. Born in Minnesota, she lived in the Rochester, Duluth and Minneapolis area until her family moved to Rapid City during her 8th grade year.
Later uprooted and forced to move again as a sophomore, she wasn’t happy about it but reflecting back admits that she wouldn’t have met her husband Dan had it not been for her move to Yankton.
Deb recalls her move to Yankton, “Before moving here to Yankton, I had always attended Catholic schools. So, I vividly remember panicking a little because I didn’t have many clothes!” I laughed. She continued, “I had always worn a uniform and that was an adjustment. YHS was much larger than any other school I attended and I remember when the bell rang, the hallway was flooded with students, like the school scenes on T.V!”
After obtaining her elementary education major and Spanish minor degrees from USD, she taught at Sacred Heart in Yankton, in Freeman and in Sioux Falls, SD before returning to Yankton to teach Spanish. She continued teaching until 2006 when she decided to instead become a full-time Realtor with her husband at Vision Real Estate Services.
The couple added three beautiful daughters to their family: Jayna, Regan and Cameryn. Jayna, a 2010 YHS graduate, teaches 2nd grade in Brandon Valley and she and husband Cody Silvernail just welcomed baby Quinn Christine to their family. Regan, a junior at USD, is majoring in elementary education while Cameryn is a sophomore at YHS.
Though Deb attended high school on Mulberry Street while her daughters all attended the Summit Street location, they all shared a common bond: their affection for the popular Mrs. Tereshinski! Deb, a 1986 graduate, loved her Spanish class with Senora T. and years later they even taught together! Both daughters followed suit, Jayna having many favorites including Mrs. T’s Spanish class, choir with Mrs. Larson and literature class with Mrs. Mikkelson. Regan enjoyed Mrs. T. and Mrs. Mathison was a favorite to both Regan and Cameryn. Favorite classes also included A.P. Literature and Elements of Reading Literature.
Regan followed in her mom’s cheerleading footsteps, the two having fun comparing cheer routines. Deb treasures her memories of being a cheerleader when her boyfriend (now husband Dan) became the state champion in wrestling and cheering the 1985 Bucks football team to a championship in the USD Dome.
Homecoming provided some good memories, Jayna remembering her mom dressing up for homecoming in the 80’s in an original, shiny metallic unitard. Continuing, she explained that her dad also wore the same outfit during homecoming. Hilarious! Regan enjoyed the Homecoming festivities during the week,especially getting together with friends to decorate t-shirts, adding, “They progressively got better as we got older.”
Cameryn has fun participating in different sports, and Jayna recalls having fond memories of school groups and activities. Jayna added, “My husband Cody and I met in homeroom. Our teacher, P. Schultz, had also been Cody’s dad’s homeroom teacher. We thought that was pretty cool!”
Reflecting on the changes over the years, Deb noted when she was a student, they carried their books to and from school daily and students went to their lockers after each class. While she taught, students had backpacks filled with books to avoid constant stops at their lockers. For safety concerns, students today keep their belongings in their lockers and do not carry backpacks nor do girls carry purses.
Technology has also changed considerably, noted Deb. “Mimeograph copies are a thing of the past, along with overhead projectors and filmstrips. Today, most all classrooms have SmartBoards with immediate access to the internet.” Students can also use chrome books, or laptops, as well as their personal smart phones if allowed.
Though apparent that many changes have taken place over the years at Yankton High School, the quality of education and athletics has never waivered. Our community is blessed to have a wonderful school system providing our children with a safe, fun and opportunistic education respected throughtout the area, and for that, I am among many, proud to say that I am a YHS graduate.
