30 Years Ago

Thursday, November 1, 1990

Rogge new county road department foreman

Area native Don Rogge has been hired as the new foreman of the Powder River County Road Department.

Rogge has been employed with the Road Department for about ten years, according to Commissioner Board Chairman Gerald Himelspach. Rogge was among around ten applicants considered for the position.

“I think his experience was one of the big things – he has done blade work, worked on the dirt crew, drove truck and was on cattle guards – he had experience in everything,” said Himelspach. “We kind of went by our county hiring policy. We just followed it the best we could. It is based on character, attitude, qualifications and aptitude. There’s no such thing as longevity – some of our road crew members had been there longer but we don’t use seniority.”

Rogge replaces Jim Cain at the position. Cain had been employed full time with the Road Department since 1978. He also had worked with the department for around three years previously. Cain was promoted to Road Department Foreman four years ago. He resigned to accept a position with the Deibel Wheat and Cattle Company at Volborg.

“I think Jim did an excellent job,” said Himelspach. “I guess nobody’s perfect, but he did the job to the best of his ability.”

Eric Graff joins MSU band at Kingdome

The Spirit of the West Marching Band will never forget October 1, 1990. That’s the day Montana State University students played before 60,000 football fans in the Kingdome and presented a half-time show at the Seattle vs. Cincinnati game. And if that experience alone isn’t memorable enough, the NFL game was seen by millions watching “Monday Night Football” on the ABC-TV network.

Eric Graff of Broadus was among the students in the Spirit of the West Marching Band who performed at the Seahawks football game.

“An empty Kingdome is an awesome sight,” said Daniel Moore, director of the Spirit of the West Marching Band. “The ‘wow’ factor was very big when we first got there.”

Although kick-off wasn’t until 6 p.m., the MSU band arrived at the stadium to rehearse at 1 o’clock. They had never marched on artificial turf before much less tooted horns in such a vast enclosure. “There’s an echo that lasts 12-seconds for every note you play,” said Moore. “Rehearsal was pretty frightening because nothing there was the same as playing outdoors.”

Another memory will be their sideline seats near the Seahawks bench. “We were sitting next to some of the biggest men you’ve ever seen,” said Moore.

The MSU students also will remember the sound of 60,000 people screaming at full-lung capacity when the Bengals had the ball. “Television doesn’t convey how loud it is. You’re just awestruck by the volume,” said Moore.

The Spirit of the West Marching Band previously has been invited to play at Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers games. However, their first obligation is to the Bobcats home schedule and they always play for the ‘Cat-Griz’ game. It takes several seasons to find a compatible date.

And then there’s the cost. The Seattle trip was $9,200 of which on $1,000 was paid by the Seahawks. MSU men’s athletics, the Bobcat Booster Club, and the MSU music department picked-up the difference while students paid for their own meals.

However, for the Spirit of the West Marching Band, the price of some burgers and a sixteen hour bus ride home will soon be forgotten but that one afternoon and night in the Kingdome in 1990 will be remembered forever.

Graff is the son of Steve Graff and Kathy Graff of Broadus.