Alumni Honored as “Top Aggies” at NWSA Reunion
Four alumni of the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) were recognized as “Top Aggies" for the year 2001 at the annual reunion held recently at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC).
Receiving the honors were (below, left to right): Raymond K. Johnson ’46 of Cincinnati, Ohio; Evangeline Anderson Myhre ’46 of Warren, Minn.; Roger J. Kasprick ’51 of Collegeville, Minn.; and JoAnne Straus Carlson ’61 of Brainerd, Minn. UMC Chancellor Don Sargeant is pictured at the far right with the group.
The Top Aggie Awards were established in 1970 to honor Northwest School of Agriculture alumni, faculty, and staff who, in the eyes of the NWSA Alumni Association, have had a significant impact on the lives of their fellow citizens through professional and service contributions in their occupations, community, church, education, and other service and non-profit organizations.
The Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) was a residential high school that operated from 1905 through 1968 on the campus that is now UMC. There have been a total of 5,433 NWSA alumni.
Raymond K. Johnson
Dealing with people and recognizing his skills as a “people person” are things Raymond Johnson credits to the time he spent at the NWSA. After graduation, he spent four years in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, primarily as an instructor.
Following the service, Raymond attended the University of North Dakota and earned his BS in Engineering. It was there that he became involved with Toastmasters, participating and winning several speaking contests. Upon graduation from UND, he worked as a Sales Engineer for the Sangamo Electric Company. He was selected as the company’s Salesman of the Year for the North American and International operation along with other awards during his 34-year career with the company.
Raymond has held church offices and was committee chairman of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 284 for five years. He is a member of the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels, a charitable organization. Currently he is working as a volunteer at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science in the education department and at the City of Montgomery to establish an inventory control system for the service department.
Evangeline Anderson Myhre
Evangeline Anderson Myhre is known for volunteerism. She has served as leader of both Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, co-founded and led the Warren Community Arts Board, and initiated the beautification and design of a park in her hometown. She has also been involved with Habitat for Humanity where she has worked on homes on the Eagle Butte Indian Reserve, a site in Portugal, and soon at a site in Hungary this year. She feels that this affords her cross-cultural experiences in a productive way.
Evangeline has served as a tour guide to Scandinavian countries, and she has great interest in the arts and music. After her five children were grown, she took courses at the University of North Dakota and credits her time at NWSA with her continued desire to learn. She has attended seminars on leadership which have proven to be helpful when working on programs and projects within and outside of her community.
According to Evangeline, all of these activities were just a continuation of her involvement at the NWSA, where she was a member of the choir and Glee Club and director for the annual Song Contest. Evangeline also participated in intramural sports, which taught her the benefits of being a team player in every avenue of life. Along with this, she also served on the NWSA student council, which may have been a foreshadowing of her interest in politics including 15 years as Republican Party chairperson of Marshall County and a number of years as senate district chairperson.
Roger J. Kasprick
The education that began with the NWSA has continued throughout life for Roger Kasprick. His involvement at the NWSA included serving as editor of the Aggie and the school newspaper, captain of the track team, and participating in school plays, debate and many other activities. He was also named Valedictorian of the Class of 1951.
Graduating from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., Roger was accepted as a Benedictine Monk. He earned his Master of Divinity, was ordained to the priesthood, and over the course of life studied at seven or eight other universities. He has taught student groups in many countries.
Besides teaching at St. John’s University, Roger has served in numerous parishes and has ministered as chaplain in hospitals, nursing homes, and other service institutions. He has also worked in Clinical Pastoral Education at Stanford University and at the University of California/San Francisco. In 1998-99, he was named a Stanford University Visiting Scholar, and he served on the Stanford University Hospital Ethics Board.
JoAnne Straus Carlson
While attending the NWSA, JoAnne Straus Carlson was involved in the yearbook staff, newspaper staff, Girl’s Athletic Association, Newman Club, school plays, and student council. She says she especially enjoyed the classes she took in horticulture and living in the home management house.
Following graduation from the NWSA, JoAnne attended North Dakota State University. She worked at First National Bank in Grand Forks and Fargo, ND. When she married in 1964, her focus shifted to the production of grains and potato products. JoAnne and her husband, Ron, received the NDSU Outstanding Agriculturalist Award and was the first woman named to the Minnesota Area I Potato Council, a board on which she is still active. She also took the opportunity to earn her private pilot’s license.
JoAnne has spent time as part of the Stephen Volunteer Ambulance Corps, has been active in her church, and has served on the NWSA Alumni Board. She now lives in Brainerd, where she helps her husband renovate and redecorate homes for resale and works at Cynthia Cook, Inc. and Happy Sleeper.
Posted 07/06/2001
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435