Four Northwest School of Agriculture
(NWSA) alumni and faculty were recognized as "1998 Top Aggies" at the annual
reunion held recently at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC).
Receiving the honors were (from left): Ronald Filipy ’58, Richland WA; Eva Mildred Mykleby Pearson ’38, St. Paul MN; Robert Heckman, faculty ‘60-68, Fertile MN: and Maynard Helgaas ’53, Jamestown ND. UMC Chancellor Don Sargeant is on the right.
Ronald Filipy is a full professor of research at the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries, a Department of Energy-sponsored human research program operated by Washington State University.
In this position he has a collaborative research project with scientists of the Russian Federation. Filipy has visited a nuclear facility in Russia four times in the past four years. He is a published author of many reports in scientific literature such as the Journal of Health Physics and Radiation Protection Dosimetry.
Eva Mildred Mykleby Pearson has published her latest book "They Did Not Have Horns . . . The Viking Kings of Norway."
In 1989 she published a 340-page genealogical/historical book, "I Remember! I Remember! Your Viking Heritage," which is in over 40 libraries in the USA and Europe. In 1995 she created a computerized chart of the Viking Kings of Norway, which is in bookstores throughout the U.S. and also in Europe.
Maynard Helgaas was manager-owner of Midwest Agri-Development Corporation, a family owned business which operated four John Deer Dealerships, a New Holland Dealership and a leasing Company. In 1994 he retired and began producing potatoes for Simplot and AVIKO frozen potato processors. He is currently working with his son and son-in-law, producing about 2600 acres of irrigated potatoes annually in the Jamestown area.
Robert Heckman was an instructor at the NWSA for eight years where he taught English and Psychology and directed the band for one year. He served as an advisor for the Aggie, a dormitory counselor and assisted with the young Christian youth group on campus.
He prepared the final yearbook for the NWSA that included a brief history of the school. When he was working toward his masters degree, he wrote his thesis on "The History of the Founding of the Northwest School of Agriculture at Crookston, Minnesota."
Posted 08/03/98
Contact: Barbara Weiler, 218-281-8435
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