Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s during the technician Xmas party the Xmas tree would always disappear. The next day there would always be an announcement over the PA system asking that who ever took the tree to bring it back. One year it was found on the roof of the Headquarters building over the main entrance. The amazing thing is nobody ever found out who was taking and then returning the tree every year. There are a couple of us that know who it was he…he..he.
Pete Lewis
I remember coming to the Headquarters building (then called the O & T) on a Friday afternoon to see someone in personal or finance about something or other and hearing the sound of a piano playing coming down the hall. It was Don Matson sneaking over early to set up the club. He always seemed to have time after the set up to play a tune or two. Don used to play at the downtown Elks club and just couldn’t get over it I guess. Anyone know where the piano is today? I Do!
wj
Freddie Robinson at the “piano”
In 1972 Earling Opskar was my fraternity brother at Moorhead State and a member of the NDANG. The ANG had a recruiting drive and Earling took me out to the Guard and I signed up and was placed in civil eng. The next week-end was a drill week-end but they had no uniform for me so I came out in cut off jeans, T shirt and combat boots. Spook was my boss as I was classified as a painter but they were after my sign painting skills. My first job was to letter the logo 119th Fighter Sq. on the front of the big hanger. 3:30pm on Sunday some officer was yelling at me to get my butt down off the roof. I was 5 stories in the air and had to cross over two roofs and down a ladder to get to the ground. Upon reaching the ground I was quizzed as to why I wasn’t in uniform which I started to explain and all the time I was explaining he was walking me toward the mess hall. Once inside I realized it was the Auger Inn and Col. McDonald commenced to get me drunk. He introduced me to everyone thus my career and Auger Inn began on the same day.
SuperFrog
Butch Anton
In 1989 during the conversion to F-16s, we had an instructor from the active duty Air Force in town to teach us how to test our new missiles. On Thursday we brought him to the club where he was a little bit surprised to see several Generals and Bird Colonels having a good old time drinking beer with all of the enlisted guys. The place was full and at some point Col John Syverson and BG Thor Hertsgaard got into a friendly wrestling match. You could see our instructor’s eyes getting bigger and bigger in disbelief. After about 20 seconds into it they knocked over a heaping trash can full of beer bottles and garbage. The two laughed about it and much to our instructors surprise they started picking up their mess. It was when Archie handed the General a mop that the instructor required CPR.
Brad
The original Auger Inn had its beginning in an old World War 2 barracks building. Had some very good parties there and it was heated with a coal burning stove. We had to secure the windows as we had some members that used the windows to get in and avail themselves of certain refreshments that we served there.
One big event was purchasing the first bar. This was purchased when we were given space in the first new Headquarters building when it was built. The bar was built for us by the old Fargo Food and Equipment Company. Don’t remember how we raised the money.
Also at the time we bought the bar Henry Nickel built the first stage that we had in the corner of the dining hall and was used that way for several years. Another item is when wives would call the club we would answer saying it was Jakes Poolroom thereby indicating that they had the wrong number. And we did get a lot of calls. Best I can do. Fred Quam
I do remember getting stranded at the club the year of that big blizzard when that person died on 19th Ave. We stopped at the club at 4:00 and by 5:00 the blizzard hit and no one was allowed to leave. The Auger Inn stayed open at least until midnight and they opened the kitchen and cooked for us. It was a lot of fun I remember!!
Diane Moderow
Back in 1983, or there about, at the technician Christmas party Tom Tolman contacts me and says Bill Phelan knows a trucker that was out in West Fargo with a load of bananas and needs to get rid of the rest of his load. Tolman figures we can transport the bananas in my van which incidentally had a rear heater. You see, we needed to keep the bananas from freezing as it was about -20 below zero that day. Tolman, who was always a thinker, applied logic to his every move. He figured when the party got rolling we could make some money selling bananas to fellow unsuspecting Hooligans. As I flipped Tolman and Phelan my keys I sat in back wondering how I ever got involved in this scheme. We found the trucker and proceeded to load cases of bananas until we were full…….640 pounds full! With the mud flaps dragging as we drove through the gate we parked by the club with the heaters roaring. As the party got rolling pretty good we started peddling. We sold most of them that day and the rest the next as people were coming back for more. When all was said and done we made $12 dollars apiece (after we had to drop our price). Hardly a fortune but fun none the less. Craig Kulla
The Mickalouski -
In the 50s to early 60s there was a drink that some drank in the club and my father, Pappy Larson, has been credited for it by some aged members. It was learned either on a cross country trip with the Hooligans or from his days barnstorming in western North Dakota. They would all stand in a circle and drink a couple shots of some alcohol followed by swallowing a certain quantity of coffee grounds and then chew on a lemon rind. It got to be a challenge to see who could stay in the circle the longest and even the Chaplin at the time took part in the festivities - drinking a Mickalouski!
One of my fondest memories of “The Club” was listening to Don Matson play the piano. Don was a long time bar tender, as was his brother, and there was an old upright piano that always sat against the wall next to the bar. As the evening went on Don would occasionally come around the bar, push the piano out from the wall and start playing. When he would do that everyone would gather around and listen or sing along. What a great guy and his piano playing will long be remembered by those that had the pleasure of being there. TLar
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