The Upper Midwest can get some tough weather. But it never has to deal with hurricanes.
“Neighbors” heard from a man who, with his wife, is living in Gulf Breeze, Fla., and got a taste of one last fall.
Brad Naggatz wrote that “we got whacked pretty good by (hurricane) Sally.
“We went to bed that night thinking we were gonna have a near miss, but at the last minute she turned right into us.
“The worst part is that it severely damaged our new bay bridge which connects Gulf Breeze with Pensacola, creating a huge commute nightmare. It would take six months to repair it. So I’m thanking the Almighty I’m retired.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Brad is the son of the late Don Naggatz and his wife, Beryl, formerly of Fairmount, N.D., who moved to Gulf Breeze; “Neighbors” ran a column about Don six years ago, telling how he was awarded a medal by the Russian government for his military service during World War II .
“Recently,” Brad writes, “I talked family into sending Dad’s WWII ‘stuff’ (medals, letters, documents, uniform, even a 1945 Tokyo newspaper) to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans for preservation.
“The museum’s curator was taken with his story and wrote a nice piece about it.”
As for himself, Brad wrote that he retired after teaching and coaching football for 38 years in Minnesota, North Dakota and Florida. “My coaching stops were St. Cloud State and Barnesville, Minn., Wahpeton, N.D., Niceville, Fla., and five different schools in Pensacola.
“My mother is still kicking (with her one good leg) and living with my sister in New Mexico. We three brothers are residing in the Gulf Breeze-Pensacola area. And we all survived that hurricane.
“I think I would rather have an Alberta clipper.”
He adds that his wife, Cheryl, is the daughter of the late Neal Roscoe, once Fargo’s assistant fire chief.
So there’s the note from Brad, who says that although he likes Florida, he misses seeing the North Dakota State University Bison play football.
ADVERTISEMENT
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107, fax it to 701-241-5487 or email blind@forumcomm.com.
