DUANE MENTER
Ever Skinned a Griz Pilgram? By Kurt Lehrmann
After talking to Duane Menter '66 my mind immediately went to the movie 'Jeremiah Johnson' where Robert Redford was in a
wilderness cabin and Will Geer running through with a Grizzly bear hot on his heals. After spending 34 years teaching junior
high science in populated Buffalo Grove Illinois, Duane and his wife (who also taught kindergarten for 20 years) retired in 1999
and took off for the wild frontier of Colorado. Situated about 25 miles northeast of Durango outside the small town of Bayfield
(pop 350 on a good day), they set up house at the end of Lakeview Drive. Picture a lake in the middle with mountains on both
sides at 8000 feet above sea level. Beautiful, absolutely. Peaceful, no doubt. A sh… load of snow, you bet. Try10 to 12 feet on
average. A few years ago they braved 5 feet of snow in two days.
In his younger years he had the tough job of raising three kids all of which stayed in southeastern Wisconsin. This oldest was
Jeff (also a Turtle I might add) who's an environmental consultant, Laura has given him two grandchildren and is taking
temporary leave as a psychologist. Finally there's Steve who has three kids and is in the banking industry. His wife has two
other children from another marriage, one working in Washington DC and the other on his second tour of duty in Bagdad Iraq.
Take a wild guess at what Duane's hobbies and interests are? No not shoveling snow or skinning griz so how does fishing,
hunting and hiking strike you? This poor guy only averages fishing 5days a week, 2 hours a day. I can just imagine the pristine
trout streams however he's a 'spincaster', avoiding the frustration of fly fishing. Besides trout he fancies salmon and pike
angling. He's also shot at more wild game then most people have seen outside a zoo. At least a couple of times a year he heads
out with friends and Jeff when in the Midwest for whitetail deer, but has also found time for tracking bear and moose in Canada
along with Elk and Caribou in the west. Due to an aging back he's cut down on the hiking but finds time to head out for short
ventures with his wife who's an avid skier (works at Purgatory mountain).
Some of the guys he remembers most from those days on the old Illinois campus are his pledge father and roommate Bill
Heffernan (unfortunately has passed away), Frank Miralgio '67, John Cimaroli '66 whose last known whereabouts was
Libertyville IL, David Fink '65 and his younger Turtle brother Gary '67. There were also some great times with John Gavurnik
who now lives in Texas. He'll also never forget the night they pimped Ken Hanson. Three of the six pledges grabbed him from
his dorm room one night and went for a 'ride' to the country. They dropped Ken in the middle of nowhere without any pants
(talk about hazing) but he made it safely home (at least that's what he heard). Because of the pimping he wasn't sure he'd get in
the frat but I guess all went well. Some of the old events that meant a lot were the Greek Olympics (I know those continued into
the 70's) and the keg parties (held off campus for obvious reasons). Duane also remember the Turtles having great intramural
teams as many of the jocks were brothers.
Over the years the mid 60's Turtles have ventured to many corners of the states. He doesn't often hear from the alums but is
excited about seeing the TEX alum group get together (unsolicited endorsement) so he can re-connect with old friends. Can't
wait to hear who he picks to 'Brofile.'
Duane 'Dewey' Menter 717 Lakeview Drive Bayfield CO 81122 Home 970 884-4815