Hugo Leonard Lankford Carlson was born on March 21, 1931 in Aberdeen, South Dakota to Oscar Hugo Carlson and Julia Mathilda (Whitney) Carlson. He was married to LaRae Yvonne Robertson on January 7, 1951. They have two sons, Craig Leigh (b. 1955) and Hugh Scott (b. 1961.
He’s been a lasting inspiration to his students as a professor, and there are few people with a more generous spirit. Although he was born charismatic and naturally the center of attention, he’s much happier working behind the scenes to make friends and family comfortable and giving the credit to everyone else.
Remembrances from Hugo Carlson, January 1995:
I spent my first two years in Halliday, North Dakota, where my dad owned and ran a garage. During the depression of the ‘30’s he was unable to keep it going and we moved to Williston, ND, where he worked in the Ford Garage. My brothers Joe, Oz, and Julian were all born in Williston. My dad got a job with the Mobil Oil Company in 1937, and we moved to Aberdeen. First we lived at 112 8th Ave. NE, and a year later we moved next door to 118 8th Ave. NE. Then in 1940, we moved to 714 N. Main.
Hugo – 1933
I was six when I moved to Aberdeen. In the first grade, the thing that sticks in my mind is the teacher saying, ‘Today we’re going to learn how to read,’ and I gasped and thought, ‘I can’t learn it all today!’
At that time, there were five theatres in the downtown area. The top theatre was called The Capitol, which is still where they have the Arts Council put on plays. There was one called The Lyric, one called the Orpheum, one called the Pix, and another called the Times. Those last two showed most of the cowboy shows.
You got into a double feature and saw two pictures for a nickel. I used to go to a lot of shows. Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Hellsapoppin with a comedy team of Olson and Johnson. A lot of the shows were westerns, and one of the more famous was Jessie James. The follow-up show was The Return of Frank James. The scariest show I ever saw was The Hound of the Baskervilles. What I remember is that they had this Great Dane that they put elongated ears on and made him look more ferocious, and they’d let him out when someone was walking in the Moors. All of a sudden this huge dog would charge them.
Capitol Movie Theater – Aberdeen, SD
Clothes were much the same as now except winter coats were many times lines with sheepskin. I also wore knickers–pants that stopped just below the knees and were held tight with elastic. There were many small neighborhood grocery stores and people bought their food only a few blocks from home. A clerk personally went and got your groceries and brought them to the checkout counter. Most groceries were sold on credit. You mailed letters with three cent stamps, put them in a clip on the mailbox and the mailman picked them up.
Hugo – 1936
Hugo – 1936
I used to enjoy going to the Orpheum Theatre cause that’s where they had vaudeville shows. They had a huge orchestra pit, and they had a box seats that came down almost even with the stage. When you were a kid, it was fun to get down in those box seats and watch the show. The theatres at the time were a glorified home movie screen–a large, square screen with one speaker above the screen, so you didn’t get the stereophonic sound you have today.
Oscar, Joe (Emil), Hugo
Oz, Hugo, Julian, and Emil (Joe) Carlson
The movies during the war had a patriotic theme all the time. They tried to make the Germans and Japanese almost non-human, with huge teeth, robot-like with no thought of their own. They were always cruel and mean. Racist terms, if they would use them today… I can remember one preview saying ‘those yellow-bellied Japs.’ They wanted to make the enemy almost non-human, so that when we killed them it was like killing an animal.
When we lived on North Main St., they had sandlot football, and I got kicked in the nose and was bleeding all over and I ran home and there was a newspaper lying on the steps that said in 3-in. type “JAPS BOMB PEARL HARBOR.” When I brought the paper in, my folks weren’t concerned at all about my bloody nose. All they cared about was the newspaper.
Hugo – Confirmation
In Aberdeen, when you walked from the movie theater home, you’d have to cross the tracks. There were buildings beside the tracks, and it was always spooky to walk home on the tracks afterward. Especially after the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame!
My father was a Mobil Oil sales representative and my mother was a teacher. I spent summers from the time I was 10 years old working on my grandmother’s farm–until I started high school. My parents received any money I earned and gave me some for spending money. I usually spent it to go to the movies, buy candy and toys.
We lived in wooden houses with central heat. They were many times uncomfortable in the summers because there was no air conditioning. Antibiotics hadn’t been discovered yet, so bacterial infections were very dangerous.
I went through grade school there and in 1945 my dad was transferred to Valley City, ND. I competed in high school there, attended Valley City State College for a year and then transferred to the University of ND where I completed a degree in business.
In high school my locker was next to this cute little girl by the name of LaRae Robertson. She had transferred from East Grand Forks High School to Valley City High School in her junior year. Because she was dating my best friend, I didn’t want anyone to mistake my intentions so my first overtures towards her were “cool” things like hitting her over the head with my books–“very lightly.” After she quit dating Chuck, my actions towards her became a lot more diplomatic and we began going together in our senior year. A girl I had dated said LaRae and I wouldn’t last two weeks (going together). As we approach 44 years of wedded bliss, I would say her prediction wasn’t too accurate.
My sister, Julia Elsie, was born in 1948. Julia started grade school in Valley City and finished in Rapid City, SD when my dad was transferred in 1958. Julia finished high school in Rapid City, attended Augustana College and later completed a degree in art from the University of South Dakota. She worked as a graphic artist and taught school. She developed cancer and passed away in 1990 at the age of 42.
My folks wanted my brothers and me to have the opportunity to play the piano and other musical instruments. Something that was a little ironic was that the favorite song of my dad and my mother’s mother was ‘Paper Doll.’ We all took several years of lessons, but once we were in high school, there wasn’t enough time for both music and athletics and music fell by the wayside. Athletics had been very important to my dad and I’m sure his interest spurred us on to participate in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Joe and Oz were outstanding basketball players and received athletic scholarships to play at “Big-Ten” Universities–Joe at Ohio State where he was co-captain of the team and Oz at the University of Minnesota where he was a starting guard. Julian had great potential in baseball and many felt he could have become a pro but he married young, joined the army and didn’t pursue sports any further.
Valley City Homecoming King
Valley City Homecoming (Hugo and LaRae’s First Date) – October 8, 1948
Hugo and LaRae – Night of Engagement
LaRae and I were married at age 19. It was the beginning of the Korean War and I was due to be drafted. As soon as the Korean War started, they started drafting, so it was logical that I would have to go since I was 19 years old (the ideal age they were drafting)… I was working for Culligan’s Soft Water Company. The time the war started was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college. The head of the draft board said I would probably be drafted in a few months, so I told the man I was working for that I would work until I got drafted. Because I wasn’t drafted by the following summer, I went back to school. I transferred from Valley City State to the University of North Dakota where I was required to participate in the Reserve Officer Training Corp. Because I was in ROTC, I was deferred from the draft until I graduated from college. When I graduated, I got my commission as a second lieutenant and expected to go immediately into the Service.
Hugo and Chuck Taylor
Hugo With Brothers at His Wedding (1951)
By that time the war was over, and they deferred my entry for two years, so I went to work as a chemical salesman until I went in the army. I took my basic officer’s training at Ft. Benning, GA. When I was through with basic officers training, I was transferred to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where you trained troops. Then I was discharged. I had to remain in the reserve for another eight years.
Our oldest son, Craig, was born on June 27, 1955, during my senior year at the university. Because of job transfers and the army, he had lived in several states by the time he was two years old. Following my training at Fort Benning, we lived in Tampa, Florida, for close to a year but missed our family and friends and moved back to Valley City in 1958. I picked up the necessary credits to be certified to teach and my first job was at Flasher High School in the very small town of Flasher, ND.
Hugo and LaRae – 1953
Joe (Emil), Oz, Julian, Hugo, LaRae, O. Hugo, Julie, and Julia
The highway past Flasher sits above the town and when we went to interview, I was almost past the town before I saw it. We stopped, looked down at it and I said to LaRae, “Should we forget it and go home?” I interviewed and it turned out to be a good move. The salary was better than most schools were paying at that time and we made friendships that have lasted up to the present.
Julie, Julian, Oz, Joe (Emil), and Hugo
Hugo, Craig, Julia, and O. Hugo
Hugo, LaRae, Craig, and Hugh – Mid 1960s
Our second son, Hugh, was born on February 4, 1961, while we were in Flasher. This proved to be somewhat stressful. The town of Flasher is thirty miles from the closest doctor or hospital and Hugh was due to arrive in the month of January. One anxious moment occurred when the cat chewed through the telephone wire when LaRae was nine months pregnant. I was very concerned he would decide to arrive during a blizzard but this didn’t happen and he came a little late at Lorenzen Memorial Hospital in Elgin, ND.
In 1962 we moved to Dickinson, ND, and I taught there for three years. During this time I completed my master’s degree and was offered a position at Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD. We liked Dickinson and the people but felt this was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. We moved to Aberdeen in t 1966. When we moved to Aberdeen in 1966, there were only 4 restaurants on all of 6th Ave., and now there must be twenty. The Virginia Cafe was the first restaurant I ever went to. My dad worked as a busboy there while he was going to school.
LaRae and Hugo – 1960s
I’m now beginning my 30th year of teaching at Northern and plan to retire in January of 1996. I have seen many changes since arriving at Northern–especially in the area of electronics and data processing. In 1966, there was one computer in Aberdeen owned by McLaughlin Electric Company. Today, there are several hundred computers on the Northern campus alone. A little over 20 years ago the business department at Northern bought its first electronic calculator. It was as large as a personal computer of today and other than the four basic functions, the only special feature was square root. We thought it was just great. Today my watch/calculator has many times the capacity and features of that first calculator and my watch/calculator costs 1/60th the price. Every instructor on our campus now has a computer in his/her office.
Oz, Hugo, Julie, Joe (Emil), and Julian
Hugo and LaRae With Grandson David
LaRae and Hugo Carlson, Janice and Dean Johnson
In the summer of 1968, I had just laid a cement driveway. I was talking to a neighbor in my yard, and as I turned my head, it felt like someone threw hot water in my face. I drove over to a clinic myself, and they took me to the hospital from there. They gave me a shot which cleared up the symptoms for a while. Later in the day I went up to the hospital. I was there for two weeks, and they sent me to the University of Minnesota. I was there for six weeks. Wallenberg Syndrome was what I had. I was only thiry-seven, and the reason I was there for so long is that they were trying to figure out what brought it on. There was numbness afterwards. I still am partially numb in the left side of my body. It paralyzed one vocal cord. My voice is pretty much the way it was. At first it was really high and squeaky, but then it got lower, and pretty soon it was back to normal.
Julian and Hugo
When our sons were small, it was our hope they would want to go to college and get degrees. They have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams and we are tremendously proud of their accomplishments. The only thing that surpasses their professional accomplishments are the grandchildren they have given us. We are indeed fortunate.“
Corey, LaRae, Hugo, and David Carlson
LaRae describes Hugo: “He has blue eyes and brown hair. He’s 6’1″ and usually weighs about 180. He’s kind and unselfish, and he was the handsomest boy in his class.”
Hugo, LaRae, Craig, and Hugh
SHORT FILM STARRING HUGO & LARAE BY THEIR GRANDSON DAVE (2002) –
Hugo lived through endless breakthroughs in his lifetime… When he was a kid, polio, measles, and whooping cough were still major threats since vaccines hadn’t yet been developed for them. He witnessed the development of the atomic bomb, dramatic improvements in medicine, transportation, and communication. He was never intimidated by technology and quickly learned to use the Internet well into his 80s.
Religious Beliefs: “After you die, as a practicing Christian I feel that you go to heaven. The thing about all religion is it’s man made, so everything that you hear, someone’s thought up. I don’t think anyone really knows.”
Philosophy: “I have never attempted to state a philosophy, and rather than say philosophy, the following statement would be closer to how I try to act. I feel everyone deserves respect. I have seen teachers and professors treat students rudely or in a way that indicates they care little about that person’s ideas or feelings. I proceed on the assumption a person is more intelligent or talented than I am. There are times one has greater knowledge and experience than another but this doesn’t make one superior to that person. I have seen many of my students go on to enjoy great successes in life who weren’t gifted academically.“
“A few happenings over the years:
1975: My brother, Joe, had his golf team in Los Angeles for a match and they stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. Joe decided to get in a quick round of golf after he got the team checked into their rooms. One of his drives went into a water trap–they were cement lined. He decided to wade in a few feet to try to retrieve the ball. Moss had grown on the cement and he slid down the incline into deeper water. When he attempted to walk out, it was so slippery he couldn’t get any footing so he had to swim out. He said he crept into the lobby and hid behind a large potted plant until the elevator opened and he was able to sneak up to his room. He said he had a couple hundred dollars in cash to pay tema expenses and it was soaking wet. He was in the process of spreading it out all over the room to dry when his team captain stopped to ask him about something. Joe said here he was soaking wet with money spread out all over the room. The team captain didn’t so much as crack a smile and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He knew Joe and figured he was putting him on.
Hugo and Grandson David
1958: I was returning from class and three-year-old Craig came running out of the alley and was halfway across the street when he saw me. It was like a scene out of a cartoon. He froze in the running position. I would give anything to have that scene on video-tape–unfortunately video-tape didn’t come along for another twenty years.
1963: We were living in Dickinson and had just put in a new carpet. The next morning I woke LaRae early and told her Craig’s little pomeranian had really messed up the new carpeting. She came flying out of the bed saying some unkind things about the dog’s heritage. The look on her face when I said “April Fool” should have put me on guard but my little prank was long forgotten by noon–by me. LaRae had fixed this nice lunch and then to top if off had baked my favorite cookies and covered them with thick chocolate frosting. After my first bite I sat there with brown wax sticking between my teeth and my mouth full of raw potato. That was my last “April Fool’s Day” prank on LaRae.”
Hugo suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in the last decade of his life. Even as his physical and mental health declined, he maintained his remarkable kindness and generosity of spirit.
Craig, LaRae, and Hugo – 2017
Hugo’s son, Craig, wrote this eulogy for his funeral:
Dad grew up in a houseful of boys. His mother, my Grandma Julia, was a special woman—necessary with that crew and a marriage where her husband was always on the road. It was an athletic family and full of mischief — they played and tussled vigorously, leading to many good stories. Dad was the oldest—Joe was next in line—and Joe liked to tease, taunt, and then escape when he crossed the line, and he was fast! But one time not fast enough, and as Dad wrestled him to the ground, he said “This isn’t fair—you’re a year older than me!” So Dad said, “OK—I’ll give you one year,” and he let him go. Later they were walking home along the railroad tracks in Aberdeen, and my dad put his arm around Joe’s shoulder and said, “Know what day it is today?” He did have a good memory.
They were an athletic group—Dad was voted Athlete of the Year when he was a senior in high school, Joe and Oz played for Ohio State and University of Minnesota respectively, and they played against each other in a game featured in the Minneapolis Tribune. Julian, the youngest brother, was an accomplished catcher, and held his own against the likes of Roger Maris during his playing time. Dad was proud of his brothers and enjoyed bragging about them.
They were also a musical family with many years of piano lessons between them. It was fun to hear them play when they would get together, and I grew up listening to music my folks would play on the stereo.
Dad’s sister Julie came along when he was 18, so they didn’t grow up together but they shared wonderful time together.
Dad was a figure of quiet strength. He was a reassuring presence to his brothers, whom he often defended on the streets of Aberdeen, for which they revered him. And he was a very reassuring presence to his wife and sons.
When my folks were seniors in high school, my mom’s locker was next to my dad’s. But she was going out with Ridgeway Koppi—until he decided he would rather go pheasant hunting than take my mom to the Homecoming Dance. (Mom was an attendant and Dad was Homecoming King). That was my dad’s moment of opportunity, and he seized it. One of his former girlfriends said they wouldn’t last three weeks—but she was slightly off. They were married 68 years, and were a couple for 70. I just realized that even though Dad said he ate so much pheasant when he was young that he had no desire to hunt them—he might have been a little concerned that there might be ramifications if he spent a lot of time out chasing roosters. They became husband and wife quite young at 19 years, and my Grandpa Hugo reportedly said “I suppose it will be in all the papers!”
In the early years of their marriage they moved quite a bit. We were as far north as Hibbing, MN, and as far south as Tampa, FL. My folks were still quite young when they were in Florida. Thinking they had moved down to paradise from the frigid north, they were more than a little disappointed when they experienced one of the coldest winters in the state for years. They were only there for eight months, becoming quite homesick. Dad said he remembered one of the few nice, sunny days, and he was eating his lunch by the ocean and palm trees. He said he thought, “How can it be so beautiful and I’m so miserable?” This led to them returning to Valley City where they had begun their life together, and Dad went back to school to become a teacher. And the rest is history.
Dad really loved teaching. He was very dedicated and committed to his students—always preparing for his next lectures. My son, David, interviewed him and asked if he had a philosophy guiding him. He said it wasn’t really a philosophy, but he said: “I feel everyone deserves respect. I have seen teachers and professors treat students rudely or in a way that indicates they care little about that person’s ideas or feelings. I proceed on the assumption a person is more intelligent than I am. There are times one has greater knowledge and experience than another, but this doesn’t make one superior to that person. I have seen many of my students go on to enjoy great success in life who weren’t gifted academically.”
Mom likes to say, “He was never sick!” He apparently seemed to avoid the colds, coughs, and flus, that were so frequent among the rest of us. However, he did manage to have a stroke when he was 37 and spent 45 days in the hospital (medicine has changed a bit since then—the average length of stay now is four days). He had cancer, heart disease, and of course the curse of Alzheimer’s Disease. He just held out for the big ones!
For my parents’ 50th anniversary, I wrote something for them for the celebration. I’d like to read a part of that for your: “Your love for each other was always so strong, and as it grew it spread through your family, through us. You showed Hugh and me what truly is important in life. You never told us we had to do great things to be unsuccessful in life. As a matter of fact, you expressed concern that we shouldn’t miss out on important things in life by being overly focused on achievement. Through your example, you showed us that to love is to be successful in life. It doesn’t matter what you have, where you have been, or who you know. In the end, if you haven’t loved, you haven’t experienced the essence of life.
Maybe the best measure of a successful life is how a person is remembered. I think a person’s character is what leaves the greatest impression on our memories of a person. When reflecting on their memories of my dad, people often use the terms ‘nice, thoughtful, quiet, funny, and strong.’ He was a good man—he was a GREAT dad. That’s my definition of success. He was loved and was greatly loved. He truly experienced the essence of life.
Hugo – 2017
LaRae and Hugo – 2018
Hugo – November 2018
Hugo passed away at 3:51pm on May 21, 2019. Words could never do him justice. He soulfully lived his live for others in a quiet way. Hugo was profoundly humble, with a mischievous sparkle in his eye and a deep wisdom that never required any sort of validation.
