Advertisement Shortly after midnight, Dale had been awakened by a frantic phone call from her sister, Trudy Sandau, who had called to ask if she had seen Sandau’s two teenage sons.
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Family and friends of Arne and Shannon Morris will host the first annual Brice Prairie Morris Challenge, a memorial 10K/5K run to honor the two teenage brothers, who were killed in a car accident outside Holmen in 1989. Family and friends pictured at Swarthout Park, where the race will be held, are, from left: front, race organizer Ramona Dale; second row, Jayde Dale, Vicki Hansen, Deb Fullwood; third row, Lance Dale, Robert Hansen, Linda McGuire, Chrystal McGuire and Todd Dale.
Contributed photo |
The sisters came from a large, tight-knit family, and it wasn’t uncommon for the many nieces and nephews to just pop in to visit one of their nine aunts and uncles — all of whom lived in the Holmen and Onalaska area.
Dale told her sister she hadn’t seen the boys.
Sandau told her the boys — 17-year-old Arne Morris and his 15-year-old brother, Shannon — hadn’t come home from a Halloween party at a farm outside Holmen. They had called Sandau two hours before to tell her that they were leaving the party but were going to be late for their 11 p.m. curfew because they were giving a friend, 17-year-old Wendy Klein, a ride home.
Two hours passed without word from the three teens. When the Kleins called Sandau to ask about their daughter, Sandau decided to go looking for the kids.
Twice, Sandau and her sister, Sandy Miller, drove down the dark and narrow road winding into the isolated coulee where the party had been held. The second time, just as they rounded a curve in the road, something in the headlights caught Miller’s eye.
“It was tire tracks leading from the road into the muddy pasture and a pond,” she said. “And we just knew.”
While Miller ran to the nearby farmhouse to call for help, Sandau ran the 50 yards to the dark pond.
Shortly after sunrise, the car — with the bodies of the three teens inside — was pulled from the pond. By then, several members of Sandau’s extended family were at the scene with her, holding hands and praying through sobs and tears.
Dale said the tragedy sent shock waves through her family. Her parents, Ruth and Bob Snodgrass, took the news especially hard. When told of their grandsons’ deaths, Ruth suffered chest pains and had to be hospitalized — at the same time as the stricken parents of the teens were downstairs in the morgue, making identifications.
Still stunned over the death of the two boys, said Dale’s oldest nephew, Dwain Miller, the whole family — all nine siblings, their spouses and most of their children — held vigil outside Ruth’s room, embracing, praying and drawing strength from each other and their shared love of family and faith.
“Our family is very close and when something good or bad happens, we are there for each other,” Miller says. “No one is ever alone in our family. Ever.”
For the next few days, the family pulled together to help Sandau get through the ordeal of planning a funeral for two of her children. The family also helped care for Sandau’s youngest child, Autumn, who was only 8 at the time.
Miller said half of the more than 500 people who attended the funeral were family.
And when the boys were buried, they were buried together, side by side, in a cemetery filled with gravestone markers with family names.
So it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows the family that 20 years later, the family that drew together to mourn the loss of the two boys, will draw together once again — this time to honor their memory.
On June 28, family from all corners of the country will come together to host the first annual Brice Prairie Morris Challenge n a 5K/10K run to raise money to establish the Arne and Shannon Morris Scholarship Fund.
“The money raised will benefit Holmen High School students involved in art and track n activities both boys loved,” said Dale, who is organizing the event. Money also will be donated to the Brice Prairie Conservation Association.
While many family members will actually participate in the race, other family members will be helping behind the scenes. Among those family members are the next generation of Snodgrasses — who never met the Morris brothers but grew up hearing stories of the boys from parents, grandparents and dozens of aunts and uncles.
And right beside them will be Arne and Shannon’s mother, Trudy.
“It will be such an emotional time, but I am so excited to see everyone, and all the boys’ friends who will be coming together for this,” she said. “I can’t run the race, but I will be there handing out water and doing whatever else needs to be done.”
And maybe, just maybe, she says, the sons she lost on a dark October night 20 years ago will be there, by her side, cheering on the hundreds of runners participating in the race bearing their name.
The Brice Prairie Morris Challenge begins at 8 a.m., June 28, at Swarthout Park on Brice Prairie. There is a 10K run, with timing chips provided, and a 5K non-competitive run/walk. Registration fee is $25, and includes a T-shirt and pancake breakfast the morning of the race.
The race is part of a weekend of racing on Brice Prairie, with the Brice Prairie Time Trials bike race taking place the day before.
They are two separate races, and people have to register for both separately, said Dale, but athletes are encouraged to consider participating in both races.
“People are welcome to do both races,” said Dale. “They can do a challenging bike race on Saturday and then do the 10K run on Sunday. That’s where the ‘challenge’ come in.”
The canoe races usually held the same weekend as the bike race will not be held this year.
The weekend’s festivities begin June 26, with a spaghetti dinner, raffle and music. The dinner is $7 and is open to the public. Racers may pick up their starting time and registration packets or for late registrants may enter the event.
