Posted by (+932) 20 years ago
David Rivenes died yesterday morning. I don't know his age -- somewhere between 70 and 100. I was going to put the subject as "The Passing of Legend", but there are those who might think that is a bit much. It wouldn't be. Dave really is a legend. More I don't think there is anyone in recent and not so recent Miles City history that has had the same attention as Dave. His obit. should be pretty interesting reading. He was a pioneer in cable television -- Miles City had one of the nation's first cable hook-ups, an experiment with the studio located downtown. Dave then got out of the cable end and moved into broadcast -- KYUS television. Whether you liked KYUS or not, no one can argue that it didn't make a splash. The attention KYUS received was national -- NBC news, the show "Real People", and other national broadcast and print outlets featured Dave, Ella and the station. I worked on the hill one summer and got to be part of a German news documentary on KYUS. That wasn't the only international attention Dave made -- as president of the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Dave and Ella traveled the world doing AAU business. I remember watching a movie on the AAU and up came a shot of Dave and Ella since he was the acting president. And how about Dave's start in grabbing attention? I'm talking about the most famous yearbook to come out of Montana State University. The famous book that got Dave kicked out of school, and years later made him famous on campus. What did he do (for those who may have never heard of this annual)? Well, first he made two full copies -- one to show the University and the other to take to the printers. Instead of a team photo of the basketball players, they had a circle of candy bars pictured -- Butterfingers. The track team had posed for a "joke" photo of them all tangled up in the hurdles -- well, that was the actual photo used. And, the famous Clarence Mjork (sp?)) a goofy looking character shows up throughout the annual in class and group photos. I really wonder what Dave would have cooked up had he had the computer digital capabilities back then. The fact that he didn't makes it all the more remarkable. Even after retirement, Dave organized the re-forestation project for the Rock Springs National Forest -- which I'm not going to go into details here.
Remember Dave well and with fondness. Also, never forget his surving wife Ella -- she helped keep that station going and has always been the solid ground for Dave's flashy footwork. And, don't read this as if he stepped on her, just the opposite.
What a guy. Most liked him, he might have annoyed others, some of us flat out loved the guy. I hope that all will remember him as a fun loving man. David should have held on one more day -- April 1st might have been a more fitting day to go.
[This message has been edited by Bart Freese (edited 4/1/2003).]
Remember Dave well and with fondness. Also, never forget his surving wife Ella -- she helped keep that station going and has always been the solid ground for Dave's flashy footwork. And, don't read this as if he stepped on her, just the opposite.
What a guy. Most liked him, he might have annoyed others, some of us flat out loved the guy. I hope that all will remember him as a fun loving man. David should have held on one more day -- April 1st might have been a more fitting day to go.
[This message has been edited by Bart Freese (edited 4/1/2003).]