Euella & Bob Schulte Legacy Love Series

Baseball, military and family, three themes woven throughout the lives of Euella and Bob Schulte.

In fact, Bob remembers their first date was to a baseball game, although it wasn’t quite a date, as Euella was there to watch him play.

Bob and his friend decided to go to a dance at Wall Lake, hoping at some point that night they’d find a couple girls to dance with. They didn’t have to wait long, as they were sitting in their car waiting for the dance to start, a car with four ladies pulls in next to them. The girls were giggling and laughing. Bob didn’t know it then, but in that car he would find his wife.

Bob worked up the nerve to ask Euella to dance. When asked if he remembered what the song was he said “No, no, no. Well, you gotta realize I must have been 18 or 19 years old, right out of high school. I was pretty nervous.” After the dance, he thought, “I have got to have a date with this girl.”

The following Tuesday Euella met him for their ‘first date’ at the baseball field; it was there the 65+ year love story started.

Bob went away to South Dakota State University for college that fall. Sioux Falls and Brookings aren’t too terribly far apart so they dated while Bob was away at school. In 1956, after Bob’s freshman year at SDSU, he came back to Sioux Falls and proposed to Euella.

Euella, dressed in her lace wedding gown (which she got for $50), and Bob in a new suit, were married on June 8th, 1957 at 9:00 a.m. at the Little Flower Church in Sioux Falls.

Their wedding day had a few road bumps which Bob and Euella look back on and laugh. Bob remembers getting a long-distance phone call at 6:00 am, it was Euella’s dad. He had called to make sure Bob wasn’t going to back out of the wedding and abruptly hung up.

Euella laughs as she recalls Bob and his wedding shoes, “ He bought a new suit and a new pair of shoes but just tried on the one shoe.” Usually wearing a size 9½, Bob realized the other shoe was much smaller. No stores were open so Bob squeezed his one foot into the shoe and walked up the aisle in one normal shoe and one small shoe. Once the stores opened, a friend took the shoes back and got Bob the correct sizes.

After the ceremony they had a small reception, then headed to Sioux City, Iowa for their honeymoon, and they later spent a week at Lake Madison.

Euella joined Bob at SDSU that next semester where they lived in college housing. She found a job working at the college, during which time Bob played baseball and football.

The sports were fun Bob recalls, but he really enjoyed Army ROTC. “At a land grant state, you are required to take two years of ROTC. I really enjoyed it and wanted to get commissioned and become a pilot.” Bob continued to take ROTC his Junior and Senior year, but that is where baseball and ROTC hit head on.

During his senior year he got signed by the Chicago White Sox to play baseball, but he was committed to the Army. Wanting to take the opportunity to play professional baseball, the question was asked if Bob could take his commission and serve his years in the National Guard or the Army Reserve: a letter was sent…and the letter came back…disapproved.

Wanting to resign his commission to play baseball, Col. Ray, the ROTC commander, sternly recommended he not resign his commission, as he probably would get drafted as a private.

A new letter was written, this time to the White Sox, telling them instead of coming to Spring Training he would be attending Army flight training. “And it's probably the best and smartest thing that ever happened to me.”

Bob completed his pilot training in Texas and his advanced pilot training in Alabama. Shortly thereafter, orders to Germany arrived.

Without a place to live, Bob moved to Germany by himself but soon found a place so Euella and their new baby, Brenda, could join them.

Euella traveled to Germany with two large suitcases and a baby in tow. “They landed in a 747 and loaded them onto the bus to drive them to the terminal,” said Bob. “When I saw her I was so happy!”

They lived in Germany for two years. and It was the first time either of them were that far away from their families. They learned to lean on each other. “It was too expensive to call home during that time,” Euella remembers.

Even when their second child Cheryl was born, Bob just sent a telegram back to South Dakota… “BABY GIRL, ALL IS WELL.”

Baseball would weave back into their lives just two months after arriving in Germany. As a young Lieutenant, Bob received a call from Maj. Gen. Creighton Abrams, and if you’re unaware of the military, this is usually not a good thing. Bob remembers the call:

“Is this Lt. Schulte? This is Major General Creighton Abrams, the commander of Third Armor Division. …Yes, sir…. I read in your file that you were signed by the White Sox….We have started a baseball team, and I’d like for you to come and play.”

Hesitant because he was young and brand new to the unit, Bob questioned if it was the right move. The General insisted he would take care of everything, so Bob started playing baseball for the Army.

His work life balance would suffer. When Bob returned from months of playing baseball, his supervisor would task him to fly all over Europe, because he didn’t appreciate Bob playing baseball.

This was tough on Euella. Although she got to travel with Bob while he played baseball, she would be home with two young girls when he was out on mission.

Euella remembers the support she received from other wives during that time. “We were very close friends in the unit, we would get together and play bridge, there was lots of time spent with each other.”

In 1963, now with two young girls, Bob and Euella decided it was time to get out of the Army and return to the Midwest.

“That was tough on Euella and I, and we still think that's the reason we got out of active duty because I would be gone so much and she was all by herself over there.”

They returned to South Dakota and soon learned of a job at Cloverdale in Mandan. “We left Cheryl with my mom; Bob, Brenda and I drove up to Mandan,” said Euella. “It was all two-lane roads at that time, we weren’t really sure what we were getting into.”

Bob was offered a job with Cloverdale and for the next 30 years he moved up in the company, eventually retiring as the Vice President of Operations.

The transition from military to civilian life was harder than they anticipated. Being around military, they really become your family. They missed that life, but it would soon come full circle.

Not long after moving to Mandan, Bob and Euella were out for a drive and Bob happened to look up and there was a helicopter flying across the sky. “I said to mom [Euella], you don't suppose they got helicopters here?... Long story short, I joined the [North Dakota National Guard] as a helicopter pilot.”

They settled into life in Mandan to raise their family which had grown to four children with the addition of Karen and Bob who were born in Bismarck and Mandan respectively.