"Both sides of my family went through terrible times during the Depression. Dad felt you would do well if you worked hard," Brokaw recalls. "But they did all the right things and kept their values intact.... A life that was lived well was a reward in itself."

Although Brokaw has moved far from his boyhood home, the town has left indelible traces on his soul. Brokaw's keen judge of character, flair for common sense and no-nonsense attitude originated in Yankton, he says.

"In the Midwest, they don't kowtow to people who would be big shots," Brokaw says. "If you began to outgrow your britches, my father would be the first to know. And if he didn't know, the people on Main Street would."

All-American Boy

Like many kids coming of age in the 1950s, Brokaw spent his free time hunting and fishing, hanging around the local pool hall and splitting time among football, basketball and track.

He was the backup to star quarter back Bill A. Whisler, whose 6'3" 210 pound frame led Yankton High School to consecutive conference championships.

"Tom was a team player," says Whisler, who went on to play in the Canadian Football League. "I think he played some odd positions, and when we got ahead, he went in and did the cleanup stuff."

Brokaw got more playing time in basketball, where he was a starting guard. The future anchor's weakness, Whisler says, was his speed.

"I think they needed a calendar to time him [during track season]," Whisler says.

Brokaw took a college-prep curriculum, served as student council president and was elected homecoming king.

He also appeared alongside Joe Foss on the television program "I Have a Secret." Their secret? Both were elected governors--Foss of South Dakota and Brokaw of the 1957 Boys' State convention.

Brokaw's variety of interests earned him the respect of most peers, according to classmate Duane R. Pokorney, who now manages the liquor department at a Yankton grocery store.

"He was a red-blooded American boy," Pokorney says. "He mixed real well with everybody and could cross lines with various kids. He was very well liked."

Because of Brokaw's interest in government, many expected he would enter law or politics.

But he began eyeing a journalism career after enrolling at the University of South Dakota at Vermillion (USD) in 1958.