Looking Back with Lora Stull
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One Hundred Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, March 17, 1920.)
Mount Ayr light plant destroyed by fire. Fire which started in coal bins at the local light plant of the Iowa Southern Utilities Company at 12 o’clock Wednesday completely destroyed the plant, including the engines, dynamoes, boilers, and other equipment and large quantities of supplies stored in the building. The loss is estimated at between $40,000-$50,000.
The only college in middle west under control of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints is at Lamoni, Decatur County. Its named Graceland College and a campaign is now on to raise an endowment of a million dollars. In addition to the usual college courses the institution specializes in commercial and scientific training. A wireless telegraphy department equips students for wireless operators. The professor in charge thrills his students by catching radio messages from all points of the compass. Recently wireless messages were picked up that were sent from points in Germany, Panama Canal Zone and London.
Obituaries in this edition were: Louisa Josephine Bates Laughlin, Homer Irving Brent, John L. Mills, Jr., Joseph McClain Jarred, and Elizabeth Jane Morris Tyrrell.
Seventy-Five
Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, March 22, 1945.)
Recognizing the imperative need for bigger and better home gardens to supplement the nations wartime food supply, the Burlington Lines, two-time winners of the National Victory Garden Institute award, today announced it will intensify its program to encourage Victory Gardens during 1945. Again this season, President Ralph Budd, said the railroad will make available for gardening purposes to Burlington employees and the general public, thousands of acres of railroad land adjourning its tracks in thirteen states.
Marvin Sobotka, 20 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Sobotka of Diagonal, recently was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant at a Veteran 15th Air Force B-24 Liberator Bomber group based in southern Italy. He is now participating on air attacks to the Brenner Pass Route, Germany’s main life line of supply to her troops in northern Italy opposing the US fifth Army forces. His most recent bombing assault was to railway yards at Innsbruck, Austria, vital communications center on this Nazi-held railway system.
Births: March 8, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. Arlo Beggs…March 19, a son, James, to Mr. and Mrs. Iva Sissel.
Obituary in this edition was David Alfred Jennings.
Fifty Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, March 5, 1970.)
Possible break-ins in Kellerton were averted early Tuesday morning by the alertness of two night marshalls, John Euritt and Doyle Konopasek. Three men were surprised by the Marshalls in an alley behind a store in Kellerton. One of the three suspects, Charles Watt, 31 of St. Petersburg, FL, was captured and is being held in the Ringgold County jail in Mount Ayr after being charged with possession of burglary tools. The other men fled from scene and officers are continuing their search for the two fugitives.
Mount Ayr firemen were called to the Assembly of God parsonage on West Adams Street last Wednesday about 3:30 p.m. to extinguish a blaze that destroyed a small out building and damaged the parsonage.
Fourteen young men of Ringgold County reported February 24 for their physicals. They are: Eldon Eugene Dillenburg, David Umbarger, David Haveman, Michael Combs, Duane Miller, Kenny Markley, Arthur Allen, James Clark, Joe Johnson, Robert Shafer, Roger Collins, Paul Pine, Ernest Sollars and Ron Snyder.
Births: February 25, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. Don Cordell…February 27, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. Dale Walters…February 27, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. James Hawke…March 1, a son, to Rev. and Mrs. Phil Cook.
Obituary in this edition was, Dorothy E. Homes Schoenmann.
Twenty Five Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, March 2, 1995.)
Mount Ayr native, Allan Wilson, now of New Virginia, accepted a job assignment the middle of September 1994 to go to Eygpt and found it a “whole different ballgame”-challenging, hot, culturally and religiously very different from the United States, but intriguing. Wilson works for Seed & Grain Systems of New Virginia which specializes in handling seed from “bulk to bag.” His company has built seed plants in a number of different foreign countries in the ten years he has been an employee.
“When you live something, the story stays inside your body like a picture,” story teller Nancy Duncan of Omaha told Mount Ayr Community elementary school students during her two week artist in the school residency here. Helping express those pictures in words and actions were what the visit was about.
Obituaries in this edition: Alfred Wayne Buckner, Austie Pearl Spencer Bolinger and Delbert Eugene Sevier.
Ten Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, February 25, 2010.)
Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes defeated Sidney Monday night to advance to the state Class 1A girls basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for a game with North Central Kossuth at 1 p.m. Monday, March 1.
Mount Ayr Community Raider heavyweight, Dylan Lame, placed second in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament in Des Moines Saturday night.
Months of work by Diagonal citizens to ensure that the community would have a banking facility again culminated with the announcement this week that Iowa State Savings Bank of Creston has made an application to establish a new bank office in Diagonal.
Diagonal pastor’s email hacked. The message reached a number of Ringgold County residents by email Monday morning said that pastor Bruce Geise of Diagonal was on a trip to West Africa and in desperate need of funds. When the Geise’s got the first call early Monday morning to double check on his whereabouts, his wife, Nora, told the caller that the last time she had checked he was in bed in the next room.
Births: February 13, a son, Nathaniel, to Mr. and Mrs. Scott Rusk.
Obituaries in this edition: Doyle Lee Adams, Harold W. “Bib” Combs, Esther Irene Hoover Israel, Mildred Bruner Matthews, and Carolyn J. Higgins Kaster.