Looking Back by Lora Stull

Word was received this morning that the offices at Fort Dodge had picked up M. A. Schnepf and Ray Twombley who escaped from the Ringgold County jail on the morning of May 5.

Schnepf was awaiting the action of the grand jury and was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. He had left a trail of bad checks in Ringgold County and was leaving for Colorado when the officers picked him up at Osceola as he was about to board a west-bound train.

Twombley had been indicted by the grand jury and charged with abandonment and desertion of his children.

Five months after the attempt was made to rob the First National Bank of Diagonal, J.E. Nichols, charged with being one of the principals in the attempted robbery, is now in the county jail of Ringgold County awaiting the action brought of the grand jury. Nichols was brought from Springfield, IL, to Mount Ayr last week.

Marriage: April 17, Beulah Goins and William Rhoden..May 2, Fern Tyrrel and Hugh Irving.

Births: A son to Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Tharp..May 4 a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Fouser..May 6, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Howard Barnhouse.

Obituaries in this edition were: Jennie Robinson Lamb and Clara Olive Vance Hogue.

(Following is the article which, was written by Gary Noble, a freshman in the Mount Ayr high school, which won first place in the essay contest sponsored by the Mount Ayr American Legion Auxiliary.)

There was a harsh sound of someone battering on the door mingled with the sharp command to open the door. The occupants of the house shuddered in fear as they were so rudely awakened. Sixteen hours had just been spent working in a factory producing materials and equipment needed for the ruler and his army. A man of about fifty years of age opened the door and his weary eyes focused with dislike in a foreign country called Korea, the uniformed stranger and his commander. The officer pushed the aged man aside and stomped into the dwelling.

What seemed like years to the scared, bewildered family, were only seconds. Then the officer barked a commanding question at them. Why didn’t they cast their ballot for the ruler? They had a privilege to vote; why didn’t they use it?

The occupants of the house said nothing, but in their minds they expressed themselves. Sure they had a privilege, or was it an order to vote for the leader? All they had to do was to drop a piece of paper in a box containing the name of their leader. But this family had neglected  to do so now they must pay the consequences.

The man was hung up by his arms and the uniformed men took turns beating him until they were exhausted and then they shot him, not to kill him but to let him suffer for failing to vote.

The woman and the children were taken away some place to a slave labor camp.

(This may sound fantastic but it is only a clear picture of what happens when freedom is lost.)

The thoughts of the first men in office when the American Constitution was a thing of reality concerned the four freedoms. These included the freedom of speech, freedom from fear, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press.  Many hours were spent together sweating, debating, and many nights candles burned low on capitol hill. But the efforts were not wasted. If these first men of office had not  labored so hard, we of America now would not be enjoying the freedoms we now possess.

Only the people who have lived in a country which has had freedom denied or someone who has lost some loved one in a war realize what the four freedoms mean.

For our freedom, many wars have been fought, starting with the War for Independence in 1776.

Thousands upon thousands of men and women have given their lives down through the history of the United States and oddly enough at the present time they are still donating life and limb thousands of miles away from home to preserve the freedom of the United States.

America  was formed by people  that wanted these four freedoms for themselves and their children.

Each year thousands of immigrants migrate into the United States. Most of these people make good citizens, but a few of them try to destroy our freedoms and liberties.

Our many liberties and freedoms we so carelessly take for granted have had their trying moments. But so far they still exist!

Here in America we possess the right to go as we please, talk as we believe, print what we think is right, worship where we please, and vote for whom we believe is the best candidate. Not only do we have these privileges, but we have many more, especially the event which made America great and that is free enterprise.

Yes, now in a world which is racked with hate and suspicion, we finally are realizing what a dear possession we possess. Suddenly with the world armed to the teeth with rockets and A-bombs, the alarm clock wakes us with a harsh and fearful sound. We need not look around to realize what is taking place because we are surrounded by it.

What we had taken for granted without thought before we are now thinking about.

Yes, our freedom we enjoy, but heart to heart we more than enjoy them, we cherish them. Yes, they surely are our heritage to possess.

Marriage: May 15, Betty Dulany and Walter Tuholski.

Births: May 20, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Jubal Hunt..May 20, a daughter to Mr and Mrs. Robert Stephens..May 22, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Frances Reynolds..May 23, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Morrow.

Obituaries in this edition were: Darrell Forest Johnston and Henry H. Webb.

Commencement to be Tuesday. A former Mount Ayr pastor will return to present the annual commencement address on Tuesday, May 23. He is Ron Davis, pastor of training and outreach at Hope Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN.

Donna Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claire Johnson was selected by the Tingley American Legion Auxiliary to attend Girl’s State June 5-15 at the University of Northern Iowa.

The Mount Ayr Raiders qualified eight boys for the state class B track meet to be held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines May 28-29. The boys who qualified in the district meet held at Greenfield

Friday night include the following: Curt Eason, Scott Taylor, Roger Robison, Rich Combs, Mike Sickels, Rich Sickels, Earl McAlexander and Curt Braby.

A victory in the medley relay highlighted the meet for the Raiders. The team of Taylor, Rich Sickels, Robison and McAlexander won in 3:47.7, only six tenths of a second over the school record.

Taylor and Sickels who ran the 220’s gave Robison a slight lead as he started his quarter and increased the margin to 25 yards. He handed the baton to half miler Earl McAlexander who increased the margin slightly and the Raiders won by 30 yards.

The 440 relay team also qualified for the state meet with a second place. Stuart-Menlo ran in an

earlier heat and recorded a :46.7

Obituary in this edition was Rex Moore Beede.

Top scholars in

classes of 2001.

Two young women and two young Ringgold county high schools when top academic honors were announced last week, students include Janice Weddle, Melissa Winkler, Sean Stephens and Jason Smith. Janice Weddle, daughter of Dan and

Christy Weddle of Mount Ayr was valedictorian and Melissa Winkler, daughter of Gordon and

Linda Winkler of Mount Ayr was salutatorian of the Mount Ayr Community high school graduating class.

Sean Stephens, son of Jack Stephens of Diagonal, was valedictorian and Jason Smith, son

of Dorothy Smith of Diagonal, was salutatorian of the Diagonal Community high school graduating

class.

Drew Ingram, a sophomore at Mount Ayr Community high school, attended tryouts for honor choir  in April at Atlantic and was selected to be one of approximately 100 talented high school students from several southwest Iowa choirs.

Obituaries in this edition were: Mary Patricia Guarino Calhoun and Vincent Westerly Herrold.

Figuring out how to feed, entertain, and cool off 10,000 to 15,000 visitors to the community on the last Tuesday  in July is the work of

new RAGBRAI committee which held its initial meeting last week. Mount Ayr will be such a busy place on Tuesday, July 26 because it is a “meeting town” on  the 58-mile stretch of the RAGBRAI route between Creston and Leon.

Births: May 16, a son, Clayton, to Nathan and Wendy Creveling.

Obituaries in this edition: Donna Lee Knapp Scott, Jane Lea Beamer Simpson, and Jerry D. Neas.