From Virginia and North Carolina, Friends Check In

     Rick Houser, a good Korner friend, sent holiday greetings from Virginia. He sent two wonderful inserts, one from the DAV, a beautiful poem titled, "Thank You My Friend," and a second nice Chrismas poem written by a Lance Corporal. Rick apologized for not sending much info to the Korner recently but added, "I read every week and can't wait for the various topics. You are always with me and I'm always happy to be from Boone. Your Korner is wonderful."
     Thanks so much for the inspiration Rick. The old Kornerman realizes this is an especially busy time of year with the various holidays. Everyone is super busy. At the Korner, we'll just take one day at a time and provide what, if anything, we can on Wednesday's and Saturday's as usual.
K-----K
     We reported classmate Jim Schmickley's death in the last issue and that prompted a reply from one of Jim's brothers, Verne, who is a PhD in Raleigh, North Carolina. Verne wrote, "thank you for mentioning Jim's death. I know Jim really enjoyed the Korner and your contribution to all of us Boone natives."
     Verne also included a bit of additional information that was of interest. He wrote, "there are only two cities in the USA named Boone. My wife's sister and her husband have a cabin which we use, just outside of Boone, NC. Although it's almost 1,000 miles southeast of "your" Boone, due to the extra 2,000 ft. of elevation, the temperatures and flora are very similar. It's really beautiful there, with small farms surrounded by mountains. Of course we love it and go there as much as possible. Over the years, Daniel Boone lived in the Western NC mountains, hunting and exploring NC and Kentucky, before moving to St. Charles County, MO. Nathan, one of Daniel's sons, surveyed land between St. Paul, MN and the Indian territory of OK. In Iowa, the Boone trail passed through Madrid, Boone and Fort Dodge."
     The Kornerman says, "I'm sure we've all seen the signs in that regard."
     Thanks Verne.
K-----K
     A couple sports items. Within a three or four day period, our two major university men's basketball teams defeated highly ranked opponents........Iowa over 12th ranked North Carolina in Carolina and Iowa State over 18th ranked Arkansas at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. The Kornerman doubts if such an occurence has ever happened before. Right?
     Then, earlier this week, the Des Moines Area Community College men's basketball team was accorded the high honor of being the top-rated, that's number one, among men's CC team in the entire nation. Alas, the next day, they suffered their first loss, a one-pointer to Southwestern CC of right here in good old Iowa.
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths: Michael Herman, 73, Gower, MO, formerly of Boone. BHS grad. Managed an employment agency in West Virginia and was a shoe salesman in the area. In Nevada, he managed a Ford dealership but later returned to Boone to care for his elderly parents. While here, he attended an auctioneer school and for the last 20 years, has been an auctioneer. Brother Jack lives in Washington and sister Carolyn Spillers has resided with Mike for the last year............Jim Schmickley, 79, Cedar Rapids, formerly of Boone. BHS-53. Served in the U.S. Army for four years in Germany. Retired in 1995 from Rockwell where he worked as a Reliability Engineer for over 30 years in the defense industry. His wife, the former Kae Nelson of Boone survives. Boone area survivor is his brother Ron Schmickley.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email stories/memories/comments/support.........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.