Saturday, May 31, 2014

Baton Twirling and Basketball at the ISU Armory

     John Kueck is reporting in "from the shores of Big Kandiyohi Lake in Minnesota." In reference to our recent mention of eating sack lunch at the old Armory on the ISU campus, John wrote, "I commuted to Iowa State and often ate a sack lunch sitting on the bleachers in the Iowa State Armory. It was often more exciting than one would think. During my college years, Iowa State was fortunate to have the National Champion baton twirler. I think her name was Jan??? She often practiced there while I ate lunch. She was a terrific twirler who would toss the baton completely out of sight into the rafters of the Armory and catch it every time, often behind her back or reaching between her legs. Additionally, the Army ROTC set up canons for firing practice. I forget exactly how they worked but they simulated the battlefield. You would hear the soldiers yelling out the firing commands and adjustments, "two degrees right - same elevation." I had great entertainment during lunch."
     Beyond my lunches, the best entertainment the Kornerman experienced in the Armory was when I watched Gary Thompson outduel Wilt Chamberlain as the Cyclones upset Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks in one of Iowa State's premiere basketball performances. I often thought a great trivia question would be, "who made the winning goal in the ISU win that day." No, it was not Thompson, although he scored lots of points, at least for that era. Don Medsker was the guy who fired in the winning goal in the final seconds.
K-----K
     The big PGA golf tourney of the weekend is the Memorial tourney at the Muirfield Golf and Country Club in Dublin, OH. That's a short stone's throw from where Booneite Mike Loehrer now lives most of the time. The Kornerman emailed Mike wondering if he was engaging with all the pro stars this weekend. He answered........from his lakeside home.......also in Minnesota. He said he normally attended the big golf event "back home" but not this time. A couple years ago there he nailed Zach Johnson for an autograph and a bit of conversation......hopefully, about Iowa.
     P.S. Zach is not playing in that tourney this year.
K-----K
     Boone native Max Moore emailed from California about an "Iowa By the Sea" picnic scheduled for August 2. He's urging Iowans and those who have an Iowa connection to attend. It's a brand new Iowa-type function and it will be held on the pier in front of the Battleship IOWA. More details can be found at.......http://www.iowabytheseapicnic.com/
     We will get back to this in more detail as the date approaches.
K-----K
     Some "quick hits." Jim Schmickley emailed from Cedar Rapids, "enjoyed your recent list of some Boone businesses but wondered about the "Princess Dairy?' Vic Brunner called his business the Peerless Dairy. Princess Theatre was the place where the cowboy shoot-em-ups played on Saturday afternoon."
     The Kornerman knew all that.......just had a a momentary brain drain.
     Vern Moorman has a new address.....vamoorman@yahoo.com.
     Reunion season is about to begin. The 1954 class will meet June 20-22; 2009 class June 20-22; 1964 class June 20-21.
     Pufferbilly Days this year is Sept. 4-7.
K-----K
     Laverne Anderson emailed from the metro with a copy of  "the Charles Schulz Philosopy" and it is very good but lengthy. So, we will hang on to it and include portions in future Korners.
     A couple pieces I especially enjoyed were, "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today, it's already tommorrow in Australia" and "Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken."
     Isn't Schulz the guy who drew, "Peanuts?"
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths: Lois Lestina Schirm, 94, Boone...........Lynda Paris, 67, Boone..........David Boyd, 61, Aurora, CO...........Susan Anthoney, 68, Ogden..........Vaunita Welch, 86, Boone........Inez Armstrong, 80, Newton.........Lyle Caruth, 78, Boone.........Harold Hayes, 89, Boone..........Maurice Christofferson, 86, Ankeny............Eleanor Stumbo, 91, Madrid, formerly of Boone.........Mabel Johnson, 102, Dallas, TX, formerly of Boone/Ogden.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.



    

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Hello

Please enjoy the remainder of your week.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend

     Please have a very enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend and

BE SAFE.......

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Surprises

     Earlier this week, just after a Board of Directors meeting at Worldwide Korner headquarters, the Kornerman was sitting in his corporate office when the Chief of Security called to say there was someone at the main gate. We just offer tours of our facilities in certain hours on certain days and, of course, the cafeteria and gift shop are also inoperative at times, but I had a feeling this may be a special visitor that should be allowed entrance and it was.
     Mary Longworth stopped by to check out our headquarters. We had a very nice visit and much appreciated her interest. Mary was in the area to visit with friends like Cay Herald in Boone and Caroline Herman in Ames. The Milwaukee area is home to Mary, except for the winter months when the family moves to Florida for a time.
     We always look forward to visitors at Worldwide headquarters but, of course, we must insist on the preliminary passage of thorough background checks.
     Seriously, it was great fun to see and visit with Mary who is just as attractive as we remember her those few years ago as a BHS student.
K-----K
     Just last night at the Tic Toc restaurant we had another surprise visit. Jerry Smith, BHS-56, was on hand with his wife, mother and aunt enjoying some Iowa cuisine.
     Jerry and I were attending Iowa State at the same time in the late 50's. In fact, we had sack lunch together a few times in the bleachers of the old ISU Armory. That provided a few memories.
     Jerry taught at the college in San Luis Obispo in California for many years prior to retirement. His mother still lives in Boone at age 95 and that, as well as visits with other Boone area relatives draws Jerry back to his hometown on various occasions. He's also come back for class reunions although he was in Australia at the time of the most recent one and missed it.
K-----K
     For you out-of-state viewers, reflection would indicate that one of the biggest changes in your old hometown has to be the huge advancement of our college, Des Moines Area Community College. Of course, their is no current comparison at all to the enrollment figure of the time the school was Boone Junior College. When I was a BJC student in 1954 there were less than 100 enrolled. Now, it's in the thousands. Facilities have been constantly updated......but not enough to keep up with the huge increase in enrollment.
     In the last few years, a brand new and wonderful baseball diamond has been built for use by the Bears and now, a new softball field will be getting underway as the weather becomes suitable for construction.
     This information brings the Kornerman to what I originally intended to mention. Congratulations to the DMACC softball team, which just finished third place in the NATION in their division. The softball program was only added three or four years ago and has already produced a pair of teams who have earned national recognition, equal to what Bear baseball and basketball teams have earned.
     The school, of course, draws lots of students from in-state but the various athletic programs draw from far and wide and, on occasion, from outside the 48.........tennis players from Brazil and baseball players from Central American countries have come to "little ole'" Boone to further their education.
     Remember third floor of the high school building and the old Franklin school building, Dale Peer, Robert Heyen, Dean Thornburg, Billy Devaney and others? Quite a change through the years.
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths: James Dake Sr., 77, Des Moines. Grew up in Boone but lived his adult life in Des Moines.............Susan Anthony, 68, Ogden..............Stephen Cree, 83, Iowa City. Services held in Boone...........James Curvin, 77, Boone. Jordan High-59. Worked at Firestone in Des Moines but most of his working life was spent with Percival Manufacturing until his retirement in 1989. Boone area survivors include his son, Steve, grandson, Steven, and his sister Jean Peterson all of Boone.............James McDermott, 86, Laguna Beach, CA. Tennis and basketball star at BHS. After military service attended the University of Iowa. He founded and owned numerous businesses prior to retirement.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.


    
    

Friday, May 16, 2014

A Paper Route and a Regular "Stop"

      Recent mentions of Clyde's Hamburger Inn provided some memories for John Kueck. He wrote, "I was a Boone paperboy at age 11. I'm not sure R.P. Brown (the BNR circulation guy forever)  knew and never would have endorsed it since I delivered a "split route" with a regular carrier who didn't like the work of a whole route. I was also naive enough to do the whole route on occasion to retain my half. As far as I know, RP thought I was just a helper, but I did all the delivery and collection of one half of the route......all  behind the scenes. Since Saturday deliveries were around noon, Clyde's became my regular lunch stop that day. I went right past Clyde's on the way to my route. With an age 11 appetite and a weekly paper route income of only about $2.50, I would have two of the hamburgers at less than 40 cents. They were as good as everyone says. Often, I would have to wait in the very small restaurant until one of the (six?) stools opened up. After a couple years, I assumed the entire route formally and grew it over the years to about 120 subscribers with a weekly income of over $8.00. My appetite also grew with age and toward the end of my paperboy days, I would have five of Clyde's hamburgers for less than a dollar, which I could easily afford with my higher income. I have no recollection of french fries during those days. I wonder if they were a hamburger staple as they are today. A friend often ordered a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. Once I tried it, it also became a favorite of mine on some Saturdays. The hamburgers were quite small relative to most hamburgers today......similar to today's sliders, but the tenderloin was quite large, sticking way out of the bun. I forget how much the tenderloin was, but more expensive I'm sure."
K-----K
     Mark Tompkins and Richard Longworth came forth with ideas for Korner memory makers.
     Mark wrote about a time when there were one and two-man gas stations in town and also attempted to think back to a time when the downtown area featured businesses like J.C. Petersen Clothing, the three theaters, Osco Drug, Miller Pharmacy and Deuel Drug, Riekenberg's, Junior Fashions, McCaskey's Cafe, the Bon Appetite and Barstad's and Johnstone's Bakery, Sears, Wards, Gambles, Hamilton Hardware, Lawson's, Fareway, Safeway, Thriftway, Moffitt's, Ross Motors, Carswell's, Jerry Bales Motors, Vogler-Nieman, Nystrom Motors, Boyd's Dairy, the Princess Dairy and Boone Dairy, the Bide-A-Wee and lots of places that served your thirst.
     Mark wrote, "Today, most of them and many others are gone. Let's hope the Kornerman isn't throwing in the towel to join the long list of defunct Boone has-beens. Please keep on keepin' on."
     Richard thought a lot of the various teachers he had while attending Boone schools and suggested that our viewers must have some great stories about the teachers that mean't so much to them.
K-----K
     Vern Modeland wrote, "Look what I found when I clicked on the "next blog" tag up on the top line of the front page for your blog."
      He sent a web site address and it directed to a tenement museum blog which I briefly looked at.
     Vern concluded, "Now that ought to stimulate those old memory glands some more to spur us on with ideas. Trouble with us "more mature" readers is that all our ideas are pretty much worn out too."
K-----K
     Boone Area Death: Leroy (Sarge) Webber,  88, Denison. Boone area survivors include a son David of Ames and a grandchild Kallie Webber of Boone.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments.....
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.
       

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Things HAVE Changed

     Mike Loehrer writes, "This happened in a community an hour north of us. Five seniors, as a prank, cut down twenty-five trees using a chain saw. These trees had been dedicated to fallen Wounded Warriors. The principal of the school has not decided what to do with them but the county will file charges, maybe, probably. Back in 1964, during our BHS high school graduation, as we were about to receive our diplomas, a classmate thought it would be "real cool" to set off either firecrackers or a cherry bomb. The Assistant Principal was Clair Abbott. He grabbed the boy, took him to the principal's office and within an hour had him expelled and forced him to repeat his senior year. This is the difference between 1964 and 2014 in the handling of unruly students. There was no maybe or probably in our era."
     Mike lives in Dublin, OH.
K-----K
     Somehow the old Kornerman missed this. A radio club at BHS in the early 50's. I don't remember a thing about it and, obviously, should/would have been interested. Nancy Jo Smith Bluhm sent me some pictures taken of the club which was meeting. Nancy Jo is in the picture which also includes Dorothy Goldsworth, Jo Betty Stemmerman and old "smooth as silk voice" Ev Hickman, who went on to a great career in radio........mostly at WHO in Des Moines.
     Then too, she sent me a copy of the lyrics of a song/cheer ?? from that time. And again, I don't remember this at all. It is called the Boone High Rag and here goes:
     Marshalltown has died away, Newton and Ames will fade today. Osky's gone, no more play. And Grinnell is in the cold, cold ground. Boone High now has conquered all, with a team that's on the ball. Now listen close both big and small while I tell you of this team of great renown.
     Chorus: It's the Boone High Rag, let everybody shout it. It's the Boone High Rag, no question about it. It's the Boone High Rag, let no one doubt it. Boone's got a team that can't be beat. It's the Boone High Rag, let everybody sing it. It's the Boone High Rag, let everybody swing it. It's the Boone High Rag from the housetops ring it. Boone's got a team that can't be beat. Fight.
     That, apparently, was popular at the time of the old Central Iowa Conference which featured the Toreadors and those schools mentioned.
K-----K
     The Kornerman is wondering.........first, there's the radio club which I don't remember and the Boone High Rag which I don't remember and then Ann Onymous sends a short note which is a bit of a mystery too.
     It says that it's a comment on a recent blog titled, "A Short Stack."  It reads, "Fabulous, what a weblog it is. This blog presents useful data to us, keep it up. Take a look at my web site - lose weight."
     What am I missing here. Is it commending our blog or promoting the mentioned web site or both or what? Or is it someone thinking I need to lose weight?
K-----K
     Mike Loehrer, Tom Peterson, Barb Fosdick and Jerry Manriquez have all sent me a copy of a story about the history of the Boone Iowa Society of Southern California luncheon which has appeared in the Orange County Register in Southern Cal. The Kornerman assumes that's a pretty big publication in a very populous area.
     Jerry wrote, "A reporter for the Register, Nick Brennan, made me the guest columnist. He did make a mistake or two on some statistics I provided but it was a pretty good story."
     By the way, there's a copy of it on Jerry's web site.
K-----K
     Mike Wallace emailed from Perry, "I was thinking about Babe Ruth Baseball. Of course, you were my coach of the Athletics and you also coached my brother, Steve. Both of us were catchers. You should have a reunion of all the players you coached.. That would be a big group. We had batting practice at Franklin School before games and then we would pile in and on your car for a ride down to Memorial Park."
     Boy, how did I allow that.  I spoiled those guys.......should have made them walk.
     Well, 25 years of coaching Babe Ruth and I suppose that would put me in contact with 400 or so ballplayers........15 a year for 25 years plus some all-star teams. Great fun. Some wonderful memories. The only downside is I see some of those guys these days and they're OLD  or heading old. Where does that put me??? Oh yes, I think I was only 10 or 12 when I was coaching those teams.
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths: Patricia Saylor Bauman, 76, DeSoto, IA. BHS-56. Degrees from Boone Junior College and Drake and a long teaching career..........Wayne Rice, 69, Jefferson. Boone survivor is daughter Patti Quam..........Beverly Elsberry, 73, Boone. BHS-59. Worked 40 years at Heinrich Envelope. Boone area survivors are daughters Shannon King and Bobbi Disbrowe of Boone and son, Chad Elsberry of Ames...........Earl Carroll, 80, Salina, KS. Formerly of Boone. Worked in Boone at Percival Refrigeration and Grabau Construction..........Marie Carlson, 94, Ames............Alois Wagner, 82, Ogden...........Bessie Clayton, 88, Boone. Homemaker and worked at Woodward State Hospital. Boone Area survivors include daughters Cheryl Clayton and Rhonda Clayton and son Greg Clayton...........Patricia Buttermore, 65, Ogden. Worked at Sauer-Sundstrand in Ames and managed Buttermore Lumber Mill west of Boone. Boone area survivor is her husband, Gary of rural Ogden..............Lillian Smith, 95, Ankeny. Formerly of Boone. Sold Stanley Home Products and played piano for an Old Timer's Band.............Bowman Mills, 17, Boone. Senior at BHS.  Boone area survivors include his dad, Justin Mills of Boone, his mother Susanne of Ames, half-brother Jeffrey and grandmothers Jan Mills of Boone and Linda White of Ames, grandfather Richard White of Ames and uncle David White of Ames..............Darwin Madden J:r., 52, Ogden.............Gary Capps, 69, Pilot Mound. BHS-63. Degrees from Boone Junior College and the University of Northern Iowa. Worked at shoe stores, first at Fishers in Boone for 22 years and then in Des Moines at Sas Shoes. Boone area survivors include wife Gloria of Pilot Mound, brother Glen Capps of Boone and sister Carla Hardesty of Boone.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments.........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.










Saturday, May 10, 2014

This is Strike Two

     Will we strike out? We'll see Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Who Knows?

     Thanks for taking a look. Check us out again Saturday.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Shame, Shame

     Two instances of Kornerman dementia in the last edition. True cases of "open mouth, insert foot" disease.
     The Kornerman has known TIM Croxen forever. We were both born as northsiders. Yet, last week, I listed him as Steve.
     Even worse than that was the inference that Albert Meier's feat in winning the Drake Relays 3200 was Boone High's ONLY all-time state record. Mike Harris jumped on that in a hurry. He wrote, "Clyde Hovick held the all-time Iowa record in the pole vault during the 1966 track season. In fact, it seems like he held it a number of times. He and another vaulter from Villisca (I believe) kept trading the record back and forth during that season. It was quite an achievement for Clyde.  He didn't just concentrate on the pole vault. He was also our best hurdler (both highs and lows) so he often had to leave the pole vault to go run the hurdles. Keep up the good work."
     Well, the Kornerman asked if I had forgotten or was overlooking an equal achievement and Mike quickly and correctly responded. Thanks for the correction Mike.
     This is sad......really......doubly sad and it makes me wonder about the Kornerman's current mental capacity.
     Here's why........I've told the story before in this column but will bore you one more time. In my very young career at the Boone News (must have been about 1966) I was about to embark on some new adventures, like taking athletic pictures. In those days, the cameras for such things were those big box-like affairs and they scared me to death. My good friend and mentor, Rollie Peterson, showed me what button to press and said, "you're not buying the film so take several shots with the hope that at least one will be adequate for print."
     I decided I might as well get started over at Goeppinger Field where a track meet was taking place. I quickly arrived at the pole vault area, aimed and fired several times. Luckily, one of those "fires"  was a beautiful shot of Clyde Hovick, for the first time in Iowa history becoming the first Iowa high schooler to ever clear, was it 14 or 15-feet.......14 I believe. To think I, a complete neophyte, would be the first ever to capture such a scene. Unbelieveable.........and again, how could I have not thought of that when doing that last Korner edition??
     That certainly does not detract from Albert's feat. So, we have two BHS athletes who have established all-time Iowa high school records. The old gray mare ain't what she used to be and neither is the Kornerman.
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths:  Olen Davidson, 64, Perry, formerly of Boone. BHS-68. Iowa State University employee for a number of years. Boone survivor is a brother, Roger............Gerald Launderville, 65, Ogden. OHS-67. Worked at a gas station, Ogden theatre, Sandler Homes in Boone, Oscar Meyer and the Gateway Center in Ames. Boone area survivors include his wife, Evelyn of Ogden, daughter Michelle Banks of Ogden and brother Mike of Ogden.........Dale Lingren, 87, Ogden. Jordan grad. Area survivors include his wife, Maxine of Ogden, children Darrell, Elaine Wilson, Deanna Anderson, Donna Meeker and Alan all of Ogden, brothers Lee and Larry of Boone and LaVerne of Ogden and sister-in-law Betty Lingren of Ogden..............Ralph Haub, 87, rural Boone. Boone survivors include a son David of Boone and sister-in-law Genevieve Van Horn of rural Boone.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments (obviously we need some).........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.