ANSWERING THE CALL

     I, the Kornerman, is so proud of Korner viewers response to our recent call for help for those brave plaintiffs who, for so long, battled the lawsuit filed against the Boone County Historical Society and found themselves in deep personal debt as a result.
     One of them, Linda Millis, wrote, "I cannot thank you enough for all your help. Your blog has communicated our need to people across the entire country. Not only are we beginning to receive donations from your far-flung readers, we are also hearing of their personal connections to Boone and Mamie and that adds to our store of Mamie stories for the docents."
     More information, a new balance, should be available at the end of the month.
     But hey, I can't imagine that near enough has been received to make enough of a dent in a rather large obligation.
     SO, if you are one who has completely forgotten or misplaced our plea for help or, for some other reason, have not responded yet, here's one more plea to do whatever you can do. Regardless, I am so proud of those of you who have already provided help.
     This Korner, small in numbers compared to many blogs, contains a solid group of great people, who have empathy for people in need and are "on deck" for good causes.
     Speaking personally and for the plaintiffs, thank you so much.
     Save Our Museums, P.O. Box  224, Boone, Iowa 50036.....515-210-0877.
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     Here's a subject you may not give a darn about but, for some reason, the Kornerman always finds this interesting.
     The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union use school enrollment figures to determine what schools compete in what classes of competition.
     The latest IHSAA figures for grades 9, 10, 11 have been posted. These are the figures that will be used for placing schools in their proper classes of competition for the 2020-21 school year.
     THERE IS A NEW LARGEST HIGH SCHOOL IN IOWA.
     It seems Valley, West Des Moines, has been the leader for years BUT their neighbor, Waukee, that's right, Waukee, has taken over. Waukee has 2,267 students in those three grades while Valley has 2,192.
     The remainder of the top ten: Des Moines Lincoln, 1,776; Johnston, 1,763; Linn-Mar, Marion, 1,702; Southeast Polk, 1,605; Des Moines Roosevelt, 1,566; Des Moines East, 1,560; Waterloo, West, 1,345 and Dubuque Hempstead, 1,337.
     Then, of course, the Kornerman is always interested in our county schools. Boone is 61st with 482 students; Ogden is 216th with 153 and Madrid is 219th with 152. There are ties among some schools along the way of course.
     By the way, there are a total of  365 member schools. Somebody has to be last.....Promise Academy of Quakerdale has nine students in those three grades; Ottumwa Christian 10; North Iowa Christian School 17; South Page, College Springs 18; both Scattergood Friends and Cedar Valley Christian 21 and Iowa School for the Deaf, 23. Being members, they are all eligible to compete in any IHSAA sports offered.
     Diagonal has 26 students and is part of that bottom ten group.
     Being an old guy, I remember when Diagonal battled the big boys for state basketball honors.
In 1938, Diagonal defeated Rolfe, 31-29, for the state championship. A year later, Diagonal was runnerup  to Creston, losing 25-20, AND THIS WAS BEFORE THE MULTIPLE CLASS SYSTEM WAS STARTED. EVERY SIZE SCHOOL WAS MERGED INTO ONE HUGE CLASS.
     Some other oldtimers may wonder about the old Central Iowa Conference members. Marshalltown is 23rd with 1,135; Ames 29th with 1,046; Newton 51st with 638; Oskaloosa 60th with 484 and Grinnell 85th with 378.
     Back to Boone. As long as I've got it in front of me, here's our boys basketball history.
     In 1920 and 1921, there were actually two state championship tournaments and one was held at Ames. In that Ames tourney, in both 1920 and 1921, Boone was, at least, half of a state champion. They stopped Spirit Lake, 20-15 in the title game in 1920 and defeated LuVerne, 23-16, in the championship game of 1921.
     State tournaments operated by the Iowa High School Athletic Association began in 1923.
     In 1926, in a Division A portion of the tourney, Boone, Cedar Rapids Washington and Webster City all finished with 1-2 records to tie for second place. Newton was the winner.
     Boone's crown jewel, of course, occurred in 1931 when the Toreadors won the state championship by beating Muscatine, 16-11, at Drake Fieldhouse.
     The Des Moines Register reported that fans were turned away due to the fact that over 10,000 were packed "inside" for the game. It also reported that this was the largest crowd to ever attend any basketball game in Iowa up to that point.....and that included college games.
     The Toreadors have also appeared in the state meets of 1948 and 1963.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: David Witcraft, 66, Boone. Born in Boone. BHS-72. Worked for Sandler Bilt Homes, Smithway Trucking and Fareway prior to retirement in 2018. Survivors include his brothers, Tom and Jim, a sister, Marsha Rogers, and a special friend, Carol Robinson, all of Boone........Dr. Thomas Thielen, 86. Teacher/Coach. A private mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Boone. His wife and six adult children survive..........Donald Lass Sr., 84, Ogden. Born in Ogden. OHS-53. Married Joyce Wright in 1955. The couple farmed in the Ogden area before moving to town in the mid-80's. Donald retired from farming in 2002. Survivors include two sons, including Gary of Ogden, and a sister..........Karla Lyn Hocker, 60, Boone. Formerly of Ames.........Joan Thompson, 97, Boone. Married Lloyd (Tommy) Thompson. Two sons survive,........Doug Tonsfeldt, 75, Boone. Born in Boone. BHS-63. Married Jeanette Stoneburner in 1966. Worked for 45 years for three soybean milling companies in Des Moines. Retired in 2012. Served as an Iowa National Guardsman for 20 years before retiring in 2005. Survivors include his wife, daughters Kim Waddell and Denise Wulf, his mother-in-law, Geneva Stoneburner, and two sisters-in-law, Carol Wilson and Sandi Bishop, all of Boone. A son, Mike, of Ogden and a sister also survive.........Lorenz Albrecht, 79, Des Moines. In 1982, he met former Boone resident, Elizabeth Barstad, and they were married in 1998. She and four of their adult children survive........Delbert Keubler, 90, Madrid. Married Darlene Harvey in 1950. They farmed. A son and two daughters survive.
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kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.