WORKING AT BOYD'S

     Tom Matt, BSH-60, and his daughter, Marcia Matt Hughes, BHS-80, have shared some Boyd's Dairy work experiences this week.
     Tom wrote, "the recent comments about Boyd's sure brings memories of my time there. I was a north-sider so I and, my twin brother, Jim, BSH-59, worked at north side Boyd's for Dick Farley, BHS-42. Jim worked there ahead of me from 1957-58. I worked there from 1958-59. I was closing at work at 11 p.m., in February, 1959, the night the music died. The news came over the little brown radio sitting on the shelf of an open window to the back room. Buddy Holly had died in a plane crash near Clear Lake. I remember walking home that night in a snow storm here. Dick Farley was a wonderful boss. I was 15 when I started for 50 cents an hour and as Dick said, "all the ice cream you want to eat here. No taking it out!" Dick taught me to count back change to customers and say, "Thank You" to the customer as you gave them the change. He said counting change is "as easy as 3, 2, 1," nothing to it, and he was right and you better not miss the "Thank You" either. Our daughter, Marcia, was hired in 1977, again by Dick Farley. She worked for $4.00 an hour and you still could eat all the ice cream you wanted but Marcia didn't really like ice cream. The experience of working at Boyd's was a wonderful lesson and lots of fun. Jim Boyd, BHS-36, and  Dick Farley were outstanding men. The lady named Ruth at the south side Boyd's was Ruth Johnson. At the north side store, there was a lady named Isabel Klute. They both knew the ropes and kept us "youngin's" going in the right direction. Wonderful women and fun to be around."
     Here were some of Marcia's memories of Boyd's.
     I'm not a big fan of ice cream but loved sampling flavors going into the ice creams. Peanut butter and bubble gum flavors were my favorites.
     It was always special to be allowed back where the magic happened, where the ice cream was made.
     The malt machine was a nemesis. It got away and sprayed me many times.
     The milk cooler was never fun to stock because it was so cold but, depending on who I worked with, it became fun. Mike Scheuerman, BHS-79, was a hoot to work with. He was sharp as a tack in knowing what needed to be done and he was just fun. He liked to ride on the milk bottle belt and pop out to scare people.
     The summer nights of the Y camp bus visits (Mondays) are never to be forgotten. NON STOP scooping and malt making for hours.
     I was working at Boyd's when I heard about Elvis' death, August 16, 1977.
     A certain family member and former Boyd's employee sometimes stopped in for a malt. I could give him my freebies because I didn't eat much ice cream myself.
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     The Kornerman has been doing lots of scanning of the internet during this pandemic time and I came across Boone Community School District enrollment figures for grades 7-12 back in good old 1951. I was surprised to think that those numbers seemed to me fairly close to what the current figures are, almost 70 years later.
     Here were the 1951 enrollment figures.....7th grade - 225, 8th - 208, 9th - 178, 10th - 158, 11th -132 and 12th - 134 for a total of 1,035.
     Here are the current figures.......7th - 137, 8th - 151, 9th - 148, 10th - 158, 11th - 169 and 12th - 192 for a total 955. Fairly close......80 fewer today.
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     The Kornerman is not an avid race fan but golly, I thought it was sure great to hear that rumble of the cars racing at the Boone Speedway, minus stand spectators, last Saturday night. Welcome back.
     One thing I am tired of hearing is, "Liberty, Liberty, Liberty" and that car siren that goes with it. I imagine those car insurance advertising people know what they're doing. Apparently, overall, it  pays dividends BUT isn't there such a thing as "overdoing something" and, thus, losing credence?
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Gretchen Otis, 86, Boone. BHS-52............Dale Burge, 89, rural Boone. After growing up in Nebraska and attending radio school in Omaha, Dale moved to Boone and was one of the KWBG originals, helping set up the station in 1950. He served in the U.S. Navy but returned to Boone and to KWBG in 1952. He was an engineer and also did some announcing, primarily in the evening, after attending Iowa State classes during the day. He had a popular DJ, after-school program, "the Boone Buggy Ride," which also featured a "friend" "Skeeter" that always got blamed for any mistakes that were made. Dale married June Fredregill in 1953 and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from ISU in 1958. The family moved to Seattle where Dale worked for Boeing. In 1961, the family moved to Las Vegas where Dale worked on some secret government projects. While in Vegas, he earned a Masters Degree in Aerospace Management from USC. The family returned to Boone in 1974, purchasing a farm in rural Boone County. In 1996, he retired from the National Animal Disease Center in Ames. Survivors include his wife, June, two daughters, Connie and Jeannie, and sons, Mike and Brian Burge............Cecelia Paris, 78, Boone.........John Lample Cunningham, 47, Boone. Born in Boone. Earned a degree in Criminal Justice from a Louisiana College. Survivors include a son, Brandon, his mother, Debora Williams Cunningham Runge, and his father, John Cunningham, three sisters, two brothers, three step-sisters and a step-brother.........Mary Louise "Kitty" Rolfes, 90, Des Moines. She married Aloysius "Al" Rolfes, a WWII veteran who continued military service as a member of the Iowa National Guard. The family lived in several Iowa communities, including Boone.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments......
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.