Saturday, September 29, 2018

BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS

     They've had some struggles the last two seasons but prior to that, everyone in Iowa knew about the strength of the Madrid High School football program. State championships and runnerup finishes, for a time, were common.
     Most recently, the late Randy Hinkel was the coach who guided those powerful Madrid teams. However, the Kornerman is going many years beyond the Hinkel seasons.......back to the 50's and 60's.
     At that time, I was the Sports Editor of the Boone News Republican and I have fond memories of some great Tiger teams of those years.
     The head coach at that time was John Mills. John was a graduate of Redfield High School and a Navy vet. After his service time, he graduated from Simpson College with a teaching degree. At Simpson, he was a small college All-American football player and he is an inductee of the Simpson College Hall of Fame.
     In addition to Madrid, he was a teacher/coach at Panora, Griswold, Pleasant Valley and Saydel. He retired in 1989. Eventually, he was installed in the Iowa Baseball Hall of Fame and the Iowa High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
     In addition to being an outstanding coach, he was one of the state's top baseball umpires, not only in high school but at the collegiate level in the Big Ten, Iowa and Big Eight Conferences.
     Oh, how the Kornerman remembers those great Mills coached Madrid teams.......Denny Ford and many other outstanding Tiger athletes groomed by Coach John Mills. That was before the state playoffs were installed in 1972. Nevertheless, Coach Mills and his teams were very well known and admired throughout the state.
     John passed away in Ankeny at age 91, September 20. He and his wife, Carolyn Killan, were blessed with six children. Carolyn has passed away but his children, three boys and three girls, survive.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: LaVerne Leininger, 97, Boone. He was a Boone County farmer and a corn sheller for well over 40 years. He married his wife, Chloe, in 1944 in Boone.
She passed away last year. In 1969, the couple quit farming and moved to Boone. Five children survive, two boys and three girls..........Charlene Crocheck, 77, Boone. She married Raymond Crocheck  in Boone in 1965. She worked at Hach Chemical and Holub Greenhouse. Her husband and two sons survive, including, Justin, of Boone.........Roger Schoelkoph, 98, Boone. A resident of the Eastern Star Home.
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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.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

NO END IN SIGHT

     A majority of the Korner's viewers reside away from their hometown and may not be aware of an unfortunate community problem.
     It involves a longtime Boone staple, the Boone County Historical Society.
     Perhaps there were problems before, but a severe eruption seemed to coincide with the arrival of Mara MacKay as the Society's Executive Director. Ms. MacKay forged an extremely aggressive agenda that pleased some but angered many others.
     Eventually, a decision by her and her Board of Directors to close the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace was too much for some community members, including some lifetime members of the society, to accept. As they studied and questioned those plans, disagreements about other administrative decisions were also scrutinized.
     Along the way, several meetings have been held in an effort to bring the two groups together. One group that supports the recent direction of the Society and those who oppose the way things have developed.
     In two words, the meetings got "pretty nasty" and very little, in either direction, was actually accomplished.
     Both the Boone City Council and the Boone County Board of Supervisors have determined not to provide annual funding to the Society under the prevailing situation and that has always been a main source of the society's revenue.
     In addition, Boone's Mayor, John Slight, called for a state audit of the Society which is, apparently, still underway.
     That lack of city/county funding has curtailed the Society's functions to a point that their board felt it necessary to sell the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace as a way of securing much needed funding. A realtor was secured and, at least for a time, the birthplace was listed "for sale."
     Here's the latest: Four members of the Boone Community, Sally Courter, Kevin Miles, Joan Logsdon Hamilton and Linda Millis, have filed a lawsuit in District Court against the Society.
     Dating back to 2016, they are asserting that the Society has been mismanaged, violated Iowa codes, its own by-laws and has terminated memberships, including lifetime memberships, for those speaking out against the organization and its recent policies.
     The proposed selling of the birthplace property without open community input is also questioned. Thus, the plaintiffs in the case are asking for a temporary injunction to halt any such sale while the lawsuit is going through the court process.
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     Time is drawing near for a pair of class reunions.
     The 1983 classes will meet this weekend, September 28-29, for their 35th bash.
     Then, in the next week, the classes of 1958 will have their 60th get-together, October 2-4.
     On Tuesday night, the group will have exclusive use of the Boone Valley Brewery. Wednesday night its on to the Tic Toc restaurant and on Thursday night, October 4, a catered dinner will be served in the convention center of the new Boulders Inn and Suites.
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     The Kornerman posted some Scrabble rousers in the last edition and questioned, "who sits around trying to figure these things out?"
     Vern Modeland, BHS-50, replied, "it's easy, Mo. Like;   BOONE  ONE BO?
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: James Nash Jr., 66, Boone. Earned a degree in Business Administration at the State University of Iowa. Had a long working career with Pizza Hut. Married his wife, Jean, and they had two children, a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Katherine. Boone area survivors are his mother, Marilyn Nash, a brother, Tim Nash, and a sister, Amy Walter, all of Boone..........Norma Bennett, 81, Boone. Was a homemaker and a housekeeper. Two sons and three daughters survive, including a daughter, Deanna Martin, of Boone..........Donna Joyce Wehrle,87, Twin Cities. In 1969, became the director of the Girl Scout Camp Sacajawea near Boone for eight years. She later became the director of Boone County's Homemaker Services. She moved to the Twin Cities in later years to be near family..........John Mills, 91, Ankeny. John was a Hall of Fame teacher/coach for several years at Madrid High School as well as at Panora, Griswold, Pleasant Valley and Saydel. Six children, three boys and three girls survive.
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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

 
     

Saturday, September 22, 2018

WE GOT MAIL

     Heard from a pair of long time Korner viewers this week.
     From John Kueck, BHS-61, "I'll offer my view of the reduced input to your column from my personal viewpoint. As a semi-frequent commenter, I find myself running out of input. On occasion, a new subject triggers a comment from me. I expect others have a similar situation. Betty Mae Harris triggered some memories, but I was too busy to comment (another excuse). What I remember was a group of moms who conspired to have their sons take ballroom dance lessons. I was one of the victims. After some dance instructions, the boys lined up on one side and the girls on the other and then you chose a partner. I wonder if anyone else remembers this?"
     Vern Modeland, BHS-50, said, "it all depends on from where and how you look at Boone to see what's going on. Ye of lesser time note that the obituaries show a graduation date from dear old BHS as maybe the 70's, or even the 60's for those "old timers." But, there are those of us loosely organized as expatriates who can tell you about bobsledding on the snowy streets in the 1940's, pulled behind someone's family car, which was, perhaps, a Hudson or a Terraplane (the Needhams had a nifty green one with automatic shift). I'll bet those class of 60/70 somethings don't even get out in local bad weather, unless its to hop a plane to Aspen or wherever, to see snow. But, know that we expatriates are watching you, hovered over our laptops from expatriate-land, which includes Tejas and other Gulf Coast corners.....or even the Ozarks, where winter seldom comes. Don't call us gone yet!"
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     Some Scrabble rousers.
     Rearrange Presbyterian......Best in Prayer
     Rearrange Desperation.......A rope ends it
     The Eyes.........They see
     Dormitory.......Dirty Room
     Slot Machines......Cash lost in me
     The Kornerman's question is........"Who sits around trying to figure these things out?"
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Lisa Ann Weichman Foster, 56, Boone. Ballard HS-80. She married Ronnie Foster. They had four sons, Derek of Maxwell, Danny of Norwalk, Darrin of Ames and Dylan of Slater. Her mother and sister also survive.........James Nash Jr.. 66.........Tom Curran, 74. BHS-62. BJC-64. Also educated at the University of Arizona and the University of Southern California graduate school. Taught in the San Diego school system for nine years and then entered the real estate business. Survivors include his wife, Patsy, his brother, Bill Curran and Bill's wife, Diane, of Boone........John "Jack" Toepfer, 90, Madrid. Born in Boone. Married Mabel Ray in Boone in 1949. Moved to Madrid in 1956. Army vet. Worked for the railroad and then Firestone from 1953 to 1985 when he retired. He owned Madrid Glass and Screen for many years. His son, Bob, and daughter, Joanne Dunlap, survive.
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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.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

SLOW TIMES

     We, the Korner, have been there before and we're there again........engulfed by a very slow period. Viewers have, no doubt, noticed all we've had to offer the last edition or two were death updates. We're happy to provide this service......which is almost non-existent anywhere else locally......but we also like to relive viewers stories and memories of the past or local news of the present.
     In a recent email, RaeAnn Clark, BHS-70, gave her explanation of why we may have these slow times.
     RaeAnn wrote, "its easy to click on Kelley's Korner if you have it bookmarked, which I do and I'm sure many others do also. So, you do get many hits to show that people are reading it. But, to respond, one has to go to their email and try to type in your address and then type what they want to share. Unless someone is sitting at a computer to type, it is not so easy. As people get older and use their phones or hand computers, they tend to read stuff and just answer quick responses, not get into typing a lot because the print is small and the fingers don't always work as well. But they LOVE to read the blog to remember Boone and the goings on. And, to find out who died since we can't depend on the local newspaper for that. You like doing your blog and people like reading it but for many, its extra steps to respond to you and it may be more difficult for some to do that. This technology is, sometimes, hard to keep up with."
     Thanks RaeAnn. You've probably made some accurate observations there.
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     We heard from Bill Olson, BHS-62, and he was sending some information on someone he remembers from his days growing up in Boonetown.
     He recalled knowing a Joe B. Wells, BHS-13, and was seeking more information about him.
     The Kornerman replied that I remembered Joe. B. Wells who was a World War II Prisoner of War, was the Boone Postmaster for a time and was married to Monica Wells.
     Bill replied that the timeline didn't seem correct and the Kornerman did some further research.
     I found two Joe B. Wells. The one I was referring to was a BHS-38 grad as compared to the one who graduated in  1913, the one Bill, initially, was talking about.
    I guess I'll assume there were two Joe B. Wells, probably a father/son combination.
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    Business Update: (1) Bomgaars is now occupying the old Walmart building and it is open for inspection. An official grand opening will be coming early next month. The new Boulder's motel/convention center has been open for business for a few weeks now. (2) Progress is showing on various projects as builders attempt to wrap things up while summer weather is still available. Included are the new Iowa Bank, a dental office and the renovation of the old Redeker's building.
(3) Word on the street is that a "Sale Pending" sign is now visable on the now departed Peoples Clothing store.
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     A few weeks ago, Mark Moorman wondered if we had any information regarding a reunion of the 1968 Toreador football team. At that time, we had no such info. However, Roger Martin told the Kornerman the other day that, "yes, there will be a reunion of that team the weekend of September 28-29," which jibes with the 2018 BHS homecoming weekend.
     Martin said that Jim Jewett would be back from California for the event and many other team members are also expected.
     That team had a 7-0-1 record. The tie was a season opening 32-32 draw with Ames. The team averaged 34 points a game in  surging to the conference championship.
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      Things that are important for you to know: (1) It takes six months to build a Rolls Royce but only 13 hours to build a Toyota. (2) It takes 20 minutes for your brain to know that your stomach is full. (3) There are 43,252,003,274,489, 856,000 possible Rubic's Cube combinations. (4) A one-minute kiss burns 26 calories.
    Then too, a few observations: (1) health nuts are going to feel stupid some day lying in a hospital dying of nothing. (2) In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now, the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Dora McConnell, 92, Jefferson. Formerly of Washington IA..........Troy Zagar, 49, Ames. Ballard HS-87. Was a transportation/auto mechanic student at DMACC. Married Jennifer Corbin in Boone in 2010. Was a truck driver until retirement, due to health issues, in 2010. Survivors include his wife, his parents, a brother, two daughters and two sons..........Leola May Bowers, 86, Madrid. Born in Madrid. MHS-50. Worked as a secretary/bookkeeper for the State of Iowa and then for small businesses, including Lawson Lumber of Madrid. Two brothers, including Dennis Bowers, of Madrid survive. Also surviving are two sisters, including Ruth Bowers of Madrid........Blake Harrison, 69, Madrid. Army vet. Worked for John Deere for 37 years prior to retirement in 2014. His wife, Connie Bonneson Harrison, survives. Other survivors are his mother, two sisters and two daughters, including Shanan Carpenter of Madrid.
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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..
     
    
    

Saturday, September 15, 2018

BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS

     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Doris King Martin, 96, Boone. Born in Boone. BHS-38 at age 16. In 1947, Doris married Joe King who passed away in 1977. In 1983, she married Eugene Martin. Doris worked as a secretary at Goeppinger Enterprises and was Executive Secretary for the National Corn Growers Association while working for Walt Goeppinger. She also worked at KWBG, Spurgeons, Miller Oil and Duffee Insurance. Two daughters survive, Darla Grosnickel of Boone and Cheryl Lindholm of Ogden.........Leslie Mathre, Story City, 95. He was proud of his military service and operated Mathre Truck Line for 50 years. Boone area survivors include his step-daughter, Karol Krumm, of Boone and step daughter-in-law, Pam Krumm, of rural Boone. His wife, a son and two daughters also survive........Velma Wilcox, 104, Oskaloosa. She and her late husband, Harold, lived in Woodward, but then moved to Madrid in 1956. In1965, they moved on to the St. Charles/Winterset area..........Arnold Ihle, 85, Huxley, passed away at the Madrid Home Sept. 11..........Aileen Reinertson, 98, Madrid.
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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.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS

     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Duane Haglund, 73, Ames. Born in Boone. Ogden HS. Married Linda Beckman in 1965. Earned a degree from ISU. Was a life long farmer in the Ogden area. Also worked 16 years in insurance and real estate for Wells Fargo and served in the Iowa National Guard for 13 years. Survivors include Linda of Ames, son Jason of Story City and daughter Lynae Kruse of Huxley and their spouses. A sister also survives.........Jean Boehm. Born in Ogden. Lived in West Hartford, CT and passed away in Hartford.
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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.

Saturday, September 8, 2018

A BUSY WEEKEND

     Actually, the last pair of weeks have been rather busy......Farm Progress Show, Labor Day, Super National Races and into Pufferbilly.
     More than normal rainfall has caused some problems but here we are........its Pufferbilly parade day, Super National wrap-up day and Monday, the community should begin to feel a bit of normalcy.
K-----K
     Little old Boone Iowa has kind of gone national and even international with these recent events.
     Classmate Richard Longworth, BHS-53, sent me a copy of a story about the Farm Progress Show taken from the Guardian, Briton's leading newspaper. They sent Dominic Rushe here to cover that big event.
     I'm also reminded that I heard an interview on KWBG about all the planes that came to our airport during the Farm Progress event. They said over 100 planes landed here during that time.......everything from multi-million dollar jets to puddle jumpers. Something like 10,000 gallons of fuel or more were sold and, due to an affiliation with HIRTA, the local transportation outfit, visitors were given courtesy rides from the airport to the show grounds and back.
     All in all, it was said that the visitors were very impressed and complimentary about their welcome here.
     Then too, the Super Nationals are always a big event  that draws patrons and competitors from all over this U.S.A. I believe I read that 38 states sent drivers this year and each year more and more cars are entered in the competition. I believe the total is up to 7 or 800 hundred or more.
     Anyway, we're nearing the end of a very busy time in this central Iowa burg.
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     Heard about another class reunion coming up.
     Tom Tays, BHS-78, wrote to tell is that his class will be meeting here September 21-23.
     He wrote, "I especially enjoyed  the recent Jim Jewell mention. I always wondered where he went. My parents, Dick and Glenny Tays, taught at BJC/DMACC and I remember him from there as well. Keep bloggin'."
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     Jon Welin, BHS-70, has informed the Korner of the death of Jacques Welin, BHS-46.
     Jon wrote, "he passed away September 2 in Katy, TX at age 91. He is survived by son, Joel, of Sarasota, FL, son Peter of Columbus, OH, daughter Karin of Katy, TX and daughter Marta of Ft. Worth, TX. He will be buried in Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone next to his wife, Marilyn Lister Welin, at a later date. We are shooting for an October date for the burial. I plan to be there and hope to join you for a cup of coffee since I missed Mo Kelley Day."
     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Robert J. Clark, 95, Indianola. Ames High grad. Attended ISU and the University of Iowa, journalism and law. Air Force vet. Returned to Iowa in the late 70's. Two daughters survive.
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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.