February 14, 1956: Girl Scouts Give Sweetheart Party

A Valentine's Day Party 60 Years Ago

Who do you recognize in this picture?  Click on it, then click again to make it larger.

Article from the Digital Archives of the Odebolt Public Library and Odebolt Historical Museum:
The Odebolt Chronicle, February 16, 1956

We now have another photo, thanks to Linda Trudeau.  Linda Trudeau and her dad, Larry Trudeau, are at the dessert table, followed by Karen and Kathy Wagner and their dad, Amos Wagner (holding napkin that covers Kathy's face).  Doris Johnson is behind the table arranging drinks.  In the group of men standing at the left of the photo, Bob Girvan is fourth from left, and Bonnie Girvan is beside him with her hand to her mouth.

We promised identifications for this photo originally posted on Valentine's Day 2016.  Can you help us with missing identifications?

Click on photo to enlarge it.

Dads, red numbers:

  1.  Lloyd Lundblad
  2. 
  3.
  4.
  5.  Lawrence Anderson
  6. 
  7.  Grant Langle?
  8.  Rev. Lyle Lieder?
  9.  Harry Sellman
10.  Kermit Johnson?
11.  Bob Girvan
12.  Amos Wagner
13.  Larry Trudeau
14. 
15.  Harvey Keller
16.  Charles Ferguson?
17.  Neil Lashier
18.  Vernon Loger
19.  Ronald Einspahr
20.

Daughters and Mrs. Worth, following circle counter-clockwise:
  1.  Julie Lundblad
  2.  Mrs. Worth (leading the folk dance)
  3.  Judy Lee Anderson (wearing a beanie)
  4. 
  5.  Patty Langle
  6. 
  7.
  8.  Linda Peters
  9.  Jennifer Sellman
10.  Susie Johnson
11.  Bonnie Girvan
12.  Linda Trudeau
13.
14.  Cheri Keller
15.  Jayne Lashier
16.  Polly Loger

Who played the piano?

Christmas Past

The Odebolt News, December 21, 1916

Click on above link to see the entire newspaper page.

Koehler & Hanson was at the northeast corner of Second and Maple in Odebolt.  The same building now houses the Odebolt Museum.  It's possible that some of the very items mentioned in this advertisement are now on display in the museum.

Christmas Past

The Chronicle, December 6, 1900

The Frey photography studio was at the southwest corner of 3rd and Main in Odebolt.  A. W. Dahlstrom owned the photography studio for 46 years, from 1907 until 1953.

The Larson & Erickson store was in the brick building on the southeast corner at the junction of Second Street and Maple Street in Odebolt.  In this photo "Larson & Erickson" is painted on the window and there is also a "Larson & Erickson" sign hung on the west side of the building.

From 100 years ago -  The Odebolt Chronicle, December 23, 1915 

The present day "The Chronicle" offices are now located in the Princess Theater building.

Thanksgiving News from 1890 and 1915

From the Digital Archives of the Odebolt Public Library and Odebolt Museum

THE CHRONICLE, December 4, 1890

THE CHRONICLE, November 18, 1915

THE CHRONICLE, November 25, 1915

1915 Memorial Day

From 1868 through 1970, Memorial Day was observed on May 30.  In 1915, however, May 30 fell on Sunday, and the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic) had opted to hold their Memorial Day services in Odebolt on Saturday, May 29.

The original article in the June 3, 1915 Chronicle was in the left margin, and some of it is illegible in the digital image.  We've taken the liberty of supplying some of our own best guesses for missing text.  Nevertheless, we've left some blanks.
 
Below is our transcription:

Upon the advice of the committee for the G. A. R. the Memorial Day exercises planned to be given here Saturday were called off.  A fine program had been arranged, to be given in the park, but as the weather was about as abominable as it could be and the roads almost impassable, it was thought best to call the program and exercises off.  Rev. C. G. Butler of Sac City was to have been in town to deliver the address of the day.  There was to have been music by the band and other numbers by local talent  The company was then to march to the cemetery to decorate the graves and hold appropriate services.  As the roads were a sea of mud, and rain fell steadily throughout the day the planners thought it best to abandon the services.  The heroic dead were not to be forgotten, however.  On ______ afternoon a considerable company of people went to the cemetery, and in a private way decorated the graves of those who are sleeping the __________.  Had the local committees been fortunate enough to have chosen ______ as the day of celebration the program could have been carried out as advertised, as the weather was appropriate.  The general orders, however, called for an observance of the day on Saturday, if possible, and it was the wish of the local G. A. R. that the program be held that day.

Below is a description of planned ceremonies from The Odebolt News from May 27, 1915, a week before. Some of Odebolt's residents would have spent that Saturday afternoon at The Princess watching "The Heart of Lincoln," a "three reel Civil War Drama" noted in the same edition.  (Click to enlarge the article)

 

 

The Chronicle, July 2, 1914

 

Sampson's - third building from corner

(And yes, Nelson's Novelty Store was owned and operated by the same Charley Nelson who had a store on the north side of Second Street in the 1950s and earlier; some of us remember buying penny candy there when we were children.)

4th grade ideas

Taken from the on-line Ida County Courier
12-25-13 Christmas edition.
Below are ideas taken from letters written by O-A fourth graders and published in the Ida County Courier.  It is good to see our youngsters thinking about ways to make their community better.
- Editor

O-A fourth graders share betterment ideas
 for their communities

I would make a dirtbike track

Start a fundraiser and give to the people in our community that have cancer.

Start a fundraiser to buy toys for kids in need and food and drinks for families in need; also clothes for people in need.

Make people stop abandoning pets.

Build a bowling alley in the old bowling alley.  Also have a grocery store.  Have an arcade.  Have a Rec Center with basketball court, swimming pool, racquetball court and a workout room.  Have a coffee shop and a farmers market.

Make a restaurant so we don't have to drive out of town for one and for jobs for people.

Make a paintball center.

Make Creek Days bigger, have a bigger parade, have fire fighters water fights, kids mud volleyball, a can drive for the shelter.

Organize a community outreach program to help elderly people shovel snow, rake leaves.  It would teach kids hard work and coming together.

Let kids drive golf carts in town.

Have a paintball area, let kids drive dirt bikes, golf carts, rangers and snowmobiles in town.

Have a center that would donate shoes to the places that are poor or had a natural disaster.   Donate food to animals that need help.

A movie theater would be nice and the elderly would get in free at first.

Have a can drive to donate food for people in need.  Have a fundraiser to buy things and medicine for people in need.

Odebolt Christmas Party

2013 Christmas in Odebolt

 

Santa arrives!  (photo from Tracie List)

Visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Odebolt Christmas Party
held December 7, 2013 at the Odebolt Community Center. (photo from Christy Hoefling)

The Odebolt-Arthur-Kiron Minsterial Association sponsored the living nativity on Dec. 7th at the Odebolt Community Center.  Pete and Vicki Renze handled the animals from Meyres Petting Zoo in Holstein.  (photo from Tracie List)

 

The home-made decorations at the Iowa Country Schools Museum. (photo from Tracie List)

Memorial Day Reflections by Andy Ross

View all veterans honored in the
Odebolt Veteran's Memorial Monument
located in the Odebolt Cemetery

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The below was submitted by Andy Ross, former resident of Odebolt
who graduated with the Class of 1967.  Thanks, Andy!

Just taking a moment to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day, pausing to reflect on those who have sacrificed their all on the field of battle that we might live in freedom.

As a kid in a small Iowa town, (Odebolt) I delivered newspapers before school each morning, and one of the stops was the Earle F. Rex residence. Mr. and Mrs. Rex had a son, Robert, who was a pilot in the Air Force while I was their paperboy.

Robert Rex had the distinction of being the first student from Odebolt-Arthur Community High School to be appointed as a cadet to the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating in the class of 1963, then reporting as a second lieutenant to flight school, becoming an Air Force pilot upon completion.

This past year has found me working on a construction project at Dyess AFB in Texas, and daily I would drive past their airplanes on display, one of which being this O-2A Skymaster, an observation aircraft commonly used in Vietnam.

The O-2A Skymaster is a twin-engine observation aircraft with a tractor propeller in front and a pushing propeller in the rear.

Each day driving past the O-2A, I would be reminded that it was also the plane which Captain Robert F. Rex flew in Vietnam. The last plane he flew.

On March 9th, 1969 Captain Robert Rex's O-2A was lost over Laos. Captain Rex has not returned.

 On this Memorial Day Weekend please take a moment to view the attached document written to honor Captain Robert F Rex and his crew member, Staff Sergeant Tim L Walters, US Army. 

Click for attached document

Respectfully,
Andy Ross