Old photos of Knudsen, Mickelsen, Teaquist and Huldeen

Not long ago I received a message from Howard Willey saying he had some old photos from Odebolt that he would like to share with any family descendants that might still live in the Odebolt area. I asked him to send scans or phone shots of them.

Howard says:
When my great grandmother immigrated from Denmark in 1883 she settled in Odebolt. She lived there until she got married in 1892, then she lived the rest of her life in Anthon, Iowa. Her name was Anna Knudsen Mickelsen 1865-1917.

(PLEASE RIGHT CLICK EACH PHOTO,
from the menu choose "Open Link in a New Tab",
then click the photo again to enlarge it.)

 

Anna Knudsen Mickelsen

Anna Knudsen Mickelsen

Below: The first person my great grandmother met in Odebolt was Anna Teaquist 1864-1947. Anna Teaquist married John Huldeen. I noticed in the Odebolt graveyard there are several Teaquist and Huldeen graves. Are there any of the descendants still living in the area that are interested in these pictures?

In the round picture Knudsen is on the left and Teaquist is on the right. In the fancy dresses picture are the same ladies, Knudsen on the right. 

                                                 Anna Knudsen Mickelsen and Anna Teaquist Huldeen

 

Anna Teaquist Huldeen and Anna Knudsen Mickelsen

 Below, the woman seated on the left is my great grandmother Anna Knudsen Mickelsen 1865-1917. I’m pretty sure the woman standing second from the left is Anna Teaquist Huldeen 1864-1947. The picture I assume is of a church ladies group or some other club/organization. Hopefully someone recognizes the other ladies

If you can identify any other of these women, please email me ((Barb Girvan Horak) at the email address on the right column. Also contact me if you wish to have Howard's contact info. 

 

Gary Johnson, musician from Odebolt

 Some of you may remember Gary Johnson who, I think, graduated with the Odebolt-Arthur class of 1964. He is a very talented song writer and guitarist/keyboardist and is a great singer. At the bottom of this post is an article about him from 1977.

This is an excerpt about Gary from the Iowa RockNRoll Music Association: "His professional career as a vocalist and guitarist began in 1967 and he continued to perform in supper clubs, dance halls and other venues until 1984. He did 150-225 performances a year in Iowa, eastern Nebraska, southern Minnesota, and eastern South Dakota. Most of those performances were done as a solo act, with the exception of three outstanding years when his brother, Dean Johnson, played with him".

Gary has some of his music on-line and he has a channel on YouTube. Most of it is music except the first one. Be sure to use the arrow on the right to click to see all the songs!
Here is the YouTube Link.

 Click the article to enlarge it.

Jack Simpson

Former Odebolt resident, Jack Simpson passed away March 4, 2020 at the age of 93. He was a big part of the Odebolt community while he lived there, as was his wife Joan. They ran Singers Department Store, and Jack was post master, belonged to many Odebolt organizations and served on many boards.

I looked in the on-line Odebolt Newspaper Archive and found this article from Odebolt's newspaper, The Chronicle.

(Click the image to view the larger version.)

Below is Jack's obituary, taken from Farber & Otteman's on-line obituary archive

Jack Simpson, youngest son of Murel and Pearl (Cleveland) Simpson was born on a farm near Sac City on June 2, 1926.  He passed away at the age of 93 on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at Loring Hospital in Sac City.

Jack grew up in and around Sac City, graduating from Sac City Public School in 1944.  He participated in athletics in high school, but track was his real love.  He became the 100 yard dash champion of the State of Iowa in 1944.  During the summer of 1944 he entered the United States Army serving two years and was discharged as an Army Sergeant. 

   In the fall of 1946 he enrolled at the University of Iowa to continue his education and participation in track.  He became the first freshman to lead the team in scoring and was elected Captain of the team.  He won four major letters while participating in track and became the first track athlete to accomplish this at the University of Iowa.  He received a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University in June of 1950.

   Jack and his wife operated a retail store in Odebolt for twenty-five years.  He went to work in the Odebolt Post Office in 1959 and continued working there until his retirement in 1987, retiring from the position of Postmaster.

   On August 22, 1948, Jack married Joan Schwitzer in Sac City.  To this union were born five children.  Their second child, Vickie Marie was born in 1951 and passed away in 1953.  Their youngest son, John, passed away in 2001.  Those remaining to mourn his passing include his wife Joan of Sac City; sons: Tom (Mary Kay) Simpson of Colorado, Greg Simpson of Salina, KS, daughter, Deborah (Doug) Haase of Denison, IA; eight grandchildren: Jessica, Kristin, Emily, Brandy, Wade, Colby, Emma and Jack; eleven great-grandchildren: and one great-great grandchild; extended family members and many friends.

   Jack was preceded in death by his parents; brother Milford Simpson; daughter Vickie and son John.

   Jack enjoyed participating in community affairs.  He served as an elder and deacon in the Odebolt First Presbyterian Church.  He had been a member of the American Legion, Odebolt Rotary Club, The Odebolt-Arthur Community School Board, Masonic Lodge, Odebolt Fire Department, and Board of Directors for Colonial Manor Nursing Home.

   Jack and Joan had wintered in Mesa, AZ since retirement and enjoyed their traveling and visiting children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Identify People from Album

From Erin Bohannon: I acquired an old family album from an auction in Oregon, and many of the photos list an Odebolt photographer.  I was wondering if you might be able to identify any of the photos? Almost all the photos came from Odebolt, with a few others coming from other parts of Iowa.

I belong to several Facebook groups that acquire old photos and try to get them back to family.  This is something we do for free.  This old album has 25 photos.  A treasure trove of family history! Any help at all you can give me would be greatly appreciated.I would really love to get the album back to family. If you use the email just below, they will put you in contact with me.
Thanks for any help you can give!

 ==============================================

If you have information on the identities of some of these people, please contact us at our email address, referring to the Photo #:  

Click on an image and a slide show will come up. If you want to see an enlargement, RIGHT click on the image in the slideshow, and select "View image". The single image will come up. Then click on the image and it should enlarge. (This is for PCs - I don't know how Macs work).

===============================================

This is the front and back of the album

PHOTO 1 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 2 - Taken a Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

 PHOTO 3  - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt. This "may" be the same couple as in PHOTO 2.

 

PHOTO 4 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 5 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 6 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

Photo number 6 could be a young John Reynolds, who would have been about 39 when Frey bought the studio.
A known photo of John Reynolds is here:
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~iaohms/reynoldsja.html

 

 

PHOTO 7 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 8 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt. This "may" be the same man as in PHOTO 7.

 

PHOTO 9 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt. The seated couple are the same as PHOTO 8.

PHOTO 10 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 11 - Taken at Fry Studio - Odebolt

 

PHOTO 12 - Photographer is J L Umphrey, Odebolt, Iowa

 

PHOTO 13 -  Photographer is J L Umphrey, Odebolt, Iowa

Appears to be a match to PHOTO 12.

 

PHOTO 14 -  Photographer L. F. Wil....something, Spirit Lake, Iowa

 

PHOTO 15  

 

PHOTO 16 - Photographer Adams, Sac City, IA

 PHOTO 17 - Photographer McLagan, Early, IA

 PHOTO 18 - Photographer Phelps, Muscatine, IA

This appears to be an older photo than most of them.

 PHOTO 19 - The Hoff Studios, Carroll, IA

 PHOTO 20 - Photographer Gunderson, Winona, MN

 PHOTO 21 - Unknown photographer. Appears to be and older photo than the others.

 

PHOTO 22 - Photographer Skewis Photo Studio, Windom, Minnesota

 

PHOTO 23- Hawkins Bros. Photo/Studio

Help Identify Unknown People

 

These are photos from Odebolt photographers that we have collected over time from various auction sites. Click the image or click here to access them.  If you click on the first photo it will open a slide show. 

If you can identify any of them, please comment below.

An old brick

From the Facebook "Odebolt Community News" page, August 22, 2016

Jayne Humphrey Pearce posted:
Hello, I am with the Fort Wallace Museum located in Wallace, Kansas. We tell the story of this frontier fort that was very important to the history of the Smoky Hill Trail and the early Indian Wars. This fort was staffed by troops of the 7th Cavalry, 10th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry and 2nd Infantry from 1865 through 1883.

We recently built a facade to represent one of the original enlisted barracks of Fort Wallace, using salvaged stone once used on the Fort. On one of the stones is the name "A.K. Anderson Odebolt, Ia." I was delighted to find your town online and thought you would enjoy the sight of this lonely soldier's name and the name of his hometown! Does this name ring a bell? Are there any descendants of this man in Odebolt?

(Editor: A search of on-line resources, online Odebolt newspaper archives, and the Odebolt Cemetery did not find this name. It could be that he lived in Odebolt for a time and then moved on. He must have signed the brick sometime before 1882 - see below)

From Wikipedia:
Fort Wallace (ca. 1865–1882) was a US Cavalry fort built in Wallace County, Kansas to help defend settlers against Cheyenne and Sioux raids. All that remains today is the cemetery, but for a period of over a decade Fort Wallace was one of the most important military outposts on the frontier.

I believe this is the facade referred to in the facebook post. (from www.ftwallace.com/)

Click photo to enlarge it

Odebolt history from the internet

Once in a while I run a search of the Internet, looking for items that are connected to Odebolt. Here is something I ran across lately.

Howard P. Johnson, 1943 

Howard P. Johnson donates World War II letters, from a blogpost dated June 6, 2017, by Brad Kuennen, an archivist at The University of Iowa, Ames, IA.

I quote - "Howard P. Johnson, three-time graduate of Iowa State University ... and former Professor and Head of ISU’s Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department, was contacting me regarding some World War II letters that he had. Dr. Johnson explained that he grew up on a farm near Odebolt, Iowa, and in 1943 was inducted into the military like many young men at that time. .... All during his military training and his service in Europe, young Pfc. Johnson wrote to his family back home in western Iowa–often several times a week–and his family wrote back. Howard would describe his daily routine, the duties he was assigned during training, and his experiences in Europe. His parents and siblings would respond with stories of family and community events, activities on the farm, and, of course, the weather.

The Johnson family World War II letters are part of the Howard P. Johnson papers, RS 9/7/15, located in the Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives. The department is open to researchers from 9am-5pm, Monday through Friday."

It would be interesting to see what was going on in Odebolt from those letters!

"The Cherry Sisters Worst Act Ever?" from the NPR History Department

"In the early 20th century, the Cherry Sisters — a family of performers from Marion, Iowa — were like a meme.  Simply invoking the name — the Cherry Sisters — was shorthand for anything awful."

... they were lambasted in Odebolt. The editor of the local Chronicle (Billy Hamilton) wrote in February of 1898: "Their long skinny arms equipped with talons at the extremities, swung mechanically, and soon were waved frantically at the suffering audience. Their mouths opened like caverns, and sounds like the wailing of damned souls issued therefrom."

This last vicious appraisal was reprinted in the Des Moines Leader and the Cherry Sisters, who had exhibited litigiousness over the years, sued both newspapers for defamation. In a landmark case, the Iowa Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of a newspaper's right to freely criticize public performances.

There are also several pages on The Odebolt History Pages devoted to the Cherry Sisters.

Confirmation photo identities

Some time ago I was contacted by Amy Norton who gave me the identity of the minister in a 1928 confirmation photo from the old Mission Covenant Church in Odebolt.  She said that  the minister in the photograph was her great-grandfather, Rev. E. Fred Hall. She also attached a personal photo of her Great-grandfather with his family.   Thank you Amy!

There are two confirmation photos on the page and we would appreciate any help that can be given on identities of the confirmands.

View the page & photos.

Odebolt Veterans Memorial

In honor of Veterans Day 2017 we have reconstructed the Odebolt Area Veterans Memorial page that was once on odebolt.net.

This monument to honor Odebolt's veterans was finished in late 2003 by the Odebolt American Legion Roose Post #313 and Auxiliary.  It is located in Odebolt Cemetery, about 1/2 mile south of Odebolt on Highway 39 (S. Des Moines Street).

On the memorial are listed 939 area veterans who served from in World War I, World War II, in Korea and in Viet Nam, covering the years of 1901 to 2000.

Please visit the page to see the list of veterans.

See more military history at the Odebolt History Pages.

Happy Birthday, Nick Nolte

From the Odebolt History Pages:
Thelma Dresselhuis Writes

"The state was paving Highway 175 [then identified as Highway 35] and also rented offices in the upstairs [of the electric office] that were used by a goodly number of engineers, some just out of college, and who, with their wives, became fast friends. One couple, Frank and Helen Nolte, became the parents of Nick Nolte, an outstanding movie actor. They were a lively and fun group."

From the Digital Archives of the Odebolt Public Library and the Odebolt Historical Museum:
https://saccounty.advantage-preservation.com/

The Odebolt Chronicle, November 3, 1938
Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Nolte, formerly of Cherokee, have taken the downstairs apartment in the Mrs. Elizabeth Fuchs home.  They moved in Monday.

The Odebolt Chronicle, October 26, 1939
Mr. and Mrs. George Dresselhuis entertained Sunday evening at an informal party when they invited in a few friends.  The event was in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Nolte, who left this week for Omaha, Neb.

The Odebolt Chronicle, February 20, 1941
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Nolte of Omaha, Neb., are the proud parents of a 7½ pound son, born Saturday, Feb. 8.  He was named Nicholas.  The Noltes were residents of Odebolt, moving away Oct. 24, 1939.

Odebolt web manager retiring

Courtesy of the 1/27/16 edition of Ida County Courier (www.idacountrycourier.com).

Odebolt web manager retiring, Jeff Raasch is hired

Barb (Girvan) Horak is retiring from being the web manager for odebolt.net after 14 years. Jeff Raasch, formerly from Odebolt, has been hired by the Odebolt City Council to take over the web manager duties. He hopes to have a new odebolt.net website up by March of this year. The odebolt.net@gmail.com email address will stay the same. Horak and her sister, Bonnie(Girvan) Ekse, will be free to concentrate more on the Odebolt History Pages in the future.

Horak said, “I have enjoyed my years of supplying an internet presence for my hometown, and especially coordinating with so many people in Odebolt. But, now is the time for new blood. Jeff will do a great job and will no doubt be asking for some help and input from people in Odebolt. We both thank you in advance for your understanding during this transition.”

Horak and Ekse were awarded the Odebolt Community Service Award in June 2005 for their dedication to odebolt.net. Horak is a 1967 graduate of O-A High School, and Ekse graduated from O-A in1964. Raasch is the son of the late Curt Raasch and Carol Raasch. He is a 2000 O-A graduate.

Mayor Hemphill passes away

It is with great sadness that we post the following.  Odebolt's Mayor, has passed away.

Robert G. "Butch" Hemphill, age 65, Mayor of Odebolt, IA, passed away on Sunday, October 11, 2015, at Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove, IA.
... SERVICES at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, October 15, 2015 at United Methodist Church, Odebolt, Iowa.
... VISITATION, 4:00-8:00 p.m. - Wednesday, October 14, United Methodist Church in Odebolt.

His obituary will be posted at Farber & Otteman's web site, where you may also leave condolences for the family.    http://farberotteman.com/obituary.php?view=730


Councilman Mike Hoefling is now acting as Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Odebolt.

Angel's Place opens - Rector sells Courier

Courtesy of the 7-1-15 edition of Ida County Courier (www.idacountrycourier.com)

Odebolt welcomes new restaurant 
(This restaurant is now closed)

Ross and Valorie Craig of Odebolt purchased the restaurant building on Main Street in Odebolt from the Odebolt Development Corporation earlier this year.

After some remodeling, the couple opened Angel’s Place on May 26. The restaurant features 12 pencil drawings of early life in Iowa and a pie plate collection. Arlene Sundell of Odebolt sketched the drawings, and guests to the restaurant are encouraged to look for her hidden signatures on the drawings.

Angel’s Place is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a. m. to 2 p. m. The restaurant serves a full breakfast and lunch menu.

“In addition to our regular menu items, we offer daily lunch specials and baked goods. We will be changing the breakfast menu shortly to include pancakes and waffles. Cinnamon rolls, brownies, elephant ears, pastries and cookies are baked fresh daily. We also bake pies, cakes and a favorite, Blarney Stones. We will also take orders for baked goods.

“I have always been a baker and candy maker and, when this opportunity came up, we decided to open a restaurant here. We’ve remodeled the back room, which is available for groups,” said Craig.

Craig said, “I’d like the public to come in and join us for dinner and to use us for their meetings. I’d be glad to make bakery items, and I want to thank them for their patronage.”

The Craigs own Angel’s Antiques and Collectibles in Sac City and have purchased the old Krustenstjerna Hardware building north of the restaurant.

Ross is a retired pastor, and the couple has lived on a six-acre farm northwest of Odebolt 11 years. “We have an old McDonald type farm and love having school tours.”

Click the photos to enlarge them.

 Angel's Place back room - great for meetings.  Includes a piano.

(photo by B. Horak)

One of Arlene Sundell's drawings.

(photo by B. Horak)

Courier-Reminder publisher retires, 

Mid-America Publishing takes over

Effective Thursday, July 2, the Ida County Courier and the Reminder will be published by a new owner, Mid-America Publishing Corporation based in Hampton.

Mid-America had entered into an agreement earlier in June 2015 to purchase the publications from Roger and Karen Rector. The July 7-8 editions will mark the first editions under Mid-America’s stewardship.

“We are very excited to add the Ida County Courier and the Reminder to our family of newspapers,” said Ryan Harvey, president and CEO of Mid-America Publishing. “Roger and Karen have done a tremendous job with the papers over the past few years and we look forward to continuing to build upon the tradition that they have established.”

Rector has been associated with the Reminder and Courier for a total of 55 years.

The publications will join a growing group of 23 weekly newspapers owned and operated by Mid-America. The Courier is the ninth county seat newspaper owned by the company. They include the Hampton Chronicle, Butler County Tribune-Journal (Allison), Wright County Monitor (Clarion), the Eldora Herald-Ledger and Hardin County Index, of Eldora; The News-Review, of Sigourney; the Grundy Register, of Grundy Center; The Graphic-Advocate (Lake City-Rockwell City); and The Leader (Garner-Britt).

Other papers owned and operated by the company include: The Record (Conrad), The Sheffield Press; The Eagle Grove Eagle; The Kanawha Reporter; The Buffalo Center Tribune; The Pioneer Enterprise (Rockwell-Thornton); The Keota Eagle; The Clarksville Star; The Ogden Reporter; the Calmar Courier; The Postville Herald; The Sun (New Sharon-Fremont); and The Outlook (Monona.) The company also produces two weekly political newspapers, the Conservative Chronicle and the Liberal Opinion Week.

Additionally the company prints several TMC shoppers, such as The Hampton Chronicle’s Bonus in Hampton, The Spectrum in Lake City-Rockwell City, The Leader’s Shoppers News Review in Garner and the Wright County Reminder in Clarion; plus monthly shoppers such as The Dual County Leader in Eagle Grove and the Keokuk County Chief in Sigourney.

“Terms of the purchase have not been released. The Ida County publications are a natural it in our company,” Harvey said. “The backbone of our company is community-focused weekly newspapers.  We only hope to build upon the strong foundation that Roger and Karen have built.”

Harvey will serve as the regional publisher. Day-to-day operations will be handled by office manager Amy Forbes. Forbes, along with the rest of the staff in Ida Grove, has been offered employment by Mid-America.

News editor Beth Wolterman has chosen to retire from her position along with the Rectors. Wolterman has covered area news for the Courier for the past 31 years. Mid-America is currently advertising to fill the Courier’s news editor position.

“Karen and I would like to thank all our dedicated subscribers, readers and advertisers for your support and friendship over the years. It has been a long and amazing career and we are confident Mid-America Publishing will carry on our tradition and make our publications even stronger in Ida County,” Rector said.

“I would also like to thank my dedicated staff and Reminder carriers for their many years of service to the company. It has been a huge team effort every single week, from the planning stages to the final product,” Rector said.

Mid-America also has a commercial printing division, based in Hampton, that offers customized printing and publishing solutions, such as banners, posters, postcards, direct mailing, mailing list management, letterhead design, newsletter management and dozens of other marketing and promotional products, which it plans to make available locally in the Ida Grove area.

“We’re more than thrilled to be a part of Ida Grove and Ida County,” said Harvey.

Harvey further added that Mid-America’s interest in Ida Grove is partly because of the good mix of businesses operating there, including both new and established industries, and employers who bring people to the community.

“A community newspaper is only as healthy as the community it serves,” Harvey stated. “It is encouraging to see the commitment to commerce in Ida Grove over the long term.”

Matt Grohe, board chair of Mid-America Publishing, added, “We appreciate Roger’s willingness to working with us to incorporate these publications into our lineup. We are very grateful for his consideration and look forward to serving the citizens and businesses in Ida Grove and beyond, well into the future.”

The newspaper will stay in its current location at 214 W. Main St. and will retain the same mailing address, email addresses and phone number.

Readers of the newspapers will notice some immediate changes, however. The newspaper’s billing and circulation will be handled by the company’s home office staff in Hampton and additional content will appear. The printing of the newspaper will also move to the Hampton facility, rather than being printed in LeMars.

Both the Courier and Reminder will now be printed on Monday, rather than Tuesday. The deadline for all news and display advertising will be Friday at 3 p. m. The deadline for all classified advertising will be Friday at 5 p. m.

In addition, a new-look website will be launched in the next couple of months, along with a new Facebook page.

Arlene Sundell art featured at local restaurant

Courtesy of the 5/28/15 edition of THE CHRONICLE

A Picture Story Collection

Several years ago, Ross and Valorie Craig planned to open a little restaurant so that Valorie could share her talent and love for good food, bakery items and homemade candy.  A building was rented in Schaller and the restaurant opened.  Their plan included pictures on the walls depicting scenes of early Iowa life.  About that time, they met Arlene Sundell.  Arlene agreed to put her talent to work and drew the 13 pictures.  She has served as an art teacher for many years in the school systems of our community.

One of the favorite pictures includes a country school building with about half a dozen children playing in the front yard.  Arlene says this is a favorite scene from her first teaching job.  The school building is identical to the school she first taught in and the children are pictures of her first students.  The collection begins with the coming of covered wagons to Iowa and ends with a Model T Ford sloshing down a muddy road.

However, before the artwork was completed, the Craigs were forced to close the restaurant due to electrical and structural concerns about the building.  The pictures have been safely stored by the Craigs over the years.  Because of the unique quality of the pictures, they then planned to do a fundraising program for youth.  This idea was met with hearty support from Mrs. Sundell.  The years passed.  Last year, the Craigs were able to purchase the restaurant building in Odebolt due to the outstanding support of the Odebolt Development Corporation.

High quality copies of the pictures were reproduced and they were professionally framed.  They now hang in Craigs' restaurant dubbed Angel’s Place (which opened May 26).

With a sense of anticipation, Arlene’s family and friends gathered at Angel’s Tuesday evening, May 19, to honor Arlene for her talent and goodness in making this glimpse of Iowa’s history available for her friends and neighbors and visitors to Odebolt.  They still hope to use the pictures in a fundraising project to benefit the youth of Siouxland.  (The restaurant "Angel's Place" is now closed.)

Celebrating 100 years

Edna T. Schenzel, 100 years Young

Edna T. Schenzel a resident of the Withrow ​, WA​ area celebrated her 100th birthday with her family on February 1st, 2015.  Edna, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Neville, was born and raised in the Odebolt area and has visited family and friends there many times over the years.  She moved to the Withrow area from Odebolt after marrying her husband, Jacob Schenzel, in February 1938.  She and Jacob developed a wheat ranch there together.  She tells people that it was all the hard work and shoveling wheat that has helped her live a long and healthy life.

Her granddaughter and caregiver Esther says that her Gram still makes her own breakfast and lunch, is always ready to attend a party, go out for coffee for her favorite caramel machiatto at Starbucks, loves to meet new people and never talks about her health issues.

Attending the 100th birthday were Edna's daughter Mary Kiedrowski of Bridgeport; granddaughter Theresa Dale and husband Mike of St. John, WA; great-grandson Cody Dale, wife Stephanie and two great-grandsons Zane and Harlen of Gig Harbor; granddaughter Esther Zimmerman, and Andrew Zimmerman of Wenatchee; Gary & Terry Zimmerman, Lydia Dammonn, Ann, Steve and Michael Elliott, all of Wenatchee, WA.

An open house party for family and friends, will be held on April 25th at granddaughter Esther Zimmerman's house in Wenatchee from Noon till 7pm.

Hustedt in Super Bowl commercial

Kyle Hustedt of Chicago, son of Howard and Marcia Hustedt of Odebolt, appeared alongside singer and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson in a 2015 Super Bowl commercial for American Family Insurance.

Hustedt is a 1998 Odebolt-Arthur graduate and graduated from Luther College.  He went on to Northwestern in Chicago studying opera and musical theatre, and earned a master's degree. He is a founding member of the Chicago Cabaret Project.  Congratulations, Kyle!

October 22 and 29 Courier News

Courtesy of the 10-22-14 edition of Ida County Courier. www.idacountycourier.com
Out of the Past - Thirty years ago

Bart Ogden was honored by the Odebolt-Arthur School District Oct. 2. Ogden was superintendent at the school for 25 years, retiring in 1969. On Oct. 2, the school dedicated its gymnasium to the former administrator and unveiled a sign that reads “Bart Ogden Gymnasium” that will be placed over the entrance of the gym.

=========================

Courtesy of the 10-29-14 edition of Ida County Courier
Five decades of Iowa aerials now available on DNR website

Iowans have a way to look into Iowa’s past and view changes of their entire state, from decade to decade, thanks in part to REAP funding of the Iowa Historic Digital Aerial Photo Project.

The public can now see where former buildings were located, what kinds of industries and operations were on a site 70 years ago, and how development and urbanization has changed Iowa’s city and agricultural landscapes by visiting http://programs.iowadnr.gov/maps/aerials/.

In 2009 and 2011, Historical Resource Development Program grants from REAP helped the DNR's Geographic Information System Section procure photographs from various archives across the state and nation. Archives in Washington, D. C., the University of Iowa Map Library, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Aerial Photography Field Of ice, county of ices and private national archives all contained valuable pieces to Iowa’s geographic time puzzle.

“The Iowa Historic Digital Aerial Photo Project makes these images available to researchers, developers, landowners and others who need to understand the history of properties in Iowa,” said Steve King, deputy state historic preservation of icer. “We appreciate preserving these important historical documents and making them available online to Iowans and others around the world.”

Developers, landowners and managers and planners often need to understand how a property was previously used in order to evaluate history’s environmental and character impacts. Knowledge about a site’s resource use is also beneficial and difficult to ind elsewhere. Soil and stream-bank erosion patterns, conservation improvements and changes in natural vegetation and habitat can also be used to compare trends in land use and natural resource management.

Once the photos were scanned and made digital, GIS staff diligently matched them to their actual location. A processing algorithm then aligned the photos into blocks, which were mosaiced together to produce statewide coverage. Because of this approach, the photos can now be viewed with other mapped features, such as roads and land boundaries.

The GIS Historic Aerial Photography Project took more than eight years to complete, from 2004-12, because of its detail specific and comprehensive nature.

Clark said Iowa is more advanced than many states, because the imagery is more easily incorporated into other mapping applications, due to its layering compatibility. Iowa’s geographical history can be seen transformed by manipulating basemap layers on the top left of the screen. The ESRI World Imagery layer is also included. Layers with roads, city and county boundaries are available.

In its 25 years, REAP has benefited every county in Iowa by supporting 14,535 projects. REAP has funded these projects with $264 million in state investments, leveraging two to three times the amount in private, local and federal dollars. Collectively, these projects have improved the quality of life for all Iowans with better soil and water quality; added outdoor recreation opportunities; sustained economic development; enhanced knowledge and understanding of our ecological and environmental assets, and preservation of our cultural and historic treasures.

50 Years: Odebolt-Arthur Class of 1964

June 21, 2014 after the Creek Days parade:

Seated in front:  Gary Dobernecker

Seated, left to right:  Kathy Tiefenthaler Kros, Judy Fineran Meyer, Carol Clark Zoffka, Suzanne Gunderson Roeder, Kay Youngren Budd, Karen Wagner Ely, Bonnie Girvan Ekse
Standing, left to right:  Ben Buehler, Greg Cranston, James Sundell, Burley (Ron) Grove, Dale Smith, Bob Hanson, Larry Johnson, Allan Christiansen

June 21, 2014 Reunion Dinner - 50th Anniversary

Front Row:  Kathy Tiefenthaler Kros, Ann Linster Veit, Judy Fineran Meyer, Bonnie Girvan Ekse, Ellen Renze Pfleeger, Carol Clark Zoffka, Diane Thies Boerner, Kay Youngren Budd, Karen Wagner Ely

Back Row:  Burley (Ron) Grove, James Sundell, Richard Meltesen, Dale Smith, Bob Hanson, Larry Johnson, Ben Buehler (hidden), Dennis Mandernach, Suzanne Gunderson Roeder (partially hidden), Bruce Raasch, Greg Cranston, Allan Christiansen

Rear Admiral Bradley Gehrke

Note from editor:  My sister and I went home to Odebolt for the Creek Days weekend last week.  Our parents' house is next to the home the Gehrke family lived in and we were wondering how Brad Gehrke was doing.  My brother ran a search and found the below biography.  He is now a Rear Admiral and has had a very interesting career.

UNITED STATES NAVY BIOGRAPHY 

 from  http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio_ret.asp?bioID=462

REAR ADMIRAL BRADLEY R. GEHRKE, RETIRED

Rear Admiral Bradley Gehrke, a native of Odebolt, Iowa, attended the United States Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1980. Additionally, he attended the Defense Language Institute and Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a Master’s degree in National Security Affairs and studied Mandarin Chinese.

After initial training, Gehrke reported to USS Narwhal (SSN 671) for his first sea tour. He subsequently served as navigator aboard USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628) and as executive officer of USS Scranton (SSN 756). During these tours, he made four deployments, six strategic patrols and earned five Battle Efficiency awards.

Ashore, Gehrke served on commander, Submarine Group Six staff conducting tactical weapons certifications, U.S. Atlantic Command as executive assistant to the director for Operations, Navy Personnel Command as the submarine/nuclear power officer distribution division deputy director/commanding officer detailer, and as the chief of staff for commander, Submarines Allied Naval Forces South in Naples, Italy.

Gehrke commanded USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) (Gold). During this tour, he completed four strategic patrols, earning a Battle Efficiency and the CINCLANTFLT Silver Anchor Award for retention. Additionally, he was awarded the 2000 Jack N. Darby award for inspirational leadership and excellence in command.

In August 2004, Gehrke was relieved as commander, Submarine Squadron 15 in Guam and served as commodore until July 2006. Afterwards, he served as chief of staff for Commander, Submarine Group Seven/ CTF 74/CTF 54 in Yokosuka, Japan until June 2008. Gehrke was promoted to flag rank in December 2008 and assigned as the U.S. Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy, Beijing, from June 2009 to June 2011. Gehrke served as the director of Defense Counterintelligence and HUMINT Center at the Defense Intelligence Agency from June 2011 until July 2013.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Gehrke is currently the director of Maritime Headquarters, U.S. Fleet Forces Command.