Our Yesterdays

2015

Colleen Kimble of Richland received a 2015 Governor’s Volunteer Award from Gov. Terry E. Branstad during a special recognition ceremony held July 10 in the St. John Auditorium on the Indian Hills Community College campus in Ottumwa. Kimble was honored with a 10 Year Individual Length of Service Award for her volunteer work with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program.

The SS Joseph and Cabrini Altar and Rosary is hosting an Open House to honor the 80th birthday of Shirley Van Dee on Sept. 6 at Mother Cabrini Parish Center in Richland. Shirley is the Parish Life Coordinator of the Ss. Joseph and Cabrini Parish and is involved with the Richland Lions Club, Richland Women’s Club, Richland Community Club, and the Pekin Ministerial Association. Shirley has also been a facilitator for Ministry Formation for the Diocese of Davenport for 15 years.

Sue Gill, Allie Gill, Linda Copeland, Bev Neel, and Joann Scearcy attended a baby shower on Saturday, August 15. The shower was held for Amber Gill and Camden Lee Gill. It was hosted by Carolyn Schwartz, Amanda Robertson, and Amy Schwartz.

Max and Melody Rehm of Richland, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Angela Rehm, to Joshua Brant of Altoona. He is the son of Vicki and Mark Shafer of Carlisle, and James and Brandi Brant of Aransas Pass, Texas. The bride-elect is a graduate of Pekin High School and Simpson College. She is employed at Wells Fargo in Des Moines. The Groom-elect is a graduate of Colfax-Mingo High School and Vatterott College. He is employed at Athene Annuity in West Des Moines. Plans are underway for an October 10, 2015 wedding in Carlisle, Iowa.

The Pekin football team gave back to the community on Saturday, Aug. 15, by helping out around the town of Hedrick. The boys started off by clearing some weeds around the downtown area. After that, they moved to the park and Civic Center. There they painted, cleaned up trash, mopped the Civic Center floors and bleachers, and did a variety of other jobs. After finishing there, they went to the ball diamonds and other park in Hedrick where they did similar jobs. “This was a great opportunity to give back to the community of Pekin,” stated first year head coach Tyler Hotz. “It is unfortunate we can’t give back to every community that makes up Pekin.” Special thanks to Robert Crawford for making this day possible. Also a thanks to Holly Copeland, Aaron Deutsch, and Brian Baker for helping out and supervise the players.

1970

George Thorburn, who has worked as SCS District Conservationist in the Keokuk County Soil Conservation District since November of 1943, is leaving the Service the latter part of July. He will be working with his son Dr. Bruce Thorburn of Davenport in a dental equipment business.

Mike Hadley has taken over active management of the Mobil station in Richland on Highway 77. Mr. and Mrs. Louie Egbert have operated the station for several years. Mr. Egbert will continue at the station doing wheel balancing and other light work as his health necessitates his selling the business.

The Pekin Panther Baseball squad has six returning letterwinners from last season. They are Bob Bradfield, outfield; Bill Hoekstra, outfield; Jeff Hendrickson, pitcher/shortstop; Steve Connelly, pitcher/first baseman; Dennis Smith, infield; and Dave Cowguill. Good Freshman prospects are Mike Sanchez, catcher; Tom Hoekstra, pitcher; Kurt Reynolds, pitcher/infielder; Phil Northup, infielder; Dennis Reynolds, infielder; and Craig Hackert, catcher. The coach is Buck Cheadle.

Mrs. Paul McClintic resigned from the Hagan Grocery in Brighton and accepted the position of secretary and teacher aid with the Brighton Elementary School.

Lynne Nelson, daughter of Mrs. Paul Nelson of Keota, rescued a small girl at Lake Darling. The girl, who lives in Bettendorf, had fallen into the lake from one of the floating docks at the camp grounds.

A minister and his wife were killed and a passenger injured when their car skidded into a bridge abutment on Iowa Highway 1 seven miles south of Iowa City. The Rev. Frank T. Woodward, 49, of Keota and his wife, Jean, 49, were killed in the accident. The passenger, Mrs. Ethel Meyers, 70, also of Keota, was reported in fair condition with internal injuries.

Loren and Vernon Lisk have received their discharges from the U.S. Army and have returned to the home of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Delmar Lisk of Abingdon. They have been stationed in Fort Collins, CO after completing a tour of duty in Vietnam. Mrs. Loren Lisk is the former Brenda Harris of Brighton.

1950

Dick Stagers has assumed the lease and operation of the Conoco Oil Station in Richland, located just south of the square on 77 and is in a position to give the motorist a complete gas and oil service. He will also have accessories and tires and the usual run of merchandise found at a modern service station.

Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Nordyke began erecting their new home two weeks ago. Charles Widner, Homer Wimpsett, and Glenn Singleton are the carpenters. They have the walls up and roof on and are working on the interior. This must be some kind of record.

With a crowd of several thousand people looking on, J. N. (Ding) Darling pressed the switch which closed the gate valve at Lake Darling, Iowa’s newest and largest artificial lake. State conservation officials, state representatives, and many other dignitaries were on the speaker’s stand located at the base of the dam on the new Washington County lake for the formal setting of the gate which will cause the lake to fill with water.

A three member team from Richland Public School will match wits with teams from 60 other schools in the statewide quiz derby at the Iowa State Fair. Members of the Richland team are Robert Curtis, Joyce Fritchen, and Robert Nichols. Alternate members are James Brenneman, Janice Nordyke, and Frank Hobbs.

The farm home of the Virgil Oswalt family west of town was destroyed by fire in early May. The fire was caused by an oil stove. They saved a very few things. Mrs. Oswalt is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Derby. This excerpt came from an article written by Dora Halferty Chacey: The loss of the house by fire, recently where the Virgil Oswalts lived, brings up some history. The above house was built by John Chacey around 60 years ago, to replace the old log cabin, which was the pioneer home of Mason Warner and family who came from Ohio in 1842. Mr. Warner was a Methodist preacher and a man of much ability. Soon after coming he built a saw mill on Richland Creek near his home. The Warner family consisted of two sons, Gideon, who was married and who settled where Howard Morrow now lives, and Jesse Warner, who married after coming to Iowa, and who became a colonel in the Civil War; also three daughters, one of whom married Nelson Green, another Jacob Hardice, and the third, I think, married Mr. Johnson. Here in the log house Mason Warner lived until his death in the 1870s.

The Christian Church congregation has torn down their old brick building and completed the new basement and foundation, and are waiting for the McDowell Chapel building which they purchased some time ago to be moved.