Our Yesterdays

2015

Austin Andrew Adam was among the 2015 summer graduates at Iowa State University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Adam is the son of Andy and Patty Adam of Richland.

Joe Fritz celebrated his birthday on August 19. A special meal was held in the evening at their home hosted by his wife Lori and Sophia. They were joined by his mother, Winifred Fritz and his brother Tony and Lynn Fritz, all of Brighton.

Mary and Joel Boatright with Bridget Hollingsworth of Fairfield, and J.D. and Becky Hollingworth of Packwood, spent the evening of Aug. 23 with her mother Winifred Fritz. They enjoyed playing cards.

Connie Fritz visited Winifred Fritz on August 26.

Pat Remington visited her daughter Brandy Poli of Waukee on August 20. They enjoyed the Iowa State Fair and the Alabama concert that evening. Pat stayed the night with Brandy and Chris before returning to Brighton August 21. Pat met her daughter Angela Garmoe with Jimmy and Christopher of Mt. Pleasant at Jerry’s Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant on August 21. The boys returned to Brighton to spend the night with Grandma. Cody and friend Mackenzie joined his grandma and his brothers on August 22. They were moving from Mason City to Oskaloosa. They all traveled to Sigourney to dine at the Sigourney Cafe on the afternoon of August 22. Pat, Jimmy, and Christopher met their mom at Pizza Hut in Washington on the evening of August 22. Pat went to Ottumwa August 23. She met her sister Kathy of Chariton and their sister-in-law Jenny with Selena and Brad of Ottumwa at the Sirloin Stockade. They celebrated Jenny’s birthday.

Ginny Brinton visited her brother Fritz and Nancy Gowey in Milan, Illinois the weekend of August 21.

Nearly 75 area residents attended the opening of the Highway 1 Skunk River Bridge between Brighton and Washington last Thursday morning. During the dedication, those attending threw 214 pennies into the Skunk River, one for every day the road was closed. Speakers included Iowa Bridge and Culver project manager, Brian Uitermarkt; Michelle Redlinger from the Washington Chamber of Commerce; and Nancy Adrian from the Brighton Chamber. Pastor Rick Zickefoose of the Brighton United Church gave a blessing of the bridge. The bridge opened about a month and a half ahead of schedule and added full width paved shoulders for safer travel.

The Panther football squad started their season off on the right foot last Friday night with a 36-22 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. Quarterback Trever Northup didn’t miss on four passes, throwing for 135 yards total and one touchdown. Ryan Swanson and Keaton Winn each had two receptions, Swanson for 54 yards, and Winn for 81 yards and one touchdown. Racking up rushing yards for the Panthers were Chase and Tyler Copeland, each carrying the ball 12 times and scoring two touchdowns. Chase had 118 yards in the game, while Tyler came away with 100 yards. Brady Donovan carried the ball four times for 30 yards and one touchdown, while Winn had five carries for 25 yards. Defensively, Donovan and Winn each grabbed an interception. Winn had nine tackles in the game, five solo. Kaden Baker had six tackles with three being solo, and Tyler Copeland had five. The Panthers host Sigourney-Keota this Friday night for the annual Backyard Brawl.

The Pekin cross-country teams opened their season at Wildwood Park in Ottumwa last Thursday with three of the four teams coming away with a win, and one coming in with a close second. Getting first place finishes were both the high school and junior high boys’ teams and the junior high girls’ team. The high school girls’ team finished second, a mere three points away from first place Fairfield. Getting individual wins for Pekin was Gwynne Wright in the high school girls’ race and Colten Glosser in the junior high boys’ race. The top runner for the boys’ was Ryan Millikin with a third-place finish, and the top runner for the junior high girls’ team was Remi Duwa who finished fourth. “This was our first meet of the season,” stated Pekin coach Davis Eidahl. “It was also the first time that our girls ran a 5K. It was a new experience for them.” Leading the girls’ race was Pekin senior Gwynne Wright, who finished with a time of 19:59. Coming in third for Pekin was junior Shea Dahlstrom in 20:21, and taking a fifth-place finish was Pekin senior Taylor Lock in 20:36. Two freshmen were next to cross the line for Pekin with Zoey Wright finishing 13th in 22:12 and Hunter Lock taking 15th in 22:19. Senior Sloan Reighard and freshman Kelly Myers rounded out the top seven runners for Pekin with Reighard taking 17th in 22:43 and Myers coming in 18th in 22:48. Pekin’s strong third, fourth, and fifth place finishes by Ryan Millikin, Malcolm Myers, and Isaiah Wittrock helped gain them the team win. Juniors Millikin and Myers ran the race in 17:30 and 17:41 respectively. Finishing fifth was sophomore Wittrock in 17:50. Senior Austin Fariss finished in 12th place in a time of 18:33, while sophomore Sam Roth was 19th in 19:02 and junior Nate Kiekopf was 26th in 19:30. Junior Cameron Little finished 28th in 19:39, and freshman Jacob Weber was 102nd in 23:44.

2000

On July 28, 2010 RAGBRAI came through the towns of Packwood and Brighton. Large crowds of people were kept busy working food and beverage stands in the parks. Live entertainment was heard throughout the day in Richland. There were no accidents, no problems, and everything ran smoothly thanks to the many people involved.

Brighton added new playground equipment to the Brighton City Park. Two infant swings and other child safe items were placed in the park as a memorial to Marjorie and Walter “Blub” Hagans.

Lane Morgan of Brighton was honored at Mutual Fire and Auto Insurance Company’s 100th Anniversary celebration in Cedar Rapids. Mr. Morgan was recognized for having the longest family owned agency representing Mutual Fire. The Morgan Insurance Agency was started in 1906 by Lane’s grandfather and was operated later by Lane’s father. Lane joined the agency in 1952 and continued the agency until retiring in April of 2000.

New teachers gracing the halls at Pekin Community Schools included Denise McLellan, Brian Stone, and Todd Hoefler.

1990

The Rubio Ladies Club received an award from Gov. Terry Branstad for assisting the University of Iowa Volunteer Program in their support of The Touching Hearts Program. This program assists families experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death. The ladies contributed approximately 300 volunteer hours making 250 kimono gowns and 75 buntings in 1989 and 750 hours making 600 gowns and 150 buntings and several bonnets in 1990.

Bill Peck of East Pleasant Plain retired after 18 years as a teacher and principal in the Fairfield Community School District, and 15 years with the U.S. Postal Service of Brighton and Ottumwa.

Since early summer, a log jam on the Skunk River near Coppock has caused problems for a number of people. Farmers in the area have blamed it for flooded fields and the conservation board can’t keep silt from accumulating on the Coppock boat access.

Former teachers and students of the Green Vale School met at the Brighton Community Center for a potluck dinner and their first reunion. The oldest students started to school in 1910, that being Myra Gowey Nordyke and Leonard Parcell. Leonard and his brother named the school Green Valley but it was later shortened to Green Vale. Esther Humston and her brothers, Karl and Alva, went to school around 1920 and also Williard Mourer and Marcella Parcell Lucas a few years later. Later years it was the Leonard Fritz family, the Marion Farrier family, Joe Deutsch family, the Howard Lewis family, Joe Etzen family, Clayton Parcell family, Levi Van Dyke family, and Dale Hunt family.