Our Yesterdays

Judith Bohlen is now a member of the employees at Rubio Savings Bank of Brighton. Mrs. Bohlen formerly worked as clerk treasurer while in Wyoming and also was employed by University of Iowa where she worked with the 65 plus program.

Gov. Terry Branstad has released an extra $4 million for water construction projects in small Iowa towns that are suffering from last year’s drought. Pleasant Plain will benefit from the funds. Pleasant Plain, a city of 144, has 90 percent of the residents out of water. Construction of the new water system is hoped to begin by Spring. A special 4 ½ mile expansion will be built from Brighton to Pleasant Plain and East Pleasant Plain with Wapello Rural Water Association. The Wapello Rural Water Association will purchase water from the city of Brighton, which recently completed drilling a new well and constructing plant.

1979 … 44 years ago

Ollie, Iowa native Keith Schreiner, 53, was named area director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service in Alaska. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Schreiner, and the brother of Jack Schreiner, all of Ollie.

Larry Winn recently qualified as a captain for Western Airlines. Mr. Winn was flying a Boeing Jet 727-200, as a captain on scheduled flights to the west coast with Minneapolis as his base. Mr. Winn was formerly of Ollie, son of Mrs. Mary Hay of Fairfield, and his brother Jerome lives in Ollie.

A car owned by Mike Noel of Richland was totally destroyed by fire. Cause of the blaze was believed to be an electrical malfunction. Total damage was estimated at $4,000.

1968 … 55 years ago

We don’t hear of many Grandmother’s organizations around, but the club in Ollie will be thirty years old February 22. It was organized on that date in 1938 at the home of Mrs. Mae Campbell with Mrs. Mae Ridgeway and Mrs. Martha Fye, the originators. The name ‘Modern Grandmothers’ was chosen, which they dropped in 1941 to be known then as just the ‘Grandmothers Club’. The purpose of their meetings was to do mending and sewing for their grandchildren and any good they could for the community. Some amusing things are recorded about their first meeting such as serving popcorn for lunch, paying ten cents when joining, five cents for each meeting when present or not, and an extra two cents to be used to purchase a gift on each one’s birthday, to cost ten cents. In 1940, the Club presented to the town a fireplace which they had constructed in the park, and a little later, several benches were added. During World War II, they sent boxes to all the boys in the service from the community.

The last house built by the Richland Development Corporation has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Wilhite of Hedrick. They have three daughters, two in school and one in preschool. Mr. Wilhite is with the Iowa Telephone Company. This is the sixth house built by the corporation. One was started and then sold to Kermit Oswalt.

1963 … 60 years ago

Ben Young Farm Market held their annual pancake and sausage day. Each year it gets bigger and better. This year, Ben came up with a Bongo drum, and now this editor of the Clarion has labeled Ben as ‘Bongo Ben’. Other entertainment was provided by a quintet featuring ‘Bongo Ben’, Frankie Wickenkamp, Junior Starr, Alvin Reynolds, and Kenny Lankford.

1959 … 64 years ago

Maurice Gould has purchased the interest of Wendell Eden in the Gould and Eden Funeral Home at Brighton. The funeral home will be known as the Gould Funeral Home of Brighton. Mr. Edward Williams and his sister, Miss Eloise Williams, will be in charge of the business.

Fire damage at the Orin Davis home in Richland was confined for he most part to the attic, with the ceiling sections almost charred through. It was believed to have been caused by a short in the wiring resulting from ice damage. The smoke and smoldering were brought under control by the Richland Volunteer Fire Department.

Nearly one hundred friends and relatives joined Mr. and Mrs. Curtis C. Rogers in the celebration of their fiftieth wedding anniversary in their home near Pleasant Plain on February 3.

1953 … 70 years ago

Addition of four new members to the Richland volunteer fire department was made. According to Chief Louie Egbert, the new members are Dick Conklin, Dick Caughlan, Bob Pfeifer, and Alfred Johnson.

Richland boys went into high gear when Coach Strathman’s lads went out and played basketball and came home from Hedrick with the Keokuk County boy’s title for 1953 as their reward. The lads downed a classy Sigourney outfit that all but won the game when the initial pairings were announced. Members of the Richland team were Bob Swackhammer, manager; Keith Singleton, Larry Bond, Richard Bond, Freddy Allen, Larry Morgan, Charles Ulin, Paul Strathman, coach; Dick Forinash, Johnny Wallerich, Don Fritchen, Bob Curtis, Jerry Robinson, and Bernard Ulin.

1939 … 84 years ago

The salary of the President of the United States is set by law at $75,000 a year with an additional $25,000 for traveling expenses. The wife of the President is allowed $25,000 a year for housekeeping expenses and can usually obtain further appropriation if more is needed. The government pays the salaries of head butler, housekeeper, valet, and wife's secretary. The President's wife has at her call several young officers of the army and navy, known as social aides.

A subscription of the Richland Clarion was $1.50 per year, paid in advance. A.C. Roach was the Editor and Publisher, and Loree Roach was the Assistant.