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Odebolt ~ Early ~ Wall Lake
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The Chronicle, Vol. 115, No. 39
September 28, 2006

The Mayor Sez…
     Recently, Elaine and I attended a DOT hearing on the proposed new Highway 20 4-lane project. The most disturbing part was when we saw the map of what they intend to do. The 4-lane right of way for Calhoun County will be graded, however, only one side will be paved due to budget restraints. The important thing for us to do at this point is to get our political candidates, governor especially (either side), whoever is elected to earmark money for the completion of the project……all four lanes of it. Eastern Iowa has 4-lane highways going every direction. I don’t think it is too much to ask to give Western Iowa some long overdue consideration.
     From the ‘bolt,
     R. J. Rex, Mayor of Odebolt

Arthur Public Library will hold an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the expansion of the library in the community building.  The open house will be Saturday, Sept. 30th from 1 to 3 p.m. with ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m.  The Community Club of Arthur officially turned over the building and maintenance funds to the library board on September 11, 2006.  The Community Club voted to disband in July.

ONRC Auxiliary News - The Assisted Living unit is progressing nicely and a new sprinkler system is being installed. The Halloween Extravaganza will be October 28 from 4 to 5 p.m.  The Auxiliary Bazaar will be held October 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The next meeting will be October 19.

MotorIoway will pass through Wall Lake for a breakfast pit-stop on Sunday, October 1, 2006.  The parade of about 200 pre-1981 cars, trucks and special interest vehicles will arrive in Wall lake at approximately 9:-- a.m. and will park on the WLVA Elementary Playground where the public is invited to com and see the vehicles and visit with the drivers.  For more information, visit the web site.

Iowa Fall Color Hot Line from the Iowa DNR Forestry Division (515)233-4110.  Or visit the Iowa Fall Color web site.

More Wind Power for Northwest Iowa -  In April 2006, MidAmerican announced a 99-megawatt wind project in Crawford and Carroll counties in west central Iowa following Iowa Utilities Board approval of the company’s plan to build up to 545 megawatts of new wind-powered electric generation in Iowa before the end of 2007.
     Construction of a 123-megawatt wind facility in Pocahontas County in northwest Iowa is expected to begin later this year and is scheduled to be completed prior to the end of 2007. 
     Invenergy Wind Development Iowa LLC is constructing the 99-megawatt wind facility in Carroll and Crawford counties that will utilize 66 GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.
     MidAmerican currently owns and operates 360.5 megawatts of wind energy facilities in northwest and north central Iowa that have the capability to produce enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. Read more.

Siouxland Community Blood Bank is pleased to announce eDonor as a new option for self-scheduling that allows donors to locate local blood drives and schedule a time to donate on-line.  Visit the Web Site and enter your zip code to find out about upcoming Donation Drives in your area and make an appointment.

Introducing Tyson Veit, Sales Consultant
We would like to welcome Tyson back to the area. 
Tyson is originally from Odebolt, graduating in 2002. 
He attended Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.
Tyson, his wife and children now reside in Lake View.

Arthur Building Garage Sale
Monday & Tuesday
October 2 & 3, 2006
4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Arthur Gym & Grounds
The Odebolt-Arthur School District will be holding
a garage sale of items in the Arthur School building.

ITEMS FOR SALE INCLUDE
• tables • chairs • cabinets
• student desks • teacher desks
• many miscellaneous items

All items will be sold at affordable prices. Make us an offer, as all reasonable offers will be considered.
All items are cash and carry on the night of the sale!

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ODEBOLT.NET NEWS
B. Horak & B. Ekse, Webnews Editors
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O-A HOMECOMING CANDIDATES

     For Queen:  Elizabeth Bloyer, Alison Hansen, Kayla Miller, Tayli Thompson, Jordan Walsh
      For King: Taylor Bengford, Shea Fineran, Bryan Leonard, Korey Schroeder, Ben Scott
     Homecoming will be Friday, October 6th with the Trojans going against SE Webster-Grand
     Queen Elizabeth Bloyer and King Korey Schroeder were crowned on Friday, October 6th.

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A memorial service for Ronald A. Oxendale will be held Saturday, October 7th, 11:00 a.m. at the Odebolt Methodist Church in Odebolt, followed by a light lunch.  Ronald passed away August 26, 2006 at his home in New York City. 

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From the Odebolt History Pages

THE CHRONICLE. VOL. 16. NO. 22.
OCTOBER 2, 1902.

(October 1902)
     A cement walk is being put down on the north side of Second street, between Maple street and Starner's furniture store. This will be a great improvement.
     The young women got up a "povertie bawl" which came off last night at the opera house. It didn't cost the boys anything, and good eatins were served by the Bon Ton. The dancers appeared in rags and tags, and Weary Willies and Calamity Janes were numerous.

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Recipe from the old Stickrods' Cafe - (Submitted by Judy Bauer)  I found this recipe in the recipe box of my Grandmother Minnie Konradi Messer (1887-1983). My father, Floyd Messer (1910-2000) once told me that around 1925, his family lived on a farm outside of Odebolt, Iowa.  In the winter when the snow was too deep to travel by car, he & his father, Charlie Messer (1884-1974), would take a bobsled and a team of horses into town.  They would stop in the back entrance of Stickrod's Cafe and order chili. It was served in a large bowl with another bowl full of oyster crackers.

STICKROD'S CAFE CHILI
1 pound chili meat
1/2 pound suet
1 t. chili pepper
1 t. black pepper
1/2 bowl ground onion
1/2 bowl ground garlic
1 T. salt
1 bowl beans

Editor's note:  With all that garlic, people must have been well aware of someone who had been eating Stickrod's chili!

The Chronicle Vol. 115, No. 38
September 21, 2006

The Mayor Sez…
     On Sept. 27th our EMA (Sac Co. Emergency Mgmt. Team) will simulate a pandemic flu exercise. There will be 14 counties participating and all mayors of our county are invited to attend as observers. At our EMA meeting last week I asked our director when Iowa can expect something of that nature and he said that he didn’t know when, but it is coming. More on this after the 27th.
     Most of you know or think you know what the acronym NAACP stand for…..right? Well I just heard another version. It stands for National Association of Always Complaining People. Hmmmm!
     From the ‘bolt,
     R. J. Rex, Mayor of Odebolt

O-A School Board Holds Sharing Special Session--The Odebolt-Arthur School Board held a special work session Sept. 6 to discuss sharing with BC-IG.
     The board reviewed the sharing committee reports and made comments. They also discussed work that remained to be completed in many of the areas the committees studied.
     The board reviewed some of the reasons for sharing. These reasons included 1) the loss of enrollments for both districts over the past years, 2) the ability to maintain or enhance student offerings, 3) that the districts seemed to have a lot in common academically and 4) that both districts would need each other in the future if enrollment numbers (resources) continued to decrease.
     There was a discussion on the placement of the sixth grade students. The consensus of the O-A Board was that the sixth grade students should be with the seventh and eighth grade students. Both districts have put a lot of effort into making this configuration successful and the public seems to be very supportive of this alignment

Obituary
Sylvester Lunkenheimer
     Sylvester Joseph “Luke” Lunkenheimer, 83, of Odebolt, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa.
     Mass of the Christian Burial was held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 13th, at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Odebolt with Father John McGuirk officiating. Burial was at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home.
     Luke was born on September 6, 1923, in Odebolt, the son of William and Mary S. (Thies) Lunkenheimer. He graduated from Odebolt High School in 1940. During his high school years, he was a star football player, known to many as “Stonewall Jackson”.
     He was inducted into the U.S. Army on May 7, 1943, at Camp Dodge, Iowa, serving during WWII in the Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns, earning three Overseas Service Bars, European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with two Bronze Battle Stars, Good Conduct Medal, and WWII Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged on January 15, 1946 from Camp Grant, Illinois with the rank of TEC 5.
     On September 30, 1950, Luke was united in marriage to Betty J. Pietig Reis in Carroll, Iowa. They made their home in Odebolt where Luke built his masonry business. Some of the buildings he worked on were the Odebolt Post Office, Telephone Office, Bowling Alley, Café, plus many other homes, etc. He worked as a mason for 42 years retiring in 1992.
     He enjoyed spending time with his family, bowling, and driving around looking at homes. He was an active member of St. Martin’s Catholic Church and a member of the Odebolt American Legion.
     Survivors include his wife Betty (they would have celebrated their 56th anniversary on Sept. 30th); daughters: Judie Reis of Papillion, Nebraska, LuAnn Knobbe of Omaha, Nebraska, and Kim Lockhart and her husband Mike of Bern, Kansas; seven grandchildren; a sister, Adeline Hott of Wall Lake, Iowa; extended family members; and many friends.
     His parents, William and Mary Lunkenheimer, preceded Luke in death.

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ODEBOLT.NET NEWS
B. Horak & B. Ekse, Webnews Editors
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FROM IDA COUNTY COURIER ON-LINE
 - O-A board reorganizes with new president
Vicki Beckman, Pres.; Deb Bengford, V.Pres.; Scott Cranston sworn in.  Will meet 3rd Monday of the month at new time, 6 p.m.
 - Ida Co.Supervisors discuss ethanol plant
Platinum Ethanol L.L.C. to build plant on south edge of Arthur.
 - Trojans win 30-8 over Rockwell City-Lytton

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Obituary: Donald D. Buettner, 79, of Sioux City passed away Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, at his residence following a lengthy illness.  Don was born in 1927 in Odebolt, Iowa, the son of William A. and Stella B. (Manning) Buettner. He graduated from Odebolt High School and served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. He married Emma Jane Yoder in 1952, in Odebolt. He was in construction all of his life, starting in Odebolt and after 1965, in Sioux City. (See complete obituary)

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September 2006 Odebolt City Council
Special Meeting

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From the Odebolt History Pages

125 Years Ago
The Odebolt Observer, Vol. 2, No. 12,
September 21, 1881
Death of President James A. Garfield

The Chronicle, Vol. 115, No. 37,
September 14, 2006

The Mayor Sez . . .
     Recognition of Odebolt Celebrities does not go unnoticed.  Congratulations go out to Logan and Keagon Scott for their accomplishments (Nat'l. Champions) in the World Karting finals.  Many of our NASCAR drivers of today started their careers in "Go Carts"! Who knows??
     Kudos to the Odebolt Fire Dept. for their efforts in raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Jerry's Kids).  Standing out in the middle of the highway in the rain, on a holiday weekend is "above and beyond".  We Salute!!
     From the 'bolt,
     R. J. Rex, Mayor of Odebolt

Sac County Farm Bureau Board—The board is pictured in a photo taken after their annual meeting on August 26. Odebolt members of the board are Monica Pudenz, Kurt Carstensen and Darwyn Bettin.

Firemen “Fill the Boot”—There are several photos in The Chronicle of the Labor Day weekend fundraiser by the Odebolt Firemen. They collected $1,253 to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

September 13 - 22 - Perennial Plant Give-Away at Prairie Pedlar
     We are renovating a large portion of our perennial everlasting garden this fall.
     A large area of perennial flowers must go. For 10 days, September 13 - 22, gardeners are welcome to this excess supply of plant material.
     Bring your own tools, boxes, bags, and containers to dig your own perennials before the new garden work begins.
     Choose from a nice variety of flowers that include lamb's ear, tansy, wild marjoram, monarda, broom, silver bouquet, anise hyssop, gold yarrow, white yarrow and mother-of-pearl yarrow.
     These plants are available while supplies last.  Free-will donations will be accepted.
     Fall is a perfect transplant time! Hope you will join us.
The Prairie Pedlar Web Site

4-H Clubs to Kick Off Year with Picnic—The Richland Robins and O-A Showmen 4-H clubs will have their annual family picnic on Sunday, September 24 at 5:30 at the Odebolt city Park.
Anyone interested in joining either of the clubs is invited to join them or to contact one of the leaders, Carmen Witzke or Karen Siebrecht.

Odebolt Public Library—August 2006 new books, paperbacks and DVD’s are listed in this week’s Chronicle.
     Memorials were received in July and August for Henry Hanson, Grace Hanson, Leone Godbersen, Monty Mehrhoff and Dorothy Hanson.

Obituary
Emma Gustafson
     Emma Marjorie Anderson was born on April 7, 1920 in Boyer, Iowa, daughter of Elwood and Edith (Flodine) Anderson. Her family attended the Odebolt Covenant Church. As a young adult, she joined the Arthur Evangelical Free Church where she attended until her marriage. Following her marriage, she and her family made their church home at First Baptist Church in Kiron.
     Emma’s early education was the Boyer school. She graduated from Odebolt High School in 1937. She taught in a rural school in Wheeler Township, Sac County, IA for a short time and the rest of her career of 13 years was spent in the Boyer School.
     On August 24, 1955 she married Vernal Gustafson. The couple lived on the Gustafson family farm near Kiron. Vernal passed away in 1998 and Emma spent the rest of her life on their farm, most recently with daughter Gwen as her fulltime caregiver. The family proudly celebrated receiving their Century Farm Award in 2005.
     Emma passed away on September 6, 2006, at the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, Iowa.
     She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her five brothers, LeRoy, Roland, Lawrence, Wayne and the Rev. Carroll Anderson; two sisters, Adeline and Jane, who died as infants; a granddaughter and a grandson.
     Left to cherish her memory include her children, Marilyn (Fred) Coltrain of Kiron, Norman (Stephanie) of Gardner, Kansas, and Gwen Gustafson of Kiron; three grandchildren, Jesse and Claudia Coltrain and Janae Gustafson; her brother-in-law, Willard Gustafson and his wife, Lila of Kiron; two sisters-in-law, Dorothy Anderson of Odebolt and Shirley Olberding of Caroll plus many other relatives and friends.

From the Odebolt History Pages

125 Years Ago
ODEBOLT OBSERVER Vol. 2. No. 11. September 14, 1881.

--John Dement, of Dixon, Illinois, proprietor of the Dixon Bagging Mills, has rented the Flax Mill here and will pay $2.50 cash per ton for good, clean, dry flax straw free from weeds and chaff, if delivered at once. Cut your straw as near the ground as possible, and separate the chaff from the straw in threshing. Mr. Henry Daub can be found at all times at the mill ready to buy straw and give any information wanted.
--A school picnic will be had at Dr. Stevens' grove, in Levey township, next Friday, by the three schools of Misses Olsen, Rogers and Nichols.
--The vote in this city last week on annexing additional territory to our town limits, carried by about three to one. About 100 votes only were polled.
--There will be a gospel temperance meeting at the Presbyterian church next Sabbath evening. Rev. Mr. Boyer, of Ida Grove, will be present and address the meeting. All are invited.
--McKeever's wonderful horse, Setter, is in training for the first district fair at Odebolt, and Mc says he will get him down to 2:10 7/8 if not lower. He drives the horse with waxed ends, and uses an awl instead of a whip for a persuader.
The circulating library of A. Stoops & Co., at the City Drug Store, is the place to get the latest and most interesting reading. History, poetry, travels, etc. in great abundance. Also agents for the great American Book Exchange that is issuing standard works cheaper than ever before published.

The Chronicle, Vol. 115, No. 36
September 7, 2006

The Mayor Sez…
     An item in the Sioux City Journal last week got my attention. KKK recruitment fliers have been showing up in Denison, Storm Lake, and other places nearby. The respective police departments have been looking into the placement of said fliers. R. Ben Scott, the exec. dir. of the Iowa ACLU, says, “The police should not be inquiring as to who is expressing their views. It is not against the law to distribute fliers.” The article does say that the police depts. of both Denison and Storm Lake say they simply want to be informed as to the situation they may face.
     Labor Day weekend has come and gone. If our chestnut tree is a prognosticator of things to come, weather-wise, we are in for some very nice, mild fall weather. I welcome any discussion on the above matter with any of you tree experts.
     From the ‘bolt,
     R. J. Rex, Mayor of Odebolt

School Board Elections Tuesday, Sept 12 - Polls will be open from noon until 8 p.m.   Odebolt-Arthur School District residents will vote at the Odebolt Fire Station or the Arthur Community Building.  Roger Buehler and Vicki Beckman have expiring terms.  Beckman is seeking re-election to her seat.  Scott Cranston of Odebolt is seeking election to the seat currently held by Buehler, who did not seek re-election.

Odebolt Girl Strives to Help Community - An article in this week's issue by Carma S. Reinert, Chronicle Reporter, tells how 11 year old Amy Stangl (pictured) plans to refurbish the Odebolt Swimming Pool bath house as a 4-H and Girl Scout project.  She is making requests for contributions from Lowes and Home Depot and will present her project at a city council meeting.  Anyone wishing to contribute funds can contact Odebolt City Hall.

You Can Help Sell Your Community [Taken from the August 2006 SETD Newsletter] - As many of you know, we are now involved in a regional marketing effort – combining our resources and talents with the counties of Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Ida and of course Sac. What do we have to sell in our region? Our “good life.”
     In a recent Des Moines Register article, it addressed the good life in Iowa. It said, “Iowa has good neighbors, affordable housing and short commutes.” I like my 5-minute commute to work each day and even the 20+ minutes it takes me to get to any one of the communities in the county without traffic jams, accidents, reckless drivers, etc.   
     The Register goes on to provide us with seeds for thought: “Having first-class schools, parks, trails and other public amenities raises everyone’s standard of living. It provides the edge this state needs. Of course, these things aren’t free. They are paid for with tax dollars. And that’s fine. Because one of the purposes of government is to meet needs collectively that not all people can afford individually.”
     The article goes on to say: “Iowa needs to do more to fund recreation and cultural endeavors. This state needs to purchase more land for public use and clean up its water. And it should offer opportunities to train and retrain workers. Iowa can increase residents’ satisfaction and entice people from other states and countries to locate here by offering a good quality of life – in small and large cities alike.”
     These thoughts bring me back to the reason we are doing planning for our communities, and those that take the time to be part of this are the real “leaders” in our communities. We have a number of things that scream “quality of life” – we just don’t tell anyone about them.
     It’s time that we start aggressively promoting what we have, time we start working to preserve and protect what we have, and time to start sharing this so we can build a future workforce and a future life in our county.
     And you can all be a part of this. Tell your friends, your family, your former classmates and business acquaintances how “nice” it is to live in our area. Tell them about the short work commute, the work ethic of our people, and our ability to produce quality products. Tell them about our housing, our lake, our recreational trail and other facilities, our museums, our festivals, and our quality schools. Let them know that we have fine medical care through our clinics and hospitals and a low crime rate.
Share with them the reasons why you live here –whether you’re a native or a transplant. Help us send the message far and wide that we don’t have hurricanes and wildfires to take our homes and businesses on an annual basis.
     Help bring your children and grandchildren back “home.” We need their talent to fill our job openings, run our businesses or start one of their own. Help entice businesses to locate here – they may be one of your suppliers or someone you call on for sales. With the Internet, people can work from almost anywhere.
Let people know that we care about each other, the children in our communities, the preservation of our past and our hopes for the future. It’s everyone’s responsibility to help sell our community.
     Are you doing your part?

Faith Lutheran Church of Odebolt will be hosting
KIDS TIME
Starting on Wed., Sept. 13th
3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
(If there is an early out, it will run from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.)
Open to all students K-5th grade.
Come enjoy games, cooking, snacks
and working on crafts.
If you have any questions
call Pastor Trish Underberg at 668-4515.

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ODEBOLT.NET NEWS
B. Horak & B. Ekse, Webnews Editors
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Death Notice:  Sylvester Joseph “Luke” Lukenheimer, 83, of Odebolt, passed away on Sunday, September 10, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake.
     Mass of the Christian Burial was held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 13th, at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Odebolt with Father John McGuirk officiating. Burial was at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll.
     Read the obituary - send condolences at Farber and Otteman Funeral Home web site.

Obituary:  Lola Katherine (Albrecht) Marron, 70, of Odebolt entered into the Lord's kingdom surrounded by her loving family on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006, at Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove, Iowa.
     Services were 10:30 a.m. Saturday August 26th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Odebolt with burial in Odebolt Cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Huebner Funeral Home in Denison, Iowa.
     Lola was born July 16, 1936, in Odebolt, to Clifford and Henrietta (Miller) Albrecht. She was one of six children. She attended Odebolt School System and was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church.
     On Oct. 10, 1957, she wed Gilbert Vito Marron in Reno, Nev. They lived all of their married life in the Odebolt area. She was employed at various cafes in the Odebolt and Arthur, Iowa, area.
     She will be remembered far and wide for her extraordinary cooking and baking skills. The grandchildren never came home for a visit, that her "famous" fried chicken wasn't requested. She was also known for her happy jolly disposition. She could always find a laugh in the gloomiest of days.
     She loved her family and was dedicated to their well-being. She loved her home and especially her flower gardens. She adored watching the birds that frequented her feeders, particularly the gold finches and cardinals.
     She is survived by her husband, Gilbert; a daughter and her husband, Susan A. and Gary Gierstorf of Lakewood, Colo.; two sons and their wives, Rodney and Julie of Holstein, Iowa, and Craig and Jackie of Odebolt; a stepdaughter and her husband, Gloria and Tom Garrett of Bakersfield, Calif.; seven grandchildren; a great-grandson; three sisters, Dorothy Sweeden of Arthur, Iowa, Jean and her husband, Eugene Mau of Odebolt and Lois and her husband, Leo Grote of Wall Lake, Iowa; and a brother and his wife, Clifton "Ike" and Caroline Albrecht of Spencer, Iowa.
     She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant brother, Robert; a brother, Raymond; and a brother-in-law, Ross Sweeden.

Odebolt School Board History
From the Odebolt History Pages

from: HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA
ODEBOLT PUBLIC SCHOOL - This school became an independent district in April, 1880. The first school taught in Odebolt was taught by Jacob Gable. The first school board consisted of W.W. Stanfield, Z.G. Sparks, H. Hansen, J. Flanders and J. Ketterer, Trustees; Wm. Graham, Secretary; J.T. Martin, Treasurer. The present officers are the same, except in place of J. Ketterer, who has been succeeded by John Wilson. Mr. Taggert is the Treasurer at present. C. Messer is the Principal of the school, and Anna Beekman and Mrs. Emma Gill, assistants. The enrollment is 220 pupils, with an average attendance of 150. They have a neat frame building containing three rooms, which was erected in 1880 at a cost of $3,000.

From THELMA DRESSELHUIS WRITES ....
THE SCHOOL - There were two school reorganizations over the years. They increased the size of the school. One of them brought Arthur into the district. There have been excellent board members over the years. I served a number of years.
     “Those were good school board members who put their full efforts on it. We had to cover all that territory and talk to the parents. We tried to form the boundaries of the school district so people could send their children to the school they wanted to. We didn’t want any sour grapes.”
     Mrs. Dresselhuis was the first woman school board member in Odebolt. The school reorganizations brought in the country schools, Boyer and Arthur. The school got buses after the country schools were brought in. Country schoolteachers could take training just out of high school, then teach in the country schools.