Going “Greene”?

NO WAY, JOSÉ, IT’S “LINCOLNWAY”!

Is there something that Tommy Birch down at the Des Moines Register knows that we don’t?

Tommy put together a nice recap of East Greene’s big Homecoming win over Charter Oak-Ute in a prep wrap-up in Sunday’s Register sports section Sept. 18 with a subhead entitled, “GOING GREENE.”

Earlier that weekend, some swag bags were handed out at the East Greene Homecoming Parade in GJ emblazoned with that awful beak-nosed bird they used for the [current] school logo and the words, “GO GREENE.” Hmmm? Twice in the same weekend with this mono-syllabic “GREENE” shows up. No longer “EAST,” cuz we’re headed west? Coincidence? I wonder. If this is someone’s idea for a new name for a possible reorganized East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton school district in the near future--something like Greene United or Greene County—I vote No . Without Paton-Churdan in a “reorg” it is only two-thirds to three-fourths or so of Greene County.

I suggest something that truly unites us across the board and helps this area stand out from the crowd: Lincolnway Community School District. Yes, the Lincoln (highway and president), with the statue of honest Abe on the courthouse square—on the county-owned side!—as our rallying point for all of Greene County, or at least all the towns and townships that would be inclusive of a reorg of the current J-S and EG districts.

Lincolnway cleanly ties together the three largest towns of the [proposed] district which are also the three largest towns of the county—Scranton, Jefferson and Grand Junction. The school district and the Lincoln served by the three towns also embrace these townships: Scranton and Kendrick Townships and the city of Scranton; Bristol, Jackson, Hardin and Grant Townships surrounding the city of Jefferson; and the super-size Junction Township and the city of Grand Junction, the second largest town in Greene County with Scranton being third, both trailing Jefferson, the county seat and proposed site of the high school.

Well, that will be then and this is now, so let’s give some applause to the EG Hawks for their showing in GJ at Homecoming on Sept. 16. Tommy Birch wrote:

“GOING GREENE: East Greene had a pair of strong performances in 66-28 victory over Charter Oak-Ute. Reed Ostrander hauled in five passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two carries for 50 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown. He had a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown. Quarterback Tory Beger completed 20-of-29 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Beger also rushed for two more scores.”

The following Monday, Sept. 21, the “Little Hawks” of the EG Junior High School in GJ posted a big 44-6 win over Adair-Casey in a game suspended in the middle of the third quarter as AC ran out of players. They started with 10 but injuries whittled that down to 7 which is one less needed to play 8-man football.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: Take it or leave it Paton-Churdan, or be on your “way.” If you don’t want to be a part of a county-wide school system, then don’t. But don’t expect any panting, open door “we’ll give it a name you can use too” reality going forward. And since you rebuffed the outreach from EG for any sports sharing, don’t expect us to hold some gild-edged invitation for sports sharing along the likes of Lincolnway/Paton-Churdan. It will be Lincolnway and Lincolnway only. Period. You had your chance(s). You took a pass.

Come on, folks! We need to market that Lincolnway. Make it educational….President Lincoln, early day highway transportation, Floyd Mahany and his legacy with the tower, and our beautiful historic courthouse…. emblematic of our pioneer forebears. Hey! There’s a great team nickname….the Pioneers….Lincolnway Pioneers! Green and Black school colors….green of East Greene and the black of Scranton’s black and gold and Jefferson’s black and red. Honor the heritage….

EG Advances to District Baseball Semifinals

HAWKS DOWN COLO-NESCO, 3-2, AT RIPPEY

East Greene upended Colo-Nesco, 3-2, in Rippey on Tuesday, July 12, to advance to the District 10 semifinals on Thursday, July 15. The Hawks will take on Madrid at Walt Anderson Field in Rippey at 7 p.m.

Madrid (10-19) advanced to the semifinal round with a 4-3 win over Northeast Hamilton (Blairsburg) in the opening game of a first-round doubleheader at Rippey on Tuesday. NEH ends the season at 17-18.

The Hawks rode the pitching of Tyler Cooklin to get the win and move on in the tournament. Cooklin struck out 11 Colo-Nesco batters. He gave up 5 hits, 1 earned run and walked 3. He was 2-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Hawk batters. Aaron Lyons was 2-4 with an RBI. The Hawks rapped 9 hits for the night with Tory Beger and Alex Gordon each adding a pair and Harrison Johnston adding a single.

The Hawks improved to 11-13 in beating a team they had downed 17-7 in 6 innings on July 1. Colo-Nesco bows out with a 13-16 record.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: The Rolling Hills Conference fared well in first-round district action, posting a glossy 6-1 record with one team, Adair-Casey, receiving a bye. League co-champion Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira beat AHST, 3-1, and will now face conference foe Walnut, which got by Riverside (Oakland) 5-0. CAM (Anita) beat Guthrie Center in a 3-2 thriller in 8 innings and will advance to face Adair-Casey. Orient-Macksburg beat Murray 3-0 and Glidden-Ralston beat Southeast Webster-Grand (Burnside) 7-0.

The only loser on the night was co-champion Iowa Christian Academy/Ankeny Christian Academy, a team that had the task of taking on Martensdale-St. Mary’s, the defending Class 1A state champions. Martensdale-St. Mary’s has been making headlines all summer. A few weeks ago, the Blue Devils reached the No. 2 position among winning streaks for all high school baseball teams in the country with a 76-game unbeaten streak. A 9-1 win over Iowa Christian/Ankeny Christian Tuesday night moved them to 81 straight wins. The record is 83 games, which MSt.M will tie if they reach the district finals on Saturday. They can break the record with a win in the substate, which will advance them back to Des Moines to defend their state title.

Martensdale-St. Mary’s is now 38-0 for the season. Iowa Christian/Ankeny Christian ends the season at 16-5.

HAWKS FALL TO ICA/ACA, 8-4: East Greene finished conference competition at 5-9 in the Rolling Hills with an 8-4 loss to Iowa Christian/Ankeny Christian in a make-up game on Friday, July 8, in Rippey. An EG win coupled with a Glidden-Ralston loss to Iowa Christian on Saturday would have knocked the Blazers out of first place and moved EG into a tie for fourth-place with Glidden-Ralston. ICA swept both games to tie Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira for the conference crown and left East Greene in sixth place at 5-9.

FINAL ROLLING HILLS CONFERENCE BASEBALL STANDINGS
Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira 12-2
Iowa Christian/Ankeny Christian 12-2
Walnut 10-4
Orient-Macksburg 6-8
Glidden-Ralston 6-8
East Greene 5-9
Adair-Casey 3-11
CAM (Anita) 2-13

Keeping It Grand

SOUNDS AND SIGHTINGS AROUND THE “JUNCTION”

The Walt and Claudia Light home on East Elizabeth Street has a remodeled front porch. Across the street, Bud and Pat Fagen have upgraded their driveway and added a new paved frontage parking area… Work continues on the new roof on the former Slininger’s funeral home at the corner of Main and South 16th Streets. Also on the “roofing beat,” Beger Roofing just finished putting a new roof on St. Brigid’s Catholic Church on South 15th Street… The new memorial marker at the Lion’s Club was dedicated recently. The marker honors the efforts of Bob Clause and Doug Wessling and all the Lions’ Club members in building the Tree Park east of town and how that led to the establishment of the Lincoln Highway Welcome Center and Historic Bridges area. The handsome new marker faces out to U.S. Highway 30 and is located at the top of the U drive of the Welcome Center, just off the Lincoln. The front reads: DEDICATED TO THE MEMBERS OF GRAND JUNCTION LIONS CLUB WHO IN 1980 ESTABLISHED, PLANTED AND CARED FOR THE ORIGINAL TREE PARK SITE. And on the back: LIONS CLUB TREE PARK… We are still the “City of Trees—Tall and Beautiful” although a few of our leafy friends were “pruned” a bit by the recent high winds that have rolled through town. Some of the, um, “trees no longer living,” were felled by storms and have been laid to rest branch by branch, it seems, at the City Dump/Tree Cemetery on the west edge of town. Reports also indicate that “amateur logging” in various yards the last week or so guarantee already that the fireplaces of Grand Junction will have wood available through the next two winters!.. Business has been brisk at Municipal Swimming Pool as the hot weather has made the pool a respite for young and old alike… Numerous attractive Lincoln Highway heritage signs have been placed along Lincoln Highway through Grand Junction and beyond town on the Lincoln over to Jefferson. The signs feature the “Iowa Byways” marking and logo just above “LINCOLN HIGHWAY Heritage Byway” on the middle and bottom of the signs… Plans continue for the day-long Grand Junction celebration—“Fun Day”—on Saturday, June 30. Mark your calendars!

EG Hosts Tourneys “Under the Lights”

POST-SEASON SB, BB ACTION IN GRAND JCT. & RIPPEY

The summer ball team “spotlight” will be shining on eastern Greene County this week and next as East Greene hosts a first round game in the Class 1A Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union regional softball tournament at Dutton Field in Grand Junction and the boys baseball team hosts the first and second rounds of the Iowa Boys High School Athletic Association district baseball tournament at Walt Anderson Field in Rippey.

The girls kick things off tomorrow night when

First baseman Jolee Wessling

and the EG Hawkettes take on

Ar-We-Va in regional tourney

action Wednesday at Dutton

Park in Grand Junction.

(Photo courtesy of Shelly Juhl)

the Hawkettes host the Ar-We-Va (Westside) Rockettes in first-round softball action at 7 p.m. Admission will be charged for this game and the streets around Dutton Park will be blocked off to shift traffic through the main admission gates.

This will be the first “under the lights” EG game at Dutton Park this season.

East Greene, Madrid, Northeast Hamilton (Blairsburg) and Colo-Nesco will compete in the first two rounds of district baseball at Rippey. Madrid takes on Northeast Hamilton in a first-round game at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, with EG facing Colo-Nesco in the second-half of the first-round doubleheader at 7 p.m.

The winners of Tuesday night’s games advance to the semifinal game at 7 p.m. in Rippey on Thursday, July 14.

The Rippey semifinal winner will advance to the district finals on Saturday, July 16, at 7 p.m. at a location to be determined to face the winner of the semifinal game at North Tama (Traer). That side of the bracket has North Tama facing Northern University (Cedar Falls) on Tuesday in the first round and the winner advancing to the semifinal game on Thursday against GMG (Garwin), which drew a first-round bye.

The winner of District 10 (Rippey and Traer) will play the winner of District 9 in the substate at Marshalltown on Tuesday, July 19. That winner moves on the Class 1A State Tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Teams in District 9 are Sigourney, Tri-County (Thornburg), English Valleys (North English), Keota, BGM (Brooklyn), HLV (Victor) and Belle Plaine.

The winner of the Region 7 first-round softball game in Grand Junction will advance to the quarterfinal round game in Coon Rapids on Friday, July 8. First-round action in Coon Rapids on Wednesday, July 6, has Coon Rapids-Bayard hosting Glidden-Ralston. The winner takes on Southeast Webster-Grand (Burnside) in a second round game on Thursday, July 7. The winner there advances to the quarterfinal round against the winner of Wednesday’s game in Grand Junction.

The winner advances to the semifinal round in Fonda on Monday, July 11. The Fonda bracket winner will play the semifinal winner of the Earlham bracket in the regional final in Carroll on Wednesday, July 13.

EG Patrons Comment on Whole Grade Sharing

ACADEMICS, MUSIC SHARED; SEPARATE EG, J-S SPORTS

Parents, teachers and district residents got a first-hand look at the proposed whole grade sharing arrangement between East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton school districts at a public hearing held at the East Greene school board meeting Wednesday, June 8, in the high school band room in Grand Junction.

The public hearing is part of process of moving toward a whole grade sharing (WGS) arrangement between the two districts. The WGS plan calls for East Greene to send its 7th through 12th grade students to Jefferson-Scranton and for Jefferson-Scranton to send its 5th and 6th grade students to East Greene. Each district will maintain its own kindergarten through 4th grade school.

The WGS agreement would take effect for the 2012-13 school year and be effective for two years. Each district is eligible for additional state funding by participating in the sharing arrangement. No further additional funds are available past the two years, but additional funding would be available should the two districts agree to reorganize into one school district.

WGS approval needs only the approval of each school board, while reorganization would require an election within each district, and both districts must approve.

East Greene Superintendent Mike Harter outlined the sharing proposal at the start of the hearing to 35 people assembled in the band room. The hearing would normally have been held in the gym but it was being used for a district-wide “garage sale” planned for the following three days.

Essentially, East Greene junior and senior high students will attend classes in Jefferson-Scranton but remain “East Greene students.” Seventh and eighth graders from EG will attend classes at the J-S Middle School at 203 West Harrison Street in Jefferson and EG high school students (9-12) will attend classes at J-S High School on the south edge of Jefferson. EG high school students are already attending some classes at J-S and have been shuttling back and forth between the two high school buildings for several years.

As part of the proposed two-way sharing, J-S will send all its 5th and 6th grade students to the Grand Junction building.

This past school year, EG and J-S shared two extracurricular activities—vocal music and wrestling. Next year, that will be expanded to include instrumental music. That will continue when WGS goes into effect the following year (2012-13), but the two districts will continue to operate separate athletic programs.

That component sparked some comments at the hearing, with several questioning why the WGS agreement does not include high school and middle school sports.

Other activities at the high school level will be shared however, such as the yearbook, prom and graduation ceremonies. Homecoming—which traditionally is centered around football in the fall—will be held separately by each district.

The two students will be presented diplomas at the same commencement but each graduating class will maintain its own class rankings.

Several teachers in attendance questioned how evaluations are to be handled as the language in the overview shared at the hearing indicates they will be evaluated “by the building principal of the building in which the teacher spends most of their day” but the “ultimate responsibility for the evaluation of the employees shall remain with the employing district.”

Harter noted that “each district will maintain its own master contract and negotiation” with its respective teachers’ association. Beyond that, if there is reorganization, “the master contract of the larger district is in effect.”

There were questions and comments on transportation between and within the two districts, and some grumbling about how decisions regarding weather and roads in one district might not impact the other and how starting would times each day be aligned between the two districts. Harter pointed out that the two districts have been coordinating weather-related school closures for several years.

Tim Bardole, EG board member and former board president, noted that high school students from EG have been traveling back and forth to Jefferson every period of the day for the last few years—some at two different times of the day—so this would actually streamline the travel with all the students headed to Jefferson at the same time, and subsequently returning at the same time.

Not addressed at the meeting was the use of the Rippey building, which is currently the K-5 building for East Greene, as the 6-12 students attend classes in Grand Junction. A consultant hired by both districts presented his recommendation in April that showed how combining the high school students from both districts in the Jefferson buildings at putting all 5th and 6th graders in Grand Junction would leave the district with an abundance of available classroom space in five attendance centers for the needs of 1,300 students.

He recommended the Grand Junction building handle EG’s kindergarten through fourth grades along with the two districts fifth and sixth grades, and the Rippey building be “phased out.”

But it was not clear from his “on paper” calculation if the Grand Junction building could handle all the 5th and 6th graders from both districts (212) plus the students at the elementary in grades K-4 (approximately 90 students).

That would put about more than 300 students in a building that presently is housing 152.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: It was good input from a cross-section of school district residents at the public hearing. The WGS plan itself looks solid. And the decision to keep sports separate from WGS will serve as a good transition. It will also help sort out the future needs of the school buildings and the infrastructure. This might be a good compromise as far as use of the two school buildings. Keeping sports at East Greene like volleyball and basketball for at least two more years and baseball at the Rippey diamond gives support to fully using the Rippey building—the gym for high school athletics and the classrooms for elementary grades. Essentially, the same format in use this school year and next.

Then, as WGS gets underway, the two districts can bet a better handle on how to use facilities together in the years ahead if it looks like reorganization is on the horizon.

Plus, putting 300+ students in one building seems like a tight fit. Perhaps the consultant was thinking more down the line that if enrollment continued to decline, then perhaps the use of the Rippey building would be phased out.

Council Discusses Dust Problem on West Railroad

TRAFFIC TO RUETER’S BRINGS WEIGHT, DUST ISSUES

The vexing problem of dust kicked up on West Railroad Street was reviewed again at the Grand Junction City Council meeting on Monday, May 9.

The graveled street and its inherent dust in warm weather has been a problem for West Railroad Street residents. Heavy equipment traffic from Reuter’s Red Power implement dealership on Highway 30 is mostly responsible for the dust being kicked up.

Mayor Gerold Herrick said the matter will be included in the upcoming annual street review. One concern is that resurfacing the street may be of no use because the weight of the vehicles traveling to and from the implement dealership would be too much for the type of hard surfacing used on the streets in Grand Junction.

Safety is also a concern. “Considering the size of the equipment and the speeds they maintain, it’s probably better they travel on the street than head out into Highway 30,” said councilmember Linda Hoffman. West Railroad Street runs from Iowa Highway 144 west to the Fifth Street, where it ends and turns north to U.S. Highway 30. Reuter’s is located on both sides of Fifth Street.

“It looks like the options we have are Rueter’s stays off the road or we close the road,” said councilmember Dave Kersey, noting it could be closed just beyond Curt Woltz’s driveway.

Mayor Jerry Herrick said it would only be fair to bring Rueter’s into the discussion before making any decision about how to rectify the situation.

Other business:

Dawn Rudolph of Scranton met with the council to inform them of her bid for the vacant District 2 seat on the Greene County Board of Supervisors. Rudolph was chosen by the Greene County Republican convention on Saturday, May 7, to represent the party in the upcoming special election. Rudolph is employed by the Jefferson-Scranton school district. She is also the mayor of Scranton. In discussing her background in the Scranton area and her familiarity with the east side of the county, she noted having family roots in the area (the Lipkes of rural Grand Junction) and that her son has been a Grand Junction resident for several years.

The District 2 supervisor seat became vacant when Terry Adams died unexpectedly last month. The June 7 election will be to fill that vacancy. Rudolph will face Nick Foster in the election. Foster was selected by Greene County Democrats in their county convention also held May 7.

Candidates for the District 2 position must live within the district, but the election is open to all voters in the county.

Ken Paxton, executive director of the Greene County Area Chamber and Development in Jefferson, met with the council to update them on economic developments in the county. He reported that the Subway restaurant at 1004 North Elm (Iowa Highway 4) will be relocating due to the upcoming Highway 4 overpass construction project. Subway plans to move to a larger facility at the northwest corner of Highway 4 and Lincolnway. Paxton said the enlarged Subway will add eight new jobs to the restaurant’s payroll. Bomgaars on Highway 4 is expanding and that will also add eight new jobs.

In lieu of the new railroad overpass to be constructed on Highway 4 and the ensuing detour around the construction site to the west side of Jefferson for highway traffic—plus a new access route that will run east of Highway 4 behind the businesses whose access will be cut off by the project—Paxton, in noting the expansion of Subway and Bomgaars and stability of other affected business, said “we’ve come out pretty good. It’s looking very positive.”

Paxton said this year’s Bell Tower Festival will be the “best in 20 years.” He said the festival will feature the relaunching of the tower; opening of the artists’ colony; and dedication of the new Doreen Wilbur statue. The statue is being erected at the corner of the Greene County recreation center to honor Wilbur, the first woman from Iowa to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

He also noted that recreational promotion efforts this summer will again feature canoe trips on the Raccoon River with Squirrel Hollow County Park added as an access point. “We have expanded the operation to include Squirrel Hollow as one of the options for canoe trips,” said Paxton. “We are also offering shuttle service between the four put-in and take-out spots for visitors that bring their own canoes and need only transportation between locations.”

Marie McRoberts is the new office coordinator at the chamber office in Jefferson, taking over for Jessica Trecker and will be the key contact for getting information distributed from the office for events in the area.

Paxton also said he is working with community members in Paton and Churdan to help them with their RAGRAI event planning as both towns are on this summer’s route. He also made note of the revolving loan fund to help assist new businesses in the county.

Kersey reported that Grand Junction Municipal Swimming Pool will open for the season on May 26. A lifeguard meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, at City Hall where the lifeguards will be filling out their paperwork and providing City Clerk Rita Jenkins with their IDs (picture ID—driver’s license or driver’s permit, as lifeguards must at least age 16). Kersey also reported on some minor maintenance to the pool ladders.

Fire Chief Terry Hoefle asked if the lifeguards were CPR trained, and Kersey said the returning guards were but the new guards would need that training. They agreed to schedule training for the new guards as soon as possible.

Other business before the council:

*A liquor license for Misty Lanes bowling alley, which is under new ownership.
*Accepted the lower of two bids for a dump truck spring. The low bid of $701.92 was from Hoffman’s with the higher bid, 1,035.85, from Kafer’s.
*Reviewed testing of the sewer drains around town with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
*Kersey reported the Greene County Sherriff’s Department used the library for one hour to pick up outdated and unused prescription drugs as part of a county-wide effort. More than 30 pounds of pills were collected.
*Hoefle reported that Darwin Ritchie and Randy Runyan are two new lieutenants with the fire department. He also said the field fires have slowed down now that the farmers are back in the fields. A problem with the lock on the fire house door resulted in a new lock being installed. Keys to the lock have now been distributed.
*Removal a tree on the west side of the school property on South 13th Street, between the ball park and the school house.
*Accessibility to the town’s share of county funds created when the LDC Commodities ethanol plant opened in rural Junction Township. The plant was given a tax abatement but in return, it provided funds to the county. Herrick said he has been trying to determine how the town can gain access to those funds, adding that the existence of the fund was not widely shared with all local govern

Grand Junction Area Obituaries

VIRGENE NATION

Funeral services for Virgene Nation, 85, were held Thursday, April 21, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Brigid Catholic Church in Grand Junction. She died Monday, April 18, 2011, in Des Moines. Interment followed in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Grand Junction.

A vigil was held Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at St. Brigid followed by visitation with the family. Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. The Rev. Don Ries of St. Brigid celebrated the mass.

Virgene was born Aug. 8, 1925, in the family home in Beaver Township, Boone County, to Phillip and Ursula (Lentz) Lawler. She graduated from Ogden High School in 1942, where she was in the Homemaking Club and the Camera Club. She was Homecoming Queen her senior year.

She worked in the Boone County Courthouse in 1941 and 1942 and at the Ankeny Ordinance Plant in 1943.

Virgene married Paul Lowry in 1944, was widowed, and married Jack Nation in 1949. She provided home care for many elderly in the area. She was active in Grand Junction Business and Professional Women’s Club, St. Brigid Altar Society, Greene County Meals on Wheels, and Greene County ARC (food pantry).

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Leo and Charles Lawler, sisters Grace Garland and Vera Lawler, her brother-in-law Pat Garland, her sister-in-law Jackie Lawler, and granddaughter Grace Nation.

She is survived by her 11 children (and spouses): Theresa (Gregg) Gross, Venice, Fla.; Francis (Tracy) Nation, Ogden; Liz Karber, Glendale, Ariz.; Dan (Vicki) Nation, Jefferson; Patty (Paul) Mears, Jefferson; John (Jody) Nation, Ogden; Hal (Terri) Nation, Fort Dodge; Chris (Audrey Staples) Nation, Ogden; Catherine (Brad) Clark, Boone; Dot (Bob) Muir, Rippey; and Cec (Bill) Hammel, Jefferson; 31 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Susie Lawler, Ogden.

FLORENCE URE

A service of remembrance was held Tuesday morning, April 19, at Central Christian Church in Jefferson for Florence Jean Ure, 83, longtime Greene County resident. Debra Griffin, pastor of the church, officiated. Interment was in Junction Township Cemetery with Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home of Jefferson in charge of arrangements.

She died April 15, 2011, at Regency Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Jefferson.

Florence was born June 19, 1927, in the Carroll County. She was the daughter of Charlie and Lora (Sapp) Dobson. Florence graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1944.

On June 22, 1947, she married John “Jack” Ure at Jefferson. They became the parents of one son, Joseph.

Florence lived most of her married life in Jefferson. Through the years she worked as a sales clerk at Coast to Coast hardware store, and she also owned and operated the Maidrite Café for several years. She was a member of Central Christian Church in Jefferson.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two brothers, Floyd Dobson and Carl Dobson; her companion, Don Jorgensen; two granddaughters, Samantha Ure and Monica Ure; one niece; and one nephew.

Survivors include her son, Joseph (Teresa) Ure, Panora; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; a sister, Irene (Stan) Reed, Boone; brother Wayne (Frances) Dobson, Gowrie; sister-in-law Florence Dobson, Wellman; and nieces and nephews.

MYRON “MIKE” LINN

Funeral services for Myron “Mike” Linn, 84, longtime Rippey area resident and farmer, were held Saturday morning, April 16, at the Rippey United Methodist Church. Pastor Paul Barrow officiated. LaVere Derry, representing Kinkead-Martin American Legion Post of Rippey, presented the flag. He died Dec. 17, 2010, at his daughter’s home in Cochise, Ariz.

Myron “Mike” Linn, the son of Floyd and Mary (Cross) Linn, was born Dec. 4, 1926, near Ralston in Carroll County. He moved to the Rippey area when he was 12 years old and graduated from Rippey High School in 1945. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after serving in World War II where he was a gunner on the aircraft carrier USS Salerno Bay.

He was united in marriage to Kathleen Andrews on Sept. 22, 1948. To this union were born three children: Dan, Peggy and Rebecca.

Mike and Kathleen farmed in the Rippey area for 60 years. He was a member of the Rippey United Methodist Church and the American Legion.

He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson Jason Whelchel.

Mike is survived by his wife Kathleen of Rippey; son Dr. Dan (Val) Linn, Newark, Del.; daughters Peggy Porretta, Cochise, Ariz., and Rebecca Linn, Dana; 11 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; five step-great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

He is also survived by his sisters, HelenTuhn and Margery Shearer, both of Stockton, Calif., and Barbara Rogers, Redfield; his brothers, Paul (Lorraine) Linn, Evington, Va., and Jim (Shirley) Linn, Grand Junction; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

EVERETT BENSON

A service of remembrance was held Thursday morning, April 14, at the Slininger-Rossow Chapel in Jefferson for Everett James Benson, 83, of Dana. The Rev. LoDeene Glawe of Dana officiated. Interment was in Paton Township Cemetery at Paton.

He died April 9, 2011, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Everett James Benson, son of Emanuel J. Benson and Ethel (Tourte) Benson, was born Sept. 10, 1927, in Dana. Everett grew up in Dana and graduated from Dana High School in 1945. He then attended Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Okla., where he received his commercial pilot and instructor ratings.

Everett was united in marriage to Ruby Mylenbusch in Fort Dodge in 1949. They were the parents of one daughter, Lana. They made their home in Dana.

Everett loved to fly. He worked as a pilot instructing others to fly and as an aerial sprayer. He eventually moved the business to his farm at Dana where he added a landing strip to he could work from home. He also enjoyed square dancing.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Bulah O’Neal.

Everett is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ruby; his daughter Lana (Gary) VanDusen of Alabama; two grandsons, Cory (Lisa Cain) Kurth, Dana, and Christopher Kurth, Independence, Mo.; four great-grandchildren; other relatives and many friends.

ROSELLA REESE

Funeral services for Rosella Reese, 92, of Dana were held Wednesday morning, April 20, at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson. Pastor Steve Ransom of First United Methodist Church in Grand Junction officiated. Interment was in Jefferson Cemetery.

Rosella Marabetta Madsen Reese was born Aug. 3, 1918, in Rochester, Minn. Her parents, Lawrence Madsen and Olena Shaw Madsen were homesteaders in Montana where Rosella lived the first four years of her life. Her father and maternal grandparents had all emigrated from Denmark. Danish was the first language Rosie spoke.

In 1922, the family moved to Monona County, Iowa, and Rosie graduated from Mapleton High School. She taught country school at Grand Center, Rodney and Castana, all in Monona County, with a standard teaching degree.

In 1950, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, having attend classes in the summers and then attending the entire year of 1949. Beginning in August 1950, she taught sixth grade in Ames for seven years. While living in Ames she played violin with the Ames Orchestra and learned to square dance.

Rosie married Walter Reese on Dec. 30, 1956, and became stepmother to Dwight, Terry and Dan.

Rosie was a member of First United Methodist Church of Grand Junction and the Retired Teachers Association.

Five years ago she became a resident of Greene County Medical Center’s long term care. She died April 15, 2011.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Walter, and sister Florence.

Rosie is survived by her stepsons, Dwight (Donna) Reese, Cumberland, Wis., Terry (Jeri) Reese, Jefferson, and Dan Reese, Yakima, Wash.; three sisters-in-law, Evelyn Crouse, Jefferson, Betty Reese, Jefferson, and Grace Reese, Shelbyville, Ky.; one brother-in-law, Joe Eslick, Bigfork, Mont.; grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other extended family.

CLEO BLANSHAN KRAUTHOFF

Cleo Mary Blanshan Krauthoff died Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at Parkridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pleasant Hill, near Des Moines. She had been a resident at Parkridge since 2005. In accordance with her wishes, her body has been cremated and a graveside service will be held at a later date.

Cleo was born in 1922 on the family farm outside of Grand Junction to Merton and Sadie Blanshan. She graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1941. After graduation, she moved to Chicago. In 1944, she married DeVere Krauthoff and they lived in Wichita, Kans., before returning to Iowa. Cleo and DeVere had two children, Delores and Thomas. They lived in Des Moines until 1969 when they moved to Hartford, Iowa. While living in Hartford, Cleo retired from her position as office manager at Schulze & Burch Biscuit Co. Her career covered time as a bookkeeper, bank teller, IRS employee and office manager.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and her siblings Naomi, Harold, Donald, Kenneth and June. She is survived by her children, Delores Gurnsey and Thomas Krauthoff; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Parkridge Activity Center at Parkridge Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Pleasant Hill.

PAUL JOHNSTON

Paul Johnston, 73, longtime educator and coach in Webster City, died April 28, 2011, at Paula J. Baber Hospice House in Fort Dodge. A celebration of Paul’s life will take place Tuesday, May 3, at 10:30 a.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church in Webster City with Rev. Linda Bibb officiating. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery. Graveside military rites will be conducted by American Legion Post #191. Foster Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Paul Hunter Johnston, son of Niles and Evelyn Lindberg Johnston, was born Dec. 7, 1937, in Odebolt, Iowa. His mother was a longtime English teacher at Grand Junction High School where he and his sister, Pauline “Polly,” graduated in 1956. Paul received a bachelor of arts degree in 1960 from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake and a master of arts degree from Northeast Missouri State University in 1969. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army beginning in 1960 and served as a computer programmer at the Pentagon.

He began teaching mathematics in the Webster City school system in 1962. He was passionate about athletics, and coached a number of different middle school and high school sports. He taught for 34 years in the Webster City school district and retired in 1996.

Paul married Sharon McCormick Mahan on July 23, 1977, at West Des Moines, and they became the parents of Scott, Krista and Katrina. He was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church, Main Street Kiwanis, and the National Antique Oldsmobile Club. He had been a resident of Southfield Wellness Community since February 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon; son Scott (Kristy Mahan) Johnston, Cedar Rapids; daughters Krista (Tracy) Claude, Prescott, Wis., and Katrina (Mat) Johnson, Ankeny; six grandchildren; sister Polly (David) Johnson, Louisville, Ky.; and nephews Scott (Vonnie) Johnson and Todd (Lee) Johnson, niece Betsy Johnson, six great-nieces, and two great-nephews.

Memorials gifts will be used to establish a college scholarship in Paul’s name for a Webster City High School student majoring in math or science education. Write a personal tribute or light a virtual candle for the Johnston family at www.fosterfuneralandcremation.com.

Hawk Rally Comes Up Short

EG FALLS TO COLO-NESCO 55-53 IN SEMIFINAL ROUND

A torrid, last-minute comeback fueled by 3 three-point shots came up just short for East Greene Tuesday night, as the Hawks fell 55-53 to Colo-Nesco in the district semifinal rounds.

Colo-Nesco was ahead by 9 with less than a minute left in the game but EG started hitting its three-point shots while CN was having trouble at the foul line. According to the Ames Tribune, EG almost pulled off this foul-and-three strategy and had cut the lead to just 2 when Aaron Lyons hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. But the Hawks were not able to foul again on the ensuing throw-in and CN got the win.

EG (18-5) closes out its best season in more than 25 years while Colo-Nesco (20-2) moves on to the district final in Story City tonight against Coon Rapids-Bayard, a 44-23 winner Tuesday over Van Meter.

The winner in Story City tonight will move on the substate game in Marshalltown on Monday against the winner of tonight’s game between Lynville-Sully and North Tama (Traer). The winner there advances on to the state tournament, which gets underway March 8 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Lynville-Sully, Colo-Nesco and North Tama are all ranked in the Top 10 Class 1A Associated Press rankings while Coon Rapids-Bayard is coming off an appearance in last year’s 1A state tourney.

Against EG tonight, Brandon Eley, who has earned a basketball scholarship to play on AIB’s first basketball team, scored 31 points for the Royals, and hit some key 3-pointers in the third quarter as CN started to pull away, leading by 12 at the break, 45-33.

EG then went into rally mode, just as they had in the first half. The Hawks opened the game slowly, falling behind in the first quarter 9-2 and were behind 14-9 at the end of the period. EG got some solid inside play from senior center Nic Nicolaisen in the second quarter to take the lead at 25-21 with two minutes left on the clock. Eley came back with two three-pointers to spur the Royals and go up 29-27 at the half.

In the third, it looked like the Royals might run away with the game with a 16-6 run but the Hawks hung in there and kept their cool and whittled away at the lead in the final stages of a pressure-packed game on the opponent’s home floor. Zach Dearborn paced the Hawks with 16 points and Nicolaisen had 15.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: Chalk this up under the “almost great glory moments” of EG hoop history, marked by the heart-wrenching loss in the 1961 girls district basketball championship, where the undefeated and highly-ranked Hawkettes, led by Hall of Famer Pam Slock, lost to Cedar Valley, coming up short of the vaunted “Sweet 16” state tourney that year by just 2 points; the EG loss to Jefferson in the 1966 district boys finals in the old one-class-for all era of tournament play which ended EG’s undefeated season and sent Jefferson to the substate against Ames, an even larger school (Ames won and went to state—just 1 of 8 teams); and the shock in 1983 when the Hawks, undefeated and ranked No. 2 for most of the season and coming off a state tourney appearance the year before, were downed by conference rival Glidden-Ralston in a barn-burner sectional final.

Plus there was last year’s substate 3-2 baseball loss to Ar-We-Va, along with other “almost there” moments to note, like EG’s loss in the baseball substate the fall of 1961 and the summer tournament substate loss in the summer of 1983. Those latter two tournaments each had just a four-team field, so EG was among the best 8 teams in baseball those two years (and the tourney fields were later increased to that number). And in 1949, behind the scoring of Jerry Doran, Grand Junction had advanced to the substate final which marks yet another “almost to state” boys basketball moment, and in 1955 Rippey made it through the “B” sectional, the “B” district, and the first round of a one-class-for-all substate before falling in the semifinal round to Ames, which went on to win the substate and eventually the 1955 state championship, the first ever played at Vet’s Auditorium, which had just opened.

Talk about hard luck. After Rippey’s run through a one-class tournament in ’55, it was the next year the Iowa High School Athletic Association divided the tournament into two classes at state (A and B from 1957 to 1960), and again when the Hawks were overpowered by a much larger school in ’66, well, again, the IAHSAA apparently realized there is a big difference in enrollment between Rippey and Ames and East Greene and Ames, and Jefferson, and again went to a two-class tournament the following year.

OK, at least maybe they felt our pain or something, but could they not have made those two-class tourneys the year we had those super-great teams?? Or did they do that just to rub it in our face or something (we’ll reward you small schools after taking our pleasure from watching the teams in eastern Greene County scale the mountain—and not make it, hahaha)? Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

The ‘Lost’ Streets of Grand Junction

EARLY DAY CITY PLANNERS HAD BIG DREAMS

Most everyone is familiar with the early day history of Grand Junction and how it was formed when a new north-south railroad line was built in 1869 at its intersection with the transcontinental east-west rail line built a few years earlier through the middle of Iowa. Hence, the “grand junction” that gave the town its name.

But what is surprising is that most early published maps of Grand Junction are from just before the turn of the century and they don’t show the town as it was first conceived in 1869. A wonderful map published in 1875 as part of the Andreas Atlas and recently made available online by the David Rumsey Map Collection shows the original “game plan” of Grand Junction. It contained the same borders as we know today, but it had a much greater context of platted sections and street maps.

This map delineates in greater detail the four sections of Grand Junction as they were first designed—Grand Junction, Central Grand Junction, West Grand Junction and South Grand Junction. Central Grand Junction consists of the main parts of town, much as they exist today: Main Street and Hager Street, each stretching from 8th Street to 19th Street, which was then the town’s eastern boundary, and the area north of the C&NW tracks (now Union Pacific) known as “Browntown.” South Grand Junction covers the blocks south of Kelley Street. West Grand Junction begins at 8th Street (today’s Highway 144) and covers the blocks from there to the west on both the north and south sides of the C&NW tracks. Interestingly, in West Grand Junction the numbered north-south streets continue in sequence from Central Grand Junction, going from Eighth Street to First Street but the east-west streets were laid out with alphabetical names: J Street and K Street are north of the tracks and L Street and M Street are south of the tracks. These “alphabet” streets were marked on maps well up until the 1960s, and account for the little jog from where L Street connected to Main Street at the home and offices of Dr. Melvin “Doc” Karber right where Highway 144 curves to the east from Eighth Street into Main Street, with Main Street continuing east into the center of Grand Junction. (Recent maps indicate that changes were made so that Hager and Main now run west all the way to the town’s western border, eliminating in West Grand Junction what had been L and M Streets).

The north part of town is where things gets interesting, as Grand Junction, also marked on maps as Original Town of Grand Junction, covers about two-thirds of the town north of the C&NW tracks with 24 full blocks and six half-blocks abutting the north-south, or the Minneapolis and St. Louis (locally referred to as the “M and St. L”) railroad tracks (also now Union Pacific). But the rest of this part of town is laid out as a continuation of Central Grand Junction from south of the tracks.

It’s hard to think of the area south of the C&NW tracks and the area north of the C&NW tracks as being part of the same section, since the railroad is such a natural dividing line, but it is all Central Grand Junction.

But here is where the plan gets interesting as Central Grand Junction north of the tracks takes an inverse “L” shape, essentially wrapping around Original Grand Junction.

[NOTE: To get a clear view of the “lost streets” of GJ, pull up the map from this site and then follow along below as we compare and contrast that map with today’s GJ: www.davidrumsey.com. Just type in “Grand Junction Iowa” (also note that Grand Junction shares the page with 1875 plat maps of Mitchellville, Indianola and Clarion.) Just use the enlarge and scroll features to get an up-close look at the GJ map].

On the map, the Central Grand Junction blocks between 13th and 14th Streets south of the railroad tracks extend north of the tracks for roughly about 2 ½ blocks, with two east-west streets—Sandoe and Railroad—extending all the way east to 19th Street, much as they do today. The north-south streets on both sides of the tracks start at 14th Street and continue east to 19th. However, the street that serves as main north-south artery on both sides of the tracks today, 13th Street, is not on this particular map north of the C&NW tracks. The back of the blocks along 14th Street north of the tracks form the western boundary of Central Grand Junction and the land west of that is railroad property, as the connecting line from the M&St.L line swings down and out in an arc, connecting to the C&NW east-west tracks right at where 13th Street would have crossed the tracks north (or at least that is how it appears on the map, but most likely it was not that close).

The inverse “L” shape occurs because Central Grand Junction does not continue to the north between 14th and 15th Streets, but it does from 16th Street to 19th Street. So far north in fact, that there are six more streets beyond those found on present-day maps. These streets, which continue north beyond Division and then Percival, are, in a sense, the most notable of the “lost streets.”

So, starting from the railroad tracks going north we have the same streets than as we do today: Sandoe, Railroad, Division and Percival. These blocks are all in the same square dimensions of today’s city blocks in Grand Junction—marked with east-west and north-south alleys bisecting each of them.

Beginning at 16th Street and Division Street the east-west streets north of there are spread across three blocks—16th Street to 19th Street. However, from south to north beginning one block north of Percival Street, these six particular streets are avenues: Hatton Avenue, Scovill Avenue, Hill Avenue, Park Avenue, Grove Avenue and North Avenue. These blocks, too, are the same dimensions as all the other blocks of Central Grand Junction.

But on the other side of 16th Street, the men who laid out Original Grand Junction had a completely different game plan. Starting at the town’s northern-most boundary, which would be a direct line drawn from the three blocks facing North Avenue (on its north side) of Central GJ and continuing west to the M&St.L tracks, and then heading back south, we have a grid system of longer north-south blocks bisected by only north-south alleys. The east-west streets of Original GJ take the names of numbered streets: First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth, while the north-south streets take the names of avenues, starting at the railroad tracks with Third Avenue and continuing east with Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue.

(If all of these lots on these various blocks in northern Grand Junction had been fully developed and sold, imagine the confusion of standing at the corner of Second and Sixth, as in Second Street and Sixth Avenue in Original GJ, and walking just two blocks east and being at 17th and Park, as in 17th Street and Park Avenue in Central GJ.)

DECIPHERING GJ’S SECTIONS

It’s important we take a moment here to explain who laid out these early streets and avenues of the four sections of Grand Junction and what greater intentions might have been behind their efforts.

As railroads were being built throughout Iowa and other parts of the Midwest in the post-Civil War era, much of the land along the railroads was purchased by real estate developers and businessmen. The Hager family, originally from Hagerstown, Md., represented by Fred Hager, already had a foothold in the Grand Junction area as they had a brick kiln business just a few miles to the west of the eventual town site on the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River Railway, which was completed between Boone and Council Bluffs in 1867. The western U.S. portions of this same extended rail line comprised the point where the nation’s eastern and western railroads met in 1869—forming the first trans-continental railroad in the United States. (In Iowa, the original east to west line was the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railway but it changed hands and became the Chicago & Northwestern, or C&NW, shortly after completion.)

When it became apparent that a north-south railroad line would be built in Iowa from Keokuk to Fort Dodge, interest was obviously heightened for land along the route, especially where the proposed railroad would intersect with the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railway (C&NW). The railroad was developed as a route to connect Iowa to Minnesota. The first part of the route was built by the Des Moines Valley Railroad, based in Keokuk, and extending from Keokuk up along the valley of the Des Moines River to Des Moines. The railroad reached Des Moines on Aug. 29, 1866. Plans were officially announced in April 1869 to build the next leg from Des Moines to the “Northwestern Railroad” depot and construction got underway in early June of that year.

The route was to be built from Des Moines to Valley Junction and then to Shirley in Dallas County, turning northward from there on to Minburn, Perry, Rippey and Grand Junction, also identified in early news articles as the “Northwestern” depot (and then on to Fort Dodge). Minburn, Shirley and Grand Junction were to be new towns and Rippey was relocated from an existing community west of the proposed line (“Old Rippey” had been situated near the Raccoon River in far western Washington Township), but essentially a new town also, and for many years was officially known as “New Rippey.” The railroad officials in Keokuk did not like the name Shirley, wanting a name with an Indian appellation, so they changed it to Waukee, according to the Iowa Daily State Register. (This information is from the present-day City of Waukee website.)

So with the line coming into Des Moines in 1866 and with three years before it reached [the proposed] Grand Junction, there was considerable time to make plans for this new town at this key railroad intersection. Perhaps that’s why four different groups purchased land at the proposed town site and each drew up separate sections.

According to one of the leading historical sources of early day Greene County, “Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa” by E. B. Stillman in 1907, Central Grand Junction was laid out by “Hager and Sons and Percival & Hatton of Des Moines.” Two railroad officials, “Howe, a division superintendent, and Eastbrook, roadmaster, laid out ‘Grand Junction.’ Herron & Kelley of Pittsburgh, Pa., laid out ‘South Grand Junction,’ and Seward Smith, of Des Moines, followed with ‘West Grand Junction.’”

The town itself covers parts of sections 32 and 33 in Township 84N and sections 4 and 5 in Township 83N. Originally, the township line would have cut right through Grand Junction, so government officials doubled the size of Junction Township, but after complaints from Washington Township, it was agreed to make Junction the size of 1 and 2/3 townships and Washington 1 and 1/3, so both ended up as over-sized townships.

Hager and Sons donated 20 acres to what was by then known as the Des Moines and Fort Dodge Railway Company, according to Stillman. These 20 acres were the land parcels north of the C&NW tracks on both sides of the north-south DM&FD (M&St.L) tracks. This area includes the above described intersecting connector between the M&StL and C&NW tracks, east of the M&St.L and the similar west intersecting connector on the opposite side of the M&St.L. These parcels would have been the lands just to the north of the area bounded by Eighth Street on the West and 13th Street on the east and located to the north of Main Street and the railroad tracks.

It seems clear that Hager and Sons laid out Hager Street and Main Street and then the section north of the tracks that encompasses Sandoe Street and Railroad Street. The other blocks in the “lost streets” area reflect the hand of Percival and Hatton, as they a named a street after each of them. Division Street actually represents the line that divides Section 4 from Section 33. North Avenue is self explanatory but the roots of Grove, Park, Hill and Scovill Avenues are not known. Grove could have corresponded to a nearby grove of trees and Park could have been named for Dr. C.B. Park, a pioneer Grand Junction businessman, or perhaps plans called for a park to be developed in one of the blocks along those streets, just as a full block was laid out for a city park in South Grand Junction.

This north part of Grand Junction is all in Section 33 of what is often referred to as “North Junction Township” while its western boundary with Section 32 on this early day map is Eighth Street, if extended north from Main Street to where it would meet the town’s northern boundary line. Interestingly, Eighth Street is also the dividing line between West Grand Junction and Central Grand Junction.

Closer inspection finds that the C&NW actually passes through Grand Junction at a slight angle from southwest to northeast, and the lots on the north and south sides of the tracks vary in size accordingly. The lots on the far west side of town south of the tracks are less than half a block in size and they increase in size until the lots on the east side of town in the blocks between Main Street and the railroad are almost full size. Actually, even further inspection shows that the blocks are just cut in two by the railroad, so that the tiny sliver of land shaved off by the railroad in Block 53 on Main between 17th and 18th is laid out on the opposite side of the track. (Essentially it all looks to be just part of the railroad right of way when traveling along Sandoe Street in present day Grand Junction). But to cause just a little more confusion, both Seward Smith in West GJ and Hager and Sons in Central GJ gave these “opposite the tracks” blocks their own block numbers.

As the blocks of Original GJ are larger, the streets—both north-south and east-west—are further spaced apart than the other sections of Grand Junction.

In West GJ, L Street is actually laid out parallel to the railroad on the same angle and the lot sizes between the railroad and the street are of the same size, but M street runs parallel and perpendicular to all the other streets, so the lot sizes between M and L gradually get larger from First Street heading east to Eighth Street. The blocks on the south side of M Street resume the normal size of those on the north side of West GJ along J and K Streets while those on the south side of K are the inverse of the opposite side of the tracks, going from larger to smaller.

HERRONS OF SOUTH GJ—1869, 1875 and 1896

Stephen Herron and James D. Kelley were the “Herron and Kelley” who laid out South Grand Junction. Herron was one from one of Pittsburgh’s oldest families. He became one of Grand Junction’s first citizens, and built the lovely 1 and ½ story grey home with white trim and side porches, a large bay window, and a cupola with windows that graced Elizabeth Street for well over a hundred years. The house was actually built in 1869 and was featured prominently in the 1969 centennial history written by Mabel Nair Brown and published by the Globe-Free Press. It was one of the very first homes built in Grand Junction and was the home of Herron’s granddaughter, Miss Violet Humphrey, until she died in the 1980s. The house was then razed.

Herron married Rebecca Kelley, daughter of James D. Kelley. She is the namesake of Rebecca Street and her father is the namesake of Kelley. This author cannot recollect offhand who Bennett and Elizabeth streets were named after but most likely they are other family members of either the Herron or Kelley families or both. This information is most likely covered in Brown’s history of Grand Junction noted above.

But South Grand Junction contains its own surprises and mystery because Elizabeth Street was not intended to be the southern border of Grand Junction. In fact there are two additional streets south of Elizabeth. These streets—High and Kellogg—are, in essence, also the “lost streets” of South GJ.

Interestingly, a map published in 1896 of Grand Junction shows even two more streets in South Grand Junction. This plat map shows Elizabeth, High and Kellogg Streets, and continuing south, Division Street and Howard Street, forming the southern town boundary, or corporation line.

[To view the 1896 map, go to www.historicmapworks.com and search for Greene County, Iowa.]
Both the 1875 and 1896 maps show the north-south streets extending all the way to the southern border on both sides of the railroad tracks and intersecting with the our “lost streets”—High, Kellogg, Division and Howard (the latter two shown in 1896 only).

The 1896 map is significant because if offers much greater detail than its predecessor map from 20 years earlier. The later map marks each house in town, all the businesses along Main Street and their lots, the public school, the Catholic school (St. Mary’s Academy), five churches (Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and German Evangelical, which was on the north side of the tracks), and all the railroad infrastructure—depots, water tanks, stock yard and the infamous “roundhouse” which was the discussion point of much Grand Junction railroad lore in later years.

It shows that in the “Lost Streets” area south of present-day Elizabeth Street there are just four homes. One is the above-mentioned Herron House on the east side of Block 37 of South Grand Junction. Another home is also located on the south side of Elizabeth Street in Block 12, which would have been located across from the present day house owned and occupied by Jerry and Janice Kennedy. (The author can remember as a youngster in the 1960s when there was a house and small farmstead at that particular location on the south side of the street with its backyard being open country.)

Clearly, these homes were never “lost” as were the streets south of them but there is a house in this “lost area” located two blocks directly south of City Park which would have been at the northeast corner of 13th Street South and High Street. Most likely this house was reached via a long lane from Elizabeth Street and this particular 1896 maps shows homes only—no outbuildings. Most likely this was a farmstead with other buildings, similar to the farmstead that existed well into the 1960s as noted above on the south side of Elizabeth Street between 14th and 15th Streets.

The fourth house in the “lost streets” area is all the way at the very southwestern corner of South Grand Junction—the corner of Eighth Street South and Howard Street, roughly about the area where the old Miller’s Standard Station and Satellite Motel are located. Interestingly, this area of Grand Junction from 8th Street east to the railroad tracks and then back north up to Elizabeth Street actually survived into modern times, but was many years later replatted as Neel’s Addition with a reconfiguration of streets other than the traditional street grid. Sunset Drive snakes through this area in a u-shape with an L-shaped offshoot just about where the bottom of the “u” starts to form. Newer homes were also built along Elizabeth Street on both sides of the M and St. L about the time after World War II and into the 1950s, when the Neels started building new homes on Sunset Drive.

Comparing the 1896 map to present-day maps, the upper part of Sunset is right about where High Street was located and the lower part of Sunset is in accordance with the location of Kellogg. Interestingly, the bottom of the L-shape is right about where Howard Street was planned, so the officials who laid out Neel’s Addition followed to some degree the dimensions of the original blocks of South Grand Junction.

Howard Street extended west beyond the town limits becomes the current-day Old Highway 30. On the 1896 map, the entire NW one-quarter of Section 9 in South Junction Township just south of Howard Street which formed the town’s southern border (160 acres), plus the adjacent 80 acres south into the SW quarter section (forming a 240-acre parcel) are owned by Rebecca K. Herron, as noted earlier, the wife of early GJ founder Stephen Herron. The Herron land also extends to another 80 acres adjacent to the 240 acres to the east—forming a tidy piece of farmland at 320 acres.

A 1916 map of Grand Junction still shows the four lost streets and the blocks platted there. Yet across this area diagonally is written, “Rebecca K. Herron Estate.” (Ah, of course, the “K” is for Kelley, her maiden name), so clearly the Herrons always owned this segment of land which is adjacent to the 240-acre and 80-acre parcels to the south. Herron and Kelley most likely bought up all the land from that 80 acres in the SW corner of Section 9 and then all the way up to where it abuts the land owned by those who laid out Central GJ at Kelley Street.

So that grand house with the cupola had a greater purpose than just aesthetics. No doubt Mr. Herron liked to head up there to gaze out over his empire to see “how the crops are doing!”

REMNANTS OF ORGINAL GJ

Just as parts of the “lost streets” in South GJ live on in Neel’s Addition and through a few homes built further south of Elizabeth Street near the City Park area, so do a few remnants of Original Grand Junction in the north part of town. But most of Original GJ had pretty much disappeared by 1896. The “lost streets” (and avenues) of the northern part of Central GJ had inasmuch vanished by then too.

Most of the Original GJ by 1896 is a large 56-acre parcel of land owned by Jas. McIntyre. His property ran along a line formed by Second Street, which exists on the 1896 map, and from there all the way to the south to where a handful of homes had been built on the very southern row of blocks platted for Original GJ. (It looks as if these homes would have been built along the side streets as the streets all were to “dead end” at the southern edge of Original GJ as they are on the southern side of the blocks, so they don’t appear to have been built on the northern side as to face out into the proposed Fifth Street.)

The western edge of McIntyre’s land was Third Avenue of Original GJ, a street that continues to exist today (but not as Third Avenue; it is now marked as 11th Street North). But First Street does exist—in it its original iteration. On the 1896 map, both First and Second Streets stretch across the original platted area of 1875, with First Street ending at Sixth Avenue, the most easterly of the Original GJ north-south avenues, while Second Street continues east into Central GJ where it meets 18th Street North (which dead ends there) and continues to the town’s eastern border and then out into the country as a county road. On the 1875 map, this eastern portion was Park Avenue of Central GJ.

On the 1896 map where First Street ends at Sixth Avenue, that one block of Sixth Avenue going south to Second Street is marked as a street connecting the two, but it does not extend north or south.

Third Avenue as it runs from the railroad property at the southern edge of Original GJ to the northern edge is not marked with a street name (as all other streets in town) nor is the above noted one-block section of Sixth Avenue—although both are marked out as streets with access to them.

The rectangle created by Sixth Avenue on the west and Third Avenue on the east and 1st and 2nd Streets (as they are written on the 1896 map, not “First” and “Second,” as they are spelled out on the 1875 map) to the north and south, is a 13-acre plot owned by Hiram Allen with two homes at the extreme southwest corner of this parcel at 1st Street and Sixth Avenue. On the north side of 1st Street are three plots of land. The first shows a 5-acre space with two homes owned by M.D. Gulick. To the east is a 9-acre plot with a home owned by Hannah R. Underwood and to the east of that is a plot of 2.29 acres that is unmarked and with no home.

The only remnants of all the city blocks laid out on the 1875 map for Original GJ are along a line between the railroad tracks (by then the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad) and the un-named Third Avenue, and part of one block (43) that would have been bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues on either side, to the north by Fifth Street and to the south by the southern boundary of Original GJ.

The most intact remnants are two lots of Block 4, where 1st Street and Third Avenue intersect; the complete Block 13—just south of that—between 1st Street and 2nd Street; and continuing south, the complete Block 20 south of the intersection of 2nd Street and Third Avenue. Each of these blocks is just one-half the size of the other blocks in Original GJ as they back up against the railroad.

It’s also interesting to note that these block numbers start at “4” instead of “1.” It looks as if there might have been a plan to extend this part of Grand Junction to the western side of the railroad, as when you look at how the blocks are assigned numbers, starting from the top row of blocks, counting backward (from east to west), they are 8-7-6-5-4. But just below 4 to continue the count back to the east is 13 and then 12-11-10-9.

It appears if perhaps Howe and Eastbrook planned to extend their holdings to the opposite sides of the track and had already pre-mapped (not on paper but in theory) the remaining or missing blocks. If each of these six rows of blocks had were extended west of the tracks by 2 ½ or 3 blocks, it might have looked something like, and starting west of the tracks and continuing east, 1-2-3-RRtracks-4-5-6-7-8. Dropping down to the next row and back west, 9-10-11-12-13-RRtracks—14-15-16, and then picking up in the next row with 17-18-19 and then the tracks and picking up again the blocks on the platted map, 20 through 24. This pattern of missing blocks repeats itself downward for the remaining three blocks of Original GJ.

Another odd feature for these blocks and the line of directly adjacent blocks of the most northern part of Central GJ are that these two completely different configurations actually share a block where they meet up. As noted how when allowing for the missing 1-2-3 blocks, the top row of Original GJ actually begins with a half-block of 4 at the railroad tracks, then the next three blocks (5-6-7) are full, and then Block 8 is full, but Original GJ’s Block 8 is only one-half of that block. The other half is allotted to Block 4 of Central GJ, extending from Block 1 that starts in the far northeast corner along the north side of North Avenue and to Block 2 and then Block 3, from east to west.

As the Original and Central blocks were of different sizes, these streets do not align so that on the south side of North Avenue the blocks pick up at 6 and then head back east to 7 and 8. So in this case the extra-elongated Block 4, which spans all of Block 3 opposite 16th Street and one-half of Block 6, looks to have a little east-west alley dividing the north half from the south half, so perhaps they really meant to make Block 4 two small blocks, 4 and 5, and that is why the numbers continue across 16th Street as 6-7-8. The pattern continues as below Block 8 is Block 9, 10 and 11 as they continue west then jump across 16th Street to Block 12 and then down to 13 and over on blocks 14-15-16 between Park Avenue and Hill Avenue, down one block as 17-18-19 and then over and down a little to Block 20, and then skipping a number and starting over again in the next adjacent row between Scovill Avenue and Hatton Avenue as 22-23-24 and continuing with that pattern so 24 drops down to 25 then 26-27 and over to 28 which continues in succession on the next row with 29 and then back to the three blocks between Percival and Division as 30, 31 and 32 at 19th Street.

The blocks of Central GJ pick up in succession with just a little glitch for Block 33. It would have been a little sliver about a quarter-block size between 19th Street and the city line. But it is not there, the city line is right at 19th Street, but the little quarter-block exists just below that to the south as Block 34—another strange little quirk in GJ’s inaugural layout—and that block numbering continues back along Railroad Street to the west to Block 40 at the 20-acre rail yards property and then jumps over all the rail lines to the opposite side of the M. and St. L tracks to pick up with block 41 and then over one to block 42 and down to the next row which picks up as Block 43 and then jumps back over the rail tracks and railroad property to pick up with Block 44 and continuing east to Block 49 between 18th and 19th Streets and then over to another ¼ size block at the city’s edge, Block 50.

But just as Block 33 is missing, so is Block 51 as Block 52 picks up the continuation of Central GJ block numbering south of the tracks all the way west to Block 62, then down to 63 and back over to Block 73, but there is no Block 74 or a 75 which should be just below that, as the blocks pick back up again with 76 being below 73 and then heading all the way back east to Block 86—the last block of Central GJ. Below Block 86 is Block 64 of South Grand Junction, the last—or highest numbered—block of South GJ.

Closer inspection of the 1875 map show the missing blocks, or quarter-size blocks, of 51, 74 and 75 are present, but when the 1896 map was drawn it most likely reflected changes to the corporation line from when Grand Junction was officially (legally) incorporated in 1873, and the map published in 1875 might have been the first map reflecting how the town was initially laid out in 1869 but some modifications could have already been made four years later.

When reviewing the first map of 1875 it seems there is a strange numbering quirk with the South GJ blocks, which run in succession north/south, unlike the east/west configuration of Original and Central GJ. The blocks start at the northeast corner of Bennett and 15th Streets with Block 1, run down to 6 but then jump over to 11. They head back up to 16, over to 17, and then down to 22, but over one row to 27. What gives?

Apparently, Herron and Kelley planned to add the extra or “lost” streets in there all along, so when the 1896 map appears, the additional two streets—Division and Howard—are in place, creating a row of two more blocks, so that 6 continues down to 7 and then 8, over to 9 and back up to 10 and 11 and so on and so forth as South GJ continues its block numbering system east to west (still running north/south by successive numbers) with Block 57 at the town’s southwestern corner at Howard and Eighth Streets and moving up to Block 64, one block south of Central GJ’s Block 86.

West GJ also takes the north/south configuration (or up over and down) but thankfully there are no quirks or gaps in that system, even though they jump back and forth over the railroad tracks.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: Whew! This is a real lesson in following along and “connecting the dots,” isn’t it? I always knew Grand Junction had its particular quirks and eccentricities, and these maps clearly prove it.

Some interesting points to make:

1. When Howe and Eastbrook laid out Grand Junction which was formed by these two key east-west and north-south rail lines, there was considerable talk underway in railroad circles about creating a railroad line that would connect Grand Junction to Sioux City, and Grand Junction becoming a “Second Chicago.” The D.M. and F.D. was designed to keep going north beyond Fort Dodge to Minnesota, and it did. North of Grand Junction, the towns of Paton, Gowrie, Callender and Moorland were established along the rail line in the following years with Dana established about a dozen years later. North of Moorland the line veered to the east and on to Fort Dodge, connecting to points north, including Eagle Grove, Belmond and Mason City; Albert Lea, Minn.; and ultimately, Minneapolis.

For many years this was the only north-south rail line in the county, as the line that came down from Calhoun County and through Churdan, Farlin, Jefferson, Cooper and on to Panora in Guthrie County was not built until the early 1880s. Today, the north-south UP line that terminates in Grand Junction, designated by the Iowa DOT as the “Grand Junction Gateway,” connects to a line that veers to the northwest and connects with all the major grain cooperatives and elevators in much of Northwest Iowa. The grain is shipped down via UP lines to Grand Junction and then east to the Mississippi where is it downloaded onto barges for shipping down the river and to the Gulf of Mexico and overseas ports.

It might be that Howe and Eastbrook, owing to the fact they are identified as railroad officials (“division superintendent” and “roadmaster”) jumped on board first, or with the “Original” Grand Junction plat, with the idea that this rail line to the northwest would most likely branch off to the north of the existing junction and thus, they laid out their part of GJ with a street grid and lot sizes that perhaps would accommodate business and/or commercial enterprises, with flexibility for more railroad shops and/or residences.

2. Much of early Grand Junction history makes note of getting those railroad shops from the D.M. and F.D., but the dates are never noted. Jack Watts wrote a wonderful historical summation of Grand Junction in 1954 for the Greene County Centennial which was republished in 1985. He makes note that Hager and Sons donated the 20 acres for the “Des Moines, Keokuk and Fort Dodge Railroad Company to locate their shops here, so in 1874 the shops were moved here from Keokuk to Grand Junction.” This must be about the time the Keokuk was dropped and the line became just the D.M. and F.D.

3. A nice plat map of Grand Junction from 1917 has the various parts (Original, South, Central and West) distinguished by various colors so it easy to spot the remaining blocks of Original GJ and those of Central GJ that were platted north of Percival Street in the “lost streets” area. The only blocks that survived there were parts of 25, 26, 27 and 28 all on the north side of Percival and a part of Block 25 that would have been just north of Block 24. There is an un-named very short street than runs between the partial blocks of 24 and 25, which is the shadow of Hatton Avenue.

It’s interesting to note also that in the 1875 maps and 1896 maps, Percival is actually aligned with the streets to the north, because it is marked on both maps as Percival Avenue. It looks as if Division Street was the division between Hager’s version of Central GJ and that of Percival and Hatton. In fact, Division Street is so oddly formed (but accordingly placed when you consider it divides Section 4 from 33) that the block formed between Division and Railroad is ¾ size the other blocks of Central GJ. This street might also have been put in place to help with land ownership in legal descriptions, as a full block there would have spilled partly into Section 32 and partly into 33.

In 1917, the town map shows Percival now named as Percival Street.

4. These areas in the north part of town weren’t filled in, but the town did spread its wings elsewhere. The 1917 map shows that just east beyond the original town limits between Percival and Division was a new subdivision by Percival and Hatton. To the west of the M. and St. L. tracks beyond Original GJ was Joy’s Addition and to the east of the town’s border at 19th Street south of the C & NW tracks were Watts First and Second Additions and Eastland Addition.

The Eye Guy was very pleased to find these maps. He started the “Lost Streets” historical summary and comment when finding the 1875 map of Grand Junction in the summer of 2009. He has been working at compiling “Lost Streets” since then and is happy to share it with readers of Eye on Grand Junction.

Finding the story behind Original Town of Grand Junction is very rewarding because the Eye Guy’s grandparents moved to Block 43 in 1920, and he has always been curious as to the background of these strange parcels with all that open space above them. Considering that the Robinsons have deep ancestry in New England and many of Grand Junctions earliest residents and businessmen were also from New England, he surmised that perhaps this large open space of land on the 1896 and later maps was designed in some sort of large, open space “town green” concept; especially since there were homes at the bottom of this squared-off space, some on the side, and others on the top part.

It was with relief and excitement when he found the 1875 map with the intriguing layout of numbered avenues and streets, and he was even more fascinated when discovering all the “Lost Streets” of Original Grand Junction, southernmost South Grand Junction, and the furthest northern reaches of Central Grand Junction and, in particular, the named avenues that seemed to have vanished from the town’s history.

Alas, the lost streets are found!

Hawks Vie for ‘Lincoln League’ Title

EG OPENS SEASON AGAINST MELCHER-DALLAS


East Greene opens the 2010 football season tonight with a home tilt against Melcher-Dallas. After a trip to Twin Cedars (Bussey) in another non-district game next week, the Hawks return home to open District 7 action on Sept. 10 against new district foe Boyer Valley (Dunlap).

The newly aligned District 7 could easily be tabbed the “Lincoln League” as five of the eight high schools are located in communities on U.S. Highway 30, the original Lincoln Highway. Along with East Greene, the other schools on Highway 30 are Glidden-Ralston, Ar-We-Va, Boyer Valley (Dunlap) and Woodbine. Rounding out the “League” are Coon Rapids-Bayard, Charter Oak-Ute and Walnut.

Two of those other three schools are located within less than a dozen miles of U.S. 30—Coon Rapids south of the Lincoln in eastern Carroll County and Charter Oak west of Denison and north of Dunlap in Crawford County, heading along the diagonal that starts at Arcadia and heads down to Missouri Valley. Walnut is the “orphan” of the league. Located less than a mile south of Interstate 80 in the far northeast corner of Pottawattamie County, Walnut is about 40 miles due south of U.S. 30 from Vail.

Not only does D7 encompass five high schools located on the Lincoln, those five school districts among them have 10 towns located on the highway. From east to west, they are: Grand Junction, Ralston, Glidden, Arcadia, Westside, Vail, Arion, Dow City, Dunlap and Woodbine. Grand Junction, however, is the only town to lay claim to being both on both U.S. 30 and the historic Original Lincoln Highway. The original Lincoln spans a point east of Grand Junction—site of the Historic Bridges and Welcome Center—and continues for three miles through Grand Junction along Main Street and Highway 144/Eighth Street to the southwest edge of town, and then on to Jefferson and Scranton, running parallel to “New 30.”

EG vs. Melcher-Dallas

District alignment saw the shifting of Adair-Casey and CAM (Anita) to District 6 while Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira, a D7 member last year has moved up to Class A. Filling the gap of those three departures are Ar-We-Va, Charter Oak-Ute and Woodbine from District 1. Boyer Valley, which drops down from Class A, was assigned to D7 making it a full 8-team league.

With the shift of district assignments, the non-district match-ups were adjusted too. EG faced Ar-We-Va and Charter Oak-Ute last year but as they are now D7 foes, EG will face two teams from District 5: Melcher-Dallas and Twin Cedars (Bussey).

The Hawks return nine lettermen from a squad that finished fifth of six teams in D7 at 1-4 and 3-6 overall. Co-coaches Tim Bardole and Tony Beger will be looking to the six senior returning lettermen to lead the Hawks this year: Schyler Bardole, Nic Nicolaisen, Wes Onken, Aaron Lyons, Rob Ritchie and Brett Kersey. Also back is Zach Hiller, who lettered as a junior, and sophomore letterwinners Tory Beger and Reed Ostrander.

Bardole has started in the EG backfield since his freshman year and he has been named to all-district team each of the last three years. He rushed for 822 yards on 52 carries last year and scored 14 touchdowns. He was also the Hawks’ leading receiver with 24 catches for 338 yards. Nicolaisen ran the ball 23 times for 163 yards.

Coaches Bardole and Beger will look to either Tyler Cooklin or Tory Beger to handle the QB duties. They will have big shoes to fill as Tom Beger racked up 1,262 yards last season with a 78-174 completion rate. He threw 16 touchdown passes last year and scored 2 rushing TDs.

Lyons and Nicolaisen will anchor the receiving corps this year. Lyons caught 14 passes for 210 yards and Nicolaisen snagged 9 for 137 yards.

The Hawks have some key holes to fill on defense, but have back two of their top four tacklers—Ritchie and Bardole.

Both of EG’s non-district opponents are located in southern Marion County, south of Knoxville and Pella.

Melcher-Dallas: Melcher and Dallas are not a combined school district like Paton-Churdan or Glidden-Ralston, but actually one town. But they were merged. Dallas was established first in the southwestern corner of the county on one rail line and Melcher, a coal mining town, was formed on a different rail line but the towns were less than a mile apart. The distance grew smaller over the years and they basically grew into each other. The two were officially merged in 1986, but each still maintains its own zip code.

The Saints went 3-2 and finished third in the six-team District 6 last year and 4-6 overall. MD lost to Ankeny Christian 69-28 in the substate round of the playoffs. The Saints are led by returning QB Robert Bingham, one of the top returning quarterbacks in 8-man as he threw for 2,220 yards and 31 touchdowns last season. Also back is offensive end Josh Schrader, who had 661 yards receiving and 7 TDs.

Twin Cedars (Bussey): Predominantly a rural school district, Twin Cedars encompasses six very small towns in the southeastern corner of the county. The towns are Bussey, Attica, Hamilton, Tracy, Marysville and Pershing. When the district was formed in 1961 it was a merger of the existing schools in Bussey, Tracy and Attica. Attica is the most western of the towns while Bussey and Tracy are the most eastern. Tracy is almost right on the Marion-Mahaska county line and Bussey is less than a mile west of the county line.

A new high school was built in the country east of Bussey on County Road G71 across the county line into Mahaska County in 1961, as the school district also encompasses all of Jefferson Township in the southwestern corner of Mahaska. A gym was added in 1970 and a new elementary school built on the site in 1976. The school takes its name from the north and south branches of Cedar Creek that flow through the district.

TC has a BEDS enrollment (grades 9-11 in 2009-10) of 125 while Melcher-Dallas is closer in size to East Greene (81) with a BEDS enrollment of 85. The Sabers finished fifth in D5 last year at 1-4 and were 2-7 overall.

In head-to-head competition last year, Melcher-Dallas beat Twin Cedars 70-28 in the last game of the season.

Lincoln League Title Up for Grabs

With last year’s co-champs—Adair-Casey and CAM—now over in District 6, the race for the top of “Lincoln League” is up for grabs. GR and CRB seem to be getting the most attention as they tied for third last year, ending the season with identical 3-2 and 7-2 marks. Each lost in the substate round to end the year at 7-3.

GR returns much of its punishing ground game from last year while CRB will again feature its high-octane aerial attack. Senior QB Michael Schwenk passed for 2,940 yards and 53 TD’s last year while adding another 637 yards and 13 TDs on the ground.

Ar-We-Va and Woodbine both qualified for the playoffs last year as they ended up with Remsen-Union in a three-way tie for second at 5-2 (all 6-3 overall) just behind D1 champion St. Mary’s (Remsen). But all four of the D1 teams were knocked out of the substate round to their D2 competitors. It was the worst substate performance of any of the 8 districts.

Ar-We-Va loses nine players off that squad and will be in a bit of rebuilding this phase, but the Rockets are always competitive.

Boyer Valley is the mystery team, moving down from Class A where it went 2-4 in District 8, finishing in a three-way tie for fourth. Overall, BV was 4-5. Traditionally, when teams make that first year move from A down to 8-man they do very well. EG went 7-2 in its first year in 8-man in 2001 as did CRB in 2002.

When GR made the move in 2005, the Wildcats went 8-1 and won the District 4 crown with a perfect 5-0 mark. GR did not lose a district game over the next three seasons, qualifying for the playoff each year. GR went undefeated and won the state 8-man championship in 2005 and went undefeated again in 2007 before falling to Ar-We-Va, the team it beat to win the district crown, in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

Overall, D7 was very competitive last year as the teams went 12-3 against the other districts in the weeks before intra-district play got underway. That was topped only by District 6, which includes Lenox and Ankeny Christian, which went 13-3. D6 gets even tougher this year with Adair-Casey and CAM in the mix while Grandview Park Baptist moves over to D5.

Districts 5, 1 and 8 had the worst showings at 5-11 and that prevailed in the playoff round as those districts had the fewest teams advancing from the substate to the first round.

East Greene 2010 Football Schedule
(Game time for all is 7 p.m.)
Aug. 27: Melcher-Dallas H
Sept. 3: Twin Cedars (Bussey) A
Sept. 10: Boyer Valley H
Sept. 17: Charter Oak-Ute A
Sept. 24: Glidden-Ralston H (HOMECOMING)
Oct. 1: Woodbine A
Oct. 8: Walnut H (PARENTS’ NIGHT)
Oct. 15: Coon Rapids-Bayard A
Oct. 22: Ar-We-Va A


EYE ON GJ SAYS: Melcher-Dallas is a good first-game test for EG as the Hawks’ defense was its strong suit last year. If the Hawks can contain Bingham and his aerial attack it will stand in their favor for stronger teams that pass a lot like CRB as the season progresses.

Iowa Sports Connection has CRB ranked No. 5 in its pre-season Top 10. Northeast Hamilton from D3 is getting some attention also as ISC ranks NEH sixth. CRB and NEH square off tonight in Blairsburg in the season opener for both teams.

The online BC Moore pre-season rankings have CRB, NEH and GR at seventh, eighth and ninth. Ar-We-Va comes in at No. 20 and EG is close behind at No. 24.

BC Moore gave the Hawks some good feedback, noting that EG’s improvement over the last five years is second only to that of CWL (Corwith). EG has improved from 46th to 35th to 30th to 29th to 24th since 2006.

In the Associated Press poll released this week, NEH is ranked No. 7 at 1-0 after a season opening win over Twin River Valley (Bode) 65-6 last week. All the other teams are 0-0 as they kick off their seasons tonight. CRB is among six teams that received votes in the poll but not enough to rank in the top 10. Lenox, No. 1 in the AP poll, takes on No. 9 ranked Stanton tonight in Stanton.

The Des Moines Register poll this week has Lenox at the top and Stanton eighth and Northeast Hamilton ninth.

New Arrival: Emmie Walker

BABY GIRL BORN TO PHIL WALKER, EBBAN CLAUSE

Emmie Marie Clause Walker, daughter of Philip Walker and Ebban Clause, was born June 24 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Grandparents are Reg and Mary Clause of Jefferson and Robert and Rosaleen Walker of Vaud, Switzerland. Great-grandparents are Roger and Dorothy Clause of Grand Junction.

Grand Junction Obituaries

JOHN NELSON

Memorial services for John Nelson, 88, of Grand Junction were April 17, 2010, at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson with burial in Junction Township Cemetery at Grand Junction. Visitation was held the previous day at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Grand Junction with a Masonic service held that evening.

John Allen Nelson was born March 4, 1922, in Greene County, Iowa. He was the son of Oscar “Ole” and Dora (Boston) Nelson. He graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1940. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II in the South Pacific.
John married Nina Rosella Coffin on March 14, 1947, at the bride’s home in Gowrie. John and Nina lived in Jefferson for three years and then moved to Grand Junction, where they raised their family.

John delivered grain with his father Ole and hauled livestock with his brother-in-law Earl Curry, and he also delivered eggs and cream for C&M Produce. He worked at Ford Dodge Laboratories, Martin Brother’s Gas Station and was a clerk at U.S. Post Office in Grand Junction. He delivered the Sunday Des Moines Register for many years. In 1969, after working with T.R. Watts and Sons Insurance, he purchased the business and began Nelson Insurance Agency. During that time he also had a home medical equipment business and sold real estate. He owned several rental properties in Grand Junction, Jefferson and Churdan over the years. John and Nina retired in 1986, selling the insurance business to McDonald Insurance in Scranton, and they spent the winter months in Mesa, Ariz.

John in survived by two sons, Bill Nelson, Shannon, Ill., and Jim Nelson, Jefferson; two daughters, Rosella Zimmerle, Adel, and Carol Gower, Lake City; 10 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; and one brother, George Nelson, Des Moines.

Memorials are suggested to the Salvation Army or Stewart Memorial Community Hospice in Lake City. Services were arranged by Slininger-Rossow Funeral Homes of Jefferson and Grand Junction.

OTTOLENE DOWNS

Memorial services for Ottolene Downs, 102, of Grand Junction were held Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, at First Presbyterian Church in Grand Junction. Interment was planned for Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City for a later date.

Ottolene Ruth West Downs was born Nov. 25, 1907, at Ticonic, Iowa, the daughter of James C. West and Lora Elizabeth Forker West. She was the eldest of three children. Ottolene attended school in Onawa, Iowa, where she received normal school training in preparation to be a school teacher. She briefly attended college, and taught in a one-room country school during the Depression.

She married Frank Downs Jr. on June 18, 1931, in Monona County, Iowa, where Frank briefly ran a gas station. They moved to Bronson, Iowa, first renting and then buying a farm. In 1967 they moved to rural Rippey to be near their daughters. After Frank died, Ottolene moved to Grand Junction. In 2005 she moved to Regency Park in Jefferson.

Ottolene helped start the hot lunch program in the Bronson school. She served as 4-H committeeman, PTA officer, and was active in her church’s women’s organization. She enjoyed gardening, sewing, crocheting, repairing work clothes, tailoring and crafts.
She is survived by her daughters, Lora Lynette Downs Holz, Jefferson, and LaVaras Eloise Jewett, Grand Junction; grandchildren Kristi Holz, Afton; Robin Holz Searles, Altoona; Julie Holz Breshears, Davis City; Jeffery Myron Jewett, Mahomet, Ill.; and Jamie Rehak, Williston, N.D.; and 11 great-grandchildren.

MURIEL THOMPSON

Funeral services for Muriel Thompson, 91, were held Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson. Interment was in Junction Township Cemetery at Grand Junction.

Muriel died Dec. 10, 2009, in her sleep in the Evangelical Free Nursing Home in Boone, where she had been a resident for three months. She was born Dec. 4, 1918, in Grand Junction, the daughter of Edgar and Hazel Crow Mack. She was the youngest of three children, with two older brothers, Vernon and Marshall.

Muriel graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1937. She attended Iowa State Teachers College for brief time before taking employment as a teletype operator for Western Union in Chicago and Des Moines.

She married Lowell Rhodes Thompson on Oct. 6, 1946, in Delta, Colo. The couple lived in Colorado before moving to Grand Junction in February 1949. The couple farmed northwest of Grand Junction near Spring Lake for several years and later southwest of Grand Junction. In February 1976, the couple moved to a farm west of Panora, where they lived until their retirement in 2005, when they moved to Ames.

Muriel was a homemaker and helped with livestock and gardening on the farm. She was a Stanley Home Products representative for 35 years, earning several recognitions and awards. She was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Grand Junction and active in UPW and church circles. She was also a member of the U-Go-I-Go Club of rural Grand Junction.

She is survived by her children, Robert Thompson, Ames; Linda Thompson, Urbandale; and Kent Thompson, Humboldt; two grandchildren, Ryan and Robin Thompson; and a sister-in-law, Joyce Mack, Grand Junction.

VERDA EILBERT

Verda Eilbert, 86, died Jan. 13, 2010, at Regency Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jefferson. Funeral services were Monday, Jan. 18, 2020, at First United Methodist Church in Grand Junction. Verda’s body was donated to the University of Iowa Anatomical Gift Program, with future burial in Junction Township Cemetery at Grand Junction. Services were arranged by Slininger-Rossow Funeral Homes of Jefferson and Grand Junction.

Verda Culley Eilbert was born near Rippey on Nov. 5, 1923, to William and Bertha (Kinkead) Culley. She was a 1941 graduate of Grand Junction High School. After graduation, she moved to Chicago to make her home with her brother Gerald and his family. She worked there as a secretary for the Motorola Company for five years. On June 16, 1946, she married Francis Eilbert, and they made their home on the family farm near Grand Junction, where they resided nearly 60 years. Due to declining health, they moved to Regency Park in Jefferson in 2006.

Verda was preceded in death by her husband, Francis; son, Chris; parents; and her siblings: Gerald, Loren and Darwin “Tommy” Culley and Nadine Wessling.

Survivors include her daughter, Cheryl Armstrong, Pembroke Pines, Fla., and son, Craig Eilbert, Marion; daughter-in-law, Mary Eilbert, Wellsburg; and grandchildren: Jill Eilbert, Grand Junction; Jacob Eilbert, St. Paul, Minn.; Jessica Eilbert, Indianola; Catie Eilbert, Marion; and Elyse Eilbert, Suwanee, Ga.

VERNA MAE WISE
Funeral services for Verna Mae Wise, 83, of Grand Junction were Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Junction. Interment was in Beaver Cemetery at Beaver. She died Friday, March 5, in the Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson after living in Regency Park in Jefferson for a little over a year.

Verna Mae Wise was born Sept. 15, 1926, in Perry to Charles and Wilda Faye Harvey. She graduated from Perry High School in 1945. She married Paul Wise on April 7, 1946, in Grand Junction where they spent the rest of their married life. They farmed in the early years of their marriage, and then moved into town in 1962 when Paul worked for the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Verna Mae was a CNA at the Ogden Manor in Ogden and for many years wrote a column for Globe-Free Press in Grand Junction and later the Jefferson Herald. She was a member of the Legion Auxiliary, First United Methodist Church of Grand Junction, and United Methodist Women.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Paul; sons Donald Wise and David Wise; daughter-in-law Marcia Wise; brother, LeRoy Harvey; and an infant sister.
Verna Mae is survived by her sons, Daniel Wise, Jefferson; Douglas Wise, Omaha; Dennis Wise, Lorena, Texas; daughter-in-law, Diane Wise, Jefferson; 22 grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren.

PAULINE ARNES

Pauline Arnes, 85, died March 27, 2010, at the Israel Family Hospice in Ames. Funeral services were March 31 at Carson-Stapp Funeral Home in Ogden with Rev. Paul Evans officiating. Pauline’s wishes were to be cremated with burial at a later date in Grand Junction.

Pauline Arnes, daughter of the Lloyd and Ada (Blake) Warner, was born Oct. 10, 1924, in Carroll. She graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1945 and attended Iowa Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines in the Cadet Program during World War II.

Pauline was a labor and delivery room nurse for 38 years, working for Boone County Hospital in Boone and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange, Calif. After retiring, she lived in Enid, Okla., and was actively involved in Sr. Ambucs, AARP and Community Methodist Church.

She is survived by her children, Barbara Sanden, Ogden, and Mike Arnes, Plymouth, Minn.; five grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.