This is a Blog site created by Bob Reed (in Florida) for folks who live--or used to live--in Marcus, Iowa. Its purpose is to exchange notes, news, remembrances, and thoughts about life in and about Marcus, or news about one's family, friends or acquaintances.
As you may recall, I am the granddaughter of Lorraine Schouten who passed away a number of years ago. I would like to make a personal request out to anyone that knew her to contact me directly and privately at iamsuger@gmail.com
I still miss grandma dearly to this day, and I find myself asking a lot of questions about how life in Marcus was? Who was she? What kind of music did she like? Did she go to the dances? So many things that I never got a chance to ask her before she was gone, bubble up for me now.
If you could find some time to share with me some stories from her youth, and help me understand more about the woman I call grandma, and love miss so much.
In it was an article about pioneer cemeteries - defined as those having 6 or fewer burials in the past 50 years.
Twenty six counties in our state have created cemetery commissions under a state enactment in 1996 creating the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries.
Are there any such "pioneer cemeteries" in the vicinity of Marcus?
In the 1930's the WPA provided support for each Iowa county to conduct a survey of every known cemetery. Information from every stone found in each county was written down, except those for children.
Just wondering if the remains of any of our Marcus pioneers are out there in those relatively obscure grave sites?
As I was doing a Google search yesterday I came across this website. It is only recently that I moved away from Marcus but I must admit I never knew this blog existed. But even more interesting is I found the article that was written about the Haiti Medical Mission trip that was preparing to leave in October 2008. I was a part of that mission trip. So in light of that I thought I should post a follow up and let you know what was accomplished and experienced on that trip.
For the first time ever the Haitians of Mizak had the opportunity to be assessed by a team of nurses and a doctor. We held clinic 10 out of the 14 days we were there. Each morning as we left our house on the top of the hill we could hear the roar of the crowd waiting at the clinic in hopes that they would get to see a doctor or nurse. It is estimated that over the course of those 10 days we treated 1300 plus patients. Common ailments were stomach pain, itchy/infected rashes, headaches, dizziness, burning eyes and poor vision, and back and knee pain. We were able to treat those with infections with antibiotics, eye drops to soothe the burning eyes, and some were able to get fitted with a pair of glasses. Others received ointments to ease the itching and medicaitons to calm the stomach pains. We found a majority of the patients to have severely high blood pressure. Blood pressure medications were in short supply so everyone was encouraged to watch the salt intake in their diet. We were able to assist with suturing up some machete wounds and also lacerations that a young man sustained after falling out of a tree. It was our privilege to assist a 16 year old mother with the delivery of her baby. There were also those who were too sick for us to treat and who needed hospitalization. The nearest hospital is 8 miles away. The only means for them to get there would be to walk as they could not even afford to hire a "tap tap" or a motorcycle. And also they would have to have the money up front once they got to the hospital before they could even get seen. There were two incidence where the team pooled their money together so that the Haitian could get to the hospital and be treated.
We had also received a large donation of some tooth varnish which made it possible for us to give over 750 children a fluoride treatment to their teeth and then supply them with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I know I speak for all the team members who went in 2008 that it was a life changing experience. I believe we all came back with more than we gave. There is so much to tell that there is no way I could put it all in this blog. Anyone of us would be happy to share our experience with you and show you the pictures. Just ask.
The enthusiasm is building as we are planning for a return visit July 2009. We are hopefully that not only will we be sending a medical team but that a construction team will also be able go about that same time.
So as we prepare for a return visit you will see us doing a number of fundraisers. Give it some prayerful thought to support us in our mission either with monetary donations or by joining the team.
The money that we raise is used to purchase medicines and medical supplies and construction materials.
Here are the names of team memeber you can contact for more information: Vickie Rainboth, Kay Ogren, John Schneider, Mary Hohbach, Barb Martin, Melissa Tabke, Tonia Schmillen, Pastor Gary McDonough, Nancy Hier, or Terry Groen (Ames).
I’ve been in love with books all my life. Like most writers, I’m a “reader.” My dad used to jokingly complain that I always had my nose in a book. But he—along with my mother—was also a voracious reader.
And it was she who introduced me to the Marcus Library. The ladies of our town had taken the lead in founding the institution. They started in 1911 with sixty-five donated books in a confectionary store on Main Street, according to an article in the "Centennial History" of our town.
Forty women formed the Marcus Library Association in that year and began agitating for a permanent home. But they were forced to move their growing collection of books to a doctor’s office, and a fire forced them to the post office, and then upstairs over one of the banks, and then to the second floor of another bank on the Main Street corner in 1917.
They moved the books again to the wooden City Hall on North Main Street in the 1920s, but their still-growing collection forced other moves to rented spaces, again above the two banks at the beginning of the 1930’s depression. But in 1932 they finally persevered and won the battle to become a tax-supported institution. They were recognized and “official.”
How I remember the wonderful smell of leather, paper, and glue in the place above one of the banks and then later on the second floor of the Tuft Building on Main Street! I devoured the "Wizard of Oz" books, and got lost in the open stacks, sitting and scanning the pages of a possible new adventure. The world was at my arm’s length, and I was only nine years old, in a small village!
I discovered new ideas and my imagination soared and was stretched by my reading. Without my knowing it, my mind was challenged to think not “outside the box” but “without a box.”
The Library moved again, to the new Municipal Building, in 1942 and to more “modern” facilities. I visited it weekly. And with a grant of $75,000 from the estate of Mrs. W. L. Gund in 1962, the organization built its final home on Locust Street.
The Gund Library is modern and computer-driven with a great children’s collection, a fine meeting room, and dedicated librarians. If the roof leaks, the town pays for it.
But the book is being redefined. It is, as we know it, in peril. In this digital age, we are being swamped by new devices that allow us to read.
Electronic books have been with us since the 1970s, but now the Sony Reader and new Amazon Kindle 2, along with iPhones, make one-handed page-turning and reading easy. Books are now available in a bewildering variety of electronic forms.
And it’s no secret that our youth live on line. Some eighty percent of kids today have cell phones, and books will soon be available there. Even libraries have begun offering digital collections
Though e-books now constitute only one percent of the income for publishers, the future is clear. The prices for such devices (now about $250) will come down and new availabilities will be very cheap. Some say that we are only one reading device away from the time that e-books will sell more copies than paper books.
Where does that leave us? What will happen to our library—and particularly with our youngsters? Will they continue to use it? Perhaps we should be worrying less about the delivery systems and more about fostering more sustained reading in kids.
But I, for one, will miss the ink and the cloth board, bound in leather, with deckle-edged paper and Smyth-sewn signatures. The book is a beautiful object that feels warm in the hands and even smells good when you turn a page for the first time.
As John Updike once noted, it’s a sort of a modest, bow-tie experience, rather than black tie. I’m a believer in the printed version as the object to faithfully record the human experience. Am I just old-fashioned?
The Marcus Library was my treat, my refuge, my world. I still am in love with libraries. I know we have already lost good newspapers in many areas of the country, with more to follow. I hold out hope that libraries will not follow the same course.
Dear Laura Ingalls Wilder Julia Meylor Simpson
Remember those dark nights you huddled near me
on the drafty linoleum landing under a yellow light bulb?
You whispered stories, while I turned page after page
to learn if Pa had found his way home through the blizzard.
We battled grasshoppers, prairie fires and scarlet fever
while Dad laughed along with Johnny Carson downstairs.
I gathered in your words like sun-dried sheets on the line,
followed your trail of black-eyed susans outside my door.
Years later, I walked DeSmet streets and Dakota prairie
where girls in bonnets and red calico pretended to be you.
I found myself on a rise above your cold desolate dugout,
leaning into the same wind that clawed your brown braids.
I followed a trickling gully past an uprooted cottonwood,
knowing you’d been here, buttoning up your innocence.
[Originally published in the Connecticut River Review]
Bob, Julia, and all, Now you’ve done it – you’ve printed my favorite word – libraries! When I was a little girl, there was a routine followed every summer Saturday. We spent every Saturday morning cleaning our farm house from top to bottom. On Saturday afternoon, we drove the 3 ½ miles of gravel roads to town. While mom bought the weekly groceries at Johnny Clarkson’s IGA, I gleefully browsed the shelves of the Marcus library in the Municipal Building. Bob, I also read the entire series of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz books. I also remember reading the Hardy Boy series and many of the Nancy Drew books. And Julia, I, too, have surely read every book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In more recent years I have discovered L. M. Montgomery, and my current favorite, Jan Karon. Each Saturday, I selected several books and wrote my name on the card, which was then stamped by Mrs. Mossman. After putting my new found treasures in our Pontiac Catalina, I went in the grocery store to check in with mom. Then, there was the next happy excursion…. a visit to the dime store. The actual name of the store was Kimball’s Variety, but I knew it only as the dime store. That is exactly how much money I had …. one dime. With those 10 cents, I could buy 10 pieces of penny candy. The boxes of candy were presented at child eye-level and 10 pieces could be selected and put on the counter for counting. Selecting the 10 pieces of candy took the same thoughtful process as selecting the library books. Then these treasures were put in a small brown paper bag. In those days, the sales tax rate was 3%, so there was no sales tax on a 10 cent purchase. Then it was back to the car to savor books and candy. These days, I find libraries in any town a source of refuge. Corinne Alesch
Isn't Julia incredible? I consider it an honor when she shares one of her poems with me. I think she should be declared Poet Laureate of something or other, perhaps Ex Officio of Marcu!By the way, Irv, it's been rumored that you have been doing some versifying. Could you "blog" us one of yours? Margaret Dorr
(Something I wrote awhile ago, and this blog seems the most appropriate place to share it. Thanks again. JMS)
The More Common Reader
Learning of my life-long love for reading, a coworker recently left his copy of Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998) on my desk. The title of this exquisite collection of essays led me by the hand. I was eager to compare notes with a “kindred spirit.”
But wait.
Within the first few pages, I realized Fadiman’s experience with books was a yellow brick road away from my own. Was her background really so “common”?
Born in 1953 and a native of New York, Fadiman toddled into a family of literati with a stacked-to-the-ceiling home library. Their tomes numbered in the thousands, complete with various sets of Shakespeare and every deceased European writer and living American writer of any merit. Fadiman’s love of books was both nature and nurture – as a toddler she noted that she even used leather-bound classics as building blocks.
I, in comparison, was born in 1957 and grew up on a farm near Marcus, Iowa, with six siblings. My reading at home included a set of the Book of Knowledge and Grolier’s encyclopedias, Reader’s Digest condensed books, a jumbo box of comics bought at a farm sale, dated medical books, a handful of cardboard-cover classics, sundry magazines, a fat family Bible, and a huge assortment of Scholastic paperbacks bought through school.
Plus, I owned a library card – meaning, to me at least, a renewable and higher-than-the-sky source of books, books, and more books.
I lie.
There was no library card. At the Marcus Library, all I had to do was write my name on the small lined “Date due” card which the librarian then stamped.
Actually, there wasn’t even a real library in the early 1960s, just a large room in the small town’s municipal building on Main Street. However, that all changed when a generous soul left the town enough money to build the W.L. Gund Memorial Library on a quiet, tree-lined street off Main.
Here, then, a well-heeled, old lady planted the seed of my love affair with books.
One day a week after lunch, students at Holy Name Catholic School, which I attended through eighth grade, were allowed to walk the four blocks to the then brand-new town library to take out books. I went, no pun intended, religiously.
I still remember moving from the children’s book room, to the young adult section, and then the adult shelves – worried that someone would pull me back, set down limits. But the librarian never said a word – and my world grew wider, filling up with more stories and characters and worlds each time.
Throughout high school my love affair with books took a nosedive as it competed with real-life crushes on basketball stars and bad boys and a few boyfriends who never whispered the titles of books in my ear. But looking back at my senior memory book, I realized that I must have spent some hours reading because that was the year I read Gone With the Wind, In Cold Blood and Go Tell It on the Mountain. So, no doubt the love for books endured.
Today, I live halfway across the country, but every year when I return to Marcus to visit family and friends, I make sure to walk the familiar blocks to the library to wander among the displays of books, use the computers, and read the local newspapers. The building’s quiet hum and sense of cool composure always takes me back to my early fondness for this calm space and the wealth it still offers. I may have envied Fadiman’s comfortable world where a room full of books from floor to ceiling was a closed door away, but not for long. Without having met her, I know I have experienced the same sense of discovery, the same feeling of being lost in worlds I would never have known except in Garamond typeface.
In two very different worlds, we both found a love for the written word because someone made sure we had the opportunity to do so. As common readers, I’m sure we are both forever grateful.
An additional thanks to Julia for sharing her artful work and sparking memories of the library (or, depending on your age, libraries) in town.
Growing up I always enjoyed going to the Gund library. I didn't go as much as I should have but I remember walking in and appreciating even as a small child its architecture and design. Is there another building in town as well designed inside and out? (And am I the only one saddened when the windows above the stacks were enclosed?) The place always made me feel as though the town had allocated limited resources to something special and it would be almost disrespectful not to appreciate and use it.
What a gift to the community by Mrs. Gund. She was before my time but seems to me she deserves a place amongst the folks who really made a difference in the town.
I do appreciate our fine library. It contributes so much to our quality of life. Maxine Shea's dedicated services are really remarkable. She is the BEST! However, I disagree with the previous blogger concerning the architectural design. The windows had to be covered because the utility bills were prohibitive! There have been problems with the roof since day-one, necessitating costly repairs from time to time. Too, the large slabs of exterior stone are out of proportion with the style of the building, in my estimation. A fine library? Yes! Well designed? I am afraid I disagree. Margaret Dorr
Hello,my name is Jack Wittkopp. I am one of the grandsons of Mr. and Mrs. Leland Grauer. My mother was Lola Wittkopp, my father Arno Wittkopp. I was browsing looking for the address of the Trinity Lutheran Cemetary to go visit my folks graves this summer. I ran across this wonderful site. I cannot tell you how happy I was. My childhood is filled to visits at Marcus, the relatives, the Dorrs, the Grauers, the Wittkopps, the Ericksons etc. I just want to let everyone know that my favorite memory around Marcus was baling hay at Grandpa Grauer's farm and then Grandpa filling the horse trough with cold water for me to "swim' in!! It was heaven! If anyone has memories to share about my relatives I would love it! Many thanks, Jack Wittkopp Austin, MN
Hi guys. I have lived in Marcus for 3 years in April. I have no friends in this town. I am not a bad person and the rumors that are going around are not true. I just want to be able to stay in this town without having the feeling of people judging my family. I want to make friends but I don't know how to go about doing that. I don't know what organizations I can join. I would love to meet other couples that have young children, as I have 2 little boys of my own. Please, if there are any organizations I can join and meet people please let me know.
Try attending a local church and getting to know some of the people that attend regularly and maybe find a job locally where you will meet others from town. Not sure but there are bowling leagues, moms goups that meet in the Meriden Evangelical Church, parenting group that meets at the Methodist church in Marcus with supper and free daycare, Often just walking around town in the summer will help you meet others with similar interest and kids the same age.
Hi Tonya! Marcus people are friendly folk! There are many ways to get to know them. At church and with the volunteers at the Community Center, the Marcus Historical Society, the Marcus Fair, the Marcettes, Garden Club, Library etc. They are always looking for volunteers and members and the fees are modest or nothing. Watch the "Marcus News" for notices of the groups and when they meet. Follow up on any suggestions of groups or orgianizations to join by any folks you meet.There are many opportunities! Volunteer in the things you are interested in. Take your kids to the swimming pool this summer--and to the Library kid's programs. Go bowling or golfing. Don't be shy. Wear a smile. It will be returned! I know you will find a warm home in our town.
Thank you so much. I love this town and my house, and I want my children to go to a good school. My oldest son will be starting head start this fall. Yes I am for real and the reason I made it so public was because like I had said earlier, I don't really know anybody here. I am very shy and it is hard for me to warm up to alot of people. My family loves going for walks in the summer and when it is not snowing anymore. We are rarely home because we are a young couple with two little children and are always in Sioux City looking for teaching things. My oldest will be 3 in July and has some autistic tendencies so it is hard to get him around other children without him hitting them. This is the reason I made it public. I am sorry if I have offended anybody.
There are just a few who've been in the fields. The season is unusually late. I expect it's going to be one of those years when we go from the furnace to the AC all in one day. Then we'll be fussing because it's too hot!!
Did you all know that Fern Addy passed away on April 1, just a couple of weeks before her 94th birthday? She had really left us a few years ago so it's a blessing that she and Charlie are together again. It was nice seeing the family.
The author, Bill Bryson, has been discussed on this blog in the past. A week or so ago I had the good fortune to hear him talk at Drake University.
He was back in his hometown of Des Moines for several events, including presentation of an honorary degree from Drake.
He told the assembled 4,500 people that, "It took me 7 years to get through Drake. If I had known then that they were going to simply hand me one of these degrees later, I could have avoided all of that."
He had wonderful stories to recount about growing up in Iowa; how the English (he now lives in England) have a sense of humor similar to that of Iowans; his time at the Register as a kid - where his mother and father both worked; and how much he loves the fact that he got to grow up as the "Thunderbolt Kid" in the 50's and early 60's in our state.
In commenting on humor he remarked that he once thought all people shared the same sense. He was disabused of that notion by living for a few years in Vermont.
During his residence in that state, after returning from an extended trip to the West Coast, and having missed connecting flights due to bad weather, being grounded for a bit and spending extra hours in airports, he shared his misfortune with one of his neighbors.
When asked by his neighbor who he had flown with (intending "What airline?" no doubt), Bryson responded, "Why, I don't know. They were all strangers to me."
The neighbor simply stared at him in confusion. Bryson commented that such would not have been the response in either Iowa or England.
Suffice it to say that he had the crowd in his hands for almost 2 hours that night. It was a great experience. Catch him if ever you can.
That—to me—was the rhythmic sound of a train as it rolled past the Marcus Depot, or as I heard it as it lulled me to sleep aboard one of the passenger cars. It was hypnotic.
And now the Obama administration has just announced that it is planning on using some stimulus money to upgrade our nation’s rail system. To this oldtimer, it‘s about time.
Growing up in the 1930s and ’40s, trains were a big part of my life. And a big part of the life of everyone else in our town.
My dad was the Station Master (Depot Agent) at the Illinois Central Railroad building at the north end of Main. He served there for nearly twenty years.
The large, handsome, brick building was constructed in 1916. It replaced a smaller wooden one that had been constructed in 1870, just before the town was officially formed. The new one cost $10,000 and the princely sum was an indication of the rising economic importance to the railroad of Marcus business.
For our town boasted of being the largest shipping point for corn and grain—and hogs and cattle—even occasionally chickens—on the Illinois Central line.
It was not unusual to see seventeen or twenty cars loaded and shipped out in one day, as the farmers surrounding Marcus fed the eastern markets. It was a bonanza time for the elevators, the stockyards down by the depot—and the farmers.
Some of the sellers accompanied their product, riding in the red caboose. They returned with tall tales, reporting that “everything was up to date” in the metropolis where they landed—Sioux City or Chicago.
The depot also served as the primary importer of groceries, furniture, implements, and coal for the town. Box cars were unloaded and delivered to business customers and anxiously awaiting individuals. In the days before the interstates made trucking a real option, most consumer goods coming into Marcus came by train.
During the blizzards of 1936 when all other access to the town was closed, my dad spent days and nights at the depot, coordinating relief trains, while volunteers dug them out as they tried to get into Marcus with essential goods.
The place also served as the towns’ main communicator with the outside world. Telegraph messages of births, weddings, illnesses, and deaths were sent and received in the days before the “long distance” telephone was economically feasible. And the depot’s clock was the timepiece for the community, for each day the office received the official time from Washington D.C. (via Greenwich).
Our citizens also departed for visits to neighboring communities and far-off places with strange sounding names at the depot. “All aboard,” cried the Conductor. As riders on the morning and afternoon passenger trains, they endured the coal-driven ash from the engine, adjusted to the rolling gait of the car, and enjoyed the landscape and passing scenery in 3-D.
I was one fortunate kid. Each summer, my dad got “passes” on the many competing lines and we traveled on his vacation all over the United States. I saw smoky inner-city backsides and gritty decay and new suburbs and water falls and canyons and brown tranquil plains that transformed into mountains. There were old mines and lonely farmsteads, and forests and deserts, and the oceans and lakes and wildlife. By the time I was 14, I had been in forty of the forty-eight states.
And I saw people. Hundreds of them. All of them going somewhere. And all of them friendly as could be, forming a temporary community.
Abraham Lincoln’s dream about a transcontinental railroad forging a national unity had been realized. For as a train crossed borders, the boundaries disappeared. Folks became egalitarian and talkative. Passengers formed little groups, sharing snacks and intimate conversations. It was a town square, a neighborhood tavern, a moving meeting place. And you didn’t have to take your shoes off to board.
Sadly those were the days of fading innocence. After 101 years, the passenger service in our town was discontinued in 1971 and the dilapidated brick depot was destroyed in 1995.
Today, they still ship some grain out of Marcus. And it’s still possible to cross the 3,585 miles of our country via train. It takes four days. But does anyone have the time?
If they do, I hope they will hear (as I occasionally do in falling asleep) that wondrous sound—
Great memories of riding the Illinois-Central (Hawkeye) out of Marcus, all brought back by your musings. Thanks for taking the time to write it down for us all to enjoy.
I had a friend in college - train buff - who skipped school for about three days to ride the last run of The City of New Orleans. He still talks about it. I have another friend here in Des Moines who has taken photos of most every depot in our state. He has ridden trains all over the world and, in fact, is very active in a group known as The Lionel Train Association, or some such. He can talk trains for hours.
In short, what I have learned is that the people who are bitten by the bug have it bad.
My local friend convinced a few guys here in town to get up at the crack of dawn a year or two ago to go see one of the last, big, operating steam engines which comes out of Cheyenne, Wyoming periodically for runs through the central U.S. It was a monster. Very impressive.
Our minister and his wife, last summer, took off from Iowa by train, travelled through Denver, on through the Rockies, up the coast of Oregon and Washington and then returned on the Candadian Pacific. He regaled the congregation with stories of dining and club car experiences, all the different types of people they met, sitting for hours in the observation cars, and sleeping in the Pullmans or whatever they call them now. He had a fascinating time.
So, given your experience, what train ride would you recommend for someone who wants to spend a few days (maybe up to a week) on a trip through the continental U.S.? Westward, through the mountains and on to the coast; north into Canada; southwest; or some other route? I'm curious.
This is getting long, but I wanted to finish with one great senior class experience my Class of 1966 had with trains. While decorating our homecoming float near the Depot we were admiring a freight train that had stopped in Marcus on its way to the West Coast. It was loaded with Vietnam-bound military equipment - jeeps mostly. So, feeling the pull of youthful adventure many of us jumped up into those jeeps, told some friends who stayed behind to come pick us up in Remsen, and hunkered down for the ride as the train pulled out of the station. About a mile out of town we all popped up in the vehicles and started flashing the lights, honking the horns and otherwise making a nuisance of ourselves. The engineer stopped the train while some assistant of his shot flares in the sky (it was pitch black out at the time)trying to figure out what was going on. We all ducked back into our "gopher hojes" and hid during the search. None of us were found. When the train resumed its trip west, up we came again. It was great fun to ride that train at night, outside, with friends who you would likely not ever see much of in the future. What we hadn't planned on was that the train didn't stop in Remsen. Rather, it reduced speed and cruised through town. We all had to do a version of "jump, tuck and roll" to dismount. Everyone got out without a scratch and we still talk about it at class reunions, over 40 years later.
Hi Fred! I have only been able to ride on east coast trains lately, but here is a tip from train buffs. They say the most remarkable ride is on the Canadian Pacific. You start in Montreal and go though the plains and then the Canadian mountains to Vancover. You can also pick it up midway in Ontario or other stops. Takes four days across the whole country. You can also reverse the trip starting in Vancover. Folks unwind in the magnificant observation car. They say the service is impeccable, the food great and the scenery spectacular--a once in a lifetime experience! It's a sort of Orient Express on the North American continent--without the murder. Bob
The discussion of trains brings back such good memories. As most of you recall, I grew up on the farm just north of Marcus across from Sand Seed Service.
The summer months were an exciting time as a child as I would hear the train whistle as it headed into town from the west and I had just enough time to jump on my bike, race down our pasture path, and get there just in time for the train to pass by and the engineer giving me a special "toot". Even though I never met those train engineers, I felt like they knew me.
Other memories were always the warning from one family member to another if someone was headed into town and it was time for a freight train to possibly be coming through, "Watch out for the tracks". I don't remember when the crossing lights were added on the track crossing on Hwy 143, but there was a time when there were no lights.
And, of course, there are the memories of lying in bed hearing the sound of the train. It was such a soothing sound that all was right in the world.
Bob: Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like a wonderful trip.
Judy: I know what you mean about the train whistle at night. Very reassuring. That sound, the noon whistle and the grain dryers running at night near the elevators are three sounds I always associate with Marcus.
Thinking of trains reminds me of one other story. My family has heard this before. One summer during the early years of high school I rode out to California to visit my sister, with the high school guidance counselor - Wayne Houchins. He was driving to the West Coast. Wayne then went on to other points with one or two other of his family that rode with us. After staying with my sister in Berkeley for a few days the plan was for me to ride the train back to Omaha where my parents would pick me up.
I got on the train in San Francisco and immediately noticed a very attractive girl my age who was traveling with her parents on the same train. Throughout the day I tried to figure out some way to meet her, without success. Then, much to my chagrin, at about three o'clock in the morning I woke up and found myself standing by her seat tapping her on the shoulder, apparently having walked in my sleep to her side and now presumably about to introduce myself. I woke up about the same time she did. I am not sure who was more horrified. I was completely embarrassed by the episode and spent the rest of the next day trying to avoid her and her parents. Whenever they went to the club car, I went to the observation deck. If they came back to the passenger seating area, I immediately went for a walk throughout the rest of the train. What an onboard nightmare. Later, on further reflection, I thought to myself, "What if I had walked in my sleep and fallen off that train?"
So, while most of my train memories are great, a few still haunt me.
My dad also used to tell the story about getting caught in Marcus following a particularly bad snow storm. The only way back to his home in the country was by train. The only train at the siding was a freight train, and the engineers were not taking on passengers. He finally decided on a different approach. He went back uptown, bought a fifth of whiskey and returned to the Depot, whereupon he was welcomed aboard, along with his gift for the crew. The train plowed through the snow to within a quarter mile of his farmstead, east of town, and he slogged through drifts the rest of the way home. He used to tell us that story as an example of, "No doesn't always mean 'No'... somethimes it means come up with a new plan."
Marvin L. Ebert StoryLeave A TributePosted: Sunday, May 03, 2009 MARCUS, Iowa -- Marvin L. Ebert, 78, of Marcus passed away Friday, May 1, 2009, at Heartland Care Center in Marcus.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Peace Lutheran Church in Marcus, with the Rev. James L. Gruber officiating. Interment will be in Marcus-Amherst Cemetery at Marcus, with military respects provided by F.I. Goodburn Post 517. Visitation will be 2 to 8 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m., at Earnest-Johnson Funeral Home in Marcus. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services Monday at the church.
Marvin Lee Ebert was born on the family farm near Cleghorn, Iowa, on Dec. 11, 1930, the third child of Irena Sophia Katharina (Schuknecht) and Emil Hans John Ebert. He graduated in 1950 from Marcus High School. Marvin entered into active duty in the U.S. Army on Feb. 12, 1952, from Omaha, Neb., and served his country during the Korean War. After completing his duties during this conflict, Marvin was honorably discharged from the Army on Nov. 11, 1953, from Camp Carson, Colo.
Marvin met Lorna Joyce Zellmer, the love of his life and his future wife, at an area dance. The couple were united in marriage on July 20, 1958, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moville, Iowa. Marvin and Lorna became the proud and busy parents of two sons and a daughter.
Marvin lived and worked the greatest share of his life in the Marcus area. After years of learning the intricate details of carpentry, Marvin fulfilled his dream, and Ebert Construction Ltd. became a reality. He was well-known as an accomplished builder. One of the many homes, businesses and construction projects Marvin's company built in his career was Heartland Care Center in Marcus, which was extremely near and dear to his heart. His company completed this large project in 1994 and Marvin's mother, Irena became the first resident of the new facility. In 1995, Ebert Construction accepted the opportunity to build the new Alzheimer's unit at Happy Siesta in Remsen, Iowa.
Marvin was a member of Peace Lutheran Church, a life member of American Legion, F.I. Goodburn Post 517 and a member of the Men's Bowling Association, where he enjoyed serving as an officer and sharing many a fun time on numerous leagues. Marvin was a 25-year member of the Marcus Fire Department and was also a passionate golfer.
Some of Marvin's other interests and hobbies included dancing, fishing, especially for catfish, playing casino games of chance, checking out the area construction job sites, coffee drinking with friends, singing in the church choir and cheering for the "Packers or the Hawkeyes." Marvin delighted in attending the activities of his children and his grandchildren, family holidays and gatherings and feasting on Lorna's good home-cooked meals and baked goods. Marvin is described as an easy-going and friendly guy who was very devoted to his family. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Marvin is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lorna Ebert of Marcus; his two sons, Conrad and Deb Ebert of Marcus, and Keith and Paula Ebert of Omaha; his daughter, Cathy and Kim Carlson of Marcus; his sister, Marlis Donner of Moline, Ill.; and his two brothers, Vernon and Dorothy Ebert of Green Valley, Ariz., and Bernell Ebert of Mason City, Iowa. He will also be dearly cherished by his seven grandchildren, Danielle and Alex Ebert, Lindsay and Patrick Ebert and Gina, Christy and Eric Carlson; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
Preceding Marvin in death were his parents, Emil and Irena Ebert; his two sisters, Delores Means and Bernita Means; and his two brothers, Leon and Orlan Ebert.
Condolences, stories and expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family on the mauerjohnsonfh.com Web site.
Irene C. Meylor StoryLeave A TributePosted: Monday, April 27, 2009 MARCUS, Iowa -- Irene C. Meylor, 78, of Marcus passed away on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Heartland Care Center in Marcus.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Name Catholic Church in Marcus, with the Rev. Eugene Murray officiating. Burial will be in Holy Name Cemetery at Marcus. Visitation will begin 2 p.m. today, with a 3 p.m. rosary service led by Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and a Scriptural prayer service at 7 p.m., at the church. Visitation will resume one hour prior to services Tuesday at the church. The Earnest-Johnson Funeral Home of Marcus is in charge of arrangements. Stories, memories and expressions of sympathy may be directed through www.mauerjohnsonfh.com
Irene Catherine Meylor was born on May 31, 1930, in Hospers, Iowa, to Adolph and Mary (Friedrich) Fischer. When her mother passed away in 1933, her father married Mary Reichle, who had seven children. The family moved to a farm near Granville, where she graduated from Spalding High School in 1948.
On June 29, 1949, Irene and Gerald Meylor were united in marriage at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Granville. The couple farmed near Maryhill and then moved to a farm north of Marcus where they farmed until 1993, when they moved to Marcus.
Irene was a faithful member of Holy Name Catholic Church and active in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, St. Ann's Guild and sang in the choir. Over many years she volunteered as a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader and a CCD teacher. She enjoyed Hobby Club, square dancing and Marcus High School sports. She loved playing pinochle and 500 in long-time card clubs and working in her vegetable and flower gardens. After moving to town, Irene worked at the Heartland Care Center kitchen until she began a long battle against lymphoma.
Survivors include her husband, Gerald of Marcus; seven children, Jean and her husband, Alan Peterson of Ft. Pierre, S.D., Mary and her husband, Ken Haselhoff of Quimby, Iowa, Julia and her husband, Bill Simpson of East Providence, R.I., Nancy and her husband, Larry Sinnwell of West Des Moines, Kenneth and his wife, Chris of Sioux Falls, S.D., Michael of Milford, Iowa, and Robert and his wife, Sandra of Sioux Falls; 19 grandchildren and their spouses, Adam Peterson, Kristine (Haselhoff) and Brian Granville, Sharon Haselhoff, Janet (Haselhoff) Geoff Gibbons, Brian and Andrea Haselhoff, Mallory and Emily Simpson, Laura and Tim Sinnwell, Shelbie and Coltin Meylor, Dustin and Nia Weise, Vanessa (Johnson) and Tom Jorgensen, Nikki (Johnson) and Santos Beal, Matthew, Madalyn and Kaitlyn Meylor, and Mitchell and Eddie Meylor; nine great-grandchildren, Joshua Granville, Clare and Ella Haselhoff, John and Jalen Weise, Dylan and Jillian Jorgensen, and Nevaeh and Ashton Beal; a brother, Robert and
his wife, Lorraine Fischer of Granville, Iowa; two sisters, Florence Pottebaum of Alton, Iowa, and Lorraine Becker of Granville; and two stepsisters, Catherine Pohlen of Hospers, Iowa, and Bertie Full of Canby, Minn.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her stepmother; parents-in-law; her son, Eddie; her grandson, Eric Peterson; daughter-in-law, Cindy Meylor; brother, Clarence Fischer; sister, Lillian Von Arb; two stepsisters, Angie Grady and Delia Alsup; and three stepbrothers, John, Harold and Lawrence Reichle.
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteAs you may recall, I am the granddaughter of Lorraine Schouten who passed away a number of years ago. I would like to make a personal request out to anyone that knew her to contact me directly and privately at iamsuger@gmail.com
I still miss grandma dearly to this day, and I find myself asking a lot of questions about how life in Marcus was? Who was she? What kind of music did she like? Did she go to the dances? So many things that I never got a chance to ask her before she was gone, bubble up for me now.
If you could find some time to share with me some stories from her youth, and help me understand more about the woman I call grandma, and love miss so much.
Many thanks in advance.
-Kirsten
I just read the current issue of "The Iowan".
ReplyDeleteIn it was an article about pioneer cemeteries - defined as those having 6 or fewer burials in the past 50 years.
Twenty six counties in our state have created cemetery commissions under a state enactment in 1996 creating the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries.
Are there any such "pioneer cemeteries" in the vicinity of Marcus?
In the 1930's the WPA provided support for each Iowa county to conduct a survey of every known cemetery. Information from every stone found in each county was written down, except those for children.
Just wondering if the remains of any of our Marcus pioneers are out there in those relatively obscure grave sites?
Fred
As I was doing a Google search yesterday I came across this website. It is only recently that I moved away from Marcus but I must admit I never knew this blog existed. But even more interesting is I found the article that was written about the Haiti Medical Mission trip that was preparing to leave in October 2008. I was a part of that mission trip. So in light of that I thought I should post a follow up and let you know what was accomplished and experienced on that trip.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time ever the Haitians of Mizak had the opportunity to be assessed by a team of nurses and a doctor. We held clinic 10 out of the 14 days we were there. Each morning as we left our house on the top of the hill we could hear the roar of the crowd waiting at the clinic in hopes that they would get to see a doctor or nurse. It is estimated that over the course of those 10 days we treated 1300 plus patients. Common ailments were stomach pain, itchy/infected rashes, headaches, dizziness, burning eyes and poor vision, and back and knee pain. We were able to treat those with infections with antibiotics, eye drops to soothe the burning eyes, and some were able to get fitted with a pair of glasses. Others received ointments to ease the itching and medicaitons to calm the stomach pains. We found a majority of the patients to have severely high blood pressure. Blood pressure medications were in short supply so everyone was encouraged to watch the salt intake in their diet. We were able to assist with suturing up some machete wounds and also lacerations that a young man sustained after falling out of a tree. It was our privilege to assist a 16 year old mother with the delivery of her baby. There were also those who were too sick for us to treat and who needed hospitalization. The nearest hospital is 8 miles away. The only means for them to get there would be to walk as they could not even afford to hire a "tap tap" or a motorcycle. And also they would have to have the money up front once they got to the hospital before they could even get seen. There were two incidence where the team pooled their money together so that the Haitian could get to the hospital and be treated.
We had also received a large donation of some tooth varnish which made it possible for us to give over 750 children a fluoride treatment to their teeth and then supply them with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I know I speak for all the team members who went in 2008 that it was a life changing experience. I believe we all came back with more than we gave. There is so much to tell that there is no way I could put it all in this blog. Anyone of us would be happy to share our experience with you and show you the pictures. Just ask.
The enthusiasm is building as we are planning for a return visit July 2009. We are hopefully that not only will we be sending a medical team but that a construction team will also be able go about that same time.
So as we prepare for a return visit you will see us doing a number of fundraisers. Give it some prayerful thought to support us in our mission either with monetary donations or by joining the team.
The money that we raise is used to purchase medicines and medical supplies and construction materials.
Here are the names of team memeber you can contact for more information: Vickie Rainboth, Kay Ogren, John Schneider, Mary Hohbach, Barb Martin, Melissa Tabke, Tonia Schmillen, Pastor Gary McDonough, Nancy Hier, or Terry Groen (Ames).
Thank-you for all your suppport,
Terry Groen
Anybody out planting yet or is it a bit early?
ReplyDeleteWishful thinking?
ReplyDeleteThe ground is still frozen!(But the Robins are back.)
from Bob Reed
ReplyDeleteTHE BEAUTY OF BOOKS
I’ve been in love with books all my life. Like most writers, I’m a “reader.” My dad used to jokingly complain that I always had my nose in a book. But he—along with my mother—was also a voracious reader.
And it was she who introduced me to the Marcus Library. The ladies of our town had taken the lead in founding the institution. They started in 1911 with sixty-five donated books in a confectionary store on Main Street, according to an article in the "Centennial History" of our town.
Forty women formed the Marcus Library Association in that year and began agitating for a permanent home. But they were forced to move their growing collection of books to a doctor’s office, and a fire forced them to the post office, and then upstairs over one of the banks, and then to the second floor of another bank on the Main Street corner in 1917.
They moved the books again to the wooden City Hall on North Main Street in the 1920s, but their still-growing collection forced other moves to rented spaces, again above the two banks at the beginning of the 1930’s depression. But in 1932 they finally persevered and won the battle to become a tax-supported institution. They were recognized and “official.”
How I remember the wonderful smell of leather, paper, and glue in the place above one of the banks and then later on the second floor of the Tuft Building on Main Street! I devoured the "Wizard of Oz" books, and got lost in the open stacks, sitting and scanning the pages of a possible new adventure. The world was at my arm’s length, and I was only nine years old, in a small village!
I discovered new ideas and my imagination soared and was stretched by my reading. Without my knowing it, my mind was challenged to think not “outside the box” but “without a box.”
The Library moved again, to the new Municipal Building, in 1942 and to more “modern” facilities. I visited it weekly. And with a grant of $75,000 from the estate of Mrs. W. L. Gund in 1962, the organization built its final home on Locust Street.
The Gund Library is modern and computer-driven with a great children’s collection, a fine meeting room, and dedicated librarians. If the roof leaks, the town pays for it.
But the book is being redefined. It is, as we know it, in peril. In this digital age, we are being swamped by new devices that allow us to read.
Electronic books have been with us since the 1970s, but now the Sony Reader and new Amazon Kindle 2, along with iPhones, make one-handed page-turning and reading easy. Books are now available in a bewildering variety of electronic forms.
And it’s no secret that our youth live on line. Some eighty percent of kids today have cell phones, and books will soon be available there. Even libraries have begun offering digital collections
Though e-books now constitute only one percent of the income for publishers, the future is clear. The prices for such devices (now about $250) will come down and new availabilities will be very cheap. Some say that we are only one reading device away from the time that e-books will sell more copies than paper books.
Where does that leave us? What will happen to our library—and particularly with our youngsters? Will they continue to use it? Perhaps we should be worrying less about the delivery systems and more about fostering more sustained reading in kids.
But I, for one, will miss the ink and the cloth board, bound in leather, with deckle-edged paper and Smyth-sewn signatures. The book is a beautiful object that feels warm in the hands and even smells good when you turn a page for the first time.
As John Updike once noted, it’s a sort of a modest, bow-tie experience, rather than black tie. I’m a believer in the printed version as the object to faithfully record the human experience. Am I just old-fashioned?
Bob Reed
The Marcus Library was my treat, my refuge, my world. I still am in love with libraries. I know we have already lost good newspapers in many areas of the country, with more to follow. I hold out hope that libraries will not follow the same course.
ReplyDeleteDear Laura Ingalls Wilder
Julia Meylor Simpson
Remember those dark nights you huddled near me
on the drafty linoleum landing under a yellow light bulb?
You whispered stories, while I turned page after page
to learn if Pa had found his way home through the blizzard.
We battled grasshoppers, prairie fires and scarlet fever
while Dad laughed along with Johnny Carson downstairs.
I gathered in your words like sun-dried sheets on the line,
followed your trail of black-eyed susans outside my door.
Years later, I walked DeSmet streets and Dakota prairie
where girls in bonnets and red calico pretended to be you.
I found myself on a rise above your cold desolate dugout,
leaning into the same wind that clawed your brown braids.
I followed a trickling gully past an uprooted cottonwood,
knowing you’d been here, buttoning up your innocence.
[Originally published in the Connecticut River Review]
from Corinne Alesch
ReplyDeleteBob, Julia, and all,
Now you’ve done it – you’ve printed my favorite word – libraries! When I was a little girl, there was a routine followed every summer Saturday. We spent every Saturday morning cleaning our farm house from top to bottom. On Saturday afternoon, we drove the 3 ½ miles of gravel roads to town. While mom bought the weekly groceries at Johnny Clarkson’s IGA, I gleefully browsed the shelves of the Marcus library in the Municipal Building. Bob, I also read the entire series of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz books. I also remember reading the Hardy Boy series and many of the Nancy Drew books. And Julia, I, too, have surely read every book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In more recent years I have discovered L. M. Montgomery, and my current favorite, Jan Karon. Each Saturday, I selected several books and wrote my name on the card, which was then stamped by Mrs. Mossman. After putting my new found treasures in our Pontiac Catalina, I went in the grocery store to check in with mom. Then, there was the next happy excursion…. a visit to the dime store. The actual name of the store was Kimball’s Variety, but I knew it only as the dime store. That is exactly how much money I had …. one dime. With those 10 cents, I could buy 10 pieces of penny candy. The boxes of candy were presented at child eye-level and 10 pieces could be selected and put on the counter for counting. Selecting the 10 pieces of candy took the same thoughtful process as selecting the library books. Then these treasures were put in a small brown paper bag. In those days, the sales tax rate was 3%, so there was no sales tax on a 10 cent purchase. Then it was back to the car to savor books and candy. These days, I find libraries in any town a source of refuge.
Corinne Alesch
Corinne,
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat! Thanks for capturing a farm kid's visit to town so perfectly!
JMS, I enjoyed your poem very much. Thanks for sharing it. Irv Deichmann
ReplyDeleteIsn't Julia incredible? I consider it an honor when she shares one of her poems with me. I think she should be declared Poet Laureate of something or other, perhaps Ex Officio of Marcu!By the way, Irv, it's been rumored that you have been doing some versifying. Could you "blog" us one of yours?
ReplyDeleteMargaret Dorr
(Something I wrote awhile ago, and this blog seems the most appropriate place to share it. Thanks again. JMS)
ReplyDeleteThe More Common Reader
Learning of my life-long love for reading, a coworker recently left his copy of Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998) on my desk. The title of this exquisite collection of essays led me by the hand. I was eager to compare notes with a “kindred spirit.”
But wait.
Within the first few pages, I realized Fadiman’s experience with books was a yellow brick road away from my own. Was her background really so “common”?
Born in 1953 and a native of New York, Fadiman toddled into a family of literati with a stacked-to-the-ceiling home library. Their tomes numbered in the thousands, complete with various sets of Shakespeare and every deceased European writer and living American writer of any merit. Fadiman’s love of books was both nature and nurture – as a toddler she noted that she even used leather-bound classics as building blocks.
I, in comparison, was born in 1957 and grew up on a farm near Marcus, Iowa, with six siblings. My reading at home included a set of the Book of Knowledge and Grolier’s encyclopedias, Reader’s Digest condensed books, a jumbo box of comics bought at a farm sale, dated medical books, a handful of cardboard-cover classics, sundry magazines, a fat family Bible, and a huge assortment of Scholastic paperbacks bought through school.
Plus, I owned a library card – meaning, to me at least, a renewable and higher-than-the-sky source of books, books, and more books.
I lie.
There was no library card. At the Marcus Library, all I had to do was write my name on the small lined “Date due” card which the librarian then stamped.
Actually, there wasn’t even a real library in the early 1960s, just a large room in the small town’s municipal building on Main Street. However, that all changed when a generous soul left the town enough money to build the W.L. Gund Memorial Library on a quiet, tree-lined street off Main.
Here, then, a well-heeled, old lady planted the seed of my love affair with books.
One day a week after lunch, students at Holy Name Catholic School, which I attended through eighth grade, were allowed to walk the four blocks to the then brand-new town library to take out books. I went, no pun intended, religiously.
I still remember moving from the children’s book room, to the young adult section, and then the adult shelves – worried that someone would pull me back, set down limits. But the librarian never said a word – and my world grew wider, filling up with more stories and characters and worlds each time.
Throughout high school my love affair with books took a nosedive as it competed with real-life crushes on basketball stars and bad boys and a few boyfriends who never whispered the titles of books in my ear. But looking back at my senior memory book, I realized that I must have spent some hours reading because that was the year I read Gone With the Wind, In Cold Blood and Go Tell It on the Mountain. So, no doubt the love for books endured.
Today, I live halfway across the country, but every year when I return to Marcus to visit family and friends, I make sure to walk the familiar blocks to the library to wander among the displays of books, use the computers, and read the local newspapers. The building’s quiet hum and sense of cool composure always takes me back to my early fondness for this calm space and the wealth it still offers.
I may have envied Fadiman’s comfortable world where a room full of books from floor to ceiling was a closed door away, but not for long. Without having met her, I know I have experienced the same sense of discovery, the same feeling of being lost in worlds I would never have known except in Garamond typeface.
In two very different worlds, we both found a love for the written word because someone made sure we had the opportunity to do so. As common readers, I’m sure we are both forever grateful.
# # #
An additional thanks to Julia for sharing her artful work and sparking memories of the library (or, depending on your age, libraries) in town.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I always enjoyed going to the Gund library. I didn't go as much as I should have but I remember walking in and appreciating even as a small child its architecture and design. Is there another building in town as well designed inside and out? (And am I the only one saddened when the windows above the stacks were enclosed?) The place always made me feel as though the town had allocated limited resources to something special and it would be almost disrespectful not to appreciate and use it.
What a gift to the community by Mrs. Gund. She was before my time but seems to me she deserves a place amongst the folks who really made a difference in the town.
I do appreciate our fine library. It contributes so much to our quality of life. Maxine Shea's dedicated services are really remarkable. She is the BEST!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with the previous blogger concerning the architectural design. The windows had to be covered because the utility bills were prohibitive! There have been problems with the roof since day-one, necessitating costly repairs from time to time. Too, the large slabs of exterior stone are out of proportion with the style of the building, in my estimation.
A fine library? Yes! Well designed? I am afraid I disagree.
Margaret Dorr
Hello,my name is Jack Wittkopp. I am one of the grandsons of Mr. and Mrs. Leland Grauer. My mother was Lola Wittkopp, my father Arno Wittkopp. I was browsing looking for the address of the Trinity Lutheran Cemetary to go visit my folks graves this summer. I ran across this wonderful site. I cannot tell you how happy I was. My childhood is filled to visits at Marcus, the relatives, the Dorrs, the Grauers, the Wittkopps, the Ericksons etc. I just want to let everyone know that my favorite memory around Marcus was baling hay at Grandpa Grauer's farm and then Grandpa filling the horse trough with cold water for me to "swim' in!! It was heaven! If anyone has memories to share about my relatives I would love it! Many thanks, Jack Wittkopp Austin, MN
ReplyDeleteHi guys. I have lived in Marcus for 3 years in April. I have no friends in this town. I am not a bad person and the rumors that are going around are not true. I just want to be able to stay in this town without having the feeling of people judging my family. I want to make friends but I don't know how to go about doing that. I don't know what organizations I can join. I would love to meet other couples that have young children, as I have 2 little boys of my own. Please, if there are any organizations I can join and meet people please let me know.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, it is appreciated.
Tonya
Try attending a local church and getting to know some of the people that attend regularly and maybe find a job locally where you will meet others from town. Not sure but there are bowling leagues, moms goups that meet in the Meriden Evangelical Church, parenting group that meets at the Methodist church in Marcus with supper and free daycare, Often just walking around town in the summer will help you meet others with similar interest and kids the same age.
ReplyDeleteHi Tonya!
ReplyDeleteMarcus people are friendly folk! There are many ways to get to know them. At church and with the volunteers at the Community Center, the Marcus Historical Society, the Marcus Fair, the Marcettes, Garden Club, Library etc. They are always looking for volunteers and members and the fees are modest or nothing.
Watch the "Marcus News" for notices of the groups and when they meet. Follow up on any suggestions of groups or orgianizations to join by any folks you meet.There are many opportunities! Volunteer in the things you are interested in.
Take your kids to the swimming pool this summer--and to the Library kid's programs. Go bowling or golfing.
Don't be shy. Wear a smile. It will be returned! I know you will find a warm home in our town.
Does anyone know if this Tonya post is for real or not? Seems very odd that someone would make such a public post.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I love this town and my house, and I want my children to go to a good school. My oldest son will be starting head start this fall. Yes I am for real and the reason I made it so public was because like I had said earlier, I don't really know anybody here. I am very shy and it is hard for me to warm up to alot of people. My family loves going for walks in the summer and when it is not snowing anymore. We are rarely home because we are a young couple with two little children and are always in Sioux City looking for teaching things. My oldest will be 3 in July and has some autistic tendencies so it is hard to get him around other children without him hitting them. This is the reason I made it public. I am sorry if I have offended anybody.
ReplyDeleteSo who is the first to plant this year? Surely someone has had the planter in the field by now.
ReplyDeleteTonya, what is your last name? The Marcus Jaycees are also a great group to join with a lot of young couples with children.
ReplyDeleteThere are just a few who've been in the fields. The season is unusually late. I expect it's going to be one of those years when we go from the furnace to the AC all in one day. Then we'll be fussing because it's too hot!!
ReplyDeleteDid you all know that Fern Addy passed away on April 1, just a couple of weeks before her 94th birthday? She had really left us a few years ago so it's a blessing that she and Charlie are together again. It was nice seeing the family.
Hope you all had a Blessed Easter!
Margaret Dorr
The author, Bill Bryson, has been discussed on this blog in the past. A week or so ago I had the good fortune to hear him talk at Drake University.
ReplyDeleteHe was back in his hometown of Des Moines for several events, including presentation of an honorary degree from Drake.
He told the assembled 4,500 people that, "It took me 7 years to get through Drake. If I had known then that they were going to simply hand me one of these degrees later, I could have avoided all of that."
He had wonderful stories to recount about growing up in Iowa; how the English (he now lives in England) have a sense of humor similar to that of Iowans; his time at the Register as a kid - where his mother and father both worked; and how much he loves the fact that he got to grow up as the "Thunderbolt Kid" in the 50's and early 60's in our state.
In commenting on humor he remarked that he once thought all people shared the same sense. He was disabused of that notion by living for a few years in Vermont.
During his residence in that state, after returning from an extended trip to the West Coast, and having missed connecting flights due to bad weather, being grounded for a bit and spending extra hours in airports, he shared his misfortune with one of his neighbors.
When asked by his neighbor who he had flown with (intending "What airline?" no doubt), Bryson responded, "Why, I don't know. They were all strangers to me."
The neighbor simply stared at him in confusion. Bryson commented that such would not have been the response in either Iowa or England.
Suffice it to say that he had the crowd in his hands for almost 2 hours that night. It was a great experience. Catch him if ever you can.
Fred
from Bob Reed
ReplyDeleteCHOOK-ITA CHOOK-ITA CHOOK-ITA CHOOK-ITA
That—to me—was the rhythmic sound of a train as it rolled past the Marcus Depot, or as I heard it as it lulled me to sleep aboard one of the passenger cars. It was hypnotic.
And now the Obama administration has just announced that it is planning on using some stimulus money to upgrade our nation’s rail system. To this oldtimer, it‘s about time.
Growing up in the 1930s and ’40s, trains were a big part of my life. And a big part of the life of everyone else in our town.
My dad was the Station Master (Depot Agent) at the Illinois Central Railroad building at the north end of Main. He served there for nearly twenty years.
The large, handsome, brick building was constructed in 1916. It replaced a smaller wooden one that had been constructed in 1870, just before the town was officially formed. The new one cost $10,000 and the princely sum was an indication of the rising economic importance to the railroad of Marcus business.
For our town boasted of being the largest shipping point for corn and grain—and hogs and cattle—even occasionally chickens—on the Illinois Central line.
It was not unusual to see seventeen or twenty cars loaded and shipped out in one day, as the farmers surrounding Marcus fed the eastern markets. It was a bonanza time for the elevators, the stockyards down by the depot—and the farmers.
Some of the sellers accompanied their product, riding in the red caboose. They returned with tall tales, reporting that “everything was up to date” in the metropolis where they landed—Sioux City or Chicago.
The depot also served as the primary importer of groceries, furniture, implements, and coal for the town. Box cars were unloaded and delivered to business customers and anxiously awaiting individuals. In the days before the interstates made trucking a real option, most consumer goods coming into Marcus came by train.
During the blizzards of 1936 when all other access to the town was closed, my dad spent days and nights at the depot, coordinating relief trains, while volunteers dug them out as they tried to get into Marcus with essential goods.
The place also served as the towns’ main communicator with the outside world. Telegraph messages of births, weddings, illnesses, and deaths were sent and received in the days before the “long distance” telephone was economically feasible. And the depot’s clock was the timepiece for the community, for each day the office received the official time from Washington D.C. (via Greenwich).
Our citizens also departed for visits to neighboring communities and far-off places with strange sounding names at the depot. “All aboard,” cried the Conductor. As riders on the morning and afternoon passenger trains, they endured the coal-driven ash from the engine, adjusted to the rolling gait of the car, and enjoyed the landscape and passing scenery in 3-D.
I was one fortunate kid. Each summer, my dad got “passes” on the many competing lines and we traveled on his vacation all over the United States. I saw smoky inner-city backsides and gritty decay and new suburbs and water falls and canyons and brown tranquil plains that transformed into mountains. There were old mines and lonely farmsteads, and forests and deserts, and the oceans and lakes and wildlife. By the time I was 14, I had been in forty of the forty-eight states.
And I saw people. Hundreds of them. All of them going somewhere. And all of them friendly as could be, forming a temporary community.
Abraham Lincoln’s dream about a transcontinental railroad forging a national unity had been realized. For as a train crossed borders, the boundaries disappeared. Folks became egalitarian and talkative. Passengers formed little groups, sharing snacks and intimate conversations. It was a town square, a neighborhood tavern, a moving meeting place. And you didn’t have to take your shoes off to board.
Sadly those were the days of fading innocence. After 101 years, the passenger service in our town was discontinued in 1971 and the dilapidated brick depot was destroyed in 1995.
Today, they still ship some grain out of Marcus. And it’s still possible to cross the 3,585 miles of our country via train. It takes four days. But does anyone have the time?
If they do, I hope they will hear (as I occasionally do in falling asleep) that wondrous sound—
chook-ita chook-ita chook-ita chook-ita.
Bob Reed
I was sad to see that old depot torn down. Wish it could have been saved somehow.
ReplyDeleteBob:
ReplyDeleteGreat memories of riding the Illinois-Central (Hawkeye) out of Marcus, all brought back by your musings. Thanks for taking the time to write it down for us all to enjoy.
I had a friend in college - train buff - who skipped school for about three days to ride the last run of The City of New Orleans. He still talks about it. I have another friend here in Des Moines who has taken photos of most every depot in our state. He has ridden trains all over the world and, in fact, is very active in a group known as The Lionel Train Association, or some such. He can talk trains for hours.
In short, what I have learned is that the people who are bitten by the bug have it bad.
My local friend convinced a few guys here in town to get up at the crack of dawn a year or two ago to go see one of the last, big, operating steam engines which comes out of Cheyenne, Wyoming periodically for runs through the central U.S. It was a monster. Very impressive.
Our minister and his wife, last summer, took off from Iowa by train, travelled through Denver, on through the Rockies, up the coast of Oregon and Washington and then returned on the Candadian Pacific. He regaled the congregation with stories of dining and club car experiences, all the different types of people they met, sitting for hours in the observation cars, and sleeping in the Pullmans or whatever they call them now. He had a fascinating time.
So, given your experience, what train ride would you recommend for someone who wants to spend a few days (maybe up to a week) on a trip through the continental U.S.? Westward, through the mountains and on to the coast; north into Canada; southwest; or some other route? I'm curious.
This is getting long, but I wanted to finish with one great senior class experience my Class of 1966 had with trains. While decorating our homecoming float near the Depot we were admiring a freight train that had stopped in Marcus on its way to the West Coast. It was loaded with Vietnam-bound military equipment - jeeps mostly. So, feeling the pull of youthful adventure many of us jumped up into those jeeps, told some friends who stayed behind to come pick us up in Remsen, and hunkered down for the ride as the train pulled out of the station. About a mile out of town we all popped up in the vehicles and started flashing the lights, honking the horns and otherwise making a nuisance of ourselves. The engineer stopped the train while some assistant of his shot flares in the sky (it was pitch black out at the time)trying to figure out what was going on. We all ducked back into our "gopher hojes" and hid during the search. None of us were found. When the train resumed its trip west, up we came again. It was great fun to ride that train at night, outside, with friends who you would likely not ever see much of in the future. What we hadn't planned on was that the train didn't stop in Remsen. Rather, it reduced speed and cruised through town. We all had to do a version of "jump, tuck and roll" to dismount. Everyone got out without a scratch and we still talk about it at class reunions, over 40 years later.
Trains... a big part of growing up in Marcus.
Fred
Hi Fred! I have only been able to ride on east coast trains lately, but here is a tip from train buffs. They say the most remarkable ride is on the Canadian Pacific. You start in Montreal and go though the plains and then the Canadian mountains to Vancover. You can also pick it up midway in Ontario or other stops. Takes four days across the whole country. You can also reverse the trip starting in Vancover. Folks unwind in the magnificant observation car. They say the service is impeccable, the food great and the scenery spectacular--a once in a lifetime experience! It's a sort of Orient Express on the North American continent--without the murder.
ReplyDeleteBob
The discussion of trains brings back such good memories. As most of you recall, I grew up on the farm just north of Marcus across from Sand Seed Service.
ReplyDeleteThe summer months were an exciting time as a child as I would hear the train whistle as it headed into town from the west and I had just enough time to jump on my bike, race down our pasture path, and get there just in time for the train to pass by and the engineer giving me a special "toot". Even though I never met those train engineers, I felt like they knew me.
Other memories were always the warning from one family member to another if someone was headed into town and it was time for a freight train to possibly be coming through, "Watch out for the tracks". I don't remember when the crossing lights were added on the track crossing on Hwy 143, but there was a time when there were no lights.
And, of course, there are the memories of lying in bed hearing the sound of the train. It was such a soothing sound that all was right in the world.
Judy Wilkens
Bob: Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like a wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteJudy: I know what you mean about the train whistle at night. Very reassuring. That sound, the noon whistle and the grain dryers running at night near the elevators are three sounds I always associate with Marcus.
Thinking of trains reminds me of one other story. My family has heard this before. One summer during the early years of high school I rode out to California to visit my sister, with the high school guidance counselor - Wayne Houchins. He was driving to the West Coast. Wayne then went on to other points with one or two other of his family that rode with us. After staying with my sister in Berkeley for a few days the plan was for me to ride the train back to Omaha where my parents would pick me up.
I got on the train in San Francisco and immediately noticed a very attractive girl my age who was traveling with her parents on the same train. Throughout the day I tried to figure out some way to meet her, without success. Then, much to my chagrin, at about three o'clock in the morning I woke up and found myself standing by her seat tapping her on the shoulder, apparently having walked in my sleep to her side and now presumably about to introduce myself. I woke up about the same time she did. I am not sure who was more horrified. I was completely embarrassed by the episode and spent the rest of the next day trying to avoid her and her parents. Whenever they went to the club car, I went to the observation deck. If they came back to the passenger seating area, I immediately went for a walk throughout the rest of the train. What an onboard nightmare. Later, on further reflection, I thought to myself, "What if I had walked in my sleep and fallen off that train?"
So, while most of my train memories are great, a few still haunt me.
My dad also used to tell the story about getting caught in Marcus following a particularly bad snow storm. The only way back to his home in the country was by train. The only train at the siding was a freight train, and the engineers were not taking on passengers. He finally decided on a different approach. He went back uptown, bought a fifth of whiskey and returned to the Depot, whereupon he was welcomed aboard, along with his gift for the crew. The train plowed through the snow to within a quarter mile of his farmstead, east of town, and he slogged through drifts the rest of the way home. He used to tell us that story as an example of, "No doesn't always mean 'No'... somethimes it means come up with a new plan."
To JMS: Sorry to hear of the passing of your mom. She was a wonderful lady.
ReplyDeleteHeard Marv Ebert passed away this past Friday. If so I am sorry to hear about this and extend my condolences to the whole family.
ReplyDeleteMarvin L. Ebert
ReplyDeleteStoryLeave A TributePosted: Sunday, May 03, 2009
MARCUS, Iowa -- Marvin L. Ebert, 78, of Marcus passed away Friday, May 1, 2009, at Heartland Care Center in Marcus.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Peace Lutheran Church in Marcus, with the Rev. James L. Gruber officiating. Interment will be in Marcus-Amherst Cemetery at Marcus, with military respects provided by F.I. Goodburn Post 517. Visitation will be 2 to 8 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m., at Earnest-Johnson Funeral Home in Marcus. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services Monday at the church.
Marvin Lee Ebert was born on the family farm near Cleghorn, Iowa, on Dec. 11, 1930, the third child of Irena Sophia Katharina (Schuknecht) and Emil Hans John Ebert. He graduated in 1950 from Marcus High School. Marvin entered into active duty in the U.S. Army on Feb. 12, 1952, from Omaha, Neb., and served his country during the Korean War. After completing his duties during this conflict, Marvin was honorably discharged from the Army on Nov. 11, 1953, from Camp Carson, Colo.
Marvin met Lorna Joyce Zellmer, the love of his life and his future wife, at an area dance. The couple were united in marriage on July 20, 1958, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moville, Iowa. Marvin and Lorna became the proud and busy parents of two sons and a daughter.
Marvin lived and worked the greatest share of his life in the Marcus area. After years of learning the intricate details of carpentry, Marvin fulfilled his dream, and Ebert Construction Ltd. became a reality. He was well-known as an accomplished builder. One of the many homes, businesses and construction projects Marvin's company built in his career was Heartland Care Center in Marcus, which was extremely near and dear to his heart. His company completed this large project in 1994 and Marvin's mother, Irena became the first resident of the new facility. In 1995, Ebert Construction accepted the opportunity to build the new Alzheimer's unit at Happy Siesta in Remsen, Iowa.
Marvin was a member of Peace Lutheran Church, a life member of American Legion, F.I. Goodburn Post 517 and a member of the Men's Bowling Association, where he enjoyed serving as an officer and sharing many a fun time on numerous leagues. Marvin was a 25-year member of the Marcus Fire Department and was also a passionate golfer.
Some of Marvin's other interests and hobbies included dancing, fishing, especially for catfish, playing casino games of chance, checking out the area construction job sites, coffee drinking with friends, singing in the church choir and cheering for the "Packers or the Hawkeyes." Marvin delighted in attending the activities of his children and his grandchildren, family holidays and gatherings and feasting on Lorna's good home-cooked meals and baked goods. Marvin is described as an easy-going and friendly guy who was very devoted to his family. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Marvin is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lorna Ebert of Marcus; his two sons, Conrad and Deb Ebert of Marcus, and Keith and Paula Ebert of Omaha; his daughter, Cathy and Kim Carlson of Marcus; his sister, Marlis Donner of Moline, Ill.; and his two brothers, Vernon and Dorothy Ebert of Green Valley, Ariz., and Bernell Ebert of Mason City, Iowa. He will also be dearly cherished by his seven grandchildren, Danielle and Alex Ebert, Lindsay and Patrick Ebert and Gina, Christy and Eric Carlson; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
Preceding Marvin in death were his parents, Emil and Irena Ebert; his two sisters, Delores Means and Bernita Means; and his two brothers, Leon and Orlan Ebert.
Condolences, stories and expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family on the mauerjohnsonfh.com Web site.
Irene C. Meylor
ReplyDeleteStoryLeave A TributePosted: Monday, April 27, 2009
MARCUS, Iowa -- Irene C. Meylor, 78, of Marcus passed away on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Heartland Care Center in Marcus.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Name Catholic Church in Marcus, with the Rev. Eugene Murray officiating. Burial will be in Holy Name Cemetery at Marcus. Visitation will begin 2 p.m. today, with a 3 p.m. rosary service led by Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and a Scriptural prayer service at 7 p.m., at the church. Visitation will resume one hour prior to services Tuesday at the church. The Earnest-Johnson Funeral Home of Marcus is in charge of arrangements. Stories, memories and expressions of sympathy may be directed through www.mauerjohnsonfh.com
Irene Catherine Meylor was born on May 31, 1930, in Hospers, Iowa, to Adolph and Mary (Friedrich) Fischer. When her mother passed away in 1933, her father married Mary Reichle, who had seven children. The family moved to a farm near Granville, where she graduated from Spalding High School in 1948.
On June 29, 1949, Irene and Gerald Meylor were united in marriage at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Granville. The couple farmed near Maryhill and then moved to a farm north of Marcus where they farmed until 1993, when they moved to Marcus.
Irene was a faithful member of Holy Name Catholic Church and active in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, St. Ann's Guild and sang in the choir. Over many years she volunteered as a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader and a CCD teacher. She enjoyed Hobby Club, square dancing and Marcus High School sports. She loved playing pinochle and 500 in long-time card clubs and working in her vegetable and flower gardens. After moving to town, Irene worked at the Heartland Care Center kitchen until she began a long battle against lymphoma.
Survivors include her husband, Gerald of Marcus; seven children, Jean and her husband, Alan Peterson of Ft. Pierre, S.D., Mary and her husband, Ken Haselhoff of Quimby, Iowa, Julia and her husband, Bill Simpson of East Providence, R.I., Nancy and her husband, Larry Sinnwell of West Des Moines, Kenneth and his wife, Chris of Sioux Falls, S.D., Michael of Milford, Iowa, and Robert and his wife, Sandra of Sioux Falls; 19 grandchildren and their spouses, Adam Peterson, Kristine (Haselhoff) and Brian Granville, Sharon Haselhoff, Janet (Haselhoff) Geoff Gibbons, Brian and Andrea Haselhoff, Mallory and Emily Simpson, Laura and Tim Sinnwell, Shelbie and Coltin Meylor, Dustin and Nia Weise, Vanessa (Johnson) and Tom Jorgensen, Nikki (Johnson) and Santos Beal, Matthew, Madalyn and Kaitlyn Meylor, and Mitchell and Eddie Meylor; nine great-grandchildren, Joshua Granville, Clare and Ella Haselhoff, John and Jalen Weise, Dylan and Jillian Jorgensen, and Nevaeh and Ashton Beal; a brother, Robert and
his wife, Lorraine Fischer of Granville, Iowa; two sisters, Florence Pottebaum of Alton, Iowa, and Lorraine Becker of Granville; and two stepsisters, Catherine Pohlen of Hospers, Iowa, and Bertie Full of Canby, Minn.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her stepmother; parents-in-law; her son, Eddie; her grandson, Eric Peterson; daughter-in-law, Cindy Meylor; brother, Clarence Fischer; sister, Lillian Von Arb; two stepsisters, Angie Grady and Delia Alsup; and three stepbrothers, John, Harold and Lawrence Reichle.