July 1, 1897 —
L. Schmitz, living north of town, has just completed a large new barn on his farm and on Saturday evening last invited a number of his friends out for an evening social hop. We learn a very pleasant time was had by all who attended and that Mr. and Mrs. Schmitz convinced all that as entertainers they are a success.
On last Sunday evening a couple of our citizens witnessed the spectacle of a young lady taking a bath. There is nothing wrong about taking a bath nor with the boys who were looking. The only thing wrong with the whole transaction is the fact that people should securely draw the blinds and turn the light well down before indulging in this healthy and invigorating custom of all wellregulated households.
100 Years Ago. . .
Mrs. Noah Green had a narrow escape when the haymow door in the barn fell, coming within a few inches of striking her on the head. The accident was caused by the pulleys, which held the door, breaking. A number of horses, which were standing near the barn at the time, became frightened and ran, one of them stepping on one of Mrs.
Green’s feet, but not hurting it very seriously.
Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Weimers of Sioux City purchased the barber shop on the west side of the street, and in addition to the usual lines of barber work, would operate a firstclass beauty parlor for the benefit of the ladies.
It was believed that Henry Nierman’s cows held the record for this part of the country at least.
He had five cows, and in the spring these five cows had given birth to seven calves, two of the cows having twins. None of the cows ever had twin calves before, and all several of the calves had lived and were strong and healthy. This was a record for calf raising hard to equal.
75 Years Ago. . .
Improvements, inside toilets and others, were going to be made at St.
Mary’s Catholic School during the vacation months, it was announced by those in charge of the project.
Tulips, slowed in their spring blooming period by cold weather, were popping out in beautiful multicolored array in a hundred or more tulip gardens in Osmond. The flowers were of exceptional brilliance and quality.
A large crowd of Legion Auxiliary members and guests gathered at the Legion hall to honor their four “Gold Star Mothers.” The eldest, Mrs. E.
Stanosheck, dated from World War I when she lost her only son, Percy.
The others, Mrs. Jess Waddell, Mrs.
Nick Galvin and Mrs. Nick Schomer, all lost sons in the late war. Mrs.
Waddell was ill and not able to be present. First on the program were six little girls — Gloria Liewer, Marvene Koehler, Darlene Koehler, Janet Dickey, June Stamper and Karen Luebbers — who “twirled,” marched out then marched back to pin beautiful corsages on the Gold Star Mothers. The amateur contest was then on with the hilarious “Barber Shop Quartette” singing “Save Your Mug” while Mrs. Ernest Schultz wielded the shaving brush over her victim, Mrs. John Bahr, with Mrs. Theo Schneckloth and Mrs. Bill Koenig “aiding and abetting.”
The city’s comparatively new pavement got its first bath of 1950.
Work was under the direction of Walter Warneke, fire chief. The operation, carried out with the aid of the fire truck booster equipment, was somewhere around a 100 man-hour job. It was done by volunteers.
65 Years Ago. . .
The Osmond Community Club — the organization which originally championed the cause of a hospital at Osmond — voted unanimously to give the hospital $250 to help buy furnishings for a new obstetrical wing being completed. A plea was made in this paper to organizations and individuals to contribute cash to the fund to furnish the addition.
American Legion Post 326 met at the American Legion hall and held a brief dedication ceremony for its new flag. At the same meeting, action was taken to hire a custodian to have charge of the building and its rental.
John Bahr, retired farmer and active Legionnaire, was chosen as the new custodian.
The annual Pierce County 4-H Public Speaking Contest was held in Plainview. There were 10 very able and talented 4-H members entered in the event. Marvalene Kuhl of Pierce and Gerald Buckendahl of Osmond won the girls’ and boys’ senior division, respectively. They would represent Pierce County in the district contest. These two winners each received a 4-H paper weight.
Other contestants included Merlyn Kuhl of Pierce, who received a red award for his talk, “Success.”
The final school picnic of former school district 34 was held on May 15, 1960. Pupils, along with their teacher and many school patrons, gathered for the noon picnic dinner after which games and races were enjoyed by all. The school, which had been in operation for 73 years, had an enrollment of 15 pupils taught by Barbara Tacey. Much of the day’s conversation dwelt on recalling past experiences of former pupils and patrons. Of special interest was the fact that the school, which was built in 1887, had been attended by four generations of the Lorenz family.
Three members of this family group were present at the picnic: Mike Lorenz, his father, Norman, and his grandfather, Walter. The greatgrandfather, the late William Lorenz, had also attended the school when it was first built.
Season tickets for swimming at the Osmond municipal pool would remain at $5 per person for the 1960 season. The village board, which set the price and other pool operational policy, had come in for some criticism on the $5 price, complainants stating that the price was out of line with prices charged in other towns.
50 Years Ago. . .
During an afternoon recognition coffee at Osmond General Hospital, employees of 10 years and more were honored. Employees receiving the service awards were: Alice Holtzclaw, 10 years, 9 months; Ruth Schilling, 11 years, 4 months; Sylvia Libra, 11 years, 6 months; Rudy Dibbert, 11 years, 11 months; Lucille MacDonald, 12 years, 3 months; Gen Wilson, 12 years, 9 months; Evelyn Dibbert, 12 years, 11 months; LaVerne Kieckhafer, 21 years, 10 months.
The Osmond school board accepted the resignation of Superintendent D. L. Vanderheiden, effective the end of the school term. Vanderheiden requested the release from his contract, which had one more year to run, in order to accept a position as superintendent with the school system at Falls City, which had a school system with more than three times as many pupils. Vanderheiden told the board he was leaving with regrets; however, his goal had been to become superintendent of a school of the size he was going to, and he couldn’t ignore the opportunity. The board voted to offer the superintendent position to Delno Fuelberth, who was the secondary principal.
25 Years Ago. . .
Rich Kumm and Anna Gubbels were named the 2000 Osmond High School prom king and queen.
Randy Jochum was named to succeed Greg Sjuts as principal in grades seven through 12 at Osmond Community School for the 2000-01 school term.
10 Years Ago. . .
Kyle Swallow and Cameron Moes qualified for the state track meet, with Kyle taking second in the long jump and Cameron taking first in the 3,200 meters and the 800 meters and second in the 1,600 meters. At the state track meet, Cameron claimed the 3,200 meter title, was seventh in the 1,600 meters and eighth in the 800 meters.
