February 13, 2011
- Outdoor gardening is not that far away. If you are a
gardener, you might like to check out a
site where you can determine the last frost date for
this spring and first freeze date for next fall, then visit
an interactive gardening
timetable
for starting seeds. Of course, you could turn to wise
neighbors in your community who could give you even better
advice. And you might be able to find a neighbor or
greenhouse business that would be willing to use seed that
you choose and start some indoors for you.
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February 12, 2011 — Editor's
corner by Helen Gunderson |
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The imminent arrival of
Valentine’s Day gets some people thinking of
the color red, yummy-but-not-so-healthy
desserts, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates,
candlelight dinners, cupids on Hallmark
cards, and romance between two people of the
opposite sex.
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This past week, not thinking of V-Day at the
time, I cooked my first batch of beet
borscht for 2011. It’s a great winter menu
item, warm and hearty with a jewel red
color. So why not think of it as a V-Day
treat. BTW, for all you folks who turn up
your noses at the thought of vegetables,
especially the likes of beets, the borscht
actually tastes great. Maybe some day, I
will write the story of how I learned to
like beets in the 1970s. Prior to some
friends farming the garden in my back yard
in Fargo and giving me fresh beets to try, I
turned my nose up at beets, too.
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February 11, 2011
- Today's edition of the Des Moines Register had a link
to an
interactive map showing the results of the 2010 census
and the percentage increase or decrease in population for
each of Iowa's 99 counties. Pocahontas County had the
greatest amount of loss of any Iowa county. Its population
decreased from 8,662 in 2000 to 7,310 in 2010. That's a loss
of 15.6 percent. But it's not the first time the county has
led the state in population decline.
- We've posted a
historical chart of changes in Pocahontas county
population, number of farms, average size of farms, and land
values from 1860 to 2010.
- We've also found an interesting map of Iowa's
2010 land values and another map of the
percentage change in land values from 2009 to 2010.
- Also, this past month, the Palmer-Pomeroy and Pocahontas
Area Community School Districts voted to merge. There was a
story in the Register the day of the vote and a follow
up
story.
- And it sounds like the Pocahontas school district is
well underway with building a new high school building.
January 30, 2011
We have posted a large portion
of an interview with Marjorie George Simonson, who died in
December.
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1948 |
1995 |
Marjorie George Simonson
RHS class of 1947 |
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section 1 (length: 13:28)
section 2 (length: 12:48)
section 3 (length: 11:05) |
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obituary |
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Interviewed at her home in Des
Moines in 1996 by Helen
Gunderson for Helen's
documentary
project about the road she
grew up on southwest of Rolfe.
Marjorie begins by talking about
the farm where she lived in the
1940s.
Four
short pieces have already been
part of the RHS Web site audio
gallery. |
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| January 27, 2011 |
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Doris Henderson, age 84, of Fort Dodge, formerly of Rolfe, passed away on
Tuesday, December 28 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge. She was
born September 19, 1926, at Plover. She was the daughter of Fred and Leta
(Heathman) McKim. |
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Doris graduated from Plover High School. On November 14, 1948,
she married Lawrence Henderson at Plover. In 1954, they moved to
Rolfe and continued farming. In 1996, they moved to Pocahontas.
Lawrence passed away in 2005. In 2006, Doris moved to Fort
Dodge.
Doris and Lawrence were the parents of Allen Henderson
(RHS 1970) and Connie Henderson Boyd (1974).
obituary |
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Eldridge Kipfer, age 89, passed away on
December 18, 2010, at the Pocahontas Community Hospital.
He born
on March 14, 1921, near Rolfe to Noah and Bertha (Birky) Kipfer. Eldridge was
educated in area country schools and graduated from Rolfe High School in 1938.
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He served in the Navy during
World War II in the Northern Pacific then returned to the Rolfe
area. On June 6, 1948, he married Bonnie Philp at the United
Methodist Church. They farmed near town, and Bonnie worked along
side Eldridge in the operation of the farm. They also had two
sons: Paul (RHS 1971) and Todd (RHS 1973). Eldridge and Bonnie
lived on the farm until 1986, when they moved into Rolfe.
Eldridge retired from farming in 1992. Bonnie passed away on
January 11,
2010.
obituary |
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January 26, 2011 |
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Marjorie L. (George) Simonson, age 80, of the Des Moines area,
passed away on December 23 at Iowa Lutheran Hospital. She was the daughter of Lyman and Arlene George who were
farming in the Laurens area when she was born in 1930. Then the
family farmed southwest of Rolfe, where Marjorie was a
member of the RHS class of 1947.
obituary |
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