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December 23, 2004
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RHS Alumni Web Site editor, Helen Gunderson, received an
email today from MoveOn.Org. It
includes suggestions for supporting our service personnel in active duty
in Iraq and Afghanistan with phone cards. It also suggests sending funds
to the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies to provide vital
services to displaced Iraqi civilians. We thought the ideas were
important ones to share and have included an abridged version of the
letter below. We are also willing to post other information about
supporting service personnel or humanitarian efforts during this season.
And we would be willing to post photos and letters from Rolfe-related
service personnel who are in active duty.
| Dear MoveOn member, This is a cherished time of year,
when we take time out from the workaday world to focus on our families
and friends.
Our thoughts also naturally go to those in harm's way -- the young
American men and women who won't be with their families this holiday
season, and the Iraqi refugee families that face a long, cold winter.
For the 160,000 men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan, even a holiday
call home can be prohibitively expensive. That's why the United Service
Organizations (USO) has launched "Operation Phone Home" to provide phone
cards to every soldier who wants one in time for the holidays. With just
a few days left, the USO is still trying to hit its goal. To send a
phone card, just go to:
http://www.uso.org/pubs/8_20_2733.cfm
After MoveOn members and many others donated millions of frequent flyer
miles to bring soldiers home during their leave, the Pentagon was
compelled to fully fund all future flights themselves. Your leadership
made the difference then, and it can do so again.
War takes its toll on civilians as well as soldiers. Massive numbers of
Iraqi families that have been displaced by the escalating violence.
Because conditions are so dangerous, humanitarian relief organizations
have withdrawn from Iraq, and the Iraqi winter is closing in. The
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
is one of the very few international organizations still daring to bring
vital services directly to Iraqi civilians.
You can make your donation to the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies, and earmark it for Iraq, at:
http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp
The IFRC is racing to help hundreds of thousands of refugees survive the
winter by providing blankets, heaters, and basic medical supplies. In
the face of increased insurgent violence targeted at government schools,
the Red Crescent has mounted an effort to equip every school with first
aid training and basic medical supplies. They've also been charged with
maintaining the rapidly growing number of orphanages in the most
war-torn parts of the country.
Most of our holiday traditions revolve around the simple metaphor of
bringing light into the darkness. For us here at MoveOn, you're the
single greatest source of light we know. We're awed and honored to be
working with you. Because of you, we know there are brighter times
ahead.
Have a wonderful holiday.
Sincerely,
Adam, Ben, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Justin, Laura, Mari, Noah, Rosalyn,
and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
December 23rd, 2004 |
December 15, 2004
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Nancy Shelgren Martin
(RHS class of 1951) has informed us that the 2005 Rolfe High School
alumni all-class reunion will be on July 9 and 10. The
committee will hold its first meeting
tomorrow night. We will try to keep the this web site updated with
information about the reunion and possible class reunions that will be
held that same weekend.
Many RHS alumni, faculty and staff members, and friends have already
posted their contact and related information in our RHS web site
where they are
now section. We welcome other RHS or Rolfe connected people to add
their information. If you want to update your information, simply go to
the section, fill out the form, and submit your material. Then drop an
email note to Chris Simonson and ask him
to remove your older entry or entries. He probably will do the removal
process about once a week rather than immediately upon receipt of your
note. However, Chris is quite prompt in responding to requests for help
with the site.
The RHS web site also has a chat room.
Right now, there is one flaw with the room. Some text remains on the
system even a few days after people sign off. We will try to fix that so
that the only people who can see the text are the people involved in the
conversation. If any of you would like us to post an announcement in the
"what's new" or "reunion" sections of the RHS site, inviting people from
your class, era, or decade to a conversation at the chat room at a
specified time and date, email us with
your request and relevant information.
Also, we have an essay section
coordinated by our editor, Helen Gunderson. She would love it if more of
you would write something. Don't let memories of Miss Marcum or other
English teachers intimidate you. Also, even if you have already written
a piece for the site, it would be great for you to write something new.
For instance, it would be great to have another one of Jerry Farlow's
stories about his 1950s escapades. Perhaps he could even get his mother,
Dorothy, to write a piece. Or it would be great to have the thoughts of
people who have not previously written for the RHS web site writing
project. Perhaps Dallas Ives (class of 1963) could write about his
perspectives following a career at NASA or someone such as Janis Sue
Wilson (class of 1958) could write her perspectives after making her
home in New York City. Of course, we welcome any perspectives from Rolfe
or any other place on the map that at least generally honor the
guidelines for the essay
section.
December 9, 2004
December 7, 2004
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Added a
reflection by
RHS web site editor, Helen Gunderson (class of 1963) with thoughts about
her Mother's death and what Helen has learned from various prairie
restoration projects that serves as fodder for a potential parable about
life and death.
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Edited Marion Gunderson's
obituary to include the
towns where her adult children reside.
December 1, 2004
November 30, 2004
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We have learned of the death this morning of Marion A.
Gunderson, age 85. Services are pending at Powers Funeral Home in Rolfe.
Marion had been director of the Rolfe Public Library for several years
until she retired in 1998. She and her husband Deane (RHS 1935) lived on
a farm southwest of Rolfe since 1945. Marion moved to the Rolfe Care
Center the day after Thanksgiving in 2003. Deane continues to live on
the farm. They have six adult children who graduated from Rolfe High
School Clara (1960), Charles (1962), Helen (1963), Marti (1966), Peggy
(1969), and Louise (1973). Helen is the editor of the RHS web site.
Earlier this year, she created a
calendar for 2005 of Marion's watercolor paintings. Images and a
biography about Marion from the calendar are posted on Helen's business
web site. Images from the
2004
calendar of Marion's paintings are also on the web site. Marion also
wrote an essay a few
years ago for the RHS web site.
A memorial service is tentatively planned for 11:00 a.m. Saturday
morning December 4th at the Shared Ministry of Rolfe.
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An invitation from the Rolfe Library -
- "A Cup of Christmas Tea"
- Please join the Friends of the Library for a Holiday Open House and
Celebration of the Completion of their Automation, a gift from Marion
Gunderson.
- Saturday, December 4th
- 2:00-4:00 in the library
- Tony and Kim Keller will be presenting
- "A Cup of Christmas Tea" at 3:00 pm
- Refreshments will be served.
November 8, 2004
November 2, 2004
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Helen Gunderson, class of 1963 and editor of the RHS
alumni web site, also edits an unofficial web site for Gilbert, Iowa,
where she lives. The town of 987 people is just north of Ames. She has
written an election-day
essay that offers a grassroots, year around, attitude toward
divisiveness. She may eventually revamp the essay for this site;
however, interested people can go to the Gilbert Gazette now and read
the piece.
October 26, 2004
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Photographer Helen Gunderson (RHS 1963) has created a
color photography calendar for
2005 that includes rural Iowa scenes of grain elevators, corn cribs,
barns, and field work. Several of the images are from the Rolfe area.
September 25, 2004
September 6, 2004
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Added an obituary for
Rev. David L. Peterson who
was recently a pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran in Rolfe.
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Created a page for the kindergarten picture of the
Class of 1974 taken in 1962.
(Actually, only half of the class.)
August 22, 2004
July 22, 2004
June 18, 2004
June 1, 2004
May 26, 2004
May 26, 2004
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More materials regarding the
tornado. There is a map of the path of the storm, an unofficial
inventory of the sites that were hit, some interesting documents from
the National Weather Service in Des Moines, and a couple of video clips
of the tornado as it moved along the south side of Rolfe.
May 25, 2004
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Initial photos and a report
after touring tornado damage and cleanup efforts in the Rolfe area.
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Email from
Jennifer Trenary whose farm place was hit by the tornado and a link to
her photo gallery of images of the damage and cleanup.
May 21, 2004
May 14, 2004
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RHS alumni web editor, Helen Gunderson, has begun
posting what she calls a
quasi-webcam
of her container garden. It's not a live, 24-7 project. However, she
will occasionally photograph the garden that's on her deck and post some
images. The resident of Gilbert, a town of 1000 people located on what
she calls the northern slope of Ames, Iowa, is neither a novice gardener
nor someone who really knows what to do to make a garden grow. But she
looks forward to the summer fun of being closely attuned to nature and
what the plants are doing, photographing the effort, and sharing the
images. And she'll be working with friends on a neighborhood zinnia plot
for Gilbert's 125th anniversary where all the residents are encouraged
to plant zinnias for the occasion. She will post photos of that project
and other zinnia beds around the town.
May 3, 2004
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Photos
of 2003 Greater Rolfe Days parade by Helen Gunderson.
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The Pocahontas Record-Democrat has sent us files of the
articles it has written about the status of the Rolfe school building
and discussions by the school board and public about the future of the
facility. We will post those articles in the near future.
April 29, 2004
April 28, 2004
April 19, 2004
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Chuck Offenburger has written a beautiful memorial on
his web
site that provides great insight into his brother Dan and Dan's
values.
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Bruce Beckord (RHS class of 1961) emailed us tonight to
report the death of former Rolfe business woman, Helen Phillips. She was
the former owner of the Gift Galley and died today in Pocahontas.
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We took a
photo this
afternoon of the Rolfe school building. It was empty and cordoned off
with a plastic, orange warning fence.
April 11, 2004
April 2, 2004
March 27, 2004
March 19, 2004
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We've posted a talk,
Toward a Theology of
Power, by Roger Mohr. He begins with a reading about power
from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, a 6th Century BCE philosopher.
He then speaks about his volunteer work on a construction project using
strawbales in an intentional community. He concludes with the premise
that, "The purpose of power is to bring people together to make our
lives better." Roger's background includes a career in construction;
however, he is currently a student at Meadville Lombard Theological
Seminary, the Unitarian Universalist divinity school in Chicago. He also
serves as chaplain at the University of Iowa Hospitals. He presented his
talk on March 14, 2004, at the
Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Ames.
March 11, 2004
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A
conversation with Harold Dreith, a 88-year-old man who farmed in
Oklahoma for much of his life. He and his wife Lydia moved to Rolfe to
be part of the community where their son Ron and Ron's wife at the time,
Joan Cleal Dreith, lived. Joan is a 1962 RHS graduate. Harold tells
about his German father emigrating from Russia to the United States,
education, farming, courting Lydia, and other reflections.
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