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December 31, 2006
December 10, 2006
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We have posted a
physics paper
titled "Overtones, Harmonics, and Fundamentals" by Lawrence
Quinsland of the RHS class of 1928. The paper was among the
materials that his class left in a time capsule that was opened in
July.
December 9, 2006
December 3, 2006
November 30, 2006
November 27, 2006
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Posted an obituary for
Garth Sroufe (RHS 1942),
father to RHS graduates: Marc, Diane, and Al.
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Posted an obituary for
Clara Shimon, mother to
Ronald, Raymond, Marilyn & Carol Shimon. We will post a more
complete obituary when it becomes available.
November 20, 2006
November 16, 2006
October 28, 2006
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Want to have another all-class reunion in 2010?
Nancy Martin (RHS 1951) of the 2005 reunion committee would like to
know if there are people who live within driving distance of Rolfe
who would like to help plan the 20010 event. It seems, for example,
that a couple of people living in the Twin Cities area could work on
decorations, and that someone living elsewhere could work on the
program. Those kinds of things do happen these days with the aid of
telephones and Internet connections. Of course, it is critical to
have local people involved with nuts and bolts things such as
setting up chairs, etc. So rally forth. If interested in serving,
email Nancy.
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Nancy Martin also wants to know if there is someone
from each that that would keep track of his or her classmates
addresses. Deane Gunderson keeps tabs on the class of 1935, Ed
Weiland on the class of 1945, and Glenn Markley on the class of
1955. If interested in volunteering or offering suggestions, email
Nancy.
October 4, 2006
September 15, 2006
September 10, 2006
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A blog-like letter from RHS web site editor, Helen Gunderson.
She explains that there is still a ton of material to post from the RHS
class of 1928 time capsule and tells why she hasn't yet gotten around to
posting it all. The letter meanders from the Rolfe time capsules to
harvesting apples at her family homeplace farm in Pocahontas County to
progress in moving to her new home in Ames to rural connections and to
the value of blogging.
| September 10, 2006 Dear RHS alumni, faculty, and other
Rolfe loyalists...
A few weeks ago, I made great headway in posting
materials from the RHS time capsules. I have finished
posting items from the 1917 capsule but have made only a
dent in all the files that I digitized from the 1928
capsule. Fortunately, it is a big dent. But rest assured,
there is much more to be posted from the latter box. And I
will get the job done in the next few months.
more
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September 2, 2006
August 21, 2006
August 16, 2006
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We have jumped ahead in processing items from the
1928 time capsule and have posted
a group photo and program materials from the 50th anniversary reunion of
the class of 1928 held in 1978. Those materials include a
listing
of the graduation and married names of the students. There is also a
listing
of the birth and death years of seven students and Miss Edna M. Marcum,
the class advisor. It was fascinating to learn that the Rolfe native was
born in 1886 and died in 1972. That means she was 80 years old when she
retired in 1966 from teaching Latin and literature and serving as
principal at the Rolfe schools where she had worked since circa1906.
August 15, 2006
August 11, 2006
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We have finished posting items from the
1917 time capsule. Today's
postings include material from the Rolfe Arrow newspaper on November 16,
1916, and several legal documents related to the bond election for the
new school building.
August 10, 2006
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We have added more items from the
1917 time capsule. Today's
postings include material from the Rolfe Arrow newspaper on September 7, 1916: the
masthead of the paper with an illustration of the new school, a report
on the school bond election, floor plans of the school, an article about
families divided by the presidential campaign, and two advertisements.
August 8, 2006
August 5, 2006
| August 5, 2006 Dear RHS alumni, faculty, and other
Rolfe loyalists...
I am eager to begin working with the digital files that I
made from materials in the time capsules removed from the
Rolfe school. However, I am in the midst of moving from an
apartment where I have lived for the past 13 years in
Gilbert (a small town four miles north of Ames) to a house I
bought in an older section of Ames.
I have moved all of my items that I could easily carry
and cart to the new place with my Honda Civic, taking a trip
a day for the past week. And I have done mundane things such
as putting things in the kitchen cupboards, hanging new
shower curtains, getting new locks, and buying a
dehumidifier. But there will be a lull in the moving
process, while I have a contractor do some upkeep and
repairs, before my furniture, computer, and the remnant of
basic items will be delivered to the new home.
Hopefully, I will find time during that lull to develop a
strategy for the materials from the time capsules and begin
posting some items. The bulk of the materials in the time
capsules were paper documents that I have scanned at either
300 or 600 dots per inch resolution, depending on the nature
of the item. I also photographed a couple of
three-dimensional items. And I transferred an audio cassette
tape made by the class of 1928 at its reunion in 1968 to a
digital file.
Sometimes, once I start a project, I get so interested in
the materials and excited about making them available
on-line that I work too intensely for too long of hours. I
hope that in this case, I can avoid an intense marathon and
pace myself, posting a small batch of items once a week for
several weeks until I have satisfied myself that the job is
well enough done.
I don't know what kinds of interests that visitors to
this site have in the materials. Perhaps some of you don't
give a rip about the contents of the capsules. Perhaps some
of you want to quickly glance at them via your computer
screen, and that will satisfy your curiosity. Perhaps some
of you want to study the documents in depth but but only on
your computer screen. And maybe some of you would like high
resolution files in order to make good prints of some
documents or burn a CD of the audio tape.
The last scenario will be the most problematic. It will
be enough of a challenge to post low resolution files for
viewing or listening via a screen. To make high resolution
files available will be trickier. But at some point, a set
of CDs with the high resolution files will be given to the
PAC schools, the Rolfe library, and the Pocahontas library.
If you or someone you know wants high resolution files, drop
me a note and tell me of your
interests.
I am also open to suggestions for posting the materials.
So if you have suggestions or questions for this whole
process of making copies of the time capsule materials
available, please drop me a note.
Thanks,
Helen |
July 29, 2006
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RHS web site editor, Helen Gunderson, was in Rolfe
earlier this week and spent many long hours at the community center
where she scanned a large percentage of the items from the two time
capsules that had been removed from the Rolfe school property earlier
this year. One box had been in the cornerstone of the three-story, brick
building since it was built in 1917. The other box came from one of the
two brick pillars at the south entrance to the school. The class of 1928
had built the pillars and left a box there when the class graduated. In
1948, 1968, and 1978, the class opened the box, added to it, and
resealed it. In 1978, that year's graduating class was invited to add
materials to the box. It will take awhile to figure out how to format
the digital files of the scans, but rest assured, the images will be
made available to the public. Some will be posted on this site. The
entire batch of files will also be available of CDs that will be given
to the Pocahontas Area School District and the public libraries in Rolfe
and Pocahontas. Arrangements might also be made so that individuals can
request CDs (and perhaps specific files) directly from Helen. However,
first things first. She has to get away from her computer after so many
hours scrunched over it, scanning the documents. The contents of the
boxes are currently at the Rolfe library, but the librarians have not
been authorized to let the public view the items. For further
information about access to viewing the items or about the future of the
items, contact PAC superintendent
Joe Kramer.
July 26, 2006
July 22, 2006
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The Class of 1986
held its first official reunion during Greater Rolfe Days.
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Started a series of web pages specific to
RHS classes, reunion photos, etc.
July 16, 2006
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Jerry Farlow (RHS 1955) emailed us a
list of links to sites
related to writing, pronunciation, and word use. Miss Marcum would be
proud of his interest as well as ours in such things. And she would
probably be mind-boggled that such resources exist and we could have
such easy access to them via the Internet..
July 13, 2006
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We updated the
story
about the opening of the time capsules.
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Susan Johnson of the Rolfe class of 1958 is retiring
after working for 44 years at the Rolfe State Bank where she is a vice
president and cashier. The bank will hold an open house in her honor
from 9 am to 3 pm on July 26. The public is welcome to attend.
July 12, 2006
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We have posted a blog-like
story
with photos by Helen Gunderson, editor of this web site, about the
Greater Rolfe Days parade and opening of the RHS time capsules after the
parade. We have also posted a
list of the items in the
two time capsules.
July 9, 2006
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The two time capsules from the Rolfe school building
were opened yesterday in a ceremony at the Rolfe community center. We
hope to post photos, a list of items, perhaps some commentary, and maybe
some audio clips from the event later this week.
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We have posted a new
schedule for Ropa's Restaurant.
Thanks to co-owner Pamela Harrold-Link for sending the revised
information.
July 6, 2006
July 5, 2006
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We have created and posted
a PDF file with the schedule for the Greater
Rolfe Days celebration. Events to be held on Thursday through Sunday
(July 6 through the 9th). Don't forget that the two time
capsules that were removed
from the Rolfe school building will be opened after the parade on
Saturday at the Rolfe Community Center.
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On June 29, we received a
letter of thanks from Krista
Winkleblack for the Rolfe alumni scholarship that she received this
spring.
June 27, 2006
June 22, 2006
June 14, 2006
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We have heard of the death
of Steve Pedersen of the class of 1963. He was killed in a trucking
accident on Monday.
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We thought you would like to know a little of the
lineage of Jacob Brinkman and Krista Winkleblack, who graduated from the
Pocahontas Area School District this spring. The two were awarded the
first ever Rolfe Alumni Scholarship and received $300 apiece for that
honor. update
June 11, 2006
April 16, 2006
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We have heard of the death
of James F. Hauck, age 81, of Des Moines, who died on March 25 at the
Des Moines Veterans Hospital. James graduated from RHS in 1942. There is
an on-line
obituary for him published by Iles Funeral Home. Eventually, we will
post the information on this web site.
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We have also heard of the
death of Eva M. Corsair, age 98, of Clarion, who died on April 9, at the
USA Health Care Center in Clarion. There was a brief obituary for her in
the Fort
Dodge Messenger. Eva was a sixth-grade teacher, then a fifth-grade
teacher in the Rolfe schools from the mid-1950s to 1972.
April 15, 2006
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A
book recommendation from RHS web site editor, Helen D. Gunderson, (class
of 1963): Yesterday, there was
an interview with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A
Natural History of Four Meals, on National Public Radio on the
Science Friday program of Talk of the Nation. Most of the discussion
focused on the corn industry. I believe that the U.S. society in
general, but especially people connected to Iowa and Iowa agriculture,
should become aware of the issues that Michael presents about our
nation's dependency on corn, the effect of corn on nutrition, the true
costs of Ethanol, and other topics.
more
April 3, 2006
March 17, 2006
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Added a photo and journal entry by Helen Gunderson, a 1963 RHS graduate and editor of this
web site, to the bulletin board
page.
She recorded the entry on March 15 when she stood at the site of Rolfe's
demolished three-story school building and felt a deep and mystical
impact from what she saw.
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| A
lot is happening regarding the fate of the
gym and the rest of the the school property. We
will try to keep you up to date via our message
board. |
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Note on April 16, 2006.
We apologize, but the message board has been
malfunctioning. You can read messages that have
already been posted, but new messages don't work
well due to gremlins in the software. We
apologize for any inconvenience. |
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And
we have posted
photos
taken during the week of January 23, 2006, of
the demolition of the three-story section of the
Rolfe school that was built in 1917.
We
have also posted an
archive of articles from the Pocahontas
Record-Democrat about the decision to close the
Rolfe school.
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February 23, 2006
February 21, 2006
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Posted an obituary for
James J. Taylor, RHS 1940,
brother to Wallace, Rosemary, Betty and Marge Taylor Kohl.
February 20, 2006
February 16, 2006
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We have found it necessary
to add some protection to the posting form for our message board. You
will still be able to easily access
messages submitted by other people, but you will need our generic
username and password to post messages. To obtain that information,
contact
Chris Simonson (RHS 1979) or
Helen Gunderson (RHS 1963). We apologize
for any inconvenience.
January 28, 2006
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We have posted two sets of
photos of the demolition of the Rolfe school building.
One set is by Greg Kaiser
(RHS class of 1957) and consists of images that he captured inside the
building on the day before demolition began as well as the first attack
of a long reach excavator on the southwest part of the building. The
other set is by Helen
Gunderson (RHS class of 1963), who is the editor of this web site. She
was in Rolfe from the afternoon of January 23 through the end of the day
on January 26, gathering images.
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We have added three of this
past week's photos of the Rolfe school to our
epostcard section and encourage you
to visit it and use it to send images and notes to your friends,
classmates, family members, and colleagues.
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We have also established a
new message board. Even though we have constructed message boards in the
past on this site, they were not used a lot. However, with the current
historical happenings of tearing down the Rolfe school building, we
thought it would be a good time to encourage on-line correspondence
about what is happening and about memories and perspectives.
January 23, 2006
January 20, 2006
January 14, 2006
January 2, 2006
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We have received word that
Don Cleal, a resident of the Rolfe Care Center, died this morning. He was a 1932 graduate of Rolfe High School
and a Rolfe area farmer. He was preceded in death by his wife Frances.
They are the parents of Joan Cleal Drieth (RHS 1962) of Rolfe and Ann
Cleal Bittner (RHS 1966), who owns a gift shop in Pocahontas. We will
post Don's obituary when it becomes available.
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