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December 31, 2008
December 29, 2008
December 22, 2008
December 12, 2008
December 4, 2008
November 25, 2008
November 19, 2008
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Beth Pearson of Rolfe has written us to announce
that the Rolfe Public Library will host a Christmas tea and present
a humorous skit, The Magi's Wife, at the library at 3 pm on
Sunday, December 7. The Rolfe community will then have a
Hometown
Christmas Celebration from 4 to 7 pm at the RAMS Event Center in the
school gym. The celebration will include a living nativity, kid's
Santa mall, soup supper, strolling carolers, shopping offered by 30
business owners and sales associates, and hot cider served by the Omnicron sorority. The celebration is sponsored by Rolfe Betterment
Incorporation with help from the RAMS Event Center Committee. For
further information, contact Beth
Pearson or Rob and Bobbie Taylor.
November 5, 2008
October 21, 2008
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On the weekend of July 11, the Rolfe High School
class of 1958 celebrated its 50th anniversary with several reunion
activities in Rolfe. Class member, Velma (Shaw) Johnson of
Emmetsburg, sent us a photo of the group and a report of the
weekend, and we have posted her materials.
Thanks Velma. If other classes have photos and/or reports of their
reunions, please send them to us, and
we would be happy to add them to the web site.
September 19, 2008
September 6, 2008
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Deane Gunderson (RHS class of 1935) turns 90 on
September 16. His family is hosting an open house reception for him
from 1 to 4 pm on September 21 at the Rolfe Community Center. Deane
attended a Roosevelt Township school prior his high school years in
Rolfe and was one of the oldest graduates at the all-class reunion
in 2005. We doubt if he has missed any all-class reunions. The Rolfe
area farmer also served on the Rolfe school board and was one of the
early financial contributors to this site. A few years ago, we
posted some of the
columns that he had written in the 1970s for the Rolfe Arrow
newspaper. If you can't attend the reception but want to send Deane
a greeting, you can write to him at his
home.
August 19, 2008
August 18, 2008
August 12, 2008
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We have heard of the death of Jane Marie Traub of
Ottosen. She was Jane Shimon of the Rolfe High School class of 1974.
Her funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August
13 at Saints Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in West Bend with
burial to follow at the West Bend Cemetery. Visitation is from 5 to
8 p.m. Tuesday at the church in West Bend where a vigil service will
be held at 7:30 p.m. Harris Funeral Home of West Bend is in charge
of arrangements. Condolences may be sent to
www.harrisfuneralservices.com.
August 11, 2008
August 10, 2008
July 21, 2008
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Much of Iowa's focus in June was on the rain and
flooding. Then that month flew by, and July is nearly coming to an
end. Tomato and sweet corn harvest has barely begun, but soon
September will slip up on gardeners, and they will be pulling vines
and preparing for the dormant season. OK, so autumn isn't quite
here, and hopefully, there will be plenty of picnics, boating,
swimming, fairs, and other summer activity yet this summer. However,
we wanted to provide a link to an
essay
that our editor, Helen Gunderson of the RHS class of 1963, wrote in
1995 about autumn being her favorite season. Indeed, sometime in the
next couple of weeks, the unique scent of air that signals the start
of school, football season, falling leaves, and corn harvest will be
noticeable. Forgive us if we already provided a link to the essay in
recent years, but we can't find evidence that we did, and we
certainly want to share the
piece
with you.
July 14, 2008
July 4, 2008
June 20, 2008
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June 18, 2008
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At the Memorial Day luncheon at the Lutheran Church
in Rolfe, Dave Spencer (RHS circa 1973) was showing folks a sheaf of
photos he had bought at an auction. The one of the Rolfe Boy Scouts
trip to Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, from June 19 to 27, 1954, was
so striking that we asked if we post it. Thanks Dave. |
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There is an irony in posting it today, considering
the tornado that tore through Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western
Iowa on June 11, killing four scouts and injuring 50 others.
Two
larger views of
full photo with names:
800
pixels wide
1200
pixels wide |
June 17, 2008
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Donna Heathman, age 81 and a life-long resident of
the Rolfe area, died yesterday at the Rolfe Care Center. Funeral
services are at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Shared Ministry of Rolfe.
Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Powers Funeral Home
in Rolfe. Donna's husband Orval died in 1988. The couple had two
children: Linda VanGorkum and Denny Heathman. Both graduated from
Rolfe.
Fort Dodge Messenger obituary
June 10, 2008
June 5, 2008
June 3, 2008
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We have heard of the death of Frances Smith. She
died yesterday at her home in Rolfe. Her husband of 63 years, Ray
Smith, died in February 2007. According to Ray's
obituary, the couple's survivors include:
four daughters. They are Kaye (Mike) Calligan of Altus, Oklahoma;
Judy (Fred) Wayne of Omaha, Nebraska; Diana (Jim) Sandvig of Rolfe;
and Becky (Albert) McMullin of Bellaire, Texas. Ray and Frances have
12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. When it becomes
available, we will post the obituary for Frances.
May 31, 2008
| May 20, 2008 |
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DeAnn Cooper Sindergard, has notified us of the
2008 winners of the Rolfe Alumni Scholarship. They are Jennifer
Stumpf, daughter of Kevin and Shelley Stumpf, and Bridget Zeman,
daughter of Fred and Lisa Zeman. Each winner received $250.
larger photo |
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Jennifer will be attending Simpson College in
Indianola and majoring in biology/pre vet. Bridget will be attending
South Dakota State University in Brookings and majoring in animal
science/pre vet.
Rolfe graduated its last senior class in 1990 and no longer has
its own school district. Nor does it have any school facilities.
However, its students are enrolled in the Pocahontas Area Community
School District, and the Rolfe area has representatives on the PAC
school board.
The Rolfe Alumni Scholarship was started at the
Rolfe all-school reunion in 2005 with donations from alumni. The
scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors from the PAC high
school who live in the original Rolfe school district or whose
parent was a Rolfe alumna or alumnus. The recipients must have at
least a 3.00 or better grade point; participate in a variety of
school, community, and church activities; possess good character,
and plan to attend either a two or four-year college.
DeAnn
taught for several years in the Rolfe schools and was an advisor the
RHS graduating class of 1990. When Rolfe and Pocahontas merged, she
continued her career, but in the PAC schools. She is married to Curt
Sindergard, a graduate of Rolfe High School.
DeAnn says additional donations are needed to continue the RHS
Alumni Scholarship and that donations can be sent to Bill
Winkleblack, a RHS graduate, at the Rolfe State Bank. |
May 12, 2008
May 11, 2008
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Monica M. Sernett, age 89, of Pocahontas, died on May 5, 2008,
at the Rolfe Care Center. She had lived in the Rolfe and Pocahontas
areas her entire life. Her husband
Robert died in 2006 at
the care center. RHS web site editor Helen Gunderson knew the couple
well since they lived in the rural neighborhood where she grew up
and were good friends of Helen's family. In fact, Monica was born on
the same day in the same year in the same township as Helen's father
Deane Gunderson (RHS class of 1935). At the time of Robert's death,
Helen wrote a blog that included a
reflection
about Robert and Monica. Here is an excerpt:
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Bob and Monica moved from their farm to a small home in
Pocahontas in 1989. In 2004, they moved to the Rolfe Care
Center during the time that my mother Marion Gunderson was a
resident there. I recall one of the first nights when Bob
and Monica were at the center. I looked in the dining room
to see if they were there. The staff pointed me to the
social room across the hall where Bob and Monica were
sitting by themselves at a table, and the neatest thing was
that they were each having a glass of dark red wine that the
staff had served them. I would say that Bob and Monica were
a couple of love birds. |
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April 19, 2008
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RHS web site editor, Helen Gunderson (class of
1963), has been digging in her video archives and experimenting with
her video editing software. This week's results include two clips
that we have posted from Rolfe's 2005 all-class
reunion. Both are from the evening
program at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. One is of the crew of
former cheerleaders,
taking the stage and leading the audience in the "Loyalty" with
accompaniment from the community band. The other is of the
band playing the
"Loyalty." Many thanks to all the spirited musicians for bringing
such a great amount of joy to the evening. And a special thanks to
Marilee Kleespies for recruiting an intergenerational group of
instrumentalists and leading the band for the occasion. The video
files are in Windows Media format (wmv) and are large. Hopefully,
many of you have high speed Internet connections and can them. If
you have suggestions, please let us know.
Thanks.
April 16, 2008
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Arlene Rickard Steele (RHS class of 1965) died on
April 10, 2008, in St. Charles, Missouri. There will be a memorial
service for her on April 19 in St. Charles and another service on
April 26 at the Celebration Center, Friendship Haven, in Fort Dodge.
Fort Dodge Messenger obituary
March 8, 2008
| February 22, 2008 There
is a full
obituary for Russel Jordan on-line at the
Roland Funeral Services web site.
February 20, 2008
Former Rolfe area farmer, Russel Jordan, age 88,
died on Tuesday, February 19. He had Parkinson's
Disease for twenty years and was enrolled in
Hospice for the past several weeks. He died at
the Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa.
Russel and his wife Mary Jane moved to a farm
that they rented southwest of Rolfe in 1951.
They returned to the Jordan family farm in the
Atlantic area in 1975 after raising six children
who graduated from Rolfe High School. Russel
also was president of the Rolfe school board.
One of Russel and Mary Jane's daughters,
Jeanne (RHS class of 1969), is a film editor in
the Boston area and produces PBS-style programs.
She and her cinematographer husband, Steve
Ascher, produced a documentary about the Jordan
homeplace that had been in the family since the
Civil War. |
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Russel and Mary Jane nearly lost
the farm to the bank in the early 1990s. The
film, Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern,
won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at
the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for
an Academy Award in 1996. It was shown in
theaters across the nation and around the world.
It also became part of the public television
series, The American Experience. |
| Both Russel and Mary Jane had
key roles in the film; however, Russel was the
most out-spoken, and being a wonderful
storyteller, he became somewhat of a
international celebrity. Mary Jane died in 1995
after being ill with Lou Gehrig's disease.
Russel and Mary Jane are survived by their
children, Pam (Gary) Wolfe of Elk Horn, Judy
(Joe) Marnin of Anita, Janet (Mike) Sharpe of
Red Oak, Jeanne Jordan (Steve Ascher) of Newton,
Mass., Jim (Gini) Jordan of Atlantic, and Jon
(Kim) Jordan of Atlantic. They also have many
grandchildren and probably some great
grandchildren. We have heard that Russel's
memorial service will be on Sunday, February 24.
His obituary in the Atlantic News Telegram says,
"Services are pending at Roland Funeral Home in
Atlantic." |
February 10, 2008
February 1, 2008
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Posted a small obituary for
Glen Neugent
and will attempt to post a more detailed obituary
later.
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Posted an obituary for
Maureen
"Sam" Pedersen who taught in the Rolfe grade
school in the 1950s. She probably went by Miss
Huston.
January 28, 2008
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Glen Neugent, age 80, died on
January 25, 2008, at Trinity Regional Medical Center
in Fort Dodge. He was a resident of Rolfe, and in
his early years in Rolfe had been manager of Iowa
Electric. His funeral is Wednesday January 30 at
10:00 a.m. at the Lutheran Church in Rolfe. His wife
Marjorie died in 1992. Their children are: Lynn
Debel of North Branch, Minnesota; Michelle Lentsch
of Clare, Iowa, and Steven Neugent, of Quincy,
Illinois, who is back for the funeral from active
duty in the military in Iraq.
January 21, 2008
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"Whew!" That's what RHS web site
editor, Helen Gunderson, said today when she
finished posting the last of her scans, photos,
and audio files from the
RHS time capsules.
The boxes were opened during the 2006 Greater
Rolfe Days weekend at a public ceremony at the
Rolfe Public Library. |
| Superintendent
Joe Kramer and board members of the
Pocahontas Area School District facilitated the
event, which involved opening a box from 1917
and another left by the Class of 1928 that had
several subsequent additions of material. Later
that summer, with Kramer's permission, Helen
spent several days at the Rolfe library, sorting
through the materials and digitizing them. Then
over the past several months, when she wasn't
obsessed with gardening, other projects, or
winter hibernating, she posted bits and pieces.
Today, she completed the project. The last
item posted was a photo of a tin trophy with red
ribbon from the Class of 1928 capsule. The note
with the trophy says "Tennis Championship, Class
Day 1928, Won by Russell Ives and Margaret
Pollock." (click on
photo for a larger view)
Helen says she posted the trophy last,
imagining it as a metaphor for her own sense of
personal triumph for completing the marathon of
working with the time capsule materials. She
says, "The project was fun, meaningful, and
prompted a sense of nostalgia at times. But it
was also tedious work, and a sense of
responsibility hovered over my head for a long
time. I am grateful to have the resources to do
this kind of work. But I am also grateful to be
finished. In the years to come, when I think
back to this project I will remember that little
tin trophy. Of course, there were a lot of other
treasures in the time capsules that I will
remember as well."
For the record, Helen knew both Russell Ives
and Margaret Pollock.
Other materials posted today include: the
box from the Sony audio cassette tape that
the Class of 1928 used at its 1968 reunion to
record classmates' and Miss Marcum's
thoughts, souvenir table decorations from
the1978
reunion that included the Class of 1928 and
Jayne Brinkman, president of the Class of 1978,
and newspaper reports of the1978 reunion.
As it is, the time capsules and all the
materials found in them are stored in the safe
at Superintendent Kramer's office in Pocahontas.
At least, that's the last word that Helen heard
about the state of the capsules. She will copy
all of her original time capsule files to DVD's
and send them to Jeff Kerns, who is a 1978
graduate of Rolfe and on the board of directors
of the PAC School District. Her intent is for
him to take them to Kramer with the idea that
the school will keep the set, make copies, and
give them to the Pocahontas and Rolfe public
libraries. The images on this web site are in
low resolution. Persons wishing high resolution
files to make quality copies should eventually
be able to contact the superintendent or
librarians to make arrangements for the files. |
January 18, 2008
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Dennis Pierce, former superintendent
of the PAC School District and a key architect of
the merger with the Rolfe schools in 1990, died
today following a long ordeal with cancer. Pierce
first came to Pocahontas in about 1977 or 1978 and
was at the helm of the district until about five or
six years ago.
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