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Rolfe, Iowa: 1988 Quasquicentennial Parade — Part I

January 17, 2013

2013

This summer the sesquicentennial — 150th “birthday” — of Rolfe, Iowa, will be celebrated*.

From 50 Years Ago

In a previous post, I included a video of the parade and socializing from Rolfe’s centennial taking place in 1963.

From 25 Years Ago

The video below is the first of seven clips from Rolfe’s 1988 125-year celebration … its quasquicentennial. Each of the seven clips is about ten minutes in length. The original footage isn’t crisp; this online version isn’t either. Still, I think it is priceless.

Greg Lund, KCAU news anchor, was the announcer for the 1988 parade. DeAnn Cooper Sindergard assisted Greg with parade line-up details.

The 1988 video was initially in my parents’ (Deane and Marion Gunderson) collection. On the label is written (in handwriting not like that of any family member), “Parade — Rolfe, June 25, 1988, Sesquicentennial.” Obviously it is of the “quasquicentennial” parade and not “sesquicentennial.”

Over the next few days I’ll post the additional six clips of the 1988 parade.

Update 1-21-13: The second segment is posted here. The third and fourth segments are posted here. The fifth segment is posted here. Also, if any video seems jerky, start it and let it play through (with its jerkiness) while you do something else. Then click to run through the video again. Doing so usually works for me.

Update 1-23-13: Today the last two segments were posted here.

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*Rolfe’s sesquicentennial will take place July 12-14, 2013. The Rolfe alumni reunion will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Information about the alumni reunion will be mailed by the end of January 2013 (or, if delayed, by early February). The alumni reunion committee will also have a web site offering many details about the three-day weekend.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

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Posted in Iowa, Rolfe, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

1968: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

August 9, 2012

This page is from the May 23, 1968, issue of the Rolfe Arrow archives at http://rolfe.advantage-preservation.com.* (Click on image twice to magnify.)

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At the end of this post are directions for locating the newspaper article telling about the Rolfe girls’ state meet win.**

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In the gallery below is the Rolfe, Iowa, school yearbook for 1967-68 … my 7th-grade year.

For other Rolfe yearbooks, go to this blog’s home page. At that page, on the right of the screen is a column of “Categories.” In the main category of “Iowa” there is a subcategory of “Rolfe” in which there is a subcategory of “Yearbook.” That sub-category of “Yearbook” is further divided into decades, so far including “1940s,” “1950s” and “1960s.” My hope is to post all of the Rolfe yearbooks by Rolfe’s July 12-14, 2013, sesquicentennial. During the sesquicentennial the Rolfe all-school reunion will also take place.

In the gallery of thumbnail images in this post are images of three watercolors painted by Mother (Marion Gunderson) in 1968. As far as I know, unlike many other years, Mother did not journal in 1968. Therefore, I don’t have any journal entries documenting anything regarding these three paintings.

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Making the Thumbnail Images Larger

1) To see the thumbnail images in slideshow view, click on one of the images. Then navigate forward or backward through the images.

2) To magnify the images even more, once in slideshow view, click on the “Permalink” OR “View Full Size” hyperlink.

3) After clicking on the “Permalink”  OR “View Full Size” hyperlink, if you want to enlarge further, hover your mouse cursor over the image. As you move the cursor over the image, if you see a moving “+” sign, it means you can enlarge the image even further by clicking on it. (A “-” sign means you can’t enlarge it further.)

 

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*101 years (1888-1989) of Rolfe newspapers are online at www.rolfe.advantage-preservation.com. The Rolfe Public Library endorsed this newspaper project; I’ve acted as liaison between the library and Advantage Companies that did the digitizing and is hosting the files. If you notice something that needs to be changed, you may report it by either contacting the company directly, or you may let me know and I can relay it to my contact there.

It is important to note that there *will* be a “Help” link at the link for the newspaper archives. It just might take a little time. In the meantime, if you have questions related to searching, feel free to let me know.

**To locate the article about the Rolfe girls’ state meet win, follow these directions for searching by date: 1) go to the newspaper site, 2) under “Year” click on “show more,” 3) click on “1968,” 4) under “Month” click “May,” 5) under “Day” click on “23,” 6) click on the “hit” that ends with “Page 1.” When there you have the option to arrow forward and backward through that issue’s pages, including the page/image shown at the top of this blog post.

You may also conduct keyword searches.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in 1960s, Rolfe, Yearbook | Leave a Comment »

1963 Centennial Float: “Rolfe Offers Lovely Family Environment”

July 31, 2012

Rolfe, Iowa, 1963 — L to R: Johnny Zeman (driving the truck), Peggy (my next older sister), Louis Zeman and Jim Zeman (two of Johnny’s sons) and Bill Nieman. (Click on image to enlarge.)

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This photo is of my dad’s (Deane Gunderson) 1963 Rolfe, Iowa, centennial parade float, driven by Johnny Zeman*.

In preparation for RAGBRAI going through Rolfe in 2007, my dad had postcards made to hand out as bike riders visited with him about his Cy statue. This red and gold bordered image is a copy of the front of his postcards.

In my certainly-not-biased opinion, Rolfe, Iowa, still does have the “BEST CLIMATE in the WORLD for KIDS and CORN”! This is especially true during this summer’s drought; the Rolfe area has been blessed with more precipitation than that received by many areas of the corn-producing midwest.

In the most recent post I posted a movie that included the Rolfe, Iowa, 1963 centennial parade. In that parade was my dad’s float. It flashes by at about the 5:55 point of the movie.

Below are slide images of his parade entry. They are quite similar to each other. Since I figure my family might want to see all the photos I have of the float (on a chance that each might provide another tidbit re: our formative years), I’m including everything I have. For non-family members, one photo is probably enough, although in each photo I can see a unique flavor. For example, some of the photos were taken at Gunderland (the farmstead where I was raised). I had forgotten we had that great big TV antennae on a rather intrusive big pole. In the black and white photos, I’m pretty sure my grandma’s (DeElda Gunderson) house is in the background. (She died less than a year after this parade.) Also, in some of the photos, I’m the only one wearing a centennial dress. I wonder why I was the “lucky” one!

Hmmm…since the parade was in the first week of July, my dad must have saved this corn from the previous year?????

Click on a thumbnail-sized image to enlarge it. Once enlarged, to enlarge even further, click on the “View Full Size” link. ( I think the clicking to get to the full size view is fickle.) Once in full size view, if you click on the image again, it will enlarge even more. Click through the images to view as a slideshow.

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*In this post you can see Johnny and my dad putting a Christmas tree on top of a brick corn crib.

If you have any Rolfe centennial photos you’d like to share, please email them my way. mariongundersonart@gmail.com (Or USPS mail them my way and I will return them.)

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Rolfe | 1 Comment »

Rolfe, Iowa: A Movie from 49 Years Ago (and getting ready for 1 year from now)

July 16, 2012

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The movie in this post was filmed forty-nine years ago during Rolfe’s centennial. The centennial was celebrated July 4-6, 1963.

One year from now on July 12-14, 2013, Rolfe, Iowa, will celebrate 150 years of existence…its sesquicentennial.

In conjunction with the 2013 event, the Rolfe school alumni reunion will be held on Saturday afternoon and early evening during the sesquicentennial. It will be conveniently sandwiched between other events.

A community-wide program will take place in the evening at the former gym, now known as the RAM Event Center.

Across the three days next summer, festivities are planned. What I’ve heard is that much of the planning will be solidified in early August. As I learn more, I’ll update here periodically. (I do know a walk/run is planned for the morning of Saturday, the 13th. What a fun way to observe or participate and renew acquaintances.)

Back to the movie…

In the 1963 centennial parade, I was on the Presbyterian Church’s float. I’m not sure which one it is, but I remember it had a big cross on it!

At the 3:55 mark, my sister Peggy was on my dad’s float*.

The movie quality is poor. Still…very, very nostalgic.

I think it is easier and better quality to watch this movie when it is not in full-screen mode.

If you can identify anyone in this movie, if you don’t mind, please comment below as to the time marker (approximate minute:second point) in the movie and the person/people at that particular point. For as many points/people as you can! Or, if you have time, please email me. mariongundersonart@gmail.com

I’m always searching for photos, movies and videos, memorabilia, letters, storytelling, etc., that people are willing to share for me to post here. I never post anything without first getting permission from the provider (if still living).

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*In the near future I’ll post photos of my dad’s centennial float.

My mom’s (Marion Gunderson) handwriting on the VHS case for the video (above) says, “From Al Christensen.”

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Iowa, Rolfe | 4 Comments »

1956: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

June 22, 2012

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This photo was taken on my* first birthday, which was in 1956. We are in the basement of the new house that we started moving into on Jan. 23, 1956. Clockwise, starting at the left, is oldest-sister Clara, Mother, Peggy (partially obscured, sitting on the couch), Charles (helping to open my gift), me (partially obscured), Helen (in dark clothing), and Marti (back to camera). I assume my dad took this photo. With us six children under foot, I wonder how Mother EVER had time to paint! I imagine my dad being supportive was a very important factor. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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In the gallery of thumbnail images in this post are images of nine watercolors by Mother (Marion Gunderson). Eight were definitely painted in 1956; I believe the ninth (Holy Family**) was, as well. In Mother’s 1956 journal***, there are twelve or thirteen dates for which she has entries indicating she painted on those dates.

Also in the gallery below are images of the 1956 yearbook of the Rolfe, Iowa, school district. Links to other Rolfe yearbooks are in the “Categories” column at this blog’s homepage. More yearbooks will be added periodically.

If you are wondering why it is a big deal to me to include Mother’s watercolors, a lot of it has to do with profits from prints of the watercolors being donated to the Rolfe Public Library. So far over $4,000 has been donated, much of it going to this project. If you have questions about the prints, you may contact me at mariongundersonart@gmail.com. You may also ask at the library or at Wild Faces Gallery (where the prints are made) in Rolfe. (BTW, for the library and for purchasers, everyone comes out better financially if prints are purchased in person — when possible — as opposed to online.)

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Making the Thumbnail Images Larger

1) To see the thumbnail images in slideshow view, click on one of the images. Then navigate forward or backward through the images.

2) To magnify the images even more, once in slideshow view, click on the “Permalink” or “View Full Size” hyperlink.

3) After clicking on the “Permalink”  or “View Full Size” hyperlink, if you want to enlarge further, hover your mouse cursor over the image. As you move the cursor over the image, if you see a moving “+” sign, it means you can enlarge the image even further by clicking on it. (A “-” sign means you can’t enlarge it further.)

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*Louise Gunderson Shimon  (youngest daughter of Marion)

**Holy Family — see December 1 entry toward the bottom of this post.

****Prints are available.

*** Entries from Mother’s 1956 journal include:

Jan. 2: 1st meal in basement [of new house]

Jan 16: Louise started on Pablum.

Jan. 23: Started moving to new house.

Jan. 30: Clara’s first high heels — for school concert and then 8th grade graduation. Art Ass’n meeting at Lena Vaughn’s in afternoon.

Feb. 6: Johnson Bros. of Ruthven started moving old house.

Feb. 9: Rolfe band had thrill of a concert with Rafael Mendez, trumpeter. Clara wore formal for the first time.

Feb. 20: Deane sold 25 cattle.

Feb. 22: Deane to Sioux City with 19 cattle brought 19¢ a lb.

Mar. 1: Johnny Zeman started working for us.

Mar. 5: Painted with Art Ass’n at Maud Herrick’s. [Does anyone know how I might contact Maud — if still living — or Maud’s family? I believe Mother gave or sold a painting to Maud. If so, I’d like to try to track down an image of it.]

Mar. 6: Painted horse picture.

Mar. 20: Dial telephones installed.

Mar. 25: Louise baptized. She behaved perfectly.

Mar. 30: Oat seeding started.

May 18: Deane to W’loo [Waterloo] to get 70D J.D. tractor that he is to run on experimental basis.

June 18: I painted with art ass’n at Lena Vaughn’s. [In this link’s photo, Lena is “Lena Wiegman.”]

July 10:  Oat combining started.

July 23: I painted Lenox bird picture this afternoon.

July 30: Painted with Art Ass’n at Agnes Neal’s.

Sept. 12: I painted picture of a Bull.

Sept. 24: John Young [2011 photo] took over Bill Brinkman’s Standard Service Station.

Sept. 27: Art Ass’n met here.

Sept. 21: I painted zinnia picture.

Oct. 18: Painted Sculptured Head with ass’n at Myrtle Sabo’s.

October 29: Painted with Art Ass’n at Bertha Van Alstine’s barn in Gilmore — did corn picture.

Nov. 10 and 11: John Deere pheasant hunters here and Evelyn Jirsa [wife of Emil Jirsa]. Poorest hunting yet.

Nov. 19: Sorosis [women’s book review/social club] at Lucerne’s [Hunter, I assume]. Marie  [Hauck?] reviewed Virgil Hancher’s travel diary. [Virgil Hancher graduated in Rolfe’s class of 1914. Before July 2013 I’ll post the 1913 Rolfe yearbook which includes several photos of Virgil.]

Nov. 21: Report cards. _____ had F in deportment. [May or may not be a family member.]

**Dec. 1: Busy — worked on Christmas picture for living room. [I believe this is the Holy Family painting, where Mother also used a cutwork technique. I have one of her paintings of a young woman where she used a similar dark wash and the same cutwork technique to create the outlines. My painting is dated 1958.)

Dec. 10: Painted with Art. Ass’n at F. Beneke’s.

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Photo collection sources may be furnished upon request.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in 1950s, Iowa, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe, Yearbook | 4 Comments »

1954: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

May 13, 2012

In the gallery of thumbnail images in this post are images of 12 watercolors painted in 1954 by Mother (Marion Gunderson). In Mother’s 1954 journal, there are 23 dates for which she has entries indicating she painted on those dates.

Also in the gallery below are images of the 1954 yearbook of the Rolfe, Iowa, school district. Links to other Rolfe yearbooks are in the “Categories” column at this blog’s homepage. More yearbooks will be added periodically.

If you have photos and/or video that relate to Rolfe’s history (in general, or Main Street, agriculture, rural life, the schools, including D.M.T., etc.), and you’d like me to share them at this blog, feel free to contact me. My email address is mariongundersonart@gmail.com. Even snapshots like this photo below!

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SUMMER 1954 — SLUMBER PARTY TIME! L to R: Judy Wagner (Larson), Pam Jordan (Wolfe), Rachel Heald (Perry) and Clara Gunderson (Hoover). This photo was taken about a year before I (Louise) was born, and about two years before my family moved into a new house at almost the same exact location. The car is a 1953 Oldsmobile. These girls are included in the sixth-grade class photos on pages 18 and 19 of the 1954 Rolfe yearbook (below).  (Click on image to enlarge.)

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Making the Thumbnail Images Larger

1) To see the thumbnail images in slideshow view, click on one of the images. Then navigate forward or backward through the images.

2) To magnify the images even more, once in slideshow view, click on the “Permalink” button.

3) After clicking on the “Permalink” button, if you want to enlarge further, hover your mouse cursor over the image. As you move the cursor over the image, if you see a moving “+” sign, it means you can enlarge the image even further by clicking on it. (A “-” sign means you can’t enlarge it further.)

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*An asterisk after any watercolor title indicates that prints are available of that particular watercolor. The profits from the prints go to the Rolfe Public Library where Mother worked for 35 years.

To learn more about availability of prints, you may contact me (Louise Shimon) at mariongundersonart@gmail.com.  You may also look and order online at www.mariongundersonart.ecrater.com. However, the library and you would benefit more dollar-wise if you ordered directly through me or purchased via the Rolfe Public Library or Wild Faces Gallery in Rolfe. The largest selection/inventory is available through me.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in 1950s, Iowa, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe | 1 Comment »

1951: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

January 26, 2012

This post includes the 1951 Rolfe, Iowa, school yearbook. It also includes images of four watercolors painted in 1951 by Mother (Marion Gunderson). Lastly, it includes a 1952 photo of my five siblings. Hanging on the wall in the photo’s background is one of Mother’s 1951 watercolors.

If you don’t care about the watercolors or family photo and just want to see the yearbook, scroll down quite far and you’ll see the yearbook images. Clara is on the third-grade page. On the last five pages of the yearbook, notice the names of the sponsoring businesses. Out of those 52 businesses, I believe only one or two still exist under the same name. Also, I didn’t know that the  McIntire Funeral Home was also an ambulance service!

If you do care about the watercolors, information about availability of prints is available at the end of this post.*

Click here for one or more 1940s Rolfe school yearbook(s).

Click here for one or more 1960s Rolfe school yearbook(s).

To enlarge any image, click on it once (or twice to enlarge it even more).

UPDATE: I just realized that the yearbook images cannot be enlarged as much as in previous postings. (By clicking on the yearbook images, they can be enlarged to several inches wide by several inches high. But they can’t be enlarged as much as previously possible.)  I’m checking to see if I’ve set something wrong or if there are limitations.

UPDATE #2: I just found out that there’s nothing I can do about my concern expressed in the Update immediately above. If you want to see any of the images larger on your monitor, let me know and maybe I could email a few to  you or add them one-at-a-time to another post or some other work-around. mariongundersonart@gmail.com

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What does this photo have to do with the year 1951? The main thing is that hanging on the wall is the "Railway Station and Grain Elevator" watercolor (shown immediately below) of Gilmore City, Iowa, painted in 1951 by Mother (Marion Gunderson). I assume the photo was actually taken in 1952, since the baby in the photo is my sister Peggy; she was born in late 1951, the same year Mother painted the Gilmore City watercolor. L to R: My siblings Clara, Charles, Helen, Peggy and Marti. I was not yet born. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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"Railway Station and Grain Elevator" at Gilmore City, Iowa, watercolor painted in 1951 by Marion A. Gunderson. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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"Depot" Rolfe, Iowa, watercolor painted in 1951 by Marion A. Gunderson. (Click photo to enlarge.)

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"Baby's Shoes" watercolor painted in 1951 by Marion A. Gunderson. (Prints are not available but possibly could be if there is interest.)

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"ISU Heating Plant" Ames, Iowa, watercolor painted in 1951 by Marion A. Gunderson. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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1951 Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

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*A partial inventory of prints of 30 of Mother’s watercolors is available at the Rolfe Public Library and Wild Faces Gallery, both in Rolfe, Iowa. Prints may also be purchased online as well as directly from me (Louise). mariongundersonart@gmail.com

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in 1950s, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe, Yearbook | 2 Comments »

Roller Derby in Rolfe, Iowa (a.k.a. A Nightmare on Oak Street)

October 31, 2011

Please scroll down to view video of a roller derby bout that took place in the RAMS Event Center.

Saturday night sister Peggy and I sat on the stage of the RAMS Event Center…the same venue where we played basketball in high school in (Peggy) the late ’60s and (me) the early ’70s. As we watched the roller derby bout taking place on the gym floor, we mused, “Who would have ever thought when we played basketball in high school that one day there’d be a roller derby bout in that same gym?!”

Saturday night, October 29, 2011, the RAMS Event Center (formerly the Rolfe School District’s gym) in Rolfe, Iowa, hosted the Dakota City (Iowa) Demolition Crew and the River City (Mason City, Iowa) Dames of Anarchy. With Halloween only two days away and the Oak Street location of the bout, the bout was billed as “A Nightmare on Oak Street.”

Not including the derby teams, officials, vendors, etc., I’m guessing there were somewhere between 140 and 175 in attendance. The admission fee* was $10 and well worth it for a night out with family.

Photos from the bout are here.

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This late 1960s photo is taken from almost the same vantage point as Peggy’s and mine when we watched the roller derby bout Saturday night.( I.e., almost the same vantage point as the video above.) As the clipping caption says, Peggy is at the far right shooting a free throw. I assume the year is either 1967-68 or 1968-69. Does anyone know who the other white-uniformed player is? (Click on photo to enlarge.)

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*The admission fee was charged by the home team…Dakota City Demolition Crew. The same team paid a flat rental fee for use of the RAMS Event Center.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Iowa, Rolfe | 3 Comments »

1949: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook

July 26, 2011

This is the first in a series of posts in which I will include from the same year:

  • images of watercolors painted by Mother (Marion A. Gunderson), and
  • the Rolfe, Iowa, school yearbook. (Scroll down quite a ways to get to the yearbook.)

To look for Rolfe yearbooks by decade, you may go to this blog’s home page and, in the column at the right, click on one of the yearbook decade links (e.g., “1940s”). So far there are only two yearbooks posted at this blog, the other one being 1966-67.

I don’t know how soon I’ll post another watercolor/yearbook combination. By the time of Rolfe’s 2013 sesquicentennial, I hope to post every Rolfe school yearbook to which I have access, at least through the ’70s. Time to scan and public interest will be telling factors.

If you know of any Rolfe school yearbook(s) looking for a home, please check with Penny at the Rolfe Public Library to see if any are needed/wanted (712-848-3143). Or check with me to see if I need any for scanning and returning … or keeping if a return is not desired (mariongundersonart@gmail.com).

On a similar note, if you or someone you know has a watercolor painted by Mother, if you’d make me aware of it, I’d appreciate it. I might ask for a snapshot, or maybe even to make prints. I never ask to keep a painting, although twice that has been offered, for which many of my family members are thrilled.

It’s no secret that I have a passion for promoting prints of Mother’s watercolors, with the profits going to the Rolfe Public Library. I also am passionate about promoting Rolfe, in general.

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The Year of Watercolors: 1949

The Rolfe School Yearbook (scroll down): 1948-1949

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You may read about Clara’s, my oldest sister, discovery of Mother’s 1949 Ear of Iowa Corn (below) in three posts: Part I, and Part II, and Part III.

Ear of Iowa Corn, watercolor by Marion Gunderson, 1949. Prints are available.

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Next is my dad’s (Deane Gunderson) bowling ball, bag and one of his shoes. He bowled in a league in Waterloo, Iowa, in the early 1940s. He continued to bowl when he and Mother moved back to the farm in 1945. While we’ve always had this 1949 Bowling watercolor, because it had been tucked away for a while, it now seems nostalgically fresh.

Bowling, watercolor by Marion Gunderson, 1949. Prints are available.

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You can read about the following two grain elevator 1949 watercolors (of the same Pocahontas, Iowa, grain elevator) here.

Grain Elevator II (Pocahontas, Iowa), watercolor by Marion Gunderson, 1949. Prints are available.

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Grain Elevator I (Pocahontas, Iowa) watercolor by Marion Gunderson, 1949. Prints are available.

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The next two images are also of watercolors Mother painted in 1949. Clicking on them will enlarge the images, as is the case for any image in this post. I think these two watercolors, especially that of the rag doll, are not typical of Mother’s style of painting.

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1949 Rolfe School Yearbook

The images (below) from the 1948-49 Rolfe school The Red and Gold yearbook are a little fuzzy. The pages are a little textured, not of glossy paper like current-day yearbooks. Still, they provide a yester-year trip back to Rolfe. Remember — clicking on the images enlarges them. Have fun!

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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in 1940s, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe, Yearbook | Leave a Comment »

Photos: 40-Years-Later Celebration of Rolfe’s Road to the 1971 Girls’ State Basketball Tournament (Part III)

June 15, 2011

Rolfe, Iowa's, 1970-71 girls' basketball state tournament team. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Referring to Part I and Part II will help explain this post. All three posts include photos from the April 16, 2011, celebration of Rolfe, Iowa’s, road to the 1971 girls’ state basketball tournament.

For links to video and a radio broadcast of Rolfe girls’ 6-on-6 basketball from the early 1970s, click here. At that link you’ll also find links to general information about the history of Rolfe girls’ basketball.

Clicking on these photos will enlarge them.

Dave Spaulding (Rolfe faculty from 1966 to 1983) was kind enough to send to me this photo from the April 16th celebration. I was available for the photo because I opted out of the scrimmage much sooner than the rest of the women scrimmaging that day. While the red and gold uniform is of a different (but similar) style than the uniforms we wore in 1971, in this photo I am wearing a vintage Rolfe uniform, and back then I did wear #53.

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Kneeling L to R: Laurie Brinkman Jensen (RHS '71), Wendy Bennett Panbecker (RHS '87), daughter of Gus (RHS '74) and Nancy Brinkman. Middle Row: Louise Gunderson Shimon (RHS '73), Sue Feldman Reigelsberger, Karen Brinkman Vinson (RHS '72), Meg Vinson, Lynn Neugent Debel (RHS '74), Abby Hohensee (Pocahontas '07), daughter of Kyle (RHS '81) and Candace Brinkman. Back row: Julie Brinkman Mintz (RHS '74), Jolene Duitscher (red shirt), Joanne Brinkman (white shirt), Carole Dean Hohensee (Pocahontas '77), Tammy Pederson Shimon (RHS '83), Pam Radig, Lori Pedersen (currently from Rolfe), Brenda Reis (currently from Rolfe), Carol Hudson Hallman (Pocahontas '72).

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This is Rolfe's victory bell. Ok, so the Pocahontas Area superintendent says it is technically the property of the Pocahontas Area school district. But, in our hearts we know it belongs to Rolfe. (The district has offered it to Rolfe on a long-term loan basis.) Since sometime around the closing of the Rolfe school as an attendance center, the bell had resided outside the Pocahontas school building. However, there was a faction using its creative juices to figure out a way to get the bell back to Rolfe. The way I heard it was that the superintendent listened to reason, checked with the powers that be, and offered the bell on the loan basis. The bell returned to Rolfe just two or three days before our April 16th celebration. (Wasn't it nice for some of those Rolfe people, and even some that no longer are from Rolfe, to want so badly to get that bell returned in time for April 16th?! Their desire and having the bell present added to the spice of the event.)

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Pictured are the eight attending 1971 state tournament teammates with Rolfe's (loaned) victory bell. The bell had been painted white by the Pocahontas Area district. There is also lettering on it (something to have to do with PAC). In his excitement due to the bell being returned and ready for April 16th, Greg Kaiser doctored it up to once again become ROLFE'S (again...loaned) victory bell. The crepe paper on the bell was purchased by Greg at Calligan's Sundries. This crepe paper was from Greg's last two rolls, the same rolls that Greg used for the 1989 homecoming parade, with was the Rolfe district's last homecoming parade before it (the Rolfe district) was absorbed by Pocahontas Area. L to R: Carol Wiegert Franken (RHS '72), Karen Brinkman Vinson (RHS '72), Lynn Neugent Debel (RHS '74), Louise Gunderson Shimon (RHS '73), Julie Brinkman Mintz (RHS '74), Linda Pedersen Tutt (RHS '73), Laurie Brinkman Jensen (red shirt, RHS '71), Jean Brinkman Longnecker (striped sweater, RHS '73).

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John Young (RHS '51) started out as an official for junior high games. Then Al Gilbertson (high school faculty member and also athletic director) talked John into going on the road with Al to officiate. At the April 16th celebration, John spoke of his officiating experiences, including about sixty rule differences between girls' and boys' basketball.

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L to R: Karen Brinkman Vinson, John Young, Laurie Brinkman Jensen. Laurie is illustrating how, during jump ball situations, to get the tip she would hold down the arm of the opposing team's jumper.

The evening program was the last officially scheduled component of the celebration. Afterward, many of us ended up at Wes’ Place in Rolfe for more togetherness and to enjoy the music provided by Al Sroufe… and, for closure of such a memorable day. Not closure on relationships, though.

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P.S. Those of us from the 1971 basketball team are so very thankful for the willingness and hard work from RAM and RBI and other community members who helped make this celebration possible. Thank you.

(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)

Posted in Girls' basketball, Iowa, Rolfe | 1 Comment »

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