Archive for the ‘Rolfe’ Category

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Cy’s Favorite Alum With His 11.5-foot-tall Cy Sculpture

October 12, 2009

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Deane Gunderson, Cy and Jackson in Rolfe, Iowa near the Bud Barn. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Deane Gunderson, Cy (the statue made by Deane) and Jackson in Rolfe, Iowa, near the Bud Barn. The “rest-of-the-story” about Cy is below. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Today Jackson (my grandson) and I went to just outside of Rolfe, Iowa, where my 91-year-old father, Deane Gunderson lives. Dan and Rog Allen, loyal friends of my father, saw to it that my dad took Jackson and me for a drive in one of their tractors (John Deere, of course).

Jackson, my dad and I also went into Rolfe to see the Cy that my dad built in 1975. Cy now resides near Rog’s and Dan’s Bud Barn in Rolfe, where there is also their “World’s Largest Clydesdale Hobby Horse.” Lastly, the three of us visited the Rolfe Public Library with which Mother was so deeply involved for thirty-five years.

In the photo above, if you were looking down from an airplane, you’d see that the boulders design (created single-handedly by Dan) is in the shape of a cyclone.  You’d also see that there are steps on the far side, behind Cy.  Also, on the right side of the point boulder, nature has created its own red cyclone-shaped image.  In case you didn’t already notice it, this natural image is more easily visible if you enlarge the above photo.

Immediately below is one story about Cy.  This article was prepared for RAGBRAI’s 2007 ride through Rolfe.  It is a sweetheart of a story. Clicking on the photo will provide “large print” sized text.

Microsoft Word - D.C.G. RAGBRAI Cy doc for FedEx Kinkos[1].doc

(Click photo to enlarge.)

* * * * *

My dad passed away in 2010, approximately eight months after this post was published. His obituary is here.

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Posted in Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Rolfe | 2 Comments »

Etsy? What? I’m doing what with Marion the Librarian’s watercolors?

October 3, 2009

My intent was to have completed two more posts about Oregon by now.  Then I got the flu last Tuesday through Thursday and worked yesterday (i.e., was a substitute fifth grade teacher).

What I’ve R-E-A-L-L-Y been spending time on last night and all of today is working to list/sell prints of Mother’s (Marion Gunderson) watercolors on Etsy.  I’ll put the profits toward funding the giclee printing expenses of the Rolfe (Iowa) Public Library fundraiser. more…

Posted in Iowa, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe, Watercolor | 1 Comment »

The Perfect Football Evening (depending on how you look at it)

September 4, 2009

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Iowa State, 34 --- North Dakota State, 17, September 3, 2009. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Iowa State, 34 --- North Dakota State, 17, September 3, 2009. (Click photo to enlarge.)

I’m mostly clueless about football, so shouldn’t express an opinion about the Iowa State team’s performance last night.  However, I do have a strong opinion that it is almost sacrilegious when AC/DC blaring painfully loudly (to the point of speaker distortion) drowns out the sound of the Iowa State fight song.

Early in the game when the band played the fight song (with no AC/DC competing this time), there were only a few people in our section that stood up and clapped.  When doing a quick scan, it appeared to be the same throughout most of the stadium.  It seems the football environment Iowa State is trying to create is not at all the counterpart of ISU’s basketball Hilton Magic (although, maybe that has changed considerably, too?). more…

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Posted in Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Rolfe | 5 Comments »

Birthday (Aug. 18) Lunch with Mr. Spaulding

August 26, 2009

To quickly access the previous posts about Mr. Spaulding, click on his name in the list of categories on this blog’s home page.  Several former students, as well as Mr. Spaulding, commented at the bottom of “Where (and How) in the World is…..Mr. Spaulding?”

* * * * *

Tuesday of last week, August 18th, 2009, was Mr. Spaulding’s 82nd birthday. He and I met for a birthday lunch at Ropa’s, the cafe in Rolfe, Iowa. We both knew Bill Winkleblack (from the class of ’73, as am I) would be joining us. We were pleasantly surprised when five more of Mr. Spaulding’s former high school science/math students, and a parent, came to Ropa’s specifically to spend time with Mr. Spaulding.

IMG_3428 level cro 1200 LGS Dave Spaulding 8 18 09 sp he1200

On his birthday, Mr. Spaulding and me outside of the Bud Barn in Rolfe, Iowa. (Click photo to enlarge.)

It seemed surreal having lunch with Mr. Spaulding as a friend after being what I remember as pretty terrified of him in class.  (I was also very thankful for him when I took chemistry and physics at Iowa State!)

Later on the 18th, I mentioned to Mr. Spaulding that in my excitement I had forgotten a lot of what we all talked about at lunch.  He asked me if I had been sort of tongue-tied.  Yes, exactly.

In general, I know the group reminisced about science experiments, the chemistry room, explosives, the teachers lounge, slide rules, families, and other former students and teachers. Everything we said was good. (Well, except when all of us students could remember which teacher “taught” us by reading aloud, straight from the text book!)

Mr. Spaulding was so pleased that the eight of us spent time with him.  He wished he had emphatically expressed his thanks while we were all at Ropa’s. I told him I would pass along his heartfelt appreciation.

(In approximately two weeks, I’ll post more about Mr. Spaulding…most likely about explosives.)

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Posted in Iowa, Mr. Spaulding, Rolfe | 3 Comments »

We’ll hear from Mr. Spaulding next week. For now…1969!

August 1, 2009

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(If you haven’t read the first post about Mr. Spaulding and would like to do so, click here.)

Mr. Spaulding will be in touch with me early- to mid-next week. At that time I’ll post about him again.  Until then, here’s a blast from the past.

Dart Dec 11 1969 light and dark levels past 1400

The "Dart" portion of the "Rolfe Arrow," December 11, 1969. * To decipher all of the text, click photo once and then again to enlarge.

More specifically, I should say a blast from 1969, which is one of the years Dave Spaulding taught most of the high school science (and some math) classes for the Rolfe Community School District.

Whether you are a Rolfe High School alum or an alum of another school district, I’ll bet the image at the left will help you reminisce about how “mature” and “higher order thinking” anyone in high school is/was, whatever the generation.  (I wonder if the drawing portrays how Mr. Spaulding felt when he presided over study halls.)

The “Dart” was the school student-written/designed portion of the local weekly Rolfe Arrow newspaper.  In high school I was in awe of the motivation, confidence and skill I assumed to be possessed by members of the “Dart” staff.

Whether you were in high school before, during or after the ’60s, enjoy!

* * * * *

This particular microfilm copy (above) was part of the December 11, 1969, issue of the Rolfe Arrow, published a month after the Rolfe grain elevator burned in “Watercolor and Fire in Rolfe, Iowa.”  (The Rolfe Arrow on microfilm is available at the Pocahontas, Iowa, Public Library.)

* Permission to post granted by the Pocahontas Record-Democrat.

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Posted in Iowa, Mr. Spaulding, Rolfe | 1 Comment »

Bubbles In The Wine 101 (The Prerequisite)

July 23, 2009

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In the mid-1970s my father, Deane Gunderson, wrote several articles which he titled “Bubbles in the Wine.”  Fortunately for my family, and anyone else interested in reading them, one of my sisters, Marti Gunderson Carlson, typed up the articles and compiled them in a book.  The intro to the book states the following:

“Bubbles in the Wine” is the title of the column written by Deane C. Gunderson between February 27, 1975, and May 26, 1977, for the Rolfe Arrow, published then in Rolfe, Iowa.

My father and me (Louise) on November 15, 1975. I purposely did not crop closely in case anyone wanted to "relive" a visual of Rolfe's Presbyterian Church. The last service held in this church was its Commemorative Sunday, April 30, 1995. (Click photo to enlarge.)

My father and me (Louise) on November 15, 1975, the same year Daddy began his "Bubbles In The Wine" column. The last service held here in Rolfe's (Iowa) Presbyterian Church was its Commemorative Sunday service, April 30, 1995. Soon thereafter this church was razed, I believe in 1996. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Mr. Gunderson’s topics, about matters of personal interest, are many and varied.  The themes reflect his involvement in farming, education, sports, Iowa State University, politics, etc.  The spectrum includes historical accounts as well as current events.  Some of the subjects are as topical today as when they were first published.

He occasionally invited guest columnists to provide their perspective into a particular area in which they were knowledgeable.

This compilation brings information, insight, history, and wit, to the reader.  To one who knows the author and the community serviced by the publication, this gathering of words brings enjoyment.

.

.

Periodically I’ll post Daddy’s “Bubbles In the Wine” articles about everything from…A to Zeman.

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Posted in Deane Gunderson, Iowa, Rolfe | 2 Comments »

Blue Hat and Iowa Corn (Part I)

July 8, 2009

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Almost dusk after RAGBRAI bicyclers had passed through Rolfe, Iowa, on July 23, 2007. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The view from Highway 15, looking east into Rolfe, Iowa, at almost dusk after RAGBRAI cyclists had passed through on July 23, 2007. (Click photo to enlarge.)

~ Submitted by Clara Gunderson Hoover

When RAGBRAI went through Rolfe on July 23, 2007, most of our family spent the day in town and enjoyed the many bicyclers and onlookers who talked with our father and visited his Cy sculpture on Garfield Street.  In fact, my husband Hal and I had just concluded our Okoboji vacation in time to be in Rolfe for RAGBRAI. more…

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Posted in Deane Gunderson, Ear of Iowa Corn, Iowa, Marion Gunderson, Rolfe, Watercolor, Watercolor image | 1 Comment »

Savoring Independence Day

July 4, 2009

Grain elevator, Rolfe, Iowa. Photo taken by Clara Gunderson Hoover, June 2009. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Grain elevator, Rolfe, Iowa. Photo taken by Clara Gunderson Hoover, June 2009. (Click photo to enlarge.)

INDEPENDENCE DAY, celebrating:

Who: the Second Continental Congress
What: the Declaration of Independence
Where: Philadelphia
When: July 4, 1776
Why: to declare the Thirteen colonies “Free and Independent States… Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” of King George III. *

* http://www.answers.com/topic/independence-day

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Posted in Grain Elevator, Iowa, Rolfe | 5 Comments »

The Farmers Coop and a String Bikini — Part II

July 1, 2009

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(To read Part I before reading this Part II, click here.)

~ Submitted by Marti (Martha Gunderson) Carlson

The mornings, in particular if it was raining, often found several regulars from the farming community gathered around the front office for coffee and pastries – and very colorful and/or funny stories, not all necessarily fit for feminine ears. more…

Posted in Grain Elevator, Iowa, Rolfe | 5 Comments »

The Farmers Coop and a String Bikini — Part I

June 30, 2009

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~ Submitted by Marti (Martha Gunderson) Carlson

My very pleasant baptism into the working world started the summer of 1966 following high school graduation when I reported to the Farmers Cooperative* Company in Rolfe, Iowa – in a dress and heels! more…

Posted in Grain Elevator, Iowa, Rolfe | 5 Comments »

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