Month: April 2012

Diary

A Nice Day In Minneapolis

by Editorial Team
In Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 30, 1957, Dale wrote, “Beautiful day.  High 86°.  Walked up to the drug store in the evening to pay the gas bill and priced a 1955 Olds – $2,195.  Wow!”  Danielson Drug was three blocks north of the house; his exclamation was due to the “high” price of a two-year-old Oldsmobile – nearly $18,000 today.  Below: a 1955 Olds.
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Diary

A Hot Day In April

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Tuesday, April 29, 1952, Dale wrote, “Hot today, 91°.  Hottest April 29th on record.  River a bit under 21.0 feet, falling a little.”  The Mississippi was down to 20.8 feet the next day, and continued dropping.
Diary

The River Tops Out

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Sunday, April 27, 1952, the Mississippi River flood stage was at 21.0 feet and holding steady.  (Dale’s diary.)
Diary

Another Year, Another Flood

by Editorial Team
After work in Muscatine on Tuesday, April 24, 1951, Dale took the family to see the river.  The Mississippi was still rising, near 20.5 feet.  Below: the waterfront.
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Diary

The River Is Rising

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Wednesday, April 23, 1952, the Mississippi River had risen to 20.2 feet, and rose to 20.5 feet the next day.  (Dale’s diary.)
Diary

Helen Gets Pots And Pans

by Editorial Team
In Minneapolis on Friday, April 21, 1961, Dalene gave her mother a set of Wear-Ever aluminum cook ware.  Dale marked 25 years of service with the government.
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Diary

Easter Eggs

by Editorial Team
It was Easter Sunday, April 20, 1919.  On the Gardner farm in southern Iowa, eleven-year-old Lloyd and nine-year-old Dale took some eggs to the pasture, made a fire and boiled them.  Their mother Jettie joined them later and ate with them.  Gardners have always liked eggs.
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Diary

Helen And Dale Get A Phone

by Editorial Team
In Washington, DC, on Monday, April 19, 1937, Dale wrote, “Got a telephone today.  Our number is GReenwood-1968.”  This would have been at their house in Hyattsville, Maryland.  Below: a typical rotary dial phone in 1937.
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Diary

A Visit To The Farm

by Editorial Team
On Saturday, April 18, 1942, Dale, Helen, and Stanley drove from St. Paul to Osceola and stayed all night with Dale’s parents, Williams and Jettie, on their farm.  Osceola, Iowa, is about 45 miles south of Des Moines, and the farm was four miles east of town on U.S. Highway 34.
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Diary

Old Man River Rises

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Thursday, April 17, 1952, Dale said that the Mississippi River was at 16.5 feet and getting higher.  The next day, it had risen to 17.2 feet.  Below: Muscatine’s riverfront in the early 1950s.
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Diary

Dale And A Walking Plow

by Editorial Team
On his farm south of Osceola on Tuesday, April 16, 1935, Dale plowed with a walking plow all day – that meant he walked behind the horse-drawn plow, so he was on his feet the whole day.  He did that a lot this month.  Below: a man and a walking plow.
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Diary

A Short Visit

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Saturday, April 15, 1950, Dale’s sister Marie called him out of bed to tell him that she and their mother Jettie were coming from Osceola that day.  He wrote, “Arrived about 2 p.m. and left around 5 p.m.  Nice visit but short.”
Diary

Springtime Cherry Blossoms

by Editorial Team
In Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 14, 1937, Dale wrote, “Rode down and took pictures of the cherry blossoms in the evening.”  Below: cherry blossoms in Washington.
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Diary

A Flat Tire In Oskaloosa

by Editorial Team
Visiting in Osceola with his family on Sunday, April 13, 1952, Dale wrote, “Dalene went to Sunday School with Susan.  We drove home to Muscatine, had dinner in Oskaloosa, also a flat tire.  Home at 5 p.m. and glad of it.  Snow and rain all day.”  Susan Kimmel was Dalene’s cousin.  Oskaloosa is roughly halfway between Osceola and Muscatine.
Diary

Caseys Visit Gardners

by Editorial Team
In St. Paul on Saturday, April 12, 1941, Dale wrote, “Met George, Wilma, and Larry at Dan Casey’s.  Georges came on out here for a visit.  We took a long ride in the afternoon.”  The next day, George Casey got a telegram that his hired hand was ill and they left for their Iowa farm north of Osceola.  I don’t know who Dan Casey was.
Diary

Truman Fires MacArthur

by Editorial Team
In Muscatine on Wednesday, April 11, 1951, Dale wrote, “President Truman fired General MacArthur.”  U.S. President Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands for making public statements that contradicted the administration’s policies. MacArthur was a popular hero of World War II who was then the commander of United Nations forces fighting in the Korean War.  Below: Truman and MacArthur six months earlier.
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