Month: October 2013

Scary Stuff

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In Muscatine on Saturday, October 31, 1953, Dale wrote, “Bright, warm day.  Watched football on TV in the afternoon.  Dalene went to a Halloween party in the afternoon.  Stan went to a midnight show.”

Moving My Clothes

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In Muscatine on Sunday, October 30, 1955, Dale wrote, “Packed and packed and washed, and moved Stan’s clothes to East Fourth Street.  To bed tired.”  See October 19.

Dale In Charge

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In Minneapolis on Wednesday, October 29, 1958, Dale wrote, “Schultz, Palmer, and Gray at Phillips to tell me I’m Gauger In Charge.  Took Helen and Dinny to the library after supper.  Watched a movie on TV.  High 59°.”  Those were big shots from the St. Paul office.

Another Four Lads

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On Thursday, October 28, 1954, the Boy’s Quartet (left to right: second tenor Stan Gardner, first tenor Larry Misel, baritone John Evans, bass Jerry Hufford) sang for a luncheon group at the Hotel Muscatine.  Larry and I were seniors, as was our accompanist Judy Smith, and John and Jerry were juniors.

From Osceola To Minneapolis

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On Sunday, October 27, 1957, after visiting in Osceola from Minneapolis, Dale wrote, “Dalene and I drove Stan’s Chevy from Osceola to Minneapolis 5 a.m. to 12 noon.  Beautiful day.  Watched football on TV in the afternoon.”

Going Home

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On Friday, October 26, 1951, completing his temporary assignment in Omaha, Dale drove back to Muscatine, stopping in Osceola for supper.  He wrote, “Home by 10:45 p.m.  Glad to be home.”  On the map, Osceola is at the intersection due east of Creston.

Shucking Corn

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On Saturday, October 25, 1919, Jettie Gardner’s diary recorded that Dale’s older brother Lloyd shucked corn by himself for the first time, and got 10 bushels.  He was 12 years old.  For the young’uns out there, shucking is the process of removing (by hand) the husk and silk from the ear of corn.

Harvesting Corn

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On Wednesday, October 24, 1956, vacationing from Minneapolis and staying at Jettie’s house in Osceola, Dale and Dalene rode around with Dale’s brother Lloyd picking corn.  Dale, Helen, and Dalene went to Eva Kelly’s (Helen’s niece) in the afternoon and to Marie Kimmel’s (Dale’s sister).  They went to Helen’s nephew Don and Opal Schaffer’s at night for a visit.

Just Looking

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In Muscatine on Thursday, October 23, 1952, Dale wrote, “Looked at a new Dodge in the evening with Dalene.”  He often got the new/used car bug and liked to go looking.  Above: a 1952 Dodge.

Dale Buys A Lot Of Eggs

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Visiting in Osceola from Minneapolis on Saturday, October 22, 1960, Dale took movies of his brother Lloyd plowing, Helen’s brother Louie and son-in-law Jack picking corn, Helen’s brother-in-law George and son Larry cutting hay and feeding cattle.  He wrote “Bought 12 dozen eggs of Louie for $2.”

Big Tax Increase

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On Wednesday, October 21, 1942, the Revenue Act of 1942 was the largest tax increase in U.S. history, increasing both individual and corporate rates and quadrupling the number of tax payers, to help pay for our entry into World War II.  Above: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the wartime bill.

Rooming House

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On Wednesday, October 19, 1955, Dale and Helen rented a room in Muscatine for me to live in after they moved to Minneapolis the following month.  This was on East Fourth Street, on the second floor of a private home, for $5 per week, so I could finish fall semester at Muscatine Junior College (now Muscatine Community College).

Dancing

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In Minneapolis on Saturday, October 18, 1958, Dale wrote, “Another beautiful day.  High 68°.  Stan went to a football game, Minnesota 8 – Illinois 20.  Dalene baby sat all afternoon.  I put a new rear seat speaker in the Chevy.  Works fine.  Football on TV in the afternoon, Iowa 20, Wisconsin 9.  Stan went to a U dance at night.”

Night School

In Minneapolis on Thursday, October 17, 1957, Dale wrote, “Nice day, high 59°.  Bright sunshine.  Dalene went to school at night for the homecoming queen ceremony.  Stan went to night class at the University.”  I was working days at General Mills, taking classes at night.

Moral Support By Helen

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On Sunday, October 16, 1955, Dale, Helen, and Dalene drove from Muscatine to Osceola.  He wrote, “Took Helen over to be with Wilma who is going to have an operation tomorrow.  Went out to Louie’s and stayed all night.”  Wilma was Helen’s sister and Louie was Helen’s brother.

Hit The Road, Dale

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In Muscatine on Monday, October 15, 1951, Dale was told to go to Omaha for a week or two on per diem.  After work, he drove to Osceola to spend the night at Jettie’s house (his mother), and visited his sister Marie a little while.

Junior Achievement

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In Minneapolis on Tuesday, October 14, 1958, Dale wrote, “High 83°.  Another beautiful day.  Took Dalene downtown to a Junior Achievement meeting.  She came home on the bus with other girls.”

Good Football Game

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In Muscatine on Friday, October 12, 1951, Dale wrote, “Stan and I went to a high school football game at night, Muscatine 28 – Mt. Pleasant 12.  Good game.”  Muscatine cheerleaders wore longer skirts back then.
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