Author: Editorial Team

Diary

First Place!

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Saturday, April 25, 1953, Dale wrote, “Dalene went to a party and luncheon.  Stan went to Iowa City to a music contest in the afternoon.  His group won a 1st place.”  My yearbook for 1953 says I was in a Madrigal Group with Phyllis Van Zandt, Janice Faulkner, Marilyn Furnas, Ann Wigim, Joyce Ogilvie, Phyllis Duggan, Larry Misel, Kay Woodward, Doug Coder, Ken Hopkins, and Bill Buster.  Our accompanist was Sharon Mittman.  A ‘madrigal’ is a vocal music composition of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras.  Our group wasn’t as large as the one above.
Diary

Stan Goes To Fun Night

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Still on sick leave on Friday, April 24, 1953, Dale wrote, “Helen, Dalene, and I drove from Osceola to Muscatine in the rain.  Got a letter of assignment back to Muscatine.  Stan went to Fun Night.”  I must have stayed home in Muscatine while Dad tried his new Post of Duty that week.  Fun Night was a teen dance at the YWCA.
Diary

From Omaha To Osceola

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On sick leave on Thursday, April 23, 1953, Dale and Helen drove from Omaha to Osceola.  They picked Dalene up at the farm of Wilma (Helen’s sister) and George Casey and spent the night at Jettie’s house.  That’s Helen sitting in the car, above.
Diary

Mississippi Flooding

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In Muscatine on Monday, April 21, 1952, Dale wrote that the Mississippi River was at 19.3 feet, and there was flooding downtown at the riverfront.  The next day, the river was at 19.6 feet.
Diary

A Talking Mule

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In Muscatine on Thursday, April 20, 1950, Dale took Stanley and Dalene to the movie, “Francis the Talking Mule.”
Diary

All The Schaffers

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In Osceola on Sunday, April 19, 1942, Dale, Helen, and Stanley went to a Schaffer dinner hosted by Helen’s brother Pearl and his wife Cedar.  Dale wrote, “Fine day, fine eats, etc.  All the Schaffer brothers and sisters were there except Lloyd.”  From about ten years earlier above – Back row: Pearl, Earl, Lloyd, Gerald, Harley, Louis.  Middle row: Wilma, Helen, Lela.  Front row: Alice and George Schaffer.
Diary

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

by Editorial Team
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On Saturday, April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raid was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands (specifically Honshu) during World War II.  The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle, USAAF, from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.  The 1944 movie “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” is based on the Doolittle Raid.  Above: B-25s on the USS Hornet en route to Japan; a B-25 taking off from the Hornet for the raid.
Diary

Daffy Duck Appears

by Editorial Team
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On Saturday, April 17, 1937, the animated cartoon character Daffy Duck made his debut in the Warner Bros. cartoon “Porky’s Duck Hunt,” directed by Tex Avery and animated by Bob Clampett.  Above left: that first appearance.  Above right: his more modern look.
Diary

The Latest Dirt

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In Minneapolis on Monday, April 16, 1956, Dale wrote, “Merle and Beulah Osterquist were here for supper and to visit.  Learned about Muscatine Plant personnel.”  I think that means he caught up on the latest gossip.  Merle had been a co-worker in Muscatine.
Diary

1958 Emmy Awards

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In Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 15, 1958, Dale wrote, “High 70°.  I went to bed when I came home from work with a head cold.  Stan went to school at the U at night.  To bed at 11 p.m. after watching the Emmy awards on TV.”  Best comedy series was The Phil Silvers Show.
Diary

Flooding Rivers

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On Saturday, April 14, 1951, Dale’s mother Jettie, his sister Marie and her daughter Susan, and his brother Lloyd’s daughter Carol arrived in Muscatine in the afternoon to stay all night.  Dale took them for a ride around town in Marie’s car the next day, and to see the Cedar River.  The diary doesn’t say the Cedar River was flooding, but why else would they go?  The Mississippi was rising, as seen above several years earlier when Wilma (Helen’s sister), George and Larry Casey were visiting.
Diary

Helen Bakes Beans

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In Minneapolis on Monday, April 13, 1959, Dale wrote, “High 60° and nice but too dry.  Took TV to a shop and left it for repair.  Helen and I washed after supper.  Dalene studied and Stan went out.  Helen baked beans, delicious!”
Diary

Playing In The Barn

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Visiting from Muscatine in Osceola with his family on Saturday, April 12, 1952, Dale wrote, “Family all at Mother’s.  Visited Louie and Ruth; China; Margie and Jack’s for dinner.  Kids played in the barn.  Had supper at Mother’s, 14 people there.”  Louie was one of Helen’s brothers, China was Helen’s brother Pearl, and Margie was Louie and Ruth’s daughter.  I have no picture of Jack and Margie’s barn, but it was similar to the one above.
Diary

Buchenwald

by Editorial Team
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On Wednesday, April 11, 1945, LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White was with U.S. General George Patton’s troops when they liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp.  Forty-three thousand people had been murdered there.  Patton was so outraged he ordered his men to march German civilians through the camp so they could see with their own eyes what their nation had wrought.
Diary

Dalene Buys A Rain Coat

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In Minneapolis on Monday, April 10, 1961, Dale wrote, “First day Phillips is a one man assignment, and I’m it.  High 52°.  We three went to Atlantic Mills before supper.  Dalene bought a new rain coat at Robert Hall’s, and an umbrella.”  Perhaps Dalene’s rain coat resembled that worn by Audrey Hepburn in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Diary

Bataan Death March

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On Thursday, April 9, 1942, during World War II, American and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces.  The surrender was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March, when the Imperial Japanese Army forcibly transferred 76,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war, engaging in wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, resulting in very high fatalities inflicted on prisoners and civilians alike.
Diary

Dale’s Riding Mower

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In Osceola on Thursday, April 8, 1971, Dale wrote, “Clear, windy, and 77°.  Helen and I were in Muscatine all night last night.  Drove around town, left at 11 a.m.  We drove to Osceola via Indianola for goat milk.  Derby for supper.  Our new riding mower was here when we got home, in the driveway.”  This picture is from 1986, several riding mowers later, after they moved to State Street in Osceola.
Diary

Helen Buys A Dehumidifier

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In Minneapolis on Monday, April 7, 1958, Dale wrote, “Nice day, 50°.  Wrote Mother a letter.  Helen ordered a de-humidifier from Dayton’s.  Took her to the downtown library after supper.”
Diary

First Year In Washington

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In Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 6, 1937, Dale wrote, “Been here one year.  Got a card from Lloyd from Rawlins, Wyoming.”  Lloyd was Dale’s older brother.
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