Keep in mind, I was a kid, naive and inexperienced. I had never been out of the Midwest and was scared to death. The two or three days I was on the train, I didn't even go to eat for fear I would get lost and not find the way back to my seat. What kept me from starving was that occasionally someone would come through selling sandwiches or coffee. Byron loves to tell of my arrival: I went to the train station to meet her. I found her looking like a little lost sheep. We had a little apartment that had a fake fireplace. One day it was chilly so she started a fire in the fireplace. All the smoke went over in the neighbor's apartment and they put out the fire. It was a wonder she didn't burn the house down.

That is where we were when the offer of a transfer came up - to Osceola, Iowa. It was a little more money, and they would move us. We decided to accept, and this is how we came to Osceola in 1956. We were not impressed with the town. At that time the water situation was bad. The reservoir was almost empty, there was a hole in the ground where the court house used to be, and they were tearing down East Elementary school. For the first week or two, I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into but everyone was so nice to us! We found a good church home, and many good friends, and we've been here ever since.

I worked at several jobs - briefly for Iowa Southern Utilities. I did quite a lot of book ­ keeping for Byron. Then Ethel Rider asked if I would help her a few days a week in a small dress shop she was starting. I loved doing that! I worked for her for two or three years, then Fred Redfern asked if I would work for him a few days a week. I had known Fred since he was a little boy in Guthrie Center. I started working for them in 1978, in their furniture store and in the Sears catalogue store until that closed. In the fall of 1978, Linda and Fred were expecting a baby. Baby Megan arrived and was welcomed by all of us. It is gratifying to be considered "Grandma" and "Grandpa" to the Redfern children, and their children.

Our next door neighbors, the Mann children, have been claimed by us as our grandkids. We anxiously awaited each and every one of those children as all were born after Darren and Raquel moved next door.

During the years our children were in school, I belonged to and faithfully attended PTA (Parent/Teachers Association), and probably was roped into an office or two. I also worked with Boy Scouts, mostly the Cub Scout age, and Girl Scouts. Ruth Allen and I were leaders with some of the older girls helping us. On one occasion we took the girls south of town for a camp-out. A lady from Des Moines, who had a leadership position, was with us. At one point, she approached us to ask if we knew who had tent number so-and-so. We said it was ours, and she said, ''Do you know you pitched the tent in poison ivy?" I didn't know any better, but I think Ruth should have. Scouting continues, and the Scout house still stands in the 300 block of East Washington. It is still being used and is probably in better repair than when we used it in the 1970s. We had a slumber party or two there.

For many years I've served on the election board, first in north ward, which was an interesting experience. People voted in the Fire Hall, and if we ran short of tables and the fire trucks weren't in use, we laid our papers on the fenders. I don't remember many elections when the fire whistle didn't blow and away they went, leaving us freezing to death in the November elections. They were thoughtful enough that when they returned, they parked outside.

In the course of time, the lines defining wards were changed and we were in the court-house. The lines changed again and I was in middle ward, then back to square one for north ward. In earlier times the election board consisted of 10 members, five of us in receiving and five in counting. The receiving board registered people to vote, and sent them into the booth. For years and years, everything was hand counted, so when the polls closed, the five members in charge of counting went into action, assisted by the members of the receiving board. It was a huge job and our work usually went on until 1:00 or later the following morning. The north ward now works in the City Hall and is a welcome change.

One organization that has meant a lot to me is the Cancer Support Group. In 2001, following an examination, I was diagnosed with cancer, and had a mastectomy. I took the drug Tamoxilen for five years, and in late December 2006, I was declared a five-year survivor and was released from the oncologist. The Support Group meets just once a month and is mostly just a good talk session but it was and is very helpful to all of us who have this common bond. Our primary project is in March when we sell daffodils to the business people and others who wish to order. We all work together to deliver them.

Darwin had always thought he would make conservation his career, but while his good friend, Bob Jones, who was a Lab technician at Clarke County Hospital, didn't actually persuade Darwin to go into the medical field, he didn't discourage him. Darwin went to Minneapolis to Northwestern Lab School for two years. When there was an opening in Fredericktown, Missouri, near Cape Girardeau, he went there. He was at that location briefly before Uncle Sam sent him a letter "inviting" him to be in the military service.

When Darwin told us about it, I was reminded of an incident when he was a little boy. A lady saw me pushing him in the stroller and asked if his daddy had been in the military service. I said he had, on which she asked, "And are you raising him to be gun fodder, also?" It was a chilling question for a new mother and I've never forgotten it. Sure enough, several wars and lesser conflicts have happened after WWII, and Darwin was sent to Vietnam for a year. He was drafted in the fall of 1968, and returned in October of 1969. He was able to use his medical technology training in an Army camp-type hospital in the very northern part of South Vietnam. He mentioned that the Hospital Ship Hope was just off the coast.

After he was discharged, he went back to his original location in Missouri and was the Lab Director at a trauma center for several years in a hospital a few miles north of Fredericktown and south of St. Louis. Darwin is married to Sharon. They have two sons and an adopted daughter who was a preemie. Both boys are married. Lori teaches signing in St. Louis.

Kathy is married to Gene McKnight from the Liberty area. They have two children. Their oldest, a daughter, lives in Chariton, is employed by D.H.S. (Department of Human Services), and has office hours in Clarke and Lucas counties. She has two children, our great grandchildren. Our grandson is a computer technician and is employed by Iowa Methodist and Lutheran Hospitals. We are very fortunate to have Kathy and Gene living close by in Osceola. Both children married in 1970, and we acquired a "daughter" and a "son," who are both dear to us.

My hobbies have always been reading and I love to play cards. At the present time, I belong to the Red Hat Society, Research Club, we are members of the Christian Church, and I play bridge several times a month. Byron and I were in several couples' groups, until Byron suffered a severe heart attack 1985, and he had to give up several activities. The doctors told him at the time that with the extent of damage to his heart, he might live for six months. That was 22 years ago.

BYRON

I was born in Des Moines, Iowa. I had two sisters and one brother. Both sisters, Betty (Bever) and Barbara (White), are deceased. My brother Jim lives in Council Bluffs, but spends most of his winters in Florida. He has retired from his position with Iowa Power and Light.

When I was in 3rd grade, the family moved to Panora and I went through school there. I was quarterback on the very good football team. We only lost one game, tied one, and won all the rest. We also had a very good basketball team. I played forward on that team. Two months before I was to graduate in 1944, I was drafted into the Army. At that time, the regulation stipulated that students who were drafted in their senior year were not to receive a diploma, so even though I had enough credits to graduate, I didn't get a diploma. Finally they passed a law which changed that and those students could be given their diplomas. However, I didn't get mine until 60 years later, when I had to prevail upon Congressman Boswell to help me get it, even though I had earned it.

I was one of 18 from the county who were bussed from Guthrie County to Camp Dodge. They didn't keep us long, but long enough to give us our GI haircuts; then they wanted us to act like pineapples after they'd skinned our heads. We were shipped by train to Camp Roberts, California, where I did my basic training. After three months, they shipped us home for a short furlough, after which I was sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. It was a gathering place for shipment overseas. We went from there to Boston Harbor, and were shipped to England.

We were in bivouac there for several months before we were taken across the channel to La Havre, France. We were the 76th Division, attached to General "Old Blood and Guts "Patton's 3rd Army. Most of the fellows in our Division were 18- and 19-year olds, so all of this was pretty strange and frightening. A wise man once said, "War is Hell." There is no better way to describe it. If the leaders and nations that start these wars would have to fight them, there would be no more wars. Most of them are caused either by religions, lust for power, or greed.

I find it pretty hard trying to remember details, when all these years I've been trying to forget. Some incidents I do recall, for instance, in one town, I noticed three trucks parked in the middle of the street. I was of a snoopy inclination and I went over, lifted the tarp on the back of one of the trucks, and discovered that it and the other two were full of dead bodies, soldiers and civilians. It was obvious that they had been picked up and thrown in. They weren't stacked.  One guy had his head back, his eyes fixed on me. It's pretty hard to forget something like that.

In Luxembourg, when we were making our way toward the front, I developed a blood clot or a blood blister, or something on my left ankle. It was so large I couldn't get my shoe off, and they sent me back by ambulance to a hospital in France, where a doctor drained it. I was in that rehabilitation hospital a couple weeks until it healed and I could join the unit again. Sometime later I was in the hospital again with bronchial pneumonia caught from sleeping in barns and foxholes. Again I was taken by ambulance and this time there was another passenger, an American boy who had been shot in the head. I watched his life ebb away all during that trip and I heard later that the young man had died about an hour after we reached the hospital. War!

Before our first baptism of fire, our company commander brought his company together and made this statement: "If it is an honor to die for your country, let's let the enemy have that honor."

We were in several big battles, but the worst was when we were heading toward the Siegfried Line. We started at Echternach, Luxembourg and crossed the Sauer River to Echternach-Bruck in Germany. It was an area that, unbeknownst to us, was heavily mined. The first wave made it across the river and we started across an open field. The Germans were up on a high cliff so they could pick us off like sitting ducks, while they were protected by pillboxes, which were very thick cement structures. This was in the dead of night, and all of a sudden a good friend of mine, who was a company runner, and our Company Commander tripped a Bouncing Betty mine. This was a mine the Germans devised that was tripped by a string. It got its name because when it was tripped, the mine bounced about six feet and blasted hundreds of steel balls through the air. These two fellows were the first two killed in our unit. The Germans knew we were coming and within 15 minutes, even though it was the middle of the night, it would have been possible to read a newspaper by the light of the exploding shells and flares.  

A lot of German pillboxes had to be blown up by hand. At first, the only thing we had were 75 mm Howitzers, which had no effect. They would hit a German pillbox and simply glance off. When they brought up the heavier Howitzers, they did the job and the German pillboxes were destroyed.

I lost two friends in the battle of Ehrag-Quint. When we came across some mountains headed for the town of Quint, we cut across too soon and got behind the German lines. We had to find our way back. There were about 18 Germans in a trench between us and the town so we eliminated them. We had to run across an open field to get to the town. There were bullets flying all around us and most of us made it. I was guarding some prisoners in the town of Quint and was standing in the doorway when a shell exploded right in front of me. The concussion of the shell knocked me backwards into the building. I looked myself over and couldn't find any shrapnel so I was all right but there are so many of those kinds of experiences in a war that maybe it is good if we can forget some of them.

Next we were faced with going on to Germany, crossing the Rhine River. One thing I got a kick out of were castles on the Rhine. They were really wonderful to see. Once we crossed the river, the Infantry allowed us to jump onto the tanks in order for us to keep up because the Germans were pretty much on the run. However, there were two major battles after that - the Battle of Zeitz and Leipzig. We fought them until we met the Russians on the Czechoslovakian border in the town called Chemnitz. We were there about three months. The government had promised the Russians they could take Berlin, so even though, at that point in the war, I think we could have walked into Berlin and not fired a shot, we had to let the Russians take it, which I never did understand.

The war was almost over at this time. The Germans did not want to surrender to the Russians, so as many as could surrendered to the Americans. I don't know how many came through our lines carrying white flags and no weapons.

After the war was over, we returned by crossing Germany and France. We saw the destruction the war had caused. One big city in Germany, not far from the Czech border, was completely destroyed. It was a city probably three times the size of Des Moines but as far as I could see, there was only one wall standing. The rest were all demolished. The English had bombed the city by night and the Americans bombed it by day. We saw one wave of airplanes, just before the war ended, that was like a solid mass as far as the eye could see! The ground shook as they went over, bombing the city as they went. I do think the people were told, a day or two ahead of time, what was going to happen. How many got out of the city, I don't know.

We made our way back, returning as we had gone. When we got back to England, we boarded the ship, the Queen Mary, which was just fabulous - like a floating hotel. It had big wide, open staircases. It was a luxury ride! I knew that when we boarded the ship, we were headed for Japan, but the war ended. However, since we were already on the ship, they brought us home. Coming back to New York, past the Statue of Liberty, what a beautiful sight to see!

After I got home, I was stationed in Fort McPherson, Georgia. One day they called us all to a meeting place. They were looking for a cook, and asked how many of us had special training.  I knew some of the boys who came back from overseas were put on permanent KP (kitchen police) and I knew I didn't want that, but when they came around again asking if any of us were bakers, even though I'd never baked anything in my life, I raised my hand. I got recipes from some of the other boys and did real well in baking. Several times the company Commander took some of my cinnamon rolls home to his family.

From Fort McPherson, they sent me to Fort Leonardwood, Kansas to be discharged. My discharge papers show that I was honorably discharged April 29, 1946, with the rank of Sergeant in the Infantry. In spite of listing the battles and campaigns: GO 33 WD 45 Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe, and the decorations and citations: Distinguished Unit Badge, Victory Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon, EAMET Ribbon, and Good Conduct Medal, the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) lists me as baker. From Fort Leonardwood, I got a plane back to Des Moines and resumed my life as a civilian.

Kathryn has told about our taking up residence in Guthrie Center, where I worked for a dry cleaning establishment, and continued in that same line of work when we moved to Atlantic. When my mother became ill with terminal cancer, the folks wanted us to follow them to Missouri, so we lived there several years. When we returned to Atlantic, I resumed my work in dry cleaning; then I was with J.C. Penney, but I consider my main career to have been with Blue Cross. I started with them in 1953, and we moved from Atlantic back to Guthrie Center that fall.

The first two years were spent selling and servicing both individual and group accounts in Guthrie and Adair counties. In 1956, the company made an offer to transfer to Osceola, which would provide a larger area, consisting of Clarke, Decatur, Lucas and Warren counties. Our office was in our home. The 30 years I spent as account executive were very satisfying. I was in a position to help many people. I retired from Blue Cross/Blue Shield on  October 1, 1983.

I had become acquainted with Hank Sorenson and he asked me to join his bowling team. This league was a fun experience and I made many friends. Back surgery put a stop to that. I was also a member of Lions Club for many years. I enjoyed holding offices of president and secretary. Among the projects of that time were construction of East Lake Shelter Houses and the tower. Arden White was our overseer of the building projects. The Lions Club featured the Hillbilly Act of which I was a member.

ropes raise the Big Top. Byron England, who has sold the most advance tickets for the Lions Club, receives an elephant ride, which he regrets. First, his hand is cut by the tough hide of the elephant, then the elephant swings its trunk and sprays fluid all over Byron's trouser leg."

We were members of the Osceola Country Club and enjoyed playing golf and the other social activities. I did have a hole in one on the golf course, and that was more an accident than skill. I also enjoyed their Thursday night sing-along. I played the guitar with Noel Friday on clarinet and Lou Thornton on piano.

Many people still ask about my dog "Monty," an Alaskan Malamute. He was my companion for 12 years and was walked daily. Monty was given to me shortly after my severe heart attack and caring for him was good therapy. When walking the dog, I picked up cans and took them to be recycled. The money from the redemption center was used to buy toys for the "Toys for Christmas" program. I donated approximately 650 toys through Larry Van Werden.

I always enjoyed the outdoors and liked to hunt and fish. Vacation time from my job used to be an occasional trip to Canada for fishing. My picture was in the paper again regarding fishing. The article read: For those fishermen who may get discouraged at this time of year - see it and weep, for Byron England spent Labor Day, yes, Labor Day coming up with this 22 1/2 inch bass weighing six pounds and nine ounces. And the place where this was caught? You may have guessed it - a farm pond in this area.  There is a lot to do in Osceola if you care to look.

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