Dad started farming during the Depression and, like many others, he lost everything. From that time on, he always farmed with horses. As the oldest child, I grew up learning how to work with horses on the farm. I was the "boy" of the family, since my brother was thirteen years younger. When I was five, we moved from a farm near Grand River to a farm owned by my grandparents. It was a hilly, rough farm located between Decatur City and Lamoni, Iowa, on a dirt road. There was no running water, phone or electric service. It was near the Terre Haute community located on the banks of the Grand River.

Our family was very close. Even though times were difficult, there was lots of love. We were always clothed and never went hungry. Mom always had a big garden and a large potato patch..Everyone worked hard. There were pear, apple, peach trees, and wild berry patches for fruit. We did lots of canning. In the summer, we lived mostly on food from the garden, fruit trees, and berry patches. Dad usually butchered a hog in the winter, so we had fresh, frozen, and canned meat. We were very poor financially, but lucky we lived on a farm where hard work provided food. I think, because of my childhood, I developed a good work ethic and a great appreciation of family.

I attended the Terre Haute rural school from Kindergarten through the Eighth Grade. The school was located where the once thriving town of Terre Haute stood. My grandfather had an  old plat book that showed the businesses that existed at one time. When I started to school, we could see the remains of the old hotel and several foundations where houses had been. There are articles and pictures of buildings, and the Terre Haute cemetery on the internet, at the Decatur County genealogical site.

School was fun. It was a chance to be around friends, a nice break from the isolation of living on a farm and being the only child for eight years. There were "box suppers," Christmas programs, and field trips. Recess was great fun, hot or cold! The school was on the bank of Grand River, so the older kids were allowed to go off the play ground to ice skate and go sledding on the river. It is a wonder someone did not fall in and drown! During World War II we would go out and collect milk weed pods, I believe they were used to make parachutes for the war effort. (I also remember the rationing books and how hard it was to get some food items, gasoline and tires.)

I loved to read and was delighted when I received a book for a gift or if there was a few extra cents to buy one. I remember the "Little Big Books," comic books and hardback books with fictional stories of movie stars as the hero or heroine. At that time, my parents would buy textbooks from neighboring families who had children that had completed the grade I would be entering. I usually had them read before school started.

When I started to school there were eighteen students, including six in kindergarten. That was probably the largest number of students during the eight years I attended. Many times, I was in a grade by myself, so the teacher put me through the second and third grade in one year. I clearly remember having to take the eighth grade test, which determined whether or not we could go to high school. It was quite traumatic for the country kids to go to Leon and take the all-day test with the town kids. I passed and went to Leon High School. I make no apologies for my rural school background. I feel that I had a good education. I didn't know it at the time but as I grew older, I realized it gave me a very good background for further learning.

The first two years of high school I roomed in Leon because there were no school buses, even on the gravel roads close to our farm. Four girls stayed in one room, one girl's brother stayed downstairs, and two other older girls who worked stayed in another bedroom upstairs. We shared one bathroom and a very small kitchen area to prepare our meals. Our room was a $1.00 per week. On Monday morning my parents would bring eggs and cream to town to pay the rent and give me a little money for food. There wasn't much money for extras. I only had three or four outfits when I started high school. Since we still lived on a dirt road, the weather quite often prevented me from getting home for the weekend. I have been mostly on my own since the age of thirteen. Many country kids had to stay in town, so we played lots of cards, games, hiking, etc. In my junior year there was bus service on gravel roads, so I stayed at home and walked a mile and a half to meet the bus. I didn't like it much, so I went back to town and stayed with a family with four little boys. I was babysitter and mother's helper for my room and board. I continued to stay in town during summer vacation, working for the same family, and as a waitress at the little cafe in the Leon Hotel, until I graduated.

In high school most girls, especially those unable to go to college, were trained to do office work. We took classes in typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping. I worked at a lawyer's office in Leon the end of my senior year. My parents left the farm the summer I graduated and moved to Chariton, Iowa. My dad worked as a farm-hand. I moved with them and worked three years in the offices of the Hyde and Vredenburg (founders) Stores/Chariton Wholesale Grocery organization. There was a contest to rename the stores, thus, the name Hy Vee. During the time I worked there, Iowa State University graduated the first class of computer trainees. One of the trainees was hired to convert the office and warehouse over to computers. The first computer was the size of a medium size bathroom. It required a key punch to make a card by punching holes for the information of every item in the warehouse. The cards were stored in large open tables. As orders came in, a card was pulled for each item ordered. The order was then run through the sorter. Next, the cards for the order were fed into the computer and printed out on large folding sheets of paper. The order was then ready to go to the warehouse to be pulled and loaded on trucks for delivery. Things did not go smoothly in the beginning. The computer, cards, and paper were very sensitive to heat and humidity. The computer area had to be walled in and supplied with air conditioning. I was fortunate to work in that area, because the rest of the office was without air conditioning. There were thirty Hy Vee stores when I left. The office staff worked closely with some of the founders, since they were the buyers for the various departments.

My parents lived in Chariton one year, then moved to Osceola and Dad worked for Dr. Harken on the seven hundred acre Harken Ranch, northwest of town. The Harken farms were well known for their purebred black angus. Dad enjoyed the cattle and took care of them as if they were his own. Dr. Harken had a large sale barn east of town. The Oswald Farm restored it and a beautiful building is there today. The famous artist, P. Buckley Moss, painted a picture of the restored barn as a fund raiser for charity.

Mom and Dad lived on the ranch, until at the age of seventy Dad's health began to fail. They moved to Osceola to a small house located north of where Hunsicker Insurance is today. When they bought the property, the building had been converted to a garage and workshop. A trailer home stood on the east end of the property. Butch and I remodeled the building into a nice comfortable home with two bedrooms. They rented out the trailer, which paid for the property. Dad died of cancer less than a year later, in 1975. Mother continued to live there until her health failed. We had an apartment in the basement of our home and she lived with us for three years until her death in 1994. She was eighty-three. She had never had a driver license, so she was very dependent on Butch and me.

I met my husband, Daniel "Bud" Martley, while I lived and worked at Chariton. We were married February 24, 1955. He was in the Army and came home on leave from Panama, where he was stationed with the Army. After a short honeymoon, he returned to Panama for another year. When he was discharged, I quit work and we moved to a farm near my husband's parents, Peggy and Lee Martley. It was located in the corner of Wayne, Appanoose, Monroe, and Lucas counties. Most of the farm is now under water at the upper end of Lake Rathbum. We remained on that farm for two years. Our son, Danny Lee, was born during that time. Bud and his father decided to go into the implement business. We had made enough money from our farm sale for our share of the down payment on the Allis Charmers Implement in Humeston, Iowa. We moved to Humeston. His parents bought a farm northeast of Humeston and remained there the rest of their lives. Lee left the business to farm full time after a year.

We bought a home in town and continued to run the implement business. Our daughter, Debra Lynn, was born during the first year in Humeston. I kept the books for the business so I could be home with the children. After about three years in the business Bud decided he liked farming better. We bought a farm rather unexpectedly. A farmer had taken bankruptcy and there were debts and liens against the property. People were afraid to purchase it because of the financial problems. The farm was located northeast of Humeston close to his parent's farm. Bud made a low bid on the 160 acres, never thinking the mortgage company would take the bid. They did! We had to come up with the money immediately! We were lucky there were no legal entanglements from the previous owner's bankruptcy.

We sold the Allis Chalmers business and after an inexpensive remodeling of the abandoned hundred-year-old farm house, we were back on the farm starting over again. Most of our money was tied up in the farm. We took a loan from the FHA to finance stocking the farm. and purchasing machinery. Money was tight, but Bud preferred I stay home with the children instead of working. He worked the farm during the day and drove a truck at night to support our family. The children loved the farm and we settled in, doing what we really wanted to do.

About a year later, July 2, 1965, Bud was killed in an automobile accident that happened on a hilly country rock road close to our farm. The rock roads could be dangerous as shoulders of the road could be soft and have loose rock. Drivers tended to hug the middle of the road where there were three solid tracks. They would move out of the center track when they met another vehicle. Bud was driving a small Chevy II and collided with a pickup at the top of a hill. Bud's father, Lee, and our son, Danny, were also injured in the accident. Danny was in the hospital a few days with a concussion and a broken ann. Lee had a broken pelvis and other injuries and was in the hospital almost two months. The driver of the other vehicle had only a knee injury. Both vehicles were totaled.

The children were seven and five at the time. The following time was difficult. Not only did I instantly become a widow grieving the loss of my spouse, but I was also a single parent with all that entailed. To save money, Dan had dropped his life insurance when we went back to farming, so there was no cash to pay expenses. Decisions had to be made. At that time the FHA would not allow widows to continue with the farm operation. We had a hundred head of feeder pigs, sows, a herd of beef cows and calves. I had one advantage to deal with the responsibility of the farm, FHA required the wives to keep detailed records of the home and farm operation. Also, I had helped and worked around the farm. I soon learned the physical aspect of running a farm. I did a lot myself and had help from my father-in-law, Lee, and brother-in-law, Larry. Lee was unable to do much physical work for a few months. Larry and family had recently bought a farm close by. He came up with the idea that he and I go into partnership on the cattle, provided I could find financing. I don't remember the name of the farm organization that agreed to do this. The farm was rolling land that was good for grazing and had plenty of water. The arrangement worked out well. I had a farm sale and sold everything except the cattle and paid off the FHA.

I was eligible for Social Security benefits as a widow with dependent children ($325 per month) which helped with expenses. It doesn't sound like much today, but it was a lifesaver to us. In the fall I went to work for the newspaper office in Humeston. I really wanted work that would allow me to be home in the summer with the children. I was fortunate that I had relatives close by to help me with the farm work and child-care after school. About January of 1966, the federal government came out with money for a program to help schools by hiring Teacher Aides for the classroom. The program still exists today. They are known as Teacher Associates now. I was fortunate the Wayne County School District in Corydon, Iowa, hired me. Aides were assigned to specific teachers and helped them in various ways such as work in the class room, playground duty, etc. I sometimes worked for the principal and librarian. My children attended the Wayne County School District and I worked the same hours they were in school. It was perfect and I really enjoyed the work. This surprised me, because if I had been financially able to go to college when I graduated from high school, I would never have chosen to be a teacher.

Our life was to have another dramatic disruption, the driver of the pickup involved in the accident that killed my husband, waited until the time had almost run out to file a lawsuit against me and the estate. We had no choice except to file a countersuit. The insurance company's lawyers represented my interests. The insurance companies could not come to an agreement, so the case went to trial and lasted two long horrible days. My attorneys wanted to file a large claim on behalf of my son, who was now nine, but he would have been put on the stand to testify. I could not see putting a child on the stand to testify about an accident where he witnessed the death of his father. After deliberation the court ruled both parties were at fault and were not entitled to monetary compensation. However, Danny was awarded the sum of $700. There was finally some closure.

I became friends with some of the younger teachers, who encouraged me to go to college and get a degree in elementary education. I had two young children to support and educate. I had worked in an office after high school and knew I did not want to do that the rest of my life. The teacher aide position was a wonderful opportunity, but I needed a more permanent position with financial stability. I decided after a year and a half, I would go to college and work for an elementary teaching degree. Since I was in my thirties and had not been in school since high school, it required a lot of thought. My friends convinced me I could do it! Thank goodness for friends!

Again, there was to be a lot of changes in our lives. My brother-in-law bought my share of the cattle and the farm. Land values had gone up since we purchased the farm, so I realized a profit of about $10,000. I made the decision to move to Maryville, Missouri and attend Northwest Missouri State. The tuition was reasonable, $100 per semester, texts were rented for $10, and that was paid back when the books were returned. I could afford it and have money to live on.

We found an upstairs apartment in a home right beside a park. The park was great for the kids after coming from a farm home to the confinement of an apartment. Since I had not been in college previously and was starting later in life, it was a little difficult. I had to take several entrance and placement exams before I started classes. I thoroughly enjoyed going to school. There were very few older students enrolled, so it was difficult to make friends. The boys were friendly but the girls weren't. I finally became friends of another widow with two children.

As time went on, I began to realize that if I continued my education at Maryville, they could send me anywhere in Missouri to do my student teaching. My children needed me and I needed to be closer to them. I began looking at Drake University in Des Moines. It was considerably higher — $600 a semester, but weighing all the factors, as long as I could cover the cost, it seemed a wise choice to finish my degree at Drake. The children and I stayed with my parents during the first summer vacation, Mother looked after the children and I went to summer school at Drake to see if I wanted to make the change. I liked the atmosphere. All ages were enrolled and I soon made friends. I had enough money to make a down payment on a house, so I started looking in Osceola. We found a home we liked in November and moved between the fall and spring teims. The children became established in school and if they needed to go to their grandparent's home they could ride the school bus to the country. They loved the country and they loved having their own home again. Maryville was a great school and I probably would not have changed except for the student teaching situation.

The credits from Maryville all transferred. I finished my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education at Drake University in three and a half years graduating in December, 1970. My semester of student teaching was completed in Des Moines. Everything turned out for the best. We had a home again and we were close to family!

The last year at Drake I had to take a psychology class that required a practicum in an elementary school. Frances Carson was the elementary principal at Osceola and Weldon. She allowed me to do the practicum with a first grade teacher, Ruth Stearns. This was the beginning of my educational career in the Clarke County School District (now known as Clarke Community School District). It was fortunate I had graduated at midterm, because a second grade teacher at Clarke was pregnant and resigning at midterm. I applied and was hired immediately. By the end of the school year, the job market was beginning to be flooded with teacher applicants and a surplus continued for several years. I taught that semester in second grade, moved the next year to third and returned to second the following year.

I was always concerned about the lower functioning children in the classroom. There was never enough time or help. At that time there was only a mental disabilities classroom for very slow functioning children. I think it started at third grade. I was convinced if students had a disability at the third grade level, there had probably been problems since kindergarten. I went back to Drake and started taking classes in special education so I would have a better understanding of children with mental, emotional, and learning disabilities. I received a Masters Degree in Special Education from Drake. Southern Iowa was considered a poverty area and the numbers for students identified needing special help was high. Clarke was implementing special education classrooms, so I moved to a Multi-categorical Resource Room that served children with mild handicaps in mental, emotional, and learning disabilities.

Students diagnosed with mental disabilities had below average IQ and required special learning material and lots of repetition. Students with emotional disabilities were the most difficult to diagnose. Documentation of behavior and achievement over a period of time was needed to show their behavior was interfering with achievement, before they could qualify for special help. The separation and divorce rate were factors. They increased in the city population and soon it was true in the rural areas as well. We also saw an increase in emotional and learning problems. This is a very difficult period of adjustment for children. They must adjust to spending time with both parents weekly or sometimes infrequently. For example, if they spent time with a parent only on weekends it might take a day or two for them to settle down and get their mind back on school work.

Many people had the wrong idea regarding the learning disabled students. They had to have average or above intelligence to qualify for special help. For some reason their brain didn't enable them to grasp what they were being taught. Usually they only had difficulty in one or more subject areas, such as math, reading, language arts, comprehension, etc, which caused them to fall behind. This often led to low self esteem and sometimes behavior problems. The students were taken out of the classroom to come for help in the area or areas indicated by testing. They also needed special materials and repetition. There were other special education classrooms based on the severity of the disability. The structure and teiminology has changed through the years to better serve the students. One such change — I think the problems are now called challenges instead of disabilities.

In the early 80's, I thought I wanted to pursue a career as a special education consultant. I needed administrative hours and I again returned to Drake. This was not to be, but the hours proved useful. In 1985, there was an opening for principal/special education teacher at the Weldon Center. The superintendent asked if I would be interested in the position. I accepted, but only had temporary certification as principal and had to agree to continue taking administrative hours until I received my Principal Certification. The Weldon community was proud of their school and made the staff feel a part of the community. We also enjoyed the atmosphere of a smaller school. I was at Weldon ten years until the district built a new addition to East Elementary in Osceola. The Weldon Center closed and I decided to retire instead of becoming the assistant principal at the new K-6 complex.

I entered my teaching career partly by accident, partly by necessity, but I've never regretted my choice. It was a wonderful profession for me. My career was varied and interesting, never a dull moment. I enjoyed the children, parents and co-workers. It helped support my family and because I became involved in education, I met my husband, Robert "Butch" Mason.

Butch grew up in Osceola and it remained a home base for him and his two sons, Dennis and Robert "Bobby." He and his first wife had been divorced since Bobby was fifteen months old. Butch had raised the boys by himself. His parents, Urb and Clara, still lived here when I first met him while I worked as a teacher's aide at the Corydon Elementary. Butch taught science classes at the high school and coached football and girls' basketball. We didn't really become acquainted until the children and I had moved to Maryville and we returned to my parent's home for week­ends. He came to his parent's home quite often. We happened to meet at the local Laundromat. As we became better acquainted, we dated occasionally when we were both in Osceola.

We hadn't been in touch for awhile, when I ran into Butch after I had decided to move here and bought the house. He was also moving to Osceola to teach science at Clarke. Science teachers were difficult to find, so they offered him a substantial increase in salary to make the change. We started dating again. He was working on a master's in science while I was working on my bachelor's degree. We often met for coffee or lunch on the Drake Campus.

We were married February 20, 1971, after I had finished my degree and started teaching. We became a blended family of six — Dennis, Bobby, Danny, and Debra. There was just six months age difference between our two oldest boys. Bobby was fifteen months younger than Dennis and Debra was less than two years younger than Danny. We had four teenagers with an age span of three years from the oldest to the youngest. There were challenges! Debra, being the only girl, probably had more attention than the boys. Butch, not having any daughters, took to her right away. We were a busy family, the kids were involved in sports and other activities and Butch coached football and freshman girls' basketball. The hectic years of school activities were soon over because the four were so close in age. They all went their separate way. We missed them, but due to circumstances in their lives, they have all returned to live with us for short periods of time.

We both continued our careers in education and Butch coached football for a short time. He had returned to Drake to pick up administrative hours including, Principal Certification. Since we were both seeking principal certification, we shared a few classes. Drake had weekend classes, so we would stay in Des Moines Friday and Saturday nights. He became the Junior High principal and I went to Weldon as principal. I think sharing the same profession made a closer relationship in our marriage. We discussed our experiences, even though we faced different problems at elementary and high school. He retired in 1990, five years before I did. He served on the School Board, so we still had school affairs in common. We were on the committee that helped plan the addition to East Elementary making it a K-6 campus. There was a lot of planning with the elementary staff. It was one of the largest elementary schools in Iowa. It was very rewarding to be a part of the process that made such a difference in our community.

I retired in 1995, and Butch had retired from the School Board. I had always wanted to travel, but he wasn't much of a traveler. We had taken a trip to England before he retired. Bobby was in the Air Force and he and his wife, Sandra, had been stationed in England four years. I had always wanted to visit England because my Grandfather Hembry's family originated there. I couldn't convince Butch to go. Bobby and Sandra came back to the states, but liked England so much they asked for reassignment to England. This time I didn't give him a chance to refuse, I bought tickets and we went. We were there almost two weeks. Bobby had a car and was on leave, so we were able to see many scenic places. We spent some time in London, a weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland and toured several castles. It was a great trip and Butch loved it. We would have liked to go back.

Our daughter lived in southern California. When I mentioned going to visit her family, Butch's response was, "I was there thirty years ago and I didn't lose anything." I said, "Don't you think it might have changed a little bit in thirty years?" After we went once, he was fine. We returned many times and he enjoyed being there.

Another place I had always wanted to visit was Hawaii. When I retired in 1995, I received a bonus. The following February we went to Hawaii for a couple of weeks with Your Man Tours, and traveled to four islands. The tour was great! We saw all the basic sites and were offered side trips (for more money) if we wanted to see more. They handled all the luggage, transportation, reservations, etc. I saw an ad for YMT recently, and couldn't believe the price had only gone up a couple of hundred dollars. Butch wasn't excited about going, but he loved every minute of it. He would have liked to go back and spend a few months in the winter. For a reluctant traveler, he sure enjoyed it!

However, he didn't enjoy the plane trip home. We traveled on frequent flyer miles and TWA allowed one stop over. We planned to stop and spend a week in California with Debra's family. From the time I booked the flight, until the time we went, they had changed the routing and did not stop in California. We had to fly back to St. Louis, get off and board another plane to go back to California. The flight to St. Louis was long enough, but to make matters worse, there had been mechanical problems, and we sat on the plane a couple of hours before take off. We were not happy travelers by that time. We were afraid we would miss our flight back to California, but we were lucky and the gates were side by side. Passengers were boarding the return flight we were booked on, as we got off the arrival flight, so that worked well.

At the age of forty-five, a few years after we were married, Butch was diagnosed with heart problems. He had problems with extremely high blood pressure and angina pain. He was sent to Clarke County Hospital, released, and experienced more problems in a day or two. I insisted he be sent to Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, and he was placed in intensive care. At that time, aggressive treatment for heart disease was in the early stage. Methodist was not yet equipped to do angiograms or heart surgery. Mercy Hospital could perform an angiogram and had done open heart surgery but only on children. Their heart specialist was out of town.

The University of Iowa Medical Center was the closest hospital performing open heart surgery on adults. Methodist could not stabilize his condition, so we were off to Iowa City by ambulance. He was accompanied by a doctor and nurse. Bob's sister, Marcella, was with me and we intended to follow the ambulance, but the driver told us they would travel at high speed, up to 100 miles per hour. He suggested, if we could stay close behind with caution lights blinking we might not get stopped by the Highway Patrol. We tried, but were soon left behind. He was in the middle of the angiogram procedure when we arrived. The doctor came out and told us Butch would have open heart surgery the next day! The doctors `'were doing two open heart surgeries a day. Their schedule was booked up to three months in advance. Most of the surgery patients were older and had already had a heart attack. Butch was moved to surgery the next day because he was forty five and on the verge of a heart attack. Everything went well and he returned home in seven days. He returned to work in about six weeks and continued to coach football in the fall.

Treatment of heart disease advanced. Butch saw, Dr. Yans, a cardiologist in Des Moines, annually and as needed. He had few problems during the following years, and was not on any medication. He exercised regularly. Biking and walking were his favorite. He used a treadmill in very bad weather. He walked four to eight miles per day as long as he was able. About 1998, problems started to develop. Dr. Yans told him he had lived the longest, after having open heart surgery, of any of his patients. It had been twenty three years.

When he started having problems, he was placed on medications and had congestive heart failure. He was scheduled for an angiogram the following week, but had difficulty breathing and was taken to the Clarke County Hospital, where he was stabilized. There was an ice storm going on. We decided to wait until morning when the roads were better to transport him to Methodist. Problems developed in early morning and he had a mild heart attack. He was immediately transported to Methodist. This was on Friday, and the cardiologists decided his heart was too unstable to do the angiogram then. He was to have bed rest for the weekend and they hoped they could do it on Monday morning. He responded well. They did the angiogram and put in two stents, one at the original surgical site. He appeared to be doing well. He was riding a stationary bike, walking the treadmill, and climbing stairs. He went home on Wednesday and on Saturday laid down to take a nap. He was already gone when I went in to check on him, he had not moved at all.

We did not have an autopsy; death was labeled a heart attack caused by arrhythmia. The cardiologists had always warned us, "Things can look o.k., but you never know about a heart patient." The doctor who placed the stents, called to express his condolences, and said he had not seen anything during surgery, or after, that indicated this could happen. He lived twenty three good, productive years after open heart surgery. We were married on his birthday, February 20th and he died on his birthday in 1999.

As everyone knows, the death of a spouse is quite an adjustment. This time I did not have young children dependent on me, to keep me going. I kept busy and reached out to church and. friends. At the end of 1999, I decided I needed to be busier and looked for a job. The casino had just opened and a close friend, who had lost her husband, worked there. She talked me into applying for a position in guest services. I was hired and worked the 3:00 to 11:00 p.m. shift, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We were on our feet the whole eight long hours! I adjusted physically, but did not care for the noisy, hectic environment. I was there about six months and quit. It was good for me — just what I needed at the time. I'm guessing it was about a week later when Joyce Turner called from the library, asking if I would be interested in working part time. Jan Chambers, who had been the elementary librarian and later moved to the high school, recommended me. I am indebted to Jan! I started working in the fall of 2000, and have been there ever since. I love every minute of it. I enjoy meeting people and I love to read. It is a much better fit for me than the casino atmosphere.

I cannot stress enough how important friends and family are in the years after you lose your spouse. .I have been fortunate to become part of a group, who enjoy each other's company and like to have a good time. We have breakfast, or coffee, and go out to eat three or four times a week. If someone needs help, group members are willing to help. We sometimes take little road trips here and there. There may be two or three carloads — we never know how many there may be. Many people know we do this and join us. Coffee and breakfast are usually every day except Sunday, at Hy Vee. There are usually birthday cards for a birthday person. There are times when some of the regulars have other plans and don't show, but the group has grown, so there is always someone there. It has been great for everybody involved, a chance to look forward to sociability.

I have always been interested in rural schools because I attended one. It was quite a change in Iowa education when the rural schools were phased out in the 1950's. I belong to the Clarke County Association of Retired School Personnel. Several years ago the state was interested in finding out more about rural schools. Effie Crawford set up a network of volunteers to find out what rural school buildings still remained in Clarke County and passed the information to the state. The retired school personnel became interested and Effie suggested we research and publish literature relating to the rural schools. When we finished two years later, there were thirteen books. Committees were formed to research schools in each township and publish a book for each, and a book with general infoimation regarding early education in Clarke County. I worked on Madison Township. Copies of the project can be found at the Osceola Public Library and the Historical Museum south of town. It was quite a project, very time consuming and worth while. They are a significant part of our past. People are still interested in them. Last week the Iowa Public Television Channel had two specials regarding the rural schools of Iowa.

Our children are scattered across the country. Dennis lives in North Carolina, Dan in Davenport, Iowa, Bobby here in Osceola and Debra in southern California. Right out of high school, Dennis married Vickie Wilson of Osceola. They had two children, Jennifer and Gary. They lived in our apartment in our basement. Vickie worked full time and Dennis worked part time, attended college and graduated with a degree in education from Graceland University at Lamoni, Iowa. He was unable to find a teaching position, but worked as a study hall supervisor and helped coach at Clarke. They were divorced when Jennifer was six. A short time later, Vickie took the children and moved to California.

Dennis went into the Rangers and later transferred to the Special Forces. He was stationed at Ft. Bragg, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, were he spent most of his twenty years in the military. The Special Forces Unit is very secretive. We seldom knew where he was when he was on a mission. He was in the Gulf War. We didn't know it at the time, but the men we saw on television repelling out of a helicopter into the American Embassy in Kuwait City, at the beginning of the war, was Dennis and his outfit. The last few years of his career, he trained men how to react if captured. This work was taken over by private contractors and he works for them in civilian life.

He met and married Donna Gregory from Virginia. He and Donna bought a home in Sanford, North Carolina. She works in Raleigh-Durham. Their home is halfway between Fayette and Raleigh-Durham.

Dennis's daughter, Jennifer, married Steve Roberts and they have a beautiful little two year old, Kasie. They built a home and live in Sanford. Gary's address is unknown at this time.

After high school, Bob attended Southwestern College for a while. He worked on a construction crew and then decided to go to the Air Force. He married Sandra Gates from Des Moines. They were stationed in England four years and did a lot of traveling. They returned stateside and were stationed at Cheyenne, Wyoming. They both loved England and returned for another four years.

They retired after twenty years and built a new home a block south of me. It is great to have them close by. They always wanted to come back to Osceola. Sandra is a nurse with the Hospice Organization. Bob works for a security company in Des Moines. They have two sons, Bobby and Matthew. Bobby lives in Des Moines, works at Wells Fargo part time, and attends Des Moines Community College working on a degree in business. Matthew is a junior at Clarke and plans a career working with computers.

Dan was in the Navy four years and the reserves for eight years. He was stationed in San Diego, except for a few months when he attended an electronics training school in Memphis, Terinessee. He returned to San Diego to supervise a shop that serviced and repaired helicopters. He married Louisa Rushing from Des Moines. She was also in the Navy when they met. They lived in Osceola, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and moved to Davenport, Iowa about fifteen years ago. They have three daughters, Jessica, Katie, and Nichole. Jessica lives in Denver, Colorado. Katie has a beautiful little eight year old, Sidney. They live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nicole lives in Davenport where her father lives. Dan and Louisa were divorced about a year ago. She lives in Des Moines. Dan works as an electrician for the Purina-Nestle manufacturing company.

Debra worked in Des Moines after high school. She married Kirk Dubberke of Osceola. Kirk worked for Bud Jones. Debra worked at the Pamida Store in Osceola and attended Southwestern Community College. She later transferred to Graceland University in Lamoni. Debra worked for Bankers Life Insurance in Des Moines, before they moved to southern California. This was the beginning of a career in the insurance business. Kirk continued to work construction. Debra worked for Pacific Life Insurance. They had one son, Dustin. They bought a home in Riverside, California. Debra finished her Associate Degree. They were divorced a few years later. Kirk lives in Glendora, California and continues to work construction.

Debra met and married Mark Yorba. Mark had two children, Joe and Tiffany. Joe has a degree in business and works in sales. Tiffany married Robert Lyons and they have a beautiful little two year old girl, Haylee. They live close to Debra and Mark, who now live in Mentone, an unincorporated town on the edge of Redlands, California. Dustin lives at home and attends college. Mark is employed with AT & T in Riverside. Debra is vice president and supervisor of the Keenen and Associates Insurance office in Riverside. They are brokers working with benefits for school districts.

Debra has always loved Iowa and being close to family, but that was not to be. She and her family have come home whenever possible. The last few years, she has come home for my birthday in October. We try to take a short road trip, or visit family. Two years ago, she came home in June and went with me on a bus tour to New York City. We had a wonderful time! I go to California for Christmas every couple of years. They would like me to move there, but I can't give up Osceola and my friends!

I have ten children and three great granddaughters. We don't see each other as often as I would like. When Debra's son, Dustin, was little and didn't have any relatives around him in California, he couldn't wait to come to Iowa to see his cousins. To him, it was the greatest thing in the world to have cousins. He was not wrong, belonging to a family is one of life's most precious gifts!

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Last Revised December 6, 2014