Iowa
Old Press
Postville Review
Postville, Allamakee co. Iowa
April 19, 1918
Local Review
-A baby boy was born to Mr. and Mrs. B.F. Overbeck last week.
-Mrs. H.J. Schultz was a guest at the home of her daughter, Mrs.
B.F. Overbeck at Luana, last Sunday.
-Mrs. Jack Thill is visiting at the Harry Dasher home at Waukon.
-Rev. Schmidt and wife returned from a visit to Arenzville, Ill.
last Saturday.
-Henry Schroeder went to Prairie du Chien Monday to take baths
for rheumatism.
-Wm. Shepherd and W.H. Burling attended a judicial conference at
Calmar Wednesday.
-Keith Gray has bought the Blessin house, occupied by Mrs.
Cornell. The consideration was $8500.
-A. Abernethy started soliciting yesterday for the steel flag
pole and is meeting with good success.
-Miss Cora Wheeler came up from Monona today. She goes to Waverly
tomorrow to spend the summer.
-Word received from Camp Pike yesterday that stated that Private
Louie Brandt was recovering from pneumonia.
-Corporal Frank Ulish returned to his home at Monona last week on
a twenty four pass. He was returned to the camp last Monday.
-Miss Mayme Horgan returned to her home at Reynolds, N.D. last
Tuesday. John accompanied her as far as Mason City.
-We omitted to mention the arrival of a baby boy at the Ed Poesch
home a couple of weeks ago.
Obituary
Robert E. Ward was born in Postville, Iowa, March [?19], 1895,
and died in a military hospital at Camp Fremont, California,
April 4, 1918, aged 23 years and 15 days. He attended the
Postville schools until his Senior year, when he left with his
mother and two sisters for Florence, Colo., graduating from the
High School of that city with honor in 1914. Later he attended a
business college in Los Angeles. March 7th of this year he
enlisted in the 319th Engrs. at Camp Fremont, and shortly
thereafter he was stricken with pneumonia which terminated
fatally.
Robert Ward was as upright and honorable a young man as it was
ever our good fortune to know. He lived the good and the true,
the clean and the pure, and lived well his high ideals. On the
eve of his departure from home to enter his country's service he
told his mother and sister that to the best of his ability he
would perform such duties as might be asked of him, but of one
thing they might rest assured, "I will do nothing to
disgrace you," and with this parting assurance he left his
home which fate decreed he should never enter again. And thus has
another of "our boys" gone "over the top" for
his country's cause with a clean record and a clear conscience,
and from Him who sitteth as the Judge Supreme he has heard the
welcome words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant,
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
The remains arrived in Postville on Wednesday of last week
accompanied by his mother, Mrs. J.W. Ward, and on the afternoon
of the following day the funeral was held from the M.E. church,
the Rev. Hadwin Williams preaching a beautiful sermon from the
test, "Greater love can no man show, than that he lay down
his life for his friend." The business houses of the city
closed during the funeral hour, and the entire community,
accompanied by the teachers and pupils of our schools, Postville
Community Band and a firing squad paid just and fitting tribute
to our soldier dead. The floral offerings were profuse and
beautiful. Interment in Postville cemetery. Robert is survived by
his mother and three sisters, Florence and Ora of Upland, Cal.,
and Mrs. Gilbert Sanders of this city.
In this connection the family wish to thank the many old friends
for their kindly assistance in the burial of their loved and for
the numerous expressions of sympathy.
- Iowa News Bits -
There are 444,775 registered men in this country not called in
the first draft infected with syphilis, according to a statement
prepared by Dr. Guilford H. Summer, secretary of the state board
of health, and of these, 10,100 are in Iowa.
Earnest Stafford, a Clear Lake boy, who went to France with the
Rainbow division, recently died of scarlet fever, according to a
message received by his parents from the war department. Stafford
saw service on the border with the national guard.
The grand jury at Muscatine recently returned indictments for
murder against Herman Moore, Oliver Lamphere, Henry Rebehs and
Franklin Freeman. The men are charged with the murder of James
Haney, whose lifeless body was found at the Rosenfield button
factory Feb. 25.
After having railroaded for twenty-on years, Frank Schmitz,
engineer on the Illinois Central, chose Storm Lake, his home
town, for his first wreck. A large engine was derailed on side
tracking, the switch having been carelessly or maliciously left
open.
[transcribed by S.F., August 2013]