Iowa
Old Press
Postville Herald
Postville, Allamakee co. Iowa
July 2, 1920
Two Killed at McGregor
McGregor, June 28 - Two persons were killed and two others
slightly injured in a landslide at Pictured Rocks, near here,
about three o'clock Sunday afternoon. Miss Ruth Miller, 18 years
old, of Waterloo, and David Schultz, 12 years of age, of
McGregor, were the victims, being buried beneath nearly fifteen
feet of sand. The little boy was killed instantly, the impact of
the slide crushing his skull. Miss Miller lived beneath the mound
of sand for nearly twenty minutes. When rescue parties reached
her she was dying.
Owen Hitchins of Waterloo and a little boy who was standing close
to David Schultz were slightly hurt. Miss Miller had accompanied
Mrs. Ambrose Hitchins, Mr. and Mrs. F.O. Hitchins and their son
Owen of Waterloo to Pictured Rocks for a Sunday outing. The
little Schultz boy and his playmate were in the party and had
been playing around the Rocks all afternoon. A few minutes before
three o'clock Owen Hitchins, who was with Miss Miller, told her
it was time to join the party and return home. "I only want
to take one more picture of the beautiful sand," she replied
as she stepped closer to the side of the cliff and set her
camera. While she was getting her focus and the little boys were
watching her, an overhanging ledge, without a moment's warning,
crashed down, burying Miss Miller and the Schultz child. Hitchins
and the other little boy were standing close by and received
minor injuries.
Nearly fifteen feet of sand fell and rescue parties were without
tools to dig the victims out. Picnickers got down on their hands
and knees and began digging the sand away with their hands and
sticks. They worked for about twenty minutes before the first
body was reached. The little Schultz child was found first. His
skull was fractured. He was dead. Rescue workers dug down a few
more feet before the form of Miss Miller, covered with sand,
could be seen. As they lifted her out she breathed her last. She
had lived beneath hundreds of pounds of sand for twenty minutes.
Picnickers feared other bodies were beneath the sand and worked
for nearly an hour in the search for vicims. When assistance from
McGregor came the work progressed rapidly and every bit of sand
that fell was turned over before the work was abandoned.
Miss Miller was the daughter of John D. Miller of Waterloo, a
contractor. He arrived in McGregor last night and accompanied the
body of his daughter home. Miss Miller had registered to enter
Iowa university this fall. David Schultz was the son of Charles
Schultz, a McGregor farmer.
Local News
-Dr. A.W. Groth, veterinarian, of Lansing, Iowa, will locate in
Ossian to practice his profession, and expects to arrive here on
Monday, June 28th. He is a graduate of the St. Joseph Veterinary
College. - Ossian Bee
-The young man referred to in the above clipping is a son of Mr.
and Mrs. Ernest Groth who reside north-west of this city.
-Anna Wegner is taking a vacation from her duties in the
Postville State Bank.
-Mrs. Henry Huebner has been on the sick list the past week, but
is reported somewhat improved.
-John Hammel, A.F. Hein, Ace Bush and A.S. Burdick were Monona
visitors on Sunday.
-Mr. and Mrs. Fred Becker of Giard were guests at the Godfrey
Staadt home on last Sunday.
-H.S. Luhman is in receipt of a letter from Carl Holter of Long
Beach, Calif. informing him of the death in Los Angeles recently
of Hall Ellis, a former Postville resident, who was well advanced
in years. We are without further particulars.
-Mrs. Arthur Dresser is in receipt of a communication informing
her of the death in a hospital at Long Beach, Calif., of Mrs.
Miller, who will be best remembered by Postville people as Mabel
Bowman. Her death followed a surgical operation. The body will be
brought to Greene, Iowa, for interment.
-Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Davis returned Monday night from their
honeymoon trip to Des Moines.
-Mr. and Mrs. F.J. Oehring and daughter of McGregor were visiting
Postville relatives last Sunday.
-L.A. Bellows and Gus Miller drove to Dubuque Sunday to spend the
day with the Frank Bellows family.
-Mr. and Mrs. H.T. Roggensack and Ruth were at Lansing Sunday to
attend a reunion of the Roggensack families.
-Ben Martindale returned from the hospital at Rochester last week
and is now at home at Waterville. Contrary to late reports,
relatives inform us that Ben is improving very rapidly. - Waukon
Democrat.
Death Calls Young Man
At four o'clock on Tuesday morning of this week Arno Meyer passed
away at the K&K hospital in this city after several days of
severe suffering from blood poisoning, the cause of infection
being a small pimple on the face which was accidentally cut off
while shaving. All that medical skill and watchful care could do
to relieve his suffering was done, but to no avail.
Arno Frederick Carl Meyer, son of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Meyer,
was born on the old home farm in Grand Meadow township, Clayton
county, Iowa, Nov. 3, 1896, and at the time of his death was aged
a few months more than 23 years. His father died seven yeras ago,
and for the past 5 years Arno has conducted the farm for his
widowed mother, who with four brothers - Alvin, Victor, Clarence
and Milo - survive to mourn the loss of a dutiful son and
brother. He was a hard working, faithful and industrious young
man, upright and honorable in every way, and friends innumerable
sympathize most sincerely with the family over his untimely
passing to that bourne from whence no traveler returns.
The funeral was held on Thursday afternoon, from the home at 1:30
and from St. Paul's Lutheran church at 2:30, conducted by Rev. E.
Schmidt and the many beautiful floral offerings and the large
concourse of sympathizing friends that followed the remains to
their last resting place in Postville cemetery, attest more fully
than words can express the high place htis young man held in the
hearts of those among whom his entire but all to brief life had
been spent.
In this connection, the family wish to thank the many friends and
neighbors for their kindly assistance and comforting words so
freely and fully bestowed during the illness and burial of their
beloved son and brother.
Infant Child Called Home.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Schutte have the heartfelt sympathy of all in
the loss of their little six months old babe which passed away
during the early hours of Tuesday morning after a few days
illness. The funeral was held Thursday morning and burial in
Postville cemetery.
Mrs. F.W. Roberts Dies in Seattle
A telegram received by H.E. Roberts of this city on Tuesday night
informed of the death in Seattle, Washington, ofhis aunt, Mrs.
F.W. Roberts, after a protracted period of suffering. Mrs.
Roberts was a resident of Postville for close to thirty-five
years preceding the removal of the family to their present home.
She was a quiet, kindly christian woman, who won and held a large
place in the hearts of an ever-widening circle of friends, each
of whom will learn of her passing with sincere regret and mourn
that she is no more. And to the husband, daughter and son who
today sorely grieve the loss of a grand and noble wife and
mother, goes out in unstinted measure the sincere sympathy of a
host of good friends in the old home town, who trust that the One
in whom she found solace and support may be your comforter at
this time. We hope to be able next week to present a fitting
obituary.
Married.
At the Congregational parsonage in this city on Thursday evening
last, the Rev. L.W. Wiltberger spake the words that joined in
holy wedlock Mr Ralph C. Davis and Miss Marie L. Wegner, a twain
of Postville's best known and most highly respected young people.
Following the ceremony the happy couple were spirited away in a
car to McGregor where they took the night train for Des Moines on
a brief honeymoon trip. Both these young people are so well and
favorably known in Postville and surrounding country as to make
any encomiums we might offer wholly superfluous. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis will settle down to housekeeping in the Mrs. Simpson
residence, where the Herald hopes they may live long and
prosper.
A Quiet Wedding
Frank T. Sherman and Miss Alberta Neubauer surprised their Monona
friends by quietly going to McGregor last Thursday evening where
they were married at the Congregational parsonage by Rev. Cutler.
They returned to Monona that evening without letting their
friends know of the event, and the next day left for a short
wedding trip in Wisconsin, returning to Monona Monday, where they
received the hearty congratulations of a host of friends. The
bride is the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Neubauer, a
graduate of the 1919 class of Monona High School and has been
bookkeeper in her father's office for the past few months. The
groom is the only son of Mrs. Mate Sherman and is employed by the
Interstate Power Co. - Monona Leader
Orr-Kane
Cashier Harold Orr of the Monona State Bank was married last week
to a Miss Kane of that city, and after a brief wedding trip to
Chicago, they will be "at home" Monona, Iowa. A host of
friends of the groom in Postville will extend hearty
congratulations.
Palmer-Henderson
Charles Palmer, republican candidate for county auditor, was
married at Clermont last Wednesday morning. The bride was Miss
Cora Henderson of Clermont. The young couple will make their home
for the present on the Palmer farm in Jefferson township. - Waukon
Journal.
Monona Congregational Church
At Monona the Congregational church is a thing of the past. The
church which the pioneers of northeastern Iowa so carefully
builded and put so solidly on its feet sold themselves to the
English Evangelical Association and will henceforth be called the
Pilgrim Evangelical church. No little friction has been
engendered because so little opportunity for discussion of this
grave step was given out of town members and local supporters. -
McGregor Times.
[transcribed by S.F., March 2010]
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Postville Review
Postville, Allamakee Co., Iowa
July 30, 1920
Married. Last week Tuesday occurred the marriage
of Miss Bertha Thoma of Postville and Mr. Lloyd Palmer of Anoka,
Minn., the ceremony taking place at Cheyenne, Wyoming and they
were married by Rev. Templeton at the M.E. parsonage. Miss Hazel
Ross and Mr. Warren Richards attended them. The bride wore a dark
blue georgette gown with a corsage of small white carnations and
sweet peas.
After the ceremony a dinner was served by the Misses Esther,
Hazel, and Alice Ross at their home, they being intimate friends
of the bride. The groom is the son of Mrs. R. V. Palmer of Anoka
and has many friends in this vicinity as he was formerly a
trombone player with one of the best orchestras that made his
territory.
The bride is the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Thoma of
this city and is a very talented musician and at the time of her
marriage was conducting an orchestra. Bertha was one of
Postville’s finest ladies and grew to womanhood in our midst
and it is a pleasure for us to extend the kindliest wishes of her
friends at this time. We understand they will make their home in
Cheyenne for the present.
[transcribed by S.F., August 2004]