Iowa Old Press
Maurice Times, October 3, 1918
Ralph Mieras autoed to Rock Valley Wednesday.
J.L. Mieras and Take Stellingwerk autoed to Orange City Wednesday.
J.E. Mieras autoed to LeMars Wednesday afternoon.
Mrs. Geo. Elskamp, Lillian Mieras, and Sena and Merinas Van Gorkum
autoed to LeMars Saturday night.
J.L. Mieras and Ralph Mieras autoed to Granville Tuesday repairing
telephone lines.
Maurice Times, October 10, 1918
It is seldom that a more sudden death occurs in this vicinity than the
death of Mrs. S. Ridderbos who died at her home in Maurice, Friday, October
4, 1918 after a brief illness of one week. The immediate cause of death was
obstruction of the bowels.
Miss Jessie Miersma was born in The Netherlands 72 years ago and came
to this country in 1880. She was united in marriage to S. Ridderbos and
moved with her husband on to his farm three and one-half mile south-east of
Maurice. In 1903 they retired and moved to Maurice. He husband preceded her
to the Great Beyond October 21, 1914.
The deceased leaves to mourn her departure an only daughter, Mrs. J.E.
Mieras, and four grandchildren, Oliver, Helma, Jessamine and Bernice Mieras,
and two brothers, Paul and Wiebe, both of Hull Iowa, a sister, Miss S.
Miersma of Orange City.
The funeral took place at the First church, the Rev. J. Vanderbeek
being her pastor, officiating. An appropriate memorial sermon was delivered
in both the Dutch and English language. A mixed quartet composed of Mrs.
Martha Beyers, Mrs. Nellie Beckering, Mr. D. Vanderberg, and C.J. DeJong
sang the gospel and Mrs. Duven played the pipe organ. Interment was made in
the Sherman Township cemetery. A large congregation was present to pay their
last deed of kindness to the deceased. The sympathy of the community is with
the bereaved relatives.
Ireton Ledger
Thursday, October 10, 1918
EDWARD BERTRAM, SOLDIER, AT REST
Funeral services were set for 2 p.m. Sunday but because of the lateness of
the arrival of the body, services were delayed until 4 p.m. It was not
known just when the remains would arrive but a large concourse of people,
several hundred of them, were at Alton to meet their former friend and
relative. The cortege, nearly a mile long, that followed the bier to Ireton
was a spectacle to behold. Long before the arrival of the procession,
people were gathering at the home until the spacious front yard and the
street beyond was filled with sorrowing friends. The remains arrived at 3:45
under military escort, consisting of a squad of soldiers who came from Sioux
City to do homage to their departed comrade. The pall-bearers removed the
casket, draped with the Stars and Stripes, to the spacious veranda where it
was laden with chrysanthemums and roses and a representation of the American
flag. Rev. Schmidt, pastor of the Lutheran Church, who had charge of the
obsequies, opened the services with prayer, a song by the Lutheran quartet,
and then the pastor devoted the following hour in discoursing a most
impressive sermon. He paid high tribute to the soldier before him who gave
up his life for his country and the world. It was a masterpiece of oratory
and touched the hearts of the multitude present. The procession that
followed the r4emains to its last resting place in the Lutheran cemetery was
the longest ever seen in this vicinity. It is estimated that nearly five
hundred autos were in the procession. At the cemetery, following short
services by Rev. Schmidt, the soldiers took charge, fired a salute over the
grave and in the distance the bugler sounded “taps.”
Following is the key note of the sermon preached by Edward’s pastor, Rev.
Schmidt, using as a text the deceased’s confirmation memorial verse, Psalms
37, verse 5, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall
bring it to pass.”
“When the boys come home.” We hear even the little children mingle this
cherished hop of a nation with their prattle and play. “When the boys come
home” – this magic song of hope today is fallen into the mournful minor of
the funeral dirge in the hearts of these parents, brother, sister, friends.
Edward is home. His homecoming seems untimely. It is not the fulfillment
of a fond hope,. But the end of a muffled anxiety. Yet, we are not ashamed
of Edward’s homecoming. We have much reason to rejoice. He comes to us, in
casket laid, draped with the Stars and Stripes, and these colors spell,
“Well Done.” Edward has served his country, yours, mine, to the very end of
his ability. No man, no nation, would ask more. With other thousands he
rallied to the colors in the hour of twilight when a heavy gloom threatened
to fall upon his country, faithfully he performed the soldier’s duties
during the arduous months of training, gladly he followed the path of loyal
duty whithersoever the bugle called. His hopes to go overseas, to stand
shoulder to shoulder with his comrades on the battlefield, to stand under
the flag on the day of victory, were not realized; but he laid his life upon
the altar of his nation, he died far away from his home, but for home, His
home, yours, mine, he ended his short career in the uniform of duty for you
and me performed. Ah, let Edward’s homecoming, though he be silent, though
his lips be sealed, bring a lesson to us all. You have laid perhaps
hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars upon the nation’s altar in the hour
of need; I believe you have done better than the average in our community in
promoting harmony in these days when necessity is for should to stand to
shoulder and for devotion to strike one harmonious chord; but let us all
forget it, let us all consider our efforts nothing as we look upon Edward’s
casket and grave, as we look into the tear-filled eyes of these parents and
consider the sacrifice they have made. The day is past for anyone to parade
any cheap patriotism in the streets and the vicinity of our little Ireton.
The days is past for the great issues of the time to be dragged into
ridicule. This solemn hour and the daily anxiety of so many other parents
who know not whither and how soon they will receive a like message as these
bereaved parents have received, ought to be a heavy damper upon all
frivolity and a strong check upon the vanities of the lighthearted. Not as
though we are to go about with looks of despair, with faces of gloom, as
vases carrying bouquets of faded hope, as caskets bearing the corpse of life
defeated, nay, even today in this solemn hour, we look forward to the day
when victory shall be ours, and an h9onorable and lasting peace shall come
to us, in which we desire to hold Edward and his fallen comrades in thankful
memory, a nation’s thankful memory; and even today, in this hour of sorrow,
you, Christian parents with tear-filled eyes, and we, your Christian
friends, with hearts made void by your great loss and filled again with
sympathy to you, called upon to make this great sacrifice for us as well as
for you—even in this solemn hour, I say, we look through the centuries of
history, and our eyes brighten, and our hearts rejoice, and our voices are
raised to thanksgiving, as we look upon that training camp of Gethsemane and
the battlefield of Calvary and behold the Price of Life, our Jesus Christ of
the ages, single-handed forsaken by his friends, and all the powers and
weapons of death arrayed against Him, fighting the battle of Life, storming
the trenches of sin, breaking the bulwarks of death, triumphantly marching
into the fortified city of Hell and proclaiming Himself the Victor, the
third day breaking the seal of the grave and rising from the tomb, proving
to the eyes of men what he had spoken to the ears of men: “I am the
Resurrection and the Life.”
Maurice Times, October 17, 1918
J.E. Mieras was at Sioux Center Wednesday on business.
Oliver Mieras returned to Sioux City again on Monday where he will
resume his studies. He came home on account of the "flu".
Mrs. L. Mieras and daughter Lillian went to Sioux City on business
Saturday.
John M. Mieras and family are sporting a brand new Player piano.
Maurice Times, October 24, 1918
Miss Esther Mieras, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Mieras of Sioux City
was married Thursday to a Mr. Cobb of the U.S. Navy. He is located at the
Great Lakes station.
Maurice Times, October 31, 1918
Young Ladies Meet- Sunday evening after a quiet day spent at home,
several of the young ladies met with Miss Hazel Tyler at the dinner hour and
spent the evening together. Ghost stories were not tabooed and the joy of
pulling the laziest man in town off his lazy perch did not phase them a bit.
The evening was pleasantly spent by as jolly a bunch of girls as generally
get together in Maurice. Those present were Miss Helma Mieras, Miss Sena Van
Gorkam, Miss Judith De Jong, Miss Lillian Mieras and Miss Hazel Tyler.