Mills County, Iowa

Silver City Community History
1879 - 1979

MISCELLANEOUS CLUBS

STAR KENSINGTON

The Star Kensington was organized April, 1947. Isa Schoening was Worthy Matron of the order of Eastern Star and she called a meeting of the members of the O.E.S. at the home of Vera Rommel with members being present. Charter members: Alice Moore, Anna Riggins, Grace Dovenspike, Margaret Burgoin, Eldon Burgoin, Mae Hill, Grace Goos, Gerry Goos, Isa Schoening, Isabelle Hansen, Emma Markel, Veda Myers, Vera Rommel, Grace Johnson.

ROYAL NEIGHBOR OF AMERICA

Royal Neighbors of America Camp No. 5686 was instituted in Silver City, Iowa on May 3, 1909.

WOODMAN OF THE WORLD

Silver Leaf Lodge No. 439 Woodman of the World was instituted in Silver City on September 1913.

MODERN WOODMAN

The Modern Woodman Greenbrier Camp No. 3017 of Silver City was organized May 21, 1895.

LODGE K OF P

The Silver City Lodge K of P No. 14 was instituted on August 9, 1894.

WAYSIDE ENCAMPMENT

Wayside Encampment No. 11 was instituted in Silver City on October 17, 1893.

FANCY WORK CLUB

The Fancy Work Club was organized in 1910 to meet at different homes to do fancy work.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON CLUB

The Tuesday Afternoon Club was organized in 1905 and was a group of ladies wanting the afternoon off.

SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT CLUB

The Social Improvement Club entertained the ladies Tuesday Afternoon Club on February 22, 1907 at a Martha Washington tea.

G.A.R.

The Silver Post No. 429 G.A.R. was organized in Silver City on April 16, 1886.

DRAMATIC CLUB

The Silver City Dramatic Club was organized in 1899 for the purpose of producing home talent plays. The club was disbanded in 1930 because of the disinterest of the citizens.

CAMP FIRE GIRLS

The Camp Fire Girls were organized on July 7, 1917 when a group of girls met at the home of C.W. Bays. The girls chose “Fontanelle” for the name of their camp. At their meetings the group gathered in a circle within the Wohelo Triangle formed naturally by three trees, where with due ceremony, the fire lighted. “Wohelo” was sung and the three candles for work, health, and love were lighted in the triangle. At the close of their meetings, they would sing their camp fire song "Sheltering Flame.”

In September 1918, the Camp Fire Girls voted to collect fruit pits which were the refuse from everyone’s canning. The government wants them to use in making gas masks for the soldiers, for the carbon in them. Two hundred peach pits are required to produce enough carbon gas for one gas mask respirator.

On July 27, 1922, a group of the Fontanelle Camp Fire Girls met to disband their organization. On August 1938, the old group had a reunion. The old countbook was brought out from the guardian trunk and enjoyed. In October 1935 a group of girls started a Camp Fire Girls organization and were entertained by their leader Miss Nadene Goy. They were still going in 1938, but later disbanded.

BOY SCOUTS

An organization of Boy Scouts met in April 1918 and were attended not only by the boys desirous of enrolling also by business men. Fifteen boys over 12 years old signed the charter membership roll sheet. In 1919 R.P. Galt resigned as scoutmaster and Rev. T.J. Reese was elected. In 1921 E.L. Spiller was Scoutmaster. Sometime later the scouts discontinued till September 1927, they organized another boy scout troop. The scoutmaster was E.F. Perdue, assistant scoutmaster C.A. Maddocks.

In 1933 and 1935 the boy scouts were organized again with E.H. Anderson as scoutmaster. Then in April 1944 the scouts reorganized again for about a year with Mr. Boucher as scoutmaster and LeRoy Anderson as assistant. In 1977 the Boy Scouts were again organized in Silver City under the leadership of Beth Roberts and Marge Bendt for about a year. On April 26, 1944 a meeting was held at the Baptist church with representatives from Glenwood to help organize a Girl Scout group. The group was sponsored by the Woman’s Club and later discontinued in 1952.

INGRAHAM STRAIGHT

In October, 1944, seven boys met at the home of Harold Skerritt and with the help of their first leaders, Silver City high school superintendent, Willis Fogle and Rew. Burgoin, they organized a 4-H club. The Ingraham Straight Shooters was the name chosen by the seven charter members, Robert Schoening, Sheldon Williams, Cliff Boyer, Loran Boyer Jr., Robert Kruse, James Boyer, and Harold Skerritt.

Through the years the club has earned many awards and honors at county and state fairs, Aksarben Livestock show, Chicago International, and the Kansas City Royal. The club has also won herdsmanship at the county fair many times. Some of the projects of the members are swine, beef, sheep, dog, rabbit, woodworking, welding, and gardening. Their activities include roller-skating parties, tour of the farms, and potluck supper which ends with everyone playing baseball. The Organizational leaders are Sheldon Williams, and Lawrence Greiner. They are assisted by project leaders, Dwayne Reinert, Robert Schoening, and Keith Mintle.

LOYAL LASSIES 4-H CLUB

On January 11, 1941, six girls met at the home of Irene Maddocks and organized the Ingraham Township 4-H Club. The name was chosen by charter members Catherine Goos, Lucile Flammant, Rogene Chapman, Frances Kruse, Rose Marie Williams, Irene Maddocks and leaders Mrs. Dora Goos and Jean Burgoin.

On February 21, 1941, the members met at the home of Catherine Goos and agreed to change the club’s name to the Loyal Lassies. At that time two more girls, Mary Clipson and Virginia Hopp, were welcomed into the club. In its first two years, the club won top honors at the Mills County Fair with a demonstration team. In 1941, the team of Virginia Hopp and Irene Maddocks went to the Iowa State Fair. In 1942, the team of Mary Clipson and Lucile Flammant were to attend, but because of the war, the State Fair was not held. In 1946, the Loyal Lassies were back to the State Fair with a demonstration team of Ilene Williams and Rose Marie Williams. This team won the only blue ribbon given for food preservation.

Some of the workshops held when the club was first organized were to teach the girls how to dress a chicken and the proper way to preserve tomatoes. Today the workshops are on easy foods to barbecue, how to remove stains from clothing and learning how to macrame. The club has a guest or some special activity almost every month. This has included making silk flowers, visiting a beauty shop, preparing and serving a complete meal for their mothers, and many other things.

The Loyal Lassies are very active in community services. In past years they have sponsored a girl from the Glenwood State School, compiled and sold cookbooks, raised $500.00 for the new community ambulance, contributed food and clothing to the needy at Christmas, helped raise money for the new community building, and the past year received a seed grant from the Pioneer Seed Corn Company. They bought material and made drapes for the community building with this money.

The membership includes three school districts, Malvern, Treynor, and Glenwood. This year two of the Loyal Lassies represented the county in the State Dress Revue and the State Style Revue, Linda Richter and Lisa Stogdill. Four projects represented the county, one in photography, Theresa McMullen, and three in clothing, Nancy Williams and Linda Richter (2). Two girls represented the county at state with demonstrations, Becky Miller and Theresa McMullen. This is not unusual for this club, last year six projects sent to the state fair from the Mills County Fair came from the Loyal Lassies 4-H Club. Organizational leaders are Delores Williams and Lenora Stogdill. They are assisted by four project leaders, Belva Greiner, Phyllis Boyer, Loretta Ramsey, and Elizabeth Miller.

COMMERCIAL CLUB

The Commercial Club was organized in March of 1913. In 1914, they held an Old Soldiers Reunion. Due to the war, the club was disbanded. On October 1919, the businessmen were called together again and the name was changed to Community Club. The Chamber of Commerce was organized December 6, 1946. In 1947, the club appointed a committee on water and street improvement.

WOMAN’S CLUB

The community club started a traveling library in the office of A. P. Reeve in March 1921 with fifty books to exchange for new ones every ninety days. In October of the same year a group of ladies met at Mrs. J. G. McCue to organize a Woman’s Club. A committee consisting of Mrs. Lydia Anderson, Mrs. Allie Humston and Stella Pullman wrote the constitution, which was approved.

In February 1923 the Woman’s Club took over the circu1ating library from the community club with A. P. Reeve acting as librarian. In 1924 the club met in their new room, the Pullman building, which was leased for 2 years. Library books were moved there with the club members acting as librarian. In October 1926 the library moved to City Hall and appointed Mrs. Clotida Lawson as librarian.

The fall of 1950 the town council moved the City Hall, so they bought the Reeves building for the library. Later they moved over two thousand four hundred volumes of books to their new location and held open house.

In 1978 the town of Silver City took over the running of the library and appointed a board to handle the business. Members, Elizabeth McMahan and Ona McNay are chairman and a board member to represent the Woman’s Club. Librarian Bernice Darnold is also a club member. It was voted to remain as “Friends of the Library,” among recent gifts donated have been; a desk chair, adult reading table, ten metal chairs and 2 sets of children’s tables and chairs.

For the past five years the club has become well known for their fall salad bars; presented with either a group of special entertainers, or a style show. From the proceeds the past year, they have made a cash donation towards the building of the new Silver City Community Center, as well as giving on the purchase of their new dashes and silverware. A serving table was purchased for the Silver City Methodist Church in appreciation of it's use. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. from September through May.

SENIOR CITIZENS

The Silver City-Mineola Senior Citizens Unit was official1y organized on March 27, 1973 when 55 interested persons met at the Silver City American Legion Hall. Mrs. Gwen Speer, Executive Director for Southwest Iowa Area Council on Aging, and Mrs. Marjorie Harbert, Senior Aide of Carson, were present to outline the program. Officers elected were: President, Helen Sanders; Vice President Olga Deitchler; Secretary, Della Mass; Treasurer, Leona Miller. Trustees: Carl Miller, Earl Bobbitt and Delphine Chambers.

In May 1973, they voted to name their unit the Happy Days Senior Citizens. Monthly meetings were held in the United Methodist Church and the American Legion Hall in Silver City and the schoolhouse and American Legion Hall in Mineola until April 9, 1979, when they met in their newly remodeled building, “The Center” in Silver City. The Center is also used as a meeting room for other community groups.

EVERGREEN FRIENDSHIP CLUB

The Evergreen Club originally started as a birthday club, with the ladies calling on friends and neighbors on their birthday. In 1947 the club was organized under the leadership of Mrs. Lillie Robertson. It had a membership of twenty-two. The main purpose of the club was getting to know one’s neighbors better. Cards, flowers and gifts were sent to the sick and a helping hand was given when needed. Lillie Robertson was elected and served as President for five years. With the money that was made at their Malvern Fair food stand in 1951 and 1952, they presented the Methodist Church with a chair in 1953. Also a donation of twenty-five dollars was given to the Silver City P.T.A. for the public address system. In recent years, the club also bought and planted a lovely evergreen tree in the Silver City Cemetery. We are still active, meeting once a month and at this time have eleven members.

THE CENTER

In August 1977 the Community Betterment Club composed of a few civic minded people, in the small community of Silver City has a dream and felt the need for a community building, a place to hold meetings and parties too large or not suited for their homes. So committees were appointed and fund raising began. Numerous bake sales, craft fairs, bingo games, garage sales and flea markets were held and the money was put in a community building fund. In August 1978 the Silver City and Mineola Senior Citizens asked if they could help. Donations were taken to add to the fund, and they also had bake sales, garage sales, flea markets and craft fairs. They were hoping for a new building but that was a long way off.

When it appeared that no one could see a light at the end of the tunnel, a burned out building came up for sale on the east side of Main Street. The Betterment Club purchased the building in September 1978. The building appeared hopeless when restoration began. The people of the community both big and small, young and old, together with the Senior group from Mineola all put their shoulders to the wheel so to speak, and many man and woman hours later a beautiful Center emerged. Area 13 A.O.A. gave the seniors a grant of several items including a furnace, stove, refrigerator, tables, chairs, rest room stools and sinks.

People started using the building in March of 1979 still minus a few things. In November of 1979 the vinyl in the large room was donated from the Centennial Cook Book fund. Open House was held December 9th from 2-4 p.m. The building was decorated in the Christmas theme. Refreshments of cookies, coffee and punch were served. A nice crowd attended. And so the dream of a few people has become a reality, and Silver City now has its Center.

~submitted by Roseanna Zehner & Darlene Jacoby