Pike Township Family Stories
LORETTA CHRISTOFFERSON HAHN
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, pages 254Loretta Christofferson Hahn was one of the grand marshals for the Nichols Day parade in 1983. She worked for 38 years as cook at the Nichols school.
Loretta was born on a wintry January day to Cleve Hazen and Julia Zybarth Hazen. Her parents lived on a farm northwest of Nichols for a number of years before moving into town. Both her parents are deceased. Loretta attended Athens and Poole schools before she went to Nichols High school.
The hot lunch program at the Nichols school was started in 1944 by Loretta and her mother, Julia Hazen. This was two years before the government sponsored hot lunch program was started. In the beginning, Loretta brought most of the cooking equipment from her own home. Farmers donated some of the food items. One hundred pounds of potatoes cost $1, and six loaves of bread could be purchased for a quarter. The 65 youngsters served paid 20 cents for their lunch. Loretta was paid $25 a week for her work.
Cleve Hazen, Loretta’s father, was the school janitor at the time, and he was often called upon to help with some of the heavy work in the kitchen, such as mashing the big kettle of potatoes. He also built the first tables and benches used in the schoolrooms.
After the consolidation of the rural schools, almost 200 young people were served lunch. Through the years modern equipment was added, which lightened the work load considerably.
Loretta noted changes in the meal favorites of the students. When the program first started, creamed chicken on biscuits was the top selection. That was followed by chili being a favorite, and chili was replaced by tacos and pizza. Loretta’s homemade cinnamon rolls have been a favorite throughout the three generations of students who have eaten the hot lunches. Before her retirement, Loretta had attended several of the seminars for school cooks given at Ames.
Loretta has four children: DeWayne “Sonny” Christofferson, now of San Jose, California; Nancy Christofferson Breeden, Austin, Texas; Lois Christofferson Cardwell, Muscatine; and Mary Lou Christofferson Soukup, Oxford, Iowa. She has 17 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Loretta’s husband, Lloyd “Pete” Hahn, died a few years ago.
Loretta is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic church. She enjoys her family, likes to sew and spends as much time as possible at her favorite hobby, oil painting. She has a number of pictures, many framed and hanging on the walls of her home, to show for her efforts in painting.
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Page created December 12, 2010 by Lynn McCleary