Creston News-Advertiser
Creston, Union County, Iowa
Monday, March 27, 2006, Page 54A

DIAGONAL -- When Rhonda SOBOTKA graduated from Diagonal High School in 1982, she didn't wait long before she moved away.

"I went to Southwestern Community College after high school," Rhonda SOBOTKA, now Rhonda LOHMANN, said. "Then I went to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. I really liked it down there, it was fun."

LOHMANN moved to Des Moines in 1986.

"I had a friend who lived up there, so I moved," LOHMANN said. "I didn't even have a job. I just wanted to get the heck out of Diagonal."

LOHMANN found work as a waitress and met her husband Mike in 1987.

"We didn't start daing right away," Mike said. "We were just friends at first."

Mike is originally from Valley Junction, and graduated from Valley High School in 1984.

"There were like 400 kids in my graduating class," Mike said.

Rhonda laughed, "There were 18 in my class. We had a big class."

Mike and Rhonda started dating in 1991 and were married in 1994.

"I was waiting tables and Mike was doing carpet intallation," Rhonda said. "I waited tables forever."

Their first child Tony was born in 1996, followed by a set of triplets: Maddie, Cassie and Josh, in 1999.

"I went back to school at AIB in Des Moines in 1998," Rhonda said. "I got my degree in Communication Data Services. Then I started working as a customer service assistant manager."

Mike had a career change as well.

"I was working as a route sales rep for G&K in downtown Des Moines," Mike said. "I sold linen and uniform services to all the restaurants down there.

"It was exciting. They were just starting to build the Wells Fargo Arena. I really liked my job."

The couple liked living in Des Moines in general.

"There was always something to do," Rhonda said. "On the weekends in the winter we could just hop in the car and go to the science center.

"Or we would go to the mall, let the kids run and burn off energy. Anything to keep them from being cooped up all winter."

Rhonda was a stay-at-home mom during the day, while Mike worked. On Tuesday evenings, and Saturdays, she would work while Mike was home with the kids.

"We had to do it that way," Rhonda said. "We couldn't have afforded to pay for daycare for all of the kids."

Since Rhonda was home during the day, she made an effort to get to know the neighbors.

"I'm a social person," Rhonda said. "I needed people to talk to, so I talked to our neighbors."

"We had some good friends up there, but they all started moving away."

Rhonda's father Dave SOBOTKA passed away in October 2001.

"We were home for my class reunion in 2002, and I started thinking about moving home," Rhonda said. "I started working on Mike little by little about the idea.

"One day I just said, 'It sure would be nice to move to Diagonal.' He didn't really say yes, but he didn't say no, so I just kept mentioning it to him. He came around."

Rhonda and Mike started looking for houses in Diagonal.

"We looked at all of the houses available, but none of them seemed to work for us," Rhonda said. "My mom actually suggested we think about buying her house."

Rhonda's mother, Lois Ann SOBOTKA, was living in the house she raised her children in on a farm about five miles south of Diagonal.

"Mom really needed a smaller house," Rhonda said. "Building wasn't an option for us, so we bought Mom's house and remodeled it."

In August 2003, a job became available at he school in Diagonal for Mike.

"It was a bus driver/custodian position," Mike said. "Since school was starting and they needed a bus driver, I had to either take the job and start right away or pass on it completely."

"We decided jobs don't come along in Diagonal very often so Mike moved down here while I stayed in Des Moines with the kids," Rhonda said. "I sold our house and then moved down here in October."

The remodeling took six months to complete.

"It was hard to live here while the guys were working," Mike said. "We had a microwave on a card table in the living room until they needed to be in the living room, then we had to move everything around."

"It was a different living situation for a while," Rhonda said, "but it was definitely worth it."

The couple now have a four bedroom, two bathroom home with an outdoor area for their children.

"We love it out here," Rhonda said. "It's a great house and a great location."

The couple has lived in Diagonal for two and a half years now. Mike has adjusted to the small town, and Rhonda loves being home.

"It's nice to come back and know everyone," Rhonda said. "Not much has changed, the school is smaller, but the spirit is still here."

Mike and Rhonda appreciate the small school for their children.

"When Tony started kindergarten in Des Moines, I met his teacher for five minutes in the open house," Rhonda said. "I know their teachers here, and I feel like they are all accountable to me as a parent."

Mike still works at the school and after commuting to jobs in Des Moines, Creston and Osceola, for more than a year, Rhonda was able to get a job as school secretary in Diagonal in March 2005.

Mike joined the Lion's Club in Diagonal after the couple moved to town and is an active member.

"Everyone here was very friendly and welcoming," Mike said. "I didn't have any trouble joining in and making friends."

This year, Mike took on the role of Cub Scout Leader and the couple will help with Little League this summer.

"I think you can be as involved or uninvolved in a small town as you want to be," Rhonda said. "We want to be involved."

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2012