Dady, Norma (Steele)

(Harriet Steele Fayne)

Norma Steele was the second child born to Harold Raymond Steele and his wife Amanda Regina Steele. Norma was born in Bluffton Twp. She attended rural schools in Glenwood Twp. As a child, she loved the hills and woods. Norma and her sisters would pick wildflow-ers in the spring and gooseberries and other berries in the summer. Gooseberries had to be picked and then “picked over" which meant picking the remains of the blossom and stem off the bottom and top of each berry — a very time consuming task. The berries were sold by the quart in Decorah. The money earned was carefully saved for the Winneshiek County Fair and to purchase school clothes.

Norma married Junior Dady in 1947. Most of their married life was spent in Des Moines, IA. They had four children: Larry, Lyle, Cheryl and a daughter who died at birth. Junior worked as a truck driver. Norma used her artistic talents to do craft work and paintings.

Norma currently lives in Des Moines near her two surviving children and her grandchildren. She has done in-home care since the death of her husband. Her oldest son, Larry also is deceased.

Norma Steele with the family dog, “Pepper.” This picture was taken about 1946, on the Huseby farm near Canoe Ridge Church. Notice the rolled-up blue jeans and the fold-up clothes rack.

Dahl, Barry M.

(Barry M. Dahl)

I was born at the Spring Grove Hospital in Spring Grove, MN, the son of Carl Berner Dahl and Marion E. Welch. As an infant we lived in rural Hesper, IA. The next seven or eight years, we lived with my grandparents Myron and Emma Welch just south of Mabel, MN. In 1955 we moved to Mabel, where I attended the Mabel public schools (later called Mabel-Canton schools). I graduated in 1964. After graduation I worked for several of the area farmers and contractors.

In Dec 1965 I received a “Christmas Greeting Card" from President Lyndon Johnson inviting me to serve in the Army. I spent two years in the service, first in basic and AIT at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. My Advanced Individual Training was at Ft. Eustace, VA where I worked in a judge advocates office. In Virginia our company - the “124 Terminal Command” - was formed. After a few months they flew us to San Francisco and where we boarded a ship for Viet Nam. The trip took three weeks with a brief stop in the Philippines. In Viet Nam I worked in the Law Office for a while and then took the job of Vietnamese supervisor for the rest of my tour.

On 24 Feb 1968, I married Gloria J. Soffa at the Lutheran Church in Preston, MN. Gloria was born in Preston, the daughter of Joseph and Alice (Larson) Soffa of Preston. She was employed by Northwest Bell for nearly 20 years.

I attended the Austin Area Vocational Technical School in Austin, MN for two years receiving training in the automobile repair business. I worked for six years in Waltham, MN and for five years in Blooming Prairie, MN. We then moved to Eyota, MN where I started working for K-Mart in 1981. Gloria and I are the parents of two children, Matthew B.  and Mary R.  Both children were born in Austin, MN.

Left to right: Barry, Mary and Matthew.