Reading Room featuring portraits of Kendall and Jane Young
F R E E C O M M U N I T Y
S H R E D E V E N T
SATurday , april 26, 2025
10:00 am - noon
409 2nd St | Webster City
Limit: 5 tall kitchen bags or copy paper boxes per person.
(Town & Country insurance parking lot)
Bring and shred financial statements, receipts, invoices and other personal documents. Documents will be shredded onsite by The Shredder.
Scan here to view additional details including the traffic flow map.
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Consult your tax preparer for information on document retention and types of documents that should be shred vs kept.
‘Dear Miss Crosley’
Charolette Crosley
Charlotte Crosley worked tirelessly to create and improve one of America’s outstanding small-town libraries. Now, Kendall Young Library must raise $10,000 to preserve Crosley’s finest legacy: Thousands of cards of irreplaceable local history.
By Robert E. Oliver
Dear Reader: Kendall Young librarian Charlotte Crosley believed one of a library’s first missions was to preserve local history. Sometime in the early 1940s she put her beliefs to work by pasting newspaper clippings, photos and letters on 9-inch by 14-inch file cards. The cards documented Webster City and Hamilton County residents, families, businesses, schools and military records found nowhere else.
In her own library career, Kendall Young Library Director Ketta Lubberstedt-Arjes has never seen their equal, calling the cards “a unique and valuable local history reference.”
The best way to preserve the cards, now more than 80 years old, is to digitize them and put them in an online database where countless thousands of additional users can access them.
The library has set a goal to raise $10,000 to begin the digitization process. Here, in light-hearted fashion, is an admittedly sentimental letter to Miss Crosley, who died in 1957, to bring her up to date on what’s happened in the library since she left, and make the case for digitization of the records to Crosley, (and perhaps as well to certain, older readers who fondly remember libraries before “technology” and found them perfectly adequate).
Miss Charlotte Crosley devoted her life to Kendall Young Library in Webster City. She was assistant librarian from 1911 to 1930, and librarian from 1930 to 1946. After 1946, until shortly before her death in 1957, she was a historian. Crosley devoted thousands of hours in pursuit of documenting the military service of all 1,100 men from Hamilton County who served in World War I. According to a 1944 article in The Daily Freeman-Journal, she finished compiling similar records for 2,289 men from Hamilton County who served in World War II. She is shown here holding one of the military service cards, which the library hopes to digitize for use in online databases. It has set a goal of $10,000 for the project.
Dear Miss Crosley
I’m writing to tell you about changes in the library since you retired, including an exciting new project we’re about to undertake.
I’m afraid we’ve stopped using the card catalogue altogether. How, you ask, can a library run without one? Well, something known as a “computer” has replaced it. I have no idea what became of the hardwood card catalogue cabinets you were so proud of.
Do you remember the AnasoffBerry Computer, built at Iowa State University in 1939? We all read about it in The Daily FreemanJournal and Des Moines Register. It was described as an “electrical computing machine” with 300 vacuum tubes and a “capacitator” which functioned like a human memory.
Yes, I know, that last bit is somewhat unsettling.
Today, a modern computer uses “memory” to find books in the library. A library patron types in a title, or author, and the machine displays the Dewey number on its screen.
If the fool thing doesn’t work right, one can just ignore it and browse the stacks, which are still organized under The Dewey Decimal System as God intended. Ninety-five percent of public libraries — and 90% of college libraries in the United States — continue to use Dewey.
Others have turned to that nasty Library of Congress Classification System you strenuously opposed. And you were right. How much faith can one have in a “system” where cookbooks are found under “technology?”
I still remember how proud you were of that
snazzy microfilm reader we talked the board into buying in the early ‘50s. You thought it was just the thing to tackle our storage space limitations. Well, over the decades, the machine proved to be unreliable, expensive to repair, and the public never liked it anyway. Ours hasn’t worked in years, but may have some trade-in value.
So, we keep dusting it off.
Despite the difficulties, though, computers have caught on in library work. We also now have “databases;” they are large masses of data stored in electronic files. A patron may access them from a computer terminal (a keyboard) in the library or, even more conveniently, from their home computer. Today, many people have computers in their home.
As an example, and, dear, I hope you’re sitting down as you read this, the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature is today nothing more than another database. In any case, we barely have any periodicals in the library today. Many are available by searching “the internet.” I can’t possibly go into that here; that’s another story.
Stained glass dome over original entrance hall
Charlotte, I’m not making this up.
Databases in Kendall Young Library can search for, find and display, in seconds, an image of any newspaper published in Hamilton County from 1857 to 2019, and Webster City High School yearbooks from 1913 to 2017. Yes, as I write this, I confess it still sounds like “an everyday miracle.”
Perhaps it really is.
And, hence, my true purpose in writing. The thousands of local history cards you made are still widely used in the library today. But they’re old and brittle and we know they won’t last much longer. They must be preserved for all time, and we think we have the solution.
Our present Library Director Ketta Lubberstedt-Arjes has found a company, Advantage Archives of Cedar Rapids, who can be trusted to “digitize” them, so they can be accessed and used by patrons anywhere, using the databases and internet system mentioned earlier.
We’re going to ask Webster Citians to help us raise the $10,000 to start digitizing your local history cards.
Library Reference Desk
Kendall Young Library Director
Ketta
Lubberstedt-Arjes
holds one of the files that will eventurally be digitized.
We have every confidence they’re up to the task; they’re as generous as ever.
Sadly, since 1957, people we thought knew better left Iowa for California, Texas, Colorado and other places for “things” they imagined were better than those here at home. Many of these folks still think of themselves as Iowans, and digitizing your local history cards is one of the best ways we can think of to keep them connected with their old hometown.
We’ve worked hard these many years since you left us to maintain and improve the library you loved so much. You’d certainly approve of the magnificently enlarged library building, a large conference/meeting room, superb display of the Eberly Doll Collection, and continued emphasis on the children’s library, where you began your career in 1911.
In short it remains what it always was: a library still worthy of the name Kendall Young.
Sincerely Yours,
Webster City library patrons of 2025
Books We Love
From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
By e.l. konigsburg, 1967
An adventurous tale still relevant today Young literature is fun for adults, too!
By Lori Berglund
Books have always been a great escape for me. There is nothing I would rather do on a hot summer day than plop a lawn chair on the beach at Clear Lake State Park and settle in with a cooler full of Mountain Dews, a big bag of Cheetos, and a great beach read.
Last Wednesday was not exactly a beach day. They say the Girls State Basketball Tournament Blizzard is only a myth, but that myth took down our power for almost 40 hours in the first week of March. Before the storm was over, I had twice gone to my car just to charge my phone.
Fortunately, we have an ancient gravity furnace (heat rises) that kept the house warm without the benefit of power. I was also able to light the gas stove with a match and heat up a little soup. As an Irishman,
I was happy just eating bread and butter sandwiches. (My husband isn’t Irish, but he has other redeeming qualities.)
I quickly knew I needed to keep busy. After I had sorted a dozen photo albums, organized the storage bench where I keep seasonal decorations, Christmas dishes, and a little bit of everything else, and then resisted the urge to waste phone battery on internet surfing, I decided that my best friend for the evening would be a good book.
But what to read? My mother lived by the motto that we should always be a bit of a kid at heart, and I still enjoy some great children’s and adolescent literature. Besides, who wants to read something serious all the time! My wellworn copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ‘The Long Winter,’ would have been appropriate for the weather, but I couldn’t quite find it.
I scanned my bookcase a little more until I found a small paperback hiding on top of some other books. It was ‘From the MixedUp Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.’ Other than my ‘Little House’ collection, this was my absolutely favorite book as a young girl.
This award-winning novel by e.l. konigsburg was first published in 1967. I read
it several years later, probably as about a fifth grader at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School shopping one of the many book fairs the school had in those days. I was a huge fan of the Scholastic Book Fair and I think Mom bought me two or three books at every fair. I still have my original copy, and I even bought a special anniversary edition at my favorite used book store a few years ago.
I settled in under some cozy covers, clipped my tiny book light to the back cover, and was soon caught up in the tale of Claudia Kincaid planning her epic journey as a runaway. But Claudia is no ordinarily 12 year old. She’s a planner, a smart woman who knows exactly what she wants. She probably grew up to run for office and, knowing Claudia, she would have won.
Like any future politician, Claudia needed someone’s else dime to make her adventure possible. That’s why she invites along her younger brother, Jamie, 9 years old. The middle child of the family, Jamie is a miser who not only saves all of his birthday money, but cheats at cards and wins pennies and dimes off his bus buddy. Jamie Kincaid could have grown up to be a campaign manager.
Claudia, of course, is not one to rough it when she runs away. This girl invented “glamping” before glamping was a thing. Jamie was a little disappointed when he learned that they would be run away and then hide at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, a short train ride from their home in Connecticut. But the intrigue of hiding from the guards, fooling the museum staff, and sleeping in a rather creepy century’s old bed at the museum adds sufficient mystery to keep him amused.
Claudia, always the academic, decides they must learn something every day. In that effort, she eventually falls in love with a marble angel that may or may not be the work of
Michelangelo. Her search for the truth leads the brother and sister runaways to the very real mixed-up files, of one Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the eccentric and wealthy widow from whom the angel was acquired.
As Claudia and Jamie arrive at Mrs. Frankweiler’s home, I think how delightful it would be have a study like hers, full of books and shelves, and rows of filing cabinets stuffed full with a mismatch of snippets of things she has learned and acquired in life.
For someone like myself —a book nerd, a history nerd — oh what fun it would be have an entire room full of filing cabinets and books and papers, just waiting to solve a mystery. Will Claudia solve the mystery of the angel’s maker by searching Mrs. Frankweiler’s mixed-up papers? I’ll never tell. Read the book.
It’s such a wonderful tale of children stretching their wings, and teaching their parents a lesson all at the same time. After all, what 12 year old doesn’t need to teach her parents a lesson from time to time! It’s a story of a brother and sister becoming a team and learning to work together, despite their vast differences.
It’s a story of a young girl quenching her thirst to learn, regardless of circumstances.
If she was 12 in 1967 when the book was first published, she would be 70 this year, still young enough to run for president! Or perhaps she grew up to be a teacher, or a librarian, or a museum director.
But is this story set in New York and Connecticut of the late 1960s something that children could relate to yet today? Well, if they have ever wanted to teach their parents a lesson — and that was Claudia’s first ambition — then I would say so. For any child who wants to break out of the mold, to do something bold and daring, this is a wonderful book.
Of course, today’s kids might need a glossary to understand some of the common terms of the time. Terms such as “transistor radio” are not familiar to most of today’s kids. But a battery-powered transistor radio can be quite a blessing in a blizzard, and so can a good book.
If there’s a book fair coming up for a child in your life, be sure to buy them a few books, and throw in a book light, they really are fantastic to have, and maybe even find a book for yourself. Never grow too old to be a kid at heart. A book in the hand can take you almost anywhere – even in the midst of an Iowa blizzard.
CITY SCENE
FULLER HALL RECREATION CENTER COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR
EDUCATIONAL CLASSES
Diabetes Education
Time: 9:00am
Location: Sampson Room
Speaker: Amber Kastler, MS, RD, LD, CDCES
Did you know that the number of people living with diabetes has more than quadrupled in the last 3 decades? In 2022, over 830 million people across the globe were reported to have this chronic disease About 12% of the American population is impacted by type 2 diabetes And now children are being impacted by this historically adult acquired disease as well Even scarier? 8 7 million people remain undiagnosed Join us in a discussion at the Community Health and Wellness Fair to learn more about this disease that is among the leading causes of death in Americans –from signs and symptoms to prevention and long term treatment plans and everything in between Amber Kastler is a dietitian and diabetes specialist from Iowa Specialty Hospitals and Clinics She has been practicing as a dietitian for 15 years – specializing in diabetes management for 3 years She prides herself in meeting her patients where they are in making changes to their health that are realistic and sustainable for the long term Amber is a Webster City Alum that is passionate about giving back to the community that helped mold her into the practitioner she has become She is married to her high school sweetheart, Nick, who she shares two daughters with In her spare time, she enjoys watching her daughters activities, dinking around in the kitchen, traveling, and being spontaneous with her family and friends
Colon Health: Prevention & Best Practices
Time: 10:00am
Location: Sampson Room
Speaker: Caitlin Larson, RD, LD, CDCES
Colon Health
Colon Cancer - What is colorectal cancer and who is at the highest risk?
When do I need screened and what screening option is best for me?
What can I do to prevent the development of colorectal cancer?
Nutrition for a healthy colon
The 5 best habits for a healthy colon
Caitlin is a registered dietitian by trade and is currently the gastroenterology leader at Iowa Specialty Hospitals and Clinics She works alongside a fantastic team of doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses who serve patients at our main Iowa Specialty Hospital campuses, as well as several outreach clinics So much of Caitlin’s background in nutrition ties into the GI world, so she ll be excited to offer some expertise from both angles at the Community Health & Wellness Fair
Heart Health: What is Atrial Fibrillation
Time: 11:00am
Location: Sampson Room
Speaker: Dr Elise Duwe, M D , Ph D
Dr Duwe will be providing an overview of what Atrial Fibrillation is and important updated guidelines
Dr Duwe is a family medicine physician at Van Diest Family Health Clinic who sees patients in the clinic and in the hospital of all ages from a few days old to over 100 She loves a diagnostic challenge and strives to be genuine Dr Duwe prefers to listen to the story you, as the patient tell, keeping in mind your wholeness as a person Then we work together to preserve that wholeness in order to determine the next steps with diagnosis and treatment
Breast Cancer Awareness
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Sampson Room
Speaker: Dr Elise Duwe, M D , Ph D
Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, affecting millions of women and even some men. Dr. Duwe will provide an overview of what breast cancer is, the importance of early detection and understanding the risks, recognizing symptoms and prioritizing regular screenings.
COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR
SATURDAY, APRIL 5TH 9:00AM - 1:00PM
Mark your calendars and get ready to celebrate health, wellness, and community spirit at the upcoming Fuller Hall Recreation Center Community Health and Wellness Fair! This exciting event is designed to bring together individuals, families, and healthcare professionals for a day filled with informative educational classes, learning about resources in our area and fun activities for all ages
This event is an excellent opportunity to take charge of your health, learn new wellness strategies, and connect with like-minded individuals who are committed to leading healthier lives. Whether you’re looking for expert advice, fun activities, or simply a way to get involved in the community, the Community Health and Wellness Fair has something for everyone
Giveaways
Fuller Hall Recreation Center 625 Bank Street, Webster City (515) 832-919
EAT
Our Hometown Recipe Corner
Spring ahead with fresh flavors
Warm weather, blue skies and time spent outdoors are hallmarks of spring. Springtime is a season of rebirth and renewal. That’s evidenced by budding trees and the return of frolicking animals. Spring also can be a time to refresh meal-making.
Now is the time to trade in those hearty, filling dishes that are perfect for cold winter nights for lighter fare. Recipes like “Pasta Primavera” from “Seasoned America” (William Morrow and Company, Inc.) by Chef Paul Prudhomme can be brought out in spring and enjoyed throughout the warmer seasons. In Italian,“primavera” means “spring,” making this classic, vegetable-infused pasta dish a favorite this time of year. The vegetable inclusions below can be switched out for your own favorite produce as well.
Pasta Primavera
Makes about 8 cups
Combine the seasoning mix ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl.
Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. When oil is very hot, add the prosciutto, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini. Add the butter and, as it melts, stir in the garlic and the seasoning mix. Stir in asparagus tips or snow peas and green onions. Stir well and cook just until the vegetables are crisp-tender,
Seasoning Mix:
2 1⁄2 teaspoon dried sweet basil leaves
1 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup thin strips prosciutto
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1⁄2 cup sliced carrots (cut on the diagonal)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 cup asparagus tips or 3⁄4 cups snow peas
1 cup chopped green onions
2 cups heavy cream
9 ounces of your favorite pasta
about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the sauce has thickened a bit, about 3 minutes.
Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, toss well and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.
LANDMARKS
How well DO YOU know Hamilton County?
Look at these photos and see if you can identify these local landmarks.
Second Street
WINNER: Ray Kinnetz
Photo #1
Photo 1: American Family Insurance, 730
Photo 2: Blake’s Auto, 738 Second Street
by Jim Miller
When to Worry About Your Memory
Dear Savvy Senior ,
At age 70, I’ve become more and more forgetful lately and am concerned it may be an early sign of dementia. Are there any memory screening tools or services that you can recommend to help me gage my problem, without going to a neurologist?
Forgetful Frank
Dear Frank,
Many older adults, like yourself, worry about memory lapses as they get older fearing it may be the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia. To get some insight on the seriousness of your problem, here are some tips and resources you can turn to.
Warning Signs
As we grow older, some memory difficulties – such as forgetting names or misplacing items from time to time – are associated with normal aging. But the symptoms of dementia are much more than simple memory lapses.
While symptoms can vary greatly, people with dementia may have problems with short-term memory, keeping track of a purse or wallet, paying bills, planning and preparing meals, remembering appointments or traveling out of the neighborhood. To help you recognize the difference between typical age-related memory loss and a more serious problem, the Alzheimer’s Association provides a list of 10 warning signs that you can assess at 10signs.org. They also provide information including the signs and symptoms on other conditions that can cause dementia like vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and others – see ALZ.org/dementia.
Memory Screening
A great resource and first step to help you get a handle on your memory problem is the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, which offers a National Memory Screening Program. This is a free, confidential, face-to-face memory screening done virtually in real-time that takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete and consists of questions and/ or tasks to evaluate your memory status. Once the screening is complete, the screener will review the results with you.
Available to everyone, these memory screenings are done daily Monday through Friday, and are given by doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers or other healthcare professionals across the country.
A smart phone, computer, tablet or any other device with a webcam and Internet capability is all that’s needed. Appointments can be requested online at ALZFDN.org/memory-screening or by calling 866232-8484.
It’s also important to know that this screening is not a diagnosis of any particular condition but can indicate whether you should see your doctor for more extensive assessment.
See Your Doctor
If you find that you need further evaluation, make an appointment with your primary care doctor for a cognitive checkup and medical examination. Depending on what’s found, you may be referred to a geriatrician or neurologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating memory loss or Alzheimer’s disease.
Keep in mind that even if you are experiencing some memory problems, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have dementia. Many memory problems are brought on by other factors like stress, depression, thyroid disease, side effects of medications, sleep disorders, vitamin deficiencies and other medical conditions. And by treating these conditions he can reduce or eliminate the problem.
