Siouxland Life Magazine - June 2012

Historic home recalls town’s history

20 Questions with an organ builder

Hats off! A collection to top your lid

A GUIDE FOR LIVING IN SIOUXLAND

WIDE STREETS AND MORE ONAWA, IOWA, BOASTS PLENTY TO SEE, DO

A YUMMY IDEA

ESKIMO PIE HAILS FROM ONAWA

JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE IS ON THE WEB! VISIT WWW.SIOUXCITYJOURNAL.COM/SIOUXLANDLIFE SIOUXLAND LIFE JUNE 2012

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JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE

CONTENTS June

2012

8 HATS, HATS AND MORE HATS

Do you need more than one hat? Of course you do.

12 ON THE COVER This month we journey to Onawa, Iowa, a spot Lewis and Clark, several presidents and the creator of the Eskimo Pie visited. Find out, too, why it boasts the widest streets in the United States. Photograph by Tim Hynds FEATURES 4 Feature home: Historic places 8 Collection: Hats off 10 Treasures could be lurking 12 ONAWA: Wide streets, historic places 14 Home of the Eskimo Pie 16 20 questions with an organ builder 19 Last picture show 23 Onabike draws crowds 24 Politicians flock to town

26 28 33 36 43 45 43 45 47

16 MAKING MUSIC

All roads lead to Onawa for folks looking to build, repair organs.

Loess Hills leave an impression Buildings tell a story POW camp brings memories Lewis and Clark slept here Health: information plays a role Health: Male incontinence Health: Sun exposure Health: Doc, I’ve Got a Question Parting Shot: If I won the lottery

PUBLISHER Steve Griffith EDITOR Bruce Miller EDITORIAL Joanne Fox, Tim Gallagher, Earl Horlyk, Nick Hytrek, John Quinlan PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Hynds, Jim Lee, Laura Wehde PRESENTATION EDITOR Amy Hynds DESIGN Kathryn Sesser ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Gevik ADVERTISING DESIGN Stacy Pajl, Jill Bisenius ©2012 The Sioux City Journal. Siouxland Life is published monthly by The Sioux City Journal.

For advertising information, please call (712) 224-6275. For editorial information, please call (712) 293-4218.

40 MALE INCONTINENCE

There is help even though men aren’t willing to talk.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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HOME making

history relevant

Owner Karmen Cormany at the Whiting/Murphy House in Onawa, Iowa.

OWNER DISCOVERS

HOUSE OF HER

DREAMS

o

Text by Joanne Fox | Photographs by Tim Hynds

ONAWA, IOWA – KARMEN Cormany found the house of her dreams.

Literally.

“My sister was visiting and I told her I had dreamed about this house and had seen the very room she had slept in,” Cormany said, reminiscing in the dining room of her home. “My sister just looked at me and said, ‘You know, Dad could do that, but stopped telling people because they made fun of him. I think you got his gift!’”

It was the second floor bedroom of the historic Murphy house in this Monona County community that Cormany envisioned when she was 8 or 9 years of age. She and her husband George bought the house in 1990.

That’s a story in itself.

“We were living in South Sioux City, thinking of moving, and I saw an ad in the newspaper for a ‘mansion’ in Turin, Iowa,” she recalled. “When we got there, it was not what we expected, so we were returning home, driving through Onawa, and I saw the For Sale sign on the front lawn and yelled, ‘Stop the car!’ We peeked in the windows, I copied down the realtor information, and we bought it.”

What the Cormanys bought was a slice of Monona County history.

It took prominent Onawa hardware dealer Newell A. Whiting three summers – from 1880 to 1882 – to have his home constructed on four city lots at a cost of $7,000. No expense was spared on the house, including a wrought iron fence, 248 feet long, which cost $405.

Following Whiting’s 1891 death, his second wife Julia resided in the house until it was sold to John R. Murphy in 1894. Murphy and his wife Margaret,

Owner Karmen Cormany stands in the living room.

parents of eight children, had found the perfect house for their large family with its 10 bedrooms and many, many more rooms on three full floors.

The Murphy House – as it is called – remained in the Murphy family until Joan Petersen and her husband Charles were approached about the house in 1979.

“A mutual friend of John Murphy (the grandson) and ours came into our florist shop and asked if we were looking to move, because John needed caretakers for the house. At that time, his mother’s sister, Ruth, who had been living in the house, passed away,” Joan explained. “As a matter of fact, we were looking to move and decided

it would be a good fit for us. In fact, Charles laughed and told me he had always wanted to live in the house.

We moved in with our two daughters, Ruth and Sarah.”

The Murphy House is an example of Italian Revival architecture, a popular style during the Victorian era, explained Petersen.

“The home was built with sundried bricks from Turin, made of pink soil, individually crafted,” she said.

“The decorative cornices, window caps and sills appear to be solid, but are actually of enameled, galvanized metal.”

Before entering the double front doors of walnut, one will need to grasp a brass lion’s head doorknob.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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Above the door, etched glass catches the southern rays of the sun. The foyer leads to a stairway with a banister of hand-turned cherry and walnut wood which is open, enabling one to look up to the third floor.

Originally, the “L” part of house contained the kitchen, pantry and back stairs to the servants quarters, Petersen pointed out. That area was remodeled in 1936 into an attached garage, half bath and a small den-type room.

“Charles and Esther Murphy made some changes in the room size and arrangement on the main floor and second floor in 1936, but kept the structure to retain its integrity and the spirit of the Victorian period,” she said.

Because the Petersens owned a flower shop, they decided to decorate the house during the Christmas season. They shared its character with the 6

JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE

general public for hours and days, during a hectic time of the year.

“I think we put Christmas trees in almost every room,” she said. “We had such fun decorating it all.”

While the Petersens resided at 1106 Iowa Ave., much of the furniture had been left by the Murphys.

“There was an interesting hall tree in the foyer had a place for coats on its hooks, mittens and gloves in a drawer, umbrellas in an enclosed area on the bottom, and a shelf for calling cards,” she said.

This Onawa landmark is located on Iowa Avenue, the major thoroughfare that takes drivers from Interstate 29 to downtown. As if the pink bricks weren’t enough to draw one’s attention, atop the roof of the house is a tower or turret, with eight windows, measuring about 24 by 36 inches, that afford a look

at the treetops.

Visitors wishing to climb the steep steps from the third floor up to the narrow space even got a peek during the Christmas tours.

The house was originally heated by stoves with many of the rooms having round apertures near the ceilings through which stove pipes were attached. Radiators are found in most rooms now for the steam heat.

“Originally Newell Whiting had the house built so each room was adjacent to a chimney to allow for small stoves to heat each room,” Petersen said. “That means there would have been 11 stoves to tend.”

In the early years of the home, there was a summer kitchen attached to the “L” and a carriage house next to the alley where a small garage now stands.

The Petersens remained as caretakers until 1989, taking the time to make sure the house was listed on the Historic Registry in the mid-1980s.

The Cormanys continued to maintain the house; however, gone is the attached garage, replaced by a modern, large kitchen area and the original kitchen is now a modern bathroom.

Karmen has been busy stripping woodwork, much of it painted white when the craze was popular in the 1930s. The house is on the market now, following George Cormany’s death last year.

“I just decided it was time to downsize,” Karmen said.

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Top: Signs used when the house was open for tours are shown. Middle left: The renovated kitchen. The Victorian-style home was built in 1881 and had 17 rooms. Above: A small rocking chair, an original piece of the house’s furniture. Bottom: A front room has been turned into a bedroom.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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COLLECTIONS hats

off!

HATS OFF!

LE MARS RESIDENT RIVALS BRITISH WHEN IT COMES TO HEAD APPAREL Text by

Joanne Fox Photographs

by Jim Lee

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JUNE 2012

LE MARS, IOWA – DORIS DAU’S LICENSE PLATE reveals her collection.

It reads: LUVHATS. “Yes, I’ve been called the hat lady,” she laughed.

“And people if they see me by the car without a hat on will ask why I’m not wearing one.

Dau may rival the British when it comes to the variety of head apparel.

“This one somebody found for me,” she said displaying a deep purple hat. “It’s quite clever, because it says, “By Doris.”

Another of Dau’s hat’s sports a zippered area.

“It think it’s just for design,” she confided. “I can’t see any woman keeping money in the pocket.”

Dau added, “Yes, I do have a mink hat and I have one with a delicate black veil that’s one of the really nice ones I bought.”

If she’s not donning one, Dau said the hats are Friends know if it’s Doris, by the license plate on her car. all over her house, including on her walls.

“I have a number of porcelain and ceramic heads on my walls that are wearing hats,” she pointed out.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Doris Dau collects hats and also has porcelain figurines with hats.

Q. When did you start collecting hats?

A. In 1990.

Q. What’s the first hat that started your collection?

A. Let’s Twist!, a straw hat from when I was a teenager that I got in Lake Okoboji in 1959. I was 13 years old. It’s probably my favorite.

Q. What’s the appeal of collecting hats?

A. I get to wear them.

Q. How does one go about collecting hats?

A. I buy them. I find them at antique stores. Friends or their mothers or their grandmothers have hats they don’t wear any more and give them to me. When Westmar College closed, I got some from their theater department.

Q. What criteria do you use for choosing hats for your collection?

A. I just like hats. Or sometimes I buy one to go with an outfit.

Q. How many hats are in your collection?

A. Well over 100.

Q. Do you always wear one on Easter?

A. Not necessarily. But spring will always see me put on a hat.

Q. What’s your most expensive hat and how much did it cost?

A. A black and white pillbox hat. I spent $60 on it.

Q. What’s your favorite hat?

A. The first one I got, but I really like to wear country/ western styles.

Q. What’s your most unusual one?

A. It’s a blue one that’s collapsible. It all folds up into the palm of my hand.

Q. Are all of them wearable?

A. A lot of them are not comfortable to wear. But I still enjoy them. And others fit just like an old shoe.

Q. Are there any hats you shy away from?

A. Men will try and give me seed corn hats, but I don’t like the look of those on my head.

Q. Where do you keep them?

A. A good many of them are on display, because I love to wear them. Others might be seasonal, so I have boxes and trunks I store them in.

Q. What do your friends and family think of your hat collection?

A. My family has had to get used to it. Friends always look to see what I am wearing next.

Q. Do you collect anything else?

A. Pansies.

Q. How did that come about?

A. My mother loved pansies and when she passed away, someone sent over a sympathy card with them on it. It was all about remembrance.

Q. Any thought to ever stopping the hat collection?

A. Oh, yes! But not really. I do only have one head and 30 days in a month to wear a hat.

Doris Dau, Le Mars, displays a couple of her favorite hats.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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STORAGE you

might be hiding a fortune STORAGE TIPS Don’t store important paper or personal identification, such as birth certificates, drivers licenses and Social Security cards. Also avoid storing chemicals, candles and food, which will attract rodents.

Put a dryer sheet in furniture cushions to keep spiders away.

Store your items in plastic totes to prevent moisture or rodents from getting in.

Don’t place photos back to back if you plan to store them for several years.

Dunes Toy Box Storage Condominiums in Dakota Dunes provide storage units for adults’ big toys such as boats, collectible cars and RVs.

STORAGE WARS Those items you stashed away and forgot could be auctioned

E

Text by

Dolly A. Butz Photograph

by Jim Lee

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EVERY TIME JENICE PRY OPENS an abandoned storage unit, she never fails to find outdated exercise equipment and a Christmas tree.

Pry, owner of Affordable Self Storage in Sergeant Bluff, offers 700 storage units ranging from the size of a small closet to a double-car garage.

Some customers, she said, have been storing their belongings for more than 20 years.

On occasion, Pry said some people fall behind with their payments for whatever reason. The Iowa lien laws are strict when it comes to storage.

“If you’re behind three months and you don’t have a good reason for it, there’s a good chance your stuff will be liquidated,” said Pry, who estimates that she repossesses about two dozen storage units a year.

Before the contents of a storage unit can be sold, storage facility owners must send the rental tenant a certified letter and make two attempts in a local paper to notify

JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE

them publicly of the situation. The first newspaper ad must run no later than two weeks before the sale and the second notice must run a minimum of a week before.

“We make every attempt to contact the rental tenant prior to selling their goods,” Pry said. “We’ve had people that have been here 15 years and all of a sudden just stop making payments and you contact them and they’re like, ‘I just finally decided it’s not worth it. The stuff is yours.’”

Jennifer Lacek, manager of Leeds Self Storage, 4224 Floyd Blvd., said she would rather have the rental money than have to sell someone’s belongings.

“Nine times out of 10, when we have to sell somebody’s stuff, we take a huge loss,” she said. “We’re in the business to make money, not acquire things.”

If the rental tenant doesn’t respond to the any of the notices by the time of sale, the storage facility owner can legally sell the contents.

Lacek said she prefers a yard sale

approach. Pry held her first sale in the format of the popular A&E show “Storage Wars” this February.

“We took the locks off, opened the door, we gave them about five minutes to look at the goods in the unit,” she said. “You can’t touch anything.

You can’t dig through. It’s just like on TV.” Jerry Peterson, owner of Morningside Storage, 4901 Gordon Drive, conducted his last sale just like “Storage Wars” and he said he will do it that way from now on.

“It’s like an auction, they walk by it real quick and look at,” he said. “It’s just like on TV.” Peterson has found bicycles, tools, furniture and sometimes garbage in abandoned units.

Lacek chuckles that she has found drug paraphernalia and some items that wouldn’t be appropriate to print in the newspaper.

“You definitely find some really gross things in there,” she said.

“Things you didn’t want to know about other people. For the most part it’s just household stuff.”

Home Grown & Proud to Live & Work in Siouxland

LAURA E. GIESE, DDS

BRIAN B. BURSICK, DDS

DOUGLAS A. WHEELOCK, DDS, PC

Dr. Laura Giese was born and raised in Sioux City , growing up in the Morningside Area. She attended Heelan High School and graduated in 2000. She then went on to spend the next 8 years at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology in 2004 and her Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree in 2008. In July of 2008, she joined Wheelock and Bursick Dentistry as an associate.

Dr. Giese is married to her high school sweetheart, Bob Giese and has a son, Cal. Dr. Giese is committed to providing quality dental care for Siouxland.

Dr. Brian Bursick is a Sioux City native growing up in the Crescent Park area. He attended West High School and graduated in 1986. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Nebraska Dental School in 1994. After graduation he practiced briefly in Sergeant Bluff, IA. In 1997 he joined Dr. Wheelock as an associate.

In 2004 he became a business partner.

Away from the office Dr. Bursick is busy with his family. He and his wife Kristy have three young sons.

Dr. Bursick is devoted to delivering quality comprehensive dentistry to the people of his hometown, Sioux City, IA.

Dr. Wheelock established his own dental practice in 1977. It originally was only 2 blocks from its current location at 4100 Morningside Avenue.

Dr. Wheelock was born and raised in Sioux City graduating from Sioux City Central High School in 1969.

He went on to receive his Bachelors of Science degree from Briar Cliff College in 1973. He attended dental school at the University of Iowa and earned his Doctor of Dental Science degree in 1976. After graduation Dr. Wheelock returned to Sioux City.

Dr. Wheelock is involved in his community & church. Dr. Wheelock is married to his college sweetheart, Marilyn, and has three adult sons and three daughters in law. He is the proud grandfather of five incredible grandchildren.

Dr. Wheelock is proud to call Siouxland home and enjoys providing quality dental care to the community.

Our hOme-grOwN prOfessiONals have iNsight aNd experieNce tO make aN exceptiONal cONtributiON tO Our patieNts aNd cOmmuNity

Where Quality, Comfort and Value Meet.

New patients are welcomed!

DOUGLAS A. WHEELOCK, DDS, PC BRIAN B. BURSICK, DDS LAURA E. GIESE, DDS 4100 Morningside Ave. • Sioux City, IA 51106 Phone 712-274-2038 Fax 712-274-0648

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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ONAWA wide streets and so much more

The next time you eat an Eskimo Pie or listen to an organ recital or drive down a narrow street, you might want to think about the folks in Onawa, Iowa. There – the birthplace of the Eskimo Pie, they boast the widest main street in the United States, a wealth of history and a place in today’s political marketplace that makes others take notice. This month, we venture to Onawa, home of those wide streets and so much more.

WIDEST STREET

IN AMERICA? Text By Dolly A. Butz | Photographs by Tim Hynds

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Iowa Avenue in Onawa, Iowa.

The city claims to have the widest main street in America.

T

TERRY VIRTUE, AN ONAWA resident for more than 75 years and engineer, grew up with the notion that his town had the widest main street in the USA. According to Virtue, Onawa’s main street, Iowa Avenue, also known as Iowa175, is 150-feet-wide from storefront to storefront.

“There were two towns way back when and still are that say, ‘No. That’s not true. They have wider main streets,” Virtue said.

Twenty-five years ago, Virtue and his wife visited one of them, Keene, N.H. Although Keene’s main street is 156 feet, six feet wider than Onawa’s, the way it was developed puts it out of contention, according to Virtue.

“The street down through the middle of the right-ofway was improved and then there were strips of grass

SIOUX CITY

Correctionville

Sergeant Bluff Mapleton

ONAWA Oakland Woodbine Blair 30

30

Fremont

OMAHA

80

and the sidewalk in front of the various retail stores,” he recalled. “To me that really didn’t qualify the same way as the one here in Onawa.

I’m sure the people out there

wouldn’t agree with that.”

Plains, Kan., has also tried to challenge Onawa. Its main street is 155 feet, 5 inches from storefront to storefront.

Jo Petersen, a former talented and gifted coordinator for the Onawa School District, said students tackled a project about Onawa’s wide main street in the mid-1980s for National History Day. “One of the girls and her dad went down late at night and measured the street from storefront to storefront,” she said.

The student came up with 157 feet from curb to curb, according to Peterson.

Peterson also recalled an old photograph the students viewed at the city office, which showed horses and buggies parked down the middle of the street.

Why is the main street

so wide?

Onawa Public Library Assistant Director Chris Zink said at one time, planners thought the railroad from Denison would run west right through town. That never happened. Unfortunately the street had already been platted.

Petersen said another theory is that the width would prevent fires from bouncing from one side of the street to another.

Whether Onawa really has the widest street in the country doesn’t bother Virtue or Petersen.

“It really doesn’t affect me at all,” Virtue said. “It’s been good publicity for the little town here. I don’t think anybody really takes it seriously.”

Petersen added, “It isn’t something everyone gets all wound up about.”

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ONAWA home of the Eskimo Pie

Left: Eskimo Pie artifacts, including photos of Russell Stover, left, and Merle Cutler are shown at the Monona County Historical Museum in Onawa, Iowa. Right: Historical society president Jim Robbins holds an Eskimo Pie premium at the Monona County Historical Museum in Onawa, Iowa.

ESKIMO PIES

STILL A FAVORITE ICE CREAM TREAT AFTER MORE THAN 90 YEARS Text By Earl Horlyk Photographs by Tim Hynds

W

WHAT’S PART ICE CREAM and part chocolate bar, was invented in Onawa, Iowa, and has been refreshing kids for more than 90 years?

If you said it’s the Eskimo Pie – the first-ever chocolate-covered ice cream bar wrapped in foil – you’re right.

Now owned by Nestle Dreyer’s Ice Cream – the makers of Haagen Dazs, among other brands – the Eskimo Pie came from the fertile imagination of Christian Kent Nelson, an Onawa schoolteacher and owner of the Royal Ice Cream Parlor.

Legend has it that an enterprising Nelson came up with a chocolate-covered concept when a boy in his store couldn’t decide whether he wanted ice cream or a candy bar.

Tinkering with ways to adhere melted chocolate to bricks of vanilla ice cream, Nelson invented a dipping machine which seemed to do the trick.

Securing a patent for his newfangled piece of machinery, Nelson partnered with Omaha-based candy manufacturer Russell C. Stover and the two began mass-producing the frozen bars under the trademarked name “Eskimo Pie” – a name suggested

by Stover’s wife Clara – in 1922.

ESKIMO PIES VS. KLONDIKE BARS Sometimes, it’s all in the timing.

With its revolutionary idea of combining vanilla ice cream and a chocolate shell, Eskimo Pie came on the market in 1921.

Its rival, the Klondike Bar, was created in 1922 by the Isaly Dairy Company of Youngstown,

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Independently wealthy off royalties from the sale of his frozen confection, Nelson retired young but grew bored.

The former math teacher ended his career at Reynolds Metal Company in 1961, where he invented new methods of manufacturing and shipping (you guessed it) Eskimo Pies.

Virginia Johnson, past president of the Monona County Historical Museum, has told the story of the origins of the Eskimo Pie to thousands of visitors.

“Onawa’s known for having the widest street in the world and for being the birthplace of the Eskimo Pie,” she explained. “People wanna hear about ‘em and we’re happy to oblige.”

Ohio, the very next year.

While Eskimo Pies stuck with its tried-and-true vanilla ice cream - chocolate covering, Klondike offered a variety of ice cream flavors like grape, maple and cherry in their bars, even as early as their initial year of origin.

To date, Klondike has experimented with various ice cream flavors and different

shells, including its triple chocolate bar which consists of a chocolate shell with chocolate ice cream plus chocolate syrup between the shell and ice cream.

But like Eskimo Pies, Klondike has a complicated history of ownership. Currently, the brand is by owned Good HumorBreyers, a part of Unilever.

ESKIMO PIES IN POP CULTURE • Country singer George Jones wrote and recorded a song called “Eskimo Pie” in 1957 • In the 1996 crime drama “The Chamber,” convicted murderer Sam Cayhill (Gene Hackman) requested Eskimo Pies and coffee to be his last meal before being executed.

Indeed, the museum has an entire display dedicated to the chocolate-covered ice cream bar.

Among the artifacts on display is one of Nelson’s original dipping machines, alongside vintage boxes promoting Eskimo Pie’s apparent nutritional benefits.

“Eat ice cream for health,” reads one box.

For Johnson, a child of the Great Depression, Eskimo Pies were a luxury she

couldn’t afford.

“I remember having root beer floats,” she said, “but individual ice cream bars, even at 5 cents a piece, were much too expensive.”

Today, the Eskimo Pie is a piece of Onawa history she loves to share with family and friends.

“It’s what made Onawa famous,” she said as current museum board president Jim Robbins looked on.

According to Robbins, area school children are always intrigued at the museum’s permanent shrine to the Eskimo Pie. “They think it’s fun that a product they’ve seen their entire lives was created right here in Monona County,” he observed. “They’re also amazed at how long the Eskimo Pie’s been around.”

For Diane McIntyre, brand communications manager for Nestles Dreyers’, the product’s longevity is a large part of its appeal.

“To many people, Eskimo Pies represents nostalgia,” she said. “It’s the ice cream bar that our parents or grandparents bought for us when we were kids.”

“People never forget their first ice cream bar,” McIntyre added. “That’s why Eskimo Pies elicit such happy memories.”

The typical Eskimo Pie shopper is called a “Modern Traditionalist,” McIntyre said because today’s consumers want a quality product from a name with history.

Robbins agrees, noting that an Eskimo Pie always has the power to put a smile on his face.

“It’s hard to be sad talking about ice cream,” he said. “I think that’s probably as true today as it was 90 years ago.”

Builder’s Blitz Watch the progress the week of June 4th-8th. The Home Builders Association members are building a Habitat for Humanity home in just one week. The location is 2219 Bryan Street.

“Providing affordable housing for our community.”

3900 Stadium Dr., Sioux City, IA 712-255-3852 www.hbags.com email: hbasooland@siouxlan.net

BROADWAY At The Orpheum In Sioux City

SIOUX CITY IS GETTING A MAKE-OGRE!

OCT. 16, 2012

DEC. 4, 2012

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APR. 25, 2013

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Subscribe To The 2012 - 2013 Season Today!

CALL 712-279-4850 •BroadwayAtTheOrpheum.com

a presentation

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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ONAWA 20 questions with an organ builder

Organ builder Rick Darrow is shown at First Lutheran Church in South Sioux City, Neb. Darrow operates Darrow Pipe Organ in Onawa and built the church’s organ.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

20 QUESTIONS with an organ builder

Rick Darrow Text by Nick Hytrek | Photographs by Tim Hynds

One of the leading organ repair and building companies is located in Onawa, Iowa.

Nick Hytrek talked with Rick Darrow, owner of Darrow Pipe Organ.

1. How long have you been building and repairing pipe organs?

14. What’s the biggest challenge to restoring pipe organs?

Since 1971, ever since I graduated from college.

The biggest challenge is weight. Some of the chests are very heavy. They can be 600 pounds.

2. How did you get into it?

15. What’s the most common problem you deal with?

I was the organist at a church in Morningside and the tuner was there tuning the organ. He was looking for someone to work with him because he was going to be moving the organ from the Orpheum to the Sioux City Auditorium.

A note that sticks. It sticks on but won’t go away.

16. Can you bring a pipe organ back to life if it has sat unused for several years?

3. What kind of training is needed?

Oh, yes. They can always be restored.

All the parts are custom made so it isn’t like a part has gone obsolete and you can never replace it.

The only training you can get is apprenticing in this country.

4. What all do you do with pipe organs?

Everything. We do a lot of service work.

We build new ones and we also rebuild a lot of instruments.

Rick Darrow built the organ at First Lutheran Church in South Sioux City, Neb.

Centuries. We have some that date back into the 1800s. There are some on the East Coast that date back to the 1700s.

5. How many people are there who do what you do?

We have 300 that we take care of. In Sioux City, I think we have about 20, it might be 25.

I would guess 3,500 (in the United States). We have probably 1,800 or so in our association. It’s specialized, but there are other people around.

10. Do you prefer pipe organs to the regular organs that are found in many churches?

6. How did you come to be located in Onawa?

We looked for something in Sioux City and couldn’t find anything. Onawa is between Sioux City and Omaha and we do a lot of work there.

7. How far away do your clients come from?

Our furthest is from Phoenix. We have a few in Minnesota but most of them are in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.

8. How many pipe organs are out there?

There are brand new ones that go in every month. I would guess 25-50 (worldwide) every month.

9. Do many churches have pipe organs anymore?

The pipe organ is the regular organ to me. The others came in later. If it wasn’t for the cost to maintain, probably everyone would have a pipe organ.

11. How many pipe organs do you build in a year?

If we’re lucky, we get to do one. But we also do rebuilds and do several of those.

12. How long does it take to build one?

To build, it probably takes six to eight months, depending on the size of the instrument.

13. Do you do more building or restoration work?

Tuning, that’s our bread and butter.

About half the year we’re doing tuning and service work and the other half of the year we’re doing rebuilds and new.

17. How long can a pipe organ last if it’s built and serviced properly?

18. Is there a method to the arrangement of the pipes or does that allow a bit of artistic freedom?

You can be pretty artistic. The ones that you see in the front are done to the taste of the artist. The ones in the back are set up so that they’re easier to tune for service work.

19. What notable organs have you worked on?

The Orpheum, Morningside College, Briar Cliff University, First Presbyterian Church. I think we have about all of the ones in Sioux City.

20. What’s it like for you when you hear those first notes on an organ you’ve built?

It’s usually rather grueling because when I first hear them, they haven’t been tuned. But it’s great just knowing that it’s going to be around for a long time and serving the people well.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

17

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

4/10/12 4:21 PM

ONAWA the last picture show

Film is shown on the platter of the Iowa Theater’s projection room in Onawa, Iowa.

ONAWA’S LAST PICTURE SHOW BACK FROM THE DEAD

T

Text by

John Quinlan Photographs

by Tim Hynds

TEN YEARS AGO, THE IOWA Theater sitting near the corner of 10th and Pearl streets in downtown Onawa, Iowa, was an empty shell.

“There was a bunch of rusty chairs stacked behind the stage and it had a leaky roof. It was just a mess. The roof and the smell were the worst. It had been closed and molded over for a couple of years,” said Derek Cartmill, the man who saw enough beauty in the faded structure to bring it back to life in 2002 and fulfill a childhood dream: ownership of his own movie theater.

Cartmill, 52, an Omaha resident the past seven years, grew up in Onawa and toiled for a year and a half to buy the theater, which had been vacant for

Iowa Theater manager Scott Fender is shown in the theater’s projection room in Onawa.

about six years. But the price put on it by its owner, a fellow in his 90s, was just too much. Then when the owner died a year and a half later, his son called

Cartmill and offered to sell it at a reasonable price.

Thus began his labor of love.

He clearly wasn’t in it for the money.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

19

Above: The Iowa Theater is shown in Onawa, Iowa. Below: Iowa Theater manager Scott Fender is shown in the theater in Onawa, Iowa.

“I did it because I grew up there. I spent a lot of time in that theater growing up,” Cartmill said. “I always wanted to own a theater, and especially that one.

I felt when I grew up, someday I would own it. The opportunity arose.”

He vaguely recalls “Thoroughly Modern Millie” being the first movie he saw at the Iowa, once called the State. “But ‘Gone With the Wind’ is the one that stuck with me all my life,” he said.

The restoration was accomplished in a quick three months.

The theater still had its ticket booth and the marquee out front, but the inside was pretty sad looking. The only change out front was replacing the doors with metal ones. The rusty seats, of course, had to be replaced, except for 25 littleused balcony seats that were redone.

“It was interesting. A lot of stuff was just in the right place at the right time,” he said of the restoration work.

Cartmill recalled the cramped feeling of being hemmed in by too-close seats in front of him. So he got rid of three rows of seats, allowing for more leg room. That still left the theater with 250 seats on the main floor. More than enough.

“I moved the concession counter. The popcorn popper didn’t work and I got rid of all the other stuff just because it had been sitting there for six years. Otherwise, everything that I remember from when I was a kid walking in there is just the same,” he said.

He said the people around town were genuinely excited that the theater was 20

JUNE 2012

going to be re-opened.

The first show? “Austin Powers in Goldmember” beckoned customers in August 2002.

When he took over the theater, Cartmill found some vintage movie posters and a couple old projectors, along with a few rolls of film. The big find proved to be some trailers from advertising done by local businesses back in the 1950s and ‘60s, some real curiosities, many of the businesses gone from the scene for decades.

Cartmill knew he wanted to show first-run features, and that hasn’t been a problem, outside of studio mandates that some films must run for two weeks or more, which limits the turnover, he noted.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

He gets around that on some weekends by running two films, especially at times when a lot of promising first-run features are opening at the same time.

“I’ll do like a Friday night and a Sunday afternoon matinee with one, and then I’ll do a Saturday night and Sunday night movie with the other,” he explained. “Then I’ll take the best of the two and run it through the week.”

There are evening shows every day of the week.

Cartmill doesn’t get to Onawa as much as he would like, with his children and grandchildren also living in Omaha.

“I miss being there on a daily basis terribly. I think that’s why I keep hanging on to it,” he said of the State.

But his grandkids love to come to travel.

Midlands Clinic is pleased to announce the addition of Indy Chabra, M.D., Ph.D. to our Dermatology team.

A loop of film is shown in the Iowa Theater’s projection room in Onawa, Iowa.

‘They’re constantly wanting me to go up there. So we go up once in a while. I take them to the movies,” he said.

At one point early in the game, he considered converting the State into two theaters. “But the only way it would work out was just to cut it up, and I couldn’t do it,” he said.

To stay in the game and make the theater viable for the future, Cartmill has decided the theater must go digital.

“If I would not put the digital in the theater, we’d have to close. And if it closed, it would probably never open again because nobody would want to put out the $75,000 or $80,000 to put digital in on top of the buying the building, which I wouldn’t really ask that much for if they were really going to do it,” he said.

“But ... I don’t want to close. I don’t want to take it down.”

So he is looking forward to digital conversion.

“It’s going to open up a whole new world,” he said. “The problem right now in the Midwest is all of the Omaha theaters are digital. Sioux City’s gone digital.

Everybody’s digital pretty much in the main corridor. So I have a hard time finding 35mm film now to put on. There’s a shortage. So I went ahead and signed up to get it.”

Support from the Onawa community helped convince him that the show must go on.

“Everybody says they don’t know what they’d do without it,” he said.

There’s not a lot of other entertainment thre. There’s no bowling alley. There’s no ... anything for them.”

At least not a lot of options beyond that last picture show.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

5/10/12 1:17 PM

ONAWA Onabike draws crowds

Riders head east out of Onawa on the “Widest Main Street in America” to start the 2011 Onabike Ride.

ONABIKE TO RIDE FOR 20TH TIME

G Glen Coble of Onawa, Iowa, is a regular Onabike Ride bike rider. The event, dubbed “Western Iowa’s largest one-day ride,” enjoys its 20th edition on Aug. 25, 2012. Coble plans to participate once again.

Text by Tim Gallagher

GLEN COBLE JUMPS AT ANY CHANCE to promote his community, Onawa, Iowa.

If that means hopping on his bike and pedaling through the Loess Hills heat on a Saturday in August, he’ll do it.

He has, in fact. This veteran rider has chugged up and cruised down those hills lots of times in the annual Onabike Ride.

He’ll be there again on Aug. 25 as the 20th edition takes up to 300 cycling enthusiasts around Monona County in an event billed as “Western Iowa’s largest one-day bike ride.”

“This is another thing to put Onawa on the map,” says Doug Thelander, a local plumber who has ridden RAGBRAI for decades, and Onabike since its inception. “It’s nothing to see people from Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha, Sioux Falls and Fort Dodge in Onawa for Onabike.”

Thelander says the genesis can be traced to two decades ago, a time when many one-day events were popular in

FOR INFORMATION For information about the Onabike Ride, contact the Onawa Chamber of Commerce at (712) 423-1801 or see www.onawa.com

western Iowa. Seems Onabike, which began with five riders, out-pedaled them all.

The popularly may be due to the beauty of the Loess Hills in late August. Might also have to do with the fact that organizers offer two routes. One is 63 miles through the hills. The other is a 29-miler around Onawa.

It remains the largest single-day fundraiser for the Onawa Chamber of Commerce. It has helped pay for downtown beautification efforts, as well as holiday programs for children sponsored by the Chamber.

The ride has introduced visitors not only to Onawa, but to places like Preparation State Park, Pisgah, Blencoe, Little Sioux and more.

“I like the opportunity to ride as a group and to have something local to promote Onawa and Monona County,” said Coble, a resident of the Monona County seat for 15 years.

“We expect 300 or so this year,” said Jenn Collison, director of the Onawa Chamber of Commerce. “We were a little shy of that last year, but that was likely due to the flooding.”

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ONAWA Politicians flock to town

Photograph by Jim Lee Barack Obama, then a Democratic presidential hopeful, spoke during a town hall meeting at the Onawa Public Library in Onawa, Iowa, on March 31, 2007.

ALL POLITICAL ROADS LEAD TO ‘WIDEST MAIN STREET’

T

Text by Tim

THE COMMUNITY KNOWN FOR having the “Widest Main Street in America” becomes “Candidate Central” each national and caucus election cycle.

President Barack Obama, then “just” Illinois’ junior senator, spoke for 75 minutes at the Onawa Public Library five years ago. His GOP challenger in 2012, Mitt Romney, beat Obama to the Onawa punch, speaking here nine days earlier.

Other recent appearances have come from Joe Biden, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Howard Dean, John Kerrey, John Edwards. Even former President Bill Clinton visited West Monona High School in Onawa to

24

JUNE 2012

stump for wife Hillary Clinton a caucus cycle ago.

What makes the home of the Eskimo pie a sweet destination for political types? A number of factors.

First, location: Onawa is positioned on Interstate 29 an hour north of Omaha and 40 minutes south of Sioux City. Candidates can land at airports in either metro market and hit Onawa quickly.

A common itinerary sees candidates landing in Omaha and making a one-day western Iowa swing north from Council Bluffs to Sioux City. The Monona County seat fits somewhere in the middle of that day.

Second, media availability: “With

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Gallagher

Onawa being so close to both Sioux City and Omaha, the candidates know they’ll get coverage from media outlets in both cities when they visit us,” says Jody Ewing, a Democratic activist for years here.

Third, turnout: Onawa and Monona County seem to value their political encounters. Onawa Café has would-be voters packed in the aisles for visits, as does the old Janz Restaurant near Interstate 29. The Onawa Public Library and West Monona High School were both full venues for talks

by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

According to Dennis Ryan, treasurer for Iowa Democrats in the Fourth Congressional District, Monona

“With Onawa being so close to both Sioux City and Omaha, the candidates know they’ll get coverage from media outlets in both cities when they visit us.”

JODY EWING, a Democratic activist for years in Onawa Photograph by Jerry Mennenga

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney made a campaign stop in Onawa, Iowa, Thursday, March 22, 2007.

OBAMA WALKED HERE? ONAWA, Iowa - An anecdote from Jody Ewing, an Onawa Democrat, gives insight to why candidates trek to the Monona County seat: Folks here are serious about politics.

It came on March 30, 2007, a night before then Sen. Barack Obama was to conduct a talk at Ewing’s house.

Obama ran third at the time in the Iowa Caucus race, trailing John Ewards and Hillary Clinton. Ewing was backing Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor, who had appeared earlier in 2007 at the home of Ewing’s mother in Onawa.

“Obama was coming to our home, and it was supposed to be a private, quiet sit-down talk with 20 to 30 people,” said Ewing. “But word spread and people talked about it at church and we were deluged with phone calls from Democrats who wanted to see Obama speak.”

The day before his talk, the location was changed to the Onawa Public Library across the street from Ewing’s house. As a compromise, Obama’s staff said he’d meet Ewing at her house and she could walk him to the library.

“The night before, we had a bunch of friends over laying a laminate floor at the house. We took a blank card and wrote, “Tomorrow, Senator Barack Obama will be walking on this floor in this house. He may be President one day.”

They put the card beneath the floor, where it rests to this day.

Obama didn’t walk on the floor. He never made it to Ewing’s house, in fact.

“He ran late,” she said. “Instead of him coming to the house, we walked over and met him at the library. We got to walk into the library with him.”

County tends to swing left, but not by a wide margin. The area may be very much in play this November.

The numbers in Monona County: Democrats - 2,108; Republicans - 1,869; Independents - 2,372.

Those Independents helped John McCain carry Monona County four years ago, but only by a slight margin, 2,411 to 2,295. A return visit

by President Obama might also tip the scales in his favor.

Ryan has seen it happen before. Monona County was virtually ignored when candidate Tom Vilsack, a Democrat from Mount Pleasant, campaigned for Iowa governor in 1998.

“I don’t think Vilsack had a campaign sign here in 1998,” Ryan said. “I spent the next four years promoting Monona County as a halfway point between Omaha and Sioux City and the Vilsack bus tour stopped here at Janz Restaurant. We had such a great turnout that

the governor’s staffers told us later he kept talking about Onawa.”

A Vilsack tour recently made a return trip to Onawa. This time, however, it was Tom’s “better half” taking the podium. Christie Vilsack, Iowa’s former first lady, addressed voters while campaigning for this fall’s congressional election. Vilsack, a Democrat from Ames, faces incumbent Steve King, a Republican from Kiron.

Perhaps one of their debates will unfold along the “Widest Main Street in America.” Politically speaking, it seems all roads lead here.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

25

The Loess Hills northeast of Onawa, Iowa.

ONAWA Loess Hills leave an impression

PRESERVING THE MAJESTY OF

THE LOESS HILLS Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Tim Hynds

W

WHEN LOUISE COX STEPS FOOT onto an observation deck she describes simply as “The Spot,” she gets a panoramic view of the majestic hills and valleys that are considered a geographic wonder.

From this deck that is located at the Loess Hills State Forest between Pisgah and Moorhead, Iowa, she realizes there only two places in the world where she can see loess – crumbly, wind-blown silt – with such extreme depth: in China and western Iowa.

“The Loess Hills is so beautiful and so unique,” Cox, the manager of the Moorhead-based Loess Hills Hospitality Association, said. “If you had a choice between seeing them in China or in Iowa, I think you would choose Iowa.”

“You can just leave your passports at home,” she said with a laugh.

According to Cox, there are a few differences between China and western Iowa.

In China, the silt was blown in from the desert. In Iowa, it originated from the Missouri River flood plain.

Another key difference: China’s Loess

26

JUNE 2012

Hills have been substantially altered and many organizations are working to keep that from happening to Iowa’s Loess Hills.

Among those organizations is the Loess Hills Alliance, an all-volunteer coalition that works with private landowners, public entities and local citizens to promote, protect and improve the resources.

A member of the organization since it was founded in 1998, the Nature Conservancy’s Susanne Hickey said the Loess Hills Alliance is promoting a collaborative working relationship among the various organizations, municipalities, counties and agencies working in the region.

For instance, the Alliance has helped to protect 1,500 acres of land, including Monona County’s 280-acre Reese Homestead, done in collaboration with the Monona County Conservation Board and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau.

Since more than 95 percent of the Loess Hills is owned by private individuals, Hickey said the Alliance is also focused on assisting landowners with restoration and management of the prairies and oak woodlands.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

“Just this past month, we hosted a two-week national fire training exchange, burning more than 1,800 acres of land and training more than 20 firefighters in safe, prescribed burns,” she added.

In addition, Hickey said the Alliance works closely with communities, helping them bring tourists into the Loess Hills.

“We love the Loess Hills,” she said.

“We want to show them off.”

This is something that Cox wholeheartedly agrees.

As the manager of the Loess Hills Hospitality Association, she regularly gives historical and educational tours of the area.

“Our goal is to preserve the hills in as close to a natural state as possible, while realizing the land is also providing a living for its landowners,” she said.

“Preserving the Loess Hills while making a living aren’t incompatible thoughts,” Hickey said. “We want to make it better for this generation and generations yet to come.”

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ONAWA

Text by Tim Gallagher Photographs by Tim Hynds

O

buildings tell a story

A sign marking a teen section is shown at the Public Library in Onawa, Iowa.

ONAWA, IOWA – HOW BADLY DID the Onawa Public Library want additional space? To illustrate the facility’s cramped conditions, they turned to employee Lori Beck. She was nine months pregnant at the time. This was two decades ago.

“We took a photo of me at nine months pregnant standing between stacks of book that were two-and-a-half feet apart,” Beck said.

Yes, the library and its 6,000 square feet needed to grow. According to Beck, few structural changes or improvements had been made since the library opened in 1909.

According to Beck, it would take another decade before momentum for a new library effort really gained traction. It was on Valentine’s Day in 2002 that Beck was named head librarian. On that date, she said, the facility literally became the focal point of her life.

“We broke ground on Nov. 1, 2003, and construction had already begun,” she said.

The $2.85 million renovation, an undertaking fueled in part by a $1.5 million bond

LIBRARY AD

VOLUM issue and the efforts of advocates to raise another $1.25 million, enjoyed its first day of business in its second-generation form in February 2005.

Architects from FEH Associates Architects in Sioux City and Brown Construction from North Sioux City, S.D., matched the Arts & Crafts architecture of the 1909 adjacent facility.

The two building components merged with a balcony and foyer area just off the front circulation desk. Arches prevail in the ceiling design, the shape of the front desk and more.

“Even the window details from the original construction carried over into the new design,” said Beck, tapping a circulation desk designed by Haberl Tile & Stone.

The Onawa Public Library, according to Beck, at one time may have faced closure as

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JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE

the original Andrew Carnegie structure was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “We lost some government funding because of that and could have been closed,” she said. “They allowed us to stay open because (for about two decades) we’ve had a plan in the works.”

A handicapped-accessible elevator not only helps tie the new building to the old, it also takes Monona County residents to any of 30-plus meetings held each month in the second-floor community meeting rooms.

The summer reading program at the Onawa Public Library has also grown since the addition opened nearly six years ago. The summer enrollment used to hover around 30 to 40 young readers. Now, there are up to 100 taking part.

The new facility was even

a hit for then-Sen. Barack Obama, who brought his presidential campaign to the Onawa Public Library on March 31, 2007. Obama, running third in Iowa at the time behind thenSen. John Edwards and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, spent 75 minutes at the library handling questions from Onawa-area voters. The campaign stop was the first Obama had streamed live on his website.

His wife Michelle watched it from a Des Moines location.

Obama went on to win the White House in the 2008 election.

“I remember the president coming in and saying how gorgeous this building is,” Beck said. “He was really impressed.”

The modern structure is a far cry from Onawa’s book-lending roots. The first books on loan in the Monona County seat were checked out

at the town jail. At least that’s what author John Witt found in his research. Witt studied all 99 Carnegie libraries in Iowa. Witt noted that Judge Addison Oliver contributed $20,000 and the land for the “new” library more than a century ago.

Witt’s reaction upon seeing the “new” Onawa Public Library?

“As the author of ‘The

Carnegie Libraries of Iowa,’ I have had the pleasure of visiting every Carnegie library in Iowa and (have) seen many additions made to the original buildings,” he noted.

“The Onawa addition is by far the best and most detailed one I’ve ever seen...The Onawa Public Library addition is a truly unique and artful design. It is truly a masterpiece in library renovation.”

DDITION SPEAKS MES FOR ONAWA Above: The Public Library in Onawa, Iowa. The original Carnegie library opened in 1909.

An addition opened nearly seven years ago. Top right: Librarian Lori Beck carries a stack of books as patron Samantha Marnell surfs the Internet at the Public Library. Bottom right: The Monona County Courthouse.

THE MONONA COUNTY COURTHOUSE IS THE STUFFSIOUXLAND OF LEGENDS. PAGE 31 LIFE JUNE 2012

29

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Above: The Monona County Courthouse. Right: An antique working scale is inside the entrance to the courthouse. Below: An antique lock with patent dates in the 1860s is shown on a safe in the Recorder’s office.

A SEAT OF COUNTY BUSINESS SINCE 1858

M

Text by

Tim Gallagher Photographs by

Tim Hynds

MONONA COUNTY ASSESSOR Tim Peters flashes a sense of humor while showing a visitor the antique scale inside the front entrance to the historic Monona County Courthouse in Onawa, Iowa.

For a penny, you can step up and have the scale weigh you.

“If we can get something out of a visitor, it lessens our tax burden,” said Peters, smiling.

The scale’s presence dates back decades in this 1892 courthouse. It comes from National Automatic Machines Co., in St. Paul.

Peters isn’t really sure why it’s there, other than something to greet the general public.

The courthouse, located on the east edge of town along Iowa Avenue (the “Widest Main Street in America”) helped Onawa fend off challenges from at least three communities to move the county’s seat of business.

Readers may recognize Ashton as a town located in Osceola County, not far from Sibley, Iowa. However, there was another Ashton, originally called Bloomfield, in Monona County and it served as the county seat from 1854 to 1858 when citizens from Onawa petitioned to relocate the seat of county business here.

Onawa won the election by 31

votes, out of 229 cast. County offices, according to the “History of the Monona County Courthouse” were then moved to Mechanics’ Hall, a place that later became a salt shed.

Belvidre and Arcola would ultimately challenge Onawa for the county seat title. Both were held off. All was fine until 1889 when East Mapleton emerged as a third challenger. When citizens posted a $25,000 bond to be paid if the county moved there, Onawa residents raised $12,500 cash for a new courthouse if business would remain.

It worked, as Onawa won an ensuing election. The present courthouse was erected by S.E. Maxon and Company of Omaha, Neb., a couple of years later, following the design of the Adair County courthouse in Greenfield, Iowa.

The brick building follows the Romanesque style of architecture with a gabled roof and tower. It stands on the site of the old courthouse. Additions in 1967, 1973 and 1980 would follow.

The courthouse attic, according to local legend, hosted bandagerolling get-togethers conducted by women of Monona County to aid the World War I effort. That attic area is now closed to the general public, walled off in an attempt to curb heating and cooling costs. The space offers a crow’s nest view of the “Widest Main Street in America,” but that’s about it.

The facility, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, houses county offices as well as the courtroom. A jail stands on the northwest corner of the courthouse block, an area completed in 1974.

The original judge’s bench, furniture and fixtures were moved from the second-floor courtroom to the annex when it was built in 1980.

Many of the wood fixtures inside the rest of the courthouse are original, a tie to the early 1890s. But while the look and fixtures keep that 1892 connection, something else has changed.

Says Peters: “The courthouse is assessed at $1.8 million.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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ONAWA POW camp brings memories

William Wonder, curator of the Monona County Veteran’s Memorial Museum, holds a wooden piece hand-carved by a German POW named Eric from an apple crate and given to the daughter of an Iowa farm couple upon whose farm he worked while a prisoner in the 1940s.

BRANCH T CAMP 25 NEAR ONAWA REMEMBERED Text and photographs by John Quinlan

There’s nothing left of the old World War II POW camp that brought German and Italian prisoners of war to Onawa, Iowa, nearly 70 years ago.

It’s been years even since the former POWs as tourists visited the town and campsite, which was located on government-owned land west of Onawa on the banks of the Missouri River, just a mile north of the bridge to Decatur, Neb. A decrepit road leads to the site which after the war was converted to a government engineers material yard, said Fred Wonder, former editor of The Onawa Democrat newspaper.

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One barracks building was deconstructed and used as a garage for the keelboat at Lewis and Clark Park, he noted. A second building, believed to be a guard shack, stood behind the John Deere dealership for years, used as a garage/storage building until it was eventually torn down.

But Wonder and his son William, the current newspaper editor, are doing what they can to preserve the camp’s history through an exhibit at the Monona County Veterans Memorial Museum in Onawa. William is the curator, Fred the co-curator in charge of special tours.

What Onawa has left is memories of a lost time, a chapter in history that serves as a constant revelation to museum visitors, both young and old, who didn’t know it existed. Some GIs were not even aware of the camps, busy as they were fighting the Germans at that time.

The POW camp, “Hub of the Empire,” was established in Algona, Iowa, from 1943 to 1946. The Hub had 34 branch camps in four states that included camps in Onawa, Storm Lake, Iowa, and Yankton, S.D. The other states were North Dakota and Minnesota.

Algona, the largest camp, processed more than 9,000 German and 1,335 Italian POWs, dispensing them through other transfer camps like Onawa’s Branch Camp 25.

Fred was a boy of 11 when the Chicago Northwestern Railroad troop trains carrying POWs from Chicago stopped in Onawa to drop off the prisoners for transport to the POW camp west of town on a special line built for that purpose.

“I was growing up down by the railroad tracks, and they let us go over,” Fred said. “The MPs, they put up a snow fence and let them out to recreate themselves, get stretched out and stuff like that. And some of the prisoners still had their official uniforms on, but they had been stripped of all rank insignias. Everything had been taken off the uniform. And some of the other prisoners had jumpsuits on them, with a great big POW on the back of them.”

Fred said it was a big deal for the kids to go over and talk over the wire barrier to the prisoners, though not much talking really occurred because of an even tougher barrier, the language one.

“But it brought the war to Onawa. It brought it closer to us,” he said. “It was a real oddity to see them. I mean you see that on the news reels, war, but when it’s four feet away from you and a soldier’s standing there and he’s in a German uniform or an Italian uniform...”

The citizens of Onawa had little contact with the POWs. Sightseers, in fact, were turned back 2-3 miles from the 34

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William Wonder, curator of the Monona County Veteran’s Memorial Museum, stands next to the museum display on the World War II POW camp near Onawa, Iowa, that housed German and Italian POWs from 1944 to 1946

U.S. Army map of the Camp Algona system. Iowa branch camps were at Onawa, Charles City, Clinton, Eldora, Muscatine, Shenandoah, Storm Lake, Tabor, Toledo and Waverly.

camp by armed guards, Fred said But some farm families had regular contact with the POWS who worked their fields. They worked alongside them, sharing food with them, William noted. He then showed a wooden piece on display at the museum which was hand-carved by a German POW named Eric and given to a young farm woman whose father had given the soldier an old apple crate which he used to carve his gift.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

The POWs also did a lot of river rechannelization work for the U.S. Engineering Department.

“They did a lot of river pilings and things like that on the river. They did a lot of farm work because all the guys around here were in the war. So they needed them for agricultural purposes,” he said.

“Everything I’ve heard from the families whose farms they worked was that they had it better here than they ever had it (back in Europe), and that they enjoyed their time here. They had their own orchestras at this prisoner of war camp, and they were well fed. And aside from the work they had to do, it was better than being the war and being shot up, I would assume,” Bill said.

But that doesn’t mean there were no problems at the camp.

‘They did have an uprising out there at one time,” Fred said. “I heard that they burned one of the barracks out there. But they were reprimanded for that.”

Fred said he heard of no escape attempts. While escape was probably possible, they were more than 1,000 miles from either coast. Where were they going to go?

Some of the POWs emigrated to the United States after the war, though none seem to have opted for the Onawa area, the Wonderses said.

They did come to visit, though.

“They came back with their families,” Fred said. “The prisoners wanted to shows their families, after they went back to Germany or Italy, where they had been kept. And there are a few families in Nebraska that did stay put. They came back after the war and settled here.

“Like William said, they weren’t going to escape from here because they were well fed and well treated.”

Fred never really got acquainted with a German POW at the time; but later during an eight-year stint in the Air Force, he got real friendly with a German girl when he was stationed in Germany during the Korean War. He met and married her, William’s mother.

Though not a veteran himself, William’s decision to push the Onawa City Council to build a veterans memorial led to a fund-raising campaign launched by his newspaper in 1997 to build the museum. “It was a little over $100,000 to build this 42-by-60 building, and on Memorial Day 2000, we dedicated it back to the city,” he said.

A later fundraiser raised $90,000 and led to a 40-by-40-foot addition to the museum, providing for a multi-media room and meeting space for the local American Legion post.

And, of course, it left some space for the story of Branch Camp 25.

ask a professional Sports Medicine and Sports Injuries Sports regularly put our bodies to the test. Running, jumping, peddling, bending and shifting as fast as our bodies will allow. As we enter our summer season where stealing baseball bases becomes our passion and our children start getting cuts, bruises, and scrapes from riding bikes and running races, it’s important to pay attention to what our bodies – and our little ones – are telling us.

No pain – no gain used to be the mainstay mantra. If it didn’t hurt, it probably wasn’t productive. When our little Dr. Joel ones had knee pain, we called it growing pain. However Pistello, DC what we know now is that that pain – while can be productive, can also be the final warning sign of an underlying condition that can take you from a top level athlete – to a bottom string benchwarmer. Whether it’s us or our budding young athletes – pain can be a great motivator and be perfectly normal – but what if it’s not?

It’s no secret that many of the great athletes of our time have used chiropractic to regularly – and impressively – improve their performance and stay at the top of their game. But let’s be realistic – most of us are weekend warriors and Tuesday night team members. While we are aware that injuries like torn ligaments and muscles are possible (and maybe even happened in the not so distant past), we just want to be a little better – and not be nearly as sore after the game.

A great start to every athlete’s toolbox is a good set of stretches and exercises to keep those muscles, tendons, and ligaments ready for action at a moment’s notice. Be sure to ask a trainer for specific tips on how to exercise the area you need the most help with. This is especially true for the shoulder joint. For example: instead of focusing on extra pounds, focus on being more deliberate and precise with your movements. Re-training those muscles to hold the shoulder in the correct relaxed position, and contract precisely when needed in a symphony of function and form when pitching or spiking can help relieve shoulder pain.

Sometimes, however, you already have an injury that is screaming out in pain – that you might be ignoring. Stretching and exercising can only help to a point – then you need to get it looked at. Ignoring a knee or shoulder condition now can add up to more costly surgeries and pain later. So whether it’s your old football injury – or your marathon runner’s shin splints, we’ve got the right team of medical, chiropractic, and physical therapy doctors to evaluate and treat your injury. Keeping you at the top of your – and your young one’s – game, come see us at MultiCare.

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ONAWA Lewis and Clark slept here

FLOOD SPARES LEWIS Text by Joanne Fox Photographs by Tim Hynds

O

ONAWA, IOWA – LESS THAN AN hour away from Sioux City is a popular area for family picnics that was spared the brutal flooding of last summer.

Lewis and Clark State Park closed to the public from June 6 and re-opened the first week of August, none the worse for wear, said Park Ranger Jeff Poen.

“We were never really affected by the water,” he said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in charge of the regulating the Missouri River flow from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, S.D., cautioned Poen the lake could rise from six to 10 feet.

“We prepared for it, but it never happened,” he said. “So, it was just a matter of hooking everything back up and we were back in business.”

The park has more than 30 acres of picnic grounds with tables, fire grills,

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A Lewis and Clark expedition marker is shown at Lewis and Clark State Park.

and drinking water. Two open picnic shelters are available for picnic use on a first come/first served basis and may be rented through the park office, Poen pointed out.

“One is small and another is close to our beach restrooms,” he said. “But each has four picnic tables and we figure an average of six people per table, so that should give people an idea of

what they need to accommodate their picnic group.”

If you’re unsure about the weather on the day of your journey or you’ve invited a large number of friends and/ or family members to join in your picnicking, Poen suggested reserving the park’s lodge – constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps – for a fee, through the Iowa Park Reservation system, iowastateparks. reserveamerica.com.

“The lodge holds about 80 people and has a stove, refrigerator and microwave,” he said. “The rates are reasonable – $70 on the weekend and $35 on the weekdays.”

But a picnic is limited in its fun. The state park has another strength, Poen said.

“It’s the lake,” he insisted.

Lewis and Clark State Park lies on the shores of Blue Lake, an “oxbow” formed by the meanderings of the picturesque Missouri River many years ago. The 250 acres of the lake offer a

Far Left: Lewis and Clark State Park. Above: The Lewis and Clark expedition center. Left: The shoreline at Lewis and Clark State Park in Onawa, Iowa. Right: A family of Canada geese are shown at Lewis and Clark State Park.

Below: A replica Lewis and Clark expedition keelboat.

& CLARK STATE PARK variety of water-oriented recreational opportunities, such as swimming, boating, jetskiing, and fishing. The beach is a fine place for sunbathing and swimming, although Poen cautioned there is no lifeguard on duty.

Two boat ramps are available for easy lake access. No restrictions are placed on motor size. Excellent fishing opportunities are available at the lake, Poen said.

“There’s large mouth bass, a few crappies, bullheads, bluegills, catfish, all waiting to be caught,” he pointed out. “There’s also some carp and I’ve heard of northerns, but have not seen anyone catch those, yet.”

Maybe you’re not a water person.

The park is a fine place for a leisurely hike. On the three to four miles of trails, visitors can see a variety of trees, shrubs, and, often, wildlife including deer, rabbits and squirrels, as well as a wide variety of bird species.

The park is named for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who headed

an expedition into the northwest to explore the vast territory. In August 1804, the expedition arrived at the site where Lewis and Clark State Park now lies.

With 26 men and supplies, Lewis and Clark led their expedition up the Missouri River from St. Louis by keelboat.

While visiting the park, visitors can take the opportunity to view the fullsized reproduction of Lewis and Clark’s keelboat/barge, “Best Friend,” which was constructed by Butch Bouvier of L&C Replicas and Poen reported Bouvier has plans for some keelboat programs this summer.

Efforts to complete an ambitious building project in time for the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery bicentennial didn’t pan out, and now, the Lewis and Clark Educational and Interpretive Visitor Center may not be ready for this summer, Poen said.

“We discovered mold in the building, unrelated to the flooding, but because of a large amount of rainfall,” he said. “Right now we are letting bids to

get that removed.”

The park is open from 4 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. If the day becomes too long, the Lewis and Clark campground is a great place to spend the night. The 110 campsites, some with electrical hookups and others with full hook-ups,are situated along the lakeshore. Modern restrooms and showers are available, as is a trailer dump station. Advance campsite reservations can be booked through the park reservation system.

Half of the campsites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, Poen said.

“You can check in at the campground station, pitch your tent, spend the night and check-out is 4 p.m. the next day,” he explained.

An annual event at the park is the free Lewis & Clark Festival, June 8-10, at which historians and re-enactors showcase what life was like for Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery as they traveled to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1800s.

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ONAWA information plays a big part

NURSE

O

Text By Joanne Fox

ONAWA, IOWA – OVER THE PAST 27 years, Kate Garred has worked in many clinical areas – the emergency room, critical care, school nursing and nursing education.

The clinical analyst at Burgess Health Center is now board-certified in Nursing Informatics (RN-BC), an applied science that combines nursing science, information and computer science, by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Garred decided to pursue a career in nursing after graduating from Willamette University, Salem, Ore., in 1983.

“The appeal of nursing for me was that it was a nurturing, helping profession,” the San Francisco area native said. “There was a good job market for the profession, the career works well with raising a family and

there were lots of options within the nursing profession for jobs.”

With almost three decades in the profession of nursing, Garred has seen significant changes.

“There is a strong emphasis on professional nursing with more jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree for entry or advancement,” noted Garred, who received her BSN degree from Creighton University in Omaha.

“New graduates now complete a preceptorship before entering the workforce and many nurses are earning advanced degrees and specialty certifications.”

As with many jobs, keeping up with the latest innovations is critical for an employee and nursing is no different, Garred pointed out.

“Continued advances in technology for patient care and clinical documentation are occurring all

Nurse Kate Garred has worked in many clinical areas. The clinical analyst at Burgess Health Center is now board certified in Nursing Informatics.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO

BURGESS CERTIFIED IN FIELD THAT EMBRACES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

the time,” she said. “Computer skills are a must in this profession.”

There is increased emphasis on the collaborations between various healthcare disciplines in the care of patients, Garred added.

“Continuity of care among all health care providers in the acute care and outpatient settings has become very important,” she said. “This helps to prevent re-admissions and improves the patients’ quality of life.”

Nursing Informatics is another new addition to the discipline, Garred explained.

“It uses patient documentation to validate what nursing does that contributes to the health/recovery of the patient,” she said, to put it in layman’s terms.

As a clinical analyst, Garred is a link between the clinical world and the technology world.

“I work with all of the hospital departments to help develop the best documentation practices and work with information flow throughout the hospital and clinics so that everyone has the information they need to make clinical decisions and do their jobs,” she said. “Much of my time is spent training end-users to use the new clinical software systems before, during and after implementation. I also build the order sets and flowcharts that they use.”

Garred made the switch from nursing education to Informatics after being asked to join a Steering Committee in November 2009, prior to the implementation of the hospital’s electronic Nursing Documentation System.

“I did much of the training for that system and liked what I was doing,” she said.

“As our electronic health record expanded to other clinical areas and our physicians began using Electronic Order Entry, a new position was created for a fulltime clinical analyst at Burgess.”

In order to sit for the certification exam, Garred completed 56 hours of continuing education courses and 2,000 hours of required field experience.

“I am not an IT person, so I had to learn a lot about networks and programming for the exam,” she acknowledged.

However, one thing that has not changed in the profession of nursing is that the patient is still the focus, Garred insisted.

“It is very rewarding for our nurses to discover they can learn new things and apply advanced nursing knowledge and critical thinking skills in the care of our patients,” she said. “I am very excited to have achieved my certification, and now I can continue to work with the staff on a system that is ever evolving. We all work together as a team to provide continuity of care for our patients, which is the most important part of this whole process.”

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HEALTH male

incontinence

Dr. Andrew E. Bourne talks about male incontinence during an interview at Siouxland Urology Associates.

THE BOURNE UNDERSTANDING ... OF MALE INCONTINENCE:

SOMETHING TO BE TA Text by John

Quinlan

Photographs

by Jim Lee

40

O

INCONTINENCE IS NOT A TOPIC most men are comfortable talking about ... or even thinking about.

Get a group of men together and the only plumbing problems you’ll hear about are the external, kitchen-sink variety. Forget about that internal plumbing, even though nearly 25 million Americans, including 3.4 million men, live with incontinence every day.

Incontinence is simply defined as the loss of bladder control, resulting in the involuntary loss of

JUNE 2012

SIOUXLAND LIFE

urine. It may affect more women, but men aren’t immune.

“It is a big problem for men, especially men who have ever undergone prostate surgery or prostate cancer operations or treatment,” said Dr. Andrew E. Bourne, a urologist with Siouxland Urology Associates at Dakota Dunes.

Bourne called it the “rule of men,” that they are strong and don’t want help, whatever the problem.

“We don’t often seek medical

advice for anything, whether it’s general medical problems or things that really bother us, like wetting our pants,” he said. “So we try and avoid those things, and we try and not discuss this with anybody, and there is a lot of embarassment that goes along with it and a lot of discomfort.”

But eventually the need for help outweighs the embarrassment, Bourne said.

While most of his patients are elderly men, incontinence can

affect all men.

It is, he said, one of the most common side effects of all prostate cancer treatments and the most common side effect of prostatectomy, with 39 to 63 percent of prostate cancer patients experiencing some level of urinary incontinence for one year after surgery.

So the more educated you are about your urinary incontinence, the better off you are when it comes to managing it, Bourne said.

There are three different kinds of incontinence, stress, urge and overflow, with some combination also possible.

Stress incontinence comes when bearing down, coughing or pressure on the abdomen causes urinary leakage. Urge incontinence involves an unwanted bladder contraction that causes leakage.

Overflow incontinence comes when the bladder doesn’t empty and the urine is squeezed out bit by bit just because your bladder has reached capacity.

Bourne said there is also mixed urinary incontinence, a mixture of stress and urge incontinences. “And then sometimes we discuss things such as insensible incontinence, where a person just has no idea what type of incontinence they have due to lack of sensation,” he said.

While prostate problems are most often to blame for male incontinence, men can have overactive bladders, just like women, which can lead to urge incontinence, Bourne noted.

“Something called interstitial systitis can cause symptoms of the bladder, leading to incontinence. And that does occur in men less frequently than in women,” he said. “Also, you can have neurologic problems. Men who have strokes, spinal cord injuries, different neurologic disorders, diabetes, things that affect the nervous system to the

the man’s urethra is three times that.

Because of that, you have a better ability to close the urethra and not empty so much. A female’s pelvic floor can be damaged from childbirth. Men do not go through that. The female pelvic floor when damage leads to poor support in a weak urinary sphincter. Men have a similar situation when they have a pros-

bladder and the sphincter that controls the urinary stream, whether stopping or starting or involuntarily holding your urine, that can be affected by any nervous abnormality.”

Why do women have more problems with incontinence?

It’s a question of anatomy.

“The difference between a man and a woman from the bladder on out begins with the prostate and also the length of the urethra due to the penis,” Bourne said. “The female urethra is only several centimeters functionally, whereas

tate removed.”

He said that is why men undergo stress incontinence similar to what a woman may experience. Otherwise, men never have stress incontinence for the simple reason that they have a prostate in place and a long urethra.

There are other factors beyond prostate problems that make some men more susceptible to incontinence.

Obesity has a role. Men who are obese are more prone to having diabetes, which can affect the bladder, especially the nervous supply of the bladder, he noted.

“It is a big problem for men, especially men who have ever undergone prostate surgery or prostate cancer operations or treatment.”

DR. ANDREW E. BOURNE urologist with Siouxland Urology Associates at Dakota Dunes

ALKED ABOUT

“In general, health has a lot to do with it. If you’re having a stroke due to poor cholesterol control or heart disease, something of that nature, that can also play a role in why someone might have difficulties emptying their bladder,” he said.

Keeping the weight off is one way to avoid male incontinence, but the remedies tend to vary depending on the type of incontinence you have.

A man suffering from stress incontinence due to prostate removal, for instance, has several options, Bourne said.

The first would be biofeedback therapy or muscular strengthening therapy, such as kegel exercise. If these non-invasive methods don’t work, there are other procedures available, such as a bulking procedure.

‘You actually put a urethral bulking agent around the urethra to try to push it together, just so it closes. The technical term is coaption of the urethra,” he said.

Figuring out how much leakage there is can also determine the treatment.

For a small amount of unwanted stress type urinary leakage, a male sling can help. Someone with a large amount of leakage may need an artificial urinary sphincter, which is a cup put around the center of the sphincter, Bourne said. A small pump in the scrotum takes the fluid from the cup to a reservoir which is tucked in by the bladder, opening the urethra and allowing the man to urinate. It then auto-reinflates to stop the urinary flow again.

But surgery will not work for everyone, he stressed.

For instance when dealing with urge incontinence, medication to calm the bladder may suffice. First, you must be sure the bladder is emptying well, unobstructed by the prostate. After relieving any such problems through medical management, Flomax or some other alpha blocker can relax the bladder neck and prostate and allow for better outflow of urine, he said.

If that doesn’t work, there are anticholinergic medications that can be used to decrease the spasm of the bladder when it is unwanted.

The last option is surgery to calm the bladder.

What many men don’t realize, Bourne said, is that incontinence is a symptom, not a disease. The urologist may find that the patient has some neurologic problem such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis or a history of stroke which simply manifests itself as urge incontinence.

In which case, the Bourne ultimatum is: Get help.

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HEALTH sun

exposure

DERMATOLOGIST: INTENTIONAL TANNING IS NEVER HEALTHY Text by

T

Dolly A. Butz

THERE IS A PERCEPTION THAT TANNED SKIN is beautiful and healthy skin.

Trying to make your skin darker by purposely lying in the sun or in a tanning bed, Dr. Michelle Daffer said, can lead to serious health problems.

Getting some sun while outside golfing or swimming is OK, but Daffer, a dermatologist at Midlands Clinic, P.C., said you should never intentionally tan.

“There is a need to be outside and to be active,” she said. “You just need to wear a shirt, wear a hat if you can, put sunscreen on.”

Over the last 50 years, Daffer said the incidence of skin cancer has rapidly increased.

The majority of people that Daffer now treats for melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, are women under the age of 40.

“It used to be that melanoma was a condition that 80-year-old farmers got. They were out in the sun all the time. They had a lot of exposure,” she said. “Now we’re seeing this big shift, where the people who are getting a lot of the new melanomas are young women in their 20s.”

Recent studies, Daffer said, reveal a 75 percent increase in the risk of melanoma for those who tan on a regular basis before the age of 30 and a 15 percent increase for those who tan just four times.

Tanning, especially in a tanning bed, Daffer said, increases the chances of developing severe

Dr. Michelle Daffer, a dermatologist at Midlands Clinic, P.C., holds a brochure about melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, in her office.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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“(UVA light) actually has more potential of damaging the connective tissue or the elastic tissue and collagen that’s in your skin.

The UVA light is what leads to that weathery, wrinkled

SIOUXLAND LIFE

types of skin cancer.

The majority of tanning beds, Daffer said, use UVA light, a long wave of light that penetrates deep into the skin.

“It actually has more potential of damaging the connective tissue or the elastic tissue and collagen that’s in your skin,” she said. “The UVA light is what leads to that weathery, wrinkled look that you get.”

Once the elastic tissue is damaged, there’s no way to get it back, according to Daffer.

Daffer said she is finding basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that can easily be treated if cut out early, on women’s breasts and buttocks, places where skin cancer was never found before.

“Ten years ago I never took a basal cell off of anybody during my training on their chest,” she said. “It is something that is almost routine now.”

Unlike basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common skin cancer, treatment options for melanoma are limited once the cancer spreads from one organ or part of the body to another.

“For the rest of their life they have to worry about, ‘When is this melanoma potentially gonna come back?’” Daffer said. “When it does come back, their length of survival is usually very short.”

HEALTH Medical

Answers

‘DOC, I’VE GOT A QUESTION …’ answers to your medical questions

MEET THE DOC Dr. Jennifer Haden is a resident physician at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation, a family medical residency program. She grew up on her family in Northwest Iowa where they raised corn, soybeans, hogs and cattle. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa and her medical degree from Des Moines University. She and her husband reside near Sioux City.

By Jennifer Haden, D.O.‌

Warts are caused by viruses. HPV (Human Papillomavirus) has many different subtypes that can cause warts on the skin. For example HPV type 1 commonly causes plantar warts on the sole of the foot. In two out of three patients, warts will spontaneously go away in two years with no treatment, but recurrence is common.

You might see your doctor to make sure it is just a wart and not another skin condition. Commonly warts are treated with salicylic acid, liquid nitrogen, bichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, or cantharidin. Some of these products can be found over-the-counter (look at the active ingredients), and generally they work but may work more slowly than something done at the doctor’s office like freezing with liquid nitrogen.

Adequate “paring” of the area is an essential component of successful treatment. Paring is done with a nail file or pumice stone by the patient in between treatments. Irritation, when it occurs, is usually a sign that the treatment is effective and will result in sloughing of tissue with dead wart virus.

Does everybody over 60 need shingles shots? I saw a sign at the pharmacy and now I’m worried that I should get it. What’s the criteria?

Herpes zoster can cause a very painful rash called “shingles.” The zoster vaccine is recommended for all immunocompetent people over 60 years old. This vaccine

METROCREATIVECONNECTION

There’s a wart on the side of my foot. Should I have it removed or just let it be? It doesn’t bother me, but I’m worried that it might someday.

can reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you do get shingles after getting the vaccine, it will reduce your risk of the pain that remains after the skin rash which is called post-herpetic neuralgia. See your doctor about this vaccine if you have more questions.

IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION If you have a question you’d like our doctors to answer, send them to: Doc, I’ve Got a Question, Siouxland Life at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, Iowa 51101

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45

When your eyes get dry, do you need to use drops or can you just put a hot compress on them?

Dry eyes can be caused by many different agents including increasing age, medications, systemic diseases, contact lenses, nutritional deficiencies, allergies and infections. Have your doctor evaluate your dry eyes and find out the cause.

You can use artificial tears to improve irritation and visual problems associated with dry eyes. A reasonable dose would be 1 drop in each eye four times per day.

Also having a humidifier running in your home or office can help.

Typically a hot compress helps more with plugged tear ducts or infection – but if it helps your dry eyes, go for it; it won’t hurt anything.

Why do drug manufacturers put pills in packages you can’t open?

I’ve been struggling with an allergy medicine (Allegra) that’s wrapped better than a safe. Does the packaging do anything for the pill?

METROCREATIVE CONNECTION

Sometimes the “iron-clad” packaging on your medications can seem like the manufacturer wants nothing more than for you to throw the package across the room and scream.

However, many times the safety of

packaging is done to keep children safe. It can also protect the medication from moisture, sunlight, etc., but, most important, it keeps children OUT! So grab a pair of scissors and cut that pill to freedom.

Landscaping Tips: choose The RighT TRee The trees you choose to landscape your home not only add beauty, they can help cut energy costs by providing shade in the summer and buffering cold winds in the winter. Trees clean the air, reduce noise, create privacy and can increase a property’s value by improving the appearance.

It is important to consider a number of factors when choosing the right trees for your particular environment and the best locations to plant trees in your yard.

Environmental factors to consider: • Temperature. Low temperatures, especially if they occur suddenly, can freeze and kill the living cells in certain types of trees. Factors that influence temperature such as elevation and which side of a hill the tree will be planted on also need to be considered.

• Moisture. Do you live in a dry or wet climate? Does your yard periodically flood, or is it continually exposed to the drying effect of wind? Watering can be modified on a dry site, but it is still important to know the optimal soil moisture requirements for your species.

• Shade. Some species, like white birch and most pines, require full sunlight. Other species, like most maples, hemlocks and yews, grow well in shade.

• Insects and disease. Every locality has its problems with particular insects or diseases.

Although it is possible to buy varieties that have been bred for resistance to a disease, it is asking 46

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for trouble planting a species which is prone to local pests because it places the tree under stress.

•Soil. Soil depth, structure and pH, in addition to moisture, can make the difference between success or failure. For example, deep-rooted species will need adequate soil depth for their structural roots, whereas shallow-rooted species may be fine on sites with just a thin layer of soil over bedrock or hard clay.

•Pollution. The accumulative effects of pollution can impact your trees. For example, some species are more sensitive to pollutants such as salt spray from the ocean or street de-icing.

After choosing a species that will grow well in your environment, your next consideration is where the tree should be planted in your yard, depending on whether your goal is shade, protection, or purely for cosmetic purposes.

To improve your property’s appearance, one good principle is to never locate a tree where it will split your lot or a view into equal halves. To give the lot an appearance of greater depth, plant on a diagonal line outward from the front corners of the house. Trees planted behind the house and to the side will provide background. Trees with color or some other showy feature can be used as accent points. Small, narrow-crowned species will define boundaries without invading your neighbor’s space.

If you are unsure of what trees to choose to suit your goals, you can ask a certified arborist, nursery professional, urban forester, or extension agent. For more information on choosing the right tree, visit the Arbor Day Foundation at www. arborday.org or www.hbags.com/member to find a nursery professional in the Siouxland area.

Trees planted to provide shade provide a greater cooling effect than man-made structures because they not only block the rays of the sun, they add water to the air through transpiration. Position the tree where you want the shadow during the hottest time of the day and year.

When planting trees as windbreaks and screens, low-branching conifers that hold their foliage are most effective for screening unsightly areas and providing privacy. Noise is best reduced by tall, densely planted trees with fleshy, broad leaves.

Combining these two types can provide noise reduction as well as filter dust from adjacent street traffic year-round.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Bob Wilcke President Bob Wilcke Construction

712-255-3852 www.hbags.com

PARTING SHOT By

Bruce Miller

IF I WON THE

LOTTERY...

Don’t you just love those Powerball winners who say they’re not going to quit their jobs?

How stupid are they?

If you’ve got more money than you could ever imagine, why would you want to take a job from someone who could use it? So you can make life miserable for everyone around you?

Why don’t you just buy the business and get back at the people who made your money-less life a living hell? That’d be the way to do it.

Every week when I naively buy a lottery ticket, I allow myself to dream a little: What would I do with the money?

Besides quitting my job, I’d go shopping - and I’d never look at a pricetag, juggle credit cards or worry if my furnace was going to die because I dared to buy something I didn’t need.

I’d get the curled roof on my house replaced, too, and quit praying for hail so I could claim it on my insurance.

I’d refill my prescriptions on time, get all the channels on cable and run the air conditioning - and the heat - when I felt like it, not when it was absolutely necessary.

I would never use coupons for anything.

I would hire a personal trainer and a chef and I’d get better results than Oprah.

I would subscribe to 25 newspapers and buy every book I’ve ever wanted to read.

I’d go to plays, concerts and movies that I didn’t want to see (oh, wait, I already do that) and I’d fly to events that others just watch on TV. I’d attend the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Series and every one of the tournaments in tennis’ Grand Slam.

To make sure I wouldn’t have to worry about carry-on luggage on planes, I’d buy homes in key places and keep wardrobes there when I was visiting.

I’d hire people to do all those chores I can’t stand. And I’d buy new socks instead of washing them.

When my friends looked like they needed a night out, I wouldn’t just pick up the check. I’d whisk them someplace fun and create a memory they’d have for a lifetime.

If I won the lottery, I’d pay for the remodeling job at church, fund scholarships at school and donate to charities - before they asked.

I’d surprise people, too. If a complete stranger said he liked my car, I’d give it to him.

I’d have such high-speed Internet, I wouldn’t wait 15 minutes just to log on.

Then, on those rare occasions when I’d go to the grocery store, I’d tell the checker I was going to pay for the five people who had to wait behind me.

I’d have fresh flowers every day.

I’d support every charity I

believe in and tell kids they didn’t need to sell wrapping paper, cookies or novelty items just to go on field trips.

I’d be nice, too, and share my secrets for winning the lottery.

I’d give money to a college and ask that they not put my name on a building. Instead, I’d want it named for someone who made a difference in the students’ lives.

I’d sleep in every morning. I’d stay up late every night.

And I’d make sure I was such a good lottery winner I wouldn’t be identified as the guy who got lucky.

I know I’d be a great mega-millionaire.

Now all I need are the right numbers.

Got any ideas?

METROCREATIVE CONNECTION

SIOUXLAND LIFE

JUNE 2012

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SIOUXLAND LIFE