EJ and ET's Blog

HOT AIR BALLOONS IN INDIANOLA, IOWA - 1970-2007

NATIONAL HOT AIR BALLOONING IN INDIANOLA, IOWA FOR 37 YEARS

The National Balloon Classic is in Indianola this week and that means about 100 hot air balloons of various colors, size and shapes are in the air whenever the wind is calmer than 10 miles per hour during early morning and evening hours. Balloon pilots compete thru various tasks assigned by a Balloon Meister to accumulate points to qualify for National Races.
Our relationship with this unique activity started in 1970 when Don Kersten of Ft.Dodge,IA, Ed Youst of Sioux Falls, SD and Don Piccard of Newport Beach, CA arranged for a National Championship meet at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, IA. 18 balloons were entered by pilots and their support crews who needed housing and a place to practice the week before the event. Tom Ackerman of Simpson College learned of the need and arranged for the College facilities to be available. One thing about ballooning was soon learned; besides having a place to launch from they needed a place to land. A committee for Farmer Relations was formed and maps prepared showing red areas where balloons were not welcomed.
Continue reading "Hot Air Balloons in Indianola, Iowa

CELEBRATING OUR BIRTH COMMUNITIES . . . CLEMONS, IOWA

CELEBRATING OUR BIRTH COMMUNITIES . . . CLEMONS, IOWA

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? . . . At an early age, I was taught to answer, “on a farm 3 1/2 miles Northeast of Clemons, Marshall County, Iowa.”
Clemons is celebrating 125 years today and we plan to attend because of pride in being part of the living few who have been from there for more than ½ of that period of time. The first settlers Nancy Elder and William M Clemons built a two-story brick home on a hilltop just west of the present town of Clemons in 1856 that still stands today. The first home in Clemons eventually sat on a 6.56 acre spread and for awhile it was a stop on the Marshalltown to Fort Dodge stagecoach line. The Clemons family would often provide lodging for stagecoach travelers in the late 1850s and early 1860s.
By the 1870s railroads were expanding throughout Central Iowa and William Clemons saw a way for his vision of a village in the valley below him to become a reality. When Marshalltown’s old Iowa Central Railroad began building tracks northwest through Marietta and Minerva Townships, Clemons not only offered the railroad the right of way through his land in the valley, but also offered to provide a depot if they would locate it in the village he had already plotted. The Iowa Central tracks extended to the Clemons site in 1881 and the town was incorporated the next year. William Clemons at first tried to call the new town Minerva, but all of the surrounding landowners called it Clemons to honor the man who had the vision and worked hard to make it a reality. Continue reading "CELEBRATING OUR BIRTH COMMUNITIES . . . CLEMONS, IOWA" /<>/a>

RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS FOR 60 YEARS

60 YEARS: So much can change and yet how much can remain the same? We had the chance to answer that question during the three days attending Gene's 60th anniversary of graduating from Iowa State University, Agricultural Engineering in August 1947.
We had reserved a room at the Memorial Union assuming that the location would be the hub of activities as in the past.
First change: Memorial Union is being expanded and remodled so registration and all dining events were elsewhere. Gene's student home was in Alumni Hall YMCA Dormatory.
Second change: The Y no longer offers resident facilities and Alumni Hall has been renovated as offices for College Registrar and a New Student Recruitment Center.
Eleanor lived in Welch Hall most of her four years at ISU which remains the same. She took a guided tour of the Campus and saw many new, huge centers of learning, housing combinations for popular major studies in the 1940's as well as new Colleges of Business and Design.
But early in the weekend we were greeted by dear friends, Melena & Enlow Ose from Sacramento, CA. 60 years hadn't changed our sincere friendship as we shared news of families and years apart. We agreed that the beauty of the Campus was the same, the view and sound of the Campanile was the same, students walking the campus were friendly and President Goeffry & staff were confident and optomistic about the future of ISU.
Since only 9 members of the 1947 graduating class of over 1000 returned for the celebration and about 20 Alumni Hall 1945-47 residents, we can only be thankful for good health and the rare opportunity to respect the past and enjoy the changes.