March 28, 2024

Throwback Thursday

Today is May 26, the 147th day of the year. It’s a leap year. So, there are 219 days left in 2016. Below are news items from the Creston News Advertiser for this week (May 23-29) in history:

10 years ago

Owners of a newly renovated old Post Office were planning an open house for the public for the first time in nearly 30 years. The building, recognized by the National Registry of Historical Places, was now a store for scrapbook services and supplies. Maple Street Memories was owned and operated by Barb Coenen and her four sisters, all Creston natives.

East Union students earned 10 of the top 36 places in the 2006 Iowa/Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest. They included Jared Cannon, Michael Ward, Stacia Bryson, Tyler Bissell, Danielle Riley, Hannah Nelson, Cody Walter, Danielle Parsons, Sarah Henrichs, Wyatt Thompson, Justy Crago, Katherine Frazier, Alyssa Proffitt, Zach Carlo, Savannah Kistler, Itzayanna Rubio and Dusti Carlisle supported by their art teacher, Deborah Jensen.

Andrew Jennett, Creston High School student, and Jacqueline Ford, Orient-Macksburg student, were recognized by Gov. Tom Vilsack for outstanding academic achievement at the fourth-annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony in Des Moines.

20 years ago

Dr. Peggy Whitson said she was at a point in her career where she needed something different. The 1978 graduate of Mount Ayr Community High School received a telephone call asking her, after 10 years of applying, to become one of 35 astronaut candidates who were to go to the Johnson Space Center in Texas to begin a year of training. NASA’s largest class since 1977 included 10 pilots and 25 mission specialist candidates from a field of 2,400 applicants. Whitson was to be trained as a mission specialist and could be assigned to a future shuttle flight for scientific experiments.

Six members of the Creston boys track team qualified for the state track meet in Des Moines. They were Mike Mansour, Jason Shallenberger, Mike Spainhower, Brad Adamson, Adam Boden and Ken Foglesong. Pantherettes who qualified were Lindsay Courtney, Elisa Hutchinson, Casee Piel, Sarah Vicker, Cathy Kister and Erin McKee.

As the movie “Twister” was showing at the Strand, three families, Louis and Sharon Bennett, Perry and Brenda Strauss, and Ken and Ann Marie Powers recalled rebuilding their lives after the destruction of the tornado that destroyed their homes one year before on May 27, 1995.

50 years ago

Union County’s last rural school, Lincoln No. 5, was closing. it was the only one-room school in the county operating in 1965-66 and was to be attached to Creston Community School District. There were eight pupils taught by Mrs. Eleanor Madden of Creston. Two eighth-grade pupils received their diplomas on May 2 at Jerusalem Methodist church. The two were David Hoakison, son of Mr. and Mrs. Willis Hoakison, and David Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnston.

Diplomas were presented to 136 Creston High School seniors in the school’s 88th annual commencement. About 1,200 people filled the auditorium for the graduation program. Stephen J. Wallace, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed J. Wallace, was the valedictorian of the class with the highest GPA during the four years of high school. Bradley N. Gater, son of Mr. and Mrs. Morris L. Gater, was the salutatorian of the class with the second-highest GPA.