July 16, 2025
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Throwback Thursday

A small tornado touched down on Creston's west side March 30, 2006, causing the most damage between Park and Lincoln streets in the area of Mills to Howard streets. Shown in the photo is a portion of a tree limb that had blown down in the 900 block of North Division Street. (CNA file)

Today is March 31, the 91st day of the year. It’s a leap year. So, there are 275 days left in 2016. Below are news items from the Creston News Advertiser for this week (March 28-April 3) in history:

10 years ago

Butch Miller and Terry Horning, both of Creston, worked as referees together during the mid-1980s traveling with the Harlem Globetrotters to places such as Manilla, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Horning became interested in 1975 after hearing of an opening. He stayed with the team until 1986. Miller was hired in February 1982 and worked until 1987. Both were reunited for an 80th anniversary showcase of the team playing at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Jesse Bolinger and his Leader Dog Kirby returned from intense training in Rochester, Michigan, to learn how to use new global positioning technology. Bolinger learned how to maneuver based on voice commands from a GPS unit.

20 years ago

Two sisters from Sharpsburg gave birth to baby boys on the same day at Greater Community Hospital. And, if that wasn’t enough, the fathers of the new babies are brothers. Adea and Obed Estrella had their baby at 10:41 a.m. March 26 two weeks early and September and Eduardo Estrella had their baby two weeks late via C-section shortly after. The sisters had their tonsils taken out on the same day when they were young, and had joked about having babies at the same time, but never dreamed it would happen.

Creston’s Gibson Memorial Library sat idle waiting for renovations, and the library board and the city vented frustration about the architect responsible. McElwee and Associates still hadn’t sent blueprints for site and foundation plans with a firm cost for construction even though they had received payments totaling $22,100 from the city. In the meantime, the library was paying $800 per month for rent in its temporary site while the library sat empty with no work being done.

50 years ago

Creston held its annual all-sport banquet to honor more than 200 high school and college athletes. A crowd of nearly 400 people attended and heard speaker Jack Wallace, head football coach at Drake University. Arnold Kenyon introduced the CHS athletes and Ron Clinton introduced the Creston community college athletes. Joe Hertz, football and baseball standout, was the winner of the Kent Kunath Award, as well as all-state and Hawkeye Seven honors. Joe Dalton was awarded the Hawkeye Seven Award, Jim Loudon was winner of the Pipin’ Poppas wrestling award and Bob Hayes, the all-conference basketball award.

The new church building of Creston Baptist Chapel, located at Townline Road and North Poplar Street, was dedicated April 3. The new building had been in use since it was built the previous fall at a cost of $22,000. It replaced rented quarters at Cedar and Summit streets which the Chapel had occupied since it was organized in 1964. Russell Spainhower, trustee, was the superintendent of construction and oversaw the labor contributed by chapel members. Other committee members were Bob Christensen, Bob Adams and Chester Petty.

Members of Cub Scout pack 129 planted a green ash tree at Green Valley State Park. Bobby Bicket, David Boden, David Rule, Duane Neeley, Greg and Doug Driskell and Ty Rogers were supervised by den chief Jeff McKasson and den mother Mrs. Richard Driskell.