March 29, 2024

Throwback Thursday

Today is Sept. 24, the 268th day of the year. There are 98 days left in 2020. Below are news items from the Creston News Advertiser for this week (Sept. 21-25) in history.

5 years ago

The 38th Southwest Iowa Balloon Days in 2015 will go down as one of the best weekends in Creston history. The Saturday Night Glow at Creston Municipal Airport was one of the top events where about 20 of the 33 registered balloonists participated on the airport runway.

The weather was perfect the entire weekend, allowing pilots to lift off for all three competitive flights. Many parked along South Cherry Street as 33 colorful balloons dotted the sky, flying west overhead into the airport at sunset.

Jon Shelton of West Des Moines was the winning pilot with a total score of 5,133. There were more than 75 entries in the parade. The event featured a pedal pull and pet show and Southern Prairie YMCA’s 5K run/walk had nearly 100 participants.

10 years ago

The CHS “Fall Brawl” in the gym and powder puff football game kicked off Creston High School’s 2010 homecoming celebration entitled “Cirque du Soleil.” The schedule for the rest of the week was different than in past years with a community pep rally in the high school gymnasium with more than 30 items on the agenda. The pep rally was followed by fireworks presented by the Creston Shooters. A Friday queen coronation and Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held in the high school auditorium. Queen candidates were Krystal Daggett, Taylor Davis, Chelsea Ekeler, Dana Gordon and Sarah Jennett. That program was followed by the parade in uptown Creston and football game against Winterset. The week was finished by the homecoming dance Saturday in the high school commons.

25 years ago

Eighty-seven weekend-long acts of vandalism in Creston caused $16,000 damage to parked vehicles; with broken windows, slashed tires and lots of other damage being reported. It was the highest number of vandalism acts that Creston had seen in a two-day period at the time.

NASA astronaut Mike Mullane visited over 500 Creston and Clearfield students in an assembly at Burton R. Jones Middle School, where he gave a presentation to students, as well as some sage life advice.

Creston Police Chief Robert Kessler, a 30-year veteran of the force, announced his retirement. Taking advantage of the new Creston City Council-approved early retirement program, he simply stated, “It’s time for me to go.”

The 1995 Creston High School homecoming queen candidates were chosen. They were Nikki Crawford, Mandy Moffitt, Samantha Willets, Cari Briley and Melissa Baker. The coronation would follow Oct. 5.

50 years ago

Creston’s J.C. Penney store got a complete remodel for its founder’s 95th birthday, where they extensively refurbished the second floor ready-to-wear department, and created a girls’ department balcony. The store opened on the corner of Maple and Montgomery streets in 1950.

A full page ad for Gibson’s Discount Center featured “His and Her’s Specials” where various items were on sale such as ladies’ scarves for 17¢, Crest toothpaste for 53¢, and men’s western-style shirts, $3.97.

September 1970’s Entertainment page comics were “Out Our Way,” “Our Boarding House,” “Captain Easy,” “Alley Oop,” “Lancelot,” “Freckles,” “Priscilla’s Pop,” “The Born Loser” and “Short Ribs.”

Nearly 9,000 roast beef sandwiches — 2,351 pound of prime beef cooked overnight in a barbeque pit, 230 lbs. of potato chips, 6 gallons of ketchup, 120 gallons of coffee and 345 gallons of Coca-Cola were served in a two-hour period during Creston’s Appreciation Beef Day. Eight serving lines started at the covered ISSB parking lot, and tables on the intersection of Montgomery and Pine streets were packed with attendees. The event ended two hours later with all 2,351 lbs. of beef served, with nothing at all left. The Beef Day event was hosted by Creston Chamber of Commerce and Union County Beef Producers Association.

Commuters used to traveling the discontinued Burlington Northern passenger trains 3 and 4, The Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyrs, voiced their displeasure of the cancellation of the service, explaining that now travel to Omaha tacks on an overnight stay, added expense they cannot afford and negatively impacted their livelihoods. Creston Chamber of Commerce tried filing objections to the removal of the service.