Recipes for Living Andy and Dorothy Jeffreys

Andy being the native Osceolian, it was agreed that he should begin the story. His grandfather, Andrew Jackson Edwards, mayor of Osceola for several terms, was one of the instigators of a water and sewer system for the town. It was of interest to his grandson, Jack, that many years later, when he himself was mayor, he was able to update what his grandfather had begun.

Andrew Jackson Edwards lived from 1867 to 1941, and operated Edwards Produce on the north side of the square. Both Jack and Andy worked for him as they were growing up. They were related to the Benbow's on their grandmother Anna Benbow's side. Andy and the late Galen Benbow were cousins.

The Edwards had a son, Warren (Pink), and two daughters, Zula Marie and Zelma. Both girls were beautiful-Zelma's curly red hair made her outstanding, and one year she was chosen to be Mayfair Queen. Zula, mother of Jack and Andy, was similarly striking with auburn hair. She was born in a little house north of Osceola. Their father helped build the very large house on north Main, just south of the Americana Motel, once known as the "Lewis home."

Jack's and Andy's father, Earl Immanuel Jeffreys, went to Albia to school and on to Iowa City to college. He was an outstanding football player and semi-pro in baseball Before he completed college he enlisted in the service. He had coal black hair, crew cut for the military. They had been out on maneuvers during which he became much tanned and it was at this point that he and Zula met on a blind date. Her first impression was that he was an Indian. They continued to see one another and were married.

At that time coal mining was a big industry in southern Iowa, and Albia was a big mining town. Earl's brother, Uncle John to Jack and Andy, became a mine inspector in the third district. Earl became a manager of the mine at Spring Hill, near Indianola, and moved the family there, during which time Jack Edward Jeffreys was born in Des Moines in 1920.

When Uncle John bought three more mines near Newton, the family moved there in order for Earl to manage them. When it came time for Andy to be born, Zula came to Osceola for her parents to be of help. Andrew William Jeffreys was born in Osceola on February 25, 1924, in Dr. Harken's hospital at 216 South Fillmore. Andy's friend, Osceola resident, Dan Foster and Andy were born the same day in the same hospital delivered by the same doctor, one hour apart. Somewhere along the way Andy came to be called Andy Bill and his very best friends still address him that way.

Andy has a better recollection of his early years than most people do. Uncle John’s office was in the capital building in Des Moines and Andy remembers going to visit him, climbing the circular stairway for entertainment. He and Jack sometimes went down into the mines, which were pitch-black and they wore carbon hats so they could see. But the years spent in mine related jobs took a toll on Earl's health. Even though he died of pneumonia when Andy was only three years old, Andy remembers his father sitting in the living room, wrapped in blankets.

Zula and the boys moved to the west part of Newton and Zula's brother Warren (Uncle Pink), and sister Zelma (Aunt Toodie) lived with them. They each were employed at Maytag. This was where the family lived when Andy started to school He has a vivid memory that his route took him through an alley alongside which a lady had planted flowers. He liked the idea of taking his kindergarten teacher some freshly-picked posies. Later in the day their owner called the school to report that "the little Jeffreys boy picked my flowers." That was Andy's first paddling. He is sure his little bottom was red and he may have learned a lesson, but Zula later confronted the teacher and let her know that she was to keep her hands off her son!

That did not deter Zula from disciplining when disciplining was due, however. Andy had a friend with whom he played after school. When a circus came to town, the friend persuaded him to go with him to check it out. Andy said, "I didn’t know what a circus was but I went and was still there when Mom got home from work." She was upset that he wasn't home or at his friend's house, and after a time of increasing panic, she called the sheriff, the hospital, and everywhere she could think o£ Finally someone remembered the circus, where they found him standing to watch all the activity. Not only was he paddled but from then on he wasn't allowed to go anywhere after school but home to his room.

Andy and Jack shared their bedroom and often had to sleep together, so they grew up very close. That included having some good fights. They fought with but also for each other.

Those years are sometimes referred to as "the Big Band era" and a source of entertainment was ballroom dancing. One night Zula went to a dance in Osceola and met Guy Painter. They later married and the family moved to Osceola. Guy worked in Heinrich Drug Store, which was in the building that is now the clothing portion of Robinson’s Store.

Over the course of years, Andy attended school in each ward - West Ward, East Ward, South Ward, and North Ward. West Ward is now the location of a senior housing complex, East Ward the location of the elementary school, and South Ward is replaced by the United Methodist Church. North Ward is still standing, eventually to be renovated to accommodate offices. Andy fondly remembers teachers Nellie Bonham, 1st grade, who was June Lauvstad's surrogate parent; and Willene Simpson, who taught 2nd grade. She has a favored status in his mind because every year Willene asked him to take her son George on the rides on the 4th of July. Another favorite in later years was Alice Richardson, Jessie Richardson Canavan's sister, who taught music and encouraged Andy to sing. Andy loved to sing and did quite a lot of solo work in their church. The last performance was at a funeral and he was so unnerved that he felt as though he should be the one in the casket. He determined that he would do no more solos.

The Painter family attended the Methodist Protestant Church, which was on the comer of Main and Webster Streets, across from the "Doc Dean" house. In 1939 there was a national decision to unite the three Methodist denominations-Methodist Protestant (the M.P. Church) Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church. The M.E. Church in Osceola, which stood on the northwest corner of Main and Cass streets, had the larger congregation and the M.P. was forced to close and join the other group. Knowing human nature, it is not difficult to imagine the trauma of that development. The transition took many years. For awhile a Baptist denomination went into the M.P. building and some of the M.P. members stayed. The Baptist Church is now north of Osceola, on highway 69.

During their growing-up years, Jack and Andy were industrious. They both carried papers. Jack had the biggest route in town and continued in that occupation until he was 18 years old. Both boys worked in their grandfather's produce store, mowed yards, picked cherries, distributed handbills for their dad's drug store, and whatever else they could find to do to earn money.

In high school Andy was in every school play and in music. He played baritone horn at a time when their band won first in the state in the marching band division, and first in concert band. They had the opportunity to go to Kansas City to the national contest where they did well. Their teacher was Mr. Riles. "He was very much like David Twombley." Both the boys played basketball and football.

Andy fondly remembers that there were dances every noon in the school gym and he taught a number of kids to dance. Dick Musburger and Betty Rose Yates were considered the best dancers, which was a significant reputation at that time. A contest developed, and one noon Andy felt a tap on his shoulder. He and his partner, Butch Mason's sister, Doris, were declared the winners. It was very exciting! Zula was "a good scout' and used to regularly chaperone a group of young people to Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines. All the kids loved her and called her Zu.

After graduation from high school in 1942, Andy enrolled in the junior college on the top floor of what was then North Ward School. That was the last year of its operation. In 1943, on June 25, he joined the Navy 112 Seabees and was inducted in Des Moines. He had further training in Norfolk, Virginia, and in Maine. He was then put on a troop train to go across the country to Port Hueneme, and from there to Hawaii. For almost a year they were in Hawaii building a hospital. They also built an airstrip on Tinian Island and it was from there that the planes took off to bomb Japan, which ended the war. Andy remembers that when he had a leave and came home for a few days, he and Zerilla Cole often rode together on her way to visit relatives in Indiana.

While Andy was on Tinian Island, he received word that Jack was missing in action. He went to his bunk and laid down. As clearly as though he were there, he could see Jack bailing out of his plane. He sent word home that Jack was all right and had no further concern.

Jack had joined the Air Force and became a tail gunner on a B17. He trained in Flagstaff, Arizona, and in Florida before being transferred to Italy. Their mission was the bombing of Germany. On about the sixth mission, Jack had lost his oxygen mask when they were attacked by fighter planes. The order was given to bail out. On the way down, the crew was strafed by German guns. Jack wasn't struck but when he hit the ground and got out of his parachute, they heard the Germans coming. They tried to hide but the Germans found them and, along with others, Jack was taken to a prisoner of war camp. He tried to tell them that he was part German because their grandmother had been German. It made no difference. He was finally transferred to a camp in northern Germany and in time the Russians came from the east and liberated them. Jack was reunited with his unit and spent the remaining time in Paris. From there he was flown home.

Andy's unit was sent to Okinawa. This was a Japanese occupied island and when the American military came in, the Japanese retreated into the hills. The troops would see them on what they called "Sugar Loaf Hill" where they lived in caves. Trip flares were placed all around the perimeter of the camp. On many nights the Japanese tried to sneak in, a flare would go off, rockets would go up, there would be several gunshots and everything would return to normal

The men were told that it was the custom among the Japanese on that island to dispose of the dead by laying them on slabs in the caves. After the body had decayed, virgins in the family were sent to scrape the bones, which were kept in large urns in the family home. That is not as far-fetched as it might seem. There are religions in which "dust shall return to dust" is taken literally and in India, for example, the Parsis lay the dead on an outdoor slab where birds feed on the flesh and as it and the bones deteriorate, they fall to replenish nutrients in the ground.

While Andy was on Okinawa, the unit experienced two typhoons. The first occurred while they were unloading the LST- a transport for shipping equipment overseas. Because of the intense wind, there was no way to control direction and they ended up within three miles of Japan but had no idea of their whereabouts. The second typhoon came while they were on the island. The strength of the wind demolished their Quonset huts, the rain came horizontally and it was impossible to stand. The men had to crawl wherever they intended to go. Their fare throughout the storm was raisin pie which had been baked previously.

As Andy thinks back on the dangers in those days- the "Japs", the typhoons, and others -none were as fearsome or loathsome as snakes. He took the long route around the camp to avoid meeting up with them, and they were everywhere. That repulsion carried over into civilian life when he preferred the penalty of a lost ball on a golf course rather than looking in an area where he might run across a snake.

The intention of going to Okinawa was to prepare for an invasion of Japan but while they were there the atom bombs were dropped and the war was over. Japan surrendered and the treaty signed. Leaving Okinawa, they were taken by water jeep to the ship which they boarded by rope ladder. They were taken to San Francisco, where they were discharged according to their length of service time and dispersed to wherever. The screw-ups were plentiful. No attention was paid to where the men had come from. Men, who lived in Chicago, near the Great Lakes base, were shipped elsewhere. Some were sent back to Port Hueneme. Andy spent his last three months at Great Lakes. He laughs to recall that his job was checking the heating in the barracks. He would seem to be doing that but often made up the numbers so that he could take a nap. When he was called to the office, he thought he was about to get his come-uppance. Instead he was commended for his good reports and put in charge of training others.

Finally in March, 1946, Andy's time had been served and he returned home. Lena Rose Miller (Scott) and his mother, Zula, met his train. The next challenge was finding a job and he began by doing odd jobs at Eddy's Granary for Esther Stansell's father. From there he went to work at Hy-Vee, which was then on the south side of the square, and on to Snowdon's Lingerie Factory, where he became head of the cutting and shipping departments.

Local people may remember former resident Ken Hudson, who got Andy a job with Langan Paper Company. He was assigned a territory that included Greenfield, Winterset, Indianola, Knoxville, Pella, and Ottumwa. Leslie Paper Company bought out Langan and Andy continued with them, covering the same territory, until he retired in 1987.

In 1963 Andy was shocked to go home and find Zula in her chair bent over as though she was picking up something off the floor. He discovered instead that she had died of a heart attack. She had "terribly high blood pressure" and the doctors determined that a blood clot had killed her instantly at the age of 63. Jack had, perhaps, even a worse shock. He had been in Des Moines and stopped on his way back to town to have something to eat. Someone in the restaurant said they were sorry to hear about his mother. That was the way the news was broken to him.

Jack had come home from the service and established a business, which he named JAMCO, Jeffrey's Amusement Company- a juke box and pinball machine business. Jack was extremely altruistic- caring, community-minded, sensitive. He was Osceola's mayor from 1966 to 1968 and from 1972 to 1976. He was concerned about the lack of anything for youth to do so he opened his place of business in the evenings and the young people could play the machines and be entertained. He organized and provided uniforms for a town basketball team, members of which Andy named from memory: himself, Dick Liggitt, Darrell Swan, Butch Carper, Whitey Kuhlman, Gene Nolan, Buss Fleming, Chick Marvin and Gerald Pedersen. Nearly every small town had such teams and played each other in addition to the local team scheduling games with fraternities at Simpson College. One of Jack's good friends was Mickey Thomas with whom he went skiing in Colorado and played a lot of tennis, outdoors in the summer and in Des Moines in winter.

Jack did a great many things that no one knew about. He lived in the "Gonseth apartments" a few doors from an unwed mother who had five or six children. Every Saturday morning Jack would pick up the children and take them to breakfast. When one of those girls was grown, she was being married in a town some miles from Osceola. In the fall of 1979, Jack had gone to the wedding. As he was returning home, he was near Leon when his car was hit and he was killed. He was honored by having a street in the industrial area named for him-"Jeffreys Drive". His contribution to the community continues because Andy and Dorothy have set up a scholarship program for high school graduates. One is awarded in Jack's name each year.

Andy and Dorothy Kellogg Davenport became acquainted when they both worked at Snowdon's. Andy's fondness for dancing had continued and he regularly went to dances at the Osceola Country Club with his good friends Ed and Darlene Lundquist. The relationship between Dorothy and Andy began as they dated to go to the dances. It was at a dance that Andy proposed. He says that she called him at 6:00 the next morning to ask, "Do you know what you asked me last night?" He answered, "Yes, I asked you to marry me." Her uncertainty is not as peculiar as it might seem. They had been dating for ten years. He didn't offer her a ring and she wasn't sure if he had thought it through or if it was a spur-of-the-moment idea. They were married on December 22, 1967. Their first home at 131 North Park, was a house Andy's grandmother had owned and willed to Zula. They lived there until they built a new home at 827 Lakeview Drive, their current address.

Dorothy was born to John R. Kellogg and Mary Lillian Walker Kellogg at Bolckow, Missouri, which is near St. Joseph. The couple had three children. There were 10 years difference in the ages of Dorothy and Wilma Jane, and 16 years between Dorothy and Forrest. John worked on the railroad and was Sunday School superintendent for a number of years. While Dorothy's brother, Forrest, was enrolled in Simpson College, he served the Woodburn church as a student pastor. The family moved to Woodburn when Dorothy was four and Wilma Jane was a junior in high school.

The family lived with Forrest in the Methodist parsonage during the time he pastored that church, and even after he moved on, they continued to live there. Dorothy received all her formal education in the Woodburn school system and graduated as Valedictorian of her class of ten students in 1943. Other schoolmates, who are now Osceola residents, were the Oehlert twins, Bill and Bob; Jean Mason Oehlert (who married Bob); Lucile Mackay Roe; Helen Terhune Stickler; Betty Heston; Ivan and Barbara Boor Mason; and Betty Duree Swan. Dorothy, Lucile, and Helen played and enjoyed basketball throughout high school. However, compared to gyms of the present day, the size of ones they were accustomed to then would be considered
unbelievably small. They are sometimes described as "cracker box" size.

Keith Davenport was one of Dorothy’s classmates. They began dating in high school and were married. They had two daughters, Annie Laurie and Jennifer Lynn. The marriage lasted for ten years. The couple divorced and Dorothy raised the children in her parents' home and with their help. Mr. Kellogg died in 1959. Dorothy, her mother, Mary, and the girls moved to Osceola in 1962, when Jennie started junior high. Dorothy began working at Snowdon's Lingerie factory and was there 15 years as a seamstress. Her specialties were zigzag stitch, trims, and hemming. Mary spent her last year in the nursing home.

Both Annie and Jennie were educated in the Clarke Community School system. Annie graduated in 1964 and went on to Simpson College. She and Fred Jones, one of the identical "Jones twins", had begun dating in high school and were married in January, 1966. Annie's first teaching job was in Muscatine, where she and Fred lived while he was getting his Master's degree. Fred became head of the sociology department at Simpson College and they moved to Indianola.

Fred and Annie had two children - Jason was born in 1970 and Jacalyn Ann in 1975. Jackie now lives in Osceola. She is married to Jack Gibbons who works in Des Moines, and they have one child, a son named Chance Jackson Gibbons. Jackie teaches second grade of Clarke Elementary School.

Jennie graduated in 1968 and went on to the University of Iowa. She was in Osceola for homecoming and had gone to one of the gathering places for young people - the A & W- owned by Alfred Jones, father of the twins. She was leaving there when a car came speeding over the hill and struck her car broadside. Alfred called the ambulance and Dorothy and Andy. They rushed to the emergency room at the hospital and were puzzled when they could see through the frosted windows that the doctors weren't doing anything. The truth got through to them that she was already gone. She had died immediately and didn't even know what hit her. A person near Jennie's age remembers the disaster and says, "I never knew Dorothy, but I would see her in church and I thought she handled it so bravely and gracefully." Most parents can only imagine the pain caused by such a tragedy.

Through the years Dorothy and Andy have taken several trips: they toured Canada and Mexico; they have been to Hawaii and to Europe, specifically to Germany and the surrounding countries. They went with Don and Miriam Butterfield to England and have also been to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Their favorite places were Japan and China. They spent three weeks touring extensively, traveling by train and boat. The only downside was the food. "If it hadn't been for breakfast, we'd have starved. Particularly men who were accustomed to eating large meals lost inches around their waists by the time they returned." Their last overseas trip was to Greece, Turkey, and cruising on the Aegean Sea to tour the islands.

After Andy retired in 1987, he and Dorothy began going with Ed and Darlene Lundquist to Lake Havasu, Arizona, or South Padre Island in Texas. It was while they were in Arizona in March, 1994, that Andy had a massive stroke. He was kept in the hospital there for about three weeks and Glen Davenport, Dorothy's nephew, flew down to return to Iowa with them by plane. Grandson Jason flew down and drove the car home.

Andy was taken immediately to Younkers' Rehabilitation. Therapy was begun at once and continued for six weeks. Due to some paralysis it was impossible to use either a walker or crutches, so he learned from the beginning to use a four-pronged cane. Before he left the hospital he was fitted with a leg brace without which he would not be able to walk at all. But Dorothy and Andy both feel very fortunate. Yes, he is handicapped, but he is able to do many things. He attends church occasionally, taking no chances with slippery sidewalks. He enjoys attending Rotary every week, and he has even been known to dance! When he returned home after his stint in the hospital, there was a welcome-home dance for him. Noel Friday's group was hired and when they played Andy's favorite, "Satin Doll", Galen Benbow video taped his dance. He also danced at Jackie's wedding two years ago.

Both Dorothy and Andy have been involved in community activities. Andy was a member of the Osceola chapter of the Masonic Lodge #77. After progressing through the offices, in 1965 he was Worshipful Master. The project that he chose was reupholstering the seats of the Osceola Theater, which was on the north side of the square where Dr. Lower's office is at the present time. The seats were placed in the Masonic Temple.

Dorothy has likewise advanced through the chairs in Eastern Star, Ophir chapter #267, and was Worthy Matron in 1974. Annie and Jennie were in Rainbow, an organization sponsored by the Eastern Star, and mothers were heavily involved. Dorothy is also a member of P.E.O. and was their president in 1984 and 1985. She served as Financial Secretary for the United Methodist Church, the last one to volunteer for the position. She has been Circle leader, and chaired a committee that arranged and served at weddings and receptions. On the committee with her were Inez Touet Schaeffer and Helen Saylor Kimes.

Dorothy's most intense interest and involvement has been in the Clarke County Hospital Auxiliary of which she is a charter member. In 1976 she and Florence Paul became co-managers of the hospital gift shop. Florence continued to serve in the position for ten years. Dorothy is still serving into her 24th year. In the beginning the shop was primarily for snacks and coffee but one year Dorothy made crafts for the holidays and discovered that they were so well received and there was such a demand for them that she has continued to make them. The gift shop now also takes items on consignment.

Appreciation for the contribution made by the Hospital Auxiliary is well deserved; Staffed entirely by volunteers, the gift shop is open five days every week, with 40 women in the community on a work schedule of half-days. Their membership dues, craft fair, bake sales, and gift shop sales produce about $5,000 a year. They give about $3,000 yearly to the hospital, $1,000 in scholarships, and they paid for remodeling the gift shop. · ·

All that does not just happen. Dorothy spends countless hours in the operation. In addition to her regular schedule every Friday afternoon, she fills in for those who call to say they cannot be there. In addition, she makes craft items, inventories the stock and tidies the displays. She would be willing to turn the job to someone else, but has found no one willing to assume the
responsibility.

At the present time Annie lives in Las Vegas. She has married Dale Points. Both have their Master's degrees and both are teaching. Jason teaches in Raytown, Missouri. He and his wife Kim live in Overland Park, Kansas, and she works for Hallmark in the marketing division. Jason also flies hot air balloons. He owns his own and flies professionally. He participates in the annual races in the Indianola Classic and this past year placed third or fourth. He has also taught ground school classes in Carlisle. The natural profession for the entire family has seemed to be teaching: Fred Jones, Annie, Dale, Jason, Jackie and her husband, Jack, all teach and excel in what they are doing.

Readers would do well to follow the Jeffreys' Recipe for Living. They have coped with and risen above the death of a daughter, a massive stroke, and other adversities. At the same time they are contributing to the welfare of the community in which they live, and maintaining a sense of humor and well-being. Their lives are truly admirable.