Recipes for Living Leland and Sandra Dolecheck

My feeling is that we might have to embellish my stories because our life doesn't seem as exciting or eventful as others I have read. I was born in the little town of Tingley, the oldest of three children. My sister Barbara Corll lives in Florida, and brother Terry Wood lives in Greybull, Wyoming. Our mother, Edith Wood, still lives in Tingley, but not where I was born. Our father passed away in 1976. He had always farmed and died of a heart attack at age 62 1/2. After he died, Mother sold the farm. They had planned to do that and build a new house. Mother continued on with that plan. It was quite a move for her.

I grew up on a farm and attended country school through eighth grade. We lived about a quarter-mile from the school house and we walked, of course. It was uphill one way, coming home. My own kids walked farther than I did. We went to Sunday School at Wishard Chapel, a country church on highway 169. It is still there, "up and running." There was not a basement and so everyone met upstairs. We were all together for opening exercises and I particularly remember that everyone who was celebrating a birthday put in a penny for each year. We thought it was very special when some of the older people put in $1. It was fun to have everybody together.

Kids today would think we led a boring life. We didn't have children next door to play with but we played outdoors and went sleigh riding in the winter. I know we were very naive about a lot of things, but all in all I consider that not a bad way to be.

We lived about 10 miles from Mt. Ayr and weren't running to town all the time. That meant that when we did go it was special. I remember attending Saturday matinees at the Princess theater. We saw Roy Rogers, Gene Autrey, The Three Stooges, and others for 10¢, as long as we were under the age of 14. That was big time stuff. And the good guys always won in the end. The theater would be full. There was not a lot of other entertainment even on Saturday afternoon. We got TV when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, but we couldn't count on good reception. We became very familiar with "snow." Besides, Mom wouldn't have stood for our being inside watching television.

I went to the big city of Mt. Ayr for high school, and after graduation I went to work in Des Moines at "Look" magazine. It gave me a feeling of being ancient when Brian Buesch heard me tell this and asked what was "Look Magazine." I lived in an apartment and had a couple of different roommates. In those days I would not have had to clarify that they were female. Now it may be o.k. to mention that.

I didn’t meet Leland until I was working in Des Moines. He was about six years ahead of me in school, and when I met him he was a student at Iowa State University. One of my roommate's sisters was dating a roommate of Leland's, and they introduced us. I think that happened when we went to Ames on a Friday night, but it has been more than 40 years ago so some of the details are vague.

Leland and I went together for eight months. In those days Des Moines didn't have much to offer, but we both liked movies and concerts. Those were our customary dates.

We were married after he graduated from college on July 14. We were married on July 16, 1961, in the Christian Church in Mt. Ayr. It was not a large wedding. Our attendants were my sister and one of Leland's friends. The reception was in the church basement. I like to think that we are living proof that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make things last. We went to the Ozarks for a short trip and haven't been back since, whatever that says.

We moved to Osceola a week after we were married and have never left. We lived at 631 South Main, where Dan Foster lives. The first year we were in an upstairs apartment, and then we lived downstairs for four years before we bought the house on East Clay. It was a spec home that Adamsons had built. When we bought our property, there were no houses across the road south-just a farm field, and there were empty lots behind us. During the 34 years we lived there, it was developed into a sub-division.

Leland became the Voc Ag instructor when we moved to town He held that job for 30 years along with farming. Some time later he bought some farm land in Ringgold County and raised crops and livestock. One farm he had bought from his parents is where our oldest son and his family live. Leland has now sold all his land.

I quit working when we were married and didn't start again until our oldest child was a senior in high school. I truly enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom. Our first son, Allan, was born in April 1962, while we lived on south Main. David was born in June 1966, and Michelle in October 1968. Allan doesn't remember the house on Main, and the house on Clay Street was the only one David and Michelle lived in. We had a lot of good years there but discovered that we need more space now that the kids are grown. One shower sufficed when they were growing up but now when they come to visit it is sure nice to have an extra one. We have moved to a home on highway 152.

When the kids were little, I stayed at home pretty much. I came to know Dorothy DeHaan when we lived on Main Street, and Ruth and Rindy because we shopped at their SuperValue store, which was on the comer where I.S.U. (Iowa Southern Utilities) used to be. I have known them the longest of anyone in town.

As the kids got older, our interest was in Little League games and swimming lessons. When they were in school, we followed their activities in sports. All were in 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America), so we spent lots of time at the County Fairs. They exhibited hogs and were pretty successful. We thought it was a good experience for them.

Additionally, we had some great family outings. We especially enjoyed camping. We had a tent that we put up and hoped to find a spot with no rocks under the sleeping bag. We liked to go to Nine-Eagles State Park and other non-electric campsites. Having a shower house and inside plumbing was about as luxurious as we asked for. We had one memorable experience as we were camping among the trees where there were several raccoons. I had taken a chocolate cake in a pan with a lid, but somehow the raccoons had gotten the lid off the pan and had a party with our cake. We found the pan down a bank.

We also went west to the mountains in Colorado and Wyoming, and to baseball games in Minneapolis and Kansas City. We especially had fun at the Twin’s games. My sister and brother-in-law did not live far from the ball park. We would go to their home and then pack into one car for going to the game. There were our three children, their two, and we four adults so the car was full, but my brother-in-law knew the most convenient way to get in and out of the park. It is my opinion that baseball should be played out-of-doors. That is so much more fun than the indoor stadiums.

I started working in November 1979, for Eldon Hunsicker at State Farm Insurance. He was a nice, nice man to work for. I was there until November 1988, when I began working as the church secretary. Rev. Cliff Haider was our pastor at that time and I continued during Rev. Judy Miller's appointment. I left in May and she at the end of June 1995.

Late in December, during the time Cliff was here, the church purchased and installed the first computer and it was my job to enter the church membership and all financial records. I remember Cliff saying he wanted us to put out statements the first quarter of the following year. I went to a meeting to learn UMIS, which was the system we used, and in spite of obstacles, we did it! The statements went out on time!

In those days the church secretary was also the financial secretary. I took care of the Sunday offering every Monday morning. I picked up the money bag which had been left in the bank for security. I took it to the church office to count and record it, then took the deposit back to the bank all by myself. I prepared the Sunday bulletins and scheduled community activities that were held at the church. I did the UMW (United Methodist Women's) booklets as well as the one for Woman's Club. I kept the membership book up to date and sent cards for meetings. An aspect of the work that I didn’t appreciate was on Sunday mornings as we came for worship. As soon as I walked in the door, I was at work. So many people had questions or some little job they wanted me to do.

But there are such good memories! The Quilters was a vital organization at that time. They celebrated birthdays with pot-luck lunches to which Linda Neilson, the Education Director, and I were always invited. Through that party atmosphere, I really got to know the ladies. Wilma Defenbaugh and Maxine Woods were doing funeral dinners and were offended if we didn't eat with them. I was treated well! I resigned to go to work at Citizen's Bank, where I am still employed. I am content to attend and serve on church committees. I've been on Nominating, Finance, Church Council, Evangelism, and Foundation, where I am currently serving.

Michelle was the first of our children to be married. She and Troy Good met when they were in school in Iowa City and they both worked at K-Mart in Coralville. Rev. Judy Miller, who was serving as Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, who later came here to be our pastor, married them.

Troy was from Marshalltown and his parents still live there. He was an education major but wasn't finding a teaching job. He was interested in the social studies area and went to work for REM, which is an agency similar to Bethphage. Within the last year he has taken a job with the Department of Human Services in Johnson County. Michelle works for the accounting firm of McGladrey and Pullen. They live in Marion and have two daughters, Molly, almost 11 and Abby who is 2. We are excited that the girls are coming to stay with us next week while their mom and dad go to Chicago to see the Cubs play baseball.

Allan went directly from high school to farming. He now is very happy farming south of Kellerton. There is a general conception that it isn't possible to make a living in that occupation, but Allan disagrees, acknowledging that you have to work at it. As his father had done, he has crops and livestock.

Allan married Naomi Padgitt, who grew up not too far from where they live. She works at the Dekko plant in Mt. Ayr. She would like something else but opportunities are limited. The bright spots are that she doesn’t have to commute a long distance or be greatly concerned about her wearing apparel, and she has good retirement benefits. Allan and Naomi have two daughters - Sheryl will be a senior in high school and is very active in school. Erin will be a first grader this year, and she is Grandpa's girl. Leland has always been down there a lot and she follows him around. Allan has a pond stocked with catfish, which supposedly don’t spawn. No one told the fish and they have multiplied to the point that the water appears almost to boil when someone feeds them. Erin gets so excited when this happens and even though Leland doesn't always feel that he has lots of time to spend, we know he must make time because she isn’t always going to want to go with Grandpa to feed the fish.

Our son David lives in Ft. Dodge and is a salesman for Schwan's. He was married this past January to Sherri Jones, who works for Ft. Dodge Lab. They do testing of products on livestock-items like shampoos, etc. Sherri had three children-son Nick, who is ten; daughter Mariah, eight, and son Braylon, six. They fit in well with the other grandkids. The younger ones get along well together, and we really have a houseful when everybody is here.

Leland and I have taken several trips in these past years. Nancy Price, who is Betty Eddy’s sister, coordinates trips for the bank, so we have taken lots of one-day outings. We took Amtrak to Chicago in December 1995, and even though it was the coldest weather they'd had in two years, we had a nice time.

Our longest vacation was in 2001, when we went to Alaska. We didn't even call home; we were so interested in looking around at the "last frontier." During the hot, humid days we have just had in Iowa, I have kept looking at the temperature in the three largest cities in Alaska. The highest has been 78°, and it sounded wonderful!

The first part of the time was a land trip. We flew into Fairbanks, where we spent two days. We saw the Alaska pipeline which was interesting. We took the Alaska railway down to Anchorage, and spent a night in Denali Park. Denali means "The Great One." That is beautiful wilderness. At that particular time it was cloudy so couldn’t see Mt. McKinley or Denali Peak. We saw lots of moose, caribou, Dahl sheep which have curved horns, and lots of eagles.

The last seven days were a cruise as we went down the Inside Passage. It was a British ship and very few of the crew was American. Quite a few were from the Philippines, and our two waiters were from Romania. We were always speaking to someone who had an accent. Their wages might not seem high to us, but compared to what they would be making in their country, they seem pretty good to them.

One day we saw lots of whales. Even the guides said it was unusual to see that many. They were all around the boat. We saw one bear while we were on the cruise ship, and lots of glaciers. They are blue in color because of the extreme pressure. They come sliding down the mountain and into the ocean, breaking-off into what are called "calves." As they hit the water, they make a hissing sound similar to the sound of ice cubes in a glass of water, magnified many times, of course.

There was always food, and lots of entertainment- movies, stage shows, and lectures. There was something going on all the time. There was a small casino that was not allowed to be open while it was in port because Alaska does not allow gambling.

We had a great time, very enlightening. Planes were on time. They didn't lose our luggage, but it still was nice to come back to Des Moines and be in a smaller airport.

At the present time we have no trips or anything planned. Hopefully we will do more traveling. Our life has not been full of a lot of exciting things. What more could we ask than we’ve been blessed with- good health and a good life? Maybe we don't value that until there are problems. My hope is that I can keep going strong like my mother, who is 87. Michelle says people don't believe her when she tells about her grandmother, who still raises gardens and gives away all the produce. It was a disappointment this year when it was so dry, and she threatens not to plant another, but I am guessing that next year she will be out there planting. She has a riding lawn mower and this year volunteered to mow the church lawn in Tingley. I will be very pleased at 87 to be able to do at least a portion of what she is doing.