Recipes for Living Noel C. Friday

Words of Woodrow Wilson regarding the nation pertain as well to the church: "A (church) which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about." It is sad that names of former members are hidden away in the archives and their significant contributions to the present church are unknown or forgotten.

For those who have long been a part of the Osceola United Methodist Church, there is surely no name that better represents its core than "Friday''. Noel's mother, Linnea, was a leader in United Methodist Women and Sunday school; his father, C.D. Friday, was involved in administration and was church treasurer for at least 14 years. No couple cared more for all aspects of the management of church business and the facility. That caring extended to its cleanliness and appearance. The best illustration is that of the fastidious, dignified, Mr. Friday on his hands and knees removing heel marks from the floor of the fellowship hall.

During the course of writing Noel's story, Linnea died. Her obituary and writing by her granddaughter is at the close of Noel's story, which follows:

Dad grew up in Murray, Iowa, and was in W.W. I, but didn't get any farther than Iowa City when the war was over. In about 1920, he went from a bank teller's job in Des Moines, to Madrid to apply for a position with the Madrid State Bank. Fred Carlson was the bank president and hired Dad as cashier. Dad was single at the time, living in an apartment. He wanted to get out and circulate among Madrid people, so Mr. Carlson introduced him to his sister-in-law, Linnea. Dad and Mother were married in 1925.

A close relationship between the Carlson and Friday families continued for many years. Dad functioned as cashier of that bank until in June, 1932, when the directors voted to close the doors and return the deposits to the customers-a result of the Great Depression. Both Dad and Fred Carlson were out of a job. As luck would have it, I was born that very month. Here they were with a new baby, no job and they really didn't know where the next meal was coming from.

Father applied to and was hired by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Mr. Carlson applied for the position of Land Appraiser with the Federal Land Bank in Omaha, Nebraska. In a short time Father found that he didn't like the job or the city, submitted an application and was given the job as Loan Examiner with the Federal Land Bank in Omaha. There is an interesting side story. While examining the loan of an applicant, Dad came across the name of an obscure farmer in Iowa. It was for a substantial amount of money and he didn't qualify. Dad wrote the letter to say he was sorry but unable to make the loan. He filed the application away and within three days he got a call from Henry A Wallace, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, saying, in essence, you will make the loan. The farmer was Roswell Garst, founder of the Pioneer Hybrid Seed Company.

Dad and Mother lived in Omaha until, in 1935. A friend, who was a field man for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, suggested Dad look into the purchase of an agency owned by Clyde Johnson in Osceola, Iowa. Dad followed up on the lead and asked Fred if he would be interested. Dad came to Osceola from Omaha and Fred from Madrid to look over the agency. In January, 1935, they bought the insurance agency, which was really only large enough to support one family.

Dad and Fred set up their agency in the building now owned by Mickey Thomas, at 119 South Main; and, for their living quarters, they rented a room at the home of Billy Beard, who lived on North Main immediately north of Larry Page's house. They moved their families to Osceola three months later when housing was found. They began developing the agency with Fred as the outdoor person. At that time there were only 15 miles of gravel in Clarke County. It was such a terribly hard winter that Fred had to buy snowshoes to get around. Winter was followed by the very muddy spring of 1936. They had a hard time getting around to see everyone and began buying insurance agencies as they became available, for a total of 34.

The relationship between the two families was always congenial. The families were together a lot. I fondly remember time spent with the Carlson's two children, Ruth Carolyn and Donald. When W.W. II came along, Donald Carlson went into the Army Air Corps. Ruth went to Iowa State and after graduation became an artist with Hallmark Greeting Card Company in Kansas City.

In 1942 the insurance office moved across the courtyard to the theater building. They were there 20 years to the day before moving to the Garris building on the southeast corner of the square. I became involved in the business when I returned from the service at the same time Mr. Carlson was ready to retire in December, 1957. Dad was always active in the Independent Insurance Agents Association and was president in 1943; then, having been brought up in the agency, I became active in that organization and worked up through the ranks. Exactly 30 years after Dad held the office, I became president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa and then chairman of the Midwest Conference Committee of the National Association of Independent Agents as it relates to agricultural insurance subjects. This conference committee met with an Underwriting Insurance Company representative who were underwriters in the agriculture insurance field. It was like a year in college.

Dad was a promoter for Osceola. He, Paul Reinhart who owned the furniture store; Lyle Cobun, who was the branch manager for Iowa Southern Utilities; and Ralph McGee, president of Clarke County State Bank, were responsible for bringing the Snowdon Lingerie Factory to Osceola. It was an offshoot of the Rollins Hosiery Mill in Des Moines, which was sold to Kenneth Durham. Mrs. Durham's maiden name was Snowdon and in that industry it was traditional to name a company by her family name. The president of the company was Kenneth Durham, vice president and secretary was Douglas Janney; George Pallister was treasurer. The latter lived at 115 South Park Street. When that team wanted to retire, they brought David Kaminsky into the picture. David was backed by the wealthy Horwich brothers, who were in the real estate business in Chicago. Later David bought the company.

The Snowdon factory was a great asset to the community. It started in the back of Bill Myers' Ford Garage building, and expanded into an addition to that building. Later a further addition extended to the alley, and later still it included the lot where the former Methodist parsonage stood. The parsonage was bought by Bill Myers and moved to South Jackson. Snowdon products-sleepware and lingerie-gained a reputation of being some of the finest in the country, featured by such stores as Niemann Marcus, Younkers and others.

Although there was a Commerce Club, there was no Chamber of Commerce in Osceola. Dad, Ralph McGee and maybe others, made application to the National Chamber of Commerce to establish a chapter in Osceola. This was just prior to Snowdon's coming to town, probably in 1941 or '42.

Dad was always interested in the Methodist church and, when the need for additional space for Sunday school rooms became evident, Dad oversaw the construction of a free-standing annex in 1952. In the mid-1960's it became necessary to make decisions regarding the church building that had been erected in 1894. The building needed tuck-pointing, the large stained glass windows needed re-leading, and there was only street parking which competed with that of the Christian Church. The wise choice seemed to be building a new structure and Dad was involved in the transaction to buy the property of South Ward school, located where the United Methodist Church now stands at 130 West Grant.

Dad was very benevolent toward the construction of the new building consecrated on January 28, 1968. He was conscious of such minor details as a possible future need for extra parts and pieces of pews. I found them after his death, stored upstairs in their house. Following in his footsteps, I served on the building committee, which was an interesting experience, especially getting to know the architect, Gordon Gjelten of Forest City. I talked with him about the building of my house. I was also instrumental in designing the landscaping for the church, with the help of Bill Heard of Heard Gardens in Des Moines. He is among the most outstanding landscapers in Iowa.

Dad's death in 1975, which, given a choice, would have been just as he wished. He had walked to the office to begin his usual day. He went into his own office, started to open the mail, gave a gasp, and was gone. It seemed appropriate for Mother and me to erect a tower for the bell and cornerstone from the former Methodist Church in his honor in 1980. Mother continued to live in her home, with a hired lady; but several years ago she needed additional help and is now at the Osceola Rehabilitation Center.

I went from kindergarten through 12th grade, and graduated in Osceola. I went on to Simpson College and was there until January 14, 1952, when I went into the Air Force. While I was home on leave, Harold Marquis' wife introduced me to Alice. I thought I could see the end of my tour of duty and we were married in June, 1954. Instead, I received orders to report to Japan, which didn't help our marriage. Alice started to Drake as a music major for the first semester of 1955, and earned a teaching certificate. She shared her talents in the Osceola United Methodist Church as an organist and soloist.

Alice and I had two children. Suzanne was born August 30, 1960; and John was born June 25, 1963. Suzanne earned a teaching certificate in four years at Graceland College in Lamoni, and an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) license at Creston. She is married to John Coulthard and is presently a housewife, living in Lamoni. She and John have seven children, whom she is home schooling.

Son John worked in our agency for five years and decided to go sailing. He married Nancy Petrie of Wilmette, Illinois, and they have two children. He is manager of a boat yard in Irvington, Virginia. He has 12 employees in the business of selling, maintaining, repairing and modifying yachts. They love it!

I was a personnel specialist, stationed at the headquarters of the 7th Aerial Port Squadron in Ashyia, Japan, which was on the island of Kyushu. There were 36 detachments from the parallel in Korea down to Bankok including Kadina Air Force Base in Okinawa. We were responsible for manning all the air freight and air passenger terminals. I had to visit each one of those detachments once a month to see if all the personnel were there on duty and rotate them back to the states after their tour. I spent three years and 10 months in the Air Force, and got out early in 1955. I enrolled at Drake University in January, 1956, taking courses in insurance and finance. I completed my college education and went to work for Hawkeye Security Insurance Company, then back to the local agency when Fred Carlson wanted to retire in 1957. Our family bought his share of the business.

The business continued to do well. I now travel nine counties, including Polk, where I bought an insurance agency twelve years ago and we continue to increase our volume by the Des Moines activity. About the same time it came to our attention that no company was insuring a process involving bull studs. The breeder extracts semen from the bull, and it is stored in cooling tanks. We arranged a manuscripted policy with St. Paul Insurance Company that would apply to the liability and property for this process. We currently write those policies from as far west as Logan, Utah, to the east coast. Calling on all these people personally puts me on the road a lot.

In February, 1976, Dora and I were married by Rev. Ivan Bys, with Dr. C.E. and Margaret Tindle our attendants. We had a very compatible, happy life until about ten years ago when Dora started going downhill. My first realization was on a return trip from Colorado. We customarily drove straight through, taking turns driving. I was resting in the back seat of the car when all of a sudden, she screamed. I jumped up and grabbed the wheel. We were hemmed in by semi-trailer trucks but even so, it was completely out of character for her to lose control. We switched drivers, of course, and when we were home, I took her to Dr. Dora in Des Moines. He was certain that he detected the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s but encouraged me to get another opinion. I took her on to Iowa City, where Dr. Kiljus confirmed that was, indeed, her problem. It came on rapidly and in six months she needed care. She was in the Long Term Care Unit at the Clarke County Hospital, then in the Alzheimer’s wing of the Rehabilitation Center where she is slowly declining.

As it was with my father, the town of Osceola is important to me. I serve on the board of the Clarke County Development Corporation for which I chaired a committee responsible for the sign west of town, visible from I-35. More recently I studied and copied ordinances from other communities that would apply in the Osceola situation and have submitted them to the City Council for consideration.

Each 4th of July, I enter my classic cars in the parade. I became interested in the classic car hobby in 1952, when I was stationed in Tacoma, Washington. I bought the first classic automobile that year and joined the Classic Car Club of America. I was instrumental in developing the Iowa region, became director of the region and on the national board of C.C.C. of America and held that position about six years. It gave me an opportunity to become acquainted with people I never would have known otherwise.

At that time I purchased a 1929 Cadillac roadster, which was one of 11 of those that remained; and a 1935 Cadillac 12-cylinder convertible sedan, that was one of six that were built. It is the only one in existence. I also purchased a 1911 Cadillac roadster, a 1933 Auburn cabriolet, and a 1932 Cord convertible sedan, which was the last car of the L29 series that was produced. These cars are all historic vehicles from the standpoint of design and numbers built. The classic car hobby has been an interesting and worthwhile project in that I've been able to meet people from all walks of life including the Rockefellers and the Harrah family of casino fame, and a number of other interesting personalities.

I have also always been interested in music and played clarinet and piano in dance bands while in the service, and 16 years ago developed a five-piece band, the Keynotes. We have played in central Iowa mostly around Des Moines, Marshalltown, Ames, etc. My work and these hobbies have helped to fill my life even though they can't take the place of my wife and mother.

Linnea Friday, daughter of Charles A. and Matilda Anderson Ringstrand was born August 5, 1901, at Madrid, Iowa, and passed away August 15, 1999, at the Osceola Nursing and Rehab Center in Osceola, Iowa, at the age of 98 years.

Linnea received her education in the schools near Madrid. She then attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she received her teaching certificate. During the time that she was a student at Drake University she worked for Dr. Hill in Des Moines, Iowa. Following her graduation, she taught in the rural schools around Madrid and then Dunbar.

She was united in marriage to Clarence Dean Friday on June 21, 1925, and to this union one son, Noel, was born.

C.D. and Linnea moved to our community in 1935. She was a lifetime member of the United Methodist Church; a member of the Research Club; the Osceola Women's Club and the United Methodist Women.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, C.D. Friday in 1975; her brother Elmer Ringstrand and her sisters, Edith Carlson, Edna Smith, Ethel Lundahl and Esther in infancy.

She leaves to cherish her memory: her devoted son, Noel Friday and wife, Dora; two grandchildren, Suzanne Coulthard and husband, John, of Lamoni, and John Friday and wife, Nancy, of Irvington, Virginia; and nine great grandchildren: Lance Collins, Linnea Coulthard, Miles Coulthard, Savannah Coulthard, Raphael Coulthard, Simeon Coulthard, Isaiah Coulthard, and Sam and Libby Friday as well as other relatives and a host of friends.

For Tudie:

By Suzanne:

I Corinthians 13:4-8: Love suffers long; love is kind; love envies not. Love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up. Love does not behave itself unseemly; love seeks not her own; love is not easily provoked. Love thinks no evil; love rejoices not in iniquity; love rejoices in truth. Love believes all things; love hopes all things; love endures all things; love never fails.

The above verses aptly describe Linnea Friday and how she lived her life. I don't know if she would have described herself as a perfectionist, but everything that she was a part of was always as it should be. Her home was immaculate, her appearance flawless, her manners beyond reproach. When she fixed you a meal, and cooking was her forte, you could be sure that it was balanced, colorful, and everything a satisfying meal is supposed to be. She was an active, willing volunteer in the church, at the hospital gift shop, and various other places, and threw herself into whatever she was doing without reserve. She enjoyed hosting the various clubs that she was a member of, making her home look welcoming and sparing no effort in preparing delicious refreshments. I think her yearly "Opus", however, was probably the "Swedish smorgasbord" that she prepared every Christmas Eve for our family and usually an extra guest or two.

She had a delightful sense of humor, which included laughing at herself.

I think the most difficult thing that my Grandmother had to go through was losing Grandpa. Her life was her family, of which Grandpa came first. They had a good marriage, a good balance. She loved and was submitted to Grandpa, and he loved her and showed it by seeing that everything that might possibly fall under the heading of "husband's duties" was done and done completely. While this was a blessing while Grandpa was living, it left Grandma unprepared in several areas when he passed away. But, as with the way she lived the rest of her life, and with no small amount of coaching from my Dad and various others, she gracefully embarked on life as a single person.

A quote by a Rabbi Julius Gordon goes as follows; ''Love is not blind -it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less." I will remember Tudie as the one constant in our family. She was always there and never changing. When there was upheaval in our own home, Tudie's house was always a safe, quiet haven. Tudie's house was part of "home" for John and me, growing up across the alley. Some people may have considered Linnea naive. She had certain values and some pretty firm "dos-and-don'ts", such as something about alcohol or wine NEVER crossing her lips, and never wearing slacks. However, she was not blind. She knew her family's imperfections, but chose to overlook them. When I have struggled in various areas of my own life, Tudie, instead of giving trite advice, was able to say, in many of those instances, "I have been there -I understand - don't give up".