Maxwell Irving STAVER, son of John Henry and Katheryne (KINYON) STAVER, was born June 14, 1905 in Waukee, Iowa. In 1916, his parents moved to Rosetown, Sask., Canada, but he remained in Iowa with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. I. A. KINYON of Waukee. He finished high school there and later attended Iowa State College. While at Iowa State, he played three years of varsity basketball and was captain of the team in 1928. After graduation in 1930, he worked at Iowa Packing Co. and played semi-pro basketball in Des Moines. Some of the teams he played against were The Globe Trotters, Hottentots, Diamond Oilers, Phillips 66, and The Terrible Swedes.

On May 2, 1932, he and Helen CHICKEN were married at Columbia, Missouri. For a year he continued to work for Iowa Pack. Then he took a job with the State Government as a Counselor in the Transient Bureau. In 1935, the Transient Bureau was phased out. After that he worked for the Soil Conservation Service in western Iowa at Malvern and Oakland. In March 1942, he and his family came to Sand Creek Township, Sect. 15, and he became a partner of his father-in-law, J. H. CHICKEN.

They farmed and lived together for 25 years until Hal died on October 19, 1967.

Maxwell and Helen had six children. Helen Marguerite, their oldest daughter, was born in Des Moines in 1934, attended Tarkio College one year and graduated with a B.S. degree in nursing from the State University of Iowa at Iowa City. She was married to Dr. Richard DUDEK in 1954. They now live at Lubbock, Texas, where he is professor and chairman of the Industrial Engineering Dept. at Texas Tech University. They have two sons, Rick and Rus.

John Hal, their first son, was born December 28, 1935. He was killed in an accident on July 8, 1936. A second son, Frederick David, was born August 10, 1937. After school in Arispe, he attended Tarkio College. He was married to Joan CNOSSEN on February 9, 1956. They live in Waterloo, where he has worked for the John Deere Co. for twenty-five years. They have four sons, Jon, James, Jason and Jesse, three granddaughters and two grandsons.

A second daughter, Sarah Kathryn, was born November 9, 1938. She graduated from Iowa State University in 1960. She is married to Kenneth L. HOLM, Lt. Col. Retired, USMC. They live in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he works for Job Service of South Dakota and she works for the U.S. Postal Service. They have three children, Dana, Kenna and David.

A third son, Donald Maxwell, was born January 10, 1944. While attending Texas Tech University at Lubbock, he married Shirley MARTIN on June 1, 1968. They both graduated from Texas Tech in 1969 and at present live on the family farm. They have two sons, Carter and Justin.

Max and Helen's sixth child, Karen Isabelle, was born on November 23, 1951. She, too, graduated from I.S.U. with a double major in Physical Education and Home Economics Education. She was married to Brad CRANDALL of Afton, who is an Industrial Education graduate of I.S.U. They have four children, Sara Jean, Dawn Danielle, Jeffrey and Matthew. They live near Beloit, Wisconsin.

After teaching for many years in Arispe, Afton Independent and Diagonal Schools, Helen worked for the State of Iowa in the Dept. of Social Services.

In 1970, when Don and Shirley moved to the family farm in Sand Creek Township, Max and Helen moved to Arispe, where they now live. The farm has been designated a "Century Farm" by the State of Iowa. The children living there now are the sixth generation to live on that farm.

SOURCE: Arispe Centennial: 1887-1987 p.252.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker