I first went to school at Maloy in 1939. Eileen SHAY was my fourth grade teacher. I began on March 1st and Gary PARKS met me in the hall and invited me to the gym where I spent many happy hours, days and years with Gary and many other Maloy friends. Miss SHAY was instrumental in my educational life more than any one person in this world. Her persistence and Billy TEPLEY'S knowledge of the times table turned my life into a positive "can do, can learn" attitude which I appreciate.

Peanut COWELL cut my hair and caught all the foul balls at our home games. Maurice CARR gave up on me ever throwing a ball straight and put me on third base.

I remember Frank and Pat CARR had the "live wire" place on Saturday night. I remember Father CULHANE'S Coke drinking dog. He would gulp down the whole darn bottle. John WARIN'S station was the social place in town. I tried to auction off a sack of potatoes there. Bill SHAY told me what a bad job I did and Johnnie took me to some cattle sales to hear good auctioneers. I wonder if I could have been one?

I also remember Miss BURLEY, Rita SHAY, Miss LYNCH, Billy and Arloa WYMAN, Bob LYNCH, Duane and Cotton WEBB. Also lodged in my memory are John and Tom SHAY, and Richard CULVER, who was an awful good ball player.

My parents, George and Maggie SCROGGIE, were born and raised eight miles west of Maloy in Taylor County. They passed away a year apart in 1972 and 1973.

We lived in Taylor county when I was in high school, but I wanted to play ball in Maloy so I walked to the county line and caught the bus to school. I did work for my room and board with Roscoe and Edith WERTZ and the Jim STANLEYS. Jim was the school janitor then. I graduated in 1949.

After high school I worked for power line companies in Missouri and Iowa until entering the service. [Jessie served 15 years in the National Guard and the Air Force. He served during the Korean War and was a paratrooper in the 82nd Signal Company stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.]

In 1957 I married Eileen JUDGE who was originally from Kansas and later from Maryville, Missouri. We have four sons and a daughter.

In 1959 we moved to California. I worked insurance for a large company until 1969. I taught school in northern Idaho from 1968 until 1974. Then we spent a couple of years in Brazil. Next I tried skidding logs for the Louisiana Pacific Company. Then I bought a business in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. It was a grocery store, used car sales business, Shell service station and motel and cabins. I had plenty of help with this thanks to my family. My wife taught school, but was available after school and weekends.

I am still self-employed but just maintain a shop in Spokane, Washington. Eileen and I still live in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 p. 166.

Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011