Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, December 18, 1980

Outstanding conservation awards were presented to three families at the Ringgold County Soil Conservation District's annual awards meeting held Dec. 9 at Small Corral in Mount Ayr. District Chairman Paul SMITH presented the awards to Mr. and Mrs. Dale BICKEL, Mr. and Mrs. Bob ANDREWS and Mr. and Mrs. Bill ANDREWS. The award winners received a certificate and an aerial photograph of their farm.

For one night in early December each year, the population of the town of Benton, usually 33, swells to 400, or this year, 500. Cars line the streets of the small community west of Mount Ayr and the warm glow of Christmas lights draws people to the old church building. It's the annual Christmas party of the Jack MOORE family of Mount Ayr. This year somewhere near 500 people stopped to share in the festivities on December 12.

Fire extensively damaged two homes in Diagonal and gutted a trailer in Kellerton last week, while occupants were away. A blaze Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 9, caused an estimated $5,000 to $6,000 damage to the Debbie RINEHART home in Diagonal, owned by her father, Calvin RINEHART. The alarm was turned in by neighbors. Fire Chief Ron SCHLAPIA said the cause of the fire was a frozen regulator that went to a kitchen stove.

A fire Monday afternoon, Dec. 8, inflicted heavy smoke damage to the Dennis SMITH home in Diagonal, owned by SMITH'S father, Cecil. SCHLAPIA estimated the damage at $6,000 to $8,000. He said the fire, reported by a neighbor, may have started in electrical wiring.

The trailer home of George KLINGS was gutted by fire, of an undetermined origin, spread through the house, located at the north end of Kellerton's main street. there was no one at home around midnight when the blaze broke out. The fire was fought by the Kellerton Fire Department. The state fire marshall was called to investigate.

Eleanor SHIELDS arrived at a 10-cent sale at the Neighborhood Center in Mount Ayr on Dec. 5 wearing a navy blue jacket she had received for her good service given to a Des Moines newspaper. It was a new jacket and had been worn only two or three times. She laid it down and began shopping. When she started to leave, she found her jacket had been sold by mistake. Staff then realized what had happened and described the person who bought it for 10-cents.

Eleanor has for the past 16 years covered around 100 miles each Sunday morning delivering 175 papers. The windbreaker jacket, size extra large with the name of the paper printed on the front, was awarded to her for service as a paper carrier. Not only was she proud of having received it but she liked the jacket.

There is a happy ending.

Eleanor got her jacket back when a neighbor of the Neighborhood Center, Mrs. Irene MYER, saw and ad Mrs. SHIELDS had placed in the Record-News. She called it to the attention of her stepmother-in-law, Mrs. Glen MYER, who had talked about the nice jacket she had gotten for such a bargain. The jacket was returned and Mrs. SHIELDS is singing the praises of an honest person.

Pat CARR of Maloy has gone from traveling 118 miles and visiting three post offices in the area each day, to staying at home with his wife, Gladys, and doing nothing if he wanted to. This happened on Nov. 28, 1980, when he retired a position he had held for 29 years - that of a rural letter carrier. CARR started at Maloy and then in 1958 his route was consolidated with the Blockton one and in three years the Bedford route was added also.

December 16, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Dan WILEY, Mount Ayr

Transciption by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2012

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