Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, October 30, 1997

People in Ringgold county woke on Sunday, Oct. 26, to find large, wet snowflakes hurling by their windows as the storm dumped five and one-half inches of snow on the ground. The local Rideta Electric Company reported approximately 594 members out of power at some point during the storm, which calculated to about 300 miles of line out of power and one pole down.

Personally, I was trapped inside of my house for 36 hours with no electricity or heat and live power lines - some buried in the snow, some on top of the snow - around the house. I was afraid to step outside because I thought I might get electrocuted. Finally the electric company workers 'rescued' me. During this time it was very traumatic, lying in the dark and hearing tree branches over 2' in diameter crashing down about the yard and around the house. The leaves had not fallen completely from the trees. Combined with this heavy wet snow, it was more weight than most trees could bear. After this snow, it looked as though the trees should have been in a war zone. ~ SRB

Senior Erralee BAILEY was chosen to participate in the all-state band for a second year, and junior Scott LAURITSEN was named first alternate, meaning he will be able to participate if another tenor saxophone player chosen somewhere in the state cannot participate for the 1997 all-state music festival in Ames. Erralee BAILEY is the daughter of Perry BAILEY of Mount Ayr. LAURITSEN is the son of Robert and Phyllis LAURITSEN of Ellson.

A pumpkin weight guessing contest sent two big pumpkins home with area youngsters to make huge Hallowwen jack-o-lanterns. Winners in the contest at CGI Foods In Mount Ayr included Emily and Shannon FOX, who won the 121-pound girl's pumpkin, and Blake MICHELSEN, who won the boy's 132-pound pumpkin.

Joe WASKE, son of Church and __roni WASKE of Mount Ayr, discovered a weather balloon while helping work on the family's farmland near the Watterson rock quarry Thursday, Oct. 23. The weather balloon included a box that is sent back to Kansas City, MO to the U.S. Weather Service office there. After the balloon burst, it came down to earth with the help of an orange parachute, which also made it more visible.

Transciption by Sharon R. Becker, July of 2012

 

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