She moved from the family farm in 1973 to Decorah and then to an acreage north of Decorah in 1976. While on the acreage, she belonged to the Winneshiek Saddle Club and Flying Hooves, participating in many trail rides and special events. After Merlin passed away in 1980, Pat and son Paul moved to a house in Decorah where Pat worked for a lumber company, nursing home, and then for a department store in the jewelry department until having knee surgery. She spent two years in southeastern Colorado near the Sangre De Christo Mountain range at the town of Westcliffe (at 8,000 feet elevation). It was a wonderful experience to learn about gold and silver mining and high altitude farming. The dry air was good for her arthritis. She came back to Iowa and family and now lives in Janesville which is rather central to all. She enjoys being with grandchildren as much as possible and is very grateful to be this close to all loved ones. Merlin and Patricia’s children are:

Darwin Dean grew up on the farm, was in Boy Scouts, sports, and loved nature - especially birds. He served in Vietnam, received Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University and Master of Science from Iowa State College. He is currently Executive Director of the O'Brien Co. Conservation Board and lives in Paullina, IA. He married Mona Rae Bond 1 Jan 1989. She is the Executive Director of the Iowa Alliance for Environmental Concerns. Darwin is the Audubon Christmas Bird Count Compiler for the Decorah and Yellow River Forest areas.

Cynthia Ann, grew up on the farm and was in 4-H. She married Thomas J. Gardner 26 Nov 1968. They live in Cedar Rapids, IA, where she is the manager of Fannie Farmer and he is a Department Manager at Smulekoff’s. They have 3 sons: John is a manager for Payless Shoes in Davenport, IA; David is employed at the First National Bank in Omaha, NE; and Brad is attending Iowa State College in Ames. Cindy is doing a lot of research in family genealogy and Tom is an avid sports fan. The boys always enjoyed riding horseback, camping out, and the wide open spaces in the country whenever they got to visit grandparents.

Randall Lee, born 23 Feb 1954, loved the farm and animals and wanted to learn about everything. The family learned of everyone's compassion and love when he was 10 years old and badly burned in a service station accident in July of 1964. He passed away three months later, 2 Oct 1964 of complications from anesthetic used during his last skin grafting operation. He was a happy boy who was proud of his laced-up work shoes (like daddy’s) and was good to mow lawns at the farm and for his grandma in town. Because of him, Heaven seems much closer.

Donna Lvnne. grew up on the farm and was in 4-H. Her favorite memories are of being on the farm, helping daddy with chores and walking to the spring back by the big woods. When the family moved to Decorah in 1973, she worked at a restaurant and lumber company during her senior year and after graduation. She married David D. Balk 19 Apr 1975 and their home has been in Waterloo, IA. She has worked for the City of Waterloo for the past 20 years and David works for US West. They have three children: Angelyn Maree was a corn de-tassler this summer and very active in sports; Joshua David is in Cub Scouts and enjoys sports also; and Heather Lyn enjoys swimming and is doing excellent with piano lessons (will maybe follow in great grandma Albright’s footsteps).

Paul Merlin, lived at several locations in Winneshiek Co. as his family moved, but always enjoyed the rolling hills north of Decorah most. There he was busy riding horseback, was good in all school sports, and helped mow the big yard. He always enjoyed going to the woods and helping bring firewood and stacking it neatly near the house. He was only 13 when his father died. He started working for Pizza Hut when he was a junior in High School. He likes to remodel their stores and train other workers. He is manager of the Winterset and Greenfield, IA stores at the present time (where it is busy with the “Bridges of Madison Co." sightseers). He and Heather Joy McGill have their home in St. Charles, IA and are the parents of Hillarie Jo and Harrison Jo Heather is a Pizza Hut manager at Indianola, IA, so juggling work schedules to have more time with the kids is a top priority. His other love is music. He has a great collection of the “oldies" and enjoys being a D.J. and working on stereo systems.

Koenig, Milton “Mick” and Gwenn R. (Meyer-Schultz)

(Gwenn Koenig)

 

Gwenn and Milton

Milton Fred Henry Koenig was born on the family farm, Section 23 Bloomfield Twp, Winneshiek Co, IA. His parents were Fred and Alma (Schlie) Koenig. Fred and Alma had 6 sons. They were Harlen, Leonard, Verne, Milton, Loren and Earl. The family belonged to the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Postville, IA, where Milton was baptized.

Milton learned farming at an early age as he worked with his father and older brothers. He attended school at the Oak Hill School through the eighth grade. His favorite