Hey all you UNI Panther fans! A Panther Caravan is rolling through Iowa May 13 – 15. It will be hitting Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Cedar Falls and making a special stop at Birdnow Motor Trade in Oelwein on May 15, from 12 – 1 p.m.
“The 2025 Panther Caravan, powered by MidAmerican Energy, is hitting the road — and you’re invited! This three-day tour brings UI spirit across the state with family-friendly events featuring Panther coaches, President Mark Nook, Director of Athletics Megan Franklin, and other special guests. Each stop is a chance to connect with UNI fans in your area, enjoy great food, and celebrate what it means to be Purple for Life. Registration is free and open to all Panther supporters!â€
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The Fairbank American Legion is hosting a community sendoff tonight, May 9, for three local soldiers being deployed to Syria at the end of May. SSG Caleb Erickson, PFC Tanner Curly, and PFC Matilda Miller will be the guests of honor. SSG Erickson will be making his third deployment while Curly and Miller will be making their first. The trio are with the 133rd Infantry Regiment in the Iowa National Guard.
The local event will begin at 6 p.m. with music being provided by Bruce Bearinger at the American Legion Post. The public is invited and encouraged to support their local Wapsie Valley warriors. Snacks will be provided, and beverages will be available.
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OK, what if I have a bus story I think I can tie in with the Holocaust. I see your eyebrows raised a bit in doubt, let me explain. I just finished reading (listening) to a book called, The Dressmakers of Auschwitz. A fascinating story about the atrocities the Nazis committed against the Jews in WWII. The book details the lives of many seamstresses in the concentration camps in Germany. Some of these dressmakers survived only because of their sewing skills.
One of these ladies, who at the age of 100 years old, was visited by her great niece at her apartment in NYC in 2022 before her death. When the girl walked in with designer jeans, torn and sliced, her aged Aunt immediately asked her if she could sew her jeans for her. I’m sure you know the young lady’s answer.
I often see young girl students getting on my bus with torn and sliced jeans and sometimes I pretend I’m reaching for my billfold asking, “Could I give you some money for new jeans?†Same answer as the dressmaker of Auschwitz received I’m sure.
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Now let me segue this last story to a benefit the Oelwein Library offers all its patrons. By using one of two apps, Libby or Hoopla, I download books onto my cell phone for free, to listen to as I’m walking, sitting in my recliner, driving or riding on my “sissified†electric bike. And YES, I’m back on my bike after my nasty fall last October. Love being on it again and love our bike/walking trail.
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Let me remind you of the “steel only†recycling bin that’s out by the Columbus Club on South Frederick. It’s there for you to use but please be responsible and use it for steel dumping only. I think there are cameras focused on those bins.
I see in the court news in the ODR that there are occasional fines given for those who abuse and are caught on camera at the recycling bins on the city property. Yeaaa!
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Memorial Day is approaching fast. There is a lot of planning that goes into that and of course the first thing is getting the flags up at Woodlawn Cemetery. I’ve asked you every year for more than 20 years and I’m asking again. We are planning on putting up the flags on Saturday, May 17, starting at 8 a.m. That will be both the large flags/pole and the smaller graveside flags for our veterans. We need lots of help from both adults and children. If we get enough help we are usually done in an hour. Many of you know the drill. We’ve been doing it for years and we have it down to an art. We just need helpers for about an hour. Would you be willing to give these honorable veterans an hour of your time on Saturday, May 17?
Now I’m going to up the ante so to speak. What goes up … must come down. The day after Memorial Day the flags need to come down. We need your help again, but I promise you they come down much faster than they go up. We always hear during this period how wonderful the cemetery looks when that area is awash with our nation’s flags. It won’t happen without your help.
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Our Memorial Day service will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 26. I will begin the ceremony but shortly turn it over to Dan Stasi to continue the service. Our guest speaker for the morning will be SGT 1st Class Tom Minton, OHS class of 2008. Our invocation and benediction will be presented by Pastor Jay Weideman of Peace Lutheran Church. The Oelwein High School Band will entertain us with patriotic music.
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Next Wednesday, May 13, will be three years since I lost my friend Kaye Frazer. It was her passing that started MY journey on this page of the newspaper. I certainly wasn’t looking to start writing my own column. Honestly, I wish she was still here writing Bits, Bats and Bouquets and I was reading HER column.
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When I was young, I was poor. But after years of hard, honest and painstaking work, I’m no longer young.
