The Alton Democrat from Alton, Iowa • Page 17

17 50 years ago Democrat, Thurs. Aug. 24, 1972 hind worth $250 o. I 10 YEARS AGO intendent of thn I AH. 10 YEARS A GO 1962 Van Peursera, 58, jspected Maurice farmer, killed when the tractor he driving was hit by a Great them freight engine west of rice.

He saved the life of Leann, 11, by her off the tractor be- ttie locomotive struck, fee of his grandsons riding in empty wagon behind the trac- injury. He was go- I home from Maurice where he taken a load of corn. Mr. Peursem was born Sept. 26, 3, near Maurice, notable wedding Aug.

14 in lux City was that of Lois Geft and Kenneth Graff, both of anville. The couple planned ive at Ponca, Neb. Chatsworth and Union S. folks were anxious to have Big Sioux river bridge there laced. The bridge was wash- fout by the flood of two years rlier.

jMr. and Mrs. Percy Tanfield (Alton were off to London to sit the former's son Michael Id family. I Both Donald Raak of Hospers Vernon Newendorp of Alton ere candidates for re-election the Floyd Valley school board pt. 10.

3ipko Velduis of A Iton had been bpointed to teach Greek to be- Juiing students at Western The- logical Seminary where he was senior student. Chairman Norm Boonstra sta- ed that the concert series for he 1962-63 season would be a iredit to a community many tim- the size of Orange City. Many Orange City relatives nd friends attended the wedding Sioux Center of Audrey Me- Uurray and Glen W. Van Roek- lof Orange City. An event of August 20 in Ornge City was the marriage of 'harlene Jasper and Michael ouis Czerna of Somerville, N.

25 YEARS AGO 1947 Directors of the Sioux Golf approved plans for a mod- $16,500 club house. His first mass read Aug. 19 St. Joseph church, Granville, the Rev. Leonard M.

Hoeft SVD. A sermon was deli- red by the Rev. Henry Kar- iff of Oyens. He was ordained 15, 1947, atTechny, HI. William Van Nimwegen, the retired harness maker Alton, passed away Aug.

15. was born Aug. 24, 1855, at ella. Mrs. James Den Hartog, biena Den Beste, passed a- 'yAug.

15. She was born on 'V. 9, 1872, at Pella. A home run by Arnie Dykstra the 8th inning gave Orange ty quite a ball game over A1- who were leading 3 to 2 at end of the 7th and the county at came out on top 7 to 4. defeated Remsen 5 to 0 when II Brower pitched a shut-out.

Jerome Bunkers was appoint- acting postmaster at Grane succeeding Ambrose For: who had re-enlisted in nt of the speed program, le of Alton had perfected. The for very large entry of kite had no tail, fast horses at the Sioux cowetv tn-Ivi Yir'UiJt'U rn Duven purchased the ssjTennie Synhorst house at City for $5,800 at auc- fair which was to open at Orange City Seut. 4. Henry Jungera, 14, Hospers boy, was badly hurt in a corn sheller accident. July 21, 1870 at Alto, Wis.

coming to Orange City with his parents in 1883, and growing up there, died at his home in Sioux City. At one time he was town marshal at Rock Valley and was widely known. A notable wedding at Alton, Aug. 19 was that of Cornelia, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

C. Vander Meer, and Marcus C. Muilenburg of Orange City. The bridgroom had been named superintendent of schools at Maurice. sensational "shoestring" catch by Jimmy Ard, Alton's right fielder, saved the game for Alton, defeating Marcus, 1 to 0.

The estimated true value of Sioux county land was $252.75 an acre, according to T.A. Polleys tax commissioner for the C. N.W. Ry. Leonard Vande Brake of Sioux Center had invented an egg turner for incubators by which the eggs could be turned all at one time without touching them.

75 YEA RS A GO 1897 A column-long story described the box kite which W. S. Slag- Peter Nemmers, while returning home from Alton at night, was held up by two tramps. "Luckily Mr. Nemmers had only thirty-five cents and.a pocket knife on his person which he prompty handed over in compli- fche requegfc of News about Alton Mr.

andiMrs. Albert Grooters celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 19. Their three children, Mr. and Mrs.

Robert Grooters of Alton, Mr. and Mrs. James Grooters of Wayzata, and Mr. and Mrs. Willard Veencamp of Owatonna, entertained for them in the Trinity Reformed church at 1:00.

A luncheon was served to 86 people composed of family and relatives. In the evening, open house was held at which time about 175 "W.S. Short came down from the county capital to borrow A. Weidenfeller's thoroughbred hunting 'purps' to take on a hunting trip up to White Lake, S.D. He and his brother, Pitts Short C.

L. Wilcox and John Hospers constitute a party that left for there in quest of the feathered tribe. We are ail licking our chops in anticipation of their return. "Our farmers are feeling pretty happy over the price of wheat. 1 item.

Market quotation: Wheat, old, 80 cents, new, 75 cents. News about Alton Cornie Van Surksum had as guests for a week, his granddaughter, Jamie Sorgendrager and her girl friend, Cindy Rogers. They were visitors at the Henry Bloemendaal home Thursday evening, Sunday the parents Mr. and Mrs. Merle Sorgendra- ger's from Rock Rapids came to get them.

them and wish them well. A short program was presented by the children and grandchildren. At noon a buffet luncheon was served by the Trinity Guild ladies, and in the evening a buffet lunch with the grandchildren acting as waiters. Mr. and Mrs.

Grooters plan to leave for Mich, soon, and on Sept 2 will have a dinner in Rudyard, where they were married for her family, relatives and old friends. Mrs. Oscar Klein (the former Florence Schnee) and daughter Mary of Westfieid, N. are visiting in the Albert and Cornelia Schnee home. Thursday Albert, Cornelia and Emma Schnee, Mrs.

Klein and Mary and Mrs. John L. Reinders visited their sister, Mrs. Clara Adler, who is in a nursing home at Howard, S.D. Mr, and Mrs.

Douwe Fredricks of Ripon, were Thursday visitors at the August De Boer home. Visitors this week in the De Boer and Dick Te Brink homes are the Rev. and Mrs. L. Furda and son James of Dubuque.

Special Report from Washington MCGOVERN'S POLLS TELL HIM HE'S FAR BEHIND PRESIDENT By Jack Anderson IQVi! Pulitzer JYixi-' 50 YEARS AGO 1922 ur H.J. Vande Waa, super- Ifi72. liv 1 WASHINGTON-The grim reaper of political ambitions the American pollster-has dealt a heavy blow to George McGovern. The latest polls show McGovern more than 20 percentage points behind Richard Nixon. Normally when an underdog is faced with such gloomy polls, he hires his own pollster to come up with figures to dispute the experts.

But we have learned that McGovern's own private polls also show him running far behind the President. Yet, despite these polls, it is still too early to count George McGovern out of the presidential race. The next few weeks, however, are crucial to his chances. Unless McGovern begins to move up dramatically in the polls this month, according to his own analysis, he simply will not have enough time to catch Nixon by election day. So, what is the real deadline for date when he must begin to make his move in the polls? McGovern himself says the middle of October.

But his aides privately are more realistic. They say the deadline is Labor Day. If McGovern isn't beginning to move in the polls by then, he's had it. cr fur Natioiiiil Kcpiirtiiu: i-il VYntiirc Symiirnti', Inc.) CHINESE COUNTER- STRIKE If the Russians ever decide to move against China's nuclear works, the Chinese in retaliation would probably strike Vladivostok, the important Russian port on the Sea of Japan. U.S.

intelligence reports reveal that Mainland China has deployed its tiny arsenal of short-ranged nuclear missiles in the north near the Soviet border. The missiles, we understand, are all aimed at Vladivostok, which lies only 30 miles from the Sino-Soviet border. Intelligence reports also reveal trouble on China's home front. Mao Tse-tung, we have learned, is becoming increasingly concerned about unrest among Chinese youth. An old revolutionary romantic who believes the peasant life can purify young people, Mao has sent thousands of city youths to work on agricultural communes.

But many Chinese youngsters are rebelling against the simple life. Thousands are fleeing the farms and sneaking back into the cities. Hundreds more, say the reports, have made it all the way to Hong Kong. MINE FINE BACKLOG Among our most dismal statistics are the growing casualties in the nation's mines. Congress passed a tough mine safety law three years ago.

But the Bureau of Mines has been far from tough in enforcing it. Now, the General Accounting Office has accused the Bureau of "negligence" in assessing and collecting fines. The GAO charges that an average of four months usually goes by between the discovery of a mine safety violation and the assessment of a fine. Yet this is just the beginning. The big corporations, which control America's coal mines, can tie the case up in appeal proceedings atmost indefinitely.

At the end of last year, the GAO found, there was a backlog of more than a thousand fines totaling nearly $3 million. Even after the appeals are exhausted, the GAO found that the Bureau of Mines still dawdles. The result of this astonishing performance is that the safety record of the nation's most hazardous industry is not improving significantly. The public has been given all too many dramatic reminders of this. Only a few weeks ago, for example, a fire at the Blackville Number One mine in West Virginia killed nine men.

That mine had been assessed fines of more 'than during the previous year. But more than $9,000 remained unpaid at the time of the fatal accident. FLOOD SINKS 'WILKES-BARRE' 11 is part of a congressman's duties to cut ribbons, shovel ceremonial soil, attend even, perhaps launch ships. But Rep. Dan Flood has come up with a new one.

He was invited by. the Navy to witness a "ship-sinking." The Navy recently selected a 29-year-old cruiser, the "Wilkes-Barre," to test the "vulnerability of light cruisers to torpedo attack." The sinking was supposed to take place far out to sea. But the city of Key West, Florida, prevailed upon the Navy to lay the ship to rest a mere 13. miles off the coast. The idea was to create an artificial reef, around which fish would congregate.

The Navy, ever in search of a public relations coup, graciously agreed. Congressman Flood, whose hometown in Pennsylvania is also named Wilkes-Barre, was invited to the event. The cruiser was positioned, the explosives were attached, but the rusty old Wilke.H-Barre refused to cooperate. Instead of plunging to tin- bottom, she broke into two large pieces. Both ends poked out of the water.

Instead of an artificial reef, the Navy had created a water lyy.ard. A demolition squad had to come out the next day to finish off the job without the congressman and the ceremony. RUSTLERS RIDE AGAIN The rising price of meat in today's supermarkets has helped revive cattle rustling out west. Modern bandits now use trucks rather than horses to steal the beef. The rustlers pull up alongside some stray cattle, drive the animals into a truck and then speed down a superhighway with hundreds of dollars worth of beef.

With no hoof prints to follow, sherrifs out west are often at a loss to track down the rustlers..