Star Community Ladies in 1934

 

Star Community Ladies in 1934 

 

I've mentioned the Star Community a number of times recently, specifically Star School and Star Methodist Church, located a few miles north of Coon Rapids, Iowa, where I grew up. 

It is no secret that women are the heart of any community, rural, suburban, or urban. In the rural Star Community, we were no exception. Some of these ladies were, in fact, central to Star Community for literally decades. While many came and went, some of these ladies were there their entire lives. 

I note three in particular, the Wilson sisters: Hazel (Wilson) Bolger, Rhoda Wilson, and Laura (Wilson) Anderson. Another of the Wilson sisters is also pictured, Lulu (Wilson) Snyder, who lived in the community for many years. The fifth Wilson sister, Anna (Wilson) Brown, also lived in the community her entire adult life. Carrie Thomas was there for many years as were Agnes Grim, Eunice Williams, Etta Johnson and Minnie Rippey. These ladies are only representative of the community, but there were many others, not pictures. Over the years, they had garden clubs, literary society, social societies, etc. regardless of being directly affiliated with the Church or the School. 

I'd live to hear your memories of any of these ladies, pictured or not, in the comments section here or on Facebook when it is posted. Relatives, friends and neighbors are many. Hope to hear from a lot of you!!

Families are Forever! ;-)

 

In particular, I will note the three Wilson sisters: Hazel (Wilson) Bolger, Rhoda Wilson, and Laura (Wilson) Anderson.

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - 75 year old Cradle Roll Certificate

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

75 year old Cradle Roll Certificate

Reading some other Wordless Wednesday posts, I was reminded this might be fun to post here.

It was posted recently on the Kinnick Blog of my Mom's daily diary entries, but that is a somewhat different readership... though many are the same, I suppose.

Star Church is a rural Iowa church founded in the 1880s and operated into the mid-20th century.

The names on the Certificate still have meaning to those who remember the church.

Families are Forever! ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Sing Children Sing Song Book

Treasure Chest Thursday - "Sing Children Sing" Song Book

From storage... Nancy and I each have one of these, from Sunday School at Star Methodist Church, north of Coon Rapids, Iowa.

"Sing Children Sing" by Edith Lovell Thomas; New York City, July, 1939 (when I was born!)

Here is the inside cover, of mine! "Billy Smith"

[It says on left: To The Poets and Musicians who Pitched these Songs for Children's Voices]

I certainly remember using these as a youngster, in the 1940s.

Here was one of the more popular songs - All Things Bright

"All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

My Hometown on Monday - Methodist Ministers listed

My Hometown on Monday

Methodist Ministers listed

The following list was prepared for the Carroll Co, IA, GenWeb Site, August 2003, by County Coordinator at the time, Bill Smith - me.

Star Methodist Church

Coon Rapids, Iowa

Transcriptions from

The Official Membership and Church Record of

The Methodist Church from August 8, 1886 to “present” [mid-1960s]

List of Pastors, page 130, from 1885 to 1963.

Number	Pastor’s Name	Appointed	Transferred
1	Wm. Douglas	9-12-1885	9-9-1886
2	John Webb	9-9-1886	9-19-1887
3	I. H. Elliot	9-9-1887 (sic)	9-20-1890
4	C. D. Fawcett	9-20-1890	9-21-1891
5	A. C. Rawls	9-21-1891	9-19-1892
6	S. E. Brown	9-19-1892	9-18-1893
7	A. M. Lott	9-18-1893	9-9-1894
8	C. W. Anderson	9-9-1894	9-28-1896
9	Fred T. Stevenson	9-28-1896	9 – 1898
10	George W. Wood	9 – 1898	9-19-1900
11	C. M. Ward	9-9-1900	9-16-1903
12	J. W. Stokebury	9 – 1903	9 – 1905
13	A. T. Jeffery	9 – 1905	9 – 1906
14	A. W. Harned	9 – 1906	9 – 1908
15	John F. Gibson	9 – 1908	9 – 1910
16	H. H. Barton	9 – 1910	9 – 1912
17	Carl Brown	9 – 1912	9 – 1914
18	A. J. Matthews	9 – 1914	9 – 1917
19	H. E. Copeland	9 – 1917	9 – 1919
20	H. G. Hicks	9 – 1919	9 – 1922
21	C. W. Koehler (did not serve Star)	(See History) 9 – 1922	9 – 1925
22	W. Frank Clayburg	9-2-1925	9-24-1933
23	R. J. Arms	9-24-1933	9-20-1935
24	O. E. Cooley	9-20-1935	9-19-1939
25	J. H. Krenmyre	9-19-1939	6-15-1941
26	Eugene Alexander	6-15-1941	6-15-1950
27	J. B. Pooley	6-15-1950	6-15-1953
28	Leo Wolfe	6-15-1953	6 – 1954
29	Cecil C. Latta	6 – 1954	6 – 1958
30	Earl E. Josten	6 – 1958	6 – 1963
31	Mark C. Sullivan	6 - 1963

(sic) = transcribed as recorded, even if possibly incorrect

Generally, the same Methodist Minister served both the town church and the rural Star Church.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Younger brother Tom reading narration at rural church

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Younger brother Tom reading narration at rural church

My middle (of we five boys) brother, Tom, in December 1959, at the Star Methodist Church, north of Coon Rapids, Iowa, reading a narrative - I assume it was some sort of Christmas pageant. I see it is nearly 9 p.m. Also, that is most likely our mother's sheet music on the piano, of Santa Claus is coming to town - with some hand-written music in front of it - also typical of her. I do not know what the Folgers coffee 'sack' represented????  Love the jacket, open collar and hanky? Those were the days!  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Paul meets Santa

Treasure Chest Thursday - Paul meets Santa

This scan of an old 35 mm slide contains much more meaning than just my brother, Paul, at 3 1/2 years old meeting Santa, sitting on Dad's knee - as if that were not enough!

The setting is 'new wing' to our rural Star Methodist Church (the school building from across the road was brought over and set on a new foundation beside the church) - the new fellowship hall! What an improvement!

The real bonus is the family sitting behind - my in-laws and brother-in-law 'Judge Joel' - all decked out in white jacket and black bow tie. If you peek right behind my Dad's ear, you can also see my sister-in-law Janice Bolger, along with her parents, Glenn and Ruth [Nancy and I had just gotten married the August before this Christmas gathering]. One of my favorite all-time photos on slide.  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (Nearly) Wednesday - Spring 1961 Smith family

Wordless (Nearly) Wednesday

Spring 1961 Smith family

Spring 1961 - Annette's Baptism

Star United Methodist Church

Back row: Bill, Eileen, Pete, Jim

Middle row: Nancy, Annette, Barry, Tom

Paul in front

Those Places Thursday - Farm Home

Those Places Thursday

Farm Home

As I continue this occasional 'Those Places' Thursday theme, today I will focus on 'where I grew up.'

The aerial photo is of the farm in Willow Township, Greene County, Iowa, in 1947, where I lived from about 2 until about 18 (or until I got married, at 20, depending how you count, I suppose). It is just a mile to the east of the Map I shared on a recent Mappy Monday. It was technically my third home, as explained there. 

This view is generally north, and a bit east. The road you can see at the bottom of the photo, running east and west, had an intersection with the north and south road right at the lower left corner, above, behind the trees. That road, paralleled the Carroll-Greene County road a mile to the west, ran one mile to the north to the corner where Willow #3 school sat (north and east of the corner). Two miles directly west of that corner was the location of the Star School-Star Church corner described earlier.

The clump of trees, lower left, beyond the house was 'The Grove' - I built an infamous playhouse there where many stories were told (mostly by me to my cousins, mostly girls; wonder what, if anything they recall about that?) - my younger brothers took it over after I moved on... no telling what went on there, after that.

The buildings are, from the left: House, Wash House, Cob House, Chicken House, Barn (red, of course), Corn Crib, Hog House (north side of road) and the Cattle Shed - all white, on the south side of the road. There was a very large garden west of the grove, north of the house.

Those two years between High School graduation and getting married were taken up with:

1. Summer working in Des Moines with Keck Motors, owned and operated by Mom's uncle and his family.

2. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa - dormitory, fall, winter and spring

3. Second summer, lived in Des Moines for awhile working (unsuccessful Vita Craft sales job), then returned home for a while (working at gas station in Coon Rapids, as I had done in high school), before,

4. Iowa State University - dormitory, fall, winter and spring.

5. Summer in apartment with friends near campus, until wedding first week of August.

These are my memories. It was a long time ago, and I now realize these memories don't come as easily as they did years ago. Anyone else have that problem? Comments welcomed.

First married 'home' next...

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Mappy Monday - Northeast of Coon Rapids 1935

Mappy Monday

Northeast of Coon Rapids 1935

Union Township, Carroll Co, Iowa

[Click on Map to see larger image]

{There are 36 sections, numbered serpentine, starting upper right, making the section below No. 1 be No. 12, No. 13 is below No. 12, and so forth.}

I have marked 6 locations in red (7 and 8 are off screen, a mile to the right-see below) of note:

1) Lower left corner of Sec. No. 12, 160 acres, Wm Smith, my grandfather. This is 'the homeplace' where my Dad, Pete, grew up.

2) A mile north of the homeplace, was the corner where the Star Methodist Church and the Star School sat.

3) A mile north of the Church/School corner, and half a mile west, land of Laura Wilson, is where my wife, Nancy was born and lived through high school.

4) Down toward town, on Sec. No. 23, land of Ella R. Smith, my maternal grandmother, the dot to the left of the red circled 4, beside the river, is the house we lived in when I was born, in 1939.

5) In Sec. No. 21, just northwest of Coon Rapids, land of R.H. & P.H. Kinnick - this is where my mother, Eileen Kinnick, lived from June 1936, while courting Dad, until they got married in March 1938, and started farming at location 4.

6) After a couple of years a location 4, Mom and Dad and I moved to a farm on the county line, a mile east and half a mile south of 'the homeplace.' I need to do more research (find the papers) on the exact timing and place of this move.

7) After another year or two, Dad bought our 'home farm' one mile east of the county line in Greene County, Willow Township; two miles directly east of his 'homeplace.' 

8) The Willow #3 one-room school I attended was one mile north of that.

Note that the upper left corner of the map is marked Carrollton.

I will try to refer back to this map, as I continue to write about the area.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Confirmation Class

Treasure Chest Thursday

Confirmation Class

This is the confirmation class at the Star Methodist Church, a few years ago.

Nancy, now my wife, in white blouse, and I, in suit coat, center, were in 6th grade, as I recall.

She'll let me know if that is in error, of course. That would be spring of 1951.

In the back row, Rev. Pooley, and Don Williams, our teacher.

Charlotte Shirbroun, on left (in my class at Willow #3); the taller boy is my cousin, Dennis Ford, then Kenny Molle, and on the far right is Wayne Grim.

Note: Don Williams was my Dad's life-long friend; more on him in Eileen's Diary, Week 41.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Those Places Thursday - Willow#3 School, Greene County, Iowa

Those Places Thursday

Willow#3 School, Greene County, Iowa

Recently, I shared a "Those Places Thursday - Star Church 1955" that was a social center of the community where my wife and I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in west central Iowa. Today, I continue this series by sharing photos including the one-room country school that I attended for Kindergarten through seventh grade: Willow #3 in Greene County, Willow Township, Iowa. This school was located two miles directly east, across the county line, from the Star Church.

Iowa one-room country schools were originally located on the center corner of every four square miles. The Iowa I grew up in consisted of a very homogeneous checkerboard of regular roads every mile, both north and south and east and west. Only rivers, lakes and such natural barriers prevents a road every mile. Interesting, looking back; and fairly distinctive, it now seems. [Our farm house was also on a corner, one mile directly south of the Willow #3 school house.]

A few years ago, I created a web page in my The Early Years series on Willow #3. Today, I will add another photo taken at the school. I'm at the far right, with suspenders.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Those Places Thursday - Star Church 1955

Those Places Thursday

Star Church 1955

This photo would have been taken between my sophmore and junior year in high school. This is the rural Methodist Church that was the focal point of our rural community. The left hand side of the building was the original church, see below. The right side was originally the Star School building that had been located across the road to the far left, above. It was moved, a new basement was built, the school building "set on top" and it became a "Community Hall" - very nice, for the times.

The Bolger family, my wife's family, lived a mile to the north of this intersection, and a half mile west. She attended the school from kindergarten through seventh grade, then went to Coon Rapids Consolidated School. My family (Smith) lived a mile south and two miles to the east, across the county line in Greene County. I went to Coon Rapids school starting in the eighth grade. After we graduated from high school, a few years, this church closed and the members all went to Coon Rapids for church, as well.

For comparison, this is the original church, a few years earlier.

This physical location is a few miles north of Coon Rapid, Carroll County, Iowa.

Note: The Carrollton School and Store I wrote about a few weeks ago, was located just a few miles directly west of this location.  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (Nearly) Wednesday - Star Progressive Club 1947

Wordless (Nearly) Wednesday

Star Progressive Club 1947

Eileen, my Mom, at far right

Families are Forever!  ;-)

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week 25 - Neighbors

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

Week 25 - Neighbors

Thanks to GeneaBloggers and Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog for these prompts.


Week 25. Neighbors. Who were your childhood neighbors? Have you kept in touch with any of them? Do you feel the concept of “neighbors” has changed since then?

In first and second grade, my 'outside world' revolved around my one-room school, a mile north of our farm house, and, our rural Star Methodist Church, four miles west of the school house; west central Iowa.

Here is a poor photo of our school group in front of our farm house. I don't know the occasion, but these young people were the population of our school, and all lived in the four square miles the school served. I think I (I'm in the ball cap, just left of center) was in first grade here...

This is probably a vacation bible school picture, Nancy and I (center, back row; Nancy in front of me, just to the right) were probably in second grade here... we've now been married almost 52 years, so, yes, we have kept in touch!  ;-) Just saw my cousin Dennis (next boy to the right, in the back row - not the tall one!), last weekend, for the first time in maybe ten years...

[Note: I have similar photos of my grandkids, in Austin, TX, with T-Ball group and vacation bible school, taken in the last month... guess 'neighbors' haven't changed that much!  ;-)]


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Kids at Star Church

Last spring, I posted a photo here of the rural Star Church where I grew up in western Iowa, with my Dad walking in front of it.

This photo is taken in the yard of that church, when my wife and I were kids, about 8 years old (give or take a year or two, since I don't seem to have a year on it. I am the third from the right in the back row, directly between the two girls. The one on the right, above and behind the shortest girls, is my wife to be... for approaching 51 years...  ;-) We've known each other - 'forever!'  ;-) There is another one we we are about 3...  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Cradle Roll Certificate

Treasure Chest Thursday - Cradle Roll Certificate

Not to be outdone by my Mom, in saving old things, here is my Cradle Roll Certificate from the Star Methodist Sunday School, when I had just passed two months old. Oh! You say my Mom must have saved it so that I would have it now... You are probably right, now that I think about it. Thanks! I note that the Sunday School Superintendent, Rhoda Wilson, was an aunt of my wife - we've know each other since those days in the Sunday School in the fall of 1939!

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Star Church

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Star church

This is about 1956 at the rural Iowa Methodist Church at the center of the farming community where I grew up. That's my dad walking to the Star Methodist Church - where they added the school building (the right side) from across the road to become the "fellowship hall" to the church (the left side).

 

Families are Forever!  ;-)