Mike gets a big "thank you" from Angela for the caricature he drew of her.
More pix and infomation coming
Wesley Lage and unknown Veteran
Possibly taken at the Manning or Aspinwall Milwaukee Depot area.
Ardith had most of their pictures identified but probably wouldn't have known this person.
He also may not be from this area.
If you know who he is, please e-mail me - his face sure seems familiar to me.
Wesley Lage - MHS 1938 (a classmate of my dad)
Taken in front of the north entrance of the old gym - now Rec Center
Franklin Mohr
This was the Pruter Mohr house at 214 Third Street - It looks like 1921 on the license
Third Street and residential
streets were paved, starting in 1923 so the year on the plate would make sense.
2018 view
Are you old enough to remember this business?
Pastor 1954 to 1963
Pastor at the brick church on 2nd Street and then at the current location of Zion.
George & Hulda Eschenbacher
Children who attended MHS: George, Jr., Becky, Melissa
Wayne Ranniger & Walt Lage - on the Lage farm
Herman Lage hauling manure
Now be honest - don't you think you have a very easy life-style today?
I use the pitchfork rule - if you haven't ever used one - then it is probably best to not complain about how tough you have it.
I used a pitchfork and filled a manure spreader many times years ago, but I won't complain - it was nowhere near the hardships Herman lived through...
Thelma (Doyel) and Wade Mohr
She laughed at Women's Lib & he was a D-Day survivor
She didn't have time to worry about being a feminist - she did it on her own...
Her husband worked hard all of his life, starting with his trucking business after his discharge. His nickname was Bud and his employer who he
purchased the business from was also Bud.
He was one of the first men to land on Omaha Beach and saw it all - If you watched "Saving Private Ryan" the landing scene
on the beach, the bullets hitting the men, the bloody foam - Bud saw it all. In 1973 he was recognized as Manning's Businessman of the year.
I'm happy to say that I knew both of these people and it was an honor to be able to sit down with Bud to get his military story and also scan his pictures.
Henry Mohr WWI
Children of Gustav and Helena (Goettsch) Mohr
Back: John, Bertha
Front: Henrietta, Henry, Laura
Brief family connections:
Bertha Karsten - Harry
John Mohr - Don
Henrietta Stuedeman - moved away from Manning
Henry Mohr - Bud Mohr
Laura Lage - Walt
Gustav Mohr home - 100072 Higway 141 - the current home of LeRoy & Freda Dammann
George & Martha Doyel family
Over the last 20 years I had worked with Ardith (David) Lage on Manning area history and scanned over 500 of the Lage/David pictures she had.
I'm now going through the Lage collection one more time and am so glad I'm doing this because I have run into some amazing old pictures that were randomly placed
in various scrapbooks that I had not seen before...
One in particular is a WWI photo of Manning area ladies who dressed up to support the Manning soldiers heading off to war.
I have run into this picture in several other family collections but none of them had identifications and I wasn't 100% sure the ladies were connected to Manning.
Well, NOW I have the information to prove it - on the back of this picture from the Lage collection were all of the names. It also explained why the other families had the same picture.
One original of this same photo I had scanned years ago was from Ellen (Coleman) Hoffman and the other was from the Stammer collection.
On the back was Margaret Struve - Ellen's mother and Minnie Westphalen is the connection to the Stammer family.
For 2 decades I have been searching for any names in this picture and now I have all of them...I wish Ardith was still living to tell her how important her sharing has been
to preserving Manning's history...and thanks to Brian & Lance for letting me go through their family stuff one more time!!!
This is what people don't understand when I ask to scan their pictures. I'll probably be able to find information and connections to Manning history that they'll not realize they have.
So again, I send out my plea for Manning connected people to get their old pictures, documents, and history to me to scan.
Harry Karsten & Bernice (Karsten) Schroeder
WWI group of Manning area ladies supporting the troops - 101 years ago
I have a positive ID for Alma (Kuhl) Lee - 5th from the left (standing), so it appears that the names above are listed starting with the back row and then wrapping around
to the front row to finish out the names.
I need to do some more digital restoration - there were a lot of scratches on the original negative because all of the other copies I've run into had the same lines and also burned out spot on the bottom, but it isn't too bad as it is right now.
I'm hoping that the names were written from left to right. I'll be comparing other individual pictures I have of many of these ladies to see if I can determine for sure...
This is also an opportune time to remind all Manning connected Veterans and families of deceased Manning connected Veterans to get your military pictures and information to me to scan, for use in the Manning Veterans' history book.
Between Jim Stoffers and Lois Peters and her daughter, we have come up with a few more names and confirmations for several pictures.
Besides Jahn, Wunder (with Sievers & Lemster connections) is another name we came up with.
I did take pictures of the last major flood we had during a fall harvest...we've had some falls since then where the
Nishnabotna was brim full or went out of its banks in a few low spots but nothing like 1974.
Then the next spring we had the worst flooding since the late 1940s and early 1950s - flooding, only exceeded by the 1990 and 1993 floods.
Here are some pictures, but I'm still trying to pin down the year that we got stuck everywhere in the fields in the fall - again I think 1972.
Then nature turned to the other extreme
During the summer of 1975, a three-year drought began and by the summer of 1977 the Nishnabotna Creek quit running for
several weeks.
Nishnabotna May 27, 2013 minor flood.
Another one of my loyal historical helpers, Bill Jentzen, recently brought me several old Manning connected pictures to scan.
I was especially happy to get these 2 pictures which show a lot of Manning connected people.
We need more help...there are a few of these students still living so hopefully they'll come forward, or their kids will show it to their mom/dad to get names.
Eventually, I'll have to start comparing pictures I have from this era to see if I can find something in my database that will confirm more names.
So far only Donn Kelsey has helped with the IDs.
Either very few Manning people visit my web pages, or they aren't interested in e-mailing me the names of their parents/grandparents.
I simply don't accept that most children can't identify their parents or grandparents in a picture like this.
I took a copy of the picture to Gene Wiese today at the Manilla Manor, but I need to increase the size of the students some more and will return later this week to work with him on the names of some of his classmates.
I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen the picture of a person put on a large 7 inch convex metal button which had a wire picture stand on back - similiar to the metal pin-on buttons you wear on a shirt or coat.
This is the what the button looks like before being digitally restored.
All the way from "down under" in New Zealand.
Last year Jon Asmus sent me his dad, Merlin "Buddy" Asmus' pictures from New Zealand so I could scan them.
I hope the Vollmer, Musfeldt, Asmus, and other families connected to Buddy (including the Nixon family in New Zealand) will take the time to go through all of the links
and send me e-mails with IDs and locations for the various pictures.
I'm sure Jon will be grateful for your help - since he was born and raised in New Zealand and doesn't know much about Manning and his Manning relatives and
would not be able to recognize many of the locations of the pictures and also the people in the pictures.
There are also pictures of non-Asmus family connected individuals and events in Manning - so anyone in their 70s & 80s might be able to help with IDs and locations too, so please take some time to browse through the various links and then please e-mail me with your information - even if some are guesses.
Then the Schroeder descendant remembered that my mother was an Ehrichs, and then started to connect the Ehrichs/Schroeder families, but not until he mentioned Norfolk, Nebraska, did it hit me that I might have more pictures about this Ehrichs/Schroeder family.
So I went to my family history folder to search for the Schroeder name and the pictures that my Ehrichs relative had sent me to scan a number of years ago.
I was surprised and tickled pink when I found a picture of a home that was in the Linde Ehrichs' collection from Norfolk, that was identified as
"John & Wiebke Schroeder home in Manning."
Now there was no address or description of where it was in Manning, just that this Schroeder family lived there.
To find out more about this Schroeder family and help being requested, click on "The Manning Exchange" link on the left and then go to the "Schroeder" thread to read the information.
The initial reason I showed the wider view picture was to show part of the old Germania Hall that was built in 1884...by the Manning Schuetzen Verein.
The Manning Verein was incorporated on April 11, 1879, under the laws of Iowa.
While Childrens Day has been officially using 1883 as the first year, I have information that shows it began in 1882 and one could consider it actually starting in 1881, but
it wasn't described as much as a German event.
So to recap - if the Schroeder descendant would not have contacted me and provided the initial clue about the house, he currently wouldn't know for sure that it was the Schroeder
house and also not have the close-up picture of that house with Hinrich & Wiebke in front.
I also provided him some digital family pictures that he either didn't have or only had
a facsimile copy.
BUT he made it possible for me to now know where the picture of the Schroeder house was taken.
He helped me, I helped him
Now why don't you take a chance and contact me to see what we can work together on and share.
You aren't going to find anyone else with the type of database I have for the Manning area.
I also want to brag about these aspects.
My web pages are free and available to anyone who is interested in Manning area history.
I don't have any advertising such as "Google ads" that track you and I don't have those annoying pop-up ads.
You don't need a login and password to view my information.
I don't charge you for my information.
If you share your genealogy/history on the so-called social media sites or the commercial ancestry sites, you are restricting the number of older people who might be able to help you.
A lot of the older generation people aren't inclined to join the social sites or pay commercial sites "For the privilege" to post their own personal family history they worked on, only to
make some company rich with their information.
For those sites that you think are free - most of them are gathering all kinds of information about you, track you, force ads in your face and then other websites that use, for instance, Google ads, will look into your browser cookie history to see what sites you've been to and purchased things.
I make absolutely NO money off Manning history - to the contrary it has cost me tens of thousands of dollars to accomplish what I have in my database.
My work is completely volunteer.
More importantly, my work is strictly about the Manning area history. I don't go into the history of nearby towns, other than Aspinwall, and rarely other nearby towns - only when they
have some Manning connections.
I don't go into the general 4 county history that Manning is connected to, nor into Iowa history in general.
If you find an error or I find an error, I make the corrections when I find out and make sure the Manning database is updated.
Those other sites are more comparable to "Garbage in, Garbage out."
My only requirement is if you ask me for information and pictures, that you in turn share back.
Twin Gables was mentioned in this feature...Never heard of it? Here are several pictures I have gathered from numerous individuals over the years.
AGAIN the reason I have these pictures is because other people shared with me.
If you have old Manning history and information and like to come
to my web pages and grab the pictures and information but won't give me the time of day - what you don't realize is I probably could help you
more with your family history but you won't know until you contact me.
Even if I can't immediately help you, the pictures and information you could share with me and then I would in turn share on my web pages might inspire someone
else you are related to to share what they have with me and then I would feature their history on my web pages...which would then help you - Hard to follow what I just said???
What I show here on my webpages doesn't scratch the surface of what I have in the Manning Historical Preservation Database.
September 1, 1937, newly constructed.
1942 Loyd Borkowski, home on leave
Notice the Schuetzen Verein in the back right (AKA Manning Firemens Hall)
This was the same location that Germania Hall once stood before it burned down in 1925.
Viola (Henkelman) and Wayne Ranniger
If you follow the link below to Homecomings of the past, you'll see pictures from as far back as 70 years ago.
While I have been collecting/scanning school pictures for over 40 years, the bulk of Manning school stuff was acquired when I worked on the Manning Schools
History book project from 2006 - 2009, after finishing the Manning Quasqui history book.
At that time, very few alumni came forward with their scrapbooks and pictures, but even with a lack of over-all support from the thousands of alumni, I have a tremendous
database started because of a FEW members who brought me their scrapbooks and boxes of pictures to scan.
One of hundreds of goals about Manning history that I'll never be able to fully complete is to get individual graduation pictures of each Manning student.
Someday I envision having a "wall of graduates"
in a future museum.
The ONLY way this can happen is if many more Manning connected people and alumni come forward with their old pictures, so I can scan them.
Here is the oldest Manning graduation picture I have come across - so far.
So please contact/e-mail me about your old scrapbooks and boxes of pictures that you probably haven't looked at since you graduated - AND someday your children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren will throw away.
I also want to bring to everyone's attention that this event also helps the local grocery store.
It's so easy today to just hop in your car and drive to another town
and buy groceries there...your right but someday you'll be older and won't be able to just run to another town and what if there is no local grocery store?
I'm proud to say that my family going back to my mom and dad - always supported the local businesses. They owners pay taxes, employ people, donate to community events,
attend our churches, particpate in the schools, volunteer.
So if you want to end up having less tax payers, less places of employment, less donations, less volunteers, etc. then go ahead and shop out of town.
Someday you or your children might have a ghost town to live in!
On behalf of the Manning Rotary, we thank you for participating in a very successful event last year.
Who will be bringing home the trophy and bragging rights this year?
If your team is up for the challenge, please complete the entry form and return the entry form by October 15, 2018.
Please note, this event is not just for businesses, this is for organizations, churches, families, friends, etc.
Raising the US Flag on Iwo Jima February 23, 1945
The "First Man" 2018 movie leaves out the historical event of Armstrong and Aldrin raising the US flag.
I read from several sources that it took 400,000 workers and $24 Billion for the US to achieve the first moon landing.
I'm surprised the title of the movie isn't "First Person."
Of course if you believe some people, even today, the Moon landing was faked!
I suppose a future movie remake about the "Battle of Iwo Jima" will exclude the US flag being raised by Americans.
Update on the Hillside Splash project
On May 15, 2018, the city council approved $400,000 in matching funds for the proposed Hillside Splash project.
JEO Consulting has been working on design ideas and a proposal to complete this project in 3 phases.
Phase 1 will begin in 2019-20 with construction beginning in 2020-21, or as soon as funds are raised.
A zero-depth pool with some play features are planned in phase 1, with the slide aspects in phase 2, and a spray pad for phase 3.
Click on the link below to see some very interesting history on how Manning achieves so many amazing things and is now working on another unique project.
Oh the Fun of playing in the Sun (1968)
1909 cartoon about 2 boys nabbing their friends' clothes while "skinny dippin.'"
An observation I made during Orland's funeral was the lack of attendance by business people and Manning citizens in general. I realize many of
them paid their respects at the viewing the day before and the church is relatively small but having attended funerals for 50+ years and knowing Manning history...society has
changed a lot - it was quite common when a businessman passed away years ago that the businesses on Main Street closed down during the funeral and most of the owners
attended the funeral.
Here are just two examples.
Ulysses L. Patton
July 30, 1908
ONE OF OUR OLDEST PIONEER CITIZENS PASSES AWAY LAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
Was a Member of the City Council for Fifteen Years and on School Board for Nine Years.
Mr. Patton has been in the stock business in Manning for a number of years and
was associated in the business with his son, Dwight, at the time of his death.
As a token of the esteem in which Mr. Patton is held by the business men here
every place of business in the city was closed from 10 to 12 o'clock, during
the time of his funeral and all public work was suspended the entire day.
John Frahm, Prominent Business Man Died Tuesday
Entered Into Rest May 28, 1940 At Home Manning
The spacious funeral home and every,
available place around the premises was occupied by friends during the
services. Every business place in town was closed in his respect during the services.
The deceased leaves many memories and some heritages which will endure through
Manning's history. He was one of the towns leading citizens; a man of pleasing
personality; jovial; kind and honorable. He was a good friend to have and he
had a host of friends. The Chamber of Commerce, Manning, 3-Mile House and
5-Mile House Schuetzen Verein, of which he was a member,
and other organizations always found him a willing worker and liberal giver.
The town and community will feel his departure in losing a faithful helper and
progressive citizen. He was a faithful husband and a kind and loving father in
his home and gave himself unselfishly for the comforts and good of his family.
Another reason why more citizens should have attended the funeral was to honor and show respect to Orland for his military service...a Veteran of the Korean War.
Now these comments are solely my own and not intended to judge/criticize anyone but just as an observation of change over the years.
Visitation Wednesday April 25, 2018 , 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM at Ohde Funeral Home, Manning
Funeral Service Thursday April 26, 2018, 10:30 AM at First Presbyterian Church, Manning
Visitation resumes at church at 9:30 AM.
Interment with Military Honors will follow the funeral at the Manning Cemetery
More information and pictures coming...
Korean War Veterans continues
For those of you who are occasional visitors to the Manning Exchange - please make sure to click on the "archived articles" section where previous featured stories are kept.
We would like to hear from you, the "1983 Leaders of Tomorrow" who have relatives and chums in your hometown of Manning, Iowa.
Who grew up on a farm south of Manning, has chased tornados, and is now a meteorologist for the National Weather Service?
Click to see the answer in his own words
Note: Your story does not have to be as thorough as found at the link above but at least send us a couple paragraphs to bring us up to date from 1983. Here is the DIRECT link to the 1983 web page.
Parents of the "1983" kids - please encourage your children to send in their updated information and any pix they may want to include.
Sometimes a little nudge by mom or dad will get the ball rolling!
Each 1983 "Leader of Tomorrow" has interesting family history.
Here are the names of the "1983 kids" who we are looking for an update from...
Aaron & Courtney Potthoff, Adam Croghan, Andrew & Amanda & Brandon Puck, Alex & Abbey Ranniger, Allison & Megan Keese, Angela & Heather & Michele Hass, Angie & Alan Irlbeck, Bradley Christensen, Bryan & Nathan Rohe,
Chelsea Souter, Christin Ann Fara, Christopher Wegner, Cole & Ty Henderson, Dale & Vanessa & Derek Hargens, Daniel Wayne Tibben, Daniel & Janelle Stribe, Dawn & Derrick Rohe, Dawn & Michelle Willenborg,
Elizabeth & Jamy Zinke, Ericka & Andrea Ehlers, Gary & Beth & Tim Ferneding, Heather & Jessica & Jimmy Switzer, Jackelyn McKeighan, Jamie Jo Irlbeck, Jeffrey & Joey & Jeremy Irlbeck, Jeffry & Kelli & Jason Lorenzen,
Jeremia Rex Macumber, Jennifer & Jason & Renee Knueven, Jennifer & Jeremy Misselhorn, Jeremy Puck, Jessica Rasmussen, Jill Kienast, Joe Stein, Joseph & Mackenzie Hinners,
Kasie & Andrea & Amy Lorenzen, Kenzie Kae Kerkhoff, Lauren & Shad Bauer, Marte Wanninger, Matthew & Mandi Weitl, Melissa & Angie Pfannkuch, Michael & Amy & Jeremy Kasperbauer, Michael & Michaela Hargens,
Melissa & Michaela Vinke, Michael & Matthew Siepker, Michaela & Crystal Ehlers, Natasha Vonnahme, Ryan & Rachel Pfannkuch, Sabrina Lee, Sarah Kaszinski, Sheri & Trena Bell, Tara Zeman,
Stephen & Ryan & Darren Andersen, Tonya Jo Wurr, Tiffany & Michelle Jahn, Tim & Matt Hugeback, Brian & Katie & Steph Beck, Troy & Robin Wanninger
If you send me some information about yourself, I may also be able to find some pictures of your parents, grandparents, family members that I have in my database (as shown above).
We can use them in your story along with your "1983" picture.
What ever became of the
1983 "Leaders of Tomorrow"
Have some of your "Dreams" come true?
"Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and
shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen."
George Washington, August 7, 1782
Just as a reminder: the Manning History book committee continues to work on a Manning area Veterans' history book
project.
For those of you who are Veterans or have/had Veterans in your family - will you come forward?
The history book committee will do their best to get as many pictures and information about the 1000+ Manning Veterans
but we can't do it all by ourselves.
How many small communities do you know have published 5 history books? The first one was the History of Manning 1898, then the 1981 Manning Centennial book, next the 2006 Manning Quasqui book, and most recently the 2009 Manning School history book. Probably the last book to be published will be the upcoming Manning Veterans' book - unless someone comes forward in the next generation to take over these projects after I'm gone. Will you help with the Veterans' history book project? If you are a Manning connected Veteran or are presently serving and do not submit your military connected pictures and infomation you probably won't be in this once-in-a-life-time Manning Veterans' history book. With a limited number of volunteers we can only do so much on our own but will try to get pictures of as many Veterans as we can. There are over 1000 Manning Veterans so we have a long ways to go before the book can be published.
Manning Veterans are slowly coming forward and below is another example. We hope to eventually get more pictures and information for Mike to put in the book but for now this is what I have to show to you.
One thing that many Veterans and people who are submitting information have not fully understood is that this next
Manning history book is specifically a Veterans' only book. It won't be like the Centennial or Quasqui history books were,
where there is a Veterans' section along with other community aspects. We are aiming for a 2-volume book (around 1090 total pages) which will really be unique!!!
This book will be ALL Veterans' information (and the post auxiliaries) - hence it
won't be a "Name, Rank, and Serial Number" only history but we want a complete history for each Veteran.
For instance - below is Louis Boell's picture and the information
that was published in the Veteran section of the 1982 Aspinwall Centennial history book. It has the basic
information but we are looking for more and I spoke to Louie by phone and he sent more pictures
and information - also for his brothers.
To see what Louis submitted click on the link underneath "Are you a Manning Veteran" shown below.
Note: we also want some family background such as parents and grandparents. All too often you will only see just the Veteran's name with their basic military information but without the family connections it will be difficult for future historians and genealogists to know for sure who this person belongs to.
Please e-mail me about your Veteran questions manningveterans@davidkusel.com
1 Manning citizen served in the War of 1812
48 served in the Civil War
1 served in the Indian War
3 served in the Spanish American War
300+ served during WWI
550+ served during WWII
87+ served in the Korean war era
65+ (more names need to be found) served in the Vietnam era
55+ (many more names need to be found) served from 1975 to present
26 paid the ultimate price with their lives defending the U.S. Flag
We are starting the Manning Veterans' history book project
Don't wait until you see "Deadline" or it WILL be too late!!!
Click to read promos for the Veteran book
If you simply don't want those old family pictures you inherited please don't throw them - send them my way.
A lot of times I can recognize a face or location in those old pix.
One thing to keep in mind while you are looking for pictures - if they are glued in old scrap books please do NOT try to pull them out or cut them out. I can scan the whole page of the scrapbook and crop out the pictures you want to use in the book. If you attempt to forcibly remove the pictures you will probably damage them and when I scan them that damage will probably show up. This means I'll either have to use my graphics program to touch up the damage which can take a lot of time, or if they are badly damaged I just may not even take the time to scan them.
