It is the sincere hope of the History Book Committee that the contents herein compiled will be interesting to all who have a heritage in the city of Manning, and informative to those who follow.

Material for this book was gleaned from many sources. Some we believe to be quite authentic, such as the files of the Manning Monitor and previously published historical records of Manning and Carroll County, and from the minute books of the city of Manning and the Manning Community School District.

Other sources were contributions from and interviews with citizens and long-time residents. This information, we confess, was virtually impossible to completely verify, and memories have a way of becoming clouded with the passing of years. Conflicting facts and dates were ironed out whenever possible and so we present to you this book on the premise that mistakes are practically inevitable on projects of this nature.

There will be omissions and contradictions but after a full year of effort in compiling this book, and our resulting apprehension as to its perfection, we are comforted by the statement made to us by one of our seasoned residents who assured us that if you've never made a mistake, you haven't done anything.

We are extremely grateful to those volunteers who assisted in our research and writings. The material for this book was compiled from August, 1979, to the printer's deadline, August 1, 1980. This should be taken into consideration regarding dates, offices held, etc.

We also appreciate the contribution of the hundreds of pictures, and regret that space allows only for a choice of those that best fit the occasion.