Unmarked graves at First Lutheran Cemetery remembered

"I once was lost, but now am found"

(Editor's note: This article first appeared in the Ossian Bee and will likely be published in other Fayette County Newspaper publications this week. Of special interest to me, is that my Great, Great Grandfather, Knut Osmundson, is among those buried in the cemetery, but with no marker.)

By Janell Bradley

Thanks to the persistence of a couple persistent Norwegians and one German, the names of more than 150 temporarily forgotten souls buried in the First Lutheran Cemetery, will no longer go unrecognized.

When he became cemetery sexton several years ago, Art Wolfs said he wondered if the burial ground had ever been mapped. The West Union man's  investigation revealed the site had indeed been marked by a local Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project. Yet, no one he contacted was able to produce a copy.

So Wolfs and his wife, Shirley, set to work creating a map listing the names of 399 people whose graves were marked with headstones. 

  Shirley, whose maiden name is 'Mork,' had a long ancestry with the now-closed First Lutheran Church, and knew some of her relatives to be buried in its church cemetery including her grandparents, John and Helen Mork. Yet it seemed there were no records for others in the family history, nor were there headstones. It was then they discovered there were 154 deceased whose names had no markers.

Once known as the "Frame Church" First Lutheran, then Stavanger Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran, was destroyed by a storm and rebuilt. The structure as it stands today, was built in 1924. The name was changed in 1942 to end confusion with the Stavanger Church to the north, in Winneshiek County.

The First Lutheran congregation chose its name because it was the first Lutheran church in Fayette County, the first Lutheran church of Norwegian descent in Iowa and quite possibly the first Norwegian Lutheran church west of the Mississippi. The records for the first 20 years of the church, from 1850-1870, were lost, so there is a probability more people are buried in the church cemetery, than for which there are records. After the church closed in November 2012, the cemetery incorporated as a separate entity.

Once the Wolfs completed a map of the cemetery to the best of their knowledge, Art saw that the Fayette County Historical Society got a copy. 

As time passed, Beverly Saboe, a descendent of First Lutheran Church members, learned of the map. While visiting in the area, she got in touch with Wolfs. 

While she believed Art and Shirley had done a great job with their map, she knew of dozens of others who had been buried on the grounds, but without markers. It seemed that Saboe was among the few people to recall that First Lutheran Cemetery's records had been stored in a safe in neighboring Washington Prairie Church, some 14 or 15 miles to the north.

A sister to Ron Saboe of West Union, Beverly told Wolfs that at the time, church members didn't feel they had an adequate place to store the files where they would be safe from fire. 

Although Wolfs was eager to retrieve the records, Saboe said there was no need. She'd already copied the names from Washington Prairie's safe and had even spent time verifying some of the hard-to-read handwriting by making contacts back in Norway, the country from which many of the immigrants had traveled.

Soon, this small group of people began an effort to see that the names of those without markers would be recognized on a plaque.

Arlys Walvatne, who lives in Washington State, was one of the first to donate to the cause.

"She wanted a marker for her twin brother, Adrian Telmer Kleppe, Jr. who had been stillborn, Wolfs explains. 

Walvatne also saw to it that a marker with her twin brother's name was placed in the cemetery.

Clarence "Buzz" Cannon, made a donation to the cause when he learned his grandmother, Ellen (Torson) Cannon is buried there. From the information in Mrs. Cannon's obituary, she died a most unfortunate death after she kicked a sow that then bit her. According to the legend, Ellen then got lockjaw and died at the very young age of 30.

As the word spread, the donations came pouring in, and the group contacted Tom Luhman at West Union Monument about ordering a marker to list all of the names of the deceased who had no headstones marking their graves. Area welder Layne Frieden, Elgin, crafted a stand for the large plaque.

This spring after the ground has thawed, a group of individuals plans to install the marker of 104 names at the site.

And engraved on one of the side plaques, will be the words:"I once was lost, but now am found."

It's a familiar scripture from the Bible and a phrase from the song, "Amazing Grace." But it's also a fitting phrase for the discovery that 154 souls are buried in a rural Ossian cemetery without markers.

The following names and dates of birth/death are listed on the first plaque:

Lars Aasheim 1775-1877

Valjer Larson Aasland 1844-1884

Carrie Aasland 1864-1886

Lars Aasland  -1892

Endre Andrew Amdahl 1831-1909

Myrtle Amdahl -1910

Ingeborg Olena Amundsen 1944-1929

Lena R. Anderson  1864-1932

R.W. Anderson 1856-1928

Anna Buthina Askelson  - 1902

Lida Askelson -1910

Lida P. Askelson -1913

P. Koames Barr - 1910

Bjeland Bjorn Bjornson 1802-1881

Ole Borgeland 1860-1909

Lars Breiland 1820-1872

Ellen Torson Cannon 1874-1906

S. Chensvold - 1927

Ingrid Gurina Evenson 1843-1881

____ Evenson 1882-1893

Anna Fundingsland  1880-1926

Oline Galland  1870-1898

Karen Gjesdal 1832-1910

Peder Gjesdal  1820-1908

Enges P. Guenderson  -1908

Hida E. Gugedahl  -1905

Halvor J. Hagelie  1903-1906

Halvor O. Hagelie  1849-1923

Mrs. Ole Hagh  -1895

Clarens Edwin Hauge - 1905

Theodor Hauge 1884-1916

Ole Havig 1816-1897

Halvor Hetland 1820-1908

Helene J. Hetland 1844-1908

Anne L. Jacobson 1829-1893

Serine Jacobson -1894

Raymond L. Johanson  1905-1942

Shirley Jene Johanson  -1950

Hatte Johnson  1838-1911

Lars Johnson  1857-1893

Mrs. Olena Johnson 1844-1929

Peter J. Johnson  1860-1903

Severt Johnson  -1907

Emma Jonsberg 1979-1904

Ole Juggedal -1897

Butel Kleppe 1896-1902

Charlotte Amanda Kloster  -1906

Mons M. Kloster -1910

Gina Knudson 1887-1910

Martha (Olsdatter) Kwame 1806-1879

Alfred Mork 1847-1924

Edna Charlotte Mork - 1902

Bertha Nelson 1832-1917

Esho Viola Nelson - 1913

Osmund Nelson 1835-1916

Lars Ness 1868-1883

Bertha Karine Olsdatter 1891

Regina Oleson - 1883

Albert Olson - 1885

Anna Olson - 1896

Mrs. Olson - 1896

Olai Olson - 1898

Selmer Olson 1878-1945

Andrian Osmundson 1872-1894

Knud O. Osmundson 1826-1896

Lillian Osmundson -1898

Liva Osmundson 1830-1909

Lars Osterhus - 1896

Oley C. Osterhus 1887-1906

Lars Ostrander 1813-1892

Mabel Paulson - 1900

Andrian Pederson 1877-1894

Levina Pederson - 1924

Anna Peterson 1852-1939

Peter Peterson, Jr. 1953-1931

Anna B. Ramsjil 1818-1916

Nils Ramsjil - 1898

John Sabo 1874-1957

Martin Sabo 1876-1961

Marttia T. Sand 1838-1908

Torger Sand - 1910

Ole Savold 1795-1880

Lars O. Sigedal 1820-1889

Thorbjar Thorson Sigedal 1830-1905

Anna Bergette Stangeland 1864-1947

Anne Laffie N. Stangeland - 1885

Ingeborg Stangeland - 1861

Samuel Stangeland - 1867

John Steinsland 1849-1883

Leonard Bardinus Thorson 1893-1913

Oline Malene Thorson 1892-1912

Anna Tollefson 1858-1928

Bertha Tollefson 1892-1961

Engbar Tollefson - 1905

Hans Tollefson 1854-1940

Tom Tollefson - 1910

Mrs. Voga - 1899

Adrian Walvatne 1923-1924

Clifford Walvatne - 1923

Irvin Obert Walvatne - 1918

Obert Irvin Walvatne - 1920

Myrtle E. Walvatne - 1916

Mina Josifina Willeikson 1900-1904

Henrik William - 1884

The additional 50 names discovered from the records at Washington Prairie Church include:

Ole Bjornson 1819-1907

Christen Danielson 1820-1877

Ragnild Dokken 1833-1878

Johannah Evenson 1822-1880

Ole Evenson 1882-1893

Larsina Fundingsland 1851-1879

Albert Galland 1833-1885

Ole Guggedall 1817-1897

Serine Guggedal 1861-1881

Sigri Guggedal 1823-1874

Aadel Marie Hagelie 1862-1865

Bent Hagelie - 1891

John O. Hagelie 1860-1865

Carrie O. Hauge 1812-1890

Ole Hauge 1818-1879

Sonneva Hedland 1806-1880

Anna B. Hetland 1818-1916

Johannes Iverson 1850-1883

Serine Charlotte Jacobson 1875-1881

Bertha Johnson 1895-1896

Hadley Johnson 1836-1911

Martha Klangson 1815-1899

Henrik William Klementson 1883-1884

Jacob Olai Kleppe 1886-1888

Knud Kleppe 1875-1880

Ana Lorvise Matsen 1844-1883

Gladys T. Nelson - 1933

Betha Nilson 1832-1917

Osmund Nilson 1834-1916

Adrena Oleson 1853-1870

Breta Olson 1849-1904

Hans Oscar Olson - 1890

Anna Bertine Osland 1890-1902

Andrew Osmundson 1874-1894

Enger P. Osmundson 1817-1908

Andrias Pederson 1864-1894

Elisabeth E. Pederson 1874-1875

Peder Pederson - 1828

Andreas Rodlene 1875-1876

Britta Rodlene 1841-1877

Elin Rodlene 1869-1876

Magla Rodlene - 1871

Margretha Rodlene 1848-1872

Joseph Stangeland 1803-1879

Anna Stensland 1813-1875

Britha Thorson 1841-1900

Hendrik Thorson 1876-1878

Tollef Thorson 1873-1898

Serine Tollefson 1871-1872

Martha Vaga - 1898

Chase's parents basking in joy of their miracle baby's progress

This was Chase's Halloween outfit, which he wore for a check-up visit to the Dr's office.

By Janell Bradley

This March, when Chase Peyton celebrates his second birthday, his parents Chad and Meagan will probably laugh and giggle in the excitement as Chase opens his gifts. But, they might also shed a few tears when they think back at the birth of their miracle baby.

Weighing just 1 lb., 3 oz., at birth, Chase had only reached 23 weeks. He was 11.6 inches in length. He was purplish-black in color as his skin had not fully developed. Neither had his lungs reached their full maturity. His parents learned he had Respiratory Distress Syndrome – a breathing problem most common in babies born before 34 weeks of pregnancy. Such infants don't yet create a protein called surfactant that keeps small air sacs in the lungs from collapsing, and allows them to expand properly when the infant makes the change from the womb, to breathing air on his own.

While premature birth occurs in between 8 to 10 percent of all pregnancies in the U.S., Chase is among the more uncommon cases in that he weighed little more than a pound at birth. Infants weighing in at around 500 grams have about a 60% chance of survival, but the risk of complications is much greater. By comparison, a full-term infant typically weighs more than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces.)

Meagan was at her job at a care center when she took ill. Being just 23 weeks along she wanted to deny to herself that anything could be wrong, but by the time she got to her doctor in Waterloo, an ambulance was ordered for a transfer to University Hospitals, Iowa City.

With Chase born on a Thursday and placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Meagan was released from the hospital on Sunday, following her Caesarean procedure to bring the baby into this world. Tthe tiny, purple-colored and sticky-skinned Chase had a long road ahead, and so Meagan took up residence in the Ronald McDonald House, where she'd live for the next 120-some days.

According to the March of Dimes, the obstacles facing premature babies are many. Apnea (a pause in breathing), intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis are typical challenges, as is Patent Ductus Arteriosis, or PDA, a condition Chase experienced. The heart problem happens in the connection between two major blood vessels near the heart. Soon after the infant is born and the lungs fill with air, the ductus arteriosus is no longer needed. It usually closes in a couple of days after birth. If the ductus doesn't close, a baby can have breathing problems or heart failure. When he was a month old, Chase underwent a procedure in which doctors collapsed his lung and were then able to go in and repair the PDA, explained Meagan and Chad. 

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) was another complication of Chase's early birth. All pre-term babies are at risk for ROP, due to the extensive neonatal care required and the use of supplemental oxygen. In Chase's case, however, his parents say there appear to be no lasting effects beyond his release from the hospital.

While in the beginning, even a preemie diaper was too big to fit Chase's tiny body, he eventually grew enough to fit into doll clothes. Meagan says she remembers how the 'Build a Bear' outfit his great aunt bought for him was too big at first. But that was ok, because Chase wasn't making many public appearances and a diaper and onesie often was enough.

Premature babies lack the body fat necessary to maintain their body temperature, even when swaddled with blankets. Incubators or radiant warmers decrease the chance of infection and limit water loss. From March, until he was released in August, Chase's home was an isolette in the NICU at UI Hospitals.

Arriving at the hospital each day from her temporary home at the Ronald McDonald House, Meagan said she noticed Chase began to react to her voice upon arrival. 

"He would squirm when I said, 'Punkers, your Mom is here!' " she says.

Eventually as the couple prepared to take their preemie son back to their home in rural Hawkeye, they met with staff at Palmer Home Care to arrange for oxygen tanks to be used in their home.

"Kevin (Helgerson) and Marv (Shippy) did great with Chase," says Meagan. 

Even though he was born prematurely, Chase is an active toddler, says Meagan, and it was difficult to keep the cannula in his nose as he wanted to pull it out. Cloth adhesive bandages typically worked best to hold the cannula in place, but as Chase began to crawl and scoot, it became more and more difficult to keep him on the supplemental oxygen tanks that were replaced on a weekly basis.

"He was supposed to stay on it until March 19, but by mid-February it was just too difficult," says Chase's mom. 

"I'd go in to get him from a nap and he'd have the cord around his neck and we worried more about that," she says. "His oxygen sats were fine by then."

Because Chase required supplemental oxygen for the first year of his life, Chad opted to take a leave from working and stayed home with little Chase. It was also an effort to keep the little boy away from viruses and bugs that he might be susceptible to. During "Daddy's Daycare," Chad enjoyed bonding with his son and helping him with his first words, which were, "Da da."

The family's efforts at keeping Chase well and thriving were rewarded when they celebrated the little guy's first birthday.

On March 24, 2012, Meagan wrote on her Facebook wall, "I can't believe my little man is 1 today!! I didn't think we'd ever see this day a year ago. Thanks to everyone who prayed and kept in touch with us; it sure did help!! Now he's full of smiles, energy and dirty diapers!"

Now age 22 months, Chase now goes to daycare, while Chad works at ATEK in New Hampton and Meagan operates  the Shear Bliss hair salon in Sumner. This preemie baby is walking and looks for ways to amuse his parents. He's reached a weight of almost 22 pounds. 

While showing affection isn't at the top of Chase's list, every once in awhile, says Meagan, "He might give a kiss ... or a whop in the face!"

Some of his other favorites include visiting the sheep at his grandparents' farm, playing outdoors, and eating Apple Jacks cereal.

Maybe if I block the door, the doctor won't have to see me!

Her passion is to preserve country church in Lima

By Janell Bradley

LIMA – Many hands make light work as the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more true than at the Lima Church's annual "Lima Leaf Day" the first Sunday in October of each year. It takes many donations of pies and cakes to serve as many as 600 hungry folks.

But even with many helping hands, leadership is key to success.

A long-time leader for the cause of maintaining the Lima Church as a community center, and the Lima Cemetery as a peaceful resting place – is Patricia Baumler.

Pat, who's been a member of the Lima Ladies Aid since 1971,  has always felt an obligation to work for the good of the church because it's where her ancestors once were members. Three generations of Baumler's family attended church services there. Her love for the country church in what was once a thriving town which boasted a rail line, dates back to when Pat was just a little girl. 

"It's just a special place for me and our family," she explains. "My mother and father were married in that church and I started Sunday School there when I was three." She explains further, "Almost all of my Dad's siblings are buried in the cemetery. I remember Grace Popenhagen was my Sunday School teacher. We sat around a table in the kitchen area in little round-backed chairs that were a replica of the wooden round-backed chairs that are still used in the church."

An every-third-year reunion of the Jones family ancestors is held at the church. She says it gives the East Coast families and others from farther away, "a chance to feel the way we do about the church." There are horse and wagon rides to former homesteads that now are part of the Volga River Recreation Area.

The last services at Lima Church were in 1949. Now, there are still occasional weddings, funerals and annually, Memorial Day services and Lima Leaf Day held there.

When there are services and burials in the church cemetery, the Lima Ladies Aid serve escalloped potatoes and ham or sandwiches, depending on the season. In preparation for weddings, the membership makes sure the church is clean and ready for use.

In an effort to preserve the structure, a couple of women's clubs, the cemetery association and neighbors to the church volunteer time and resources. When club membership dwindled, the ladies' aid and Volga Valley Club combined to become Volga Valley Lima Ladies Aid. Pat and other stalwart supporters of Lima's existence, also make up the Lima Cemetery Association.

And when Leaf Day rolls around each year, Baumler helps organize volunteers that cook 90 pounds of hamburger on Friday, that will become 'Lima Burgers" on Sunday.

The women wrap table service and the men carry some church pews outdoors for use in the cake walk. Sunday, Baumler and her entourage of other volunteers begin arriving about 7 a.m. to begin warming in roasters,  the Lima Burger and – pork loin prepared and donated by Marty Stanbrough the last several years.

Although Leaf Day is the church's biggest fundraiser, volunteers also gather annually to host either a pancake breakfast, soup supper or ice cream social. Particularly in years when numerous mowings of the church and cemetery grounds are needed, the second fundraiser helps meet those costs.

Donations and memorials are also important to the church and cemetery's livelihood, Baumler says.

In addition to her volunteerism to benefit the Lima Church and cemetery, Baumler has co-chaired the sewing circle at Bethel Presbyterian in West Union,  and has served on the Diaconate and has served on the worship committee and as a Lay leader. Last year, she traveled with the youth group from Bethel, to a warehouse in Minneapolis to sort, pack and ship packages as part of the Shoebox program. It was so much fun, she participated again this year. 

With other sewing circle members, she's made diapers, and pillowcase dresses for children in Africa. This winter, the ladies intend to make quilts.

As a member of Fayette County Tourism, she's volunteered hours at the Little Red House in Fayette. She was a member of the Palmer Hospital Auxiliary - Fayette unit until it disbanded. She's also served on the hospital foundation, donating theme baskets for the annual auction and a quilt for the annual raffle.

As a Master Gardener, she maintains a garden at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette. She's also part of the rotation serving coffee and treats Sunday afternoons at Maple Crest. Over the years, she's helped with American Legion dinners in Wadena.

Although retired from a career as a rural postal delivery worker, Baumler hasn't let any grass grow under her feet. Her family – husband Charles and daughters Elaine Grimm, Leann Popenhagen and Stacie Gorkow and their families and children, would be the first to admit, their wife and mother is always putting others first and welcomes the opportunity to help out whenever she can.

Beating the Odds

By Janell Bradley

Weighing little more than a pound of butter, and no larger than a doll, Chase Peyton has survived the odds after being born at just 23 weeks. 

Chase is among the less than one percent of babies in the U.S., born earlier than 28 weeks when he came into the world on March 24, 2011. The chance of survival for babies born at 23 weeks, as Chase was, is just 17%, according to the March of Dimes.

Born at University of Iowa Hospital, Iowa City, Chase's skin was so thin, his parents could see his blood vessels underneath. And because he wasn't fully developed, he was covered in soft hair called lanugo. Later, as he developed, Chase was given a sponge bath by a nurse and the lanugo came off his body in clumps – enough so that when Meagan came to the hospital that day to spend time with her baby, she thought Chase had been given a haircut.

Unlike many other young people their age who can live for the moment, Meagan (Swenka) Peyton, 28, and her husband, Chad, 30, have already faced plenty of adversity.

Meagan and Chad's first child, a daughter, Remie Bliss, was stillborn at 21 weeks. When Meagan learned she was pregnant again, she began seeing an OB-GYN specialist in Waterloo. Then, one day in March as she went about her work as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette, Meagan didn't feel right, but she tried to shrug it off.

It was a co-worker, Penny Lane, a mom herself, who insisted Meagan call her physician. Later, at University Hospitals in Iowa City, Chase Michael Peyton was born Thursday, March 24. He weighed a mere 1 lb., 3 oz. and was 11.6 inches in length.

Delivered by C-section, Chase's legs were quite bruised as he had entered the birth canal legs first before doctors were able to get Meagan prepped for the Caesarean delivery. His skin wasn't fully developed and was sticky to the touch. 

Although Meagan was released from the hospital three days later, baby Chase called the neonatal intensive care unit at UIHC his home for a total of 125 days. Meagan stayed at the nearby Ronald McDonald House.

"It was the same routine every day," she says, remembering. "It's sad, but after awhile it becomes home." With some of the other families living there, Meagan participated in a parent group for an hour on Tuesdays and did some of the crafts, including a memory box that now holds memorabilia from Chase's very long hospital stay.

Back home in Fayette County, Chad continued to work, making the drive to Iowa City Saturday mornings to spend the weekends with Meagan and Chase before driving back Monday morning. For four months, Chad packed his own lunches, did his laundry and kept up the house while longing for the time when the trio would become a family living under the same roof.

"The last six weeks was the worst for me," he says of returning from the weekends in Iowa City to an empty house.

Because premature babies are too immature to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, they are fed by IV until they develop such skills, and given supplemental oxygen. They often can't yet cry and they sleep most of the day.

Born 17 weeks ahead of his due date, Chase was so tiny, the preemie diapers used in the hospital were still too big. Nurses found a cotton ball sufficed in place of a diaper.

In the days following his birth, doctors determined there was a small hole in a valve near Chase's heart which was later repaired in surgery. The infant had some trouble with his bowel that required he be fitted with an ostomy bag for about a month. Meagan says their little boy is considered to have a 'short gut' as two centimeters of his intestine were removed. But, she says the issues with his bowel and intestine resolved themselves as Chase grew and continued to develop.

Before Chase could be released to his parents' care, he had to maintain his body temperature while being outside his isolette. He also had to be able to take a bottle without his oxygen saturation rate dropping and prove his bowels would function properly once he began taking formula.

Meagan remember that first bottle of just 5ccs of milk that she fed a then, six-pound Chase.

"He'd had a feeding tube for most of his life," she says, "and hadn't had hardly any milk." She laughs and explains, "He slammed it down and wanted more!"

As the time neared for Chase to go home, Meagan left Iowa City for a weekend. With her cousin, Shelby Schultz lending a hand, the two painted Baby Chase's room. Because she'd purchased baby items after learning of her first pregnancy, Meagan says Chase's early birth hadn't left her totally unprepared. 

But what Meagan didn't anticipate, was the adjustment she'd have to make once Mom, Dad and Baby were all at home again together. For the first four months of Chase's life, he had constant nursing care. "I wasn't used to having to get up with him. While he was in the hospital, the doctors and nurses were always analyzing what his needs were," she explains.

So the couple made the decision that Chad would quit his job and stay home with Chase, who still required close care, and supplemental oxygen for the first year of his life.

It was during "Daddy's Day Care," that Chase rolled over for the first time, began to crawl and started to walk. He also said his first word, which was, 'Da-da.'

Meagan admits missing some of those milestones was difficult, but after spending more than four months in Iowa City with Chase and away from Chad, she recognized the importance of father and son needing time to bond.

On Aug. 28, 2011, friends and family hosted a baby shower for Meagan and Chase, who by that time, was five months old and weighed seven pounds. Although his parents can say the 'Build-a-Bear' outfit they bought him was once a little too big, he has outgrown that and wears mostly 12-month clothing now. He's a short little guy, "but he was never going to be tall anyway, unless he takes after my Dad," says Meagan, referring to the Swenka and Schultz family bloodlines.

Now, as the year 2012 draws to a close, both Chad and Meagan have returned to work and Chase goes to daycare. The couple says their son is a good eater: "if it's on Daddy's plate, he'll eat it, including sardines in mustard sauce and oysters," says Meagan. Apple Jacks cereal is another favorite.

Although Chase has battled anemia (another characteristic of preemies) and they've discovered he's lactose intolerant, overall "he's pretty much a normal kid," Meagan says.

This Christmas, the couple anticipates a relaxed atmosphere in which they can watch their 21-month-old son, Chase, tear through the gift wrap as he revels in the joy and happiness of the holiday.

"It was a long road, but we wouldn't change a thing," says Meagan.

(Look for a second story on Chase Peyton's story being born as a preemie in the Fayette County Union's Health Issue to be published in January.)

North grad Deb Winter brewing new business in Elkader

By Janell Bradley

ELKADER – Buying an historic brick building in this town and renovating it into both her business and residence, has been a welcome adventure for Deb Winter.

She's only lived in the town the past year, but Winter grew up in nearby West Union and graduated from North High School in 1977.

Having just opened 'Deb's Brewtopia' – a homebrewing equipment and supply shop, Winter probably couldn't have ever imagined that a passion for home-brewing and entering competitions with her wine and beer would be the thing to bring her full circle and closer to her family.

The oldest in a family of seven children, Winter married her high school sweetheart and for all of the 34 years of her marriage, worked as office manager for a court reporting firm in Waterloo – a job she loved.

But with a divorce, came her decision to leave that community and move back closer to her parents and several siblings. As she readjusted to single life, Deb stayed alternately with her parents in West Union and youngest brother, David, who with his wife and children, live west of Elkader.

She admits at first, she didn't know which direction her life was headed.

"I had put in applications at several places, but then one morning I just knew. I woke up and thought, 'What's my passion? What do I know? What do I love'?" She had her answer.

Having gotten her start with brewing in 2007, Winter first entered her brews at the Iowa State Fair competition in 2009. She took first place gold with her pale ale and second with a Vienna lager. Since then, she's been entering competitions in California, Tennessee, Kansas City and other locales. She took first and second place honors in Vail, Colo. in January 2010 at the Big Beers & Barley Wine competition and participated in the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing – an event for which she had to first qualify.

Winter admits there is a secret to the beer she's been most successful with, the American red pale ale. Acquiring pieces of discarded Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, she has a process to transfer the flavors of oak and Templeton Rye whiskey – to her beer. 

Another top award-winner is a bourbon oatmeal stout.

"No," Winter says with a grin and a laugh, "I don't do the 'chick' beers!" 

Winter also grows 18 varieties of hops. In all, her brew shop offers 46 varieties of grains to potential brewmasters. The combinations are limitless, she says.

While she offers kits for beginners, Winter also offers everything an experienced beer brewer or wine maker might need.

At any given time, she's likely to have seven or eight varieties of wine 'cooking' and another 10 or so completed and available for tasting in a 5 gallon kegs in a chiller. 

As for brewing beer, Winter is still establishing that area, but once it's up and running, she hopes to offer beers for purchase – by the growler, or by the keg, to area restaurants. If enough interest is shown, she will begin scheduling classes to individuals, on both brewing and winemaking. She estimates a person can get started spending as little as $30 or could spend up to $200 if purchasing all equipment and ingredients.

Overall, Winter is excited about her new venture.

When she started to look for a place from which to operate her brewing supply business, she says the former Clayton County Register building wasn't a tough sell. It had everything she needed: character emanating from the brick walls and floors, a storefront, a potential living area in the back and a garage where she eventually hopes to set up her own brewing tanks.

"What's not to love? There's the Turkey River, the downtown ... it was love at first sight."

Admittedly, there was a lot of work involved in renovation before Winter was ready to open shop. She says she used 100 tubes of caulk alone, closing gaps in the wood ceiling in what was once the composition/paste-up area of the long-time newspaper office. With help from her brothers and her Dad, Dan Winter,  Sr., she tore out walls and opened up the area that once separate the front office from the composition area.

As construction progressed and Deb was able to use the building as a residence, she found a calico cat in the alley that barely weighed a pound.

These days, "Ophelia the cat," joins the dog, "Louie," in having the run of the place, since Winter has rehabbed the one-time job-printing area into a studio apartment. The overhead balcony was once an office for newspaper employees. Now, it's a loft bedroom where the original pipe railing is still in place, as are the concrete steps leading upward.

Having the project as a goal was tremendous motivation for Winter. Nieces Jessica and Kate Winter helped with selecting colors for paint and getting a website in place. Other family members helped with construction and de-construction – and they frequently offer opinions on new brews she's trying, too.

"The support of my family has been unbelievable," she says. "It's really helped me believe in myself."

Deb's Brewtopia is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 5 and Saturday from 10-2. The shop at 106 Cedar Street is closed Sunday and Monday. She can also be contacted at 563-245-3737 or toll-free at 855-210-3737. Her website, is: www.debsbrewtopia.com.

Eight years after Lands' End closes, employees reunite in old workplace

Pictured in a sitting area inside the new addition at Stoney Brook Village, are these women who gathered for a reunion of Lands' End employees. The women manufactured soft luggage for Lands' End, inside the building that was renovated in 2005, and reopened as Stoney Brook in 2006. Seated, from left: Sheryl Sievert, Calmar; Dina Hackley, Clermont; Missy Shindelar, Waucoma; Julie Lerch, Wadena; Kris Moser, West Union; Cheryl Olson, Eldorado; in back: Edie Daniels, West Union; Darla Wenthold, Ossian; Marilyn Brincks, Ossian; Arlene Molokken, West Union; Anne Mae Schlatter, West Union; Cindy Jacob, Sumner. 

By Janell Bradley

WEST UNION – Like the Real Housewives of reality TV, they laughed, cried and shared stories of marriage, divorce and children. They knew the names and faces of one another's children. Their workplace was like a neighborhood. As they worked, the women's frequent chatter competed with the hum of industrial-type sewing machines on which they sewed together soft luggage.

When one-time employees of manufacturer Lands' End gathered for a reunion Oct. 13, they remembered their days working together in an industrial building at West Union's southeast edge. 

They were competitive in the number of pieces they could turn out each week, but when the work day ended, several gathered socially at a local bar where everybody knew their names. Some worked at Lands End for just eight or ten years, while others marked 20+ anniversaries with the company. 

When the Wisconsin-based company closed its doors in West Union in April 2004, the 80-some employees were left  to decide if they'd change careers, find other employment, or take the company up on its offer to provide financial aid toward education in a new field.

Eight years later, a group of the women from Lands' End, held a reunion inside the one-time industrial building where they had worked together and caught up on the twists and turns one another's lives had taken.

Dina Hackley, Clermont, used the college aid package offered by Lands End to earn a degree as a registered nurse. Arlene Molokken, West Union, did likewise, and with her RH/IT degree, now works from home, for Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Sheryl Sievert, Calmar, is an HR assistant at Luther College in Decorah. Darla Wenthold works at Rockwell Collins in Decorah. Cindy Jacob, Sumner, went to work at Rockwell Automation in Sumner, but after five years, she saw that company close its doors, too. Now she's back in college, studying to attain an administrative assistant degree at Northeast Iowa Community College.

Missy Shindelar, Waucoma, went to work at another West Union manufacturer, Rupp Air Management. She says her co-workers there laugh when she tells them she's going to get more 'thread' – when what she means is 'wire' in her job at Rupp.

Edie Daniels and Anna Mae Schlatter, West Union, are both retired and enjoying time with their grandchildren. Kris Moser works in the dietary department at the Good Samaritan Center in West Union. 

Others who worked at Lands' End but didn't attend the recent reunion, have taken custodial positions, one went to John Deere, and another has her own embroidery and custom sewing business.

Although she worked various jobs over the past eight years, Cheryl Olson, of Eldorado, actually parks back in the same parking lot as she did in her days working for Lands End. For the past year, she's been activities director at Stoney Brook Village – the entity that resulted with the purchase of the Lands' End industrial site.

Unlike some manufacturing sites that sit vacant once a business shutters its doors, the  22,000 sq. ft. Lands' End building was purchased by four local business people of aging parents, with a dream to make the structure an assisted living center. Where 85 women once sat at sewing machines, an assisted living center offers up to 72 people needing living assistance. Twenty-five apartments were constructed originally, with another 11 added to Stoney Brook earlier this year.

As the women toured Stoney Brook Village and tried to remember how the building had looked when they worked there, they hugged and chatted as the volume of their conversations grew more animated.

While some of the women said they'd stayed in touch via social media, several others admitted they hadn't seen one another in months or even years.

Still, said Hackley, "From our days working here, we still have those ties to one another. We're still family after all these years."

Ossian couple's wedded bliss 'welded' in togetherness

Amber (Kahler) Linderbaum begins welding on a bottle tree she's making in the welding shop of her husband, Scott, and father-in-law, Darwin Linderbaum, in Ossian.

By Janell Bradley

OSSIAN – Within the period of a few months, Amber Kahler graduated from Upper Iowa University after earning a degree in elementary education, and while looking for a teaching job, planned her wedding to Scott Linderbaum, which was Aug. 9. 

As the wedding neared, Amber was suddenly offered a third grade teaching job at Carrie Lee Elementary in Decorah, just a week before she was to say her vows with long-time sweetheart, Scott. Teachers were to report to work on Friday, Aug. 8, but school administrators agreed Amber could report to in-services on Monday, Aug. 13.

As a young couple that rolls with the punches, Amber and Scott scrapped their plan to honeymoon at the Iowa State Fair. After all, they had their jobs to work around, and the next eight Saturdays they were slated to be attending the weddings of other friends. 

Their own wedding gifts still cover the floor in the couple's home as neither has yet had time to unpack much. Scott works with his Dad, Darwin, at Linderbaum Auto and Amber's days are filled teaching her classroom of 21 students.

But even as busy as she is, Amber still finds time to drop by the auto repair shop where her husband and father-in-law keep busy making farm repairs, doing welding jobs and working on automobiles.

And she does so even though she knows the famed "board of directors" will likely tease her while she's there. The "board" – a group of locals who fill the audience of chairs at Linderbaum Auto – often have advice for anyone who stops in.

Darwin and Amber share a laugh though, when they explain how the board had plenty of advice for Scott about getting married. And Amber says the board has even suggested to her that if she isn't able to discipline her new class of third graders, they might be able to help. She smiles and says she's pretty sure she'll handle that task on her own.

How she got started welding

Together for more than five years, Amber says when she took an interest in a bottle tree lawn ornament Scott had made, he suggested she'd have to learn to make one herself, or they would construct it together.

Scott had earlier made one for Amber's mother, Deb Kahler, of Elgin, for the couple to give her for Mother's Day. But then Amber wanted one for herself.

Scott gave Amber a welding helmet and then showed her how to ground the item on which she was working before beginning an actual weld. She uses half inch hot roll rod, which she first cuts to length and then uses a rod bender to crimp the metal so it better resembles the branch of a tree. Then she sets to work adding branches by welding them to the "trunk."

Scott Linderbaum learned to weld from his Dad, and Darwin learned from his father, Art Linderbaum. That makes three generations of Linderbaums to have operated the repair shop on Ossian's Main Street. 

In a farming community, there is always a need for good welders. Amber explains that Scott and Darwin purchased an older rescue vehicle not long ago, which they use to make their welding service portable. They travel to farms to do work where needed.

"Unfortunately, we had to do the work at Knutsons, twice though," says Darwin about the straight line winds that took down a brand new dairy set-up just as it was going into operation. "The welds held," he says, but the winds pulled the anchors right out of the cement as the building went down."

It's been two years since Amber started welding the 'bottle trees' and since then, she's probably made 30 such pieces of yard art. She said most people learn about the lawn ornaments through word of mouth and/or because they've seen one in someone else's yard.

That's been the case in the front yard of Body Kneads massage and hairstyle shop in Clermont.

"A lot of people have seen the one I made that's there," says Amber. While she has made the trees in different sizes, her favorite is one that holds 13 bottles.

"I leave the bottles on mine year round and it hasn't been a problem – none of them have broken," she says. But, Sarah Lehmann, in Clermont, changes out the bottles for large Christmas ornament balls which are also an attractive addition to the welded tree.

Amber says Scott and Darwin are also creative minds when it comes to making yard art. A little dog they welded together was fashioned from a small LP tank, a car spring, a fan blade and then wrenches for the feet. The dog even has a little spring tail.

"We see a picture of something and then we try to make it," she says.

In fact, for the couple's wedding, Scott and Darwin welded several "bare branch trees," that stand 2-1/2 feet tall that decorated the reception tables. The trees were decorated with glass votive candle holders. Once the candles were lit, the trees glowed with a warmth that added a lot of ambiance to the wedding reception.

While this past summer has been particularly warm for anyone to do welding inside the Linderbaum shop, and particularly under a welder's hood, Amber says she doesn't plan to hang up her welding mask now that she's married.

The skill is one she enjoys and it allows her to spend more time with her husband, even if he's working.