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8 TKAKu S’rAR-CLIi'lKiiTUESDAY, JULY IQ, 1973Daluns Recalls Blizzard of ’39(Robert Dahms is a son of Mrs. Emma Dahms and the Jate Harry Dahms of Traer and a brother of ArJo and Richard Dahms, Mrs. Robert Eckhardt and Mrs. William Arj). After a successful military and business career, including 10 years as a U. S. Navy officer and many years with the Radio Corporation of America, he is nowretired in Maryland.)(By Robert E. Dahms)8903 Montpelier Drive, Laurel, Md. 20S10. — Although I have been absent from Traer for almost32 years, I have spent a number of vacations there visiting -relatives during this period. In today’s first changing world, I am always favorably impressed that Traer seems to be the one place that is still as stable and friendly asI left it 32 years ago.Life at Traer began for me at ago 14 when my father, Harry Dahms, and family moved from Gilman to the Newt Lewis farm west of Traer. My mother, whose maiden .name, was Emma, Boldt, wlt;is born and reared on* a farm near Traer, so moving back was a welcome homecoming for her. Also we had many relatives including Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Kah-lor, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Boldt, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Schutt and their families already living near Traer. Since we, like many others, were still recovering from the depression years, life centered mostly around plain hard work in order to make enough to eat and pay our bills. After spending all week in the hot sun plowing corn, the thought of spending Saturday night at Traer and drinking a cold bottle of Pepsi-Cola (“Bohemie Belly Wash”) or playing snooker at the local pcx)l hall (gun joint) with my boyhood friends seemed to be the ultimate in life. .Our closest neighbor at that time was Jasper Wilson and family, and I went to school with his daughter Jean and son Russell. I believe that Mr. Wilson had lived in, Washington, D. C. when his father, Tama Jim,” was U. S. Secretary, of Agriculture. At the time I could not understand how anyone, after living in the great capital of the United States, would want to move back to Traer to live. After living and working in Washington, D. C., myself for33 years, I now understand!I attended a small one-room rural school near the farm along with Jean Wilson, Thelma Kahler, Wentzel Kern, Doris McMillan, Maxine Vorba and a few others. We were very fortunate to have the one and only Christie Bliss as schoolmaster, whothoroughly prepared tis for high school. I will always be gratefulfor the valuable assistance '(low-cost room and board) that Christie Bliss and his mother gave me which helped me to attend my first year at high school.In the fall of 1936 I started to Traer high school and subsequently graduated with the class of 1940. During these four yea;.-:, life centered around our classroomactivities and the weekly basketball or football games, in those days the height of success was to beat Dysart at least once inbasketball, and I still remember the crowds packed eyeball-to-cye-ball in the old gym. I credit thestrong competitive spirit that wasimstilled in most of us at Traer high to be a very important ingredient for being able? to later successfully cope with the rigorous requirements for success in the armed forces and the business world. Supt. D. R. Cottrell and Principal Alfa Gregg set high standards for the school, and the other teachers such as Pauline Harold and Viola Moeller ably contributed to our education.I recall a few humorous and sad incidents that have stayed with me during the past 32 years:One night in the winter of 1939 (I think) Vernon Stepanck, Wayne Steven son and I attended a basketball game at Traer. During the game a blizzard errupted and we were unable to go home. Vernon took us to his grandmother's house in Traer to stay over night (his grandmother was not at home for some reason), and ah three of us tried to sleep in her bed. During the night it became- bitterly cold and the fire in the coal stove died out. As a result there was a mad scramble and fight among us to control the bed covers in order to keep warm. Finally Wayne Stevenson was kicked out of the bed and he had to sleep on the floor. The next clay when we awoke we found the room in a shambles, blartkots torn as a result of the fight — and Wayne’s face showed that he had * just caught a bad case of chicken poxwhich took him out of school for about a week.In the spring of 1940 our class held a picnic at Clark's park. After the picnic, Roland Winkcl-pleck and I were hauling a carload of girls back to town in his 192S Chevie sedan when the steering arm broke loose at a sj)eed of about 40 miles per hour. I can still see the look on Roland's face and hear the girls screaming as he kept turning the steering wheel and we kept heading for the ditch. The car went into the ditch, through a fence, roiled over two or three times and finally landed in a hay field. Since the car lost its top in the first roll, we were strung out all over the place and I assure you this was some sight to behold. Miss Harold and some of the other teachers were following us in another car. The teachers were natprally very upset because they thought Roland had been “showing off,” and they were[unaware at first of the real cause.J Unfortunately, Roland hurt an arm, Thelma Kahler broke her collar bone, tiie rest of us had bruises[ and the car was a total wreck. ,\ Although serious at the time, this j incident has always remainedhumorous to me.t/ .i.i ig t'.j;(; our class received the sad news that Bruce Erickson had died while at college in Cedai I' all.s. He was truly an outstanding ; scholar and athlete, and represent-jed the best that Traer high schoolhad to offer. It seemed ironic. that he died at a time when he ! appeared to have such a brilliant'college career ahead of him.In September 1941 I left Traer | to attend Chicago Technical col-pege to study for an engineering J degree. Paul Townsend, who was j also tiN;m Traer, was one of my ; codege roommates in Chicago and , as a result we became close friends. However, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on [Dec. T, 1911, many carefully planned careers were cut short or drastically changed. In 19-12 Paul Townsend joined the Air Force and I joined the Nn-al Air Corps. Later during World War II, I j learned that two of my close high j school friends, Kenneth and Joel 'Herman, who iuui joined the Air Force, were both killed in airplane crashes. Also about the same time my cou.Vm Lt. Noble Klink from Gladbrook was killed in an Air Force B-29 crash near Clovis, N. M. Although my Navy squadron also had a number of fatal plane accidents, the loss of these throe long-time friends was hard for me to accept at the time. During that period it seemed that, just as today, almost all the news we hoard was bad news.After about ten years as a commissioned officer in the U. S. Navy including service during the Korean war, I joined the Radio Corporation of America in 1954 and I helped develop its new electronic computer division into a multi-million dollar business with over 10,000 employees. In I960 RCA transferred me from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C., as districtmanager for computer sales to the U. S. Navy. Jn 1967 I waspromoted to government contracts manager for all RCA computer sales and installations. I held this position until 197], when RCA soldits computer division to Sperry Rand Corp. (UNIVAC Div.). I am now retired and reside in Laurel, Mtl., with my wife Jayne, my son Richard, and daughter Rebecca. My older son Boh Jr., whois graduating from the University of Maryland, his wife Anita and Jieir six-month-old daughter Rachel live close by in College Park.V:e are looking forward to attending the Centennial and visiting with my mother. Mrs. Emma Dahms, who is now SO years young, and other relatives friends during the celebration.Traer Centennial Days—Julv 17-22
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Traer Star Clipper
Traer, Iowa, US
Tue, Jul 10, 1973
Page 16
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