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Newspaper
Pella Chronicle
Location
Pella, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Apr 15, 1954
Page
3
A radio television address given Monday April 5 outlines national problems including the atomic bomb. The president urges vigilance without hysteria and proclaims Americans can lead the world to a peaceful secure existence under providential leadership in 1954.
Major General Roderick Allen faced a government funded $1200 kennel at Fort Dix New Jersey. A board of officers held him personally liable and he paid the treasury. President Eisenhower commented at a press conference calling for the general to live in his dog house briefly, a quip seen as more corrective than a court martial.
A Christian Science Monitor profile by Helen Waterhouse highlights William Lewis a seventh grade teacher at Colonial School Akron. Lewis served in the Canadian Royal Air Force then U S Air Force earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and a George VI decoration before prison in Germany. After release he settled in Akron married a music teacher, bought a home, started a family and returned to teaching praising the profession as a meaningful and growing field for men. He urges graduating students to consider teaching as a vital career path.
The annual cancer fight campaign opens in Pella with appeals to be watchful for early symptoms and seek prompt treatment. Science, foundations, and volunteers support efforts to cure cancer, as communities rally to aid patients and fund research for progress toward victory.
At the April 5 Chamber of Commerce meeting, Treasurer Tunis Kempkes reported strong business and individual contributions toward the 54 Festival budget. He recalled early Festival days when Arie Schilder and Lon Wormhoudt faced abuse for not contributing, noting current widespread local support beyond price tags. The speech celebrated community spirit and pride in Pella.
The piece admonishes the rich for bragging about wealth and praises a high school gesture to Muscatine after winning a state basketball title. It laments Washington noise, urges moving beyond McCarthy era investigations, and calls for genuine statesmanship.
Items of interest from The Chronicle ages 10, 20, 30 and 40 years ago are summarized, recalling notable local events, people and milestones that shaped the community history. Reads as a compact column highlighting notable archival moments and anniversaries.
The Central College board of trustees met and accepted Dr J Beyl’s resignation at year end, with Dr J W Bailey named president. Arthur Sels urged attracting factories and jobs, while a tragic death of Mrs J W Miller in Harlan Iowa was noted. Supt F M Frush pushed for broader use of schools for recreation and night classes. music and recital events featured Merna Thomas and Guy Churchill. Local infrastructure and development topics included a proposed catch basin on North Main, paving plans, and a livestock care lecture by W K Stouder. A package of poppies arrived for planting, and several students joined music classes with Prof Geo F Sadler. The Peace Oratorical Contest was held at Central with multiple colleges in attendance, results pending.
Thirty years ago the Ladies Auxiliary of Central College planned an Easter egg donation drive to raise money for finishing the women's dormitory third floor. Mrs. H P Vander Meulen led the group as president. Federated Club women met at Mrs. Tim Dykstra's home with vocal and piano solos by Misses Vander Meer Temple and De Jong, a reading by Miss Ma Fox, and several selections by others.
The Rock Island depot robbery yielded $1.56 in pennies and the messenger boy’s tobacco, with a suspect who later rode west. Council approved grading on North Main Street. Senator Pitt urged Commercial Association members against “Fundamental Americanism” blocs. Wrestling and baseball results interest business circles, while Founder's Day funds and wage scales for Marion County highlight community actions. Local ads list bargains as area colleges and clubs report activity.
Twenty years ago robbers entered A C Boat’s Sully store and stole about 450 dollars worth of goods including 104 pairs of shoes silk dresses and clothing. No clues yet. Pellaw merchants promote Good Luck Friday to ward off superstition and boost sales as the Drake Relays looming. The Pella Band directed by Hugo Kuyper to perform at the Des Moines event with an ensemble of about 3000 pieces. Death noted for Mrs N Van Lint aged 79 who arrived in 1865 with her parents. Sheriff Paul Grundman turned confiscated alcohol to Professor T H Liggett for Central College use.
Keith Wormhoudt resigns as manager at the Shell Oil station at Broadway and Washington and moves to Council Bluffs Iowa. Walter Donai becomes manager and Bob Rouwenhorst named assistant at the same location.
A 10 year old Pella Chronicle item notes the Pella Municipal Light Plant earned a Charles A Coffin Foundation citation for providing power during crises. The front page includes a reprint of the certificate and a photo of M T Ti Paarde aging gardener, with April 8 mentioned. Subsidies to farmers for cream production under AAA are reported, along with 1.67 inches of rainfall last week. Kenneth Van Brogen is hospitalized in England for a lung ailment and expected back for federal hospital placement.
Des Moines Register condemns caravanning where vehicles ride too closely. Instances near Pella show three-car stacks cause pileups, with trucks and cars colliding in sequences. The piece urges strict traffic-court action and enforcement of laws requiring safe separation.
Twenty two rural Marion County schools shut down prompting a Voice of the Public lament titled Mourns the Passing of the Little Old Red Schoolhouse. The piece expresses concern over lost local institutions and community impact.
Peter Hames, 71, of Plymouth County, died suddenly in a hospital just as he was about to visit his ailing wife. Mrs. Hames later passed away without knowing her husband had already died. A second, unrelated fact notes that in England one person in 1018 earns a university education.
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