This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 16 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Pella Chronicle
Location
Pella, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Mar 28, 1957
Page
3
A civic column offers a pithy reflection on truth and error. It argues that excusing a wrong decision by rationalizations compounds deceit and that the wiser path is to treat the mistake as experience to confront the issue.
Legislators discussed trimming Iowa’s 99 counties to 33 to ease tax requests from sparsely populated counties. A Des Moines Register report quotes lawmakers calling the current setup outdated and notes both parties privately favor fewer counties, while avoiding public quotes to dodge political backlash.
A compilation of recent highway news from Iowa and beyond notes the Iowa Senate backing daytime speed limits of seventy, sixty at night, and fifty on secondary roads with an exception for passing. Bills on billboard limits face cautious expectations, while Nebraska rejects trucks over sixty feet. Iowa bans vehicles up to ten feet wide, and a legislator arrested for passing in a restricted zone invokes immunity. The piece urges Iowa citizens to voice concerns.
A dry year outlook shifts with welcome rains in the Southwest. Weather expert Irving Krick predicts below normal precipitation for southeastern Iowa and northern Missouri, with April wet and June wet periods, while promoting cloud seeding as a low-cost gamble. He notes his models forecast repeating patterns and once helped set D-day timing. The Marion County audience hears that rain can be influenced but not guaranteed, offering farmers peace of mind regardless.
Editorials critique the role of highways and schools in shaping towns, predicting shifts in district lines as traffic moves and commerce declines in small communities. A Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune note cites 88 year Kansas records, forecasting a end to drought near May 1957 and a future pattern of wetter years ahead.
A retro column revisits notable items from The Chronicle spanning 16, 20, 40, 50 years ago, highlighting brief incidents and figures remembered by readers.
Fifty years ago Lake Prairie District Fair directors met to elect a new director to succeed L. Van Rees who had died and chose top department superintendents. The front page noted Madame Cateau Stegeman Tracy’s Denver concert with baritone Reginald W. Billin assisting and praise from the Rocky Mountain News. Democrats of Pella backed a full slate in city elections. mayoral winner Simon G. Vander Zyl led. A Baptist college issue over Central college’s future was circulated. a town meeting was named. Faculty and glee club reception at Central College featured performers. Minor church fire at the Baptist Church was extinguished. Wabash agent Henry A. Trimble survived a road-cart accident. Iowa Food and Dairy Commission discussed pure food law with merchants. bad eggs a major topic. Central College professor Jay A. Lapham wrote about the Knoxville Institute. Carnegie-Viersen library foundation work continued. Pleasantville reports an elegant new opera house and home talent show earnings. George Vander Zyl was gravely ill with a stomach ailment.
Forty years ago H J Vanden Berg won the mayor’s seat over J J Sheehy by 561 to 197. John Vander Ploeg and C H Wormhondt were elected aldermen at large with John J Blommers T G Foltz M W Van Doorninck and Harman A Veenstra as aldermen. The nonpartisan election coincided with President J W Bailey of Central College predicting a good year for the college. Efforts to raise endowment funds then totaled $58,000 as salvage work continued on a burned auditorium dating from 1916.
Prof H J Brouwer and parish members join a soliloquy noting Security Bank's transition from private to state control. The nearby church complex sees its stables removed signaling the end of horse and buggy era. A Fairmount College debate team from Wichita claims wins on both sides of a triangular contest with Marion Le Cocq among the roster.
Twenty years ago over 1500 votes were cast in the city election with Simon De Haan defeating Dr T G Fultz for Mayor and a proposal to place the light plant under a board of trustees failing by 947 to 337. June Stureman won first in oratory at a Mt Pleasant contest representing Central College. She also placed first in an inter-collegiate contest at Storm Lake. A contract was let at Ames for a second coat of gravel on Highway 63 through Marion County. Road work on Mahaska County highway 63 paused for winter and would resume. New gas electric engines and 80 foot coaches were to be placed on the Rock Island line through Pella on April 16. The Legion Post planned an old fashioned 4th of July with aid from business men. Measles cases among public school pupils prompted moving spring vacation up one week. Sickly child of Mr and Mrs Simon H Vander Zyl improving from pneumonia and asthma. Quip in Kuyper's Korner noted. On full page J C Penney Store advertised its 25th Silver anniversary sale.
More than 1200 votes were cast in the city election with Dr. T. G. Fultz defeating Simon De Haan for mayor by 661 to 577. The report also notes various local civic events including a Newton JC dinner trip for Pella juniors, CCC camp activities in Knoxville, and local school achievements.
Ten years back in March 1947 the Chronicle earned second place in General Excellence and first in Best Service to Agriculture while Pella prepared for its centennial Tulip Time with M. M. Dockendorf as general chair. Local notes cover Kiwanis road talk, veterans hospitalized, D A R winners Coleen Renaud and Barbara Glassen, a serious hand injury to Hunter Ballenger, UN tensions with Russia, Women of the Legion Auxiliary polio care, and polio Pak machine purchase.
Iowa farms plan marketing of about 2.79 million hogs in March and April, based on Crop and Livestock Reporting Service data. If realized, March 1.49 million head would be 10 percent below March 1956 and 10 percent above the 5 year average. April 1.9 million head would be 8 percent below April 1960 and 11 percent above the 5 year average. February hogs sold for slaughter totaled 1.55 million head, with sows comprising about 5 percent. barrow and gilt age averaged 6.7 months.
A fragmented letter from Erie Pennsylvania discusses graduates seeking glamourous work with major firms like General Electric CBS and MGM. It critiques women and social groups for influencing career choices and suggests practical, steady trades and service roles as viable paths, urging readers to consider earnings and schooling opportunities.
Cattle from Iowa farms marketed for slaughter show higher volumes and prices, with January figures indicating a 37 percent increase versus earlier periods, reflecting steady demand and market tension across the cattle sector.
The fragmented text mentions a February sales figure around 219000 and references five a and averages. It is incomplete and lacks identifiable people, organizations, or places to form a full factual card.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.