Simply the best site for information and inspiration.
(click on images to enlarge)
Sons of Austria
A memoir – in part – by Don Eggspuehler
We’d been looking forward to this day for weeks. Any of us who’d attended West Side Elementary School, Iowa Falls, IA for any length of time knew about this day. For many of us it was the most special day of the year, not counting Christmas.
The 6th graders got the honor of helping him unload all of his props and projector from his station wagon. He promised them they would be paid “handsomely” for their help. It wasn’t the pay they were interested in…it was the honor of serving their idol. After about thirty minutes of work, they each got paid with a fake $3 dollar bill with his picture and name on the front of it. These were priceless souvenirs.
We anxiously meandered into the lunchroom, which had been cleared of all tables and chairs to accommodate the entire school. After we put our dime admission into the bucket, the smaller kids were escorted up front to sit cross-legged on the floor. The older kids followed us in, until the final 6th graders were standing along the back wall. We noticed that the teachers seated in chairs along the sidewall were just as excited as the students, which was quite unusual. The room was packed to capacity– the anticipation electric as the kids buzzed with excitement.
Our Principal walked out to the front of the room, quieted the crowd, and announced, “This morning we have a very special presentation. Our guest will take you on travels you’ve never dreamed about before. It is my pleasure to introduce to you…Mr. Al Bell!”
My friend, Don Eggspuehler lives in Richardson, TX where he is in software sales, management, and consulting. He enjoys his family, traveling, creating home movies, and writing. Don can be contacted at: don@megaflexible.com
Don and I were lucky to experience adventures through Al Bell as were grew and learned in Iowa Falls, IA in the 1950′s and 60′s. I’m certain that Al influenced many Iowa children as they grew into adulthood. We all thank Al Bell and his family for taking our hands and guiding us gently into a path of appreciation for animals, nature, adventure, and life.
Becky Bell-Greenstreet’s book about her father, Al Bell Remembered is available for $17.50
Becky’s address is: 58837 Old Railroad Grade Road, Coquille, OR 97423-8646
One DVD is available at White Pole Road Development Program with the following four Al Bell movies:
- Sons of Gaspe (1952) Nova Scotia, Quebec and Canada.
- Sons of Egypt (1976) Cairo, the pyramids
- Sons of Peru (1963) living with the primitive Shipibo Indians in the Amazon Jungle.
- Sons of the Holy Land (1965) biblical places and religious history.
Need I say more ~ sign up today!
Front page of Iowa Falls Times Citizen by Eric Mandel, September 11, 2010
(double click on the papers to magnify)
Front page of the Iowa Falls Times Citizen, by Eric Mandel, September 8, 2010
Be sure to visit On the Road with Humpty Dumpty
Ben, Humpty, Kathie
Iowa Falls Times Citizen readers, Welcome to Kathie’s World. Thank you, Eric Mandel for searching Kathie’s World out of the multitude of websites and selecting my site. This interview for the TC means a great deal to me.
Kathie’s World appears on the front page of the Times Citizen today, September 8, 2010 and part two is scheduled for Saturday, September 11. (9-11 is a special day, as that was my sister, Julie’s birthday)
Iowa Falls was, is, and will always be a special town to me. It is the shelter of my youth. It is where I learned my values from my family, my friends, my teachers, and all of those who surrounded me with love and grace. I have written about you Iowa Falls ~ the land, the people, the places, the emotions, and the fortitude you instilled in me. I have resilience because of you, Iowa Falls.
The roots of Iowa Falls collect the good and rich soil that it is built on, and those roots spread deep and wide. We don’t always know where our roots of life will reach, but they are there ~ waiting, yearning, to grow.
Is this a love letter to Iowa Falls? I guess so.
Love, Kathie
Humpty Dumpty is on the road wishing the Iowa Falls/Alden Cadets a winning football season ~2011. Go Cadets.
Be sure to visit my blog and come into my world at On the Road with Humpty Dumpty. See you there.
GO CADETS !
On what have been my dad’s 89th birthday, I sent this to the Hamilton County Genealogy Society. This will be the first narrative post on their website, Iowa Gravestones. This is a site for Iowa history to be saved. My dad would have approved.
Arild Vernon Kepler was born in Stanhope, Iowa to Mable and Vernon Kepler. Raised in Webster City, IA, he married Mary Jane Higbee of Webster City on November 21, 1943. They raised four children: Julie May Kepler Richey (deceased), Kathleen Ann Kepler Harrington, Cynthia Kay Kepler Leitner, and David Vernon Kepler.
The following is a revision of the eulogy I presented for my dad on October 21, 1998 at his funeral.
For My Dad
Arild Vernon “Kep” Kepler
August 22, 1921 ~ October 13, 1998
Interment: Graceland Cemetery Webster City, IA
When I was a little girl, we went on a trip to California in a 1956 red and black Ford. From the moment we rolled out of our driveway in the middle of Iowa until we reached the parking lot of Disneyland, I’d ask my dad the same question, “How much further, daddy?”
My dad, with is patience and wisdom, would always reply in the same manner, “Oh not far, Kathie, it’s just over the hill and around the corner.”
After many hills and many corners, my dad was right; we arrived at Disneyland.
* * * * *
Every member of our family wants to thank you for being here today. We appreciate so very much your compassion and your warmth. We acknowledge your part in making my father’s life a reason to find celebration and joy in our time of sorrow. In the future, when our minds drift back upon happier days, it will not be about my dad’s death that we reminisce but rather about his life. He was happiest as a poet, a storyteller and a Thespian and his love of music provided harmony throughout his years.
Many of you knew my dad when he had black hair. I didn’t. It was always gray and then white for me. Many of you knew my dad when he was young and vital and had a vision for the future that was intense. To me, my dad will always be young and vital. Many of you knew my dad before he had a handlebar mustache. I remember buying him mustache wax. I think that all of you knew my dad as “Kep” but to me, he was my dad.
Many of the people of Iowa Falls and Webster City ate my dad’s cooking at the Red Rooster Grill. It was there he taught me to cook, do dishes, run a business, and make coffee. It was there he taught me dedication, responsibility, work ethics, and the importance of wearing a smile in order to make another person’s day a little brighter.
When my dad went from selling food to selling cars many of you were there.You were there when the good times rolled and you were there when they rolled back the other way. We know you were there, not because you had to be, but because you choose to be.
My dad, loved living. He was a generous and loving husband for over 50 years to our mother. Together, they weathered life’s storms and found rainbows. Together, they built bridges and covered them with love. And together, they walked through each moment of each day as he so eloquently portrayed in his poem, “Life’s Partner.”
You might have known “Kep” as the one who told the best joke at a party or the one who loved to play solitaire on the hoods of cars, tell World War II stories, or look in wonder and curiosity as new technology became a part of our every day lives. You might have known “Kep” as the one who loved John Phillip Sousa Marches or recall his recitations from John Adams to “Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy.” However, it was my dad who drove my older sister to Fort Dodge and back every two weeks for seven years when she had braces on her teeth. It was my dad who took me to every Audie Murphy and cowboy movie ever made. That was our Friday night date at the Met Theater. It was my dad who started a citywide collection for new high school band uniforms. It was my dad who went on a letter writing campaign to state and national politicians for “notch babies.” As far as I know, Uncle Sam is still beating the “babies.” It was my dad who searched for the innocents of the fifties in the nineties. It was my dad who instilled in my children the importance of history and the lessons worth learning. It was my dad, whose advice I sought, and whose courage I clinged to. It was my dad who opened my eyes, as a mother, to the acceptance of a child whose dreams were without wings. It was my dad who just two weeks ago bought a new video for his youngest grandchild. He wanted her to learn the most valuable lessons in the world from those who had taught him, the lessons from “The Three Little Pigs.” It was my dad who wrote poetry by finding humor in his ever-aging, ever-handicapping world.
My dad believed in heaven and in a loving God who would remove the pain of the world we know. He believed in the quality of life, not the quantity. My dad had no fear of death. He knew that his time was near and he knew where he was going as he penned in one of his poems, “The Setting Sun.
Each one of us knows people because our lives have sung in harmony somewhere along life’s way. We know that person for the shared experiences we have. I want you to know my dad because he was more than “Kep.” He was more than that sailor, veteran, grocery, restaurant, and dealership owner. My dad had a good life and in that, I find reason to celebrate. You see, my dad may be gone but he’ll always be close to all of the people he loved because he’s in a good place. After all, he’s just over the hill and around the corner.
-
-
The Red Rooster today
-
-
The Red Rooster in the 1950′s
I posted this 1950′s picture of the Red Rooster Grill on Facebook, History of Iowa Falls page with the following message: Does this look familiar to anyone? My parents, Kep and Mary Kepler opened the Red Rooster. Dad, painted the windows ~ freehand every week or so. He also did the windows on the Super Value next door ~ owned by my grandparents. 1950′s.
The next post from fellow Iowa Fallsian, Richard L. Gaulke is so sweet, I wanted to share it on my blog. Here is what he had to say.
Familiar? I guess so!! When I cruised the streets of Iowa Falls late at night in 1955 driving my 1951 really cool baby-blue Pontiac convertible tricked out with white-wall tires, white mud-flaps dotted with ruby reflectors, and a squirel …tail afixed to the radio antenna, I stopped at the “Rooster” to check out the action. A really cute girl and her girl friend were in a booth. Not knowing either girl I, and my male friend, struck up a conversation with the girls and I offered them a “ride home” which they accepted. I and this girl spent hours that night talking as if we had known each other for years. We married in 1956 and will celebrate our 54th anniversary is this June. The Rooster is the place where my happiness started so it will always be special to me. Great image. Thanks.
I replied with: Who was this really cute girl, Richard? I’m sure she still is just as cute.
Richard finished the Iowa Falls, Red Rooster, sweet romance story with: She is my wife, Sharon. We are great-grandparents now and our “cute” has mellowed down into just plain “good looking.”
A farewell kiss
In my hometown of Iowa Falls, hundreds of people were in attendance at a sendoff ceremony Tuesday for about 70 members of the Iowa Falls-based Iowa National Guard C Company of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry.
The soldiers are part of a call-up of more than 3,000 Iowa soldiers in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is being deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Following speeches by dignitaries during a ceremony at in the Iowa Falls-Alden High School gymnasium, and hugs from family and friends, the soldiers left for training at Camp Shelby, Miss. From there, they will be deployed to Afghanistan for one year.
Bike Across IOWA
The oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world is happening right now in the great state of IOWA. In it’s 38th year, RAGBRAI is sponsored by The Des Moines Register.
2010 Route:
Sioux City, Storm Lake, Algona, Clear Lake, Charles City, Waterloo, Manchester and Dubuque (Not this year, but sometime it has gone through my hometown of Iowa Falls)
If you want to be a part of the amazing fun and ride next year you need to register NOW.
(click on images to enlarge)
My friend, Don Eggspuehler lives in Richardson, TX where he is in software sales, management, and consulting. He enjoys his family, traveling, creating home movies, and writing. Don can be contacted at: don@megaflexible.com
