In 1964, the Carroll County Conservation Board purchased seven acres of land just outside the Manning city limits to form a park for residents of the area and a rest stop for motorists. Willow Creek passed through the park, giving it its name.

The land, purchased from Roger Clark, had previously been used as a dumping grounds and contained some ramshackle buildings. The Conservation Board cleared the site, and built modern restrooms and a shelter house on the grounds. Electricity was provided for campers.

Although vandalism has caused the deterioration of the park in recent years, Conservation Commissioner Dave Olsen is confident the park will be restored. The county and city are now working together to oversee the park and help police activities there, and support in cleaning the area is arriving from members of the community.

Willow Creek Park, located south of Highway 141 on the east edge of Manning, is one of 13 county parks which have been acquired, developed, and maintained by the county conservation board.

Melvin Scholl came to Manning in 1957 to work as a herdsman for the ManCryCo Farms. He brought with him a large collection of HolsteinFriesian memorabilia and his dream of opening a museum dedicated "to the most popular dairy animal in the world".

Scholl's idea found favor with the Manning Chamber of Commerce, the Development Corporation, and the Iowa Holstein Breeders Association, and the museum was opened January 1, 1968 at 507 Main Street. Lauded as the "one and only Holstein Museum on the North American Continent", the museum was soon pinpointed on Iowa and national maps. Scholl became the museum's curator.

Scholl's private collection of historical records, pictures and memorabilia was extended through donations from breeders throughout the United States and Canada.

Among the collection are registration papers of some of the most prominent members of the breed, including those of Minnow Creek Eden Delight, champion lifetime butterfat producer with 12,211 pounds; the "knock-down" milk stool used in milking College Ormsby Burke, the champion lifetime milk producer of the breed, with 334;219 pounds: me show halter worn by Harborcrest Rose Milly. All-time All-American Aged cow; the switch from the tail of Wis Repose, one of the most admired cows of the breed and dam of nine sons which sold up to $30,000; and a copy of the cancelled check for $42,000 written by Rowntree Farms Ltd. of Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, for Glenafton Nettle Benheur Maude, second highest-selling cow of the breed.

Pictures and paintings include a 20x30 inch original oil painting of Pietertje Maid Ormsby, "Mother of the Breed", which was painted by J. Grant Steele about 1908. Leo Bruck of Manning donated an oil portrait of Royal Rue, one of the ManCryCo Farms' top producers.

The story of the Holstein-Friesian is presented against a Dutch motif, with windmills, wooden shoes, and Delftware telling the story of the breed's origins in the lowlands of Holland and North Friesland.

Scholl was born in Rockwell, Iowa, and earned a degree in dairy and animal husbandry from Iowa State University. He had his own herd from 1936 until 1944, and then worked as a herdsman for the Maytag Farms at Newton until 1949.

He authored a history of the Holstein-Friesian breed, and based a novel on his career as a herdsman which was called "Arnewood: The Story of an Iowa Dairyman". Scholl traveled the country to help breeders write their own histories, research registration data, and help prepare animals for sales. Much of his collection was obtained during these trips.

Scholl's health was already failing when he came to Manning, and he died January 11, 1972, at the age of 55.

The dream of the Holstein Museum did not die with Scholl, but has continued through the efforts of several local residents.

The museum, which had begun in a corner of the present Manning Motor building, was to be moved into a permanent site to be built in Manning. Floor plans called for a large lecture hall, offices, display areas, and living quarters for the curator.

When Scholl died, the collection was moved instead to the basement of the newly constructed law office for Hansen, Bunz and Mugan. The display is there today, awaiting a more permanent home. Dr. Walter Felker, president of the non-profit Holstein-Friesian Museum & Historical Association, has part of the collection, including a silver coin specially minted for the museum.

Erwin Hansen, a member of the museum association, continues to give tours to visitors from throughout the world. He answers correspondence about the breed and the museum, and still receives donations for the collection.

A new Town football team was organized under high school coach Carl Schultz October 11, 1924. Harry Reinhold was manager and Austin Navin, captain. The roster included Dillingham and West at ends; Orlo Schelldorf and Kuchel at tackles; Reinhold, Wiese or Foster at tackles; Navin, quarterback; Grelck, fullback; Wiedeman and Weber, halfbacks. Others were Edwards, Mincey, Talbot, Ohde, Frahm, Sley, and Schultz.