Recent feature stories below!


Manning, Iowa
"Home of Pioneer Spirit"
Where independent & rugged-thinking individuals (both past & present) work together to accomplish great things for the community!

Some songs from 1953

Judith Ann Bunz
March 15, 1939 - March 24, 2024
Visitation Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Urbandale
Service Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Urbandale, Wednesday, April 3, 2024
https://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Judith-Ann-Bunz/Des-Moines-Iowa/1891996

More information and pictures coming...

Now I'm starting on Allan Eich's tribute.
Ever hear of "big brothers?" well Allan had 2 of them...

Roger, Allan, Lyle
My dad, Amos Kusel, was a third cousin to the Eich brothers - more details on this once I finish the tribute.
My mother, Dorothy (Ehrichs) Kusel and Lyle Eich graduated in 1941.
So there are all kinds of connections between my family and the Eich family.

As I'm searching my database for "eich" I'm being reminded how many pictures and how much information I've scanned from the Eich families over the years.
When I scan old family collections I concentrate on the scanning process and don't have time to "take in" the historical value it has. When I later use some of this data for tributes, I realize the historical importance of preserving this history which honors those folks who helped build the community we live in now...and even more importantly, all of the hundreds and thousands of people they interact with who have also helped build the town we call Manning.

A specific example is in the Ann Grau tribute - I hope everyone reads the story about Magda Grau and her experiences going through Ellis Island and how she considered herself "I am a very blessed woman."

Working on all of this history over the decades gives me the tremendous pride I have for our community and helps me realize how much we owe our ancestors and the Pioneers before us - how humble we should be for all of the wonderful things that have been bestowed upon us by so many selfless and physically hard-working citizens before us.

Lately people have been contacting me about old Manning pictures, newspapers, memorabilia, school, etc. items - if I want them.
Of course I'll take just about anything old that is about Manning's past that people no longer want - NOT for me to keep for myself or sell, but will eventually go into the Manning Museum I'm working on with another business owner in Manning.
Over the decades, there have been various groups and individuals who made attempts to preserve our area history but eventually they fade and die out.
Also, some of the old stuff those other Manning groups were given didn't meet their interests/standards on what to preserve so many things were thrown away or maybe sold on a sale.
NOT me, I take all the old stuff and can generally determine for sure if it has a Manning connection and would be of interest for a museum.
I don't keep or sell any old history people give me - in fact I'm the only one who has been using my own money over decades to purchase old Manning history to preserve in a Museum.
When people bring me old Manning Monitors, many times I'll have the same issue but what I look for is to see if the name of the person is printed on the newspaper (see scan below). I make sure to keep the ones with names on since that shows who was part of Manning's history.
I always tell people at our libraries/school/city hall, Heritage Park, etc. that if someone brings them old stuff and they don't want it or don't think is has a Manning connection - to take it anyway and let me know...I'll be the one who will be able to determine its connection and historical background to Manning.

I'm also the only one who knows how to and has the professional computer equipment & software to properly digitize and photograph and then take the time to archive the background of that item in the Manning Historical Database I've been building for over 50 years.
Below is a picture that Lynn Kruse brought me. It is grainy and unfortunately no date or location was written on it, other than "Nishnabotna River" that was during a flood...probably 1947 or 1950.
When I zoom in on the high resolution scan, I can see a farm place in the background and 2 bridges. The one is similar to the type of bridges in the county and also a few that were in Manning, but there is another bridge that looks like it would be a railroad bridge but I don't see any of the tracks going away from it.
Anyway, this is the type of old photo that most people see no reason to keep and just throw it - NOT me, I want to scan as many old Manning connected pix I can before they are ALL thrown away or destroyed.


Not sure exactly where this picture was taken along the Nishnabotna Creek.

Robert Kruse MHS 1940

This is what I'm referring to about saving a copy of a newspaper that has the name of the subscriber.
Something no one else would think of in preserving our history...

Now a fourth relative of mine has passed away in the last several weeks.
Larry's maternal grandparents were Matt & Dessa (Kusel) Jensen.

Larry Ruhde
March 21, 1943 - March 23, 2024

Larry Ruhde, age 81, of Carroll, died Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Unity Point Health, Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
Funeral arrangements are pending at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll.

Junior High basketball team - Alan Kusel & Larry Ruhde below were third cousins

Back: Coach Raymond Bechen, Dennis Maasen, Lenny Carstens, Alan Kusel, Dean Grimm, Wayne Jensen, Dave Nelson
Front: Allen Vinke, Jerry Callender, Dave Swank, Dale Hinz, Larry Ruhde


I finished the tribute to Denny Backhaus and Ann Grau's tribute and will follow up with Allan's tribute - hopefully all will be finished today, and we won't lose anymore Manningites for a while.


Allan & his wife Ruth (Schmidt) are very good friends & neighbors (Allan was also my relative on the Grau/Popp side), and helped me a lot with the Manning Schools history book...the kind of folks you call the "salt of the earth."

Allan Eich
March 14, 1935 - March 21, 2024

Washington No. 5

Back: Marilyn Grau, Cyril Meister, Orville Hinze, Shirley Coleman
Front: Lawrence Meister, Robert Meister, Allan Eich, Myra Schroeder

Visitation with Family Greeting Friends will take place from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a rosary held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 25, 2024 at the Sacred Heart Church in Manning.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. with visitation to resume at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at Sacred Heart Church in Manning.
Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Manning.

More pix & information coming...

Does anyone really understand why I go to all of the effort, time, expense, and more to post Manning information???
While many people who take the time to read my information and look at the pix, won't necessarily know who the person/s I feature, if more people would just take a little more time to read and study what I post, they should get the idea that all of these little memories, anecdotal stories, and the like need to be documented by someone - who better than myself with the decades of preserving Manning's history.
So if you have some stories and memories about Manning and hopefully pictures or other visuals to go along with the story, please contact me, so we can get that information preserved in the Manning Historical database.
Thanks,
Dave

While working on the Patty Valentine tribute, I ran into this Monitor ad that was in Roland Valentine's collection I scanned.
I asked him to send me some information about it and it is interesting how little businesses started and evolved decades ago.

B&B TV was a joint venture with Bill Jensen, Jr. after we had graduated from DeVry Tech Institute in Chicago. We located in the back end (walled off from furniture area as I remember) of Bennett’s Furniture Store. Paid no rent, but helped them deliver and serviced things that they wanted serviced (e.g., Easy Spin Washers). We were in competition with Merlene Thompson (also DeVry grad) located in Gambles.
When we decided to open a repair shop, we needed a name but had a problem with whose name would come first if we used names in the title. I suggested B&B TV because with that name, depending on who was asked what the initials stood for, the answer would either be Bake and Bill, or Bill and Bake. Problem solved...note: my nickname at that time, like my dad’s, was "Bake."
I stuck it out for a while but there was not enough business for everybody, so I left it to Bill and relocated to Clovis TV in Clovis, New Mexico, and Radiosmith in Ralston, Nebraska, after Merlene had moved there.

Roland Valentine

Here is a perfect example of why I'm always looking for obituaries of former Manningites, and also encourage people/families today to write up obituaries for their loved ones, even if they requested not to have one - I know that sounds terrible to go against the wishes of a person facing their demise, but obituaries are pretty much the last acknowledgement of a person's life and last honor they will be given.
I also just noticed that Bill was a Veteran who I did NOT have listed in my Veteran database, so now I have to try to find more military information and hopefully some pictures to use as a write-up for the Manning Veterans' book.

Dave Kusel

WILLIAM RAE JENSEN
A memorial service for William Rae Jensen of Van Nuys, California, was held at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel in San Bernardino, California, July 9, 1982, at 1:00 p.m. The Rev. Robert Wood, pastor of the Church of Religious Science, San Bernardino, officiated.

William Rae, son of William J.F. and Minnie (Westphalen) Jensen, was born December 26, 1935, in Manning, Iowa. He was educated in the Manning schools graduating with the class of 1953. He attended DeVry vocational training in Chicago and spent a year in TV repair in Manning.

He and Barbara Blair of Kirkman Were married February 16, 1957. They moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he attended the University of Florida, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

He enlisted in the United States Army and served two years stationed at Waukesha, Wisconsin.

They went to Wilmington, Delaware, where he was employed by DuPont, and lived there one year, then was transferred to their plant in Los Angeles.

They also lived in Texas a short time, then moving back to the Los Angeles area. He was a partner in Novacap Electronics, manufacturing ceramic chip capacitors, the last two years.

He passed away suddenly on a camping trip at Sonora, California, July 4, 1982, at the age of 46 years, 6 months and 8 days.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church all his life.

Survivors include two daughters and a son: Shelli Rae, Mrs. Victor Kelly of West Covina, California, Elizabeth Mason Jensen and William Todd Jensen of Highland, California; a grandson, Mathew Kelly; parents, Mr. and Mrs. William J.F. Jensen, and a sister, Iola, Mrs. Clarence Stammer, Manning.

Mrs. William Jensen and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Stammer attended the services in San Bernardino. They were guests of Barbara and David Koenig of Highland, while in California.


Notice in Merlene's obituary down below that it doesn't mention he repaired TVs here before moving to Ralston - I'm guessing he helped Joe Horbach...not that every detail can be in an obituary but thanks to Roland, that little tidbit about Merlene being in the Gambles store first is not lost forever but now recorded in my database.
After Roland told me this story, I remembered I had a picture of Joe working on a TV in the Gambles store...a picture among a collection of around 300 I scanned in 2004 after visiting with Joe's wife, Mildred, one day about some Manning history questions I had. They had 2 sons, both of whom died before Mil died.
When Mil died in 2008, I tried to find out what happened to her pictures - as far as I have determined - they were thrown away - like you constantly hear from me about people throwing our history all of the time.

Now many people will say to themselves - who cares about the Horbach pictures - well this first photo by Mil is a VERY VERY VERY historically important and prominent picture among several that Mil took and it was in Manning, Iowa...I wonder how many little towns in the US can lay claim to having this sub in their community?

October 1, 1943 on Main Street in front of what is now Cliff's Place

Japanese HA-19 mini sub.
This mini submarine was one that attacked Pearl Harbor and captured afterwards.
On back are 2 propellers - one runs clockwise and the other runs the opposite direction.
The submarine was mounted atop a trailer and toured the United States to help raise US War Bonds during WWII.


Joe Horbach working on a TV in Gambles

Joe & Mildred (Mescher) Horbach in Gambles

415 Main Street - located in what is now the north half of Cliff's Place

Wenzel Locker Plant - November 1946 George Wenzel, Joseph Mescher
Joseph was Mildred Horbach’s father

I hope someday a relative of this family will prove me wrong and let me know Mil's pictures weren't thrown away...for one reason, I'd like to rescan them at a higher resolution and there probably were more Mil didn't show me so they weren't scanned.

So when I write about how one family collection after another ends up getting thrown away by the next generation - even though I hear lots of people say - my family will never thrown their stuff - I have 50 years of examples I can site to prove what I say.
So if you can't see the historical importance of some of Mil's pictures then you really must not care at all about our history, period.
Dave

Merlene J. "Tom" Thompson
Merlene passed away June 11, 2019, in Omaha.
VISITATION: Monday, June 17th from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at West Hills Church, Omaha, Nebraska, followed by SERVICES AT 10 a.m. Interment: Monday, June 17th at 3pm, Manning, Iowa. Memorials are suggested to West Hills Church.

Preceded in death by daughter, Sheri Lynn Thompson; sisters, Joyce Lathrop and Alys McMunn. Survived by wife, Carol L. Thompson; son, Tomas M. Thompson (Tracy); grandchildren: Jenny Gollehon (Chris), Michael Thompson (Alyson), Erin Pulec (Tyler), and Becca Best; great-grandchildren: Tomas, Andrew, James, Timothy, Brooklynn, and Jay; sister, Virginia Drath; brothers-in-law, Bill Sander (Marge) and Burton Sander (Jean).

Merlene, Tom, Tommy, Senior, Grandpa, and Papa are just a few of the names that Tom would answer to over the years. Born April 10, 1935, he was raised on a farm in Manning, Iowa, with three older sisters, Virginia, Joyce, and Alys; children of Merlene and Laura (Steenhusen) Thompson, Sr.
Tom was lucky to be the baby boy of the family and was not lacking motherly love!

His sisters, Virginia and Joyce also doubled as his teachers at country school during his elementary years at Jefferson No. 1 in Crawford County.

When Tom graduated from high school in 1953, he left Manning and headed east to Chicago where he attended DeVry University and from which he graduated two years later. In 1955, Tom moved to Ralston, Nebraska, where he was hired at Radiosmith as a radio and TV technician. Little did he know he would later go on to own Radiosmith and spend the rest of his working years in that very same store.

After starting his new job, he found Carol Sander (the main reason he moved to Nebraska to begin with) and they were married on December 29, 1956. The love he had for Carol was the type of love that everyone dreams of finding - pure, faithful and unconditional. When Tom and Carol were married, Tom also gained something he had never had before…brothers! Carol's brothers Bill (Marge) and Burton (Jean) have been a big part of Tom and Carol's life; whether they were traveling together, golfing together, or just sitting around the dinner table, there was never a shortage of conversation or laughter. Tom and Carol welcomed to the world their son, Tomas, on January 13, 1958 and just a few years later their daughter, Sheri was born on December 12, 1961.

Tom was a loving father who led by example with a life of integrity, honor and humor. Tom felt great heartache when Sheri passed away on October 21, 2013. His love for his family was never doubted as he went out of his way to make each person feel special. This love only grew deeper when his grandchildren Jenny and Mike were born, and then again with the expansion of his family in 2010 when Tom and Tracy were married and Erin (Tyler) and Becca joined the family. He always looked forward to spending time with his great-grandchildren: Tomas, Andrew, James, Timothy, Brooklynn, and Jay. He loved having the kids around-you could just see his eyes light up when they'd find the coins that he had hidden in the couch cushions for them. Tom loved to play golf, spend time with his family, and spice things up every now and then with a practical joke. He was loved and admired by many and will be missed greatly, but we know that he is saving a place for each one of us in Heaven and we will see him again. We will think of you, Grandpa, when we make that tough shot on the golf course or hear a witty joke because we know that you are smiling down on us as we walk through each day of our lives.


I keep thinking about the on-going crusade I have to try to preserve/save Manning's history, and the various comments I've heard from individuals over the decades about throwing away their old pictures and old history.
The sad thing is that no matter what the reason/excuse, lots of individuals are making decisions about their family's history, even if it is specifically about/of that person I visited with, such as someone's parent or grandparent, who decides they don't want their old pictures and history passed along to the next generation - so they just throw it.
Now most people don't want to argue with a relative about these things, especially if the pictures and stuff belongs to and is about that relative, but I often wonder how many children/relatives will try to sit down with that person who wants to throw things and try to explain to them the importance of keeping it - for future generations who would love to have those old pix, documents, and history.
Of course, the other part of the challenge is a lot of children/descendants/relatives don't care about that stuff either, and don't want to have to deal with it when their loved one dies. BUT someday there will be a future relative who will ask "Where is all of our history...the old family and Manning pictures."

Just some "food for thought" before you or someone in your family starts throwing things.
Dave

What's wrong with this picture below?
This was a question I posed for a while to see if anyone else would see the errors.
Now I have it corrected but still continue to ask people to let me know if they see errors in my research.

JoAnn Peters, Janet Ranniger, Gretchen Tank, Karen Reinke, Kay Kuhn, Linda Struve, Carol Ranniger, Joan Ranniger

Thanks to Daru Ross & Gretchen (Tank), they corrected some errors I had.
If you follow the tribute to Donna, just below, you will see where I first had it featured.

In Memory of Donna (Wegner) Venteicher

Click to see the tribute


In Memory of Ann (Littell) Grau
Click to see the tribute


In Memory of Dennis Backhaus

Click to see the tribute


In Memory of Wilma Faye Bogatzke

Click to see the tribute

I finally finished the Valentine tribute - linked down below
I hope Manningites of all ages will look at this tribute - especially those whose parents are of the WWII generation - as I have several unidentified military pictures that Freeland had in his collection. The first one below I don't know and the second one I know but won't list his name here...you'll have to click on the Valentine tribute to find out who he is.
For several of the unknown pix, they are driving me crazy because I'm sure I've seen them before but haven't had time to go through the hundreds of thousands of pictures I have scanned to compare and hopefully the match I might find will be identified.
I've been begging and pleading for anyone connected to Manning to help me with unidentified pictures of all types since I started my web page in 1996 and in the Manning Monitor articles over the decades, but sadly many people either don't recognize their parents/grandparents or just won't take the time to help me.
No one else is going to do this so if you want your relative in the Manning Veterans book with pictures that are identified, then it is going to be up to YOU to contact me and help out...I can only do so much.


Unknown Veteran

I also have an extensive number of Manning Monitor clippings from Patty and a few from Roland's time in school.
For those of you from this era or who had parents or older siblings from this era - take some time to read all of the information...you'll probably find someone you know or something about one of your parents.


While these tributes I create to honor the individual who passed away is the main goal, and the pictures and information is generally about the person/family, so often the collections from those families I scan have lots of pictures of non-family Manningites and this Valentine collection is no exception.
Roland sent me an amazing pictorial history of Manning and its citizens to scan in 2020-21, so please note the various other folks who are featured in this tribute who will give you an idea of how many other people/families interacted with the Valentine family and who were part of Manning's amazing history.

I want to thank Roland & the Valentine family for taking the time to share with me, and now you, their wonderful collection of Manning history to scan.
I hope this will encourage more families to work with me on their history to add to the Manning Historical Database.

Thanks,

Dave


While working on these tributes, I have to figure out the family backgrounds so I can search for pictures and information about the extended family members in my database.
Obituaries are one place I start and then I discover I don't have a lot of obits for a family.
So I ask Connie to see what she can find on the various websites, some free, but others she is a member of and pays for.
Without her work, I would not be able to figure out some of the extended families for these tributes, until she finds obits for me.
I often write about this topic to give credit to Connie and the other "Manning helpers" I have who find obits and other information for me to help figure out more parts of the Manning puzzle.

I also mention in these discussions that relatives and friends are welcome to grab obits for their own personal use, but they are not allowed to then take the information from my web pages and add that information to the commercial and other genealogical/historical websites.
I pay for my domain and web pages and my Manning helpers also spend their own money and time with research to help me.
Those commercial websites can spend their own time and money to find this information - why Manning connected people will give information to those sites and not help me with the Manning database is beyond me...their right to do what they want, but my research is for Manning and NOT to help companies to make money off of other people's work.
I've added several more old obits to my web page that Connie found recently, and is still looking for more...
Dave


Here is an example of how I start with a tribute.
The little boxes are minimized pictures I found with the Valentine name in my database.
Next I'll go through each of them, crop and resize them accordingly and then save them as a file and add the HTML code in the web file that will contain the picture, along with IDs and other information.

Photoshop Elements


Resize the image


Control Pad - edit the HTML code


Microsoft Edge view

I almost want to move to a big city where basically few people know their neighbors and they only know just a few people in their community - when it comes to all of the Manningites passing away anymore.
I had hoped that since the WWII generation is basically gone, that the deaths would slow down for a while but everyone else kept getting older and now we are in the "Baby Boomer" generation which is the largest generation now getting older and the number of deaths seem to be occurring faster now.
Here are two more former Manningites who have recently passed away.
Dale Hinz, and just today Roland Valentine e-mailed me that his sister, Patty, passed away this morning (March 11).
Roland is curious who is still living in the MHS class of 1948...
Merlyn Rostermundt is one member that I know of who is living.
So I'll be working on their tributes, along with Robert Snyder's tribute over the next few days.


Patty (Valentine) Johnston tribute


I won't have a lot of pictures of Dale Hinz.
His family moved before he graduated - he was a Former MHS 1961 member
Junior High Basketball

Back: Coach Raymond Bechen, Dennis Maasen, Lenny Carstens, Alan Kusel, Dean Grimm, Wayne "Butch" Jensen, Dave Nelson
Front: Allen Vinke, Jerry Callender, Dave Swank, Dale Hinz, Larry Ruhde

Dale Hinz

Click to see the tribute

Robert "Bob" Snyder

Click to see the tribute

There was a nice crowd at the Heritage Park event but I wish more area folks would attend events like this. It is a "social" event where people actually talk to each other in person and not constantly waste away their lives with those gadgets on so-called "social" media sites, that way too many people have their heads buried in today...
Especially the younger folks who are inheriting this community. If they want the quality of life we have now to continue, they are going to have to step it up a lot more.

St. Patrick's Day - Hausbarn Cookoff

Where distinguished folks go to have a good time!!!
German ancestry may be prominent in Manning but we can celebrate and have fun with the cultures of other people.


Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Jean Stadtlander, Tim Weible

Brenna spoke briefly and commented how Manning is a good example for other communities to follow, with all of the amazing infrastructure and community events we have here.
She took a tour of the hospital, and also commented at how amazed she was with indoor pool and waterslide that a little town like Manning has.
Also during the evening on multiple occasions, all of the volunteers it takes for events like this were acknowledged by various speakers.
Jean & Tim, above, are just two of the wonderful volunteers Manning has and without all of them we wouldn't have the "quality of life" that exists in Manning today.

More pix and information coming - IF I can find some extra time.

We lost another Manningite on March 9th, so another tribute is coming in the next few days...

Thanks to Diane (Dalgety) Genzen for alerting me about the passing of her classmate, Dale Jansen.

Dale Jerome Jansen
December 6, 1938 - February 22, 2024

Click to see the tribute

Tim Kienast was sure this isn't Marlene Ruhde who was identified on the right side of this picture.

Herb Groteluschen, Everett "Butch" Himes, Lou Bohnsack, ??
In 2009, Jon Groteluschen sent me quite a few of his pictures to scan and then again in 2021, he sent me many of his albums and pix to scan. He wanted to make sure they would be preserved and that his children probably wouldn't have much interest in keeping most of them after he was gone.
Anyway Jon helped identify most of his pictures and thought the lady on the right was Marlene Ruhde.
He thought a Marlene Schrum also worked in this grocery store but wasn't sure.
Tim had Pam Sebring look at this picture and she said her mother didn't work at the Groteluschen grocery store and this wasn't her mother (Marlene Ruhde) but thought the unknown lady might be Madelyn Younie.
I can't find a picture of Madlyn right now, but below are pictures of her sisters, Pauline and Audrey for comparison.


Everett "Butch" Himes, Lou Bohnsack, ?Madlyn (Cramer) Younie?

LaRue Dietz, Audrey (Cramer) Olsen

Pauline (Cramer) Graves 1966

So if anyone can help - please let me know.
Dave Kusel
If you can help with IDs please
e-mail Dave Kusel

If you didn't see Jon's tribute the first time around or just wasn't interested - I would encourage you to look at all of the wonderful pix & documents Jon sent to me to scan. It wasn't his ego why he wanted me to digitize his stuff, but his pride in the Manning community he grew up in and to preserve just a little part of that history.
Be sure to click on the "Articles" links - you'll see some amazing newspaper articles I scanned from Jon's collection.
Not many people will take the time to help me with Manning's history, like Jon did...

Groteluschen history

1981 Manning Centennial book
MANNING FOOD MARKET
According to records, one of the early pioneers in the grocery business was A. Young, who owned a stock of goods in the food business. November 23, 1887, he sold his stock to E.E.A. Brunnier and J.H. Burmeister. This was shortlived and on December 8, 1887, Brunnier purchased Burmeister's interest. He managed the store for many years. The next owners were the Kleespies Brothers, Leo and Henry. In 1928 Frank Ehrichs purchased Leo's interest and the store became Kleespies and Ehrichs. Ehrichs became the sole owner in 1930. This store carried a complete line of general merchandise, dry goods, groceries and meats. Vincent Wehr managed the meat department for Ehrichs, who also had a general merchandise store in Aspinwall. In 1936 Olson Brothers of Audubon purchased the store and it was managed by Herb Groteluschen. December 1945, Herb purchased the store and operated it under the name of Manning Food Market. Clerks were Lou Bohnsack, Leola Gray and Jack Junge.

The store, located at 324 Main, was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Walt Baker in 1965. To allow for expansion to a growing business, the store was moved to the former Ohde building at 320 Main Street in 1972. After the untimely death of Walter Baker, the store was continued by his wife, Genevieve and son, Ron. They carry a complete line of fresh and frozen foods, staples of all kinds and have an excellent meat department. The clerks at the present time are Fern Ramsey, Minnie Dales, Harold Baker, Charles Laverty and Ralph Grundmeier.

This has been a continuous grocery business since before 1887 and is still a thriving asset to the community.

Note: at the time of the Baker operation - there were 4 different grocery stores in Manning - some food for thought for today!


As I also write about quite often, one of the big reasons why I like to work on and preserve Manning history is because of all of my connections to it...Frank Ehrichs mentioned in the story above was my great-uncle who lived in Aspinwall...the birth place where my mother grew up.

As I worked on the Ross and N&B feature I noticed the name of Emil Albert as a partner with F.D. Ross. I always check to see if I have an obituary when I see an old name and sure enough I didn't have Emil's obit and several other of the Albert family. This family name is very often misspelled as Alberts...
So I asked Connie to search and she found an obit for Henry Albert.
When I go through a page of the newspaper, I check for other Manning connections and sure enough I noticed the name of Nady and Bunz.
So I grabbed those articles and converted them to text.
Then I noticed I didn't have any obits for the Nady family and after searching the Internet got lucky and found obits for that family.
Then I noticed that Gary Nady was in the Navy. I didn't have his name listed in my military database so I asked Connie to see if she would look for some military information...she found a little but then discovered a very interesting tidbit of history. Gary was married for a short while to 1958 Miss America.
So I'm going to add some more of this recently discovered information down below.
While a lot of Manning history is "out there" somewhere on the Internet, it mostly has no connections back to Manning. Many times the people, even if they are connected to Manning are posting stuff but don't have a clue as to the minutiae in an article or picture.
Only because of working on Manning history for over 50 years am I able to "see" things most other people will miss or not have a clue about.


Henry Albert obit and to the left I noticed Hannes Bunz.
My dad was a silent partner with Hannes in the International Harvestor business in Manning.
I remember dad talking about this accident when we would use the torch around barrels and other items with possible explosives.

Then I noticed this article at the top of the page - Nady jumped right out at me...

Below is part of that article about Nady.

Nady, Manning, Wins 2 Heats in Preliminaries
Gute, Knight of Carroll Fail to Place in State Track Meet
By Howard Brants (Sports Editor) AMES
Manning's Gary Nady, four-sport star, won his heat of the 100-yard dash in 10.7 and came back to win his heat in the 220 in 23.7. He is regarded as a possible double winner.

I won't post the obits for Gary's parents here as they can be found in my obituary page linked on the left, but I'll show some snippets of information from my database about the Nady family below.

1981 Manning Centennial book
Early members of the Little Flower Club were Isabelle Smith, Caroline Clark, Vera Fink, Alice Wehrmann, Leta Foley, Irma Bromert, Bernadette Peters, Edna Kuhl, Lorraine Neubaum, Jennie Nady, Vivian Hoffmann, Florence Bock, Regina Mohr, Veronica Timmerman, Helen Horn, Shirley Zentmeier, and Agnes Zerwas.
LITTLE FLOWER STUDY CLUB
Twenty-one members of a sewing circle of Sacred Heart Parish with the encouragement of their pastor, Rev. Father J.J. Keane, met at the home of Mrs. Arthur Bock, on February 13, 1935, with the intention of forming a study club, and combining it with the sewing activities. They chose the name "Little Flower Study Club" in honor of Saint Theresa, for the group. Mrs. A.H. Hinz was elected its first president, and Mrs. Frank Mentzer, the first secretary-treasurer.

In November of 1935 the sewing circle was discontinued, and Mrs. Arthur Bock became the new president, Mrs. Melvin Jentsch, vice president and Mrs. Joseph Horbach, secretary-treasurer.

The club meets in the homes every first and third Wednesday of the month, from October through May. It is active in community affairs, principally in its support of the Public Library.

Charter members include Isabel Smith, Florence Bock, Rose Nickum, Helen Kleespies, Mrs. Navin, Louise Jentsch, Flossie Hunter, Anna Enenbach, Alice Wehrmann, Mrs. Brady, Mildred Horbach, Nina Mentzer, Mrs. Butel, Pearl West, Antonia Hinz, Agnes Zerwas, Edna Kuhl, Mrs. Wilfong, Mrs. Claussen, Regina Mohr and Margaret Brady

1981 Manning Centennial book
Xavier Clifford Nady, ATTORNEY
X.C. Nady, attorney, came to Manning in 1949 and practiced here for a short time before accepting an appointment with the federal Office of Price Administration.
He was occupied in this position for several years and then located at Tipton, Iowa.


Former Miss America 1957 Marian McKnight kisses Van Derbur upon her Miss America 1958 victory.
Miss America 1958 Weds Grid Coach
Miss America of 1958, Marilyn Van Derbur, married her college sweetheart, Gary Nady, Thursday night with more than 2,000 guests and spectators packing St. John's Catholic Church.
The couple left for a month-long honeymoon after a champagne supper and a country club reception. A double ring ceremony climaxed a romance that began when she was freshman and he a sophomore football star at the University of Colorado. She was a sophomore in 1957 when she won the beauty pageant.
Nady, 27, is the son of a Tipton, Iowa, attorney. He is football coach and a political science instructor at Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, where the newlyweds will make their home. "We dated during my freshman and sophomore years," the 23-year-old bride said when they announced their engagement on Christmas Day 1959.
"After I was crowned Miss America, I didn't see Gary as much, since I was traveling all over the country. That was enough to make up my mind. Ever since then, I've Just been trying to persuade him."
Miss Van Debur broke off the engagement less than three months after the first announcement. At the time, she was doing television commercials, making personal appearances and continuing her studies at the university, where she was graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa.
"Gary and I just weren't able to work things out," she said at the time. "Gary's a wonderful fellow, and we're still good friends."
Then, last March, the former Miss America disclosed they had patched up their troubles and added: "We always knew we'd be married. It never really was off."
The blonde beauty is the youngest of four daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Van Derbur. He is a wealthy businessman and civic leader who operates rates mortuaries here.
They were divorced in 1961.

Photo I purchased on E-bay to add to the Nady history...

As I mentioned above, Gary served in the Navy and Connie found this short article about his service.
Hopefully a family member will find this article and work with me to get some military pictures and information to use in the Manning Veterans' book, but unfortunately both Gary's brother and sister have passed away.

Gary Nady

Midshipman, US Navy


Gary Nady, Manning, In Inaugural Parade
Gary Nady, son of Mr. and Mrs. Xavier C. Nady, marched in the inauguration parade Tuesday with a navy unit from the Bullis Preparatory School from Silver Springs, Washington.
Bullis is a prep school for the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. The Manning youth is a former three-sport star on Manning's athletic teams.
Carroll Daily Times Herald, January 21, 1953

GARY AUSTIN NADY
Gary Austin Nady, 81, surrounded by his loving family, peacefully took God's Hand and went from this life to everlasting life on Sunday March 8, 2015.
He was born on February 23, 1934, to Jennie Wray and Xavier Nady in Fairfield, Iowa.
He is predeceased by his parents, brother Xavier Wray Nady, and sister Charmian (Nady) Carlson.
He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Michelle (Heiner) Nady. His children Ron Nady, Libby Lynch and husband Peter, Jenny Montgomery and husband Monty, and Scott Nady and wife Ronnica. His adoring grandchildren, Peter, Jack, Reid, Phoenix, Max, Michael, Nico, Ceci, Caro, and Sebastian.
He graduated from Manning High School in 1952, then attended Bullis Prep and The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He received a football scholarship to University Of Colorado at Boulder and was a member of the 1957 winning Orange Bowl team. He treasured his years there earning a BS, MS, and was president of the Sigma Nu House.
He married Michelle Heiner in June 1962 in Los Angeles, California.
He had a successful career at The Dallas Apparel Mart for over 30 yrs. He distinguished himself in sales and management receiving many awards and honors.
A devoted husband, adoring father, and proud "Papaw," he deeply loved his family.
He was a constant presence on the athletic fields of his children and grandchildren and loved cheering them on. He was always happiest when surrounded by his family. His larger-than-life presence will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Memorial mass will be celebrated at St. Rita Catholic Church on Inwood Rd. on Saturday March 21 at 2pm.

Now I'll show some pix & information from Gary's days at MHS...

1952 No loss until sub-state finals

Back: Larry Kasperbauer, Claus Bunz, Richard Rix, Russell Spies, Ken Graves, Lyle Frahm, Roger Vollstedt, Lowell Stribe
Front: Coach Ray Walder, Richard Zerwas, Roger Nielsen, Gene Martens, Gary Nady, Deanes Rowedder, Head Coach Larry Gillespie

1951

Back: Ray Walder coach, Roland Valentine, Allan Eich, Pete Petersen, William Richards, Jack Mohr, Duane Monson, Wayne Vennink, Larry Gillespie head coach
Middle: Richard Mullennax, Willis Kruse, Dick Zerwas, Roger Nielsen, Roger Vollstedt, Deanes Rowedder, Russell Spies, Larry Kasperbauer
Front: Gary Nady, Fredric Dethlefsen, Merlin Ramsey, Robert Neubaum, Art Zerwas, Richard Rix, Alan "Goose" Vennink, Claus Bunz, Lowell Stribe, Kenneth Graves, Raymond Christensen

1951

Back: Larry Gillespie coach, Richard Rix, Roger Nielsen, Dick Zerwas, Deanes Rowedder, Roger Vollstedt, Art Zerwas, Ray Walder
Front: Gary Nady, Merlin Ramsey, Claus Bunz, Robert Neubaum, Allen Vennink, Lowell Stribe, Kenneth Graves, Raymond Christensen

Poem from the Barb Nielsen collection
Down yonder on the basketball floor
Oh, watch our boys just doll up the score
It's a team that's got some steam, it's ten in a row
A basket here a basket there, just watch the team go
More and more, we're cheering more and more
Every time they flip it in, we're sure to win
Down yonder over Mapleton way
They say that they know just how to play
But Nady and Nielsen and Zerwas and Martens and Rowedder,
Oh, how they play.


I've added a ton of pictures and information to several of the features shown/linked below.
I hope people will take the time to look at the pictures, read all of the information, and more importantly - appreciate what they are able to view on my web pages - show me another web page that can cover the history of a specific community like you find here...
Dave

Daru Ross just e-mailed me the major clue I needed to find N & B Motor Company in my database which was probably where I saw this business name in the past.
I found one entry from the Centennial book which gave me a year so now I asked another one of my Manning helpers to see if she can find some newspaper articles.
If anyone else has memories of this business - feel free to e-mail me...


N & B Motor Company light switch cover
I'm sure I've run into this business name years ago but can't find it in my database right now.
Any help with who N and B are and where their business was located - please let me know.
One of Joann (Wilhelm) Pratt's daughters purchased it in the New Hope mall about 15 years ago in Manning.

Below is another item I purchased off e-bay - from someone in Des Moines. I paid way more for it than I generally want to, but it is a very unique item I've never run into before and my mother played for his funeral...ironically the year of the map is 1923, the year my mother was born.
I often write about why I want to preserve Manning history because so much of it is my family's history...with so many connections.
The cover of the map measures 2 x 3.5 inches, and the map, when unfolded, measures about 9 x 12 inches.


The map folded up inside the cover.

Here is a cropped out image where Manning is on the map.

It is even downsized some from my original high resolution scan.
I did some digital touch up and repair to clean up the worst of the marks, scratches, and damage.

In Memory Of WILLIAM BAUER

Born May 1, 1891 Friedrichskoog, Holstein, Germany
Entered Into Rest September 20, 1965 at home, Manning, Iowa
Age 74 years, 4 months, 19 days
Services Held At Zion Lutheran Church - Manning, Iowa Wednesday, September 22, 1965, 11 A.M.
Clergyman Pastor Edward F. Heinicke
Dorothy Kusel, organist
Interment Arcadia Cemetery
Pallbearers Lee Peters, Elmer Stoffers, Albert Bauer, Lester Peters, Vernon Peters, Henry Stoffers


Fredrich Wilhelm "William" Bauer
Funeral services for William Bauer, 74, will be held Wednesday, September 22, at 11 a.m. in Zion Lutheran Church, with Pastor Edward Heinicke officiating. Burial will be in the Arcadia Cemetery.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Bauer, he was born May 1, 1891, in Friedrichskoog, Holstein, Germany. He came to the United States in 1905 and located near Westside, where he worked on various farms. He was married to Marie C. Brockmann in Omaha on September 16, 1914. They farmed near Arcadia and Manning for 10 years. He then operated F.W. Bauer & Company garage with his brother-in-law, Alfred Brockmann, in Manning, and later operated taverns here. He retired 10 years ago.

Mr. Bauer died early Monday, September 20, 1965, at his home in South Manning, following a two-week illness.

He is survived by his wife; a sister, Mrs. Fred (Sophie) Stoffers, Arcadia; two brothers, Adolph Bauer, Auburn, and Louie Bauer, Carroll; and brothers and sisters in Germany.

He was preceded in death by three children in infancy, and several brothers and sisters.


Jim Stoffers reminded me I have a digital group picture he gave to me that came from Betty (Peters).

Paul Werner, Henry Peters, Bill Bauer, and Hannes Stoffers, on board a ship returning home after visiting family in Germany in 1929.

F.D. Ross & Co. Of Manning Sold To Des Moines Firm
Fred D. Ross & Co., Manning Ford dealer, has been sold to Mainline Motors, Inc. of Des Moines. The company, one of the oldest Ford dealerships west of the Mississippi, has been operated in Manning for 44 years, beginning business September 1, 1914.
Dwight E. Parkinson has been named manager of the firm. His family will move to Manning following the holidays.
Carroll Times Herald, December 9, 1958
N&B Motor Company
Nick & Barney
Dwight "Parky" Parkinson - hired to manage the business
Parkinson Buys N&B Motors, Inc.
Dwight Parkison, Manning, who has managed N&B Motors, Inc. for a year and a half, has purchased controlling interest in the firm.
He is now president and general manager of the corporation, a home-owned Ford dealership.
Carroll Times Herald April 25, 1960

F.D. ROSS CO. BUYS LOTS
The Manning Monitor March 27, 1919

A business deal was made yesterday whereby Herman P. Hansen sold his lots just back of the Rostermundt & Kuhl Hardware Store to the Fred D. Ross Co. at the consideration of $6,500. These are desirable lots and more than one business man has had his eyes on them. It is not known what the owners may do with them but in a year or two erect thereon a big brick building.

Aspinwall Co-Op's Annual Meeting Set At Manning June 22
The annual meeting of the Aspinwall Co-op will be held at Fireman's Hall in Manning June 22 at 8 p.m.
Special programs are planned for both men and women attending the meetings according to Robert Schilling, manager. Lunch and door prizes will also be offered.
During the past year, the Co-op opened a new store at Gray and this week purchased the F.D. Ross & Co. Petroleum business in Manning, from August Ross. The firm had been in business for 39 years.
Orla Peters has been retained by the firm as tank wagon operator, to service customers in Manning and Gray.
Carroll Times Herald, June 19, 1959

F.D. Ross & Co.
Fred D. Ross started his garage business September 1, 1914, in the Peter Ohrt building he sold half interest to Jack Bald, assuming the firm name of F.D. Ross & Company, under which name it operates today. In 1918, the two partners sold one third of their holdings to Emil Albert.
In 1919, Fred D. Ross purchased the site for their large building on the corner of Third and Center Streets (picture immediately below shows that area) and erected the building now occupied. In 1928, Jack Bald sold his interest to August Ross, who has been employed by the firm since 1916 as mechanic, then salesman; with the exception of two years he served in World War I.
F.D. Ross, A. Ross, and Emil H. Albert were then business partners. Emil Albert passed away in 1933 and Raymond Ross, son of F.D. Ross, was taken into partnership in 1937.
F.D. Ross passed away April 1, 1939. Since that time A.J. Ross, Ray Ross, and Elizabeth (Mrs. F.D.) Ross have operated as partners in business.
This authorized Ford dealership also sells Sinclair products and Philco appliances.
Manning Monitor August 16, 1956

Model T Ford driving west on Third Street from Center Street pre-1915 as there are no bricks yet
Homes left to right: John Lewis next to the water tower, then Herman Hansen, Enenbach family home west side of Center Street.

2 homes and vacant lot where the new FD Ross garage would be built.
These 2 pictures came from the Fred & Alice (Lohmeier) Grau collection I scanned in 2006.

1917 Butzie Albert in Ford on 3rd Street in same area as above.
F.D. Ross ledger: 1934 Ford St. [standard] Tudor's: John Mohr, John Zitzelsperger, J.M. Nagl, Selby E. Livingston
John H. Mohr grandfather of Michele Mohr is on the far left

Few people will know about these amazing "Ford Days" in Manning, Iowa.
Fortunately, I've been gathering Manning history for decades and have compiled quite a database to show people today what went on decades ago in our amazing little town and in this event below, 102 years ago!
Ford Day October 5, 1922
12,000 people
10:00 a.m. start with selections by Manning band.
Ford Parade (parade of Ford cars 3 blocks long).

Classes in parade:
Beautifully decorated -- Merlin Wyatt
Oldest Model -- 1909
Shimmying Ford -- F.D. Ross --- driven by Emil Jensen
Car coming the farthest -- Louie Jam (Jahn?) 375 miles
Car bringing largest family -- Max Steckleberg, Manilla
Car bringing 4 generations -- Jacob Kuhl
Most people in the car -- Charley Ramsey 13
Car with the tallest people -- Jacob Kuhl 5 people
Car with most oldest people -- Harry Ohm 5 average age of 85 (all were Manning settlers)
Homeliest man in parade -- Ed Roggish
Worst looking Ford in parade -- F.D. Ross Co.
The crowd was entertained after the parade by "The Hamiltons" and "Arial Woods" acrobats and tumblers.
Dan "Devil" Hart from Florida did daring tricks while flying over Manning at noon.
Booster clubs from Omaha (30), Carroll (137) and Denison (98) arrived about 1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. Industrial parade led by Carroll's band.
Manning Business firms had floats spreading 3 blocks followed by the Denison band.
At the end of parade was the Manning band followed by industrial floats.
Each band later gave a concert.
1st place to Manning
2nd place to Carroll
3rd place to Denison
4:30 p.m. Manning Fire Department answered a call to put out a fire at the north end of Main Street to demonstrate their new truck.
The next event was the presentation of the Fords.
Lucky persons were Laura (Grau) Alwill of Manning and Mr. Conroy of Manilla.
Note: Laura Alwill was Dave Kusel's great-aunt
There was a pavement dance until the dance at the Opera House started.
This was the first celebration Manning has had since the homecoming celebrations of the WWI soldiers.

Walter Donald Felker

Click to see the tribute

I don't think most people truly understand or appreciate the importance of preserving our history and why I constantly plead for people to send me their old Manning pix & history to scan and archive in my Manning Historical database…
To friend of Allen,
One of the reasons I post tributes to Manning folks who pass away is for just this very situation.
(message shown down below from an old friend of Allen Dammann and she has been trying to locate him after many years)
Even with all of the ways people have today to keep in touch, true communication is almost lost...the ability to visit with people in person without using some technological device.
While my web pages are part of that technology, I've learned throughout my life that preserving our history - our stories are what ties us together.
Every person affects almost countless numbers of individuals as they travel throughout their lives. Most people don't stop to think of this interaction and most of us aren't even aware how we influence people around us - some for the good and some bad.
I watched Allen grow up from a young kid to young adult and saw so many ways he influenced people around him and the video taping he got involved with me was just one way. He had so many crazy, ingenious, and unique ideas but also the other students and adults who helped me with the taping and live programing we provided for this little town of Manning on Channel 2 in the 1980s.
This was way before the Internet, youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. and unfortunately before the digital age, so the analog videos I have aren't the quality we have today but very precious and unique so many decades later.
I don't know if you had a chance or were able to open the videos but try to watch the 1987 commencement video.
https://www.davidkusel.com/temp20/dammann/dammann.htm
Allen gave the class introduction and his mannerisms show up so well and his voice is just like hearing him from so long ago.
While this is analog video converted to digital, it is still great to have even little snippets of Al's life recorded and documented for all time...
I've had several other of Al's friends find out about his death through my web pages since his passing, and got them in contact with his family.

Dave Kusel

Dear Dave,
February 25, 2024

I came across your page while trying to find information about Allen Dammann, whom I met in New York in 2008 and became good friends with. Eventually, we both moved, he first going to Maine to be near his sister, but we had always kept in touch.
I had been trying in vain to contact him by email and phone for years now, and I had been fearing the worst. Yesterday I was thinking again about one of the numerous walks we took in Manhattan together, and so I decided to try a web search again. I'm not sure why I hadn't come across your website before, but I did now. I read it with a heavy heart.
I am grateful to you for maintaining your page and for paying tribute to Allen. Like you said, he was an ingenious and witty person, one of the brightest and funniest minds I've met. I am incredibly saddened by knowing he's no longer with us, and having departed so young.
Do you know what caused his death? And would you know where in NYC his ashes were scattered? I'd like to pay homage to him next time I visit the city. Also... would you know what happened to Troubles? I reckon if she's still alive (I recall feeding her sometime in the early 2010s while Allen was out of town), she may be living with his sister. He absolutely loved that cat.
Thank you again for helping me bring closure.
I wish you all the best in all your endeavors!
Thank you for everything, and my best regards to folks in and from Manning!
Friend of Allen Dammann

A note from Harriet Gross:
Dave:
Just happened to see your inquiry regarding Robert & Marian Melick. Lyle & I were very good friends of the Melicks when they lived in Manning and I still correspond with them at Christmas time. Yes, Bob is 91. Two years ago they moved to a retirement community in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.
They had three children - David, Gary, and Nancy. They moved from Manning in 1969, so none of their kids graduated from Manning schools.
So appreciate all you do to keep Manning's history alive, even though I am not a Manning native. Last fall I moved to be closer to my daughter, but I really do miss living in Manning. It is a special place!

Harriett Gross

Does anyone remember Robert Melick's wife's name?
His name came up in the Huldeen tribute linked below so I searched for him and his obituary and ran into several Melicks of the approximate age-group and if I knew his wife's name it might help in determining if I found "our" Robert Melick.

It never dawned on me that Robert and his wife are still living. I was thinking they would be in the 100 age range but one of my Manning helpers found information that his wife is Marian Pippitt and they were married in 1957 and last living in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
I found a Marian Melick and a Robert Melick both living in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas and she is listed as being born in 1935 and Robert in 1932.
Assuming they were 20 when they were married in 1957, that puts these 2 in the approximate time-frame.
Maybe someone in their family will see this message and confirm my suspicions...


Robert Melick

Nancy Melick, 1970 - I assume this is Bob's daughter.
She would have been a member of the 1981 class.
So if anyone knows where the Melicks ended up, which would help narrow down my search and the other family members names - please let me know.

I'm always looking for obits of former Manningites, including teachers and other folks who once lived here but moved away...they are also a big part of Manning's history.
Dave

Does anyone know the location or contact information for Charles Scott who taught mathematics at Manning in 1972?
He was a Vietnam Veteran and I'd like to get some military information/pix for him to add to the Manning Veterans' book.
For that matter, any teacher at Manning who served that you know of their whereabouts - please let me know.
The list of Manning connected names who served keeps growing almost daily.

Please visit the Manning Exchange for local news, articles, and information...a work in progress.

Many upcoming events.

Korean War Veterans continues


There are lots of Manning Veterans of the Korean era with no pictures or information.
Will you be in the Manning Veterans' book???
Unless more post-WWII Veterans come forward there will be a lot of 1946 to present day Manning connected Veterans missing from the book.

For those of you who are occasional visitors to the Manning Exchange - please make sure to click on the "archived articles" section where previous featured stories are kept.

Click to visit the Manning Exchange

1 example from the Logeland Studio wedding packets.

There are still quite a few Logeland Studio wedding packets available.

Click to read about this important project.

It will help to financially support the Manning Veterans' history book project.

"Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen."
George Washington, August 7, 1782

Just as a reminder: the Manning History book committee continues to work on a Manning area Veterans' history book project.
For those of you who are Veterans or have/had Veterans in your family - will you come forward?
The history book committee will do their best to get as many pictures and information about the 1000+ Manning Veterans but we can't do it all by ourselves.

How many small communities do you know have published 5 history books? The first one was the History of Manning 1898, then the 1981 Manning Centennial book, next the 2006 Manning Quasqui book, and most recently the 2009 Manning School history book. Probably the last book to be published will be the upcoming Manning Veterans' book - unless someone comes forward in the next generation to take over these projects after I'm gone. Will you help with the Veterans' history book project? If you are a Manning connected Veteran or are presently serving and do not submit your military connected pictures and infomation you probably won't be in this once-in-a-life-time Manning Veterans' history book. With a limited number of volunteers we can only do so much on our own but will try to get pictures of as many Veterans as we can. There are over 1000 Manning Veterans so we have a long ways to go before the book can be published.

Manning Veterans are slowly coming forward and below is another example. We hope to eventually get more pictures and information for Mike to put in the book but for now this is what I have to show to you.

Amos Rutz WWII

One thing that many Veterans and people who are submitting information have not fully understood is that this next Manning history book is specifically a Veterans' only book. It won't be like the Centennial or Quasqui history books were, where there is a Veterans' section along with other community aspects. We are aiming for a 2-volume book (around 1090 total pages) which will really be unique!!!
This book will be ALL Veterans' information (and the post auxiliaries) - hence it won't be a "Name, Rank, and Serial Number" only history but we want a complete history for each Veteran.
For instance - below is Louis Boell's picture and the information that was published in the Veteran section of the 1982 Aspinwall Centennial history book. It has the basic information but we are looking for more and I spoke to Louie by phone and he sent more pictures and information - also for his brothers.

To see what Louis submitted click on the link underneath "Are you a Manning Veteran" shown below.

Note: we also want some family background such as parents and grandparents. All too often you will only see just the Veteran's name with their basic military information but without the family connections it will be difficult for future historians and genealogists to know for sure who this person belongs to.

Are you a Manning connected Veteran?
I would like to hear from you!!!
We are starting a Manning Veteran history book project and if you don't come forward you may not be included in the book. NOT because we want to intentionally leave you out but because you didn't come forward.
Same goes for those of you who have Veterans in your family who have passed away. If you don't come forward and help by submitting Veteran connected pictures and information your Veteran may not be included in this once in a life-time Manning Veterans' history book.

Please e-mail me about your Veteran questions manningveterans@davidkusel.com


The United States flag
is proudly displayed here and NO other flag is as IMPORTANT!

1 Manning citizen served in the War of 1812
104 served in the Civil War
1 served in the Indian War
5 served in the Spanish American War
350+ served during WWI
650+ served during WWII
87+ served in the Korean war era
65+ (more names need to be found) served in the Vietnam era
55+ (many more names need to be found) served from 1975 to present

29 paid the ultimate price with their lives defending the U.S. Flag

Are you a Manning Veteran?
Are you currently serving and have a Manning connection?

We are starting the Manning Veterans' history book project
Don't wait until you see "Deadline" or it WILL be too late!!!

Click to read promos for the Veteran book


There are a lot of WWI and some WWII Veterans pictures with no IDs.

Before you spend time scanning pictures
please look at these instructions
I appreciate your efforts scanning pictures for me but if you only make low resolution scans you are really wasting your time. High resolution scans are the best and only way to really preserve those old pictures.

Click to see the tutorial

If you simply don't want those old family pictures you inherited please don't throw them - send them my way.
A lot of times I can recognize a face or location in those old pix.


One thing to keep in mind while you are looking for pictures - if they are glued in old scrap books please do NOT try to pull them out or cut them out. I can scan the whole page of the scrapbook and crop out the pictures you want to use in the book. If you attempt to forcibly remove the pictures you will probably damage them and when I scan them that damage will probably show up. This means I'll either have to use my graphics program to touch up the damage which can take a lot of time, or if they are badly damaged I just may not even take the time to scan them.


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