I continue to go through the news articles sent to me by Connie & Ann, and I continue to be surprised by some of the information that contradicts things I've heard for decades from the old timers, worked with in the Manning & Aspinwall Centennial book databases, and have gathered from other sources.
There were also many Manning citizens who reached national awareness...some pretty amazing and surprising.
So read below to find out more about Manning's past...


I have quite a bit of information for Henry but this tidbit provided me with where he enlisted during the Civil War. Henry received the Congressional Medal of Honor and lived in Manning for about 4 decades...

Residents of Michigan
Dr. J.S. Chase, now of Pasadena, California, formerly of St. Louis, Michigan, 105 O.V.I.M.M Brigade
Charles J. Pierce, Company I, 1st Illinois Light Artillery, No 410 Scherer Building, Detroit, Michigan.
Frederic O. Day, Battery I, 1st Illinois Light Artillery, 243, Gold Avenue N.W. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Henry C. Peters, Company B, 47th Ohio Infantry, Manning, Iowa, enlisted at Monroe, Michigan.
Vicksburg Evening Post, Vicksburg, Mississippi October 22, 1917

This account featured next further explained more on what Lyle Gene Strathman endured the last few minutes of his life while serving during WWII.
Even though he died before I was born, I have always felt a special connection to Gene, because of the stories my mother told me about him and some of the school pictures mom had of Lyle, who was her classmate.
It is hard to imagine what Lyle went through as the plane exploded and he, along with several other men on board were trying to jump out of the plane as it was tumbling toward eternity.
This is just one example of why I get very disturbed by the whiners, gripers, protestors, and lazy people today who think they've been mistreated or somehow have it rough today.
Daryl Mohr was another 1941 classmate of Gene's and mom, who died during WWII, but he was KIA.

6 of 12 in Army Plane Blast In Alaska Safe After Long Trek
Six of 12 men on a bomber which exploded over the Alaskan wilderness have reached safety after a 150 mile trek.
In making this announcement today, the War Department said the other six died in the explosion of the B-24 Liberator on September 3 while the plane was flying from the Alaskan mainland to an Aleutian base.
The survivors: First Lieutenant William J. Grace, photographer, Buffalo, New York; Second Lieutenant Robert D. Moss, co-pilot, Chicago; Staff Sergeant Oscar W. Windham, Butler, Georgia; Staff Sergeant Martin Woogen, New York City; Sergeant Robert W. Smith Lafayette, Indiana; Sergeant Llewellyn G. Thiel, Camden, New Jersey.
Those killed: Second Lieutenant Richard R. Chapman, navigator, St. Paul, Minnesota; Second Lieutenant Robert Geatchs, pilot, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Second Lieutenant James S. Lawrence, bombardier, Pacific Grove, California; Technical Sergeant Roy W. Both, a passenger, Chicago; Staff Sergeant Lyle Gene Strathman, radio operator, Manning, Iowa; Sergeant John A. Eubanks, assistant engineer, Kennett, Missouri.
The bomber caught fire, apparently as the result of a broken gasoline line and went out of control 20,000 feet over a 10,000 foot peak, Mount Iliamna. The pilot dived the plane in an attempt to blow out the fire but was unsuccessful. The crew and the passengers donned their parachutes but the plane was in a spin so violent that some of the men could not reach escape hatches and those who did were thrown back into the plane.
At this point, the plane exploded and six of the men, blown clear, parachuted safely.
The six survivors located each other in five days after they started their hike out of the wilderness. On the seventh day, Sergeant Woollen became ill and the party stopped. Lieutenant Grace and Sergeant Smith went ahead and finally found a fishing village. An Alaska bush pilot flew in with a float plane and brought out the survivors.
The Richmond News Leader Richmond, Virginia October 20, 1944


This article provided me more information about Ernest's command.

Other developments at the camp today included.
1. Arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Ernest W. Gruhn, new Intelligence officer of the 38th Division.
2. Instruction of officers attached to the base complement, who are qualified for service with combat troops, to be prepared for transfer.
3. Assignment of Major Chester Hill, Kokomo, Indiana, athletic officer for the 38th Division, to special duty with the air service command in Washington, D.C. He is scheduled to return to Camp Shelby in two weeks for further orders.
Colonel Gruhn, 44, is a native of Manning, Iowa. He came to Camp Shelby from the 18th Infantry, Second Triangle Division, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he was commander of the Second Battalion. Prior to that he was Assistant Intelligence officer of the Panama Canal department of the Army.
Hattiesburg American, Hattiesburg, Mississippi December 12, 1941


This information provided the date and location when Gustav's rank changed from Brigadier General to Major General...

President Roosevelt sent his name to the senate in a list of 28 other army officers to be advanced temporarily to major general or brigadier general. Chennault has been on the air force retired list, with the permanent rank of captain. Whether the volunteer airmen he helped recruit in this country and has long commanded on the Chinese border also will be called into American Army service was not immediately disclosed at the war department. Chennault's home is Waterproof, Louisiana.
Those nominated to be Major Generals included Brigadier General Lewis B. Hershey, director of selective service. He is 48, and his home is Angola, Indiana.
Others promoted included Brigadier General Mark W. Clark, Indianapolis, Indiana, 45-year-old Chief of Staff of the Army ground forces, and three Brigadier Generals who recently were put in command of newly-organized infantry divisions.
The division commanders were Brigadier General Emil F. Reinhardt, Detroit, Michigan, commander of the Sixty-seventh Infantry Division; Ira T. Wyche, a native of Ocracoke. North Carolina, Seventy-ninth Infantry Division, and Gustav H. Franke, a native of Manning.Iowa, commander of the Eighty-first Infantry Division.
Shreveport Journal, Shreveport, Louisiana April 16, 1942


I have quite a bit of information for Henry. He was an early member of Rotary International, and the instigator of Manning's Rotary Club.
He helped design the Manning & Iowa State's water towers and also was involved with the design of the San Francisco Bay Bridge.
If I have it figured out correctly, Henry was a first cousin, twice removed to John Ohde living in Manning. John's dad, Bill Ohde's mother was Frances (Brunnier) Ohde.

The President of Rotary International, Henry J. (Bru) Brunnier was born in Manning, Iowa, and was graduated from Iowa State College. In World War I, he cooperated in organizing and managing the Concrete Ship Department for the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corps. During World War II, he was structural engineer for some of the largest Army and Navy projects on the west coasts of North and Central America.
When the San Francisco Bay Bridge was built, he was a member of the five-man consulting engineers board. He was recently named "The West's Outstanding Engineer" by the Building Industry Conference Board.
Bru has been a member of the San Francisco Rotary Club since 1908 and is a Past President of that club. He has served Rotary International as Vice-President, District Governor, and Committee Chairman.
The Concordia Sentinel Vidalia, Louisiana November 7, 1952


And we think people are wild today!!!

Two Manning, Iowa, women threw black pepper into the eyes of William Morrow, a prominent citizen, and horsewhipped him, on the street, last week. They had been informed by letter that their presence at the local skating rink was objectionable, and laid the writing of the letter to Morrow, who is proved innocent of the charge by the avowal of the rink manager that he wrote the letter.
Vermont Tribune Ludlow, Vermont May 9, 1884


This is something I definitely had never heard of before - especially the Ripley's, "Believe it or Not" aspect.
I'm fairly sure this Herman was the father of Ralph Hagedorn, grandfather of Mark Hagedorn. There were 2 other Hermans, but I don't think they would have been around cattle in Manning.

An iron ball, the size of a baseball was found embedded in the heart of a 2-year-old steer.
By Herman Hagedorn, Manning, Iowa
Monroe Morning World Monroe, Louisiana January 24, 1937


Looking to the west.

The left half would be Deb's Corner Cafe and right half is the business adjacent to the north.
Obviously the wall was added which divides the 2 buildings today.
These 2 accounts have blown away my understanding of the Horseshoe Bar in Manning. The account in the 1981 Manning Centennial book and what I heard from the old timers is that this bar was the "Longest West of the Mississippi" but according to these two 1916 articles, it was the "longest in the world..."
Now obviously that would have been hard to be proven, even in the US, but the account in the centennial book states that the Dubuque Bottling Company had documented it as the longest bar west of the Mississippi.
I also did NOT know that it was the City Council that doomed the bar, and not so much the U.S. Prohibition of alcohol...it was the "outrageous liquor license" the council charged...

END OF LONGEST BAR
Manning, Iowa, December 19

The longest bar in the world, at this place, is being dismantled and soon become a thing of the past. It is, or was, more than 150 feet long and for years was the sole solace of the citizens of Manning in the day when Iowa was in the wet column.
The bar was built in the shape of a horseshoe, being contained in a building about 100 feet long.
The Washington Times Washington, District of Columbia December 19, 1916

To Manning, Iowa, in Its Sad Loss of "Longest Bar in the World."
"The longest bar in the world," located at Manning, in Carroll County, is being dismantled and will soon become a thing of the past. It Is, or was, more than 150 feet long, and for years was the solace of the citizens of Manning in the days when Iowa was in the wet column. Since prohibition has been adopted it, has served as a dispensary for ''near beer" and other soft drinks, but the proprietor, finding this unprofitable, has decided to go out of business, and after January 1, the building will be occupied as a general store.
The bar was built in the shape of a horseshoe, being contained in a building about 100 feet long.
In the old days Manning had many saloons, and a bar such as this was not a necessity. But with the passage of the Moon Bill, limiting the number of saloons to one for each thousand of population, it became necessary to close all but two of Manning's thirst parlors. The city council decided to go the lawmakers one better and cut down the number to one, charging the proprietor $6,000 per year for the exclusive license to sell liquor in Manning. And notwithstanding the excessively high license the business was very profitable, for Manning was an extremely wet town. However, to care for his trade the proprietor was compelled to extend the length of the bar which ran alongside one wall of his building, and the horseshoe bar, said to be the longest in the world, was the result.
The dismantling of the bar and its fixtures, rendering the building hereafter unfit for use as a saloon, is taken by many to mean that the wets have given up all hope of a return of the saloon to Iowa.
The Bangor Daily News Bangor, Maine January 2, 1917


I don't think this is in reference to the 1915 brick paving on Main Street...but may be the preliminary work that began before the city was able to start laying bricks, so I'll have to do some more research.

Left For Iowa Today
George Stevens left for Manning, Iowa, this morning where he will assume the foremanship of a gang of men employed by the Bean-Jones Company, now engaged in paving and other contract work in that city. Mr. Stevens has been employed as foreman on all of the contract work which the Bean-Jones Company have obtained in the Twin Cities, and last night received a wire to come to Manning at once to take charge of a gang of men there.
St. Joseph Daily Press Saint Joseph, Michigan November 19, 1912


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