Christmas in Ricketts

Kirschsuppeabendessen; St. Luke's Annual Soup Supper

St. Luke Lutheran Church 
(Triple Parish), Rickets

Annual LWML Soup Supper

October 24
5-7 PM

Vegitable-Beef, Chili,

and traditional German favorite; Kirschsuppe (Cherry Soup)

Sandwiches, beverages, deserts

Homemade buns & rye bread

$6 for adults

$4 for children 4-10

Children under 4 eat free

Pancake Breakfast Oct. 3

RICKETTS FIRE DEPARTMENT

Annual Pancake Breakfast

Sunday, Oct. 3rd

8:30am-Noon

at the Ricketts Community Building

Free Will Offering

Soup Supper Sept. 26

Immanuel Lutheran Church,
Soldier Township (Triple Parish) 

4:30pm-7:30pm

Potato soup

Chili

Vegetable Beef

Sandwiches & Deserts

Adults $6, children $4

2010 Ricketts Kids Reunion

Hello from everyone who attended this year's Ricketts Reunion. 

We had a great time but wish you would've been here too! 

See ya next year.

Lorraine Davis

Robert & Joan Miller

Darrell Hollander

Carl Jensen

Michele Jensen Phillips

Taylor Sandy

Ed & Doris Schreiber

Alvi and Ruth Lill

Lisa Carlson Angle & husband Mike

Marg & Allan Neddermeyer

Lloyd & Elaine Carlson

Kevin Clausen

Wayne & Wonne Kuhlmann

LaDonna & MaKayla  Carlson Rasmussen

Art Adkins

Leona Hollrah

Bob Klinder

Evelyn Mundt

Dick Schneider

Danny Schneider

Rick & Pat Moeller

Herman Jepsen

Crystal Henning Marshall

Darrell & Judy Neitzke

JoNel Mundt

Raymond Boyens

Paul & Tina Briggle

Nancy Landon

Francis & Durene Krohnke

Cy & Jeannette Knief

Dennis Jepsen

Mike Jepsen

Butch,Lashelle and Lance Carlson

Bud Gloede

Laura Langholdt

Logan, Colleen, Caleb & Margaret Carlson

This year's Ricketts Kids Reunion!

Just a Farmer

By Helen C. Coon

Just a Farmer
"Just a Farmer", you said
And I laughed 'cause I knew
All the things that farmers
Must be able to do.

They must study the land,
Then watch the sky
And figure just when
Is the right time and why -

To sow and to plant
To buy and to sell
To go to the market
With cattle and well -

You know the books
That farmers must keep
To pay all those taxes
And be able to sleep.

And you know the fixin'
That farmers must do
When machines like mad monsters
Blow a gasket or two.

I guess when God needed
Folks to care for His earth
He chose "just farmers"
'Cause He knew their true worth.

Gloede Benefit June 26

Not the same Ricketts #25

Gilbert Stuart painted this unfinished portrait, allegedly of a one John Bill Ricketts . Stuart, best known for his images of George Washington was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island in 1755- A LOOOONG way from Ricketts, Iowa.

But if you're from or wish you were from the real Ricketts, Send us your pictures and memories if you're from Ricketts and be sure to come visit for the annual Ricketts Kids Reunion whether you're from here or if your last name happens to be Ricketts- we'll welcome you into the family! Just make sure you buy a t-shirt.

Library Benefit coming up

2010 Annual Ricketts Community Center Easter Egg Hunt

Euchre Tournament; Sun. Feb. 14

Euchre at the Ricketts Center

Sign Up 5:30 PM

Play 6:00 PM

Come single or teams of 4

Refreshments will be available

Everyone welcome

Sponsored by the Ricketts Club

Call Al Lill 712-269-2436

90th Birthday Card Shower

Send Birthday wishes to:
Laura Langholdt
P.O. Box 67
Ricketts, IA 51460
or
Join us for a small birthday celebration at the Ricketts Community Center, Sat., Feb. 6, 2010
9 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.

Annual Ricketts Leadership Award Brunch

Wayne and Wonnie Kuhlmann, recipients of the 2009 Ricketts Leadership Award

Wayne Kuhlmann:
- Born and raised in the Ricketts area where he has spent his entire life
- Graduated from Charter Oak High School
- Served 4 years in the US Navy aboard the USS Pilot, a navy mine sweeper
- Worked for 40 years at Farmers Savings Bank/Farmers State Bank (Ricketts & Schleswig) holding the positions of bookkeeper, teller, assistant cashier, cashier, Executive Vice President and served on the Board of Directors
- Has served as President and Treasure of the Crawford County Banker's Association
- Served many years on the Ricketts City Council and also served as City Clerk and Treasure
- Served as Soldier Township Clerk
- Served on many community committees helping to organize the first community club, serving as President, Secretary and Treasure
- Member of the VFW where he served as adjutant as well as being a member of the American Legion where he served as commander
- Is a charter member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in which he held many offices and still serves the church whenever and however he can
- Was a charter member of the Charter Oak Tri-Community Medical Board where he served as treasure for 33 years
- Served as a volunteer on the Ricketts Fire Department for 20 + years
- Played 20 + years of fast-pitch softball with both the Ricketts Firemen squad and Schleswig clubs
- Is an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and New York Yankees

Wonnie Kuhlmann:
- Born and raised in Schleswig
- Graduate of Schleswig HS and Morningside College
- Has resided in Ricketts since she married Wayne Kuhlmann in 1958
- Taught for 32 1/2 half years in the Schleswig Community School system in both Schleswig and Ricketts
- Has continued to substitute teach in Schleswig since her retirement from full-time teaching 1998
- Served on numerous committees in regards to the planning of Ricketts Steam & Antique Show celebrations
- Worked wherever needed to make the celebrations go off without a hitch; including setup and teardown of stands, building of floats for community organizations, etc.
- Served on committees in preparation for both the 75th and 100th anniversaries/celebrations for Ricketts
- Involved with the Rick-ettes
- Very active member St. Luke's Lutheran Church
- Helped with the organization of the 50th Aniversary of St. Luke's in 1999
- Involved in Ladies Aid, LWML and has held many offices in those organizations
- Enjoys gardening, the Iowa Hawkeyes and frequent trips to the local casinos to go "nickeling" (gambling)

The whole Kuhlmann Klan. Almost, unfortunately, their their daughter and her family couldn't come because of the weather, dense fog kept them home in Omaha.

Ruth and Alva Lil introduce this year's award winners

Families can take advantage of our community center

Here are a few pictures from the Community thanksgiving dinner we had at the Community Center.  We served 29 people and sent home 4 dinners.  We had a great turn out and a nice time was had by all.  We served 2  20 pound  turkeys and 2 big hams with all the fixings  and had only 10 slices of ham left over.   Everyone that came brought either a salad or dessert.. People came with big appetites.
Hopefully we will do it again next thanksgiving!
-Nancy Landon

2010 Leadership Brunch

January 17th, 9:30 am- 12:30 pm at the Ricketts Community Center. They are serving French toast, pancakes, sausage, pastries and beverages. Admission is a free will donation. All are welcome. 2010 Leadership Award will be announced.

Older than dirt!

I was feeling a little sorry for myself at New Years because in another month I'll be facing a mile-stone kind of birthday. Then I received one of those anonymous email forwards about aging from someone at least 20 years my elder. While I don't want to make anyone feel old- I considered the average demographic of the "Ricketts Kids" and took the risk that most of you might get a kick out of this, so here it is:

Growing up isn't what it used to be
'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.' 
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained.
'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore   Levis , never set foot on a golf course, never traveled out of the country or had a credit card.
In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at   Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck.
Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow)

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 19.
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a..m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.

I was 21 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had..

I never had a telephone in my room.
The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers  -- my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at   6AM  every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?


MEMORIES from a friend :
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it.. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea.. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?
Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
Real ice boxes.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards. 
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals. 

Older Than Dirt Quiz :

Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.

1.. Blackjack chewing gum
2.Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles 
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke   boxes 
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers 
7. Party lines   on the telephone
8. Newsreels before the movie 
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax 
11.. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels   [if you were fortunate] ) 
12. Peashooters 
13. Howdy Doody 
14. 45 RPM records 
15. S&H greenstamps 
16. Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever 
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22.  Cork  popguns 
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers 

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older 
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You' re older t han dirt!

Not the same Ricketts #24

Town Marshall William A. Ricketts, affectionately known as Big Bill, was a one-person police force from 1896 to 1903, when the population of Ames, Iowa was 2,400. Ricketts spent his time corralling brawlers, chastising bootleggers, and nabbing thieves.

While he was from Iowa, Big Bill had nothing whatsoever to do with the town of Ricketts in Western Iowa- but the rest of this blog does. Send us your pictures and memories if you're from Ricketts and be sure to come visit for the annual Ricketts Kids Reunion whether you're from here or if your last name happens to be Ricketts- we'll welcome you into the family! Just make sure you buy a t-shirt.