Open House June 2nd

Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Russell Historical Society will have an Open House to show off their wonderful museum.  They are pleased to present the results of the communities great endeavors in the displays, help with genealogy backgrounds, many interesting objects, library books and media offerings in the old and the new addition to the building.  Please come and see for yourself, enjoy snacks and meet old friends.

Russell Garage Sale

Russell will have an all-city garage sale on Saturday, May 12th.  The Russell Museum will be holding a garage sale/bake sale fundraiser that day (8-12 noon).  If you don't want to have your own sale and are willing to donate items to the Museum, see Roberta or a volunteer.  Call Roberta at 535-4161 to get on the map.
The Wayside Garden Club will have their annual plant sale at the same time on the corner by the Museum.

Russell Clean-Up Day

Clean-up day will be on Saturday April 28 from 8am-noon.  Charges will be as follows:  $ 10 per car or pickup load, regular car or truck tires $5 each, TV's, monitors, fax machines, scanners and printers $10 each.  Computer towers are considered scrap metal and there is no charge for them.  For large console TV's or flat screen TV's $15 each.  No charge for appliances.  There will be a dumpster there for scrap metal at no charge.

Trojan Campground

The community club is starting a campground at the former football field east of the Russell school building.  This campground will be called the Trojan Campground.

Work day at the Trojan Campground will be April 12, at 5 p.m.  Please bring shovels, rakes, etc. to clean up the field.  Hot dogs, buns and drink will be provided and we are asking for you to please bring other food items to share for our picnic.  Everyone who is in our community is invited. 

More information and rules of the Trojan Campground will be following in the coming weeks.

Russell Sportsmen's Club

Sunday April 1, at 2pm, the Russell Sportsmen's Club will hold a Trap Shoot at the range located at 41570 280th Avenue southwest of Russell.  This is the first trap shoot of the season.   The public is invited and youth are welcome.   Any shotgun, any gauge, any choke is allowed.  Any shot size or shell length is legal. Call Dan for information at 641-203-5296. 

City of Russell Weather Warning

City of Russell Severe Weather Plan for Severe Thunder/Tornado Watch or Warning!

After receiving a watch or warning from the National Weather Service the Lucas County Dispatcher does the following:

Notify the following persons:

1.  All on duty Deputies and City Officers.

2.  All Lucas County Fire Departments on Fire Channel.

3.  Sheriff (WARNINGS ONLY)

4.  Chariton Police Chief (WARNINGS ONLY)

The Russell Fire Department will determine when the siren is to be sounded.

The siren will be blown for 3 minutes on and let rest for 3 minutes.  The siren shall be sounded until the Russell Fire Department determines it is all clear.  No all clear will be sounded.

The siren can be activated by the following ways.

1.  Lucas County Dispatcher on Lucas County Fire Channel.

2.  Russell Fire Department Kenwood portable radios.

3.  Zetron located at the Russell Fire Station.

If severe weather is present all residents are encouraged to stay tuned to local news and weather radios for updates.

The City of Russell Outdoor Warning System will be sounded for immediate threats to the Russell Community.  If the Outdoor Warning Sysem is activated take cover immediately.



St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Saturday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day Celebration, Southside Bar.  Parade is at noon.  Everyone is invited to join us as a participant or at least a spectator.  The parade will line up west of the bank and proceed east down Shaw street, then return.  An Irish breakfast will be served in the Southside dining room starting at 9am.  The corned beef and cabbage will be ready at 6pm at Southside.

Russell Museum/Library Update

Great progress has been made on the completion of our new addition to the Museum/Library building.  This addition will house the museum and the present building will be the library.  This will create more room for both of them. 

Many thanks goes to Ed Sellers who has spent many hours finishing the interior.  Lights and ceiling fans have been installed; a small utility/storage closet has been built; trim was sanded, stained and installed; display stands have been built and painted.

All interior items were purchased with grants from South Central Iowa Community Foundation and Alliant Foundation.

We also want to thank the many other volunteers who have made this project something to be appreciated in the years to come.

An open house is being planned for this spring when everything is moved in. 

Thank you to Robin Thompson and Betty Cross who have taken on the task of designing display areas and supervising the move.

Our current loan balance is a little over $10,000 and fundraising will continue to be an ongoing project. 

We also want to thank the community for supporting recent chicken/beef noodle dinners.

We recently lost our valuable volunteer, Mary Reeves.  She was involved in so many aspects in keeping the Museum vibrant on a daily basis.  Please be patient while we work out the details of filling the void.

Lynne Wilson and Betty Cross have completed the Russell History Book that Mary started.  If stories have been left out, we apologize.  Mary was working very hard on completing the book and had taken stories and notes home with her and some stories were still in email.  We did the best we could to find all of them and get them into the book.  The deadline was March 1st and no more stories will be accepted after that date.  Publication will be completed after all research is completed on how is the best way to do it.  Soft-cover, hard-cover, glued spine, spiral-spine, etc., etc.  Please be patient and we will get it out to you soon.  There are 244 pages, plus a table of contents and an index, bringing the total number of pages up to 274.  The pages will be printed on both sides.  We hope you will enjoy it.

One of the stories from the book appears on page 3 - Russell Historical Items - and can be selected from the right column of this page.
Thank you again for your support.  We look forward to seeing you at the Museum/Library so you can enjoy all the effort that has been put forth.

Faith United Methodist Church Lenten Bible Study

On March 7, 14, 21, and 28th, the Faith United Methodist Church will have a Lenten Bible study at 7pm.  Pastor Linda Reida will be using the book Final Words from the Cross by Adam Hamilton.  This study explores the seven statements that Jesus spoke from the cross and the meaning of Jesus' dying words for our lives today.  March 8th Night Owls will meet at 6:30pm.  April 6th, Good Friday, services will be at 7pm.  April 8th, Easter - Worship service will be at 10:30am.

Your Help is Needed

The end of February marks two years since the Russell News has been written by a committee.  Your input as to if and how this has served the needs of the community is important to the committee.  Is there something else, more of something, less of something that you would like included?  More city council decisions, area resident news, etc??  Out-of-town people might have some interesting ideas on this.  Please talk to any of the following who serve on the committee, Bob/Sharon McCurdy, Karen Werts, June Davis, Annie Davis Kint, Judy Pierce or Marilyn Yoakum.  Or email to email at the bottom of this article.  Thank you for any input you can give us.

rihs106@yahoo.com or myoak10@gmail.com

Welcome to Pastor Linda Reida

Faith United Methodist Church welcomes Pastor Linda Reida and her husband Dennis to our church family and Russell community.  Everyone is welcome to worship with us each Sunday.  Lenten services at Faith Methodist will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 22, with a potluck at 6p.m. and service to follow.

Fundraiser Dinner and Bingo

Sunday, February 19, 11:30-1:30pm the Museum will hold a fundraiser, chicken/noodles or beef/noodles dinner, with Bingo following.  Be sure to put this on your calendar.  Come join the fun.

Russell Historical Society Needs Your Help

The Russell Historical Society has immediate needs due to the death of one of our treasured volunteers.  Mary L. Reeves was a Board member, secretary of the Board, was writing the recent edition of the Russell History, had recently agreed to be the curator for the museum, was the Friday volunteer.  All of those positions (two Board positions are available) need to be filled, subject to the Boards approval.  If you have an interest in any of the positions, even on a temporary basis, please call Wanda at 535-4631.

A memorial fund for Mary has been started at the Museum.  Efforts are being made to finish the Russell History Book.

Frank Myers attended Mary's funeral and has a moving and entertaining tribute to her in the following blog.

http://lucascountyan.blogspot.com/2012/01/mourning-into-dancing.html

Gasoline at Last Chance

The Russell community welcomes the addition of unleaded gasoline for sale at the Last Chance Convenience Store, available now.  Let us show our appreciation.

Wayne Manufacturing Company in Chariton

Most of the people in Chariton don't even realize they have a Christmas Decoration manufacturing plant on Albia Road near the Chariton School District with all its yellow buses. This is a 10,000 square foot factory and this time of the year it is silent. No hum of machinery, no voices, nor trees or Santas waiting to be shipped. Their work for year 2011 is done. The company is owned and operated by Ken Burger of Russell and it has over 7,000 customers.

Wayne Manufacturing began its business in a basement in 1974 by Ken's father. Ken has operated the business for 22 years. It has grown from a small distributing company to a $1.5 million dollar business.

Each year, starting in January, Ken and his father, now 80 years old, call every city in virtually every state to find out if they are in the market or not for Christmas displays and decorations, whether they want to replace or add to what they have, and whether they would like one of their catalogs that describes the multitude of colorful products to enhance the community's holiday season. The company also has a well maintained Website. There is no middle man to eat up the profits. No showroom is necessary because they are not open for individuals to come by and pick out light strings or other decorations. Ken does all the traveling, usually during February and March and sometimes in the fall. Summer time is no time to be thinking about Christmas. He carries samples of the items available for the coming year. Their sale time is in January and February. Shipping on orders can be delayed until November.

April will be the month to start production again. At the height of production, he employs as many as 15. Some employees come back year after year. Four or five have worked as many as 12 years and are multitrained so they can run the specialty machines that can cost $100,000 and up. A lot of the work is done by hand.

Some customers have been buying from Wayne Mfg. for over ten years and have purchased every park display the company has to offer.    New designs are needed to keep the products up to date for these customers.  Ken's daughter, Heather, a commercial artist, design's the merchandise.  She also provides the scaled computer drawings for the steel frames for custom work.  One of the largest custom displays made by the company was a 35 foot modular tree for Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  It was made for the judges tower where the Olympic team trained for the ski jump.  The company also built a big arch for Carroll, Iowa, as part of the park display that was large enough for tour buses to drive under.

The next time you see a city park decorated with very unique Christmas Decorations, they may have been created and manufactured at our very own Wayne Manufacturing.

Mary Reeves Memorial Service

There will be a memorial service for Mary Reeves, 66, of Russell, who died, Friday December 30, 2011 at the Greater Regional Hospice Home in Creston. There will be no public visitation. Memorials may be made to the Chariton Christian Church furnace and air conditioning fund. Online condolences may be left under the obituary category of http://www.powersfh.com/.

Memorial Service

Saturday, January 07

11:00 AM Chariton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1100 Ilion Avenue Chariton, IA 50049

Mary Louise Reeves, daughter of Mary Ellen (Ansley) Reeves and William Clinton Reeves was born April 4, 1945 in Chariton, Iowa. She graduated from Chariton High School in 1963. She moved to Des Moines and began to work for the Internal Revenue Service. Later in 1965, she began her career with the Social Security Administration holding many different positions with her favorite being a Data Review Technician, serving 42 years before retiring in 2007. After retiring, she moved to Russell, Iowa to be near family. Mary was a member of the Chariton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) where she held the position of Deaconess; she was an active Russell museum volunteer, active in the local genealogical society, local cemetery board and active in her favorite scrapbooking groups.

Mary Louise Reeves

December 30 -- Mary passed away the evening of December 30th. We will all miss her so much. We were all blessed by her friendship -- by the joy she showed when sharing good news with her, her compassion for us when we were in pain -- her loyal loving spirit, which she shared everytime we were together. Thank you God, for giving us such a good friend.

Frank's blog -
http://lucascountyan.blogspot.com/2011/12/mary-louise.html

From Darlene and Sheryl:

We have losted a great friend and sister: Mary Louise‏ went with the angels at around 10:30 Friday Dec 30, 2011 May she send all of the answers to our genealogy problems.  God rest her soul. More later on services.

Sheryl

Note: She is being cremated. I think they are planning the services for Saturday, Jan. 7, 11:00am, at the Christian Church with lunch to follow. If this is not correct, I will e-mail you back. The family has asked that there be no flowers, instead Mary Louise had many projects going so they would like the memorials to go in her memory to one of these projects. One that she was working hard on recently was the furnace fund for the Christian Church. She was appointed curator at the Russell Museum so there are projects there. We now have another "Genie Angel" to look over us.

Darlene

The New Russell History Book Progress

The Russell Historical Society regrets to inform you that because of the sudden illness of Mary L. Reeves, the new Russell History Book that she has been working on is on hold until further notice.

Christmas Lighting Awards

Wayside Garden Club's 2011 Christmas Decoration Winner

Marilyn and Butch Evans won the award for this year with the beautiful blue lighting on the front of their home at 411 E. Shaw St.  There was a light drizzle the evening I went out to judge the lights throughout Russell.  There were not a lot of decorated homes this year.  

Christmas in the Park a Success

Thanks to all, both Community Club members and those attending for making the Christmas in the Park a success.

Santa and Mrs. Claus made their annual appearance to the delight of the little ones.  Cookies were decorated and each child was able to take their creation home with them.  A coloring contest was a fun thing for all the kids to do.  A soup supper was enjoyed by everyone.  Prizes were awarded after the drawing was held.

See you next year!

Sims Garage Update - New Picture

The end of October we posted a picture of the Sims Garage on West Ames Street in Russell.  The American Flag waving was spectacular, but now we see Ron Bingham has been busy with his creativity and the result is even more heart warming.  You must drive by and take a look to get the full effect.  This picture doesn't produce the same emotions as when you see it up close.  100 W. Ames in Russell is the address in case you have not seen it before. 

This tribute is to all of our troops who are still deployed and to those who have returned from fighting to preserve our freedom.  Thank You!

Christmas in the Park

Saturday evening, December 10th, Christmas in the Park will be held at the Russell Community Center. A soup supper will start at 5 p.m. with chili and potato soup for a free will offering. There will be sugar cookies the children can decorate and take home and they can enter a coloring contest.

We will offer wagon rides, either pulled by horses or a pick-up depending on the weather. Santa will be there and the children can let him know their want list for Christmas. There will be 3 drawings for adults; a $25.00 gift card, a $15.00 gift card, and a $10.00 gift card. Also, the children may sign up for drawings of some toys that will be displayed under the tree. All are invited so come out and help us start off the Christmas Season in Russell. The event will wind up around 8 p.m.

Russell Firefighters

Article and photo by Bill Howes Chariton Herald Patriot Newspaper, November 3, 2011

New 40' x 60' addition being built on to the
Russell Fire Station

A new three-phase addition is being built on to the Russell Fire Station. The 40'x60' addition will add on two more truck bays and it's funded through grants and the department.

The first phase of the addition, the pouring of the concrete has been completed.  One phase will be done per year, so it's likely to be completed in two years.

The Russell Fire Department has 31 members including 11 EMS personnel.  Nearly all of the members have Fireman 1 status.  Five are EMT first responders and six are EMT-B or highter.  EMT-B stands for Emergency Medical Technician-Basic.

Jim Neer is the chief and Craig Alexander is the assistant chief.  Jeff Neer is the captain and Mark McCurdy is the lieutenant.  The department has added two new members in the past year in Kenny Gwinn and Brant Paige.

The vehicles that the department has include two grass attack trucks, a rescue unit, a pumper, and a tanker.  The department has handled 60 fire and EMS calls so far this year, which is a little below normal.

The Russell Fire Department regularly participates in the annual State Firemen's Convention.  This year the department took third place overall at the convention in Monticello.

The department had its first barbecue cook off this past September and it was a success.  The Russell Fire Department holds an annual Poker Tournament in February and an annual ham supper each April.  The funds raised from the supper go back to the department towards different things that are needed such as supplies.  Part of the proceeds from the Poker Tournament go back to the department as well.


Thank you Russell Firefighters, the residents of Russell are very lucky to have you and we just want you to know how much we appreciate your help.  Your promptness and skilled training has saved us pain and suffering in both illness and a dangerous fire. 

Sims-God Bless America

The next time you are in the 100 block of West Ames Street in Russell, you might notice on the Lowell Sims Property the beautiful American flag flying on the north end of their metal building.  When Lowell put up this building a couple of years ago, he wanted something painted on the building, so he hired Ron Bingham to go to work.  This project isn't complete yet.  Next summer Lowell would like to have something painted on the building about firemen, police, or different branches of the Military.  A farm scene would be another possibility.

This is something we can keep watching for when the snow is melting and summer is approaching.  Lowell and Ron's minds will be working on this project this winter, trying to come up with the right pictures.

(See if you can spot the bird-house).

Mike Beaty's Award Winning Horses

Mike Beaty of Russell (left) holds up a horse draft bridle while standing next to his two Belgian horses, Bert and Ernie.  Bert and Ernie are named after the famous Sesame Street duo and were award-winning horses at the Iowa State Fair in 2008, 2009 an 2011.

In the picture to the right, cousins Elizabeth Wright (left) of Indianola and Amelia Phillips of Williamson stand with Bert and Ernie that were at the Lucas County Historical Society Museum's open house on October 15th.  Beaty gave people demonstrations on the horses and told about harnesses and bridles used on them as well. 

Russell Recycle Bin Rules

CRUCIAL REMINDER !!!!

We are in danger of losing the recyle bin in Russell.  It's a shame that some abusers are going to take the bin away from the Russell residents who care enough to recycle.  The rules for this bin are posted on a large sign situated behind the bin.  It is very clear what articles can be placed in the bin.  Sadly, Russell has the reputation as being the worst offender for placing unacceptable items into it.  The hauler of the bin must dispose of all items that are not acceptable and at times has come back with a pick-up full of items (our garbage) that were not accepted, including all of the plastic grocery bags (Hy-Vee, Walmart, or black garbage bags) that were not supposed to be put in the bin.  Let's do our job and make it easier for him.  The trailer is unloaded from the bottom and then sorted by hand. 

The purpose of recycling is to lessen the load on landfills. Why place it in your garbage can when with a little effort on our part, we can see that some items can be separated to be recycled.  If the abuse continues, he will either remove the bin or start charging to have it in Russell.  ABUSERS, Please stop your uncaring actions.  Thank you to the users who are so considerate.

The red sign behind the recycle bin states the following:


1.  Place items in the proper bin, nothing on the ground.  If it doesn't fit, it doesn't get recycled.
2.  Use both sides of the trailer for space.
3.  Rinse and empty containers - clean items only.
4.  Take all items out of the plastic grocery bags, note the message about plastic bags.
5.  Acceptable plastic is - Plastic food, beverage and detergent containers ONLY!  Flatten the containers so there is room for more.  No Plastic toys, or pesticide, herbicide or chemical containers.
6.  Glass -  Nothing but container glass, glass bottles and jars only, no light bulbs or window glass.
7.  Tin and Aluminum - All tin and aluminum cans (crush if possible), foil and tin pie plates, lids from glass jars are acceptable.
8.  Paper Products - Newspapers, magazines, and phone books, cardboard boxes (flattened), Clean paper only.  No waxed or coated paper.

Judi Wright Retires After 43 Years with Farm Bureau

This article appeared in the October 4, 2011 Chariton Leader, written by Bill Howes.

Judi Wright has been a positive constant with the Lucas County Farm Bureau while other people change professions more often than farmers rotate their crops. 

An Open House was held for Judy on Monday, October 10, from 4-6 at the Lucas County Farm Bureau office.  

Judy began working for both the Lucas County Farm Bureau and the Farm Bureau Insurance in August 1971.  Four years ago she began working for Lucas County Farm Bureau only.

Judi and her husband, Jim, live on a farm northeast of Russell.  It's a century farm that's existed well over 100 years and it's where Jim was born and raised.  They had purchased the farm from Jim's folks and they live in the house that Jim's grandfather built.  They have lived there for 44 years.

Jim was a farmer and is mostly retired now.  He still does farming chores and helps out his son, Gene, as needed.  Gene has hay and cattle and also runs his own carpet cleaning business called "On the Spot Floor Care".  Gene and his wife, Paula (she is the superintendent of Chariton Schools), live just a mile and a half down the road from Jim and Judi.  They have three children,  Alison, Ashley and Alex.

Jim currently mows lawns for the Chariton school district.  He was a county supervisor for Lucas County for 18 years and after retiring from that he has worked for the school district.  When Jim farmed he farmed cattle, corn, beans and hay.  He and Judi rent all their farmland out now, which consists of 200 acres.  They both have a "green thumb" and love to garden.

Judi says she has seen many changes since she started in 1971.  She says she has had the opportunity to work with the greatest people in Lucas County.  She thanks the Farm Bureau for keeping her around so long.  She says it's been a pleasure to work for such an outstanding farm organization these past 40-plus years.

Blood Drive in Russell

Attention:  For all those interested in donating blood, the Russell Blood Drive will take place at the Russell Community Center on October 13 between 3-7pm.  If you have any questions you may contact Deb Mason at 641-203-0681.

Meg Prange, Work Selected for Trade Mission

Local Artist Selected for Governor Branstad's Trade Mission to Korea, China and Japan

Perhaps you have seen hand-appliqued fabric pictures done by Russell artist, meg Prange, in the lab waiting room at the Lucas County Hospital, Meyer Law Office, Piper's (and on card racks) and Dr. Rips Dental Office.  Meg who had images of her fabric pictures reproduced on 4-inch square ceramic tiles, received the following message from the Iowa Economic Development for Governor Brandstad's office:

"When we walked into the 'From Our Hands' gallery in the East Village in Des Moines, our attention was immediately drawn to your beautiful tiles.  As you may know, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is currently on a trade mission to Korea, China and Japan in an effort to encourage trade and investment in Iowa.  The trade mission is from September 18-28.   Your tiles are being presented as official Iowa gifts from Governor Branstad to business and government leaders in both Korea and China as a symbol of our wish and commitment for a fruitful and successful business relationship.  Thank you for providing us with such vivid and beautiful art pieces.  We are sure that the recipients of these gifts will truly enjoy them."

Six framed barn tiles, reproductions of her original hand-appliqued fabric pictures were selected.  They expect to work with Meg in the future.

Meg is delighted and feels honored to have her barn designs representing our wonderful state.

Russell Fall Festival Highlights

Thank you to the following businesses, contractors and service people who donated to the cash drawing at the Russell Fall Festival: Alpha Omicron Master Sorority; Beaty Insurance; Bingham Signs; Davison Cycle; Great Western Bank; Harry Reed Construction; Hundley Tire and Auto Service; Kevin McCullough Construction; Last Chance Convenience Store; Lowell Sims; Mark's Pop A Lock & Lawn and Gardening; Narber Construction; Pollard Salvage; Russell Livestock Market; Southern Iowa Oil; Southside Restaurant and Pub; Tanner Racing and Auto Repair and Whiskey Dick's Roadhouse.

The parade participant winners were:  Alpha Omicron Sorority float - 1st place; Faith United Methodist Church float - 2nd place; and Beaty Insurance float - 3rd place.

Betty Cross won 1st place in the pie contest with her raisin pie; Loudene Penney won 2nd place with her apple pie.

The Bar and Cookie judging at the fire station produced 3 winners: 1st place to Connie McKinley; 2nd place to Deb Mason and 3rd place to Ashley Bedford.

The quilt show winner (chosen by the vote of the people) was awarded to Jean Mathias for her Civil War Quilt.

Pedal Tractor Pull winners:  1st place winners were - Cayden Schlutz, Paige Hundley, Baylee Pollard, Ryder McGee.

Russell Fire Department Best in Smoke BBQ competition 1st place winner:  Kenny Gwinn and Todd Atwell and Cory Swigart and Tim Carruthers.

A big thank you goes to the Russell Firemen for their contest; to the Last Chance for the good meal they served at noon and to the Ladies who worked with the quilt show.  Thanks to the entertainment in the afternoon:  Albert Butler; Jessie Clark; Mr. & Mrs. Joe Allwood; and The Lineville Teen Band.  A special thank you to Kevin and Michelle Langlinais for setting up the speaker system and working with it all day; to Marie Hensley, for singing the National Anthem and to Mike McCurdy for announcing the parade; to the judges of the parade,pie and bar and cookie contest.  Also a thank you to parade participants and the Chariton Middle School Band.  Thanks to everyone who presented music and fire works in the evening and to the Community Club for making this years Festival happen.  It was very cold and wet, but all in all a very good day.

Prize winners will be in next week's paper.

June and Buddy Davis
Annie Kint and CJ

This is the correct third place Fall Festival Winner.  Sorry for the error.

Great Western Bank
Mike Mason Driving,
Debbie and Ken in the back

American Legion
Joe Gookin Driving