A look back to 1944

(Click the photo to enlarge it)
Main Street Odebolt in the summer of 1944.  The Cut-Rate Market is having a
furniture sale and the Cracker Jack Elevator looms above the street to the north.

This photo of Main Street in Odebolt recently appeared on an on-line auction site.  Bonnie (Girvan) Ekse did some sleuthing in the Odebolt digital newspaper archives and through the title on the marquee of the Princess Theater, identified the photo as being taken in July 1944.  

Click to enlarge

The July 13, 1944 Odebolt Chronicle, page 5, has a Princess Theater ad for Friday and Saturday, July 14-15 for a double feature of the movies "Tunisian Victory", a "picture of war in Africa",  and "Beautiful But Broke", a "screaming comedy with lots of music." Coming next is "A Guy named Joe," strring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne.  Visit the page.

On the same page is a Larson's Store ad "July Food News" listing Red Star Dry Yeast packages for 3 cents each, 2 cans of Shurefine Pork and Beans for 25 cents, and a 25 pound bag of Butter-Nut Flour for $1.23, among other items.  

There is also an ad from the Odebolt Bakery stating that "You Can't Eat Too Much ODEBOLT BREAD" and requesting that orders to be called in on Wednesday night at least by 10:30 to Phone 160. 

The rest of the page is full of the daily social doings of Odebolt people, but one popped out from the rest. 

It states, " Mrs. Niles Melteson and children Phil, Tommy and Mavis came Saturday evening from Iowa City to make their home in Odebolt.  They have moved into the Henry Girardin house on North Main street.  Mrs. Melteson, whose husband is stationed in the army in Kentucky, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Bergman."  

I grew up on North Main until we moved out to a farm south of town and the Meltesons were great friends with my older brother and sisters.  I remember them well as some of the "big kids" on the block!  

The Odebolt Library and the Odebolt Museum's project to place Odebolt newspapers from 1877 to 2014 on-line is MUCH appreciated by many people.  If you want to take a look back in time, go to http://odebolt.advantage-preservation.com

- Barb (Girvan) Horak

Odebolt web manager