Rural Legacy Mailing Project

Monday, August 17th, a group of Rural Legacy workers got together in Odebolt at the First Presbyterian Church to put together a BIG mailing of books to the American History teachers of Iowa middle schools.  The books are a gift from the Rural Legacy Project group, with postage and mailer costs provided by the recently awarded Gilbert and Dorothy Renze Grant.  The group began assembling the packet about 10:00 a.m. and had prepared 582 mailings by 4:00 p.m.

Our thanks goes to the willing workers:  Jack Bensley, Donna Buehler, Madeline Meyer, Dorothy Kessler Engstrom, Sandy Kessler Host, Pastor Bill Crawford, and Carol Raasch.  Another thank you goes to our local post office employees for handling our onslaught of packages so efficiently, and a number of folks who held the door as we brought them in.

An additional mailing is planned later on to the area libraries of this new publication by Sandra Kessler Host, filled with photos and material that we anticipate will be used in the teaching of an Iowa History unit in the middle school history curriculum.  The photos of items used in the rural schools of Iowa and the rest of the country are from our collection in the Rural Schools Museum of Odebolt.

We’d like to remind folks that the Museum is still open on Wednesdays, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, through October.

HOURS

Wednesdays: 10am to 4pm

Saturdays & Sundays: 2 to 4pm

Also open by appointment; 

call 712-830-8328

View the Iowa Rural Schools Museum new 2-page pamphlet!

Click Here

Improvement in park and new signs

Work on the Memorial Walk Park Gazebos
Thanks for the generous contributions from the "We Paint" crew (Sandy Lorenzen and Kim Veit), helpers Amanda and Jessica Gunderson, Odebolt Lumber, Kerry and Deb Reinhart, Dale and Linda Godbersen, and  Steve and Renee Bengford, work has begun on staining the gazebos along the Memorial Walk. Amanda is volunteering for points for scholarships.

The gazebos have been powered wash by Chad Sleight of Mark Hansen's Rex Chevrolet. So the next time you take stroll along the walk please notice them and the next time you see any of these people please say "Thanks",

If you want to donate to the Memorial Walk Committee please drop your donation off at City Hall or at Elaine Rex at 406 West Highway.

New Signs!

Have you noticed the new, brown DOT highway and Odebolt trailblazer signs that direct people toward the Heritage Park Square?

Now, to have folks recognize that at the end of the trial are the Iowa Rural Schools Museum, the Peterson Pioneer Home, and the Odebolt Historical Museum! All worth a jaunt off the highways for a visit! Come see us!





Angel's Place News
In addition to breakfast and lunch service, Monday thru Saturday 6:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., Angel's Place in Odebolt now has a meeting room for all your special occasions including reunions, wedding receptions, business meetings or just large family get-togethers. Special menus designed for your meals or desserts for your group are available.


Call for reservations at 712-668-2244. Evening meals and meetings are also welcome! Closed Sundays.

Iowa Rural Schools Museum

A FRIENDLY QUIZ:

The new "Recess" sculpture near the school museum, with
Odebolt's historic bank in the background.  The sculpture 

was donated in honor of P. Dale and Marge Gronemeyer 

by their children.

What in our community has been visited by over 700 visitors so far, some from as far away as Guam and Hawaii?  What feature of our area history has received nearly $12,000 in private donations and sales and $6000 from businesses in 2014? What has received the Iowa Preservation Award last year and its curator has received an award for her historical book about Victorian times and rural school houses of Iowa?  What boasts two unique bronze statues on its grounds?

The answer to all: the Iowa Rural Schools Museum of Odebolt!

Now, if you have not ever stopped in to see what we have there, you need to put this on your “to do” list.  The first thing that seems to surprise people is that it is NOT only a classroom setting of “back in the day”.  We have inside that one room and entry MANY items from 1883, when this school building was built, to 1951 when it ceased to have classes.

If you have been a visitor in the early days…say Creek Days of 2013…you must come again.

Things have been added, are rearranged, might be specifically featured, and it would take several hours to see it all, guaranteed.  We learn from the folks who relate their experiences of rural school days and take pleasure in the interest of the younger generations discovering that there’s just a bit more than what “Little House on the Prairie” depicts. We thank those who have so generously donated items and continue to do so for our displays and resources.  The artifacts, books and stories of memories are priceless to the visitors’ whole experience.

The Museum is open Wednesdays from 10:00 to 4:00, Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 or by appointment.  Call 712-830-8328 for more information.

Visit soon and often!

The Peterson Pioneer Home and the Iowa Rural Schools Museum are open every weekend for your perusal pleasure, and we want you to visit us soon, and often.

While we are advertising far and wide for people to know that we are here, we know that there are some among you local folks who have not yet come and seen what your town has to offer.  From the comments after the recent Creek Days presentations on the Cook Ranch put on by Don and Dan Etler, we know there is more to learn about your local surroundings than what you would guess. 

The price is right….FREE…and availability is consistent.  With the Rural Schools Museum, you may visit on Wednesdays, 10:00 to 4:00, on Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m..  We are heated and air conditioned, so it is comfortable year ‘round. 

The Peterson Pioneer Home is also open every Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., and we are NOT crowded.  And, the Historical Museum is open by appointment.  So, once again, plan to visit us now, and often, throughout the summer.