Cheryl Jane Gigstad, nine-year-old daughter of Mayor-elect and Mrs. A.O. Gigstad, and I had a long talk about this election thing that changed the household school and play activities of the little girl.
Cheryl is a fourth grader at Fourteenth Street school. Her teacher is Mrs. Geraldine Steinbrink.
We agreed that it was an interesting campaign and that her mother and dad have a lot of friends (especially a lot of friends during the campaign).
There were also a lot of telephone calls to the house and a lot of visitors. But the night that Daddy was elected it was really busy.
Cheryl helped with the hostess chores of pouring coffee and serving cookies to the many well-wishers who came knocking at the door after the election results started coming in.
She really didn't have much of an opinion about the election or the campaign issues. She has been a pretty busy little girl trying to answer the telephone like a grownup and getting names and numbers for her paents to return the calls.
Cheryl and I have a little secret that we pulled on someone at school the other day.
You've heard of the TV show, "The Governor and J.J."
Well, now it's "The Mayor and C.J." She has a big smile to offer when she pulls that little game on friends.
Congratulations are in order to the new adminstration, Mayor Gigstad, Finance Commissioner Bill Carroll and Street commissioner Clyde Stoll, the only one of the commissionrs to be returned to office.
A thank-you for many years of service is also deserving to Mayor Robert McKissick and Finance Commissioner Ed Ransdell. I'll always remember those words from Barry Goldwater when he was asked how it felt to be beaten nearly 2-1 by Lyndon Johnson.
Mr. Goldwater said he didn't feel bad at all. In fact, he said he felt pretty good knowing he had 27 million friends.
Bill Rivett, the popular Veterans of Foreign Wars commander in Nebraska City, returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., all fired up and ready to help continue building the post.
Bill was sent to Washington, D.C., as a reward for his leadership in VFW membership and other activities.
The post will meet Tuesday night at the home for the annual election. Installation will be May 12. VFW members are planning participation in the Arbor Day again this year, plus the tree planting program. Several trees will be dedicated April 19 in a special ceremony with the National Guard participating.
The Iowa bottoms are the feeding grounds for thousands of geese, according to a report from Mrs. James Booker, News-Press Riverton correspondent.
There are times, Up on the North 40, when it sounds like the night-flying geese are going to make a landing on our roof.
I took a friend over to the Forney lake area a few years ago to see the geese. He had never seen such a sight. Guess we sort of take things for granted too often. It is nice to hear remarks from someone who appreciates something like that.
Bill Norris, a partner with his brother, Earl, in the Midland Auto Crusher company, said his company has already looked into a solution to a problem created along with the devouring of junked cars — air pollution and it's costly.
The companies that buy the metal don't want any rubber, cloth or plastic. And as a result, Midland is required to burn out the junked cars before crushing and shipping them to the steel shredding companies.
It's ironical that a junked car cleanup campaign should add to air pollution, but at the moment, that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Norris would much prefer someone else "burn" the car bodies. For one thing, that's a dangerous job. He says the drive trains on some models will explode like a hand grenade. He escaped one such incident and has been careful not to be caught in a similar situation.
Joy Thornhill, the City building inspector, has "jailed" a parakeet at his office at City Hall. The bird was found on the street.
Joy says he will keep it at the station, hopeful that someone will claim it.
Meantime, the bird is in good hands and is receiving good care.
There's a sign on the cage which reads:
"40 cents due on jar of feed."