After months of what seemed like cloudless, rainless days, last week was rainy and gloomy. Just about an inch and a half of rain fell during the week, a much needed rainfall.
    The gloom and rain did put a little damper on the color run, but those who participated enjoyed adding a little color on that gloomy morning. With a couple dozen signed up and families who weren't signed up joining the walk, almost three dozen were anticipated. The rain and cooler weather did keep some away, but those who walked the 5K walk enjoyed the calm of the morning. Well, calm until they were blasted with colored powder.
    By the time the group which ranged from young children to adults and even a dog (who didn't quite make it the entire route) reached the shelter house, they were covered with pink, yellow, orange, green and blue.
    Proceeds from the fundraiser are eartagged for new playground equipment for the park.
    Above, a couple walkers from Dunlap brace for a blast of color from Hannah Sadler.

    For the last few years the Danbury Fire Department has added to the Corn Days festivities and held a bags tournamemt. It was a great mix - they provided an activity which helped the Corn Days committee entertain adults and older youth, and the Corn Days committee filled the day with activities for the kids so the parents could enjoy the tournament.
    This year is a little different.
    Thanks to COVID-19 (ARG), the Corn Days committee was put in a tough spot, being unable to acquire activities for the kids. With their list of activities for kids chopped down to pretty much nothing and the "promise" by the government that there would be a resurgance, they were forced to cancel Corn Days.
    With the cases of COVID low in our area, the fire department has decided that they would still hold the Bags tournament on Saturday, September 19th. Registration will begin at noon (there will be food available to purchase at that time, too). Game play begins at 1:00. The cost is $25 per team of two. Let the bean bags fly!
    Want supper? Beginning at 4:00, they will be serving supper for a free will donation. They will continue until we run out of food or the event has finished.
    The fire department is also graciously allowing the Corn Days committee to crown the Gem City royalty. This will occur around 6:00.
    Please come and join the department in a day of relaxation and fun.

    It's important to know your family medical history. Knowing if there is heart disease, diabetes, cancer or other illnesses in your family can help determine your own path to battle risks in the family. This desire was a part of the reason that John Uhl from Sioux City paid a visit to St. Patrick's Cemetery in Danbury. His brother, Dan has been working on the genealogy of the family partly to determine any medical issues in the Uhl family. While Dan was unable to make the trip, John did on a beautiful Monday. Was he expecting to find medical answers in a cemetery? No. But their search had led them to discover the death of 5 great aunts and uncles who died long before they were even aunts and uncles. These five were between the ages of 8 months and 12 years when they passed away. John was in Danbury to find these ancestors.
    John had contacted Mary Ann and Marshall Sohm to help with his search. The keepers of the cemetery records, they would know approximately where the five children were buried. Indeed, they did know. With no markers, the records only gave them approximate location.
    Enter Matt Turner.
    Turner, vice president of GeoModel in Leesburg, VA, was hired by Uhl to use a ground penetrating radar (GPR) to determine where the five caskets were buried and to outline them. GeoModel uses GPR to detect a number of features that help identify a grave including the coffin or casket (wood, metal, lead lined, etc) or vault; disturbed ground structure and excavation features; and movement or voids caused by collapse of the coffin or casket. Using the modern technology, Turner took no time to find the 5 family members and to pinpoint the caskets. When he finished, 5 graves marked with flags made a line in an open area of the cemetery. Uhl had found his great uncles and great aunts, Leota, Rosa, Irene, Julius, and Antone. The children were 5 of the 9 born to John's great great grandparents, Martin and Rosa (Blankenhorn) Uhl. These five children died between 1889 and 1900. The oldest to die, Julius was 12 years old and one of a set of triplets. He died in 1900 of Juvenile Arthritis which would be painful to suffer even now with modern day medicine; imagine how painful it would have been when pain intervention was not in existence. One of the other triplets died very young, but the third, Alois survived and lived into his 90s. The family had moved to Climbing Hill and then the Morningside area in Sioux City after the death of the fifth child.
    With the graves identified, Marshall Sohm stepped to the graves with dowsing rods, a much older technology. Marshall has used these rods not only to find water on his farm, but to help people find answers about loved ones. He walked slowly past the graves until the rods crossed - an indication that he was standing by a female. He asked if the deceased was Lizzy. The rods didn't move, indicating it wasn't. He then asked if she was Irene. Immediately the rods crossed, signifying that she was indeed Irene. One of the five had been identified.
    Marshall did the same to two more graves, determining the location of Julius and Antone. Marshall cannot explain how the dowsing rod works, but it does appear to answer yes and no questions. When done, he identified three of the five graves. He had not attempted the other two.
    "I feel emotionally drained," said Uhl after the GPR and dowsing had revealed his ancestors. Many questions were answered by the duo, and Uhl left with much more information than he had expected when he began his trek to Danbury earlier in the morning. He will be adding grave markers so that his newly found family will no longer be lost.

    Each year St. Mary's Rosary Society bakes hundreds and hundreds of apple pies. This year is different.
    This year there will NOT be an apple pie bake at St. Mary's Church. However, the Rosary Society WILL give you a head start on your own pie baking. The society will be selling pie crusts in tins for 2/$5. The crusts will be ready to pick up after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19th.
    To order crusts, call St. Mary's Rectory at 883-2406 or Carol Weber at 880-5000 by September 16th.