By Elaine Rassel

I am still going for therapy and having good luck! It is hard to believe that the injured arm cannot compete with the good arm. I am slowly working in raising the left arm as high as the right arm. Sounds simple but it isn’t! There are several other movements the left arm is working on to match the right arm. I know one thing—don’t try to lift a cast iron frying pan with the injured arm. There are so many things that require both arms/hands to do.
Liver is something I am not supposed to eat but every once in awhile, I eat it no matter what!
have been trying to find liver that is sliced thin, and believe it or not—Jeff’s Food had it. It is called SKYLARK and comes with 4 individually wrapped slices that are ready to cook. When in the frozen stage, I really thought the slices were “thick”, but after they thawed out, they were cut thin—just the way I wanted it and 150 calories per serving. The slices come in a resealable bag so if you wanted only one slice, the rest can remain in the bag. Cooking this liver, that is why the cast iron skillet came into use. Steve, Zachary and I were the beef liver eaters the other night. Bethany had to have something else.
Saturday there came an advisory to boil Marcus water before drinking. How can you boil water when the water was shut off? We had no water until around 4:30 p.m. Something was wrong at the water tower. I boiled water for our house cats.
This morning (Oct. 1) Tyler and Bailee Prunty had Everlee Elizabeth Prunty baptized. She was born May 8, 2023 at Unity Point St. Luke’s at Sioux City. She has a sister, Hadlee and Grandparents: Carl and Jenna Nelson and Kyle and Karla Prunty to welcome her into their family. There was a brunch following the services that everyone present was invited to. Thank you! It was delicious!
Then one of the unusual items came on the Marcus sign board—After 74 years, Vernon still loves Gladys! Vernon and Gladys Means celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. A picture was to be sent to the News of the happy couple. Congratulations to them and we hope they had a great day!
On a sad note, Donna (Worden) Abitz is on Hospice due to Parkinson’s and dementia. I never knew her until she came back to be with her mother (my neighbor) Irene Worden. They moved back to (I think, Texas) after Irene’s death. She and her family are in our prayers.
On October 14, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Marcus will have a “Marcus Fall Festival”. Main Street will be closed during those hours as the Festival is to be a the Marcus Community Center and on Main Street. Vendors will be set up where they feel they will get the business. There will be crafters, mobile boutiques and the vendors. You might be able to find something before the holiday rush.
Now this Marcus Fall Festival is only for one day and only 4 hours. Back in 1909, Marcus had a Festival for three days—you might say to promote the town of Marcus. There were all kinds of floats that honored about anything! I have this Marcus Harvest Festival in 1909 that is supposed to be in this week’s newspaper. Back in those days, people could have an elaborate celebration as they had no cell phones or play stations to interfere with their lives. Times have changed after 114 years!
Recuperating all these weeks, I have had time to look at television. One program had a woman hoping her man friend was going to propose marriage to her. She invited him for supper and then to the living room to sit awhile. Not long in sitting, he got up and pulled a small box out of his pants pocket. “Oh, my,” she thought. “This is it”! He opened up the box and retrieved a small pill. “I always carry a pill here for when I get nervous”, he said.
The other day “Little House on the Prairie—A New Beginning” had Harriet and Nels Oleson’s son, Willie taking a test to get into a college. Harriet already had him being a doctor but when he got the letter from the college, she was devastated—he had failed the entrance exam—on purpose! All he wanted was to marry Rachael Brown and help Nels run the store. Harriet wanted nothing to do with Rachael and knowing Rachael was within hearing distance, Harriet had nothing good to say about her. Rachael told Willie the marriage was off, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He knew his mother had something to do about this.
The day of the wedding came and Harriet was in bed sick and couldn’t make it to the wedding that she knew wouldn’t last. Nels tried to convince her to come, but NO was her answer. All his life and his sister’s lives, Harriet had wanted them to be better than anyone else—no matter who they stepped over on the way UP! As the wedding was coming to a close at the church, one of the lady guests turned around and saw someone sitting all dressed black including a black veil over her face. Before the couple came down the aisle, she had gone back home and to bed.
Nels came home to find Harriet in bed. He tried to convince her that it was a good wedding ceremony. (Evidently he didn’t know she had been there.) He reminded her of how her mother acted toward him before their wedding and how Harriet decided to overrule her mother. That is when Nels told Harriet now that if he had to marry Harriet again, he would. He told her that he loved her no matter how nasty she could get. (It had to be love for the way she stepped over Nels and anyone that seemed to get in her way!)
From the files of 1909 I found these interesting tidbits:
The Remsen newspaper reported that the stingiest man in Iowa lives in Marcus. He has a fine lady friend with whom he occasionally takes a pleasant evening stroll. She believes in the power of a gentle hint and one evening, not long ago, as the young couple was passing Dwight’s restaurant, she said, “Don’t those peanuts smell good?” The young man replied, “Yes, let’s stop and smell them awhile!”
“Notice” in the Marcus News: Notice is hereby given to all parties operating steam engines on the public highway of Amherst Twp. that they are requested to comply with the law—Chapter 2 Sec 1571 of the Code of Iowa—by Order of the Board of Trustees.
An exchange newspaper says: “One little old black skunk, not as large as a rabbit, can stink up a drove of a thousand sheep and trot off with it’s tail over its back. In like manner, one long tongue, lying gossiper can stir up a whole town and besmirch the fairest characters unharmed. Of the two, we would rather be the skunk, for the gossiper is sure to go to hell but the skunk won’t.
“Notice” in the Marcus News: notice to the young men who were prowling around my premises on the night of Aug. 9, and run my buggy out of the shed into the road taking the burrs off, tipping outhouse over in Sub. Dist. No. 9 and shooting at my mail box—you are known, and if this offense is repeated, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Now, boys this is fair warning. Joe Bierman
Wonder how many people who raise chickens have secured a barrel of road dust for their chickens to use for a dust bath this winter. Road dust is the best thing that can be secured and right now is an excellent time to secure it.
The other day the son of a Marcus Methodist asked the son of a Presbyterian if he knew the difference between the Methodist and Presbyterians. The boy replied “Yes, the Presbyterians take up collection only once on Sunday and the Methodist both morning and evening.”
Remember in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost family/friends to death, have had their lives changed, have health problems some of which are terminal, are struggling to make ends meet even though they have a job; help those who desire “wants” are more important than “needs” that prestige isn’t everything and be with those who are still struggling to shorten the distance between family/friends to build a bridge instead of a wall. Count your blessings! I will leave you with this quote: “Don’t give up on yourself. You can do it and you know it.”