July 17, 1985: Workers were putting the finishing touches on Eldridge’s new mini liquor store, located on South 9th Avenue. The Iowa Beer and Liquor Control Department had a 20-year lease on the building. more

When I was a kid, “Sister Act” was one of my favorite movies. more

July 9, 1975: Candidates for Miss Walcott included Debra Bluedorn, Kathy Dietz, Debra Dudgeon, Diane Dudgeon, Anet Giese, Mary Harmsen, Barbara Kappeler, Sheri Ruwe, Brenda Steinecke and Julie Warnecke. The winner would be chosen through balloting at Walcott Trust & Savings Bank, where one penny equaled one vote. The winner would receive a $50 savings bond. This was the first Walcott Day. more

July 5, 2000: Supporters were excited about the upcoming dedication for the All-Veterans Memorial at Centennial Park in Eldridge. Located at the corner of Donahue and 4th streets, the memorial featured an engraved stone monument and three lighted flagpoles for the American, Iowa and POW/MIA flags. The area was also landscaped. The memorial was designed and funded by the Carl Jacobsen American Legion Post 639 and Auxiliary, as well as an American Legion Memorial Fund, established by the Thomas Cawiezell family to help with maintenance. Co-chairs of the planning committee were Verna Feldpausch and Alvin “Whitey” Mohr. more

June 26, 1985: Members of the Quad-City Corps of Civil War Reenactors gave a demonstration at Park View Days for the second year in a row. The group did reenactments every other weekend between May and October. There were about 50 members in the Quad Cities group, and Bruce Kindig, the unit’s secretary, said it was estimated about 10,000 people across the country were involved in reenacting. “Some people go boating on the weekends, we do Civil War reenacting,” said Kindig. more

June 21, 2000: Business owners were upset about a spate of vandalism in downtown Eldridge. The most recent was graffiti on a mural at the Eldridge Library Annex, where vandals defaced characters from “Sesame Street.” Eggs were also dropped in the book return box. Others downtown reported spray painting on vehicles and private property, dog feces in the video return box at Movies To Go, and the removal of an “S” on the Chambers & Sass Funeral Home sign. more

June 16, 2010: Iowa Gov. Chet Culver visited the Eldridge Preschool to announce a $90 million expansion in access to preschool programs throughout the state. Just over half of the 85 students at the Eldridge Preschool attended on “scholarships” from the North Scott School District. The state provided funding to the district to provide the scholarships to families that met certain criteria. more

June 4, 1975: As a strike the by Iron Workers Local 111 continued into its fifth week, construction remained halted on the new North Scott Junior High building. With completion on the building now slated for no earlier than Oct. 1, the North Scott School Board voted to institute a split shift schedule for students in grades 7-12 so all students could start the school year in the high school building.  The shifts would run from 8 a.m. – noon and noon – 4 p.m., although no decision was reached on what instruction levels would go in the morning or afternoon. more

May 27, 2020: Frank Wood wrapped up a 47-year career in education, with 35 of those years spent at North Scott. He came to the district as a gym teacher fresh out of college in 1973. In that time, he served as a teacher, coach, athletic director, associate principal and elementary school principal. His career at North Scott bookended a 12-year stint in Rock Island and Riverdale in Illinois. “Up until the day he leaves, he will give 110 percent to make the high school and the district a better place than it was,” said superintendent Joe Stutting. “That’s just Frank.” more

I’ve written about this before, but high school has changed a lot since my day. more

In honor of North Scott's graduation on Sunday, we present a favorite Impressions column of Bill Tubbs', originally published May 15, 1974. more

May 22, 1985: As several area communities made plans to mark Memorial Day, Elmer and Dorothy Gronewold of Donahue were remembering their son, Larry, who was killed in Vietnam in March of 1968. While the Gronewolds said they had always paid tribute to deceased family and friends on Memorial Day, the event became more poignant to them after they became a Gold Star family. The American Legion Post in Donahue was named after Larry. more

May 14, 1975: Construction work halted at the site of the future North Scott Junior High after Local 111 of the Iron Workers Union went on strike. All other unions working on the project decided to honor the strike until the iron workers had a new contract with the Quad Cities Builders Association. District officials said they were concerned, because construction on the project was scheduled to be completed by the end of July or middle of August so students could begin the school year there. Superintendent Melvin Heiler was exploring several options, from delaying the start of school at all levels, postponing just seventh and eighth grade, starting the junior high students at the high school in extremely overcrowded conditions, or splitting shifts at the high school until the junior high could open. more

May 8, 1985: The North Scott School District was considering offering a district-run day care service. The Iowa legislature recently passed a bill encouraging school districts to offer this service. Superintendent Doug Otto had been exploring the possibility since February, and said he had two concerns. First, he wanted to know if families were interested in utilizing the service. He also said he didn’t want to go into direct competition with existing services. “Our intent isn’t to take kids already enrolled in a program, but to find a way to help the kids that aren’t enrolled someplace,” he said. more

So, upon first glance, “9 to 5: The Musical” may not be everybody’s plate of biscuits. Truth be told, I was pretty ambivalent about the choice when it was announced last May. I just kind of felt like Lancer Productions had already done the show, and I was more intrigued by the other shows, “Radium Girls” especially. more

May 5, 2010: The North Scott girls’ soccer team upset Pleasant Valley 2-1. It was believed to be the first win over the Spartans in the program’s 23-year history. Shalynn Eldredge-McMillian’s game-winning goal came in the match’s final minutes. more

Last Thursday, I was interviewing cast members of Lancer Productions’ upcoming “9 to 5: The Musical.” The show is based on the 1980 film of the same name, starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton. more

April 24, 1985: Craig Hintz was chosen to succeed Ed Fischer as principal at North Scott High School. Hintz was currently serving as associate principal and athletic director. He had been with the district for 11 years, starting in 1974 as a math teacher at the junior high. Superintendent Doug Otto said a search was underway for a new associate principal, and he expected the duties of athletic director would continue to be combined with that position. more

Ever since I first tore tiny, perforated receipts for Mrs. Cordell’s Indianapolis News subscription in 1967, I’ve made most of my living selling newspapers. more

April 19, 2000: Gov. Tom Vilsack signed a bill that raised the cap on the amount of money that could be used towards early retirement in IPERS. As a result, three North Scott principals, Dennis Albertson, Joe Ragona and Barry Lahann announced they would retire at the end of the school year. The three represented 92 years of administrative experience and more than a century in education. Albertson had been with the district since 1967 and had been a principal for the last 33 years, including at Grissom and Armstrong, a record for the district. more