If you don’t fill out your census form and return it, the federal government has to hire people to knock on the door of every home that did not return their form. Paying those people costs all taxpayers millions of dollars. So please fill out and return the form and it will save you money.
Our quality of Lovilia streets depends on you sending in your census form too. City clerk, Patti DeGross, says the dollars the town receives to pay for street repair is based on the number of people who live in Lovilia. So to get all dollars we are eligible for, we need to count everyone who lives here.
Currently, 58% of the forms have been returned. That means over 4 out of 10 people still have not filled out the form. So please save yourself money, help pay for good streets, and send in your completed census form.
Retiring Teachers with Lovilia Roots
Retiring at the end of this school year are Judy Jones and Roxanne Cox who teach at Albia. Judy grew up in Lovilia as Judy Blomgren and has taught many years and is retiring as a fifth grade teacher. RoxAnne taught several years in Lovilia as the third grade teacher and then when the Lovilia gradeschool closed was transferred to Albia where she is retiring from the sixth grade. Both have served the children well and we wish them an enjoyable and fruitful retirement.
Updates on Deceased Lovilia High School Alumni
Those who have died in the past year and their year of graduation:
Paul Ansley 1955
Jack Avon class of 1955
Catherine Cummins Beeson 1950
Napolean “Buddy” Nutter 1945
Robert Richmond 1943
If anyone knows of others please tell the alumni committee: Sandy Winegardner 641-842-3278 or Ilene Pottorff 641-946-8130
Other recent deaths:
Sister Marcia Kearney, age 86 died March1st. She was born in Weller and entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1950. She spent all her working life in Davenport.
Margaret Clark who worked 20 years in the post office and then five more as postmistress at Lovilia before retiring recently died. When her husband Purl died in 1982 she moved to DesMoines. She has a daughter, Judy, in Florida and a son, Jim in Clive, Iowa. Burial was in Lovilia Woodlawn Cemetary.
Ruth Parker, wife of Harold Parker, recently died. She and Harold lived in a farm home south of Lovilia on Hwy 5.
May they all rest in eternal peace.
Notes from Lovilia History
In 1902 the Lovilia school was closed for two weeks due to an outbreak of smallpox. Then in 1921 the school was closed for five weeks for a smallpox epidemic. Families were officially quarantined with a sign marked smallpox in large letters nailed on the side of the house and no one could leave the premises during the quarantine period. This could go on for weeks if the whole family did not contract the disease at the same time. The town marshal would bring the family groceries if they had no one else to do it. The quarantined family would then pay off their bills after the quarantine was lifted.
I clearly remember in 1955 getting the smallpox vaccine before starting kindergarten. It was scratched into my upper left arm and caused a large pox scab which later fell off leaving a permanent scar. But a small price to pay for not being sick and covered head to toe with scars or death.
Now it is believed the disease has been eliminated from the face of the earth and children are therefore no longer vaccinated for it.
This is one success story in medicine that we can all rejoice in.
Easter Weekend
Have a Blessed Easter! Don’t eat all the candy and eggs at once!