Allamakee Biographies -Resident of the Month

"Resident of the Month"
Interviews featuring residents at the Postville Good Samaritan home.

- W -

Transcribed by S. Ferrall for Allamakee co. IAGenWeb
Any notes following the biographies were added by S. Ferrall.

The spotlight this month falls on a lady who was the first resident of Postville's Good Samaritan Center, Mrs. A.C. Webster. Mrs. Webster moved to the center the day it was opened for occupancy.

Gless, as she is best known, has been a resident of Postville all her life having been born on what is now known as the Grant Schultz farm. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. William Harris. She had one brother and four sisters. A sister, Mrs. O.J. Beucher, lives in Postville.

She attended country school and when the family moved to town they lived in the present John Palas home. She graduated from Postville High School and then taught country school at Grand Meadow.

Gless married Arthur Webster of Postville, an insurance man. One son, Bruce, lives in Sioux City. There are three grandchildren. Mr. Webster died about ten years ago.

Gless is an active resident and takes part in all of the activities at the Center.

~Postville Herald, Wednesday, November 29, 1972 (column: Resident of the Month, Good Samaritan Center, Postville, Iowa)

~Gless Webster's Obituary
~Arthur C. Webster's Obituary

A resident of the Good Samaritan Center since September 24, 1973, Jennie Wickham is active in most of the activities.

She was born in June 1888 in Fayette County, the daughter of Henry and Hattie (Finch) Nims. She had a twin sister Jessie who died in infancy. She also had two brothers and five sisters.

While Jennie was growing up, the Nims family lived north of Hawkeye where she attended a rural school. In 1907 she married Frank Wickham and they lived most of their early life around Hawkeye farming. They were parents of five sons and three daughters. Around 1930 they moved to a farm near Clermont, retiring from farming in the late thirties.

Around 1940 they moved to Postville where he husband worked for Hall Roberts until he retired. He died in 1963, then she went to live with her daughter.

Jennie was always a nature lover and enjoyed going to the woods to see and enjoy the trees and flowers. Fishing was her greatest sport and in earlier years she loved entertaining her family and relatives at Sunday dinners.

~Postville Herald, Wednesday, July 3, 1974 (column: Resident of the Month, Good Samaritan Center, Postville, Iowa)

~Jennie (Nims) Wickham's obituary
~Frank Wickham's obituary

Our January resident of the month is Malvina Williams. Born in Clermont in 1899, Malvina was the second child born to Dorothy and Lars Sampson. At about the age of ten, the family moved to Colorado to homestead 640 acres of prairie dry land.

January 3, 1917, Malvina married Guy Williams, beginning a marriage that has lasted sixty-three years. After having their family (3 sons and 1 daughter) and farming in Colorado for several years, Guy and Malvina returned to Clermont to eventually farm again. Upon retirement they bought a home in Clermont and continued in other jobs, enjoying their work.

With 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, life has been full for the Williams.

Malvina speaks with a smile on her face, telling you she is satisfied with her life. Her faith is strong and her sense of humor helps her get through the rough spots. Together Guy and Malvina are quite a team.

~Postville Herald, Wednesday, January 9, 1980 (column: Resident of the Month, Good Samaritan Center, Postville, Iowa)

~Malvina's obituary
~Guy's obituary

One of the most active residents of the Good Samaritan Center is pictured here outside the Center with the flowers. He is George Willis, a resident of the Center since May 1970 and htis month's honored resident.

Born March 21, 1892 at Berthoud, Colorado, George weighted only 1 1/2 pounds. A nurse helped care for him in the home, feeding him with an eyedropper. He was laid in a shoe box and placed on the oven door to keep warm.

His parents, Elizabeth (Bowen) and George Willis were immigrants from England, arriving with a son Abraham. Elizabeth and Hannah, sisters of George, and George were born in Colorado. He was baptized in the United Brethren Church.

George attended country school in Colorado and then moved by covered wagon with his family to near Waukon, where he finished his education at the Forest Mills country school.

George's varied occupations included helping build the first dirt road, Highway 51 to Waukon, the work all being done by horses. He worked at John Deere in Waterloo for five years, did farm work, mowed cemeteries and raised and dressed rabbits for a firm in Chicago.

He has four daughters and one son.

At the Center, George tends to the flag raising, helps with exercises, takes care of "Oscar" the Hamster and brightens everyone's day with his story telling.

~Postville Herald, Wednesday, August 6, 1975 (column: Resident of the Month, Good Samaritan Center, Postville, Iowa)

~George Willis obituary