July Area Happenings

60th Class Reunion - The Class of 1952 from the former Quimby High School met for Sunday Brunch for their 60th Class reunion on July 1 at Danny's Sports Spot in Cherokee. Attending were, back row, left to right, Frances Ann (Lux) Rupp, Rodney Nelson, Jim Fassler, David Graham, Calvin Husman, Betty Jean (Groepper) Erickson, Lorna (Johnson) Kintigh. Front row: Marlys Ann (Hodgdon) Nagel, Annabelle (Stroud) Steele, Faith (Perrett) Specht, Ethel (Fee) Warrender, and Ben McGee. Joanne (Stratton) Oentrich stopped by in the afternoon with her brother Bob, from Hawaii. Also attending were: Susan Graham, Virginia Husman, Jim Erickson, Paul Nagel, Stan Kintigh, Jim Warrender and Don Specht. Several had attended the All-School Reunion in Quimby. (Photo contributed)

Summer Pantry Food Drive - Jewett Chiropractic & Acupuncture held its Summer Pantry Food Drive and donated several non-perishable food items and household goods to Cherokee Mid-Sioux Opportunities. Joan Forcier, seated, accepted the items on behalf of Mid-Sioux. Pictured are, back row, left to right, Dr. Travis Jewett, Kristie Ebel, Dianne Phipps, Lynora Gehrke, and Dr. Tom Irwin. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Donation to CDEC - Ashley Christensen, a member of the Cherokee Drug Endangered Children Alliance (CDEC) recently accepted a $525.50 check for CDEC from Tim Haupert, Store Manager at the Cherokee Hy-Vee Food store. The check was part of a sales promotion at Hy-Vee and represented 10% of the store's sales for the last week in June, and CDEC will use the money to purchase clthing and other items for the children they serve. (Photo by Dan Whitney)

WHS Class of 1977 - The Cherokee Washington High School Class of 1977 celebrated their 35th reunion at The Grainery near Cherokee July 13th & 14th. Among those attending were front, left to right, Steve Miller, Dave Mackowski, Jim Witcomb, Joe Elsbury, Dan Zembsch, Doug Bunkers, Joe Peterson, Duane Mummert, Mark Bennett, Tim Carlson. Second row, Lenny Peters, Kent George, Bruce Immele, Dan Roberts, Mark Fassler, John Smith, Wayne Jacobson, Dale Reinert, Cam Hatch. Back, Kerry Ludwig Midland, Teresa McFarland Kauffman, Lynette Ferrin Smith, Lisa Licklider Stanislav, Becky Bushlow Pepper, Jenni Jenness Lockwood, Laurie Bell Baldwin, Jolene Kleihauer Smith, Gayle Woodall Gustafson, Heidi Knapp Howlett, Joni Reed Brehmer, Trudy Woltman Schroeder, Dawn Glasson Coury, JoAnn Perrin. Also attending but not in group photo, Lori Moon Fordyce, Lora Wilkie Holton, Joan Sauer Maszk, Barb Thomas Meister, Nancy Meloy, Dave Richardson. (Photo contributed)

Emma VandeLune (middle), a 5th grader from Cherokee, works with Autumn Winter of Manning to creatively balance on a disk during a teamwork game called "Swamp Crossing." VandeLune participated in the Iowa School for the Deaf's statewide summer camp for students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. (Photo contributed)

Heading to Cherokee - On July 22nd, thousands of bicycle riders left Sioux Center on a 54 mile ride through the beautiful Iowa countryside to Cherokee. This bunch of riders are pictured here on C-38 heading to Cherokee as part of their RAGBRAI XL experience. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

RAGBRAI riders - The countryside of Iowa served as a backdrop for the riders experiencing this year's RAGBRAI XL , which started in Sioux Center and ends in Clinton. Cherokee served as the first overnight stop on this year's RAGBRAI route. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Participants of this year's Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) are pictured here making their way into Cherokee as they rode down, and then up, the hills on C-38 entering the city. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

River crossing - While crossing the Little Sioux River, RAGBRAI riders from all over got a glimpse of one of Cherokee's natural assets while heading to their campsites. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

All downhill from here - RAGBRAI riders got a little break from their ride after entering Cherokee on Sunday. The west hill along Cherokee's Main Street provided the riders with a easy glide as they entered Cherokee's historic downtown. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Downtown riders - Downtown Cherokee was flooded by bicycle riders on Sunday as Cherokee hosted the first overnight stop in this year's RAGBRAI. The massive group of riders began coming to town early in the morning and a steady flow followed during the rest of the day. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Welcome to Cherokee - The Cherokee RAGBRAI Welcoming Committee was set-up on the Corner of 11th Street and Main Street to personally welcome the RAGBRAI riders to the city on Sunday. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Thousands of bike riders ended their day in Cherokee on July 22nd. After arriving in Cherokee, many of the riders took time out of their day to explore the town. For the past several months, Cherokee has been anticipating the RAGBRAI riders and efforts to accommodate the riders and support teams were highly successful. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Enduring the heat - Despite the high temperatures on Sunday July 22nd, the riders on this year's RAGBRAI showed their toughness by enduring the heat and the long ride from Sioux Center to Cherokee. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Cherokee County Pork Producers The Cherokee County Pork Producers have had a busy summer grilling at various events throughout Cherokee County, including the Cherokee County Fair and RAGBRAI, and they will be grilling again at the Cherokee Thunder Tractor Pull on Friday July 27th at the Cherokee County Fa (Photo contributed)

Busy day in Cherokee - Streets and sidewalks were busy in Cherokee on Sunday July 22nd as the city hosted over 30,000 people as part of this year's RAGBRAI. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Beating the heat - With triple digit heat on July 22nd, the Little Sioux River provided a welcome respite for many RAGBRAI riders as they took an opportunity to cool off with an old fashioned dip in the river. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

RAGBRAI overnight visitors created a "Tent City" at Cherokee's Koser Spring Lake Park on July 22nd. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

RAGBRAI bikers lined up to use shower facilities at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

RAGBRAI sunrise - RAGBRAI riders didn't burn any daylight on Monday. The riders were up and at it during the dawn's early light as they headed out of Cherokee to Lake View, their next overnight town. (Photo contributed)

On a roll at WITCC - This convivial group of Cherokee Rotarians, Washington High School students, and Western Iowa Tech Community College personnel rolled and bagged several thousand Des Moines Sunday Registers to be delivered to the RAGBRAI campgrounds in Cherokee during its 2012 overnight stay July 22. Coordinated by the Rotary Club and Cherokee WITCC Campus Director Darla Struck, the early morning labors served as a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club's Back Pack Program. (Photo contributed)

Celebrating 125 years - The Larrabee Burnout Rally was the perfect event for folks to come out and socialize for a little while on Saturday July 28th. The rally was part of the Larrabee Fun Day and this year marked Larrabee's Quasquicentennial. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Enjoying the view - Pictured enjoying the Larrabee Burnout Rally on Saturday July 28th were, left to right, Mark Wilkie, Earl Cresap and Bob James. James was the flagman during the rally and stood at the end of the straight-away. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Burnout/whiteout - Mike Frazier of Cherokee had an amazing run during the Larrabee Fun Day Burnout Rally on July 28th. Frazier is pictured waving the crowd on for more cheers as he smoked out all competition at the rally. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Rally winner - Brett Logan James, right, is pictured handing the Larrabee Burnout Rally purse to Mike Frazier of Cherokee. Frazier won the rally and the hearts of those in attendance on July 28th. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Larrabee Steak Fry - Members of the Larrabee Fire Department are pictured serving up the annual Larrabee Steak Fry that was held on Saturday at the Larrabee City Park (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Larrabee celebrates - Downtown Larrabee was the place to be on Saturday. There were many events held in Larrabee on Saturday as part of the town's 125 Birthday Bash including a Burnout Rally, Steak Fry, Street Dance and an all School Reunion the night before. (Photo contributed)

Good eats and good times - The Larrabee Steak Fry was a big hit this year. The Larrabee Fire Department annually puts on this popular event. (Photo contributed)

Company G - Members of Company G 334 BSB, of Storm Lake, served as the Firing Squad at this year's 7th Annual Cherokee County Veteran Appreciation Day held on Saturday July 28th at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Opening prayer - Pastor Larry Ostercamp of the Meriden Evangelical Free Church led the opening prayer during the Seventh Annual Cherokee County Veteran Appreciation Day program on July 28th. This year's Veteran Appreciation Day focused on the Fallen Soldiers of Iowa. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Pledge of Allegiance - Cherokee County Veteran Affairs Director Dana Evans welcomed the crowd to the Cherokee County Fairgrounds and picked a member of the audience to lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance during the July 28th Veteran's Appreciation Day Program. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Special singer - Cherokee native Libby Peterson was one of the special guests at this year's Cherokee County Veteran Appreciation Day. Peterson sang the American National Anthem along with a Special American Song. (Photo by Mike Leckband)

County Proclamation - Cherokee County Supervisor Mark Leeds read a County Proclamation that proclaimed Saturday July 28, 2012 as "Veteran's Appreciation Day in Cherokee County". (Photo by Mike Leckband)

Honoring the fallen - One of the guest speakers at the Seventh Annual Cherokee County Veteran's Appreciation Day was Colonel Steven W. Altman. This year's Veteran's Appreciation event honored the fallen soldiers of Iowa and expressed to their families how must their sacrifice is appreciated. (Photo by Mike Leckband)