Waterloo-Cedar Falls Sertoma Club

a History
 

     
     
 

WATERLOO-CEDAR FALLS SERTOMA CLUB
Charter Date - October 5, 1957

  
      
  In 1957 the Des Moines Sertoma Club decided to sponsor a club in Waterloo-Cedar Falls.  H C "Bill" Pearson was sent as an extension counselor from Kansas City headquarters.  He contacted local businessmen and recruited a nucleus who in turn called on other businessmen.  This continued for a couple of months.  On October 5, 1957, a charter banquet for 85 members and spouses was held at Black's Team Room in Waterloo.

An initiation fee of $25 was paid by each charter member.  The officers were installed at the banquet.  Each member received a Western string tie from the headquarters' representative.

Regular meetings were held each Thursday at Black's Tea Room for many years.  A salad, entree, and dessert was the regular fare.  Membership increased to over 100 members, qualifying the Club for the Century Club award.

When Black's Tea Room closed, the Club moved its weekly meeting to Quality Inn (which later became Conway Inne).  In 1990 the Club moved to the Silver Fox where meetings were held regularly.

Over the years the Club has been responsible for chartering ten new clubs, including the Cedar Falls Club (now the Cedar Valley Sertoma Club - a union of the Cedar Falls Club and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Sertoma Club), a John Deere Club, a Waverly Club, and an Oelwein Club.

Early activities included Pancake Day.  In the early years an Air Show was brought in that proved less than financially lucrative.  A concession stand was manned during the summer Water Hawks' Show.

On a couple of occasions a pancake breakfast was held at Exchange Park during the summer months.  The club raised money by working at the UNI concession stand. 		 
     
 
 
     
 


CHARTER MEMBERS:

Jewell L Acton   John H Lounsberry
Harry J Anton   Leonard D Lybbert
Bruce A Babcock   Donald O Maltas
Richard J Bandfield   James E McDermott
Gary B Benjamin, DDS   Howard A McMullen
John boyle   Kenneth F Monger
Pete Broadway   Dr. Lewis E Montgomery
Robert C Broshar   Lyle S Muldoon
Arthur Burns   Myron E Nelson, DDS
Lloyd T Carey   Robert E Neu
Leigh T Dean   E James O'Connor
Robert W Deyo    E H Olinger
Lawrence R Dilley   M C "Pat" Patterson
James S Dugan   Robert J Paulsen
Richard A Everett   James F Purk
Thomas H Flinn   Thomas F Quinn
K Martin Gaertnier   Paul E Ray
Fred J Hagy   Herman D Robin
Clayton L Hanneman   William H. Robinson
Arthur V Hansen   Harold V Rooff
Alan Henry   James L "Pat" Rooff
Jimmy Keith Holdiman   Leo Rooff
Robert L Horslund   Durwood R Ross
Bob Hunerberg   H K "Pete" Schandorff
Glen E Johnson   Edward L Schnee
Edward D Kadera   Robert J Schreiner
Upton B Kepford   David E Seger
Cecil L Kleist   Robert R Sherburne
James B Knowles   Robert Slivken
Clarence J Kobliska   Jack A Snodgrass
William A Kortemeyer   Dr. Dale Spear
Donald E Krause   Leon D "Bud" Tenenbaum
Iz Krensky   T Eugene Thornton
Al Laval   J Dwight "Bud" Turner
L Frank LeBlond   Charles J Uban
John W Legg   Chester P Walsh
Wayne R Lighthart   Bill Walsh
Ray E Limbrecht   Jack C Warren
Robert A Lippert   Ralph H Welch
John Locke   Frank P Williams
George W Lorenz   Robert B Wilson
    Dale F. Winder
 
     
 
 
     
 


PAST CLUB PRESIDENTS
 
1957-1958   Pat Patterson
1958-1959   David Seger
1958-1959   Term finished by Robert Lippert
1959-1960   Dr. Myron Nelson
1960-1961   Jim O'Connor
1961-1962   Kenneth Stultz
1962-1963   Emory Peterman *
1963-1964   Don Kelly *
1964-1965   John Marlow
1965-1966   Dick Gielau *
1966-1967   John Lounsberry *
1967-1968   Charles Hinton *
1968-1969   Robert Biesanz *
1969-1970   Robert McGill
1970-1971   Jerry Schall
1971-1972   Lavern Messingham
1972-1973   Dr. Francis Winter
1973-1974   Kenneth Meyer
1974-1975   Howard Ralston *
1975-1976   Fred Owen
1967-1977   Wayne Grimes
1977-1978   David Greene
1978-1979   Max Cory
1979-1980   William Robinson
1980-1981   Dennis Egel
1981-1982   James Farnsworth
1982-1983   Eric Rose
1983-1984   William Menefee *  **
1984-1985   Ed Dreesman
1985-1986   Michael Farrell
1986-1987   Sam McCord
1987-1988   Richard Main
1988-1989   Lloyd Berry
1989-1990   Sharon Droste
1990-1991   Edgar Donahoe
1991-1992   William Smart
1992-1993   H M "Buzz" Anderson
1993-1994   Ronald Potter
1994-1995   Michael Massina
         
         * Gold Coat President    ** Distinguished Club President
 
     
 
 
      

THE GREAT ASTRONAUT SCAM

From the Pages of History
(as recounted by Bob Biesanz

     
  The Great Astronaut Scam was created and performed under the presidency of John Lounsberry.  John was a great guy and friend of three Sertomans who decided to play the scam.  Perhaps only myself (Bob), Jim Doyle, Don Kelly, Bob McGill and Bill Robinson were with the Club at the time and are still members (at the time of this writing).

Emory Peterman, Dick Geilau, and Henry Cutler were the ONLY members who knew of the plans for the scam and worked out the details.  Emory and Dick had the idea.

The Scam: Our Club was told that Astronaut Armstrong would be speaking at the Sioux City Sertoma Club on a certain date, and that we had a chance to have him come to Waterloo the next day (which was a Thursday) and speak before our Club.  This was exciting, especially when Emory and Dick showed us the telegrams from the Sioux City Club and told us they had cleared it with Mr. Armstrong and NASA.

A date was set and much publicity was in our bulletin.  We began practicing the "Air Force Song" - "into the wild blue yonder."

The day came.  Our Club was meeting on the top floor of the Black's Building.  Henry Cutler got on the elevator with me, carrying (I found out later) some Red Cross air tanks, and a large suitcase.  It did not dawn on me or other members on the elevator the significance of this paraphernalia.

At the meeting - just after a big build-up - it was announced that Astronaut Armstrong had just arrived and would be in shortly.  And, as he was about to come in, John Lounsberry had us all stand (at least 50 were in attendance), and we started singing the "Air Force Song," of which we knew only about the first two or three lines.

In came the Astronaut, wearing rubber boots, some kind of light brown jumper, a deep sea diver's helmet, and those Red Cross tanks on his back.  John greeted him for the Club, and then when the Astronaut took off his helmet, we saw it was our own member, Henry Cutler.

Although John Lounsberry was embarrassed, he took it well, for all of us were equally taken in by THE SCAM.