75 years ago – Roger Babson, a noted statistician, predicts the business and financial outlook for 1948. He says certainly there will be no “depression” as so many pessimists are talking about, but fundamental conditions will become increasingly less favorable. Certain industries will show smaller net profits. This means that, in some cases, dividends may be less in 1948. The public is sick of high prices and will make demands for price controls in the case of certain products in short supply. Retail price changes will lag after wholesale prices changes. 1948 will be a year of war preparations. The total farm income for 1948 should equal that of 1947, but we forecast lower wheat, corn, and certain other products. Farmers should get out of debt, put money into improvements, and prepare for real trouble someday. Farmers will try to get both 1948 presidential candidates to promise further subsidies. Mr. Babson is predicting federal debt will be decreasing during 1948 and no personal taxes will be increased and there will be some reductions–perhaps 5% to 10% in the upper brackets and the entire elimination of those in the lower bracket. {Are you sure? Sounds like a dream.} He also predicts that wage workers will use the Taft-Harley bill to check on labor leaders and raise the minimum wage. Mr. Babson thinks city real estate will continue to hold firm due to less available space. Big commercial farm acreage may sell less, but subsistence farms located close to established communities will hold up in price. He predicts the wisest will not try to pick any special “winners” but will diversify broadly and those who have too many stocks will gradually build good reserves in cash or governments, for the big break which will come someday. He thinks the republicans have so bungled the price controversy that Mr. Truman has a fair chance of re-election. He ends his predictions, forecasting a greater interest in sane religion, temperance, and civic righteousness during 1948, with continued reaction against denominationalism, intolerance, and dogma.

The Juvenile Home boy’s cottages win awards with their Christmas decorations, and the Juvenile Home 32 voice choir sang at the Iowa Soldier’s Home hospital and at the Evangelical Deaconess hospital chapel under the direction of Mrs. Leigh H. Ladd. They also sang Christmas carols and modern Christmas selections through the halls of the hospital.

Some 245 students and teachers availed themselves of the opportunity to have the miniature x-rays taken at the Toledo public school. The mobile unit which is sent out by the State Department of Health and the Iowa Tuberculosis Association was in charge of taking the x-rays. This is part of the T.B. program which is made available to high schools throughout the county. The mobile unit will visit all Tama county high schools. Mrs. Howard Petersen, Toledo president of the Tama County Tuberculosis Association, and Mrs. Evan Thomas, seal sale chairman for Toledo, assisted with the work. There will be a follow-up program in the spring when large x-rays will be taken of anyone suspected of having T.B.

As was expected, the Clutier high school girls easily advanced into the final round of the Tama county girls’ basketball tournament being held at Montour. Dropping the Juvenile Home in the first round and Chelsea in the second round, they will meet Montour for the Tama county’s championship. Playing for consolation honors will be Garwin and Chelsea. Leading the Czechs in the second-round game was Gladine Kriz with 20 points. Ann Fetter led the Chelsea team with five field goals and six charity losses for a 16-point total. Clutier led at halftime 38 to 15. In one of the closes games in tournament play, Montour won the right to advance to the finals by dropping Garwin 43 to 34. Wiese and Harrah led the Montour attack with 15 and 16 points respectively. Harmson and Gettle collected 14 and 13 points respectively for the losers. Montour had a slim one-point lead at halftime, 18 to 17, and led at the close of the third quarter 31 to 27. The score was tied up twice in the second quarter and again in the third quarter. Towards the end of the third period, Montour took the lead and never relinquished it. Chelsea, Clutier, and Montour were the winners in the first-round games. Montour won over Dinsdale, 42 to 18, in the starting game. In the first period, Montour led 16 to 8, and during the second quarter failed to score, making the halftime tally 20 to 8 in Montour’s favor. Harrah led the scoring with 25 points, and C. Hulme and Tomlinson collected 7 points each for Dinsdale. In the second game of the series, Toledo led Chelsea until the final minutes of play. Toledo held a 23 to 11 advantage at the half, but Chelsea tied Toledo at 32 points in the final period and then went in front by 5 points. The final score was Toledo 32, and Chelsea 37. Kvidera had 17 points for Toledo, and L. A. Upah and Fetter led for Chelsea with 14 and 15 points respectively.

Representatives of the Tama County Farm Bureau will attend a meeting at Waterloo at Hotel Russell Lamson at which time the new Farm Bureau hail insurance will be launched. Attending will be Albert McMillan, Traer, Farm Bureau president, Paul Mitchell of Reinbeck, voting delegate; Russell Winders, Toledo, Kenneth Wendt, Traer, Lyle Green, Montour, members of the organization committee, William J. Kremenak, Toledo organization director, Irma Mattingly, Toledo, office assistant in charge of services, Mrs. Dick Whiting, general insurance agent, John Roubinek, special agent, Charles Mishek, Sr., adjuster and special agent.

Starting Sunday, January 18, 1948, Darlene Gebhardt, owner of the West End Grocery, will be open for business. The store is located on South County Road, Highway #63 in Toledo. The business will be open daily, evenings, and Sundays and will have a full line of groceries.

What might have been a disastrous fire in the Toledo business district was quickly put out by the local volunteer fire department at the Tama County Farm Bureau office. Fred Staker of Gladbrook noticed flames through the door of the Farm Bureau office as he was going to the AAA office on the second floor. Faye Wilcox, AAA chairman, also saw the blaze as he was returning to work and put in the alarm. The fire apparently started around a bulletin board rack at the front end of the office. The wall, an office desk, the bulletin board rack, and the floor around the rack were all damaged from the fire, smoke, and water. The response of the firemen was prompt, the city fire truck being on the job almost before the completion of the alarm.

The T.I.P. rural electrification cooperative of which Fay Wilcox of Tama is the president has received a $515, 000 allotment from the federal government rural electrification program. The allotment is to be used for the construction of new lines in Tama and Keokuk counties. Also, some of the money will be for the improvement of the present lines according to I. L. Nervig, company manager of Brooklyn. Members of the Tama county board of directors are Wilcox, Charles Viet, Chelsea, and Laurin Fisher of Toledo.

The J. H. Creamery Company of Tama had a turkey dinner followed by a dance at the Tower Club of King Tower Café for all personnel and their families. M. W. Hyland, Tama’s attorney, was the guest speaker. John Neil was the Master of ceremonies and introduced members of the firm and personnel of the various departments. A girl’s vocal group from the Tama high school sang several selections during the evening. Dude Dutton’s band played for the dancing. The company is again inaugurating dinners that were discontinued several years ago before the war.

John Deere Day will be sponsored by the Beem Implement and Hardware company, owned by Nelson E. King. There will be a free picture show at Wieting theater. The picture “Doctor Jim” stars Stuart Erwin. There will be other pictures that show the new features of the John Deere implements. Tickets for the show will be mailed to all farmers who receive the “Furrow,” John Deere’s official publication.

Much interest was evident in the demonstrations by Catherine Humphrey at the Weir Hardware store. Miss Humphrey, an Iowa State graduate, explained the latest methods of cooking in hammercraft, and waterless cookware and she featured the use of aluminum. A graduate in household equipment, Miss Humphrey worked for the Farm Security Administration for several years and was a home economist in Buena Vista county before becoming associated with the Luthe Hardware Company in Des Moines. Presto cookers were also used in the demonstrations which were very well attended and were given during the morning, afternoon, and evening.