Following Christ's example of humble service for 100 years !

Past and Present Home presidents reflexing on the Home Community and a vision of the future.
A Centenntial Choir of the member churches and refreshments are serviced after the cermony! Pictures courtesy of Wilcox Printing & Publishing

History from Home Residents

100 years . . . that’s the length of time the Madrid Home has been in existence.
Originally organized as a place for older persons to spend their declining years, it has developed into one of the finest of retirement homes, with three campuses. Ballard Creek in Huxley is an assisted living home. The Cedars, north of Madrid, is also an assisted living home. And the original “Home,” now offers skilled nursing, assisted living, 34 independent living apartments and two duplexes, which are also independent living.
Sometimes people, especially our younger population, have the impression that the inhabitants of these residences are “gomers” (a hospital term for old demented individuals). Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Over the years the Madrid Home has been the safe haven for many, many well educated, interesting and talented people.
I have worked and volunteered for many years at the Home and have gotten to know and love many of these residents. I remember Fritz Fridel and his wife. Mr. Fridel was formerly the conductor of the Austrian National Orchestra and was a Holocaust survivor.
Also a victim of Nazi terrorism was Arthur Bims, a banker from Latvia whose bank and personal property were confiscated.
These people found happiness, safety and security here at the Madrid Home. And who could forget Arthur Hanson and his stories about being blown away in the tornado? Or the current residents who were here when Mr. Thayer, long time administrator came 26 years ago, namely Ora Packard and Vernice Nelson.
Ora, the “un-official” welcoming committee sits in her rocker near the front door, and Vernice who has the uncanny ability to recognize a person by their footsteps, even though she has been blind since birth. I am pleased to know both of them and count them as my friends.
I think of the hundreds of other residents I have known through the years . . . the father of one of Iowa’s governors and the mother of a famous pianist, who now has his own show in Branson, Missouri.
Miriam Kolvin was the first resident I visited with. Since the country was just coming out of the depression, and money was scarce, Miriam would go to school for one quarter, then drop out until more money was available. It was at Iowa State that she got her degree. You must realize that 65 plus years ago, it was most unusual for a female in Iowa to have a four year college degree. In those days, to be able to teach in the public school, one took “normal training” in high school, then possibly a year of college training, but very few women had four year degrees to begin teaching.
Not only did Miriam teach her assigned subjects of home ec and science, but her students learned about sharing and patience. In those days very few schools could afford to have several sewing machines, so students had to wait their turn. Teachers also furnished a lot of their own materials for projects. Miriam’s salary . . . $80.00 per month.
Horses have always been an important part of Otis Hildreth’s life. Otis is 103 years old, and a joy for me to talk to. Until coming to the Madrid Home, Otis has spent his entire life on a farm.
His father had a huge barn, which housed many, many horses – horses for all purposes. There were teams for pulling heavy loads, teams for pulling the family buggy and teams that appeared in parades in Sac City. Remember in Otis’ early life, horse power was the only means of transportation. There were seven sons and one daughter in the family, and these young people were the work force.
At one time, a notice was placed in the local paper that a large group of cattle were going to be rounded up and that all the farmers along the way should shut their gates. Five of the Hildreth brothers, riding saddle horses (at the front and at the sides) rounded up 100 head of cattle and drove them through Main Street of Lake City to the local feed lot.
About 1910 or 1915, the family bought their first automobile, a Reo, and his mother made the side curtains for the windows. Otis married and had a farm of his own, and raised corn, oats, horses, of course, and later beans. Eventually, he owned a steel wheeled Titan tractor (with the top speed of three miles per hour) which took over much of the work formerly done by the horses.
These are but two of the people living at the Madrid Home. More interesting residents will be featured in future stories.

From an article in the Madrid Register News by Eleanor Gilbert