Lutgens grateful for immunotherapy as Chris fights Stage 4 melanoma diagnosis

It's difficult for anyone to hear the words, "Stage 4 melanoma," and not fear the worst.

In 2008, the five-year survival rate melanoma skin cancer was just 15-20%, according to the AJCC Melanoma Staging Database. While survival rates have improved since then, it continues to be a tough diagnosis to hear, as Chris Lutgen will readily admit.

The former West Union area hair stylist and Upper Iowa University employee had retired, and with her husband, Gary, moved to an acreage in rural Stanley, just south of Highway 3. There, they hoped to build a peaceful existence relaxing beside their pond, once Gary, a long-time court reporter, also made his retirement official in October 2013.

But in May last year, doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told the couple Chris had stage IIIC melanoma in the big toe of her left foot. In June, Lutgen's toe was amputated and she had a radical left inguinal lymphadecnectomy when doctors realized the cancer had spread.

In the procedure, 13 lymph nodes were removed spanning from Chris' foot to her chest.

A common risk of the procedure is lymphedema and infection and Chris was no exception. She returned for emergency surgery and a week of hospitalization for the infection. After weeks of fighting the swelling, she began to recover, but had to endure leukine treatment over a period of four months: injections into her stomach in an attempt to promote the production of white blood cells.

In November, Lutgen began immunization with peptide protocol and thought she was doing well as her scans didn't appear to show growth of the tumors.

But at a check-up at Mayo in late February, "Boom! a CT scan of my chest showed enlargement of previously small pulmonary lung nodules," Lutgen remembers. "The CT of my abdomen showed new enlarged nodes again. A biopsy confirmed the metastasis of my now Stage IV melanoma."

Although the Lutgens had been satisfied with the care given Chris at the Mayo Clinic to this point, they decided to get another opinion. They talked with their three sons, who agreed that the four to six months of life Chris had been giving as a prognosis if she did nothing, wasn't an acceptable option.

The Lutgens did some research of their own on the internet. The pioneering cancer studies in the area of immunotherapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston gave them hope.

Friday, March 14, Gary and Chris and their Yorkshire Terrier, "Diva," drove to Rockport,Texas. Leaving the dog in the care of Chris' sister and brother-in-law, the Lutgens drove the 200 miles back to Houston on Monday, the 17th. Tuesday, a battery of blood tests began. There were MRIs, blood tests, and numerous other scans at MD Anderson Cancer Center that week. Oncologists asked for Chris' toe – amputated at Mayo Clinic – to be sent to them for examination.

Chris remembers how when she waited on the table for yet another PET scan, she couldn't help but imagine the worst: what if she would miss watching all of her then, seven grandchildren grow up. (An 8th grandchild was born a few weeks ago.)

There were consultations and the Lutgens met the oncologist they'd come to know as "Dr. Papa." Even though the traffic and the loud, noisy atmosphere of a metropolis like Houston left them frazzled at the end of the day, the Lutgens were optimistic. When Chris wasn't at the hospital, the couple looked into more affordable long-term housing.

Friday, April 4, Chris had surgery to remove tumors in her pelvis and arms. As she laid in her hospital room recovering, Gary picked up the Houston Chronicle Sunday paper. There on the front page, was a photograph of the researcher credited with a breakthrough in immunotherapy that saw him earn the 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. 

Dr. James Allison, Chairman of the Department of Immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was the first person to prove that a protein receptor on T cells, (immune system enforcers) act as a checkpoint to shut down immune response so the body no longer fights the growth of tumors. He developed an antibody that encourages the immune system to attack cancer by blocking the immune checkpoint molecule CTLA-4. 

Ultimately, Allison's research led to the development of the first drug to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. 

Ipilimumab, or "Ippy," as it's known to the Lutgens, is a PD-1 therapy that doesn't treat tumors or the cancer – but recruits and encourages an individual's own body to develop a stronger immune response to fighting tumor cells.

Chris and Gary read the article on Dr. Allison, becoming more encouraged that immunotherapy could be the answer to their prayers: that Chris would beat metastatic melanoma. A photo included with the article featured a woman, now 32, who was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma at age 22. Although considered 'experimental' at the time, the woman received 'Ippy' treatments and her cancer has been in remission for nearly a decade. Another woman, was a 37-year-old Fort Worth, Texas mom who had a year of immunotherapy, but has now been declared cancer-free.

"I want to be one of those women," said Chris through her tears as the couple read the article about Dr. Allison's breakthroughs. 

"I want to be one of those survivors. The next time, you're going to see me featured on the pages of the Houston Chronicle as one of the success stories," she says bravely.

Married 43 years, Chris says she loves her husband more every day for his support through her ordeal.

"It's been an exciting year and a half," says Gary, with a grin. "It was adventurous to say the least." 

Thinking back to the many other cancer patients they saw at MD Anderson during Chris' immunotherapy treatments, Gary's sense of humor reminds Chris why she loves this guy.

He says, "Most everyone was in pairs: either it was a spouse, or a parent or a child, accompanying the person with cancer. In each pair, you could tell the cancer patient because they usually didn't have hair. In our case, I was the one without hair!" he laughs about his new, shaved look.

But Chris shakes her head and says Gary went above and beyond for her.

"I don't think a lot of men could have done this," she says.

Yet Gary is quick to shrug off the praise. 

"You wouldn't have thought it was so great if I'd been in that cabin (at Hope Cancer Retreat) with you every day!"

After moving to different hotels and centers every couple of days, the Lutgens feared with an expected stay of one year they might have to sell their home in Iowa and move to Houston – a city they couldn't imagine calling 'home.'

Then they found Hope Cancer Retreat, 38 minutes from MD Anderson.

"I had a feeling of spirituality the minute I stepped on the place," Chris remembers. "Although I've always believed in God I think now I have a deeper understanding of what's out there with all the healing I've experienced."

At Hope Cancer Retreat, near Splendora, TX, each family has their own one bedroom cabin at a cost of $25 or $50 per day – much more affordable than the $150/night hotels, and more private and peaceful too.

In between treatments, Chris was able to relax at Hope Retreat, with a good book ... yet Gary would pace and just couldn't sit still.

"I didn't know how I was going to stand it," he admits. 

But, divine intervention brought Gary a task that would keep his head and hands busy each day. He volunteered to help the owners of the retreat center build another cabin. 

Seven days a week, Gary pounded nails into two by fours and helped frame and construct a cabin that would offer hope to another family like the Lutgens – people who will need a quiet place while receiving medical care – away from the chaos of Houston.

At Hope Cancer Retreat the motto is, "You have to have hope before you can have faith."

Through their ordeal, the Lutgens found both.

A couple of weeks ago Chris was released from MD Anderson upon completing four months of Ippy intravenous treatment. The couple stopped at Taco Bell for a bite to eat and Gary saw he had missed a call from Chris' oncologist, Dr. Papa. He listened to the message as Chris waited anxiously for the news.

"I played the message for her," says Gary. "We both just bawled and bawled right there in Taco Bell," remembers Chris about the news that her tumors had shrunk even more than her doctors had hoped for. 

They can laugh now, knowing how peculiar their reactions must have seemed to others. "Everyone else must have wondered if the tacos were really that bad," they joke.

In his message, Dr. Papa told them they could wait eight weeks, rather than four, before returning to MD Anderson. He had earlier explained that because the body's immune system has a memory, it would continue to fight the tumors on it's own, even as Chris returned home to Iowa.

When Gary and Chris return to MD Anderson in middle to late October for what she hopes will be her last surgery, they will be the first to stay in the cabin that Gary helped build. Chris will have surgery on the one remaining tumor in her pelvis area that was once too dangerous to remove because it was wrapped around a major blood vessel. Since treatment, the tumor had shrunk to less than half its previous size.

Although Chris is still working to regain all her strength, she says being with their good friends Mike and Judy Roach; Steve and Leanne Berns, and Gary and Karen Skinner, has been therapeutic. They've gone golfing, and she appreciates the general concern shown to her by these three couples, and so many others.

"The whole community has supported me during this ordeal," she says graciously. "It's been very humbling and life changing to go through something like this. People are so good."

As a result, Chris says she wants to pay forward her miracle. She isn't sure how, just yet, but she's sure the perfect idea will come to her.

And one day, when she returns to MD Anderson for a periodic check-up, Chris Lutgen hopes that just might be her image on a poster on the wall of the hospital, featuring proud cancer survivors.

Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked MD Anderson Cancer Center either #1 or #2 in cancer treatment in the United States.

(Note: This article was originally written in 2011 after my niece, Alison's double lung transplant. Alison passed away on May 11, 2013 after a tough fight against the disease, Cystic Fibrosis.)

WEST UNION – After becoming the first double lung transplant at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 2011, there's not a lot to remind Alison Garvin she was born with Cystic Fibrosis. Since her surgery, the 23-year-old woman's physical health improves with each new day.

Diagnosed with the disease at less than two years of age, a nagging cough was the most outward indication to others as she struggled to breathe. But with each birthday Garvin celebrated, the disease increasingly weighed on her desire to thrive. Catching a cold or the flu, worsened her lungs' ability to rid her body of the mucus that accompanies those illnesses.

Frequent hospitalizations were the norm. Three week treatments of intravenous medications were typical as she grew to adulthood. Unless one saw her swallow a few "enzyme pills" with each meal which aids her pancreas in absorbing necessary nutrients, it was difficult from outward appearances to know she had CF.

After her 22nd birthday, the ability of Garvin's lungs to send enough oxygenated blood through her body had waned to almost non-functioning.

"What I thought was a severe sinus infection, took me from breathing on my own to needing six liters of supplemental oxygen in just a short time. My lungs were just worn out."

Getting listed

In early October, Garvin was hospitalized for three weeks at UIHC, and a high flow of oxygen was forced through her lungs and blocked sinuses. Near the end of her treatment, she began the process to get 'listed' for a double lung transplant. Candidates must be as healthy as possible and have even completed dental and eye as well as health exams. By Nov. 22 , Garvin's extended family began preparing emotionally, for this 108-pound young adult to undergo major surgery.

For Alison, once she learned lung transplantation was an option, there was no question she would turn down such an offer at renewed life.

As the procedure was detailed for close family and friends, Garvin said her greatest fear wasn't of dying. 

"That was in my near future anyway," she says with surprising frankness for someone so young. "This was my only option. They only transplant people who have under a year to live."

Garvin left the hospital in a wheelchair and a cannula in her nose providing supplementary oxygen. The oxygen was necessary while she slept, and even while she showered. She could hardly walk from her parents' living room, to her bedroom. She began pulmonary rehabilitation at Palmer Lutheran Health Center, hoping to regain some of her muscle mass and put on weight before the surgery.

Every night Garvin says she laid awake wondering if it would be the night they might get the call that donor lungs would become available. And each morning, she awoke to realize she was still in West Union. Christmas was celebrated at home with just her parents in an effort to stay healthy and not expose herself to illness.

Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 5, UIHC's transplant coordinator phoned with the message to prepare for potential surgery. A patient typically has four hours from the first call to get to the transplanting hospital.

An only child, Garvin is very close to her mom and dad, Joleen and Scott, who have supported her emotionally through her ordeal. As they waited for the call to affirm the donor was indeed a match, Alison admits, "I was most worried about my parents." 

Tears filling her eyes, she explains, "when you're on the table, you can have a stroke, or you might not wake up, or there can be memory loss. I most worried I would be otherwise incapacitated and there wouldn't be any quality of life. That would have been extremely hard for everybody to watch."

Friends wait with patient before surgery

Six of Alison's closest friends came to UIHC that Wednesday night to be with her until it was determined the donor lungs would indeed be viable for transplant. 

"It was pretty emotional," remembers Alison. "They sat in my room for two hours. It really meant a lot to me," she says of North Fayette High School classmates Emily Heying, Tiffany Anderson and Amy Corkery. Also at her bedside were South Winn grads and friends she met at UNI, Megan Imoehl, Ian Bakewell, and Noah Lienau.

Shortly after 12 midnight, the young adults bid farewell. About 1 a.m. Jan. 6, parents Joleen and Scott had to give their kisses of good luck, too and watch as she was wheeled away.

"The last thing I remember is it was 3:12 a.m.and them saying, 'OK Alison, it's time. The lungs are ready for you.' Almost nine hours later – about 12 noon on Jan. 6, she was wheeled into recovery. 

Mom Joleen remembers how difficult it was to see her daughter with tubes protruding from every part of her torso. There were at least six IVs stitched to her neck, each arm, hands and her pelvis. A ventilator tube in her mouth helped her breathe. Four chest tubes dealt with drainage. A screen above her monitored input and output of various functions.

When she became conscious of her surroundings, the first thing Alison wanted, was to talk. Because of the vent tube, her arms were restrained, but Garvin was able to bring her hands together enough to shape her fingers into the shape of a heart. Understanding the message, 'I love you,' was one of the more emotional moments for her parents.

Mom and Dad held a clipboard while their left handed daughter tried to communicate by writing out her questions. It was a challenge for them to read some of what she wrote, but it wasn't long and the vent tube was removed and Alison could express her feelings. There was the itching on her back side, pain from the chest tubes, and her desire to see her clamshell incision that stretched from under one arm, across her chest to under the other arm. 

Although she never expressed it to him personally, Garvin said she appreciated that her surgeon, Dr. Mark Iannettoni, avoided the tattoo she'd had inked over her right lung which declares her mantra: 'Be Brave.'

Last May 4, Alison said after pondering for awhile, the idea of a tattoo honoring her struggle, she decided the time was right, since May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. She called her friend, Elizabeth Green, who accompanied her on the mission there in Cedar Falls, where they were both living at the time.

Less than a year later, as she received donor organs in a bilateral transplant surgery, the medical personnel was apparently cognizant of the tattoo's significance to a Cystic Fibrosis patient. In placing her right chest tubes, they were stitched in just above the scripted words, instead of through them.

Boot camp begins

Literally hours after her surgery, medical personnel had Alison standing and taking a few steps. Transplant physician Dr. Julia Klesney-Tait, monitored the output from the chest tubes and decided when and how far Garvin was to walk every day to encourage progress. As Dr. K-T's "boot camp" began the day after surgery, Alison was soon walking four times a day, adding to the distance each time.

When she was shown images of the lungs removed from her chest, Garvin said it made her sick to see how diseased they had become. Instead of being pink and glistening, the organs were dark red, with nearly black spots in most places.

Now, with donor lungs in place, Garvin says she still has CF, but it no longer impacts her lungs. She still requires pancreatic enzymes, but otherwise she's traded one regimen of medications (CF-related) for another (immunosuppressants related to her transplant.) 

Initially she found herself having to retrain her brain in how she breathed. She used a spirometer as a coach to breathe deep, from the lower lobes of her lungs – something she hadn't done for years.

Less than two weeks after the transplant surgery, Garvin was released from hospital care, but was required to stay within a few minutes of the hospital. She returned daily during the week, for pulmonary rehab and several times a week, and blood draws to monitor the level of anti-rejection drugs in her system. She began education in identifying a new slate of medications and recording them in a journal required as follow-up to her lung transplant. She also began once a week appointments with the transplant doctor, which will continue for the next seven weeks. A bronchoscopy (biopsy) slated for March 29 will likely determine if she can be released from weekly appointments and pulmonary rehab. Six month and one-year bronchoscopies are also required.

Twenty-six days later . . .

By February 1, just 26 days post-transplant, Alison was released to return to her parents' home in West Union. Yet that week, she began a new 24-session regimen of pulmonary rehabilitation at Palmer Lutheran. She returns to Iowa CIty once a week to be examined by her transplant doctor, and is required to have once/week labs that monitor absorption of medications like the all-important Tacrolimus, an anti-rejection drug.

Garvin sets an alarm on her cell phone to remind her to take Tacrolimus at 12 midnight, along with a couple of crackers. Then she re-sets the alarm for 8 a.m. when she takes her next group of meds and/or vitamins.

  As she recuperates, Garvin said she anxiously awaits the day she can drive her car, something she hasn't done since September. With a restriction to lift no more than five pounds for eight weeks, and having a large incision that's still healing, she's limited in some activities. She's advised to avoid pollens, so there's no lawn-mowing or being around fresh-cut flowers. Fortunately, she had no former interests in gardening or keeping a bird as a pet.

Physically, she's healthier than before and eager to walk the stairs with her friends to one of her favorite haunts near her home in Cedar Falls. 

"I'm also excited to go back to living on my own," she says with a grin. And while she appreciates all her parents have done for her, she's sure they'll also be relieved to see her return to an independent lifestyle.

Beginning a new phase of life

Garvin says she'll miss some of the medical staff at UIHC with whom she became acquainted during her frequent hospitalizations, including Dr. Doug Hornick, the primary care physician for her CF. UIHC is a certified Cystic Fibrosis Care Center.

Garvin hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to avoid frequent contact with the public. She's considering studying to be a medical transcriptionist, but fears she'd miss the social contact to which she's become accustomed. Although she studied at both Kirkwood Community College and University of Northern Iowa, frequent hospitalizations interfered with completing many of her courses.

In 2010, UIHC performed 13 lung transplants at its center. Of that number, three had Cystic Fibrosis. Four of the 13 receiving lung transplants were between the ages of 18-34. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, UIHC has performed 77 lung transplants since 1988.

What Is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:

• clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
• obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food

Unmarked graves at First Lutheran Cemetery remembered

"I once was lost, but now am found"

By Janell Bradley

Thanks to the persistence of a couple persistent Norwegians and one German, the names of more than 150 temporarily forgotten souls buried in the First Lutheran Cemetery, will no longer go unrecognized.

When he became cemetery sexton several years ago, Art Wolfs said he wondered if the burial ground had ever been mapped. The West Union man's  investigation revealed the site had indeed been marked by a local Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project. Yet, no one he contacted was able to produce a copy.

So Wolfs and his wife, Shirley, set to work creating a map listing the names of 399 people whose graves were marked with headstones. 

Art Wolfs holds the map he & his wife, Shirley, created when they decided to mark the placement of each of the grave markers at First Lutheran Cemetery.

Shirley, whose maiden name is 'Mork,' had a long ancestry with the now-closed First Lutheran Church, and knew some of her relatives to be buried in its church cemetery including her grandparents, John and Helen Mork. Yet it seemed there were no records for others in the family history, nor were there headstones. It was then they discovered there were 104 deceased whose names had no markers.

Once known as the "Frame Church" First Lutheran, then Stavanger Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran, was destroyed by a storm and rebuilt. The structure as it stands today, was built in 1924. The name was changed in 1942 to end confusion with the Stavanger Church to the north, in Winneshiek County.

The First Lutheran congregation chose its name because it was the first Lutheran church in Fayette County, the first Lutheran church of Norwegian descent in Iowa and quite possibly the first Norwegian Lutheran church west of the Mississippi. The records for the first 20 years of the church, from 1850-1870, were lost, so there is a probability more people are buried in the church cemetery, than for which there are records. After the church closed in November 2012, the cemetery incorporated as a separate entity.

Once the Wolfs completed a map of the cemetery to the best of their knowledge, Art saw that the Fayette County Historical Society got a copy. 

As time passed, Beverly Saboe, a descendent of First Lutheran Church members, learned of the map. While visiting in the area, she got in touch with Wolfs. 

While she believed Art and Shirley had done a great job with their map, she knew of dozens of others who had been buried on the grounds, but without markers. It seemed that Saboe was among the few people to recall that First Lutheran Cemetery's records had been stored in a safe in neighboring Washington Prairie Church, some 14 or 15 miles to the north.

A sister to Ron Saboe of West Union, Beverly told Wolfs that at the time, church members didn't feel they had an adequate place to store the files where they would be safe from fire. 

Although Wolfs was eager to retrieve the records, Saboe said there was no need. She'd already copied the names from Washington Prairie's safe and had even spent time verifying some of the hard-to-read handwriting by making contacts back in Norway, the country from which many of the immigrants had traveled.

Soon, this small group of people began an effort to see that the names of those without markers would be recognized on a plaque.

Arlis Walvatne, who lives in Washington State, was one of the first to donate to the cause.

"She wanted a marker for her twin brother, Adrian Telmer Kleppe, Jr. who had been stillborn, Wolfs explains. 

Walvatne also saw to it that a marker with her twin brother's name was placed in the cemetery.

Clarence "Buzz" Cannon, made a donation to the cause when he learned his grandmother, Ellen (Torson) Cannon is buried there. From the information in Mrs. Cannon's obituary, she died a most unfortunate death after she kicked a sow that then bit her. According to the legend, Ellen then got lockjaw and died at the very young age of 30.

As the word spread, the donations came pouring in, and the group contacted Tom Luhman at West Union Monument about ordering a marker to list all of the names of the deceased who had no headstones marking their graves. Area welder Layne Frieden, Elgin, crafted a stand for the large plaque.

This spring after the ground has thawed, a group of individuals plans to install the marker of 104 names at the site.

And engraved on one of the side plaques, will be the words:"I once was lost, but now am found."

It's a familiar scripture from the Bible and a phrase from the song, "Amazing Grace." But it's also a fitting phrase for the discovery that 154 souls are buried in a rural Ossian cemetery without markers.

The following names and dates of birth/death are listed on the first plaque:

Lars Aasheim 1775-1877

Valjer Larson Aasland 1844-1884

Carrie Aasland 1864-1886

Lars Aasland  -1892

Endre Andrew Amdahl 1831-1909

Myrtle Amdahl -1910

Ingeborg Olena Amundsen 1944-1929

Lena R. Anderson  1864-1932

R.W. Anderson 1856-1928

Anna Buthina Askelson  - 1902

Lida Askelson -1910

Lida P. Askelson -1913

P. Koames Barr - 1910

Bjeland Bjorn Bjornson 1802-1881

Ole Borgeland 1860-1909

Lars Breiland 1820-1872

Ellen Torson Cannon 1874-1906

S. Chensvold - 1927

Ingrid Gurina Evenson 1843-1881

____ Evenson 1882-1893

Anna Fundingsland  1880-1926

Oline Galland  1870-1898

Karen Gjesdal 1832-1910

Peder Gjesdal  1820-1908

Enges P. Guenderson  -1908

Hida E. Gugedahl  -1905

Halvor J. Hagelie  1903-1906

Halvor O. Hagelie  1849-1923

Mrs. Ole Hagh  -1895

Clarens Edwin Hauge - 1905

Theodor Hauge 1884-1916

Ole Havig 1816-1897

Halvor Hetland 1820-1908

Helene J. Hetland 1844-1908

Anne L. Jacobson 1829-1829-1893

Serine Jacobson -1894

Raymond L. Johanson  1905-1942

Shirley Jene Johanson  -1950

Hatte Johnson  1838-1911

Lars Johnson  1857-1893

Mrs. Olena Johnson 1844-1929

Peter J. Johnson  1860-1903

Severt Johnson  -1907

Emma Jonsberg 1979-1904

Ole Juggedal -1897

Butel Kleppe 1896-1902

Charlotte Amanda Kloster  -1906

Mons M. Kloster -1910

Gina Knudson 1887-1910

Martha (Olsdatter) Kwame 1806-1879

Alfred Mork 1847-1924

Edna Charlotte Mork - 1902

Bertha Nelson 1832-1917

Esho Viola Nelson - 1913

Osmund Nelson 1835-1916

Lars Ness 1868-1883

Bertha Karine Olsdatter 1891

Regina Oleson - 1883

Albert Olson - 1885

Anna Olson - 1896

Mrs. Olson - 1896

Olai Olson - 1898

Selmer Olson 1878-1945

Andrian Osmundson 1872-1894

Knud O. Osmundson 1826-1896

Lillian Osmundson -1898

Liva Osmundson 1830-1909

Lars Osterhus - 1896

Oley C. Osterhus 1887-1906

Lars Ostrander 1813-1892

Mabel Paulson - 1900

Andrian Pederson 1877-1894

Levina Pederson - 1924

Anna Peterson 1852-1939

Peter Peterson, Jr. 1953-1931

Anna B. Ramsjil 1818-1916

Nils Ramsjil - 1898

John Sabo 1874-1957

Martin Sabo 1876-1961

Marttia T. Sand 1838-1908

Torger Sand - 1910

Ole Savold 1795-1880

Lars O. Sigedal 1820-1889

Thorbjar Thorson Sigedal 1830-1905

Anna Bergette Stangeland 1864-1947

Anne Laffie N. Stangeland - 1885

Ingeborg Stangeland - 1861

Samuel Stangeland - 1867

John Steinsland 1849-1883

Leonard Bardinus Thorson 1893-1913

Oline Malene Thorson 1892-1912

Anna Tollefson 1858-1928

Bertha Tollefson 1892-1961

Engbar Tollefson - 1905

Hans Tollefson 1854-1940

Tom Tollefson - 1910

Mrs. Voga - 1899

Adrian Walvatne 1923-1924

Clifford Walvatne - 1923

Irvin Obert Walvatne - 1918

Obert Irvin Walvatne - 1920

Myrtle E. Walvatne - 1916

Mina Josifina Willeikson 1900-1904

Henrik William - 1884

The additional 50 names discovered from the records at Washington Prairie Church include:

Ole Bjornson 1819-1907

Christen Danielson 1820-1877

Ragnild Dokken 1833-1878

Johannah Evenson 1822-1880

Ole Evenson 1882-1893

Larsina Fundingsland 1851-1879

Albert Galland 1833-1885

Ole Guggedall 1817-1897

Serine Guggedal 1861-1881

Sigri Guggedal 1823-1874

Aadel Marie Hagelie 1862-1865

Bent Hagelie - 1891

John O. Hagelie 1860-1865

Carrie O. Hauge 1812-1890

Ole Hauge 1818-1879

Sonneva Hedland 1806-1880

Anna B. Hetland 1818-1916

Johannes Iverson 1850-1883

Serine Charlotte Jacobson 1875-1881

Bertha Johnson 1895-1896

Hadley Johnson 1836-1911

Martha Klangson 1815-1899

Henrik William Klementson 1883-1884

Jacob Olai Kleppe 1886-1888

Knud Kleppe 1875-1880

Ana Lorvise Matsen 1844-1883

Gladys T. Nelson - 1933

Betha Nilson 1832-1917

Osmund Nilson 1834-1916

Adrena Oleson 1853-1870

Breta Olson 1849-1904

Hans Oscar Olson - 1890

Anna Bertine Osland 1890-1902

Andrew Osmundson 1874-1894

Enger P. Osmundson 1817-1908

Andrias Pederson 1864-1894

Elisabeth E. Pederson 1874-1875

Peder Pederson - 1828

Andreas Rodlene 1875-1876

Britta Rodlene 1841-1877

Elin Rodlene 1869-1876

Magla Rodlene - 1871

Margretha Rodlene 1848-1872

Joseph Stangeland 1803-1879

Anna Stensland 1813-1875

Britha Thorson 1841-1900

Hendrik Thorson 1876-1878

Tollef Thorson 1873-1898

Serine Tollefson 1871-1872

Martha Vaga - 1898

North grad, Deb Winter, brewing new business in Elkader

By Janell Bradley

ELKADER – Buying an historic brick building in this town and renovating it into both her business and residence, has been a welcome adventure for Deb Winter.

She's only lived in the town the past year, but Winter grew up in nearby West Union and graduated from North High School in 1977.

Having just opened 'Deb's Brewtopia' – a homebrewing equipment and supply shop, Winter probably couldn't have ever imagined that a passion for home-brewing and entering competitions with her wine and beer would be the thing to bring her full circle and closer to her family.

The oldest in a family of seven children, Winter married her high school sweetheart and for all of the 34 years of her marriage, worked as office manager for a court reporting firm in Waterloo – a job she loved.

But with a divorce, came her decision to leave that community and move back closer to her parents and several siblings. As she readjusted to single life, Deb stayed alternately with her parents in West Union and youngest brother, David, who with his wife and children, live west of Elkader.

She admits at first, she didn't know which direction her life was headed.

"I had put in applications at several places, but then one morning I just knew. I woke up and thought, 'What's my passion? What do I know? What do I love'?" She had her answer.

Having gotten her start with brewing in 2007, Winter first entered her brews at the Iowa State Fair competition in 2009. She took first place gold with her pale ale and second with a Vienna lager. Since then, she's been entering competitions in California, Tennessee, Kansas City and other locales. She took first and second place honors in Vail, Colo. in January 2010 at the Big Beers & Barley Wine competition and participated in the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing – an event for which she had to first qualify.

Winter admits there is a secret to the beer she's been most successful with, the American red pale ale. Acquiring pieces of discarded Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, she has a process to transfer the flavors of oak and Templeton Rye whiskey – to her beer. 

Another top award-winner is a bourbon oatmeal stout.

"No," Winter says with a grin and a laugh, "I don't do the 'chick' beers!" 

Winter also grows 18 varieties of hops. In all, her brew shop offers 46 varieties of grains to potential brewmasters. The combinations are limitless, she says.

While she offers kits for beginners, Winter also offers everything an experienced beer brewer or wine maker might need.

At any given time, she's likely to have seven or eight varieties of wine 'cooking' and another 10 or so completed and available for tasting in a 5 gallon kegs in a chiller. 

As for brewing beer, Winter is still establishing that area, but once it's up and running, she hopes to offer beers for purchase – by the growler, or by the keg, to area restaurants. If enough interest is shown, she will begin scheduling classes to individuals, on both brewing and winemaking. She estimates a person can get started spending as little as $30 or could spend up to $200 if purchasing all equipment and ingredients.

Overall, Winter is excited about her new venture.

When she started to look for a place from which to operate her brewing supply business, she says the former Clayton County Register building wasn't a tough sell. It had everything she needed: character emanating from the brick walls and floors, a storefront, a potential living area in the back and a garage where she eventually hopes to set up her own brewing tanks.

"What's not to love? There's the Turkey River, the downtown ... it was love at first sight."

Admittedly, there was a lot of work involved in renovation before Winter was ready to open shop. She says she used 100 tubes of caulk alone, closing gaps in the wood ceiling in what was once the composition/paste-up area of the long-time newspaper office. With help from her brothers and her Dad, Dan Winter,  Sr., she tore out walls and opened up the area that once separate the front office from the composition area.

As construction progressed and Deb was able to use the building as a residence, she found a calico cat in the alley that barely weighed a pound.

These days, "Ophelia the cat," joins the dog, "Louie," in having the run of the place, since Winter has rehabbed the one-time job-printing area into a studio apartment. The overhead balcony was once an office for newspaper employees. Now, it's a loft bedroom where the original pipe railing is still in place, as are the concrete steps leading upward.

Having the project as a goal was tremendous motivation for Winter. Nieces Jessica and Kate Winter helped with selecting colors for paint and getting a website in place. Other family members helped with construction and de-construction – and they frequently offer opinions on new brews she's trying, too.

"The support of my family has been unbelievable," she says. "It's really helped me believe in myself."

Deb's Brewtopia is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 5 and Saturday from 10-2. The shop at 106 Cedar Street is closed Sunday and Monday. She can also be contacted at 563-245-3737 or toll-free at 855-210-3737. Her website, is: www.debsbrewtopia.com.

Oh, to be 50!

It seems the past year has been filled with celebrations of 50th birthdays – and before you ask – no, I am not quite there myself. The hubby and I have enjoyed each and every party, and we continue to look forward to those that are still to come.

This past weekend, fellow "Hawk Hotline" journalist Brian Meyer, (from our days at North High School writing under the auspices of the late Isabelle Gay) celebrated his September birthday at a remote area here in Northeast Iowa. Brian and his wife, Janell, live and work in Ames, where they're raising two sons, Truman and Griffin.

But perhaps my favorite "moment" from the party is when they brought the 90-lb. hog into the serving area, directly from the cooker outdoors. Yes, those are ears and eyes intact!! Cooked by Lynch BBQ Catering Service, the pork was delicious, of course! Brian and Janell added the apple to the piggy's mouth, however! That's Brian's Aunt Tudy Meyer in the background of the top photo.

With just a few of us left to mark the Big 5-0 over the next year, we are wondering how we can top this party thrown by the Meyers in a 6 BDR log cabin overlooking the Turkey River, near Auburn. Ideas anyone?

Firefighter quilt to benefit George Streeter

Bev Weidemann, Hawkeye, is pictured with the firefighter theme quilt that she created and then custom-quilted as part of the fundraiser for George Streeter that is this Saturday, Oct. 8 in Hawkeye. See the related story about Hawkeye area quilting women, under 'Pages' in the right sidebar.

Upper Iowa provides hundreds of volunteers for EM:HE project

The Gibbs house was still standing at 1 p.m. Monday .... and hardly 48 hours later, the concrete block foundation was in place and the shingles were being hammered to the roof. Amazing!!

General contractor Ed Larson said Wednesday, approximately 3,500 to 3,800 cement block were laid for the foundation, in just three hours - and that would be 'middle of the night' hours lit be rented spotlights.


Larson added that somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 volunteers have already put their thumbprint on the project in providing labor. "The Extreme Makeover people are very talented and this is a unique project. I can see why they are successful."

Upper Iowa University's soccer team volunteered for the 2-8 a.m. shift Wednesday, and dozens of other UIU students will volunteer Thursday and Friday as the college transports buses of students to the site to help out. Assistant Dean of Students Daryl Grove, said students Wed. had the opportunity to be filmed by the Extreme Makeover producers and will hope to get a glimpse of themselves when the show is aired - possibly around Christmas-time. The word around the Gibbs farm this week, was that this filming is destined for the 12th episode this season. Time will tell if that rings true. Grove said he and some of the students also took part in an art project that they aren't allowed to discuss, but they were thrilled to be chosen for that bit of creative work.

I have a video of Grove discussing today's work, but it's too large to post. Hopefully I can figure out how to condense it and get it posted here.