Forum Flashbacks: Sept. 3-Sept. 9

FORUM FILE PHOTO
25 years ago: Lester and Leola Swaney of Maryville were two of Nodaway County’s Distinguished Citizens to be recognized at open ceremonies of the Nodaway County Sesquicentennial. Ten couples and individuals were given plaques for being Distinguished Citizens.

25 years ago

• George Groumoutis was 10 days into a two month vacation in Greece, when he received a call that there had been a fire at his restaurant.
  That was in the middle of June. Currently, plans are still up in the air as far as the future of A & G Pizza and Steakhouse, but the owners are sure they want to rebuild.
  The main concern for Groumoutis and his wife, Sue, co-owners of the restaurant, is where to build.
  “I haven’t decided if I will stay in downtown or if I’ll go south,” George Groumoutis said.
  He said he has looked at a few different locations on the south side of town.
  “This is the first choice,” Groumoutis said about the downtown location. “But I have plans B and C if this doesn’t work out.”

15 years ago

• Somehwere in Hurricane Katrina’s path is a community in need, and Northwest Missouri State University, along with various organizations in Maryville and Nodaway County, are looking for that community.
  About 30 representatives from a number of local groups met on Tuesday on the Northwest campus and agreed to coordinate relief efforts by “adopting” one community — yet to be identified — hit by the storm.
  Those attending the meeting agreed they could do the most good by pooling their efforts and providing specific kinds of assistance identified by the adopted city itself. The group then formed a sub-committee charged with working out the details and acting as an organizational clearing house.
• While most of America’s attention is on the Gulf Coast and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, one cannot forget the men and women serving in Iraq.
  Although many American citizens affected by Operation Iraqi Freedom have gone back to their daily routine, some still are trying to pick up the missing pieces: a lost loved one, a lost career, a lost American symbol, or perhaps even the lost pride and security they once felt.
  Whatever the case may be, some people are still missing a piece of their life, a tangible piece. They have a family member serving either in the United States or in the Middle East. …
  In their Ravenwood home, Tanya Riley and her two girls patiently wait until Daddy returns. Daddy, Rex, is a Marine serving in Iraq.
  Rex has been in the Marine Corps for 10 years. His two daughters, ages six and eight, have a hard time understanding why he must be gone.
  “They continue to ask questions like, ‘How come Daddy likes to be away from his family?’” said Tanya. “I tell them that he is very good at what he does and that he’s over there to keep us safe here.”
  Tanya says that being in the Marines is Rex’s “calling in life.”
  “I have watched Rex grow into a man of respect, pride, and honor for the life and world around him,” she said. “God has blessed him with a wonderful talent and has given him the opportunity to use it.”

5 years ago

• Smoke and flames from a fire that began in an upstairs apartment at 511 W. Fourth Street near the Northwest Missouri State University campus damaged a yellow, two-story house Sunday evening.
  Maryville Public Safety firefighters, MPS police officers, and university police responded to the alarm just before 6:30 p.m.
  MPS fire division Capt. Phil Rickabaugh said he was uncertain as to the cause of the blaze, but that the incident may have involved careless smoking.
  He said the fire is believed to have ignited in the vicinity of a couple of upholstered chairs.
• Something delicious is in the oven at Conception Abbey these days — “homemade” granola painstakingly created one big batch at a time by Father Guerric, the religious community’s kitchenmaster and its first-ever certified pastry chef.
  True granola, for folks familiar only with those lower-calorie “health food” candy bars consisting of grain, nuts, and a fair amount of sugar, is actually a traditional breakfast cereal, called muesli in Europe, and generally consisting of rolled oats, honey, dried fruit, and nuts.
  The Abbey Kitchen, where Father Guerric holds what is essentially the position of executive chef and supervises an eight-member staff, is charged with preparing three meals a day for about 60 monks and more than 100 high-nutrition cereal bars as a commercial product.
  According to the abbey’s Father Paul Sheller, Brother Michael Marcotte started making granola at Conception in the mid-1980s after combining portions of several family recipes.
  The tradition continued under the skilled hands of longtime kitchen employee, the late Helga Sponaugle, who died in 2013.