5th Annual Dale Lynch Memorial Alumni Weekend

The 5th Annual Dale Lynch Memorial Alumni Weekend kicks off tonight (March 28th) with the open Dodgeball Tournament at 5:30 PM at the Walnut High School.

Dale Lynch Alumni Weekend

Friends of WCS Project Update

The Friends of WCS volunteers have been busy updating the appearance of our school as part of the Facilities Facelift Project. Many items included in this project are scheduled to be completed in time for the Dale Lynch Memorial Alumni Weekend activities beginning on Friday March 28, 2008.

Earl Caddock, 1888-1950 Heavyweight Champion of the World

Earl Caddock World Champion Professional Wrestler

In 1917, the heavyweight champion of the world was Earl Caddock, a handsome young man who was raised on a farm near Walnut, Iowa. He won three AAU national titles in the years 1915-1916 (winning two weights in 1916), and was never beaten in 53 amateur bouts.





Caddock Defeats Stecher

April 9, 1917

Caddock was 29. He had been a resident of the Walnut area since, at 14, he had come to live with an uncle, Isaac Brown, who farmed near Berea, Ia.

He took the world title from the great Joe Stecher in Omaha. The epic match lasted nearly three hours, with each man winning a pin fall and Stecher declaring he was too exhausted to continue for the third and deciding fall.



World War I



His popularity soared when he stepped up and volunteered to fight in World War I, when no other professional athletes were doing so.


“Before the draft law was in effect, Caddock, with his title and all, reported at the recruiting office and volunteered his services at the call of his countrymen. He was rejected after careful medial examination because of his tonsils. This, however, did not deter Caddock for long. He left the same night for Rochester, Minnesota, called on the famed Mayo Brothers at their sanitarium, and had them perform a tonsil operation, and then returned to Des Moines less than a week later and this time was accepted.

Caddock saw plenty of action, fighting in foxholes in France, and was injured by an attack with mustard gas.





Stecher Defeats Caddock

BUT CADDOCK was never quite the same after he returned home from the war. In another epic match, he faced off against Stecher on January 30, 1920, in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. All 14,000 tickets sold out in a few days and the match was the No. 1 sports event of the year. Stecher had served in the navy during World War I and the Army escorted Caddock into the ring while the Navy led Stecher.

The match was sensational. The two warriors squared off in long black tights – two Midwestern farm boys back from the war to see who was the best wrestler in the entire world. Caddock was still unbeaten, and Stecher had still just one loss to his name.

The match went back and forth, with Caddock scoring the most takedowns and Stecher proving he was the best on the mat. Eventually, Stecher’s greater size (he weighed in at 205 to Caddock’s 188) and the mustard gas damage wore Caddock down. After two hours and three minutes, Stecher caught Caddock in a half nelson and body scissors and turned him to his back. Caddock bridged valiantly, but was finally pinned. It was the first loss of his entire career!

Footage from the January 30th, 1920 match at the second Madison Square Garden in New York City has survived and although grainy and low quality can be seen below. Stecher pinned Caddock in 2:05:00

Earl Caddock, 1888-1950 @ iagenweb.org

Des Moines Register Article

Walnut Community Meeting Monday Feb 4th

The Walnut CSD is conducting a community meeting on February 4, to discuss the current educational programs at Walnut and the partial day sharing programs with Atlantic.

The goal of the evening will be to provide current information: enrollment data, testing data, financial data, sharing with Atlantic, and staff information to the community. Small group discussions will be facilitated by board members and administration to help promote communication. A supper and child care will be provided to encourage all community members to attend. To help plan for the meeting, you are requested to RSVP to Patty Kay by Friday, February 1. Please call the school at 784-2251 to indicate your needs for child care. The board is hopeful of a large community turn-out to help planning for the future of the school district.

More details available at FriendsofWCS.com

Antique Doors as a Dressing Screen

When we finished our basement, I took a vow that I would not clutter up my living room with any electronics. But we did have a nice stereo system that would come in handy for entertaining or just background music while hanging out reading a book or cleaning. I came up with the idea to make a screen and hide it. I went to a surplus antique shop in Walnut, Iowa that is full of furniture and fixtures from old houses. I came across these doors for $35 a piece and couldn't be happier with them!

Antique Doors as a Dressing Screen

Blum Hand Planes - A Great Design

Continuing the theme started a few days ago of rave reviews for local businesses, I present this from Dennis Perkins at Woodworking Online:

As I was stepping out to do a seminar on hand planes and scrapers at the Woodsmith Store last week, I noticed a couple of new items on Randy’s desk. He had just received two new planes from the Blum Tool Company, a small firm in Walnut, Iowa.

I’ve seen good-looking wooden planes before and been a little disappointed.

After setting everything up for the seminar, I had a little time to spare. So I dug out the instructions on the Blum planes and gave them a quick glance. I wasn’t planning on doing an extensive setup or anything, but I wanted to at least see how they worked. After all, they had a different design from anything I’d ever tried before.

After five minutes of tweaking the smoother, I was taking whisper-thin shavings off a birdseye maple board. Okay, now they had my full attention. I already liked the way they felt in my hand (very light weight with a comfortable tote), and clearly they were serious tools—not just eye candy.

Link to Woodworking Online

One of the Best Sandwiches, Ever

Ontario writer James Bow blogs about [re]discovering a world-class sandwich at the Villager in Walnut, Iowa.

"The Villager is a locally owned restaurant outside of Walnut, Iowa — apparently a town specializing in antique shops — which is clearly popular with the locals.

...The local dish I tried was a beef brisket sandwich, which came as a third of a pound of juicy beef, chopped into hunks, smoked pink and served on a roll. It was an impressive sandwich, especially when combined with the barbecue sauce that was supplied.

...I urge anybody on I-80, heading for Omaha, to take a meal break at Walnut, Iowa

...I’m pleased that I can count some really special sandwiches among my life experience, that I can genuinely recommend to anybody looking for something to remember. These include the tongue sandwich at Moe Pancers’ Deli on Bathurst Street in Toronto (no, I’m serious, try the tongue!), the burnt-ends sandwich at Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City and now the beef briskit at the Villager in Walnut, Iowa."

We can forgive James the downtown snub, a trip from Lincoln to Ontario doesn't leave much time for antique shopping, after all. Plus, how can one really criticize a man with such an affection for the simple pleasure of a good sandwich?

One of the Best Sandwiches, Ever - Bow. James Bow.