Kenneth joined the Navy in 1938. He served aboard the USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was transferred to the USS Enterprise where he served for several years. The Enterprise was in the thick of the battles in the Pacific theater. To learn more about Kenneth, please visit his page on our website:
​https://www.storycityhistory.org/anderson-kenneth-l.html

​To learn more about the USS West Virginia, click here to go to the Naval History and Heritage Command website.

To read the action reports from the USS West Virginia following the attack on Pearl Harbor, click here.

The 5 men who were part of the C.A.C. Band were Oscar Dale, Alfred Jacobson, Fred Jensen, Milton Olson, and Elmer Wendel. Elmer brought home the newspaper above which lists all of the many dignitaries, bands, and organizations that marched in the Queen's funeral parade.

Oscar Dale, Alfred Jacobson, Milton Olson, and Elmer Wendel.

Queen Lili'uokalani ruled from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen (1898) during her imprisonment following the overthrow.

Additional photos from Alfred Jacobson's time stationed in Hawaii:

Last year we received a donation of several unidentified photos that were taken by a Story City photographer named A.N. Torp. Torp was a photographer in town from approximately 1884 to 1909. One of the photos was intriguing as it pictured a Black man in a police uniform. I had not heard of Story City having a person of color in a police officer/city marshal role from that time period. However I thought I'd seen the photo online somewhere fairly recently so I reached out to the Ames History Museum. They knew it was Wayner Johnson, one of Roland's early city marshals. 

I reached out to Jan Stole who is involved with the Roland Historical Society. This photo of Wayner was printed in Roland’s centennial book in 1971. Wayner was appointed as Roland’s city marshal in December of 1892. He held the position until March 1893. From the Roland Centennial Book, “Mr. Johnson in his blue uniform, brass buttons, police badge, cap and club, was reported to be quite an imposing figure, and extremely proud of his position.”

Unfortunately, the Story City Herald newspapers are missing from the early 1890s due to a fire so we don't know if Wayner was mentioned in the Herald during the time he served. The Roland Record newspaper started publishing in 1895 which is after Wayner served. He is mentioned once in both papers with the information that was printed in the Roland Centennial Book. I’ve tried to find out where Wayner went after his time in Roland but have not had any luck. If anyone happens to know more information about Wayner, please let us know.

The response we’ve seen in the community in regards to making cloth masks during the Covid-19 crisis, reminded me of Story City’s work on the home front with the Red Cross during WWI. The local chapter held larger events, drives, and fundraisers for the benefit of the Red Cross, but they were also tasked with various sewing and knitting projects that took place on a daily basis. By the beginning of July 1917, they had set up their headquarters in the domestic science room at the high school. Thirty ladies from the community had taken lessons for a week from a Miss Crawley of Ames and were ready to train others in the community. On a regular basis, a list of the medical supplies sewn by the group was printed in the Herald, including gauze bandages, pads, compresses, pillows, sheets, and pajamas. By August the local chapter was already gearing up for the winter and asking for woolen items to be knitted. They had been requested to knit 50 sets of sweaters, scarves, socks and wristlets. The American Red Cross supplied patterns and materials that had been approved by the military.   

By the end of August the group was now meeting in rooms above the First Mortgage Investment Co.’s offices. Those wanting to volunteer were asked to come on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday afternoons. Girls who were still in school were asked to come on Saturdays. It was requested that volunteers help at least one afternoon each and every week. Margretha Marvick, secretary of the local chapter, wrote compelling articles in the Herald about volunteering for the Red Cross. The names of those who volunteered their time at the Red Cross rooms were printed in the Herald on a regular basis.     

Another service that the Red Cross provided across the nation was the “Home Service Committee”. This service provided emergency relief, allowances, advice, encouragement, counsel, and information to the men in service and to their families. “An army’s morale is a most important factor in its success, and it was fully realized that a soldier’s morale was vitally affected by the situation of those at home. A man with a wife, with children, or with other relatives dependent upon him, can not put his best into his training and fighting unless he feels assured that these relatives are being well cared for in his absence.”
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There is evidence in the Heralds that the Story City Red Cross chapter did their part with their home service committee duties. During the influenza epidemic in 1918, the local chapter put a call out for additional volunteers to help multiple families in the community who were effected by the flu. A letter from Everett Albert, who was in the army, was reprinted in the October 17, 1918 edition of the Herald, in which he thanks the Story City Red Cross home service for taking care of his family. “I wish to thank you for your kind interest shown towards my wife and also for relieving my mind by looking after my home affairs so nobly.” 

The influenza epidemic in the United States is believed to have started at Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas in March of 1918. From there it spread across the country due to the close quarters and massive troop movements of the military. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with the flu virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with approximately 675,000 occurring in the United States. More than 6,000 Iowans would die from the flu.

At Camp Dodge in Des Moines, the flu spread quickly through the camp during October of 1918. By the end of the epidemic, more than 10,000 soldiers were hospitalized at Camp Dodge. Deaths numbered just over 700, including one man from the Story City community, Andrew Boyd. At Iowa State College, where several men from Story City were enlisted in the Students Army Training Corps, 53 people died from the flu. Fifty-one of those were SATC men including Henry Larson from Story City who died on October 10. Of the eleven men from the Story City area who died while in service, nine of them died from the flu.

At home in Story City, the community was also dealing with the epidemic. As with most of Iowa, cases were beginning to be reported in September. By the October 10 edition of the Herald, the front page reported that the Board of Health ordered the closing of churches, schools, and all public places of entertainment for the week. The following week it was reported that two teenage girls from the community, Severine Sundahl and Tryphena Henryson, had died from the flu. The Story City Board of Health ordered that churches, theaters, pool hall, clubs and all places of public gatherings remain closed until further notice.

By the October 24th edition, it was announced that the October draft had been canceled by the war department due to the epidemic. Another young woman in the community had died, Margaret Allen. She was the sister of Andrew Boyd who had died at Camp Dodge the week prior. Funerals during this time were generally limited to immediate family and were held outside at the cemeteries due to the quarantine.

The quarantine was finally lifted on October 28 and the schools were operating as usual again. However, the flu cases ramped up again in November leading the Board of Health to instate another quarantine which began on the 25th. This time it lasted for almost another month until December 20th. News of the lifting of the quarantine was printed in the December 19th edition of the Herald. The community was excited to be able to celebrate the Christmas holiday in the local churches.

Based on the weekly death notices printed in the Herald between October 1918 through January 1919, it appears that at least eight people in Story City died due to the flu. It was reported that a few community members who were visiting other cities during this time contracted the flu and died away from home. Seven men from the Story City area who were serving in the military during this time also died from the flu.
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Below are a few articles from the Herald that include notices to the community from the Story City Board of Health with guidelines for staying healthy.

Story City had a large celebration planned for the 4th of July in 1919. A full page ad was placed in the Herald a week prior to the 4th describing all of the activities planned. These included a parade, an oration by Rev. Dr. Kirbye of Des Moines, several musical acts, fireworks, and a variety of sports including a baseball game between Story City and Boone and a tug-of-war between the soldiers of Roland and Story City. Check out the Herald clippings below for more detailed information on how Story City celebrated the 4th of July 100 years ago.

A service flag or service banner is a flag that family members of those serving in the United States Armed Forces have proudly displayed for 100 years.  The traditional service flag consists of a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member serving or a gold star for those that died while in service.  The service flag was originally designed in 1917 by United States Army Captain Robert L. Queisser of the Fifth Ohio Infantry, in honor of his two sons who were serving in World War I. After which it was quickly adopted by the public and by government officials.

By early 1918 in Story City, service flags were already being mentioned in the Story City Herald. Several organizations in town made service flags in honor of the members of their group that were serving. In January it was announced that the Grace Sunday school would unfurl their flag soon.  On March 17th the Grace Sunday school held a special service to dedicate their service flag which had 21 stars on it at that time. The service was described as “a most impressive one, with patriotism the dominating note in song and speech.”

St. Petri Church dedicated their service flag on the night of Sunday, March 3rd. After the choir and the audience sang “America”, the flag was presented by Rev. Solum on behalf of the Young People’s Society. There were 10 stars on the flag that represented young men from this society. 

Also, at this same time the Herald featured an article titled “Half the Band at the Front”. The Story City Band had a service flag dedication on March 4th, 1918. A year prior in 1917 the band had 26 members; the flag they dedicated that night had 13 stars.  The article closed with the statement that “the Story City Band is one of the most patriotic organizations in the country.”

As early as February 7, 1918 ads were running in the Herald to purchase service flags from the National Flag Company. For $1.25 they would ship a 12x18 inch one star service flag to your home. They also took custom orders for multiple star flags. 

The Tjernagel family hosted their 12th annual family reunion in September of 1918. The main feature of this meeting was a family service flag with 24 stars on it. Two of these twenty four family members were from Story City, the rest were from elsewhere in Iowa and other states. At the next reunion in 1919 the feature of the meeting was an album with photographs of all of the Tjernagel relatives who were in the service during the war. A copy of this album is on display at the Carriage House Museum in our “Story City in the World War” exhibit. 

In the April 25, 1918 edition of the Herald, it was announced that the Greater Community Congress had purchased a service flag that would be large enough to represent all of those that enlisted in the military from Story City. This community service flag was dedicated at the Memorial Day service that year. The service was held in the Grand opera house and drew a large crowd. It featured “inspiring addresses and excellent music and song.” The community service flag was “hung at the top of the center of the stage and with its seventy stars was a strikingly beautiful object.”  By the end of the war it would have over 200 stars plus 5 Red Cross emblems and one YMCA triangle. 

The Historical Society has attempted to find out if these services flags are still in existence but so far we have not been able to locate any. If you have any information on the location of these larger organizational service flags or smaller family service flags from WWI, please contact the Historical Society at 515-460-1749.