Clayton County Register

By Gary Siegwarth

In the autumn of 1813, American ornithologist John James Audubon watched a flock of passenger pigeons fly over the Ohio countryside.  He described the numbers as so numerous it darkened the sky and took more than three days for the entire flock to pass overhead.  It’s estimated that three to five billion passenger pigeons were in the United States when Europeans arrived in North America.  In nearly the blink of an eye, the species went from being one of the most abundant birds in the world to complete extinction in 1914.  This astonishing elimination of a seemingly bountiful species was attributed to overhunting and loss of habitat.  

Janice “Jan” Lorraine Frommelt, 93, of Guttenberg, passed away on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at the Guttenberg Care Center.   

Jan was born February 10, 1921 in Guttenberg to Horace “Jack” and Josephine (Wenkstern) Dubbels. Jan enjoyed playing the tuba and basketball in her years at Guttenberg High School. She graduated as valedictorian in 1938. Shortly after graduation Jan started working three days a week at the Guttenberg Press, a place that became her second home for almost 37 years.  She retired from the Press in 2005 due to ill health.  

Kenneth James “Scotty” Scott, 82, of Strawberry Point, Iowa, (formerly of  Volga) died on Sunday, February 1, 2015, at the Strawberry Point Lutheran Home. He was born on June 14, 1932, in Highland Township near Volga, the son of Robert and Ruth (Duff) Scott. He was raised in the area and was an Arlington High School graduate. Scotty served honorably in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict.

Scotty was united in marriage to Joyce Oldfather; they later divorced. Three children were born to this union. Scotty was a self-employed carpenter.

By Pam Reinig

Register Editor

One of the most stunning transformations of a downtown property is a building not included in Elkader’s façade restoration project.

The former Elkader Dry Cleaners, located at 116 North Main Street, was painstakingly restored over the course of several months. New owner Arthur Geisert hired local contractor Greg Anderson, owner of Anderson Construction Company, to do the work.