Harlan E. Raus and Edith L. Henderson were married at the Presbyterian Church in Manchester 50 years ago on October 16th.

Harlan was a buttermaker at 19, and ten years later, joined the Iowa DOT. It was a position that could be hazardous and rewarding at the same time. Keeping the highways clear from drifting and blowing snow sometimes seemed to be almost impossible. Working 24 to 36 hours straight to open the roads for the school bus and emergency vehicles was not unusual. Although there were many memorable occasions in his years along the highway, one that he will always remember happened as he was clearing the highway near Strawberry Point. The blizzard the night before and the blowing snow had made most roads impassable. As he approached a home along the road, he noticed a small boy standing near the driveway. He stopped the truck and went over to see what was wrong. As he knelt down to speak with him, the young boy, possible 6 or 7, looked up at him and said, 'Could you please come in and have Christmas dinner with us?'. It was an overwhelming moment. Harlan looked up and saw the boy's parents wave in the front window. He thanked the boy and said he would like to but couldn't, as he had to keep going so people could get to their homes for Christmas. He gave the boy a hug and they both had tears in their eyes. Several farmers would bring out a coffee pot full of hot coffee and set it on the floor board of the truck and tell him to just leave it off sometime when he was coming through. He has enough memories to write a book, which he is considering. Harlan continued with the DOT, retiring after 34 years and joining Edith as a broker in their own real estate business.

Edith was a telephone operator at 19. Then in the 60's, she took a position with the newly formed local office of the OEO, which was the beginning of the Head Start Program, Neighborhood Youth Corps, and the first Senior Center in Manchester. A few years later, she took a refresher course at the MPLS School of Art. Her art project at school was a painting, and a later presentation, of Billy Graham. Her paining of Herbert Hoover also was used in the dedication of the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch. Edith continued her painting while becoming a real estate broker and establishing their own real estate firm. Edith found local history very interesting and her first local exhibit was in the Manchester Public Library. Her charcoal and ink drawing of the Old Stagecoach House West of Manchester, the red school north of town, and the small painting of the old Quaker Mill Dam, were some of her work at the exhibit. Several of her paintings are in private collections, but the painting of the Quaker Mill Dam was such a favorite of those in attendance, that it still hangs on the wall at the library.

Edith and Harlan loved to travel, especially in Tennessee and Colorado. When Harlan retired, they made Nashville their second home, where Edith joined others in several successful art exhibits. While in Nashville, they were also fortunate to meet and become friends with a number of country entertainers, several of which have added several songs written by Edith, to their roster of recordings.