Another inspiring service Memorial Day weekend at Pleasant Hill Church
JEFFERSON, Iowa, May 27, 2019 — On a perfect late-spring morning Sunday, May 26, the Pleasant Hill Memorial Homecoming service & potluck dinner was held in the pioneer Greene County community of Pleasant Hill, five miles southeast of Jefferson.
The highlight, just as it’s been every year since 1960, was area native Wallace Teagarden, now 96, doing a stirring patriotic oration — without notes — on foundational American documents.
Featured speakers were Jefferson-Scranton 2009 classmates Melissa Bosshart Frederick and Rep. Phil Thompson, both of whom have deep family roots at Pleasant Hill.
The event at the 138-year-old former church is sponsored by Pleasant Hill Memorial Inc. and the Greene County Iowa Historical Society.
You can learn more in the captions to the photos.
Wallace Teagarden, 96, a 1941 graduate of Grand Junction High, a retired attorney & insurance claims adjustor who has lived for years in Ames, does the patriotic oration he’s been doing since junior high school, reciting excerpts of several important American documents and then the full Gettysburg Address. Teagarden has done this at the Pleasant Hill Memorial Homecomings every year since 1960, and does from memory. His oration this year was flawless, and inspiring as ever.
Featured speakers at old Pleasant Hill Church were Iowa Rep. Phil Thompson and Melissa Bosshart Frederick, both of whose families have deep ties to the church and pioneer community — and they are classmates from the Jefferson-Scranton High School Class of 2009. Both are rising young leaders in our area.Peg Semke, the president of Pleasant Hill Memorial Inc., the non-profit which has overseen the renovation of the 138-year-old Pleasant Hill Church is shown here during this year’s traditional Memorial Homecoming service.Central Christian Church, from Jefferson, had an early service of its own at Pleasant Hill Church on Sunday morning, May 26, and they brought along their brass ensemble that also played outdoors between the Central Christian service and the Memorial Homecoming service.Taps after the 21-gun salute by the American Legion honor guard from Rippey and trumpeter Sam Bassett.Melissa Frederick recalling how her parents were married at Pleasant Hill Church — and so was she.Rep. Phil Thompson, a military veteran and now an Iowa legislator, said many of his deepest feelings about public service took root when he was attending Pleasant HIll Memorial Homecoming services as a boy.Wallace Teagarden doing his oration. At the right is his cousin Jerry Evilsizer, of Fairmont, MN, who was visiting and helped chauffeur Wallace.During the early Central Christian Church service at beautiful & historic Pleasant Hill Church.Roger Aegerter, executive director of the Greene County Iowa Historical Society, prepares the sales table for prints of the 2017 oil painting of Pleasant Hill Church by noted Iowa artist Zack Jones. The historical society continues to sell the excellent canvas prints for $50 in a fundraiser.
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Historical Trivia
How many courthouse structures have been built on the site of the current Greene County Courthouse?
Correct
Correct!
There have been three courthouses built where the Greene County Courthouse stands today. Ground was broken on the current courthouse in November of 1915, the cornerstone was set in May 1916 and the new building was dedicated in October of 1917. The centennial celebration of the courthouse is already underway, with events being planned by the “Courthouse 100” committee, with support from the Greene County Historical Society. You can learn more about the courthouse history and the celebration plans on the Facebook page “Courthouse 100: Greene County, Iowa.”
