Showing 11 results

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Ley, James

  • Family

James “Jimmy” Jay Ley was born in Algona, Iowa in 1922. He grew up in Lakota, Iowa and participated in Boy Scouts and basketball. After graduating from Lakota High School in 1940, Ley attended Grinnell College for two years. Ley did not complete his studies at Grinnell because he enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1942. Ley completed basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas. He was additionally stationed and trained at bomber-engineer school in Baltimore, Maryland; gunnery school in Buckingham Field, Fort Myers, Florida; and combat service and flight engineer school in Barksdale Filed, Shreveport, Louisiana. Ley was sent to England in 1943. He completed twenty-one missions over Europe as an engineer gunner on a bomber in the 451st Bombardment Squadron. In 1944, Ley was reported missing in action over Abbeville, France. His death was confirmed in 1945. In 1949, his body was found in an unmarked civilian grave in France and returned to his family in Lakota for burial. Ley was awarded the air medal, two oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart.

Manatt

  • Family

Preston Family

  • Family

The Preston family were merchants in Grinnell from 1869-1962.

Robertson, Jack

  • Family

Jack Robertson was a Grinnell College staff member who worked in the Development Office as a photographer.

Sanderson Family

  • Family

The Sanderson family lived in Grinnell in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Catherine primarily stayed in Grinnell while her husband Ben and daughter Sadie traveled along the East Coast working and visiting family. When Sadie grew older, she married D.A. Brooks and moved to Minnesota. Her daughter Mabel grew up with aspirations to become a dancer, and spent time in New York and L.A. The letters also include correspondence from Elias and Vince (?) (Ben's brothers), Sarah (Catherine's sister), Edna (Sadie's cousin), Orison (Sadie's cousin and Elias's son), James (Sadie's brother), and unidentified individuals named Roger, Jas, Ella, and Etta.

Tibbs family

  • Family

The Tibbs family was one of the few black families to live in Grinnell, Mrs. Tibbs living here from 1892 until 1963 when she moved to Omaha. The family members were: James O. Tibbs (1891-1941), Mamie Mary Redrick Tibbs (1892-1973), and their children: Harold (1920-?), Albert (1922-?), Janet (1926-), Shirley (1929-), Roberta (1931-), and Edward Lawrence (1933-?). The family lived at 712 Elm Street at the time when they moved from Grinnell (ca. 1963). Albert and his family lived at 707 Summer Street, 19??-1957.