It was another super Saturday at the museum. We never know who will come through the door and so I was delighted to have Marjorie Kuehl of Rochelle stop by. She is a relative of Iowa Kuehl and she pronounces her last name a bit differently than we did in Polo when Iowa was teaching.

She came with a very large laminated sheet from a newspaper of seventh and eighth graders making apple dolls in an art class under Mrs. Kuehl. Marlow Huff was one of those in the picture. He had just been at the museum with the Class of 1970 the Saturday before. They had their reunion and one of their stops was the museum in Polo.

Other students in the picture are Alan Coffman, David Byrd, Karen Millhouse and Jeanne Clothier. This was Polo’s fifth year of making apple dolls and it was quite a project. They did it every other year. How many of you remember making apple dolls?

I thought right away of the dolls I have at Henry School. Are they apple dolls? I had decided that I needed to make a trip down to Henry School to check that out. I needed to check the school anyway since Polo Historical Society is having its picnic Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Then out of the blue came Kristen from Polo to the museum. She wanted to see Henry School. Ted was there, so Ted, Kristen and myself headed down to the school to check things out. The school is in pretty good shape since we had cleaned it in June when the Raley family wanted to see the school. Joanne and Ted will get the school in shape for our picnic.

The dolls did not turn out to be apple dolls but were corn husk dolls made by a class of Frances Dempsey. Were they also an art project of Iowa’s?

We have decided to have an Iowa Kuehl Day at our picnic, and anyone who has an art project can bring it for a “Show and Tell” time. I will also talk about how apple dolls were made. It was an interesting process.

After looking at some of the buttons from the Polo Garment Factory, I pulled the file of the Polo Button Club. This group gathered together in the 1950s and 1960s. Mrs. Pauline Schell was the first president. Diane Porter was a junior member and gave numerous programs. In 1965 she went to Europe and she brought back a pearl button for each member.

Dot Scaggs was a button person and had wonderful buttons at her antique shop in Polo. One day a member of the Aplington family stopped by, and they were very interested in the buttons on the uniform we have on display. I said, “Are you button people?” They said, “Yes.” I sent them to Dot’s Shop and they bought $1,200 worth of buttons. They had to go to the bank and get a certified check. That is a lot of buttons. Dot was very pleased. That was my experience with buttons.

Remember the picnic at Henry School on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. Bring a dish to pass and your own table service. See you there.

• Betty Obendorf is a retired teacher and volunteer for the Polo Historical Society.