As remembered by Dona Froebe “Retired CIA”

Mound Valley Community Improvement Association
(CIA – we did have humor)

I think we started out in 1975 as a bi-centennial committee for 1976 to try to help the people of Mound Valley and the surrounding area come together to celebrate America’s 200^th birthday and to help revive Mound Valley. Over the years some of us came and went, but I can’t remember us ever having more than 10 on our committee – usually 6-8 members.

We worked all year raising money to buy fireworks and usually some kind of meat to cook for everyone. Sometimes the meat was donated. The people all brought a covered dish per family to share. We had some great meals. This was for July 4^th celebration.

One year on the 4^th we had skydivers. I rode up in the plane with one load of guys to jump. The next trip the pilot crashed the plane after dumping the guys. Glad I wasn’t on that load!

Some of our fundraisers were fish frys, raffles (back then we could raffle off guns), food booths on memorial weekend (always had a parade then; lots of people in town for alumni banquet). One year we bought a buffalo for $250.00 and sold almost $2500.00 worth of buffalo burgers. That’s a lot of cooking! Several years we had a dinner theatre in December. Sharon Billingsly directed a musical featuring local kids and we cooked a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, which was served to a full house.

For several years starting in 1976 we planted a flower garden in the form of a flag with red, white, and blue petunias. This was planted where the convenience store is now, but for us old folks the furniture store and funeral home were located there before the garden. Usually a time or two during the summer our petunias would get “leggy” and tangled and not look like a flag so we’d call a work night and give them a “haircut.” We’d haul off blooms by the wheelbarrow loads. Wouldn’t be anything left but 4-5” stems (boy would we hear about how bad it looked – how we ruined it, etc.) In 2-3 weeks it would be beautiful again and we would be back in everyone’s good graces. More than once we planted it early and received a freeze after planting. We were there before the sun was up with hoses hooked up to wash the frost off before the sun was on the plants. Somehow we managed to save them every time.

We did so many things I can’t begin to remember near everything. It was a lot of work, but I think all of us loved it, but eventually we just wore out. I’m thrilled that a new group of young people has taken on this task. I wish them good luck and God Bless them.