Council Oak In Riverside Park Sioux City

Council Oak in 1921

Council Oak, often described as the most famous tree in Iowa, was nominated for a Hall of Fame for trees in 1921 by Miss Susie Brown of Marion.

The 265-year-old tree tree in Sioux City’s Riverside Park is located a few hundred yards from the junction of the Missouri and the Big Sioux Rivers. The surrounding area includes summer cottages and the lodges of two area boat clubs.

Tradition holds that white settlers and Native Americans met under the tree to plan wars against other tribes and to plan proposed raids on settlements of encroaching white men.

The oak measures nearly four feet in diameter and rises nearly 100 feet high. The tree died out in the 1970s.

Jarvis Doughnut Shop Advertisement Davenport 1921

Nice 1921 advertisement for the Jarvis Donut Shop in Davenport, Iowa. Note they had tables for the ladies, or you could take home a bag.

Shop The Kahl Building

This advertisement encouraging people to shop the Kahl Building in downtown Davenport was published in the Davenport Democrat and Leader on September 25, 1921.

The Burzette Gang of Sioux City

Everett Burzette

Some criminals aren’t born in the dark. They’re trained there.

And Everett Burzette—sitting in a jail cell in Mason City, Iowa, accused of first-degree murder—was raised in the shadow of a name that carried fear like a headline.

Burzette.

A name tied to stolen automobiles, gun smoke, and a man who didn’t plan on surrendering. A name made infamous by Everett’s older brother—Red Burzette—who, as one account put it, “met his death with a belching revolver in his hand,” fighting the police in Sioux City.

That was the family legacy Everett inherited. Now it was his turn to face the rope.

His cousin, Melvin Burzette, was locked up on the same charge in the cell next to him. They were accused of murdering Morris G. Van Note, a well-to-do farmer, shot down in the yard of a rural school building near Mason City. He’d tried to stop them from stealing school property, and—bang . . . Van Note was dead.

An Unsual Golf Tournament at the Newton Country Club

(colorized image, from a black and white photo)

The Des Moines Register printed this picture of an unusal golf tournament at the Newton Country Club on August 28, 1927. The players (left to right) are: Harlan Bailey - Newton postmaster, and Harry Cross - a local attorney. Bailey played the course with his clubs, while Cross attacked the balloons with his bow and arrow. The final score was 5 up, in favor of Cross.

Villisca Muder House

The Des Moines Register printed this picture of the Villisca muder house on July 10, 1927, fifteen years after the brutal axe murders of eight people.

There had been may confessions since then. All of them false. The most recent confession had come from Frank Carter, the "Omaha Sniper." He took credit for the murders before his execution in the electric chair, saying they were his "most notorious kill." Officials ignored the confession, figuring it was a last ditch effort to buy himself more time.

Previous supects were Sentor Frank Jones, William "Blackie" Mansfield, and Reverend Lyn George J. Kelly. None of the leads panned out--114 years later the case is still open.

Moonshine and Murder in Red Oak

Albert Girardi and his family

Albert Girardi was dead. George Austin checked the pulse, pressed his ear to the lifeless chest. There were no signs of life. None. So, you can imagine his surprise when Girardi sat up as they headed out to dispose of the body.

“For God’s sake, hit him again!” John Stewart screamed. “He is raising up.”

Austin hit Girardi with the king bolt. “This blow finished him,” he said. “I didn’t notice any more life to him.”

Austin rifled through Girardi’s billfold. He counted $82 in cash, pocketed the money, and tucked the wallet back in Girardi’s jacket. No sense taking evidence with him.

That was the second time they killed Girardi. But let’s start at the beginning.

Albert Girardi was a produce salesman from the Little Italy district of Omaha, Nebraska. He had a wife, two small children, Arto, 4, and Lucrezia, 9 months—and a booming business.