 What’s the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  Carla’s sister & brother-in-law Chris and Tony Woods, of Des Moines, were at the farm on Sunday, August 22, helping Carla do the lawn mowing and other yard work that we’ve struggled to keep up with lately, with all our medical appointments. The Woodses brought along their 18-month-old granddaughter Ari, who was a delight watching all the action from the porch with Chuck, catching up on her reading and then getting a moment on the lawn tractor seat! Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series Iowa Hall of Pride netINS, Inc. Butler House on Grand B&B Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' Barack Obama story & coloring book The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Jared Strong's columns Guest Columns The Simple Serenity Farm columns Farm Photos, 2006 - 2008 Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way 
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 Cooper, known for some eruptions in past years, has a volcano as the Cooper Prom centerpiece By CHUCK OFFENBURGER April 7, 2008 COOPER, IOWA Let’s see, in the previous three years of our Cooper Proms, we’ve gone retro, maritime and classy.  As many of you know, Jamaica is our neighboring town, five miles to the southeast. It’s a much bigger place, with 237 people compared to Cooper’s 30, with a nice restaurant & bar, a convenience store and a go-kart race track. We’ve always been a little rougher over here. But does Jamaica have a volcano? No, mon! As of this week, we have one in Cooper. It’s called Kokokelani, which according to its creator Reagan Osborne “is a word in the native Hawaiian language that almost means ‘Almost Paradise.’ ” It stretches up 15 feet to its rim, and it is 18 feet in diameter. It has grown up right over the scorer’s bench in the Cooper gym. “It’s going to be an active volcano rather than a dormant one,” said Barb Nash, who was helping build the volcano Sunday night. “I’ve confirmed that.” Osborne added that “it could be in an eruption cycle, but we just don’t know.” Those two and a dozen other volunteers from the Committee for a Super Cooper are now spending a second week working on the volcano and other decorations in and around the Cooper Community Building. That’s the site of Saturday’s prom, for which a few tickets are still available. The best way to get them now is to call Doug and Karen Lawton at (515) 386-2907. The $20 per person ticket buys an outstanding banquet meal, with serving beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be a short program after dinner, then at 8 p.m., dancing starts to the music of the “High Society Big Band,” the 16-piece troupe that is based in Huxley with players from all over central Iowa. The band, which has become one of the best dance bands in the state, is playing at its fourth consecutive Cooper Prom. There will be free gourmet coffees, desserts, soft drinks and snacks during the dance. Formal prom photos will be available for a small extra charge from professional photographer Kathleen Hankel. Since the Cooper Community Building is a government-owned facility, no alcohol is allowed. That means you can see teenagers dancing right alongside their parents and grandparents. And the lack of alcohol hasn’t slowed down this party one bit in its previous three years. In a quick tour of the gym Sunday evening, we saw lots of palm trees, coconuts, bamboo, tiki huts and a huge tropical beach scene across the back wall of the stage. Star lights twinkled under a dark blue sky covering the stage. Meanwhile, Donna Carhill, who teaches culinary arts at Jefferson-Scranton High School, and five of her top students are putting final plans together for the banquet meal. She says it will include “seafoam salad” with fresh fruit, stuffed pork loins, cheesy potatoes, steamed green beans, homemade rolls – all served up by a wait staff in tropical attire. The “High Society Big Band” comes in with most of the same terrific players, although Michael Feekes has turned over management of the band to his fellow trombonist Jon Jero, of Des Moines. The band remains in demand at the top dance venues and country clubs all across the state, as well as from such well-known formal dance groups as the Red Friars Dance Club in Ames. Especially for the Cooper Prom, lead vocalist Denice Feekes and the band’s rhythm section have put together a special version of “Almost Paradise,” which is the love song that was one of the themes of the 1984 movie “Footloose.” The band does have a new lead trumpet player this year. Veteran Ken Watson made his last appearance with the band at last year’s Cooper Prom, before he moved to Branson, Missouri. Replacing him is Dan Webster, an outstanding trumpet player with experience in the Iowa State University band program as well as several leading ensembles around central Iowa. Webster, whose day job is in Internet site design, also created a new one for the band, and you can learn more about them by clicking here. All kinds of tropical touches are expected Saturday night to the normal formal and/or business attire your see at the Cooper Prom. Myself, I’m going with a wild floral shirt, in yellow and orange, with a white tuxedo, and of course my black & white saddle shoes. I may also wear a puka-bead necklace if I find the nerve between now and the weekend. You can see more of the Cooper Prom preparations in the photos below here. You can write the columnist at chuck@Offenburger.com.         
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