Fashions through the decades show helps raise funds for Rudd Historical Society new home

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A large crowd packed the old gym in Rudd Saturday for lunch and a tour through the history of U.S. fashions.

The event by the Rudd Historical Society was part of its fundraising efforts to find a new building after the organization’s previous home was destroyed by the tornado that hit the community last December.

About 150 people attended the “Decades of Fashion” fundraiser luncheon, with another 50 people serving as models, said Joyce Navratil, the Rudd Historical Society president.

“We raised over $3,900,” she said. “The money will go toward securing another building either through construction or purchasing one if one became available.”

The show presented a look back at fashions through the ages, including the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the Old West, Civil War times then through the decades from the 1920s to the 1960s.

“Cheryl Gruis of Rockford provided all the costumes except two,” Navratil said. “She’s a fabulous person to work with and put in countless hours to make sure the event was such a success.”

In addition to the meal and fashion show, tables and the walls themselves along almost two full walls of the gym were filled with donated items for a silent auction.

According to the U.S. Weather Service, a record 69 tornadoes struck Iowa on Dec. 15, part of what now has been classified as an unprecedented December serial derecho.

The tornado that hit Rudd destroyed the public library building and the former Wesleyan Methodist Church that had housed the Historical Society, as well as damaging businesses and homes.

Navratil said that members of the Historical Society and the Library Board had suggested doing the fundraiser for the Historical Society.

Anyone who would like to donate to the fundraising effort can send a check to Rudd Historical Society, PO Box 282, Rudd, IA 50471, or take it to any First Security Bank, Navratil said. The bank is also accepting donations for general community tornado relief.