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In the March/April 2008 issue of The Iowan Community
Four new billboards greet visitors to Jewell with a precious pun: “Welcome to Jewell, a gem in a friendly setting.” It would take an amazing stroke of good fortune to find a gemstone in the black, loamy soil of Hamilton County, but then Jewell always has been a lucky town. Jewell won the geological lottery after the last Ice Age glaciers receded, dumping the world’s most fertile moraine on the area. The town formed at the lucky coincidence of two railroad lines and then grew at the expense of towns not fortunate enough to attract even one. During the first winters of the 20th century, entire houses in Lakin’s Grove, Callanan, and Hook’s Point were moved on sleds to Jewell. The lucky streak continued when U.S. Highway 69 was routed through Jewell’s business district in the 1920s. Four decades later, Jewell hit an even bigger jackpot by winning a long battle to become the site of South Hamilton High School, which consolidated the school districts of Randall, Ellsworth, Stanhope, and Jewell. Some feared good luck abandoned the place in 1964 when a streak of bad bounces caused South Hamilton’s girls’ basketball team to lose a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and the state title game. That was during an era when Iowa schools of all sizes competed in just one state tournament and championship games often drew the highest TV ratings of the year in Iowa. One year later, the town escorted lady luck home on its fire engine with the championship trophy. That remarkable 1965 team, coached by Dale Sorenson, included four future Iowa Basketball Hall of Famers — star players Karla Hill (Brown), her sister Karma (Bailey), and Sharon Tyler (Hanson) and assistant coach Dick Rasmussen. Arguably the three greatest players in school history were thus born to play on the same team with a legendary coach who was beginning his career. The odds against that happening don’t matter in a lucky town… READ MORE IN THIS ISSUE OF THE IOWAN subscribe now
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