A Family of Overcomers

At the beginning of the 20th century, iceboxes were used to preserve perishable items. Numerous Ice businesses throughout the upper Midwest would harvest ice from the lakes and then deliver them to nearby families, as well as via rail or by truck to communities all over the United States. In the Iowa Great Lakes area, a number of ice companies worked to capture ice for several weeks during the winter. At age 10, Marian Swarner played a valuable role in the family’s business and would deliver ice with a Model T on a route in what is now known as Terrace Park and Sunset Beach. 

“Before the Model T, they used a horse and buggy with Morgan Horses to deliver ice,” grandson John Miller explained. “In the early 1900’s, my grandfather was the third generation to help with the ice harvest.”

The Swarners operated near the current Arnolds Park Amusement Park, and for several weeks during the cold winter months, the crew would fill warehouses, train cars and trucks with ice. The ice field needed to be between 16-18 inches thick before the ice harvest would begin.

The back-breaking work was not for the weary. It was dangerous and hard, utilizing large crews to cut 300-lb ice blocks and send them down channels to be collected and then stockpiled. The ice would be stored in the ice houses and insulated with saw chips to keep them apart. Marian lost his 13-year-old brother from an accident with an ice block.

“It was something he never liked to talk about but I know bothered him,” John said. “Additionally, as a child, Marian fell against a wood stove and burned his hands. He overcame so much in his life.”

By the late 1930’s, refrigeration was becoming more prevalent in the area and more families were relying on electricity to keep their food cold. Marian joined his brother-in-law Clarion Chalstrom at Iowa Electric.

“He figured he’d might as well work for the business that was putting the ice business out of work,” John added.

Electric Business

Marian became a supervisor lineman for Iowa Electric. One day while working near Terril with fellow lineman and friends Darrell Allen and Jack Jensen, there was a misfunction and 600 volts of electricity hit Marion. The voltage went through his elbow and broke all of his teeth. Jack flew up that pole to give his friend mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“They say the voltage came out of my grandpa’s mouth and knees,” John explained.

Marian was quickly taken to the Marcus Snyder Hospital in Spirit Lake, where Dr. Rodawig Sr. did everything within his power to keep him alive.

“My grandpa spent the next five years in the hospital. They initially thought he might lose his leg but Dr. Rodawig Sr. refused to let that happen,” John shared. “He had 30 surgeries and had different parts of the body grafted together to move circulation and help with healing throughout the body.”

John said that his grandfather was a survivor who didn’t give up, “He was an overcomer and even though he used crutches after he was released from the hospital, he never let that stop him from living life to the fullest.”

Despite being electrocuted, Marian continued to work for Iowa Electric and would test electric meters and became quite handy at being able to fix them.

Family Legacy

The family’s home in Arnolds Park was a part of the original Abbie Gardner property. Marian returned home and despite physical difficulties spent the next year digging out the home’s basement. John’s uncle Rick Miller now lives in the home and later found a very old gun in the ceiling’s rafters.

“I researched the company that made the gun and it appears to be of the same time frame as the soldiers who came up from Fort Dodge after the Spirit Lake Massacre,” Rick shared.

Being an overcomer is a part of the family’s heritage. Rick has had his share of obstacles to overcome. Growing up in the Iowa Great Lakes region, he joined the Navy in 1975, serving on the USS Vancouver and sailed througout the Eastern Pacific.

“At one point a payloader came aboard the ship and no one knew how to run it. They asked around if anyone had experience and I raised my hand,” Rick said. “I had to drive the payloader down the flight deck and then teach fellow mates, which was preventing them from going overboard or tipping over.”

Rick was in many of the places where nuclear testing took place and was medically discharged in 1979 after breaking his back. After a year of rehabilitation, he got his degree from Iowa Lakes Community College in small engine mechanics before opening Rick’s Mower’s Service.

“My grandpa and my uncle are inspirational to me in how they’ve overcome so much,” John exclaimed. “They didn’t let life get them down–they overcame.”