25 years ago: Kalins Fur and Fashion Store owner dies - Sioux City Journal

125 years ago

GUMBO POINT GOING: In spite of the cold weather and the ice the current in the Missouri River has again swung over to the Iowa bank with such force as to be doing noticeable damage to the real estate running from Jones street east to Grand street, which reaches down to Gumbo point. The current, closes in on the Iowa shore in the block between Leech and Washington streets. A civil engineer gave it as his opinion yesterday that unless the channel changed by the opening of navigation nothing could save Gumbo point and several blocks of ground between Court and Howard streets.

100 years ago

TAX SALE: County Treasurer C.N. Martin's signal at 10 o'clock yesterday morning for the beginning of the annual county tax sale started a pandemonium in the treasurer's office which lasted until closing time in the afternoon. Although the amount of property to be sold was the smallest in years, the number of bidders was the largest in history. D.E. Kerby, one of the first bidders to arrive at the office, was the oldest regular attendant in the crowd. It was his twenty-sixth annual sale. Foster Iddings obtained the first piece of property, town lots in Danbury. Miss Agnes Smith, 2818 Jennings street, was the only woman bidder. She occupied a chair in the center of the room. When a piece of farm property which she wanted was called the men about her stopped calling their own name sand took up a cry of "Smith! Smith! Smith!." She obtained several properties. The Sioux City Auditorium was advertised for sale, but the owners squared accounts with the treasurer just before the sale opened.

50 years ago

MONEY PROBLEM: Sioux City's major Floyd channel project received a severe setback when the Iowa Highway Commission failed to furnish an estimated $250,000 for the proposed alteration of the west end of the Gordon Drive viaduct. City Manager Conny Bodine called it a "willful and determined lack of cooperation on the part of the commission."

RELOCATION UNDERWAY: A proposal to relocated and construct a new church has been adopted by members of the First Congregational Church, 13th and Nebraska streets. The decision followed three years of research and discussion within the church. The present structure was built in 1916.

25 years ago

SIOUX CITY RETAILER DIES: Ben Kalin, who owned and operated Kalin's fur and fashion stores in Sioux City for 45 years, died Wednesday of cancer at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 82. Mr. Kalin had been engaged in business in Sioux City and the surrounding area most of his adult life. He was born Sept. 21, 1905 in Minsk Providence, Russia. He came to Sioux City in 1920 with his mother and sister to join two brothers here. Initially he went to work at a general store operated by his brother at Kingsley, Iowa and he attended school there. Later he sold seeds and fertilizer to area farmers, moving to Sioux City when he was 18. He worked for I. Miller and Co., Davidson Bros Department Store and Sioux City Bakery. In the 1930s he worked for K&K Co. in Viborg and Mitchell, S.D. He moved from Mitchell to Sioux City to join his father-in-law, R.H. Emlein in the fur fashion business. Mr. Kalin expended the fur business to include women's high fashion clothes. From 1967 on, he and his wife, Frances took annual trips, including Israel, to purchase knits and leathers.

INSIDER LOANS CAUSE BANKS TO FAIL: Insider loans and poor judgment led to the collapse of three Siouxland banks. All of the banks- including Climbing Hill (Iowa) Savings Banks, Crofton (Neb.) State Bank and Center (Neb.) State Bank – were shut down because of insolvency at 3 p.m. Thursday. The Climbing Hill Bank reopens this morning as a branch office of the Moville (Iowa) First Trust and Savings Bank, which bought the bank by sealed bid earlier Thursday. The major contributing factor in the failure of the Climbing Hills bank could be characterized by insider abuse of the bank's lending function. In all, a record nine commercial banks were closed around the country Thursday, the most in the 53-year history of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

These items appeared in the Journal Dec. 3-9, 1887, 1912, 1962 and 1987.