By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
KEOTA – The Keota Fun Days Parade Committee has named local woman Linda Werger as the grand marshall of the 2024 Fun Days parade, due to Werger’s years of tireless service to the community. Weger grew up on a farm near Garnavillo, Iowa, by the bank of the Mississippi River. She moved to Keota in 1977. Werger, now 69, began working at Farmer Saving Bank in 1979, continuing to work there after it was bought out by Libertyville Savings Bank in 2014, and retired two years ago. Over the years, she has volunteered constantly, helping out with the Keota Baseball Association, fundraising for the concession stand at Wilson Park, for the veterans memorial, and the new pool, coaching girls’ little league softball, volunteering as a first responder, volunteering at the United Church of Faith and leading a youth group, helping out with paperwork at the kindergarten, helping with speech soup suppers and at the yearly Schmitty’s Christmas dinner.
“I think I probably get it from my mom,” said Werger. “I was raised in a large family, I came from a family of 11 brothers and sisters, and she was always making noodles for church soup supplies. She would take pies to people. We didn’t have a whole lot of money so she kinda taught me to volunteer, and I guess I’ve always enjoyed volunteering, because I’m one of those that I don’t like to be front and center. I like to be in the back. It’s rewarding to see what happens when you volunteer and just see the outcome of the things that you volunteer for…I can’t really pinpoint one (project that stands out as what she’s most proud of) because I don’t want to point out one. I mean, when we built the concession stand out at Wilson Park, there’s just a lot of people that have benefitted from it. The Veterans Memorial tugged at my heartstrings because of the fact that we paid tribute to so many service people, because I had a brother that was in the Navy. I had a cousin that was killed in Vietnam. And the pool was a big plus for me; when we moved here in the seventies, there was a pool in Keota, that was a great asset to the community. So, I don’t really want to pinpoint one thing in particular. Those are three things that people see in the community and benefit from. My years of coaching girls’ softball, too.”
“Linda was recommended for Grand Marshall by multiple people and the committee selected her for all her volunteering and community engagement she has been a part of over the years,” said Megan Watson of the parade committee.
“I was stunned,” said Werger. “I guess I felt honored that they chose me, to be the grand marshall, because I think there’s a lot of other people in the community that are just as deserving…I guess I’m just so lucky that they chose me.”
“Living here, I’ve seen a lot of tragedy, and I’ve seen a lot of good things,” said Werger about Keota. “I mean, when someone has a fire, people are there. When you look at the tornado a couple years ago, the people that were affected, and how people just volunteered, showed up to help. I mean, I always felt in the Keota community, when I was a first responder…I always felt that, if we ever needed anything as a group, that we could go up and down the streets of Keota and we could get the funding for it. Keota’s a very caring community. You know, when there’s a need, they step forward. I always felt like people in the community looked out after my kids too.”
