New childcare center
to honor Dr. Smith’s legacy

By Trudy Balcom

 The Gundersen Lutheran building at 626 Main St. in McGregor has been empty since Dr. Clifford Smith retired and closed his practice there in 2003.
    This Thursday, May 22, a ceremony will be held to honor Dr. Smith’s service to the community and to celebrate a new beginning—the creation of  the Dr. Clifford C. Smith Childcare Center at the former Gundersen Lutheran  Clinic.
    The creation of the daycare is the result of a process that has taken years. Some time ago, McGregor City Clerk-Administrator Norm Lincoln had contacted Gundersen Lutheran to find out what their plans were for the property.
    “Over several years it evolved into [Gundersen Lutheran] contacting me about the best use of the building,” Lincoln said.
    Chuck Johnson, Director of Gundersen Lutheran Regional Business development, was tasked with the job of finding a new use for the building in about January, 2007. Gundersen Lutheran wanted to use the vacant property to do something positive for the community.
    Johnson, along with Jennifer Larson, Director of Nutrition Therapy, and Vickie Bakalars, Clinic Manager, began meeting  with Lincoln to try to identify a need in the community. The group discussed several possibilities for the property,  including a bank, office space or even moving city hall to the site.
    But the idea of creating a new childcare center generated the most excitement. A study conducted by former city employee Lynette Sander had identified childcare as a critical community need.
    Creating a childcare center suited the representatives of Gundersen Lutheran.
    “This is perfect, we thought. “This is something we could get behind,” Johnson said.
    Johnson and his team began working with MFL MarMac School Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and other community leaders to plan the transition and find funding. Gundersen Lutheran deeded the building to the city; the building is assessed at $164,094.  The city is creating a 28E cooperative agreement with the MFL-MarMac School District to operate the daycare at the facility. The arrangement is somewhat similar to the agreement between the City of Monona and the school district to operate the Little Bulldog Daycare there.

 A fitting tribute
    All of these efforts to get the daycare started are a meaningful tribute to Dr. Clifford Smith, the physician who selflessly served the community for 41 years.
    Smith came to McGregor late in 1962 and opened private practice  at McGregor Community Hospital. The Waterloo, Iowa native had been living and working in Jersey City, New Jersey with his wife Jacquelyn and two young children, Shelley and Clay. He was fed up with city life, so he answered an ad in the Journal of American Medical Association seeking a physician for McGregor.
    Moving to McGregor, he knew would not be easy. His family would be the only African American family in a rural, all-white community.

Falcons observed
in McGregor nest box

By Ted Pennekamp

A nest box to attract peregrine falcons to a McGregor site may finally be seeing some success after eight years. A pair of peregrines was seen visiting the box and displaying courtship behavior about two weeks ago.
    The nest box was built by well-known peregrine researcher Bob Anderson and placed atop the stackhouse of the Agri Bunge grain elevator in 2000. Peregrines had been spotted checking out the box over the years but none had taken to it.
    About two weeks ago, peregrine researcher Dave Kester, who lives in the McGregor area, observed an adult male and a female with juvenile plumage going in and out of the box and displaying courtship behavior.

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