By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
Despite over a foot of snow, wind and cold temperatures the Niles-Buchanan Senior Center still held its chili supper on Saturday night.
The crowd enjoyed a chili dinner with all the fixings, as well as a little something extra. The event also featured some area residents who shared stories from their lives.
Johnie Rodebush, a member of the senior center and the Niles area toastmasters group, put together the group of storytellers. "When an old person dies, so do their stories, it's important to hear them and even record them," said Rodebush
Another of the story tellers was Margaret Dyer of Niles who told of growing up on Barron Lake in the summer as a child. She recalled how it was a wonderful place to be and how she and her brother spent a majority of their time in the lake and of how you could hear the big bands and other acts coming from the Kougler's Resort form across the lake.
Alice Case who has been a resident of Niles she came to live with her grandparents in 1932, told of the changes in the Niles area since that time. She noted how the police station used to be down by the river, and how the high school used to be where the Four Flags plaza now stands.
Tyler's came to town in 1933, and Case's father-in-law was one of the first to work there.