When Lyle and Reta Reed walked into the Outback restaurant on Tuesday evening, July 20th, 2011, they were greeted by twenty seven well-meaning friends, who were already on their first round of libations, rendering an exuberant rendition of “Happy Birthday to Lyle”. Though Lyle appeared to be very laid back, we suspect we might have surprised him a wee bit.
Lyle and Reta first came to Arizona in 1995 and settled at Mesa Regal. Coming from Dunlap, Iowa, Lyle had retired from the State Department of Education, where he had worked for nine years. He was concluding a most interesting career.
He was born in a log cabin in the hot summer of 1921 near the small village of Tomahawk, Wisconsin. He graduated from High School in Dike, Iowa in 1937, and went into the military service in 1940. He enlisted for three years, but then the war broke out, and Uncle Sam offered him $300. to extend his enlistment. He agreed, and so was in military service until December 12, 1945.
When back home, Lyle went to work for John Deere for a very short time. “It was dirty stinking hard work” he said. He worked for the Creamery in Dike for a year and a half and then did construction work until 1949 when he entered the University of Iowa in Cedar Falls, under the G.I.Bill. Graduating in 1953 he taught in Franklin Consolidated Schools at Latimer, Iowa, and worked on his Masters which he finished in 1958. In 1959 he was hired as School Superintendent in Lake Center, and remained in that position for four years. When he left there he went to Dunlap and was Superintendent of Schools for twelve years.
In their 1952-53 college yearbook, it was predicted that Lyle would go on to be State Superintendent of Public Construction. It appears that some of that prediction came true.
Lyle has one daughter, Colett, while Reta had two sons, Rusty and Dennis, both deceased. He and Reta were married in a little chapel in Las Vegas, in 1974. When the couple returned home from Vegas, they were promptly chivareed by the neighbors.
In 1997 Lyle and Reta purchased B-12 from Jim and Barb McCann, and resided there until they purchased #44. Shortly thereafter, Lyle was elected to the V.A.W, H.O.A., Board of Directors, and served as Vice President until 2010. He still has a keen interest in the Village, and can be seen most any day, tooling around the neighborhood on his snappy golf car.
Lyle often wears a red cap given to him by his daughter. It carries two messages. On the front the message says, “It’s 35 cents.” On the back the message says, “It’s a local call.” The idea for the cap came about from a story about a fellow flying from New York City, who wanted to make a phone call to Saint Peter. The operator told him the charge would be $10,000, so he waited until he reached Chicago, and made the same request. The answer came back, “The charge will be $5,000”. Again he waited until he reached Iowa. There the operator informed him the charge to call Saint Peter would be 35 cents, but in Dike, Iowa, “It’s a local call.”
Though the Village at Apache Wells is home to Lyle, he still holds a big spot in his heart for Dike, Iowa. Whether his heart is here or in Iowa, he will always be remembered fondly in the hearts of his V.A.W. friends. Happy 90th. Lyle!
PS: On Sunday, July 24th, Lyle and Reta celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary.
Reta's comment was,' That's pretty good for a second marriage!'