Luster family donates $10,000 to Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society in honor of parents’ 100th wedding anniversary ...
The Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society (HFAHS) received a very generous donation from the children and grandchildren of John and Loella Luster during the month of July, in honor of John and Loella’s 100th wedding anniversary that was celebrated July 19. The Luster family has been part of the history of Harpers Ferry for quite some time, contributing to the development of the community.
John’s parents, John and Olive Luster, were the first generation in the Harpers Ferry area, building a farm on the ridge above York’s Landing (the area of the farm is now known as Luster Heights), located just north of the current location of Effigy Mounds National Monument. In a story shared by Olive in the North Iowa Times newspaper in December 1980, she recalled her husband John finding an oyster with two pearls inside of it. She described the larger of the two pearls as being “too big to fit inside the handle of my tea cup” and that pearl sold for $800. The smaller pearl sold for $75. The funds from the sale of the two pearls paid for the farm, and there was even a little money left over to put in the bank. John and Olive raised dairy cattle and chickens, had a team of four plow horses and grew corn and oats, along with a vegetable garden. The couple also raised seven children: John, Earl, Robert, Harry, Violetta, Minor and Fernette.
John and Loella Luster were married July 19, 1925 (as pictured in photo below). They purchased the Park Hotel in Harpers Ferry in 1926. The couple had 11 children: Harland, Mary, Ernie, Myrtle, Clarence, Madonna, John, Charles (Charlie), James (Pete), Helen, and Charlotte. The children all attended school in Harpers Ferry and were active in school activities like sports, music and plays, as well as attending local social events like dances and movies.
Pictured in the photo above, left to right, Clarence, Madonna (Rouiller), Charlotte (Monroe), Charles and Helen (Hanesworth) were all in attendance at the July celebration event where the donation was made in honor of their parents’ anniversary, along with many of their relatives. HFAHS member Jane Regan was also in attendance to accept the family’s donation, which was at the Discovery Corps level (over $10,000). The donation will go towards the Harpers Ferry Museum Building Project. Donations for that project can be made through the HFAHS website, harpersferryheritage.org, or by contacting a member of the HFAHS. Submitted photos.
