~by Chuck Offenburger, Greene County Historical Society
Snow and ice back in early February forced postponement of a much-anticipated special program, “Judges of Greene County,” that the local Historical Society had planned. It has taken until now to get it rescheduled, for Sunday, Aug. 2, at 2 pm in what should be an ideal setting – the stately courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse in Jefferson. Harsh weather should not be a factor this time.
The program is free and open to the public.
David Morain, a Jefferson attorney who is president of the Greene County Bar Association, is coordinating the event, and will open it talking about the judges who helped set up the county and its communities after settlement in the 1850s and ’60s.
Also talking will be current Iowa district court Judge William Ostlund, of Jefferson, the sitting judge assigned in Greene County. Ostlund, who has been on the bench since 1994, will talk about some of the unusual cases, characters and inspiring stories he has encountered in his judicial career.
Greene County has produced many other distinguished judges through the decades, including U.S. district court Judge William Hanson, his son Iowa district court Judge Robert Hanson and, perhaps the best known, Justice David Harris of the Iowa Supreme Court.
Harris, who died at 82 in 2010, was a World War II infantryman who did his undergraduate and law studies at the University of Iowa post-war. He went into private practice in Jefferson from 1951 to ’62, served as Greene County attorney from 1959-62, then was appointed to the Iowa District Court bench in 1962. After 10 years there, he was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1972 by Gov. Robert D. Ray.
During his Supreme Court years, Harris continued to live in Jefferson and office in the Greene County Courthouse. He was a prolific writer, authoring more than 800 majority opinions and more than 100 dissents. Local people also remember him for his poetry, which he shared occasionally in newspapers and poetry collections. His wife Madonna still lives in Jefferson, and his son-in-law Nick Martino is the long-serving Greene County attorney.
The county has produced other judges over the years, including Iowa district court Judge Timothy Finn, now of Ames, and Iowa district court Senior Judge Gerald Magee, now of Charles City, both of whom also serve District 2; Iowa district court Judge Jeffrey A. Neary, now of Merrill in northwest Iowa, serving District 3; as well as judicial magistrates, and in earlier years, justices of the peace.
The Sunday afternoon program will start a busy week for the Historical Society.
The group’s regular monthly meeting will be on Friday, Aug. 7, at the United Methodist Church in Grand Junction. After lunch at noon, lifelong Grand Junction sports fan Alan Robinson will present a program at 1 pm on high school girls basketball in the county. More details on that program will be announced next week.
