'Ace' Wolf, Mr. Kiwanis

Asa "Ace" Wolfe was a longtime citizen of Southwest Nebraska. In 1859 he was born in the village of Wellfleet, in a one-room "dugout" -- a residence constructed by digging into the bank of a canyon, sodding up the front and covering the structure with planks, then a layer of tarpaper, covered over with sod to keep the tarpaper in place. Asa's father Silas operated an "eating house" in Wellfleet, but after his mother, Sarah died in 1860 of typhoid, Asa and his two year old sister were raised by their grandparents on a farm located northeast of Indianola.

The Wolfe children attended rural schools when they could, which was not regularly. When Asa was 16 the two children moved to Indianola, where Asa worked in his Uncle's store. He was determined to get an education, and attended school as much as his commitment at his uncle's store allowed. He finally succeeded in graduating from Indianola High School at the age of 21.

Asa had decided that he would be a minister, and in 1910 enrolled at Doane College in Crete, with that goal in mind. He probably would have attained his goal had it not been for the Greek alphabet, which vexed him more than somewhat, causing him to transfer to Peru State Teacher's College, to begin his long career in education.

Asa was a born teacher, and after receiving his certificate took a teaching position in a rural Keith County school. While in that position he organized a Sunday School, and a rural "Literary Society," which stimulated participation by ranchers from a large area.

In 1916, he received his bachelor of arts degree from Peru and was named Superintendent of Schools in Riverton, Iowa.

He was just becoming accustomed to this position when he was notified that he had been Draft Pick No. 1 in Red Willow County for World War I. But one week before his induction into the Army, he and his sweetheart of 10 years, Alice Mae Thomas of Indianola, were married.

Asa looked upon his Army service as simply another learning opportunity, soaking up as much knowledge as possible at every turn. Even during his tour of duty in France, Asa managed to attend the Besancon University in Paris. After two years of Army service he was honorably discharged with the rank of Batallion Sergeant Major.

Once more a civilian, and back in Riverton Iowa, Asa resumed what turned out to be a 50 plus year career in Education and Service to the Community with renewed enthusiasm. He continued to work on his advanced Degree, and in 1934 he received his master of arts in education from the University of Iowa. For 16 years he taught in Iowa, then returned to his beloved Southwest Nebraska, where he spent the remainder of his life -- as County Superintendent for 17 of those years between 1935-1975.

Asa was an example of a man who dedicated his lifetime to the service of his fellow man. His list of honors given to him by the organizations he served would fill a good sized chapter in a book. Just a few of these will serve to illustrate. In McCook, Asa was active in various Scouting programs. He was the Red Willow County Red Cross Chairman, in charge of disaster relief during the 1935 flood. He spearheaded the founding of the first AARP Chapter in McCook, leading to his selection as "Nebraska's Outstanding Senior Citizen" in 1971, and his appointment to the 1971 President's Conference on Aging in Washington.

He served as president of the Southwest Nebraska Division of County Superintendents, and was State Chairman of the Committee for Research and Development, developing "meaningful objective tests" for eighth grade students. In 1974 he was presented a Plaque for Distinguished Service by District V of the MSCA.

Asa was presented with McCook's Master Builder's Award in 1973. He was a long time Member of the Congregational Church and served on the board of the Southwest Nebraska Congregational Church Council. He also "filled in" to preach for absent ministers in churches throughout the area.

When we came to McCook in 1957, Asa Wolfe was known as "Mr. McCook Kiwanis." He was not very outgoing, and did not take part in the hijinx of the jokers of the club, such as Ray Search and Bill Lyons, but whenever there was a question about the history of Kiwanis, or protocol connected with the club, Asa was the one we asked. He had served in each of the various offices of the Club, had served as the chairman of "Career Day" at the College for over 15 years, had started the Kiwanis Circle K Club (for students) in McCook, and was on the Circle K International Committee. He had served as Lieutenant Governor, Division X of Nebraska. He was a tireless worker for all Kiwanis projects, including the Annual Pancake Feed.

In 1960, Asa was asked to run for the office of District Governor of Kiwanis -- a great honor for the man and the Club he represented. Asa was a reluctant candidate, honestly preferring to work behind the scenes and avoiding the spotlight. Bill Lyons, a member of our Club, and a practicing attorney, volunteered to be Asa's Campaign Manager. Bill loved politics and convinced Asa that he owed it to the District to serve.

One would have thought that Asa was running for president -- Bill had the campaign all mapped out, and we supported him with badges, placards and postcards to be sent to the other clubs in our district. But most of all, Bill insisted that Asa should be called "Ace" for the duration of the race -- "Easier to a say," "Promotes confidence," "Conveys a more glamorous, more youthful image."

Some of the members of our club already referred to Asa as "Ace," but after that campaign everyone did. All in all, Bill did a great job, and "Ace" did his part in presenting the Kiwanis message without seeming to be political. He won the governorship in a landslide.

I came to have great respect for Ace Wolfe through Kiwanis, but it was through Kiwanis I also had my only dispute with the man. Kiwanis had a strange program, in which clubs received "Man-miles," for visiting out-of-town clubs. We counted the (miles traveled) X (the number of members making the trip) for the total "Man-miles." At the District Convention the winning club was presented with a traveling trophy.

One year McCook was in the running for the trophy. Ace set up a trip to Broken Bow with Harry Culbertson, George Burney (both in their late 70s), and a couple more of the older members. It was January and it was cold, with the prediction of a possible storm.

I complained to Ace that those older fellows should not be traveling in that weather, even if we had to sacrifice the trophy. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that those fellows had endured great hardships in their lives and they were making the trip of their own free will and it was really not my concern.

The trip turned out OK. They had a bit of trouble with the car's heater, but no one was injured. I was relieved, and to his credit, Ace never said, "I told you so." In the end it didn't matter. Four Kiwanians from North Platte flew to Hawaii with their wives and attended some sort of International Kiwanis meeting. They racked up so many "Man-miles" no one else in the District was even close.

Source: Trails West to Red Willow Co. NE, by Robt. Ray and Lois Rutledge