The Superior Express -

Jewell County has several authors – ones from the past like, M. Winsor and James A. Scarbrough who wrote The History of Jewell County, Kansas in 1878. Or more recent ones like Erma Parsons Dillon (Burr Oak High School Class of 1952) and Jeri Davis Shute (Esbon High School Class of 1952) who wrote Prairie Jewels in 2002.  Then there is Rosie Eilert Bosse (Jewell High School Class of 1974) whose latest book, To Pay a Debt, carries a 2023 copyright.

But there is another recent author with Jewell County roots, the late Iva Lea Fullerton Metz (Montrose High School Class of 1941). Likely few if any have heard of her or her book, From the Prairie, to Space. It was written in 2021 when she was 97 years old. 

When she wrote the book, she lived in Seattle but Iva Lea was born four miles south and three fourths mile west of Montrose. She went to Paradise School District No. 34 and Montrose Grade School before graduating from Montrose High School with the Class of 1941. She was 16 years old.

By the time she was 18, she had soloed off the Mankato Airport. Not the one north of town, but the grass field that was east of Mankato in the 1940s. She was the first woman to solo off the field. 

Her future husband, Homer Metz, was also learning to fly. After he graduated from Mankato High School with the Class of 1943, they were married. The couple kept their eyes on the sky and their lives were intertwined with the United States Space Program. 

The book first tells the story of growing up in Jewell County. Then describes the jobs Iva Lea and Homer had which impacted the men who walked on the moon. Two Jewell County high school graduates with far-reaching impact.