There is a serious horseshoe competition at the Iowa State Fair every year. This year’s was featured in a newscast. So what did that trigger? 

Hmm, did I remember something about horseshoes in the family letters I transcribed decades ago, ones Clabe and Leora Wilson wrote to their “Navy boys” starting in early 1934?

Yes, Leora wrote son Donald Wilson, who was stationed at Norfolk, VA, Apr. 10, 1934: “. . . Clarence came Sat. PM. He and Merl, Perry and Dad played 9 or 10 games of horseshoes Sun. – 21 point game. Pretty even match, I guess. . . “

Clarence, Merl, and Perry were Leora’s brothers. She called Clabe “Dad.”

This photo shows Laura Goff (widowed in 1930) with four of her sons, probably the weekend of the horseshoe game: J.B. (Jennings) Goff was a widower with two children (Maxine and Merrill) who lived with Laura in Dexter.

Perry Goff (suspenders) must have been visiting since he lived on the East Coast. (He would show his nephews around New York City in September of 1934, then their ship was in port.)

Merl Goff, bachelor who was a year younger than Leora) also lived with his mother. He and J.B. bought a gravel truck, with their mother’s house for collateral.

Clarence Goff is the prosperous man at the right. This youngest brother was allowed to go to high school, was valedictorian of 1923 Guthrie Center High School, and during the Depression ran a cooling and heating company in Omaha. He was a godsend to the family, especially when the brothers could no longer make payments on the gravel truck and their mother lost the house in 1935. (They moved to Omaha, where he found a house for them all, including Maxine and Merrill, and provided jobs.)

Rabbit trails are so satisfying. I was able to date this old photo because of news about the horseshoes competition at the Iowa State Fair this year, and Leora’s comment in a letter.

Have you ever tried pitching horseshoes? It seems like I may have tried it, but I guess it wasn’t my sport.

Horseshoe Pitching

So I guess this wasn’t just an old-timey pasttime. This is serious business, with a National Horseshow Pitchers Association. Their website. They even have a Facebook Page.

There are rules.

Here’s a video of horseshoe pitching at the Iowa State Fair of 2024.