Pillar of community passes

Cresco - The Cresco community lost a big supporter last week as former mayor, Arletta Rose, passed away at the age of 88.

Mrs. Rose felt a civil responsibility to help the town of Cresco maintain and grow. She was appointed to Cresco City Council on Feb. 12, 1982 and continued in that capacity until she ran for mayor in 1989. She served in that position for six consecutive terms, a total of 12 years, until 2001. That ties for the longest time being mayor in over 100 years. In all, she served Cresco for 20 years.

One of the many individuals she worked with over the years was Sharon Smutzler, who was Cresco City Clerk during part of Rose’s tenure.

“I worked with her for a long time. She was very good and took her job seriously. She spent a lot of time at City Hall and had an open door.”

Rose was involved with many large projects over the years, including working with TIFs, the expansion of Featherlite and the usual sewer problems and street projects.

Barb Zak was another co-worker of Rose’s. “She was a great person to work with. I thought she was fair when working with the public.”

Marlene Michel, who was deputy clerk under Rose, recalled, “I found Mayor Arletta Rose to be capable, open-minded and compassionate and a delight to work with.”

Irene Eiffler agreed with all of the above. “She was an excellent boss and very concerned about the city’s welfare. She would always stop to ask people about their families. She was also in the office on a regular basis.”

Current Public Works Director Rod Freidhof started his career with the City the same year Rose took office as mayor. Although he didn’t have day-to-day dealings with City Hall in those early years, he was familiar with her. 

“I can tell you for me, as an employee of the City, no matter where I ran into Arletta, it could be at the fair, church or the grocery store, she always, with a smile, stopped and visited to see how things were going. She would often ask how my family and kids were doing. She was a very caring person.”

As a sign of respect for the former mayor, the flags at City Hall and Cresco Fire Department flew at half staff from Thursday throughout the weekend.

Arletta Rose’s full obituary can be found on page A14.