T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY
Two new female swans swim gracefully on the Riverside Cemetery pond Saturday.

Riverside Cemetery General Manager Dorie Tammen is grateful to be on a winning streak.

On Saturday she could barely contain her excitement talking about the good fortune the not-for-profit cemetery received last week when Lena and Maggie, two female yearling swans, arrived safely.

“They are sisters who were born last April on a farm between Ackley and Wellsburg,” Tammen said. “They are named for two Marshalltown sisters buried at Riverside who died tragically at young ages from scarlet fever.”

Tammen said the swans are so young they have yet to display a swans’s trademark orange beak.

“The orange beak will arrive when they are a little older,” she said. “Also, they still have some of their brown feathers which will gradually be white.”

Tammen and the all-volunteer board of directors had been on the lookout for a swan or swans to replace the beloved swan “Bob” when he died.

Tammen said she contacted the farmer who sold Lena and Maggie at below market rate.

“It is not unusual for swans to be sold at $2,500 to $3,000 each,” she said. “The farmer did us a real favor too when he delivered Lena and Maggie to us.”

Timing is everything, and more good luck came Riverside’s way when Tammen said she recently was contacted by a former resident who wanted to make a donation to purchase a swan or swans.

“The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she often visited Riverside as a young girl and had many happy memories. She has since moved out of town, and wanted to show her appreciation. And yes, we are looking forward to receiving her timely donation in the mail.”

On Saturday Lena and Maggie were swimming effortlessly across Lake Woodmere, the cemetery’s iconic pond.

Bob, a mute swan estimated to be 20-25 years old, was mauled by an at-large dog in February 2018.

He had run out on the Lake Woodmere’s icy surface in an effort to escape but failed.

Tammen witnessed the attack from shore and phoned authorities, with the Marshalltown Fire and Police Departments being dispatched. She was reluctant to go out on the ice herself, and watched as rescue personnel ventured out on the semi-frozen lake to bring the creatures back to land.

Bob later died.

A large plaque was placed at Lake Woodmere’s edge in his memory.

“It is very important owners leash their dogs to protect our swans and other property,” Tammen said.