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On April 20, 1975, the 50th anniversary of Camp Canwita, the Camp Fire lodge in Ames, an official of the District Council of Camp Fire presented Bill Gaessler with a plaque honoring him for his many years of effort and support for the Ames Camp Fire program. At the time of Bill's wife Myrtle's death in 1965, the Gaessler Fund was created to provide support of the Canwita Lodge in Ames. Bill continued his interest and activity in behalf of Camp Fire following his wife's death. He died, March 25, 1985. In 1996, Gaessler's daughter, Ruth Gaessler Veltrop, of Skokie, Illinois, gave her father's plaque to be displayed in the Canwita Lodge.