Snapshots of History

By Editor | August 13, 2025 |

By Mike Avitt
Welcome to “Snapshots of History” number 700. In my first “Snapshots” article from December 23, 2010, I wrote I didn’t know how long this column would run. Now, almost fifteen years later, I still don’t know.
My research methods have changed over the years as I use mostly digitized newspapers, now.
Previously, I utilized actual newspapers and newspapers on microfilm. The Mount Ayr Record-News has hard copy newspapers back to the 1870s. However, some of the papers are so damaged, I was only able to use papers back to 1923. Sometimes I cheated.
The newspapers got damaged in the previous building at 119 N. Taylor. They were stored upstairs and a leak developed in the roof. The leak went undetected for some time and a few years of newspapers were completely destroyed. That’s the bad news. The good news is all of these papers were copied in the mid-1970s and put on microfilm. For many years I used these microfilms which are available at the Mount Ayr Public Library.
So, back in the 1970s when these copies were made, the owner (which I assume was the Iowa State Historical Society) preserved the copies until technology could digitize them and put them online. That’s why the digitized copies go back to 1872, because they were copied before the water damage occurred.
Awhile back I got a photo of Seever’s Lumber Yard in Mount Ayr. I probably wouldn’t have written a article about that business had a not gotten that picture. So, the resources I receive do influence my research and writing.
I have written about the same subject dozens of times as I have received more information on that topic. Also, if I got a better image of the subject, I would write another article. I am extremely fond of older, historic photographs. They inspire me.
The biggest change at the Depot Museum is the loss of members. Bob Sickels passed away in the spring. Bob was well-known as a superior auto mechanic, but I don’t think he got enough credit for his engineering prowess.
He led the move of the Jackson Hill School to the fairgrounds. He told me he had to cut the roof off and move the building and roof separately. I asked how he did that and he replied, “It wasn’t easy.”
Bob orchestrated the move and construction of the replica water tank east of the depot. He found a wooden silo, cut it in half, and made it happen. He led the charge on the construction of the chapel and maintenance building at Rose Hill Cemetery. He developed a device that allowed him enough leverage to straighten grave stones at the cemetery. If he needed a one-of-kind tool, he could build it.
He designed and built the caboose shelter house at the depot park. Bob and Kay Sickels were on the Preservation Partnership committee that began restoration of the Mount Ayr Depot in the early 1990s.
We have an insanely heavy safe in the freight room of the depot and Bob, somehow, moved it there. He could tackle big projects. I have trouble putting batteries in a flashlight.
Very recently, I obtained an obituary from Lucas County that mentions Mount Ayr. It is a very significant piece of our history that I’ll share soon. I’m speaking to a group August 18th and I don’t want to let the secret out until after that.
But, this is an example of Ringgold County history that didn’t come from Ringgold County. I think in the future, when more newspapers are digitized, more of our history will be revealed. We may see abstracts and land transfers online in the future. The research future looks good.
By the way, it was Alan Smith who named this column, “Snapshots of History,” so Alan’s influence can still be seen in this paper even though he has been gone many years.