Snapshots of History October 12, 2023
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100 block of East Adams St. in Mount Ayr.
By Mike Avitt
I took this week’s photo on January 25, 2011, showing the north side of the 100 block of East Adams Street in Mount Ayr.
This week we’ll look at some of the history of 102 and 104 E. Adams.
The building at 102 E. Adams has a door on the left and one on the right. While researching, I found listings for 102 1/2 E. Adams which I assume is the door on the right. This building had more occupants than I have room to list so let’s start with 104 E. Adams.
The first advertisement I found for 104 E. Adams, was in January 1966 when Lewis Wheeler was an agent for Farm Bureau.
I’m guessing that Farm Bureau built the building in 1965. In September 1968, Farm Bureau bought the Church of Christ building at 401 E. Madison and moved there a month later.
In May of 1971, Willis Shinkle opened an appliance and electrical repair shop at 104 E. Adams and stayed about five years.
Now it gets complicated. Jim Skinner opened a barber shop at 100 E. Adams in August 1953. We know that address as 102 E. Adams today. Some of the advertisements I found for 104 E. Adams were probably 102 E. Adams. These things happen: for over a decade Lucky Lanes was listed as 103 E. Madison in the Mt. Ayr telephone books. The real address was 106 E. Madison.
As such, I believe the east door at 102 E. Adams was sometimes called 102 1/2 E. Adams, and sometimes called 104 E. Adams.
So Verne Taggart, who had operated the second chair at Skinner’s Barber Shop, took over from Jim Skinner and ran the shop until about 1979.
In the late 1970s, Whitey Pine opened a construction office at 102 E. Adams. When Whitey pulled out, (Jack) Garrity Construction moved in. That was in September 1982.
Many businesses followed and I’ll mention a few.
Ron Smith, who had previously had barber shops in Mount Ayr, Arizona, and Diagonal, opened Ron’s Barber Shop early in 1999. Cherrye Still opened Mount Ayr Massage Therapy Clinic in the Summer of 2001. On October 6 (my birthday), 2011, Dr. David Ahnen was honored with a ribbon-cutting by the Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Ahnen is a podiatrist.
Most Recently, 102 E. Adams was occupied by Animal Rescue Alliance operated by Dixie Strange. This business opened in November 2016 and left for Red Oak earlier this year.
One hundred years ago this lot was occupied by a one-story blacksmith shop. Is this the same building? My guess is “yes.”
Down on the corner to the east we see Albert and Winnie Roach’s house, which is gone now. And the building between the Roach house and 104 E. Adams? I have no information at all on that building.
And like I like to say, “We can’t save every building but we can take pictures of them.”
