Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

This week’s photo shows future congressman and senator Tom Harkin asking support from my mother, Sue Perry. The photo was taken in 1974 at 406 W. Madison St. in Mount Ayr. Fifty-two years ago, politicians went door-to-door soliciting support. This is my seventh article surrounding my memories of Mount Ayr in the early 1970s. My…

This is the fifth installment of my memories of Mount Ayr from 1970 to 1973. Things were a little different back then. I think it was the winter of 1972 Tom Terry and his friends built a very large snow bunny on the north side of the courthouse. I’d say it was eight to 10…

I am recalling my memories of Mount Ayr from 1970 to 1973 and I am enjoying reliving my hometown in the “good ol’ days.” Corporal punishment was alive and well in Mount Ayr’s junior high school, 1970-71. My eighth grade homeroom teacher was Ezra Rice and he had a wooden solution to my discipline problems. Rice…

I will continue my series of how I viewed Mount Ayr from 1970 to 1973 and the experiences I had. Mount Ayr’s first teen center was in the basement of the United Presbyterian Church and opened in 1970. I remember my step-sister Lesa Perry painted the sign, “The Cellar,” that was placed at the entrance of…

The Mount Ayr I grew up in is gone. I know, it’s supposed to be gone. But, I’m not happy with the replacement. I want to tell you about Mount Ayr in the years 1970 to 1973. I have a very good memory and I feel compelled to use it while I still can. These…

I’ve written about this building and business multiple times, but I have a major correction to make. This building was built in 1895 for the Laughlin & Hass Real Estate and Abstract office. In the past, I identified the Hass as George Hass and that is incorrect. The correct answer is George’s son Albert Hass…

I took this photo in 2018. Dick Simpson, as of this month, has been in his barber shop for 62 years. I have written about Dick’s career many times, so I’ll try to add some information I find on the periphery. In the old days, a barber was called a “tonsorial artist” and a barber…

This week’s picture comes from the A. T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of 1875. This is the earliest map I’ve ever seen of Ringgold County; no railroads yet. I know you can’t see the details, but someday this map will be used by other historians and I’ll give them a head start with this article.…

The Humeston & Shenandoah Railroad, a branch of the Keokuk & Western Railway, came through Tingley in the second half of 1882. Let’s see what the town did in preparation for the coming of the iron horse. There is an especially helpful article in the May 18, 1882 Ringgold Record newspaper. The railroad surveyors had…

Richard Pence asked about articles I’ve written on Mount Ayr restaurants in the 1960s. There have been many, but I don’t mind adding one more. Mr. Pence once worked at Shamrock Cafe, so let’s start there. George Rogers (father) and Keith Rogers (son) opened Rogers Truck Stop in 1953 on the site now occupied by…