Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

BY MIKE AVITT Thanks to Lola Link for this week’s picture. We can see the school bell on a small tower to the right of the building. The sign below the bell says, “Walnut Valley – 1906 – Dist. No. 7.” Walnut Valley was in Section 25 of Washington Township. For those of you who…

BY MIKE AVITT In the early days of Mount Ayr, the town had multiple monument companies. One was operated by Ralph H. Stone who had several brief partners and was located on many sites until 1908. In that year he purchased the old Williams Hotel, dismantled the hotel, and built his new workshop on the…

BY MIKE AVITT I’m back after a wild week at Wildwood Hills Ranch. We have another aerial photo this week and I believe this picture was taken by Mabel McCullough Rice as she was an aviatrix and this was her property. Bob Sickels worked for Mabel in the early 1960s and he remembers the place…

by Mike Avitt I spent a week at a horse ranch/resort in rural Madison County and I felt compelled to share with you what I’ve learned and experienced. Wildwood Hills Ranch of Iowa was started in 2001 and is located four miles west of St. Charles, Iowa. It is a 470 acre, faith-based facility designed…

BY MIKE AVITT The Clinton Motel opened in June 1950. Mabel McCullough Rice built the lodging from military barracks she bought in Colorado and trucked them to Mount Ayr. Mabel was an attorney, aviatrix, world traveler, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. I have a partial list of the managers at the Clinton Motel (named after Clinton Rice,…

This is the second Methodist Church building in Tingley’s history. The congregation outgrew the first one, so this church was built in 1908 with Herbert Henry Dufty as the construction superintendent. Later, Mr. Dufty’s funeral would be held here. This is the material I’ve been looking for the last several weeks. Jenesse Tull pointed out…

BY MIKE AVITT You can see how big the fertilizer building is compared to the depot and the grain elevator. I don’t know when this building was erected or torn down. But I know it was built on what used to be the depot park. I’m guessing this photo was taken about 1958. The train…

BY MIKE AVITT Well, I can’t find my material for this week, so I’ll tell you what I did Saturday. First, you need to know about this week’s picture. I take road trips regularly to shot train stations and other historical sites, but mostly depots. On December 28, 2012 I went to Leon and then…

BY MIKE AVITT Businesses move and they always have. Place’s moved to this location at 104 N. Fillmore in 1978 and then moved again seventeen years later. Casey’s General Store had been at 300 W. South Street since 1975 before making their first move this year. But some businesses are still waiting to make their…

I’ve got an older Sun Valley Lake brochure that looks like it is from the 1970s because of the colors and artwork. I believe it is from about 1982 as it describes the golf course that was then under construction. The Sun Valley Golf and Country Club opened in May 1984. About a month ago…