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…

BY MIKE AVITT At the Mount Ayr High School Reunion a few weeks ago, Connie (Ryan) Ferguson approached me with a request. Her Class of 1969 would celebrate their fifty year reunion with a walking tour of the Mount Ayr square and would I go along and identify every business as they were in 1969.…

BY MIKE AVITT I think Allendale’s official population is about 55 but something big is happening there and I’ll tell you about that in a minute. Dave Hardy sent me this picture of the Allendale Baptist Church in its early days. I believe the photo was posted on the Facebook group, Worth County Progress Organization,…

by Mike Avitt This photo is in rough shape but it is still very clear. A picture very similar to this appears in the February 26, 1931 Diagonal Reporter newspaper. The players are in the same position in the newspaper photo so I have their names. The front row is: Ben Camden, John Varner, and…

BY MIKE AVITT I scanned this photo from the collection of LaViece Barker many years ago. It’s high school reunion time so I’ll tell some stories about that. I went to my first Mount Ayr High School Alumni Reunion in, I believe, 2005. It might be 2006 but I remember I was the only one…

I was flipping through an Arispe Centennial Book recently and saw information about Frank and Marilyn Eighme’s gas station in Arispe. They entered into business at this location in January 1970. This got my interest so let’s take a closer look. Many of my readers may recall an article about Frank’s Service in “Our Iowa”…

The Mount Ayr Depot Museum recently received two scrapbooks from the James Pollock family tracing the history of Wishard Chapel. These scrapbooks are full of newspaper clippings, photos, programs, records, and other historical information. Thank you to the Pollock family! Wishard Chapel is located four miles north of Mount Ayr on Highway 169. A few…