Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

looking out to the north and commenting about that
young Ed Houser. who ran from chore to chore.
As kids. Bob Neville and I would keep a careful eye
on the bottled beer that was cooling in the horse tank
for thirsty threshers. Bob and I were run off by either
Lawrence Pillard. or someone else concerned. because
they knew we would take a bottle or so.
Emmett Peacock owned the Knights of Columbus
Hall at Stone City. He made it into a night club and
dance hall. The bar was lighted and had mirrors and
rows of bottles. He also had slot machines. one of which
was a silver dollar machine.
The men. in those days. worked for a dollar a day.
and this represented a day's work. While there one day
with my folks. I watched some men playing the
machines. and they put in what looked like $50 worth
of silver dollars before giving up. Mr. Peacock. after
they had gone. asked my grandmother if she wanted to
play. She relented. after considerable coaxing. and after
spending four silver dollars. she won the jackpot. My
grandfather carried a hat full of silver dollars from the
place and I was thrilled.
Our dog. Sambo. was out of a litter of dogs from
Emmett's dog. Laddie. a one-half wolf and one-half
German Police dog. It was said that he was vicious:
however. I shared my peanut butter sandwich with him
behind the Columbia Hall. Emmett had been feeding
the dog with the use of a long pole.
If I got a spanking from Grandmother. she had to do
it when Sambo was not around. Sambo died at the age
of I0. from an infected bullet wound.
In the 1930s and 40s. the Niles Theater was a place
we could go that made us forget the cows and farm
chores and hard times. For one dime. a kid could enter
dream land to see Gene Autry or the Three Stooges. or
Laurel and Hardy. Rin Tin Tin. or some scary Saturday
night movie. There was also Bank Night where
someone could walk out with $100. The theater offered
a double feature shoot-em-up western. in addition to
the Pathe News and cartoons. A kid in those days could
not get by Red Norton's pop com stand in the lobby
without buying a big sack of hot buttered popcorn for a
nickel. If you were under 12 years old. admission to the
theater was I0 cents; or 25 cents. if you were over I2.
When I was overseas during the war. I saw packing
crates of dried eggs marked Anamosa Poultry and Egg
Co. and also Amber Creamery butter. What a welcome
sight to a homesick kid thousands of miles from home!
Tom Loder. Mr. Emil W. Smykle and Mr. Emlin
McNamara all had funeral homes in Anamosa. To the
kids of the 1930s and 40s they were places to avoid: as
we had heard stories of dead people who came alive
after dying. There was a special place in my mind for
the people who ran these homes. I thought that they
were brave and different from anyone else. especially
on moonlit nights with goblins about.
I remember Sheriff Hogan. I was a kid about flve or
six. When I shook hands with him he had such large
hands that my little hand was engulfed by his. He wore
a black suit and hat. and that seemed to make him
taller.
Frank Pillard had a threshing machine and the
threshing ring consisted of several farmers who are
now deceased. Each meant that farmers‘ wives would
pitch in with the cooking. All we young lads wanted to
go to Jack Neville's farm. as Mrs. Neville was one of the
best cooks around. Her homemade bread and mashed
potatoes with gravy were the envy of every housewife.
Dr. Kellogg was the local veterinarian and was called
to the farm to look after sick cows or a horse that went
lame. He had twin boys. Keith and Kenneth. who were
identical and were really hard to tell apart. Doc could
fix any animal as long as he had the time: but
sometimes he was so busy that we had to wait a while
before he arrived if the animal was not critical. If
Grandfather deemed it important. old Doc was there in
a jiffy.
Mr. Rahn. who owned Rahn's Jewelry Store in
Anamosa. was an old World War I soldier who was
gassed in the trenches in France. We kids used to stop
in and talk to him about his experiences and generally
could dig a story or two out of him. His rendition of the
war was a lot different from the stories we read in the
dime novels sold at book stores.
George and Ida Bye owned Bye's Pottery Shop and
lived in an apartment above the store. They were
extremely nice people. They had been married over 50
years when I knew them. At that time. a fiftieth
anniversary was something of a rarity.
The Anamosa Police Department included Leonard
Norton. Bill Donnelly and Pete Morning. In my mind's
eye. I can still see Leonard Norton standing in the
doorway of Niles Theater. watching the movie. and
keeping track of law and order. Generally. after the late
movie on Saturday night. he would remind us that it
was 10:00 P.M. and time for us to go home. and we
dutifully hurried home. It only took once to be told by
the Policel
The front of the old Citizens Savings Bank (when it
was in the middle of town) was one of the leaning places
for a lot of farmers who wanted to talk. It was against
those walls that many Saturday night conversations
took place. Sidewalks in Anamosa hummed with
activity and it was not only a place to walk but also a
place to socialize. Parking at the time was angled
parking. and lots of folks used to just sit in their cars
and watch the crowds going up and down the street.
Ruby Gerst opened a little diner on the street called
the "Blue Raider." It had just nine seats for customers.
She was not only a whale of a cook. but also had the
best pie in town. She finally got so busy with her
breakfasts and dinners that she built a new place down
the street where malts and pie and other good things
were served up by Bess Seeiey and Mrs. Marvin Taylor.
who were two of the friendliest and best waitresses in
town.
Charlie Melichar had a barber shop in the center of
town. where he gave the first "crew cuts" that I ever
knew about. I got one on the recommendation of the
football coach and went home to show my grandmother
the new style. After the shock wore off. Grandmother
accepted the idea of seeing me look like what she called
“a skinned cat." Before that I had been a customer of
my grandfather's. He cut my hair with the guidance of a
bowl and hand clippers that pulled some out and cut
some out. I just had to get away from my grandfather's
haircuts. even though I had to pay 50 cents to a barber
for a haircut.
Not one of Tyler 8: Downing's customers will forget
Lem Bunce. Lem was a little man who smoked a big
cigar and talked like Edward G. Robinson. Sometimes
the customer had to look closely to see if Lem was
behind the counter or not. We kids used to grin a little
when we confronted Lem. and I am sure that he knew
we were making a little fun. Another fond memory of
Tyler Gr Downing's was the loose candy drawer . on the
east wall behind the counter. where kids could buy a
small sackful for a few pennies. Candy rats used to be
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