An Email Recollection of Dining

Northwood Anchor - September 6, 1962: The Coffee Cup Cafe on Central Avenue will re-open Thursday under new management. Mr. and Mrs. E. Vaale, new owners and operators, have redecorated the cafe and installed new, modern equipment. A grand opening is planned in the near future. 

Ann Johnson: We were not in Northwood from ‘56 through ‘67. Does anyone know where this was on Central?  

Janis Hendrickson: It sounds familiar to both Chuck and me, but unfortunately neither of us can remember the location. Hopefully someone who was paying attention back then will have an answer for you

Ann: Was the café on the west end near the steps to the park always known as the “Maid-Rite Café”?

I only know of the Paramount, the Midway (formerly Rex Café), Quality Café, Chat n’ Chew and the Maid-Rite.......and in the late 50s there was Hazel’s Restaurant in a house on S. 8th St., south of the post office. Was there Jumbo’s on the north end of town?

Janis: Can’t remember a restaurant near the steps to the park, but it’s possible.

Hazel was Hazel Thompto (mother of Ralph, class of ’62 and Liz Thompto Kenison, class of ‘66). She had a restaurant in their home. Jumbo’s was on 65 north somewhere near the current bus barn. I “think” Jumbo’s last name might have been Thompson?? I remember Thea Seibreit (wrong spelling, I’m sure) worked there as a cook. I recall being a guest of my friend’s family several times at Jumbo’s Restaurant eating yummy fried shrimp.

Bonnie Mack Wopperer: I know for a fact that Jumbo's last name was Thompson. :)

I remember Hazel's restaurant, the Paramount, the Chat 'N' Chew and the Grill adjacent to the old theater, across from Mack Drugs. Didn't that grill change names with new ownerships......2 or 3 times??? Beyond that, my memory is very fuzzy.

Neither do I remember a restaurant near the steps to Crescent Park. I'm lots of help

Ann: The Grill (adjacent to the theatre) was the Rex Café owned by JoAnna Cooley’s dad, Hugh Cooley until about 1952. The name may have been changed to The Grill after Cooleys sold it...it was the Midway Café from the ‘60s through the early ‘90s and then was closed and sold and it hasn’t been a café since that time.

I guess I’d forgotten how young you kids are when I mention the Maid-Rite Café by the park steps (where the Civic Center is now). There were several buildings there that were demolished including the café, a hatchery, a gas station.... However, I guess I’m talking about late ‘40s and early ‘50s when I talk about the Maid-Rite.

I think Jumbo’s was on North 65... Yes, it was probably about where the bus barn is now.

The Quality Café: Again, I might be talking about ‘40s through early ‘50s. On the corner of Central Ave and 8th St. N (Hwy. 65 N) was a huge old building that was Bowen’s Grocery in the ‘40s-‘50s and I’m not sure when it ceased to be a grocery store. It has since burned and is now a mini-park. North of the park is a very small building that was a barber shop, then the alley, then the Quality Café, then the IA State Liquor Store, then Hallands’ Beauty & Barber Shop, then Plowman’s Café (now the Daily Buzz tavern)

Does anyone remember Mr. Marshall and his popcorn machine? I’m wondering if the Coffee Cup Café might have been there where he had his popcorn machine on the sidewalk in the summer time. (That would have been right next to the dry cleaners)

Anyone? Anyone? .

The N-K Vikings played their season home opener tonight against Rockford....first varsity game on the new field, part of the new N-K Athletic Complex which, at this point, has cost $850,000 and still counting. This year N-K started playing eight-man football.....L (Did’ja ever think you’d enjoy sitting in one spot watching a creek freeze over?)

The Vikings came away with a 44-34 victory.

Bonnie: Yessss! I remember Mr. Marshall and his popcorn machine, in front of a small cafe, next to the dry cleaners. OMG hadn't thought about that since forever! I used to ask him for the partially popped kernels that fell through to a container underneath......my favorites AND I didn't have to pay for them.

Was one of Mr. Marshall's legs shorter than the other...............I seem to remember he wore a special shoe for that.

That could have very well been the Coffee Cup Cafe.........not sure.

O.k.......I'm trying to visualize that corner of Central Ave. and I-65 No. If Fallgatter's Grocery was on the northwest corner, then Bowen's must have been on the northeast (NEC),, correct? I think it later became Nelson Hardware Store (or maybe that's the wrong corner). I do remember the Halland Barber and Beauty shops (one of the barbers who worked there was a man by the name of Bass Bergo........wonder if that was his "real" name). Wasn't the Masonic Temple (Lodge ?) near there also......maybe on the next corner north of Central? Well, you've got me going........will probably be dreaming about Northwood tonight.

And GO, VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ann: The more I think about it, the more I think that café by Mr. Marshall’s (Albert Marshall) popcorn machine must have been the Coffee Cup Café and now I do remember that he wore one shoe that was built up higher than the other. He was such a nice guy and he loved kids. (Can anyone imagine our kids today referring to ANYONE as “Mr.”?!) That MIGHT be the building we’re looking for....I remember that there was a café there and that it did close at one time.

This bit from the Anchor is from September of ‘62 so most of you might have left for college by that time. Maybe someone from the class of ‘63 can help us out...or later....what can you tell us, Richard???

Yes, Bowen’s Grocery was on the NE corner of that intersection...Bowen’s Grocery, Gildner’s Clothing, the post office, Fallgatter’s Grocery (the new Northwood Theatre) were the businesses in the four buildings at that intersection. Nelson’s Hardware was in the building next to Bowen’s where the Extension Office is now...the front of that building has been bricked and totally changed. I don’t know what Bass Bergo’s real name might have been; he was an avid fisherman with a huge love for (spirits) but I understand he was a great barber.

You’re right, the Masonic Temple is on the north end of that block. I can’t think of anything between Plowman’s Café (that became Gertie’s Tavern) and the Masonic Temple...maybe that was just a vacant lot...Northwood Electric is there now.

Another bit of Northwood’s past....The building that housed Bowen’s Grocery was built at the turn of the century by Nels Christianson and was a general store. Nels later became a banker. A biographical sketch in a history book tells us:

“N.T. Christianson was born in Denmark in 1867. When he was eight years of age, he was thrown upon his own resources and from that time till the present, he has rustled for himself. He came to America in 1886 and shortly after arrived in Northwood with a dollar and a half in capital and a determination to amount to something and make a career for himself which was worth far more than capital. Early in 1887 he began his experience in merchandising in the general store of the late Al Smith..........”

We can’t even believe that....orphaned at eight, came to Northwood at age 19 or 20 with a buck and a half.

Nels built the house that was later Bakke’s Funeral Home....the one with the curved glass in the windows...it became Connor’s Funeral Home and then it burned in ‘93 or ‘94 and another funeral home has been built on that corner.

Today we celebrate Founders’ Day in Northwood...the first settlers in what is now Northwood...and Worth County....Gulbrand and Karina Mellem came here in 1853. The Founders’ Day activities start with a 5K run/walk this morning so I’d better get my track shoes on and get outta here.

Janis: Bowens Grocery later became Applequist Grocery. Harold and Louise Applequist lived on S. 12th street and Jeannie was one of my playmates. Chuck reminded me that Falgatter’s took over the store west of them at some point in the late 50’s or early 60’s to make a larger grocery store. Would that have been the old Rexall store (Veenker Drug)?

YES! This has been fun – we might run into you today, Ann! It’s a beautiful day for Founders’ Day.

Bonnie: Veenker's Rexall was either adjacent to, or a couple of doors further west from, Fallgatters (I think). Oh yes......now that you mention it, Janis, I do remember the Applequist store..............and the friendly little price wars with Fallgatter's. hahaha I can recall my Grandma Lau making her daily trek to town from her home on 11th St. to shop at whichever store had the best price on peaches.....or flour....or bread.....whatever the major item(s) on her list for that day. A very similar competitive spirit existed between Mack Drug & Jewelry and Veenkers Rexall Drugs. After all, competition is what keeps prices down, right? Ahhh memories......this IS fun!



Me: somebody draw me a map. I'm lost.

an older photo

Nosing around local websites (City of Northwood, Chamber, etc.) uncovered this photo of the old high school and primary building.  There is no indication of the date of the photo but it is clearly an earlier version of the one most often seen.

The photos seem to have been taken from a similar location, the earlier one further to the right, and the later one displaying the Old Gym, which means the top one appears to be pre-1937 and the latter is post-1937, the year the gym was built and opened.  Perhaps the street lamp was already in position but not visible on the first photo, and note all the bushes along ground level at the base of the school in the later photo.

The two trees of the original have identical branching to the later version and the trunks have added some girth in time.

The first one looks pretty bare, doesn't it?

City of Northwood Slide Show

Sometimes when searching the internet you bump into things.  Here is a slideshow that is posted on the Home Page of the City of Northwood with some pretty nice photos of "home" by Joel Rohne.

When Trees Were the Right Height

The Old High School - on the Corner

A New Building - with Shorter Trees

With no political offense intended, there is no doubt that for the Class of '62 the trees were clearly "of the right height" in comparison to today's version.  City codes have probably changed, too, since the original trees were outside of the sidewalk in what is probably city right-of-way.

The old gym, pictured below, is scarcely visible on the new photo since it was taken from the same approximate location as the original, and new buildings block the arch view on the west end, but the arched roof can be made out behind the blue roof of the new building.  For those who haven't been in town for a long time, the view below seems more like one taken of a building unknown.

The "Old" Gym

L T Dillon - Entrepeneur

Richard Holstad keeps feeding information about L T Dillon and the 1936 National Band Contest.  The exploits have been reported previously and at some point the numerous photos along with a recording made by the St Olaf Band of the song played in contest by the NHS Band will be posted by way of YouTube.

In the meantime, take a closer look at the above photo.  Click on it to open a larger view in a new window, then look carefully at the band members themselves.  They're all cut-outs!  According to the clipping at the bottom of the photo, it was made by L T Dillon, composed of individual photos of the various members munted on a base and placed on a small stage, thus "manufactured" by Dillon because the school in 1936 did not have an auditorium - and this apparently was the closest facsimile of a performance setting that he could come up with.  (The gymnasium used by the Class of '62 was built and occupied AFTER the National Contest.)

Pretty ingenious, that fellow.  He also is the photographer for the photo below, as reported previously in this blog.  Unable to be in the picture, he made it there as an inserted image in the upper left corner.  This almost makes you laugh, except for the picture of determination and dedication that he embodied as a "part-time" instructor for a national champ.  You may not find a more entrepreneurial spirit.

The band held a reunion in 2006; what a joy it must have been for those players to get back together again!

Keep your eyes on this blog for more information and stories on this group.  Many of them would have been parents of the Class of '62 or that era.  A son of one of the members, Richard has been reaching out to others to solicit their memories and photos as well.

Old News - from the Anchor

Last week's Anchor reported on the band that performed in Cleveland in 1936.

Fifty highly elated musicians, members of the Northwood school band, together with their director, L.T. Dillon, Supt. E. A. Prehm and four chaperones, boarded a special train on the North-Western railway at Mason City at 5 AM yesterday bound away for Cleveland, Ohio, where t 11 AM Thursday they will perform in the national band contest.  Chaperones include Mrs. Iver Bidne, Mrs. Levi Cornick, Mrs. Mabel Madson and Mrs. Leon Barnes.


The photo here was taken from a Globe-Gazette report in 2006, marking 70 years in 2006 at a band reunion.  The success of this band was reported previously in this blog, primarily by Richard Holstad, whose mother was one of the band members pictured.

Dillon is pictured in an insert top left of the band.  The original photo of Dillon included in the earlier report has been "lost" from the archives short-term but will be returned when found.  Call it Operator Error.

This photo appears to have been taken behind the school.  The gymnasium would be on the right, assuming it had been built by the time of this photo, and the classrooms behind the band would be Senior English - Helen Thies - if indeed this was a scene from the East side.  A really really careful view would seem to show students peering out those windows.

News from 50 Years Ago

I didn't know he was a hunter, but Bob Wilder once bagged a couple of Canadians for Thanksgiving Day.  Here's what the Anchor reports in their Early Files of November 23, 1961:

Bob Wilder in Class

Robert Wilder, N-K industrial arts teacher, bagged a pair of Canadian Honkers Saturday near Silver Lake.  The geese weighed eight and ten pounds with the larger bird having a 67-inch wingspan.  It was two geese with two shots for Wilder after sneaking up on the small flock.


And he would have been using lead shot, for sure.  Two for two with steel shot would have been difficult at best, though we give him credit for his expertise in this shooting and I'm sure the birds were delicious.

Wilder was also a JV basketball coach for at least a couple of years, including our freshman year, the only time I think I ever played organized basketball, but I dropped out due to my inability to shoot or handle the ball.  Or play defense.  The one basketball memory that I can report is that Wilder reneged on a promise made to me in practice one night.  When I found myself in a jump ball situation with the much taller John Roberts Wilder declared, "If you outjump him, you start at center tomorrow night against Glenville."

I won the tip but Wilder took back his words, and I started on the bench, where I belonged.

JV Practice was held in the new elementary gym when it became available, the latest in a line of gyms we used.  You will recall from an earlier posting that the arched gym we used was 25 years old in our senior year.  Prior to its construction the gymnasium had been located in the lower level of the original building, later to became the home of Wilder's industrial arts classes, Ag, and Band.  That same gymnasium doubled as our lunchroom until the new elementary was built in 1953 or 54.  I have a memory of standing on a walkway next to a railing, overlooking the lunch tables of the basement gym below, and smelling the school lunch.  When the new gym/lunchroom was built, the memory is of the footrace to be first in line for lunch.  The lunch smell probably did not change, and to this day has probably not changed.

All these memories because the Anchor reported Bob Wilder shot two geese.

From the Anchor 50 to 75 Years Ago

This Week's Anchor had a report announcing Edsel Schweizer, Luther College Football Coach, as guest speaker for the 40 members of the football team at its annual banquet the coming Monday.  Howard Vorland, who was once a Junior High Principal and I believe Health teacher, was Lions Club Program Chair.  In another year, Stan Sheriff, then coach at Iowa State Teachers College, brought along Mace Reyerson, the oustanding athlete who graduated about 1957 or 58 when he spoke.

Both Schweizer and Sheriff were very successful at the college level, and Sheriff eventually left ISTC to become AD at the University of Hawaii, though I never figured out how he finessed that plum.  Not to say he wasn't a quality fit - but go from Cedar Falls to Hawaii?  Only in my dreams!

But the bigger news, to me, was in the 75 Years Ago category, where the Anchor had announced on November 26, 1936, the opening of the new high school gymnasium:

More than 500 people took part in the opening event held at the new high school gymnasium Tuesday evening when six Worth County basketball teams played three exhibition games beginning at 7 PM with music by the Northwood High School band between the games.  The new auditorium seats 1,100 and the building meets public expectations in every way.


Six county teams - let me guess:  Northwood, Kensett, Manly, Carpenter, Grafton, Joice, Hanlontown or Fertile?  I'm not sure when/how all the school consolidations rolled out but I do know Carpenter had its own school until we graduated, and Joice became a part of Lake Mills somewhere along the way.  If you have knowledge, pass it along.

Meets public expectations?  Not to be uppity, but I don't think the public ever spent much time in those locker rooms...

The Class of 62 History

The Yearbook gives a year-by-year accounting of the 13 years the Class of '62 was on the Northwood campus. Providing teacher names and a listing of new students annually, the History also provides a few stories of each year.

5th grade found us a class divided, some members housed somewhere in the main building (called the "big building" in the class history), and about a dozen of us in a 5th/6th combination at First Lutheran Church, a quick walk away.

Because it was within walking distance, every noon those of us in the combination found ourselves walking back and forth for lunch, and the picture above of Leidal, Helgeland, and Lien is one that was taken when we queued up to gather our food. Coats were required when the weather chilled so we would survive the walk. Lunch was served in the gym of the new elementary building, which beat the heck out of the basement cafeteria in the "big building" that we had used previously.

It was also during this combination year that the federal government began requiring school districts to serve a daily milk break, presumably to expand the dairy markets. Most brought cookies or crackers to eat with the milk, which for some reason seemed to have a tainted taste. Mike Wall, who was in the 6th grade section of the combination, became renowned for his TV-like commercial extolling the virtues and great taste, after which he would do his off-camera vomiting.

Unfortunately, this class history tells us nothing of the story of the Kensett students prior to the merger in 1958. Perhaps they didn't exist, were waiting patiently for 9 years for school to start for them, or simply had no history until they became a part of Northwood-Kensett. But join us they did, and at the least, the Class History gives us the names of all those students, who as we reported earlier, we couldn't pick out of a lineup as "Kensett" kids, for the most part, because they were just part of the class. All is well that ends well, and that includes the 13 years.

Back Home Again - on the Farm

Last week I had the pleasure of a Farm Tour - of the farms where I grew up, or my ancestors did their homesteading, along a seven-mile stretch of the State Line. My dad, now 93, enjoyed getting out, and still has a million stories to tell, and perhaps I am finally getting old enough to ask them.

Our last stop was the farm a couple miles north of Northwood where I grew up. And when I saw this open barn door I couldn't resist taking a picture. The door is no longer a half-door and it seems about a mile wide when I consider how many times I got my knees slammed against the jamb by the horse heading to her stall. I checked - there is no flesh stuck on the door jamb. And then I double-checked the door itself and realized the opening has been widened and the door widened to match, then the half-doors were joined together, and suddenly in my mind this door was only two feet wide again and my legs indeed "felt the pain."

Perhaps your family would have similar stories to share with you like those I have gotten from Dad, and I encourage you to ask about them if you haven't already done so. On that seven-mile stretch of road that we toured there are eight locations that were "in the family" at one time or another plus a church, a creamery, and a neighborhood "convenience store" known then as a general store, the latter two razed at some point in the last 20 or 30 years. And the first two houses that I lived in? They were both razed in the last 2 years as well.

I should circle back to that general store - it was the Deer Creek Store, the source of anything and everything you could not raise on your farm, the meeting point for farmers to share some stories, and the oasis in the desert after delivering milk to the creamery across the street. Candy. Lots of it. And I had my share.

Since we took that trip I have used Google Satellite Maps to locate all the properties on the tour, and can quite easily identify each one of them. Then Lonna and I looked for her home in Lake Mills on South Winnebago; it was not as easily found, but it is there. I encourage you to find your "home" by that method as well. If it's a farm and the barn door is still open, bear in mind the consequences of riding horses while visiting.

First Grade

I vaguely remember first grade. It was on the ground floor-west of the old primary building. Our teacher was Miss Stover, a memory that hangs with me because on the first day of school my mother asked me the name of my teacher when I got home.

I couldn't really recall but since we were standing in the kitchen by the stove where Mom was fixing supper I said, "I don't know, Miss Stove or something like that." I only remember it because Mom thought it was so cute and told the story repeatedly over the years. Like only a mother would.

What brings it to mind at this point is the attached photo that comes courtesy of Richard Holstad, who has quite the photo archive, apparently, including some like this one by Dr Forland as well as those he has gotten from the Northwood Anchor.

Doc Forland took a lot of photos way back when, developing them in his own dark room, and you can tell from the quality of this photo that his camera was a superior model. Richard's comment on the shot is "This is the class of 1963 . . . the teacher is posing with LaVonne . . . The class is using the Dick and Jane textbook . . . Larry Patterson is sharpening his pencil up by the window . . . one of the Thone girls is easy to recognize . . . Patty Reeder is just behind the teacher . . ."

And you will notice without even trying that the direction of the shot is west and on the ground floor since that would have been the only classroom in the building that would qualify for this orientation. What you may or may not notice in the picture or recall is that Miss Stover did not have any fingers on her right hand, a disability that probably caught our attention right away but was forgotten as we got to know her.

(BLOG-MASTER'S NOTE: if you click on the photos they will open enlarged in a new window and you will notice the high quality of the photo and be able to identify the people Richard mentions.)

You remember the very well worn wooden floors all around including in the hallway, the "old building" smell, the staircase that was not handicap-accessible, and restrooms in the basement. You will certainly also recall that there was no way you could sneak around the building because the wooden floors creaked like crazy. My recollection is that we didn't sneak much, we just kind of ran around. And created lots of childhood memories.

NKHS Mens Locker Room

The High School as we remember it

West Elementary School Goes Down

From the Northwood Anchor June 23, 1999

WEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GOES DOWN

The three-story, brown brick building that served up reading, writing, arithmetic and a host of other subjects to five generations of Northwood and Kensett children came tumbling down last week.

Shortly after 7 a.m. last Wednesday morning, a giant yellow backhoe owned by Metro Wrecking, Inc., of Des Moines tore into the southwest corner of the building which was known in successive eras as Northwood High School, Northwood-Kensett High School, N-K West Middle School and N-K West Elementary School.

By 5 p.m. that afternoon, the giant black claw on the working end of the machine's jointed yellow arm had pulled down all but the northern wall off the 1915 building, leaving four south-facing, second-floor blackboards visible above the jagged line of bricks that topped the west wall's ruins.