Take a minute and come up with the name(s) of a building or business in Jefferson that has closed or been removed that you wish was still there. Maybe a restaurant, bar, school, church, or something else.
15 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I wouldn't normally start one of these things off, but ...
I miss Durlam's Clothing. With the loss of that store, as a man I have nowhere to purchase clothing locally. It's hard to believe that Jefferson can't support even one men's clothing store.
There were several such stores not that long ago, and the population hasn't changed significantly.
It was also too bad when the Truck Haven Cafe closed up - good food and reasonable prices created lines outside sometimes just waiting to get in.
The best thing I have seen in Jefferson was the attempt to have a good restaurant on the third floor of the Lincoln Hotel. Good food, attentive local waitresses, open for lunch and dinner. Full bar and lounge. Walk through the shops at street level and go upstairs for lunch. Sit at a table and look out on the square with home made vegetable soup, salad, lunch sandwich of your choice. Dinner menu was of the same, prime rib, steaks, whatever. Full blown restaurant. That was great. Now it's probably full of filing cabinets. That's too bad. Nothing much more I can say but to applaud those people that gave it a shot and to say that I was there to enjoy it when it was up and running full stride.
Lane Sporting Goods is probably right up there for me. You can get a set of shoes in this town anywhere today. Back in the 80's Tom Lane had athletic attire as well as shoes for every sport. ya a guy could probably buy a pair of cheap boots or some velcro tennies at Bomgaars,but really not much. On a related note, my kid popped a tire on his bicycle this summer. I went to Pamida, Dons, Bomgaars....and not one freaking store had tubes, tires, pedals, or even handgrips for bikes anymore. I recall as a kid getting all my bikes and a tire or two a summer at the local merchants or down from that ol bird Olson at his bike shop on W Adams St.
Growing up, I could buy any bicycle paraphernalia I wanted from Lloyd Baller at Baller's Hardware on the east side of the square. He didn't necessarily carry it, but always ordered it for me, whether it was a new seat, headlight, handgrips, or anything else. He also carried model railroad stuff, after I asked him to.
He was the only merchant downtown I know of who would do that for a kid. The other store owners barely paid any attention to me.
This is a semi-related topic, so I'll bring it up here while it is fresh in my mind. A group of Jefferson Iowa News editors recently toured the Jefferson business district, along with that of Carroll and a few other Iowa communities. We were all in agreement that the Jefferson business district exhibited very little community or personal pride when it came to the appearance of their stores.
Although Jefferson is blessed with a beautiful courthouse square and Mahanay Tower, the surrounding square is absolutely wretched. With the exception of two or three stores, it looks to the outsider as though these store owners have spent virtually nothing on storefront upkeep. Many need painted. Others have nailed up a piece of plywood and painted a name on it. I can honestly tell you that none of these businesses would be allowed to operate in this condition where I live, or our other editors, for that matter.
Other towns of comparable size with similar squares in Iowa have spent a lot of time and effort making their businees districts beautiful. When I mentioned this to some prominent local citizens, they seemed unaware of the problem. Are people from Jefferson really that unobservant? That is hard to believe.
There are businesses (construction companies, among others) whose offices look like they could easily be on the condemned list. Remember, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING AT ALL.
The only communities with downtown areas as run-down looking as Jefferson's were consistently towns of 2,000 populations or less. Somebody in the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce should take the time to drive around their town and demand some improvements.
Jefferson storefronts are not the most beautiful in the world. It does take a concentrated effort to improve them usually spearheaded by a concerned businessman. The chamber of commerce walks a fine line, not being able to pay their staff much as it collects dues from the merchants. I’ve noted that it takes a building falling down to get some action. I think the profit margins of Jefferson business establishments is so thin these days that most cannot afford to spend much money on the store fronts. Having been in business they are not supported by the major employers such as school personnel who receive $5 million in salaries each year. The same from the hospital or court house employees in the public sector, nor the manufacturing in the private sector. People love to shop in bigger communities. It worked for Jefferson when the population base was larger in Churdan, Paton, Dana, Grand Junction, Scranton as well as when farms were smaller with more families than today. It was then possible to support three hardware stores, two shoe stores, two mens clothing stores and three or more ladies ready to wear establishments and four grocery stores. I don’t think Jefferson is unique in this regard. The quality of the restaurants was much better when we had the Redwood which was fine dining, but I don’t see that happening without attracting a clientele from a distance, one of the few businesses that people will travel miles to patronize. It takes a lot of capital to start a fine restaurant and the chances of success are slim. New business in the past as well as currently are guided by the maxim, “43% of all stores fail the first year, 21% the second year and the rest pass out of the picture over the next 5 years. At the end of the 7th year only 5% are left.” The age of the town has much to do with how progressive it becomes and the aging population does not create much business. Those that are mobile are traveling to Ames and Des Moines and spending their dollars. Until you have sense of pride in supporting your own community it will simply continue to go downhill. The new businesses that start many times rent their buildings. The landlords simply find it unprofitable to fix up the fronts as they cannot charge high rents. Being a small business you must watch every penny just to stay in business and store fronts do not make you any money. I wish it weren’t so. Braxton Hicks
I had a dream last night that Carl and Jane Rutter came back to town and opened a store that carried only rubber goods, including bicycle tires and tubes of all sizes. This may have been a nightmare.
I appreciate the Jefferson perspective on this topic, Braxton. Unfortunately, out-of-towners don't have immediate access to this information. They simply see worn-out buildings.
The thing that gets me frustrated is that in some cases the appearances of businesses could be drastically improved by spending $100 and a weekend's labor. A coat of paint would take care of Ogren's building on East Lincolnway, or improve the old Ideal site. No matter how broke I am, I still mow my yard.
Shriver Construction, on the other hand, looks like a condemned building. There is absolutely no way I would allow them to do any construction work for me when they can't even maintain their own building!
The comments about businesses operating on a shoestring are all well-taken. I'm sure there is simply not much money to be made in the Jefferson area. I would say, though, that I would disagree with the statement that storefronts do not make you any money. Storefronts attract customers. Two businessses side-by-side, one run-down and the other with a shiny tempting sign out front, will notice a distinct traffic differential. That is why Hy-Vee invests so much money in their signage.
All in all, one can only hope that people take pride in what their properties look like. The minute you quit putting money back into your business is the moment it begins to fail.
The old Horse Collar Saloon was once a movie theater. That's right. Back in the twenties it featured movie posters and easel signs at the entrance.
A photo taken at that time clearly shows all of this. It can be found in the "Photo Archives" link on our main web page. You have to scroll down quite a ways; it is toward the end currently.
The Shriver Construction property was an eye-sore 40 years ago. The office building was/is an ugly blue and never looked structurely sound. The lot to the south of the office was even worse. The old, rusty, never-painted construction equipment appeared to be dumped haphazardly on the lot. The grass was usually waist-high, never mowed. It was ugly. My paper route was nearby, I saw it every day. Of course, the construction company property was near the tracks, on the north side of town, but still within a block of residential housing.
I can see on google maps Shriver Construction mows the grass these days. Who knows, in another 40 years Shriver Construction might put up a fence along the south side of the lot to block the ugliness from the residential neighborhood. How silly of me, that will never happen.
Those google maps appeared last fall/winter (2008). The property (equipment on it) is organized so that the grass/weeds can be mowed more easily. Back in the 60s and 70s, the equipment was haphazardly placed and I could see why mowing would have been difficult. You might be right, when the google camera vehicle drove by in 2008, that may have been the first and only time the property had even been mowed. I don't know.
My paper route was nearby ta boot. I delivered the Greene Bonanza for Jay Ouverson back in the day. Spent most Tuesday nights folding, rubber banding, and delivering that great piece of history for a whopping $2.10 a week.
I drove by Shriver Construction last week and took a few photos. It has not been mowed this year. The grass/weeds around the building have not been trimmed, either. It is hard to believe that they couldn't find the time or funds to accomplish this same task that we all do weekly.
15 comments:
I wouldn't normally start one of these things off, but ...
I miss Durlam's Clothing. With the loss of that store, as a man I have nowhere to purchase clothing locally. It's hard to believe that Jefferson can't support even one men's clothing store.
There were several such stores not that long ago, and the population hasn't changed significantly.
It was also too bad when the Truck Haven Cafe closed up - good food and reasonable prices created lines outside sometimes just waiting to get in.
The best thing I have seen in Jefferson was the attempt to have a good restaurant on the third floor of the Lincoln Hotel. Good food, attentive local waitresses, open for lunch and dinner. Full bar and lounge. Walk through the shops at street level and go upstairs for lunch. Sit at a table and look out on the square with home made vegetable soup, salad, lunch sandwich of your choice. Dinner menu was of the same, prime rib, steaks, whatever. Full blown restaurant. That was great. Now it's probably full of filing cabinets. That's too bad. Nothing much more I can say but to applaud those people that gave it a shot and to say that I was there to enjoy it when it was up and running full stride.
Lane Sporting Goods is probably right up there for me. You can get a set of shoes in this town anywhere today. Back in the 80's Tom Lane had athletic attire as well as shoes for every sport. ya a guy could probably buy a pair of cheap boots or some velcro tennies at Bomgaars,but really not much.
On a related note, my kid popped a tire on his bicycle this summer. I went to Pamida, Dons, Bomgaars....and not one freaking store had tubes, tires, pedals, or even handgrips for bikes anymore.
I recall as a kid getting all my bikes and a tire or two a summer at the local merchants or down from that ol bird Olson at his bike shop on W Adams St.
Growing up, I could buy any bicycle paraphernalia I wanted from Lloyd Baller at Baller's Hardware on the east side of the square. He didn't necessarily carry it, but always ordered it for me, whether it was a new seat, headlight, handgrips, or anything else. He also carried model railroad stuff, after I asked him to.
He was the only merchant downtown I know of who would do that for a kid. The other store owners barely paid any attention to me.
This is a semi-related topic, so I'll bring it up here while it is fresh in my mind. A group of Jefferson Iowa News editors recently toured the Jefferson business district, along with that of Carroll and a few other Iowa communities. We were all in agreement that the Jefferson business district exhibited very little community or personal pride when it came to the appearance of their stores.
Although Jefferson is blessed with a beautiful courthouse square and Mahanay Tower, the surrounding square is absolutely wretched. With the exception of two or three stores, it looks to the outsider as though these store owners have spent virtually nothing on storefront upkeep. Many need painted. Others have nailed up a piece of plywood and painted a name on it. I can honestly tell you that none of these businesses would be allowed to operate in this condition where I live, or our other editors, for that matter.
Other towns of comparable size with similar squares in Iowa have spent a lot of time and effort making their businees districts beautiful. When I mentioned this to some prominent local citizens, they seemed unaware of the problem. Are people from Jefferson really that unobservant? That is hard to believe.
There are businesses (construction companies, among others) whose offices look like they could easily be on the condemned list. Remember, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING AT ALL.
The only communities with downtown areas as run-down looking as Jefferson's were consistently towns of 2,000 populations or less. Somebody in the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce should take the time to drive around their town and demand some improvements.
Jefferson storefronts are not the most beautiful in the world. It does take a concentrated effort to improve them usually spearheaded by a concerned businessman. The chamber of commerce walks a fine line, not being able to pay their staff much as it collects dues from the merchants. I’ve noted that it takes a building falling down to get some action.
I think the profit margins of Jefferson business establishments is so thin these days that most cannot afford to spend much money on the store fronts. Having been in business they are not supported by the major employers such as school personnel who receive $5 million in salaries each year. The same from the hospital or court house employees in the public sector, nor the manufacturing in the private sector.
People love to shop in bigger communities. It worked for Jefferson when the population base was larger in Churdan, Paton, Dana, Grand Junction, Scranton as well as when farms were smaller with more families than today. It was then possible to support three hardware stores, two shoe stores, two mens clothing stores and three or more ladies ready to wear establishments and four grocery stores. I don’t think Jefferson is unique in this regard.
The quality of the restaurants was much better when we had the Redwood which was fine dining, but I don’t see that happening without attracting a clientele from a distance, one of the few businesses that people will travel miles to patronize. It takes a lot of capital to start a fine restaurant and the chances of success are slim.
New business in the past as well as currently are guided by the maxim, “43% of all stores fail the first year, 21% the second year and the rest pass out of the picture over the next 5 years. At the end of the 7th year only 5% are left.”
The age of the town has much to do with how progressive it becomes and the aging population does not create much business. Those that are mobile are traveling to Ames and Des Moines and spending their dollars. Until you have sense of pride in supporting your own community it will simply continue to go downhill.
The new businesses that start many times rent their buildings. The landlords simply find it unprofitable to fix up the fronts as they cannot charge high rents. Being a small business you must watch every penny just to stay in business and store fronts do not make you any money. I wish it weren’t so.
Braxton Hicks
I had a dream last night that Carl and Jane Rutter came back to town and opened a store that carried only rubber goods, including bicycle tires and tubes of all sizes. This may have been a nightmare.
I appreciate the Jefferson perspective on this topic, Braxton. Unfortunately, out-of-towners don't have immediate access to this information. They simply see worn-out buildings.
The thing that gets me frustrated is that in some cases the appearances of businesses could be drastically improved by spending $100 and a weekend's labor. A coat of paint would take care of Ogren's building on East Lincolnway, or improve the old Ideal site. No matter how broke I am, I still mow my yard.
Shriver Construction, on the other hand, looks like a condemned building. There is absolutely no way I would allow them to do any construction work for me when they can't even maintain their own building!
The comments about businesses operating on a shoestring are all well-taken. I'm sure there is simply not much money to be made in the Jefferson area. I would say, though, that I would disagree with the statement that storefronts do not make you any money. Storefronts attract customers. Two businessses side-by-side, one run-down and the other with a shiny tempting sign out front, will notice a distinct traffic differential. That is why Hy-Vee invests so much money in their signage.
All in all, one can only hope that people take pride in what their properties look like. The minute you quit putting money back into your business is the moment it begins to fail.
The old Horse Collar Saloon was once a movie theater. That's right. Back in the twenties it featured movie posters and easel signs at the entrance.
A photo taken at that time clearly shows all of this. It can be found in the "Photo Archives" link on our main web page. You have to scroll down quite a ways; it is toward the end currently.
The Shriver Construction property was an eye-sore 40 years ago. The office building was/is an ugly blue and never looked structurely sound. The lot to the south of the office was even worse. The old, rusty, never-painted construction equipment appeared to be dumped haphazardly on the lot. The grass was usually waist-high, never mowed. It was ugly. My paper route was nearby, I saw it every day. Of course, the construction company property was near the tracks, on the north side of town, but still within a block of residential housing.
I can see on google maps Shriver Construction mows the grass these days. Who knows, in another 40 years Shriver Construction might put up a fence along the south side of the lot to block the ugliness from the residential neighborhood. How silly of me, that will never happen.
Do you really think that Google maps are real time? That photo was when they mowed back in 2004.
Those google maps appeared last fall/winter (2008). The property (equipment on it) is organized so that the grass/weeds can be mowed more easily. Back in the 60s and 70s, the equipment was haphazardly placed and I could see why mowing would have been difficult. You might be right, when the google camera vehicle drove by in 2008, that may have been the first and only time the property had even been mowed. I don't know.
Just splitting hairs but the last update on Google Earth featuring Shriver's was 2006.
My paper route was nearby ta boot. I delivered the Greene Bonanza for Jay Ouverson back in the day. Spent most Tuesday nights folding, rubber banding, and delivering that great piece of history for a whopping $2.10 a week.
I drove by Shriver Construction last week and took a few photos. It has not been mowed this year. The grass/weeds around the building have not been trimmed, either. It is hard to believe that they couldn't find the time or funds to accomplish this same task that we all do weekly.
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