OK, I'm giving you a $5,000 line of credit at Menard's and orders to use it improving the condition of one particularly annoying Jefferson eyesore. What do you do?
32 comments:
Anonymous
said...
How about doing something with that boarded up JC Penney building on the corner of Lincolnway and Chestnut? Why is it boarded up, anyway? Repair that storefront and rent it out. The side of that building gets a lot of press because of the mural that has been painted on it, but they would never show the front.
I would love the 5000 bucks to add on to my shanti so that my wife does not have to sleep outside in the doghouse. I may have enough leftover to provide her with some heat in the new addition.
Oh and I want the card from Lowes big fan of Jimmy Johnson the Nascar racer. Menards cars on the circuit all suck. We have to support a winner ya know!
We could donate the money to downtown businesses so that bthey could get rid of their plywood store signs and replace them with decent signage. I don't know, maybe that would cost too much, so I might have to beg Rick for a few more bucks.
Most of the houses around Jefferson look pretty much well kept up to me. I guess we're talking about all the businesses that look so bad.
Looks to me like there is some kind of paint shortage there in town. We need to inform the business owners of Jtown that you can by paint downtown at the hardware store. They have brushes, rollers, and sprayers, too.
Just start at one end of town and paint everything that hasn't been painted in ten years. Ott's Radiator Service probably hasn't seen a fresh coat of paint in at least 30 years.
Can you tear down a business for $5 grand? How about tearing one down instead of sprucing one up - it will only sit empty anyway and need more attention again later.
Pick out a building on east Lincolnway and get rid of it! Pocket any money you have left over.
Larry D , do you know how to paint? I would bet if you go door to door you could get every store owner to let you paint each each building. I know you would start at the DQ and get stuck there eating all the ice cream and not make it to the other places for another 30 years!
The only way these store owners would let me paint there places was if I did it for free and provided all the paint myself. None of them will spend a nickel.
Anon,.- Are you the guy who painted the house next door to mine? You need to come back and recover all those streak marks. Also, don't worry about painting my house; I'm going to let my neighbor's kids do it.
Everyone knows you can remove a building for less than 5 grand. There's guys in Perry that would take care of all East Lincolnway for that. They would probably hit you up for gas money, though. If you just don't like the way they look, you could buy $5000.00 worth of pigeons and let 'em loose. It is a known fact that pigeons want to cover the planet in a nice layer of sh#t. Then you wouldn't have to look at that bad paint anymore.
larry d you live in J-Town or south side of Chi-Town? The business owners are all waiting for a govt handout. The Govt has given money to everyone else why not the business owners of J-Town! Wait until former mayor madson gets his underground subway installed you wont believe what happens to downtown business!!
There sure looks to me like there are a lot of unused, ugly old buildings on North Elm in the area of the old Ideal lot. Does anyone know if any of these are still in use? Help me out here, Braxton.
Somebody could start with the project of getting rid of that eyesore and replacing it with grass or something more attractive. That would be a great location for a business park, if some incentives could be pried out of the city.
It seems like in Jefferson, when businesses close, they just lock the door and walk away. The prevailing wisdom is that nobody will buy it, so why put any money into it. Well, when you don't put any money into it, nobody will buy it and, guess what? It looks like crap.
There aren't many prospective buyers for any of this property in Jefferson, so one must rely on the owners having some pride in their property. Money spent on upkeep will probably not be returned. My guess is that if one of the business property owners in this thread were given $5,000 credit, they would spend it on their house.
Check out the Deep Rock gas station on east Lincolnway. They've been remodeling it for years. Looks like they might have painted it. Do you think $5000 would speed this project up?
Just drove through East St. Louis a couple weeks ago and it was all boarded up with fresh paint. The kids seem to know where to buy cans of spray paint and are very creative and artistic in their designs and lettering. It would stimulate purchasing as long as only locally purchased products are used. If business owners won't buy paint, let the "neighborhood kids" buy it. Maybe make it a High School art project and let them make Jtown look like East St Louis. Let's get Jtown to look like an urban area and really bring in the tourists.
Not much grass in Jtown these days. Grand Junction is pretty grassy. Rippey. Rippey is full of real tall weeds. Weeds and sticks. You have to look real hard to find grass that looks decent in Jefferson. Nobody mows it. Sometimes you can find grass at the truck stop.
If you're going to start painting stuff in Jefferson, start by painting over those stupid murals on the JC Penney and Elks Lodge buildings. They look like something a junior high art student received a C+ on.
Then you can move on to the Mahanay Tower. Clean all those rust marks off the side of it before people start confusing it with the Ruan building. Ac lot of stuff doesn't need replaced - some one just has to care enough to clean it up.
What is going to happen with the Jefferson transmission plant (Electrolux) after it closes later this year? Do you suppose any thought has been given to this?
I agree with Rick. You can't do anything significant with $5,000. Just find a place or two that is closed, and tear it down. Everyone seems to be really into painting. I'm telling you, if these guys wanted their places painted, it would already be done. They're liable to tell you to go away. Can't you see that they are going for a rustic, antique frontier look? Painting something would spoil the motif.
Franklin Manufacturing will become an abandoned, brooding hulk, surrounded by chain link and razor wire. The guys at Peony restaurant will hire Mexicans from Perry to tunnel out there, using some of Deano's existing tunnels to reduce costs. They will establish a huge eggroll factory, using slave labor from local farms not receiving subsidies and Caseys employees not getting enough hours. They will never be caught because the eggrolls will be microwaved using a dropcord from Shorty Tasler's place.
My guess is that the Electrolux plant will sit empty, but I don't think that will bother anybody around town. Put it this way - some friends brought their high school aged son and his buddies over last summer and they didn't know it was there. They had never heard of it.
That plant used to employ over 200 people in three shifts running 24/7. I worked the Cargill line, worked the automatics with Skeeter back in the 80's, but will always remember giving Don Fish a heart attack when we would just reject every transmission coming down the line. We would just set them off to the side till 2:30 then load them out to the dock, thanks to Dave the forklift dude.
I think there was another manufacturer called "Chicago Rivet", or something like that. Two questions - Is that the correct name? Are they still in business?
The old Electrolux factory will almost undoubtedly end up becoming the property of the city. They would be the only party willing to pay insurance on an empty building of that size. In a couple of years, they'll be using it for storage.
That being said, I'm sure it will remain for sale - the city of Jefferson really doesn't need the space. It will probably be for sale for a long, long time.
The good news is that it is somewhat off the beaten path. No one will notice its big, hulking presence.
A night club. Like you said, it's off the beaten pass. You can leave by taking a gravel road straight out of town. Lots of space indoors for dancing, bars, etc. Even room for video slots. Plenty of parking space. Think about it.
Mike Chesler's wheel weight place is no longer, and neither is Mike Chesler. He died in 2004.
Mike moved to Jefferson with his family in 1960, where he was put in charge of setting up and operating the Franklin Manufacturing Company (later the Electrolux plant), wher they manufactured washing machine transmissions that he designed. He later opened up a plant that made a new style of tire studs that he also designed. After that came his wheel weights.
I know that this horse is way dead, but after reading Rick's take on Mike Chesler, it totally blows me away that only 35-40 years ago Jefferson, IA would be a choice location for a top notch mechanical engineer to live and prosper. I am glad that I lived there during that time, even though I was still stealing donuts from Saba's on my morning paper route.
"Ten Businesses in Jefferson Most in Need of a Facelift" That is the working title; it may be changed. It will be accompanied by recent photos and descriptions.
If anyone has input for this story, feel free to speak up.
32 comments:
How about doing something with that boarded up JC Penney building on the corner of Lincolnway and Chestnut? Why is it boarded up, anyway? Repair that storefront and rent it out. The side of that building gets a lot of press because of the mural that has been painted on it, but they would never show the front.
I would love the 5000 bucks to add on to my shanti so that my wife does not have to sleep outside in the doghouse. I may have enough leftover to provide her with some heat in the new addition.
Oh and I want the card from Lowes big fan of Jimmy Johnson the Nascar racer. Menards cars on the circuit all suck. We have to support a winner ya know!
We could donate the money to downtown businesses so that bthey could get rid of their plywood store signs and replace them with decent signage. I don't know, maybe that would cost too much, so I might have to beg Rick for a few more bucks.
Most of the houses around Jefferson look pretty much well kept up to me. I guess we're talking about all the businesses that look so bad.
Looks to me like there is some kind of paint shortage there in town. We need to inform the business owners of Jtown that you can by paint downtown at the hardware store. They have brushes, rollers, and sprayers, too.
Just start at one end of town and paint everything that hasn't been painted in ten years. Ott's Radiator Service probably hasn't seen a fresh coat of paint in at least 30 years.
Can you tear down a business for $5 grand? How about tearing one down instead of sprucing one up - it will only sit empty anyway and need more attention again later.
Pick out a building on east Lincolnway and get rid of it! Pocket any money you have left over.
Larry D , do you know how to paint? I would bet if you go door to door you could get every store owner to let you paint each each building. I know you would start at the DQ and get stuck there eating all the ice cream and not make it to the other places for another 30 years!
The only way these store owners would let me paint there places was if I did it for free and provided all the paint myself. None of them will spend a nickel.
Anon,.- Are you the guy who painted the house next door to mine? You need to come back and recover all those streak marks. Also, don't worry about painting my house; I'm going to let my neighbor's kids do it.
Everyone knows you can remove a building for less than 5 grand. There's guys in Perry that would take care of all East Lincolnway for that. They would probably hit you up for gas money, though. If you just don't like the way they look, you could buy $5000.00 worth of pigeons and let 'em loose. It is a known fact that pigeons want to cover the planet in a nice layer of sh#t. Then you wouldn't have to look at that bad paint anymore.
larry d you live in J-Town or south side of Chi-Town? The business owners are all waiting for a govt handout. The Govt has given money to everyone else why not the business owners of J-Town! Wait until former mayor madson gets his underground subway installed you wont believe what happens to downtown business!!
There sure looks to me like there are a lot of unused, ugly old buildings on North Elm in the area of the old Ideal lot. Does anyone know if any of these are still in use? Help me out here, Braxton.
Somebody could start with the project of getting rid of that eyesore and replacing it with grass or something more attractive.
That would be a great location for a business park, if some incentives could be pried out of the city.
It seems like in Jefferson, when businesses close, they just lock the door and walk away. The prevailing wisdom is that nobody will buy it, so why put any money into it. Well, when you don't put any money into it, nobody will buy it and, guess what? It looks like crap.
There aren't many prospective buyers for any of this property in Jefferson, so one must rely on the owners having some pride in their property. Money spent on upkeep will probably not be returned. My guess is that if one of the business property owners in this thread were given $5,000 credit, they would spend it on their house.
Where is Stonehead? I figure he'd be down with replacing anything with grass.
Check out the Deep Rock gas station on east Lincolnway. They've been remodeling it for years. Looks like they might have painted it. Do you think $5000 would speed this project up?
Just drove through East St. Louis a couple weeks ago and it was all boarded up with fresh paint. The kids seem to know where to buy cans of spray paint and are very creative and artistic in their designs and lettering. It would stimulate purchasing as long as only locally purchased products are used. If business owners won't buy paint, let the "neighborhood kids" buy it.
Maybe make it a High School art project and let them make Jtown look like East St Louis. Let's get Jtown to look like an urban area and really bring in the tourists.
Not much grass in Jtown these days. Grand Junction is pretty grassy. Rippey. Rippey is full of real tall weeds. Weeds and sticks. You have to look real hard to find grass that looks decent in Jefferson. Nobody mows it. Sometimes you can find grass at the truck stop.
If you're going to start painting stuff in Jefferson, start by painting over those stupid murals on the JC Penney and Elks Lodge buildings. They look like something a junior high art student received a C+ on.
Then you can move on to the Mahanay Tower. Clean all those rust marks off the side of it before people start confusing it with the Ruan building. Ac lot of stuff doesn't need replaced - some one just has to care enough to clean it up.
Spend the $5000 on the VFW. Money well spent making downtown better and taking care of our veterans at the same time.
What is going to happen with the Jefferson transmission plant (Electrolux) after it closes later this year? Do you suppose any thought has been given to this?
I agree with Rick. You can't do anything significant with $5,000. Just find a place or two that is closed, and tear it down. Everyone seems to be really into painting. I'm telling you, if these guys wanted their places painted, it would already be done. They're liable to tell you to go away. Can't you see that they are going for a rustic, antique frontier look? Painting something would spoil the motif.
Franklin Manufacturing will become an abandoned, brooding hulk, surrounded by chain link and razor wire. The guys at Peony restaurant will hire Mexicans from Perry to tunnel out there, using some of Deano's existing tunnels to reduce costs. They will establish a huge eggroll factory, using slave labor from local farms not receiving subsidies and Caseys employees not getting enough hours. They will never be caught because the eggrolls will be microwaved using a dropcord from Shorty Tasler's place.
My guess is that the Electrolux plant will sit empty, but I don't think that will bother anybody around town. Put it this way - some friends brought their high school aged son and his buddies over last summer and they didn't know it was there. They had never heard of it.
That plant used to employ over 200 people in three shifts running 24/7. I worked the Cargill line, worked the automatics with Skeeter back in the 80's, but will always remember giving Don Fish a heart attack when we would just reject every transmission coming down the line. We would just set them off to the side till 2:30 then load them out to the dock, thanks to Dave the forklift dude.
I think there was another manufacturer called "Chicago Rivet", or something like that. Two questions - Is that the correct name? Are they still in business?
How about the wheel weight place that Mike Chesler used to run?
Marty they closed a couple years ago. Another vacany industrial building on Central St
The old Electrolux factory will almost undoubtedly end up becoming the property of the city. They would be the only party willing to pay insurance on an empty building of that size. In a couple of years, they'll be using it for storage.
That being said, I'm sure it will remain for sale - the city of Jefferson really doesn't need the space. It will probably be for sale for a long, long time.
The good news is that it is somewhat off the beaten path. No one will notice its big, hulking presence.
A night club. Like you said, it's off the beaten pass. You can leave by taking a gravel road straight out of town. Lots of space indoors for dancing, bars, etc. Even room for video slots. Plenty of parking space. Think about it.
Mike Chesler's wheel weight place is no longer, and neither is Mike Chesler. He died in 2004.
Mike moved to Jefferson with his family in 1960, where he was put in charge of setting up and operating the Franklin Manufacturing Company (later the Electrolux plant), wher they manufactured washing machine transmissions that he designed. He later opened up a plant that made a new style of tire studs that he also designed. After that came his wheel weights.
Chesler retired in 1982.
I know that this horse is way dead, but after reading Rick's take on Mike Chesler, it totally blows me away that only 35-40 years ago Jefferson, IA would be a choice location for a top notch mechanical engineer to live and prosper. I am glad that I lived there during that time, even though I was still stealing donuts from Saba's on my morning paper route.
Yes, Jefferson has certainly changed - its glory days are over.
Watch for our upcoming story -
"Ten Businesses in Jefferson Most in Need of a Facelift" That is the working title; it may be changed. It will be accompanied by recent photos and descriptions.
If anyone has input for this story, feel free to speak up.
I cannot believe that all of our accumulated snowfall has not caved in the roof of the bowling alley.
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