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The Television Relay Tower

Picture of Televison Relay Tower

    In March, 1949 the Bell Telephone Company purchased an acre of the Emil Stolte farm northwest of Lowden for the purpose of erecting a Television Tower and Relay equipment. The television ray enters Iowa at Princeton north of Davenport and is relayed to the station on the Stolte farm. This station in turn transmits the beam to another station west.

     The week of March 23rd, 1949, found workmen putting up a 200 ft. temporary tower to make some tests before a permanent tower would be built. Since the tests proved satisfactorily, the temporary tower was removed the first week of April. A week or so later workmen started work on the permanent tower. The tower is of concrete, 24 foot square at the base and 190 ft. high. The tower is part of the TV network that spans Iowa east and west. The 44 sq. ft. footing was poured July 1, 1949 and took 2200 sacks of cement. The work of erecting the tower was completed about Sept. 1, 1949. This tower is a part of the chain of towers across the nation built by the Bell Telephone Co.

     Geer-Maurer Construction Co. of Grand Island, Nebraska contracted the work. Some of the local boys who helped were Dick Deichmann, James Koch, Delmar Hoffmeier, Junior Ruprecht and Larry Stolte.

              Mrs George (Gladys Stolte) Scheeper

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I REMEMBER WHEN -

. . . . . Strawberry Sunshine Preserves were just that – Flat pans of fresh strawberries mixed with sugar were put out in the sun to thicken. This was done day after day until they were of the right consistency. Like other jam and jelly, the Sunshine Preserves were poured into empty glass jars that had contained mustard or one of the other few items bought in the store which came in a jar. No one bought jelly containers.

              Mrs Melvin (Eleanor Mensing) Licht