'A CENTURY OF MEMORIES'
OF VAN WERT, DECATUR COUNTY, IOWA

1880 - 1980

BUSINESSES ~ GENERAL STORES
 
History differs with who started the first store, James Taylor, Paul Ord, Jehu Blades and George Bigford have been mentioned by history as being the first store owners.

The 1880s brought the railroads to Van Wert. The town started its most prosperous years in business. Some of these general stores were: W.E. Stone, who had a partner named Fletcher D. Thorp and Company, and Mark Sanyer. John Gemmill was one of the leading store owners at this time.

A well known merchant W.F. Blair, started his first store at the north end of the west side of Main Street presently known as Tiedje's Garage. Blair was in partnership with John Tallman for a short time. After the fire of 1915, Blair relocated across the street in the present Van Wert Enterprise building. At this location Blair went in partnership for a time with Earl Prather, who dealt in hardware.
In the early 1900s general store owners were numerous. Businesses changed hands and relocated frequently. O.V. Beck was located in the present day Lions Club building and he remained in business until the fire of 1903. Walter Briner and partner Mel Thompson, C.M. Grimm, John and Nora Stickler and J.M. Allen were located in the north row of buildings that is presently near the old blacksmith shop. Ray Easter and J.T. Price, Frank Manley and Elmer Hampton, George Britt, Ben Easter and Elmer Smith were located in the old theater building or presently known as Houck's apartments. J.N. Barger, A.S. Ramsey, William Gentle and R.W. Pray were in business but the location is unknown. Clyde Saylor and Charlie Houck were located on the east side of Main Street or north of today's Enterprise Store.

Arthur Richie, in the early 1920s, started his general store out in the country. The name of his store was Farmers Union, it was located where Cliff Redman lives today. In 1924, Richie moved to town and started business in the old Vaught building presently known as Houck's office building. Later after the bank went out of Van Wert, Arthur Richie relocated in the bank building.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, we find Elmer Hampton relocating to the present Lions Club building. J.M. Allen relocated to the west side of Main Street and later to this building came a man named Vaught, whose name has stayed with this building many years.

After having a hardware store on the west side of Main Street, Cledwin and Marie Bulkeley in 1930 moved across the street into the Blair building.

Here three businesses pooled together, Ben Leffler with groceries, Alvin Saylor with meat market and Bulkeleys with hardware. In 1931, Bulkeleys' bought the entire stock from the other men and also added plumbing, heating, windmill supplies, feed, coal and seed to his store. Bulkeley continued in the general store business until 1954.

In the 1940s, following Vaught in the general store business, Doris (Redman) Houck had a variety shop. She later sold to Surbaugh and Spidle. Also in the 1940s, M.L. Jones had a few groceries in his drug store. Jones was located in the Elmer Houck building. Mel Parmer's grocery was located in the present Lions Club building. Parmer was in business for six months. He sold his stock to John Fulton. Fulton sold to John Dobbs. In March of l946, Conda and Darlene Downard bought this same building from Mel Parmer and the grocery stock from John Dobbs. Downards operated the grocery store until May of l964. In October of l943, Bill and Carmen Spidle ran a grocery store for Surbaughs. They were located in the Vaught building or presently known as Houck's office building.

In December of l954, Randall and Darlene Cox bought the building formerly known as the Bulkeley Store. After doing some remodeling, Cox's opened for business in l955. Cox's stocked groceries, hardware, bag and bulk feed and also bought produce. Cox's sold the store in May of l963.

By l963, the railroads, high school and most of the businesses in Van Wert were gone or closed, and properties were unwanted. the large general store known as the Blair building was about to close. A group of people in and around Van Wert decided something needed to be done to keep the general store, otherwise, face the problem of expense and time to go elsewhere for our needs.

After a series of open meetings in early 1963, a small corporation was organized. It was called Van Wert Enterprise, incorporated under the laws of the State of Iowa. Certificates were issued March, 1963; there were 23 founders with a total of $2,375.00 to start the business. During the next year there were about forty shareholders to join the organization. At present, the store is well stocked with the general needs of the community. A stipulation in the bylaws of the corporation is that it shall stand as long as any shareholder object to surrendering the certificate of incorporation. Lucille Brown is the manager and Darlene (Downard) Tiedje is the clerk.

The following names are the original shareholders:
Paul Beardsley, Delbert Bethards, Orel Boles, James Cook,
Ruby Cox, Boyd DeVore, Geneva DeVore, Loretta Duff,
Cecil Goodman, Marie Lamoree, Raymond McGauhey, Mrs. Raymond McGauhey,
R.M. Overholtzer, Dick Overholtzer, Dr. Thomas Viner, Mary Beardsley,
Vernon Binning, Albert Hall, Norma Parmer, Garnett West,
Randal Cox, J.C. Gould, Mary Beers, Jeanne Boles,
Wallace Cain, L.A. Cowden, Donnie Cox, Clark Fierce,
G.W. Wade, W.E. Pelsor, Herman Brown, Richard Cook,
Corwin Cox, Wayne DeVore, Herbert Duff, Elmer Gilbert,
Harold Hayrer, Floyd Miller, Malcolm Tiedje, Willard Parmer,
Jimmy Perry, A.C. Wellman, Dr. C.E. Tindle, Don Beers,
Harry Blair, Lucille Brown, Marilyn Cook, Walter King,
Bertha Tiedje, Robert Burdette, Reva Duff, Worth Jones,
Lee Hewlett, Opal Parmer, Bill Tiedje, Grace Green,
Matt Scott, Agatha Wellman, Raymond Redman.
 
THE VAN WERT RECORD
Communications in the late 1800s were slow. The first newspapers in the Van Wert area were printed in Des Moines with one sheet each for Van Wert, Weldon, Decatur City and Grand River.

Early days of the "Van Wert Enterprise" publication proved unsuccessful. By 1895, S.D. McKee published the "Van Wert Record", which continued for many years with several different publishers. Among those on record were C.S. Fullmer about 1905; C. Virgil Humphrey with Hattie Parish, associate, in 1906; Belding and Hollen in 1908, later published by H.O. Tuttle, in 1912; S.A. Craig bought the paper from W. Branaun and Son.

The newspaper "The Pathfinder" was established in May 1915 by Fred Jay was more the conventional paper -- usually two separate sheets folded in the center for four pages. The "Van Wert Record" was only one large sheet, folded two ways, the center usually carried a continued story and out-of-town ads with the four outside sheets carrying the local news and want ads.

Perhaps the first papers were printed in a private home just off the northeast corner of Main Street. "The Pathfinder" was published in the basement of the Fred Hall Building (entrance on south side, downstairs). The "Van Wert Record", the longer-lived publication with offices behind the Drug Store, (building Ruth Houck now owns).
 
BANKS OF VAN WERT
Van Wert had three banks or bank branches in its history. The first one, The Farmers and Merchants Bank was operated in 1898 by Mark M. Shaw. Mr. Shaw's bank was on the west side of the street, north of the drug store building.

In 1900 the Van Wert State Bank was organized with the purchase of Mr. Shaw's bank. This new bank was housed in a small brick building south of Van Wert Enterprise store on the corner, where the parking lot is located in 1980.

W.F. Blair was President, M.F. Thompson was vice-president, E.O. Stearns, cashier, and Mrs. Ida L. Stearns, assistant cashier.

Elmer O. Stearns was reared in Decatur County and received his education in the district schools, but later attended Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa. In 1900, he organized the Bank of Van Wert, becoming its cashier and on the 4th of January, 1915, the institution was made a state bank. The directors of the bank were M.F. Thompson, Maurice Brown, and G.S. Barr.
Mr. Stearns was treasurer of the Van Wert Rural Telephone Co., a director of the Iowa State Bank of Osceola. The State Savings Bank at Sharpsburg, Iowa, and a stockholder in the Weldon, Iowa, Savings Bank and Exchange Bank of LeRoy.

The following was published in the Van Wert Record in 1906, submitted by the Bank of Van Wert.

"You work for money, you plow for money, you harrow for money, you hoe for money. You work late at night to make money, you are doing your best to earn money. When you get money, be sure and put it where it will be safe, and put it in a bank that will help you and take care of you in every way."

In October, 1919, the bank was robbed of bonds and valuable papers but not much cash.

At one time the Van Wert State Bank advertised with complimentary fans stating, "Our aim and effort is to be of such service to our customers that they may profit by our dealings and recommend us to their friends. Capital and surplus $30,000.00 A general banking business, farm loans, insurance, notary public, safety deposit boxes for rent. Interest paid on time deposits."

In 1919, corn was valued at $1.25 per bushel, oats at 50 cents per bushel. Single set of harness, $10.00.

This Van Wert State Bank operated until September, l930, when many banks were closed because of the depression of the 1930s. The White House Administration in Washington sent out a notice to the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago demanding that the bank examiners close all banks. The examiners told Mr. Stearns that they had their orders and even though the Van Wert State Bank was solvent, they had to close the doors. This happened to Tingley, Grand River and the Van Wert Bank at the same time. All three banks were in good shape and solvent but the examiners said they had to comply with orders.

The bank had thirty years of serving the town and surrounding community. After the closing, the building was used by Ritchie's Store and later burned.

A branch office of a Leon bank was housed for a short time at the M.L. Jones drug store.

Pages 95 - 101
 
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