Pike Township Family Stories
THE GEORGE C. SMITH FAMILY
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, page 289
By Melodi Smith MillsGeorge Clarence Smith, Jr., moved to the Nichols area in 1941 with his parents, George Wesley Smith and Goldie Henrietta Smith. George was a graduate of Nichols High school.
George was married in Kahoka, Missouri, to Charlotte Rae Midkiff of Muscatine. They have four children: Melodi Rae Smith, Wesley James Smith, Bryan Paul Smith and Susan Marie Smith.
George has been involved in farming most of his life. When the older two children were very young, the family lived south of town, just past the bridge on the ground now owned by Ron Wieskamp. They moved to Letts to a farm owned by Dorothy Grosjean. They left the Letts area and moved to a farm at rural Columbus Junction, but in the Winfield school district. They moved to a farm located halfway between Crawfordsville and Olds, in the WACO school district, and following the death of his mother, back to the home place three miles east of Nichols. In the past few years, George has rented out the farm land and devoted full time to his job as shop foreman at Plank Implement in Columbus City, Iowa. He is an avid sportsman, hunting or fishing the year round.
Charlotte, the daughter of James Earl Midkiff and Frances Varie Smith Midkiff, is a graduate of Muscatine High school. She recently began working at Louis Rich in West Liberty after many years at a managing position in Country Kitchen in Muscatine. In her spare time she enjoys reading and spending time with her grandchildren, as well as keeping busy with harvesting a usually abundant garden in the summer and fall.
Melodi Smith, a graduate of West Liberty High school, is married to Phil Mills of Nichols. They reside there with their two children, Carrie Mills and Mark Mills.
Wes Smith, a graduate of West Liberty High school, was married to Rita Wheeler of Columbus City, Iowa. They have twins, Amy Smith and Jamie Smith. He farms for Fred Everett, and they reside at rural Conesville.
Bryan Smith and his wife, the former Denise Buckman of Conesville, live in Conesville and work at Country Kitchen in Iowa City. They have one daughter, Angela Renae. Susan Smith, at home, is employed part-time at Louis Rich and plans to attend a trade school in the near future [1984].
The original house located on the farm (the old Mary Smith homestead) was destroyed by fire on 9 July 1977. Fortunately, no one was home at the time, but they lost most of their possessions. They now have a trailer on the spot where the house once stood.
Winters and springs were often quite challenging, as the lane leading to the house is nearly a half mile long. Many times the snow drifts have been higher than vehicles trying to get through, and before the snowblowers came along, the family spent many days per winter, snowbound. After all that snow melts in the spring, even the tractors don’t help much, as vehicles must sit at the end of the lane and be reached by foot through inches of mud. Much of the land is sand, just right for raising watermelons and kids!
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Page created December 18, 2010 by Lynn McCleary