Zearing, Iowa 1956 History

On March 1, 1917, Charles L. Belden & Son sold, set over, and transferred all their rights, powers, and privileges, conferred upon them to the Iowa Railway & Light Company. This assignment was signed by Charles L. Belden and F. Lester Belden.

At the expiration of the twenty-five years a renewal of the franchise was granted by the voters of Zearing to the Iowa Electric Light & Power Company, successors to the Iowa Railway & Light Company.

Dwight Elmo Johnson was the power company representative in Zearing for many years. In 1937, Marvin Hilleman became the local manager for the power company. The Hilleman family moved to Maxwell, Iowa, in 1943.

Pinky Sloan and Lester Corbin represented the power company in our community from 1943 until 1945. On May 28, 1945, Raymond J. Hawk became the lineman for this district. Raymond J. Hawk is the lineman in 1956.

The R.E.A. has lines in Lincoln township in 1956. One R.E.A. line headquarters is at Iowa Falls, Iowa. The other R.E.A. line has headquarters at Marshalltown, Iowa.

The first Zearing fires were fought by bucket brigades of public spirited citizens. Lena Richardson Warner told about a fire many years ago which threatened the Christian Church. The church was saved by men and women volunteers. The women pumped the water from thewells. The men carried it to the fire in buckets.

Volunteer fire fighters were notified of a fire in the early days of Zearing by the church bells or by personal notification. In 1918, a fire bell was purchased and installed west of the William C. Young blacksmith shop on west Main Street, near Pine Street. Bill Young said that he remembered the year very clearly. Several. months after the bell was installed local citizens nearly wore it out celebrating the end of World War I.

On the morning of August 3, 1946, a large truck belonging to the Nash-Finch Company was parked on Main Street. It left the street and narrowly missed Young's blacksmith shop. The truck hit the hell tower squarely. The tower went into a clinch. It took the combined efforts. of the men from Kenneth L. Cerka's garage to untangle it. The truck was slightly damaged, the tower ruined, but the bell was undamaged. A siren took the place of the fire bell. The bell is at the Zearing Park. It is possible it may be mounted on a tower at the park as a souvenir.

Council meeting, December 5, 1910 A petition for a special water works election was tabled until an estimate of the cost of the system could be made.

Council meeting, January 3, 1911—William J. Lightfoot, Lewis H. Moon, William C. Young, Joseph C. Roushar, and Nathaniel