The Monticello
Community Building has for many years been a fixture in the community.
The upper floors house a stage and dance floor that has been used for
many community events—fund raisers, Boy Scout meetings, teen dances—you
name it, it has been used for it. The first time I remember going into
the upper floor was through the back side of the building. My siblings
and I got our polio vaccinations there. The lower floor housed the
famous room #2, where many people got their drivers licenses and
permits. It was also used for city council meetings and other smaller
sorts of meetings and city business.
As a child, I found the jail
cells the most interesting part of the lower floor. The city police had
two cells. They were seldom used and were not unlike the cells on "The
Andy Griffin Show." The police of Monticello had their office there, as
well as the city clerk, who doubled as the radio person if the cops were
on "patrol." If I remember correctly, in the late 60s the police cruiser
was a Rambler—something that was considered laughable to teenagers of
the time. (Hey, it's still laughable to me and I'm no teenager! (R.H.)
Next door to the Community Building was the home of the Monticello
Volunteer Fire Department, that is until they built a new fire station
on the south side of town in the 1970s. Now the building is used for
city storage and for housing the police cruiser.
Next to the old
fire station was the American Legion Hall in the downstairs portion and
the Veterans of Foreign Wars on the upper portion of the building. The
Legion Auxiliary had a separate building above the fire station as well.
Next to the Legion was the Schaffer Feed store that later became the
Shoppers Guide and currently is part of the hardware store that is
housed in the next door building. Schaffer Feed sold supplements under
the "Super Sweet" brand and it was lots of fun running in and around the
feed sacks through the back of the building. The Shoppers Guide moved
there after the building they were housed in behind McNeil's hardware
either got to small or the adjacent building, Super Value grocery store
burned. I can't remember which it was. The Shoppers Guide was recently
purchased by the Monticello Express and the business was added to their
existing business.
K&P Chevrolet, Olds was in the building to the
east of the Schaffer Feed Store and was a favorite for teenagers when
the new cars came out, as they were an easy walk from the high school to
go and see the new cars, especially the Corvette, when they would come
out every year. I understand that it at one time had been a Ford garage,
but when it changed I have no idea, it was before my time. When K & P
closed up shop, then a hardware company out of Dubuque took over and
have been doing a good business at that location for a number of years.
