tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24801338728311174252024-03-13T02:24:14.763-05:00Ely HistoryWelcome to the Ely Community History Society! ... Our mission is to collect and preserve the history of Ely, Western, Shueyville, and nearby rural areas in both Linn & Johnson Counties.ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-64858233980613748732023-10-20T10:35:00.004-05:002023-10-20T10:37:56.848-05:00Cedar Rapids Horsemen's ClubWe have received a large collection of documents and photos concerning the Cedar Rapids Horsemen's Club, which was located in the town of Western for many years. We will be indexing this collection over the next few months.Click the photos to enlarge them. The Horsemen's Club in Western (now torn down) ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-89185925781269766462023-10-20T09:58:00.002-05:002023-10-20T10:00:09.398-05:00Ely School Kids 1930s Click the photo to enlarge it Ely school kids outside the building in the 1930sThe girl on the right with her legs crossed is Edna Sladek, who graduated in 1933.We would appreciate if people can identify others (in comments below) or email ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-23990306066695704822023-10-09T17:37:00.009-05:002023-10-20T16:08:00.742-05:00Ely School Kids Below is a photo of children and teachers standing in front of the Ely School House. We estimate the year to be about 1935. It would be great if we could get some identities for the kids! Click this link for a close-up of the people in this photo. https://photos.app.goo.gl/iNeJHLFDKBxr4KMa8Janine NormanFourth row, 3rd from left is ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-74514514983157603362023-02-28T13:16:00.001-06:002023-02-28T13:16:15.296-06:00UpdatesCOMPUTERWe have a newer computer in the archives. We were formerly using a WindowsXP computer, but now have a Windows10! Thanks to Ed Vavra for helping Barb to set it up! It took a while to get it up and running with all the software we needed, but all is a go now. We wanted to make sure our Museum Software would transfer successfully since we have 14 Years worth of information on it! We ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-17383354420773496722022-08-11T19:38:00.017-05:002022-08-11T20:46:17.130-05:00Ely's 150th Celebration IT ALL STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT, AUGUST 12TH, AS ELY CELEBRATES 150 YEARS ... FRIDAY NIGHT, 6PM ... We will be presenting opening remarks about the history of Ely in the big tent east of the Community Center on Rowley St. ... FRIDAY NIGHT, 8:30PM ... Don't miss the ELY AFTER DARK STORIES in the big tent.ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-49361296832220212262022-08-09T09:42:00.007-05:002022-08-09T09:44:25.167-05:00Sesquicentennial Historic Photos of ElyThis slide show contains a number of photos of Ely from the past, in honor of Ely's Sesquicentennial, which will be held August 12th and 13th, 2022.Click the below link and follow the instructions. Enjoy! Historic Photos Of Ely - A Look BackECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-90395413721964275592022-07-17T18:26:00.008-05:002022-07-17T18:29:57.005-05:00First lots sold in Ely From a Facebook post by Ed VavraOn June 5, 1872, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad Co. treasurer, John F. Ely, signed over land owned by the railroad for public use as the village of Ely.The town had been platted into 6 residential blocks consisting of 18 lots each. 3 blocks along each side of the railroad tracks were platted for businesses.The first lot purchased was byECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-55727793714962130442022-07-01T12:13:00.001-05:002022-07-01T12:15:05.475-05:00Holets Harness Shop Joseph Holets standing in the door of his harness shop on Walker Street in Ely. His eldest daughter, wife, son (also Joseph Holets, and younger daughter are standing by the fence. A closeup of the Holets family from the above photo In 1880 Joseph Holets established a harness shop on the west side of Walker Street near the corner of Downs Street. Expansion of the warehouse ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-36125682171975266812022-06-11T10:40:00.026-05:002022-06-11T19:18:26.239-05:00Dows Street Historical District
On November 14, 2003, The Dows Street Historical District was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.The below map is the sign next to the Ely Public Library showing the Dows District.Click the below image and you will be able to enlarge it.National Register of Historic Places Click to see all the paperwork about the Dows Street Historical District.(Most of the below ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-35940703548468003792022-01-06T20:50:00.001-06:002022-01-06T21:08:32.676-06:00Early Days - The Barefoot Mayor2022 is the year the town of Ely celebrates its 150th year. To help celebrate this sesquicentennial year, we will be posting a number of historical articles so that the people of Ely can learn more about the town's beginnings. The first of these is a transcription from a full page article about Ely from the year of 1923. -----------------------------------------------------------------------ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-46000268233476529302021-10-22T11:33:00.001-05:002022-05-04T07:51:58.655-05:00Early SchoolsPIONEER SCHOOLS TO 1878
https://iagenweb.org/linn/schools/communityschools.htm
from: The History of Linn County Iowa, Pub. Chicago, Western Historical Co. 1878. Transcribed by Terry Carlson for IaGenWeb.
WESTERN
"School was first held as a primary department of the College, at which there was an attendance of twenty during the first year. A district school was then organized and held in a ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-19643447770369780902021-10-20T14:07:00.003-05:002021-10-20T14:15:13.240-05:00Linn County history linksThank you to Michael Clark for calling to tell us we had a mistake in one of our links! It has now been fixed. Micheal descends from the early Clark family in Putnam township.The error was the link to "People in Putnam Township" in the following ....(Places to search on-line)*The History of Linn County (1878-1878) 812 Pages*Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar Rapids - (1839-1839) &ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-8388321921651720602021-09-15T12:24:00.004-05:002021-09-15T12:41:18.687-05:00Ely School Sports Teams Mark Krob submitted these two mid-1930s sports photos. They are from the collection of Bob Krob.Click each photo to enlarge it, then click again to enlarge more.Top row, left to right: Dave Clark, Chuck Vavra, Walt Wagner, Leo Pizarek, unknownMiddle row: Dean Lockwood, Norbert Krob, Verne Upmier, Jack Clark, Bob Krob, Joe BecickaBottom row: Frank Sladek, Lumir Skripsky, Bud Stahle BackECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-62894950259638172842021-08-26T10:32:00.002-05:002021-08-26T10:36:26.174-05:00Esther Zvacek RecitalBud Goodrow posted this photo on Facebook of an Esther Zvacek piano and accordion recital held at the Ely Legion about 1960. Thanks, Bud! Esther Zvacek (1905-1991) taught music to many young people in the Ely area. If you wish to identify any of these people please comment below.Click the photo to enlarge it - then click it again. Esther ZvacekCedar Rapids Gazette, November 6, 1991ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-10157171297632025402021-06-30T18:03:00.003-05:002021-06-30T18:11:45.799-05:00First Presbyterian Church Near ElyThe church prior to 1893 - click to enlarge Around 1856 immigrant families from Bohemia began meeting in their homes on Sunday for simple worship services using prayers and song books they had carried with them from the "old country". They helped their German neighbors build the Banner Valley Lutheran Church (located at Ely Rd and Hoosier Creek Rd) which was dedicated in 1859. AsECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-54523523632675057722021-04-16T09:39:00.008-05:002021-10-22T11:22:53.607-05:00Banner Valley and the Fuhrmeister FamilyOn April 15, 2021 Dan and Debbie's Creamery of Ely posted a story on their blog: "THE TOUCHBERRY LEGACY WILL LIVE ON; The historical Fuhrmeister Farm on the south side of Ely, Iowa becomes a permanent part of our family’s journey to sustainability on our dairy farm and creamery. (Please click the link to read the story.)Carolyn (Fuhrmeister) Touchberry and her husband, Bob Touchberry. ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-64882327736524803342021-04-10T10:29:00.006-05:002022-10-14T18:22:16.049-05:001943 Thrashing TimeHere's a photo sent by Marvin Stastny taken around 1943 at the Lumir
Truhlar Farm at
threshing time.These women were probably gathered to cook food for the threshing crew. I'll bet there was some good eating going on!
BACK: Margaret Malatek Stastny Havlick ... Viola
Stastny Becicka ... Carrie ?? ... Fanny Hovorka ... Lenora Truhlar ...Tillie
EliasFRONT Grandma Halva ?? ...ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-17801868421550692612021-03-16T18:31:00.014-05:002021-03-20T20:00:49.625-05:00St. Joseph Day in Ely, 1949For many years the town of Ely's population consisted mostly of people who originated in what is now known as the Czech Republic. One of Ely's customs was the celebration of St. Joseph's Day on March 19th. St Joseph is the patron saint of the Czech people.From the Solon Economist, March 24, 1949.Click the article to enlarge it. Thanks to Ed Vavra for sending the original of this photo for us to ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-45439481848254171012021-02-23T19:12:00.008-06:002021-02-23T19:26:03.358-06:001923 News ArticleIf you want to learn about the early history of Ely, here's your chance! Why not take some time and read about the early days. (A link to the article is at the bottom of this post.)
The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette published a full page spread on the town of Ely on August 4th, 1923 entitled"ELY - It's Community One Of The Oldest In County" - by John R. Battin(Some of the headings on the ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-81844713748888177832021-02-22T10:45:00.009-06:002021-08-24T11:49:32.916-05:00F.J. Krob 120th AnniversaryF.J.
Krob & Company made some ink! They are featured in the Jan/Feb issue of
Grain Journal magazine. The article focuses on the original wooden grain
elevator in Ely, which was built in 1900.Click this link to read the article on-line!Old Time Elevator: 120 Years and CountingF.J. Krob Co. Continues to Operate Ely, IA Elevator for Well Over a Century -- by Barbara Krupp-Selyem [ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-25664569024661523152021-02-22T08:50:00.004-06:002021-10-22T11:26:06.050-05:001877 Richard Cox Fire Ed Vavra posted this on our Facebook page February 19, 2021Cedar Rapids Times: The Weekly TimesMarch 15th, 1877A
DISASTROUS FIRE - Wednesday morning of last week, about 4 o'clock,
during that fearful cold snow and wind storm, the residence of Richard
Scott near Ely, was burned, with all the goods it contained. Mr.
Scott was awakened by the roaring of the flames and had but barely ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-58982469619009544522021-01-27T17:38:00.015-06:002021-02-09T11:40:34.774-06:00About Ivanhoe and the Wolfe familyWe all know about Ivanhoe Road that you encounter when you head north out of Ely on Jappa Road. But many may not know that this is a very old road. It once was more of a trail used by early pioneers, and was named Ivanhoe because of the Ivanhoe Ferry that was used to cross the river at what is now Highway 1 south of Mount Vernon. And it was the Ivanhoe Ferry because there once was a town ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-73207051068104833912021-01-15T11:03:00.027-06:002022-09-03T15:44:51.829-05:00Grave Yard Book of Western Cemetery from 1869 In 2013 the Ely History Society was contacted by Paula Sexton. Her elderly uncle had passed away and she found a number of items relating to the early days of the town of Western, Iowa. One of the items was a "Grave Yard Book" containing early burials in Western Cemetery, as well as burials that had been moved from the "old cemetery" in Western. The dates of the events range from 1869 to ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-8760513237219332132020-12-10T18:30:00.003-06:002020-12-10T19:03:18.197-06:00Auxiliary to American Legion Post #555 This is a transcription of the history of the Auxiliary to Ely's Post #555 American Legion, written [we believe] by Ann Fuhrmeister [possibly written in 1971 according to date on envelope].-------------------------------------------
Auxiliary to Post #555,
American Legion; Ely, IowaBefore and during WWI groups of women all over the U.S. organized by Red Cross met in homes, home-economics ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2480133872831117425.post-28676187060213434952020-11-17T11:39:00.015-06:002020-11-18T17:12:19.698-06:00Nevin Duffe's contributions to ElyLloyd Duffe, a former Ely resident who moved to Columbia, South America, phones me (Barb) off and on about Ely history. He recently called to say that he had written a history of his dad, Nevin Duffe, that he wished to add to his collection at the Ely Community History Archives. I think this story also deserves to be published for people to read. Nevin certainly did contribute a lot to the Ely ECHShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052925639523811032noreply@blogger.com0