Downtown Cedar Rapids 1892 Pictures Show Banks and Landmarks
A historical view of Cedar Rapids downtown from 1892 features May's Island with the Third avenue bridge, City National bank Bever bank and Merchant's National bank in the Ely building, Cedar Rapids National bank Van Vechten bank with Greene's Opera House, and Brenton bank rising at the new site.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cedar Rapids
May's Island
Third Avenue
City National Bank
Merchant's National Bank
First Avenue
Cedar Rapids National Bank
Greene's Opera House
Bever Bank
First Street
Bever Land Co
Merchant's Bank
Second Avenue
Third Street
Malloy Jewelers
van Vechten Bank
Second Street
Brenton Bank
Gus Pesek
Maplewood Drive
John Ely, Sr
Autobiography highlights lifelong Iowa automotive pioneer
Earl Haefner, a prominent Eastern Iowa auto era figure now living in Grand Junction Colorado, recounts a career sparked by early fascination with machinery. His memoir traces Ford shop beginnings, a 1920s shift to diagnostic devices, and development of the Haefner Automotive Test-Kit and a Ford authorized Motor Clinic used by dealers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Earl Haefner
Iowa
Grand Junction
Colo
Haefner
Lowan
Horatio Alger
Froelich
Clayton County
Henry Froelich
Henry
John
John Deere
Castalia
Earl
Ford Motor Co
Early Career Trials Shape Earl as Ford Dealer
Earl struggles to apply book learning to real work when a Buick test drive prompts hands on gear shifting with Bert Harvey guiding him. He leaves school for automotive training in Kansas City then earns a diploma later while working as a Ford dealer. He returns to Castalia briefly, then moves to Luana for $75 monthly work, and soon joins J G Minert Ford in Waukon as a mechanic.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nery
Earl
Castalia
Winneshiek County
Ford
Bert Harvey
Haefner
Harvey
Waukon
Iowa
Buick
Kansas City
Traer
Luana
J.G. Minert
One Room School from Dunham Goes to Smithsonian
A 92 year old Cleveland school facing enrollment decline will be represented by a replica of its Dunham school room at the Smithsonian Nation of Nations exhibit in Washington. The display mirrors early 20th century immigrant city schooling with 30 to 36 iron frame desks and a pre World War I environment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cleveland
Dunham School
Smithsonian Institution
Washington
Smithsonian
Taxi Wouldn't Start Earl Fixed It
Earl Haefner, working for Jim Minert, fixed a stalled taxi in Savanna Illinois March 1917 by adjusting sparkplug gaps with a sparkplug wrench, enabling him to catch his train. He later received a Buick dealer job offer but stayed in Waukon until WWI interrupted his career when he enlisted at 18. He notes the 1918 flu epidemic as the closest danger during service.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jim Minert
Delco
Dayton
Ohio
Savanna
Ill
Earl
Waukon
Haefner
America
Earl Haefner a small town boy climbs corporate ladders worldwide
In 1923 he became a field salesman in Northeast Iowa for Cedar Rapids Auto Supply Co. He later opened a Ford dealership in Traer, attended Iowa State, and worked again in Ida Grove. He joined Chrysler in 1935, rose to senior roles at Borg-Warner, and in 1966 led its South Africa operation. He served in World War I II and Korea, ending as a full colonel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa
Cedar Rapids Auto Supply Co
Haefner
Clare Brandt
Guttenberg Junior High School
Clare
Postville
Ford
Traer
L.E. Harrison
Nashua
Iowa State
Earl
Ames
Ida Grove
Chrysler Corp
Borg-Warner
South Africa
Radar Unit Locations for This Week
Police radar units will monitor areas including Northeast A B and First avenues Council Thirty second and Forty second streets Southeast Bever and Second avenues Fifteenth street Northwest Ellis boulevard and Twenty six street Southwest Eighth avenue Williams boulevard Bowling and Sixth streets. Intersections most accident prone last week were Oakland road and Thirty second street NE Mt Vernon road and Nineteenth street SE Sixth street and Waconia avenue SW First avenue and Nineteenth street E and B avenue and Johnson avenue NW.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
First Avenues
Council
Thirty Second
Also Mentioned on This Page
West End
Cedar Rapids National Bank and Greene's Opera House
By Tom Fruehling
Waterloo
Marshalltown
West Union
Ottumwa
Taft
Poland
Germany
Merchants National Bank
RTC, Inc
MNB
Merchants National Bank A ‘Banks
Kingston
Main Bank
Motor Bank
Vernon Village
Kresge’s
Lliblemas
Teid
Flore
Petite
S. S. Kresge CO. Ene
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!