Lone Tree Community School - Elm Yearbook (Lone Tree, IA)

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However, the Zimmerman concern did not remain in Lone Tree. In 1915 they moved to Bettendorf, Iowa, where they believed they would have better facilities. Here they lost the controlling stock in their business and eventually were no longer connected with the firm. Y-Hall Promoted by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lane, the Y-Hall was built in 1898. It provided a home for the Women's Christian Temperance Union. It also servea as a public hall which was used for council meetings, band concerts, elections and, for a short time as a post office. The hall still contains the town library, and serves as a meeting place for the Y-Book Club. It is often used, too, for bridal ••showers and card parties by people in the community who seek more space than their own homes provide. Water System In April, 1899, the first water works system was voted upon. Although it was warmly contested, it was carried by five votes. An unsuccessful attempt to put down an 8-inch well was tried in 1903. On January 23, 1906, a contract was let to G. W. Merridith for the completion of the system in May of the same year. Although Merridith started to drill the well, he did not finish the job. Townspeople eventually completed the well. The equipment that was installed is still used today to provide the town with water. There are now 200 water meters in Lone Tree. Post Office Although the Lone Tree Post Office has been located in many different buildings, it was first situated in a room adjacent to the old Grand Hotel, according to the Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa, of 1900. According to Michael Griebel, the present (1955) postmaster, the next location was on the east side of Main (Devoe) Street (where Jayne intersects) in the building which now houses Hill's Tavern. This was around 1916. Mr. Griebel relates that from 1921 until about 1936 the post office was located on Commercial (Front) Street where the Odd Fellows Hall is now. Next, the post office was located on the west side of Devoe Street where Shellady's Grocery store is now. In 1940 fire damaged this building and for approximately 6 months the post office was contained first in the Y-Book Hall and later in a storeroom back of a store on the west side of Devoe Street. By 1942 the post office had been established in a building (about the middle of the main business block on the west side of Devoe Street) that now houses the Ross Dry Goods Store. In 1946 it moved a few doors west of Devoe Street on the north side of Jayne Street where it is still located. Post Office (1955).

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TOP: Jewel Manufacturing Company. MIDDLE: Zimmerman Manufacturing Company and Electric Power Plant. BOTTOM: Foreground. Railroad Depot. Background. Zimmerman Plant. Later he owned a hardware store on the same side of the street. Among other things he sold binders and corn planters. About this time a man named Bennett started making windmills in a building across from the present location of the school building. Later Mr. Zimmerman went into partnership with Bennett and they called their firm the Jewell Manufacturing Company. Mr. Zimmerman invented a stump puller (grubber), and in 1895 he and Miles C. Bateman began the manufacture of these stump pullers in a shanty 12 x 16 with a board roof and no floor, located in the rear of the Jewel Manu- facturing Company. (Mr. H. R. (Pete) Zimmer- man said his father got the idea for the stump puller from watching a windlass work. He whittled a wooden model which was used as a pattern for manufacture.) The company's first location was too small. The partners moved their business to a location east of the present (1 955) site of the Corbett Lumber Company. They continued to make stump pullers. Bateman sold his share in the company to Zimmerman and on March 1, 1908, the firm's name was changed to the Zimmerman Steel Company. There is some question about the third site, but, according to H. C. Buell, the Zimmermans had a couple of long, wooden buildings north of the tracks before 1903. This third location failed to serve the needs of the growing business and in 1909 a new fireproof foundry was built of steel and concrete with a floor space of 72 by 116 feet. The building was built north of the railroad tracks by the Zimmerman boys. Mention should be made of the fact that John Krai, still living in Lone Tree, made all the window frames for this building. Another present-day resident, Oscar Green, worked for many years in the Zimmerman plant. The Zimmerman firm was the first steel plant west of the Mississippi River as well as in the state of Iowa. The principle raw materials used in the plant came from Duluth, Minnesota, and the Birmingham district in Alabama. Monarch Stump Pullers and Royal and Zimmerman Pitless Wagon (Farm) Scales were the main output of the plant. These products, especially the stump pullers, were sold in 23 foreign countries as well as through- out the United States. Examples of these countries are Mexico, Chili, East India, West Africa, Norway, Russia, Siberia, Germany, Japan, the Straits Settlements, and Australia. 10

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Sidewalks In the early 1900's the first sidewalks were laid in the east part of town. Business- men began to install cement walks in front of their establishments. By 1915, most of the town had been equipped with sidewalks. Hotels Years ago (in the early 1900 s) when salesmen and tradesmen came to Lone Tree with their goods, they usually found lodging in the Grand Hotel, which was located near the middle of the block on Commercial Street. Another hotel also accommodated such travelers. It was the Madden Hotel, located on the present site of the Sorden and Adams furniture store (on the northeast corner of the Devoe-Jayne Street intersec- tion). A tavern was located in the same building. First Band The first band of Lone Tree was organized about 1900, and the money they made playing concerts was used to buy music and instruments. Those who played in the first band were: V. Smid, Otto Fisher, Frank Menzer, John Menzer, James Franee, H. Hill, Frank Vandraska, P. L. Smith, Walter Horrell, James Windess, Will Van- draska, Charles Eden, Frank Potter, W. H. Younkin, A. Smith, William Zimmerman, Roland Sherburne, Frank Smid, and a Mr. Crane. The old records show that the attend- ance at the weekly practices were good in spite of the fact that each member was assessed fifty cents each night to help pay the services of an instructor. Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank The Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank was incorporated on August 30, 1901, with a capital of $£0,000, which was divided into shares of $100 each. Past Presi- dents were John Goetz, Anton Fisher, T. H. Ashton, and the present one is Herman Wiese. Charles A. Fernstrom and T. H. Ashton were the past cashiers. William P. Ashton fills this position at the present time (1955). Lone Tree Telephone Company In 1903, the first telephone connection to Lone Tree was from the home of John A. Goetz, which contained a switchboard. It was called the Pleasant Valley Phone Com- pany and had connections with Iowa City, Hills, and other neighboring towns. There were also two country lines, East Fremont and Hinkley, connected with Pleasant Valley. During 1905, the Pleasant Valley Phone Company came to Lone Tree, locating its office above the present (1955) Lone Tree R eporte r office on Commercial (Front) Street. At this time five other country lines came into existence--Fremont Center, East Lincoln, Lincoln Center, Palestine Mutual, and Fremont Township Mutual. The present telephone building was erected in 1928 and 19 9. It was completed and in use by 1930; the total cost was $6,760.00. 12