There is actually a Merrie Melodies cartoon that mentions the town. It is called "Aloha Hooey" and stars "Cecil Crow from Oakville, Ioway." Cecil is portrayed as a hick with a southern accent. He smokes and does a lot of stupid things, but ends up with the girl.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Auction Cleanup
We finally finished the cleanup for the auction. Everything is out of the house. A sign was found which indicated when the house was built. The date is difficult to see but it says, "Saturday, October the 5th, 1895." It was removed since the house is slated to be demolished.
The sheds have been cleaned out and moved into place. Some may even be able to be used by whoever purchases the property.
The hole the larger red shed had fallen into was filled in with dirt washed in by the flood.
The pole building will have wood placed in stacks for the auction. It will also hold hay racks that will be used for many smaller auction items.
Mike mowed the entire field with the tractor. It took an entire day. He found some debris and removed it. The tractor will be auctioned as well.
Other equipment include a disc, planter and cultivator. Dad used these when be farmed the acreage. He had rented the land out so it hadn't been used in quite a while.
The other buildings will have wood stacked for bidding when it comes closer to the auction. The wood shown here was caught in the flood.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Possible Futures of Oakville
A meeting between the Oakville Community Vision Committee, the Rebuild Iowa Committee, the Oakville Recovery Task Force, Southeast Iowa Regional Planning and residents on October 23 came up with several proposals for the future of the town. At least four had some possibility of using the family farm.
One proposed the park moved from its present location to the farm.
A second had the land being developed as a commercial area.
The third wanted a convenience store built on the site.
The last developed the property into camp grounds.
Input from the attendees will be used to finalize options to be presented to the community at a November meeting. The land is still scheduled for auction on November 17.
One proposed the park moved from its present location to the farm.
A second had the land being developed as a commercial area.
The third wanted a convenience store built on the site.
The last developed the property into camp grounds.
Input from the attendees will be used to finalize options to be presented to the community at a November meeting. The land is still scheduled for auction on November 17.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Land Auction
On November 17, 2008, the family farm will be auctioned off. The family moved to Oakville in the summer of 1957. My sister who lived across the street already left town and she and her husband purchased a new home in another town and will not return.
The very small acreage supported my parents and their 11 children. Over the years we grew strawberries, musk melon and sweet corn for sale. We grew cattle and hogs and butchered our own meat. Dad had rented out the farmland for quite a few years as he concentrated on his garden and woodworking.
The house is slated for demolition, though it probably will not be torn down before the auction.
The very small acreage supported my parents and their 11 children. Over the years we grew strawberries, musk melon and sweet corn for sale. We grew cattle and hogs and butchered our own meat. Dad had rented out the farmland for quite a few years as he concentrated on his garden and woodworking.
The house is slated for demolition, though it probably will not be torn down before the auction.
Birdhouse Mystery - Solved
Some people were wondering how a metal pole with a martin house attached to it stood up to current that pushed buildings into others and tore homes from their foundations. A metal yard shed was wrapped around the pole. Railroad ties were not able to keep the shed in place, so how did the pole survive?
The pole was tied to a large wooden pole that was buried 3 feet into the ground. The wooden pole was bent by the shed and ties, but remained in place for the birdhouse.
When we removed the metal shed, we discovered the pole still in place.
The pole was tied to a large wooden pole that was buried 3 feet into the ground. The wooden pole was bent by the shed and ties, but remained in place for the birdhouse.
When we removed the metal shed, we discovered the pole still in place.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Moving Dad's Shed
The flood had tilted this shed and scoured a hole in the ground. When the water dropped so did the shed into the 4 foot hole.
We didn't want to pull the shed from the hole since it would probably have fallen apart. If it was burnt, it would have damaged the pole shed next to it. My brother decided to roll the trailer out. He fixed some chains to it and used Dad's tractor to roll the shed.
At this point the chains broke. He brought some stronger ones the next day but Dad's tractor wasn't heavy enough or strong enough to finish pulling it over.
We borrowed the neighbor's tractor to finish the job. The shed was pulled away to a different part of the lot.
The shed had stored grain we used to feed cattle and hogs back when we raised them. It was recently used to store wood Dad used for various projects. It is still in one piece. Dad surely built a strong shed.
We didn't want to pull the shed from the hole since it would probably have fallen apart. If it was burnt, it would have damaged the pole shed next to it. My brother decided to roll the trailer out. He fixed some chains to it and used Dad's tractor to roll the shed.
At this point the chains broke. He brought some stronger ones the next day but Dad's tractor wasn't heavy enough or strong enough to finish pulling it over.
We borrowed the neighbor's tractor to finish the job. The shed was pulled away to a different part of the lot.
The shed had stored grain we used to feed cattle and hogs back when we raised them. It was recently used to store wood Dad used for various projects. It is still in one piece. Dad surely built a strong shed.
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