Some Favorite Photos of the Past

Looking back through old photos I found some favorites among those that have been scanned of my brothers, sister and I. They either bring back memories or remind me of another time, when we were all young and carefree.

Fall of 1957, I wasn't even born yet, but I like this photo of Dad having coffee on a break from work with Joe showing him something he likes in a catalog. A father and son moment.

I don't remember a time when the dinning room was used for everyday coffee unless we had company. In my day, the kitchen has always been the place where many a cup of coffee was served to family and friends as conversations varied from day to day. Love the old pump organ behind them. There was lots of fun around it when they'd hook up the air flow from the vacuum to the bellows chamber and you wouldn't have to pump! July 1958, Debbie in our front yard in front of the house. I remember this dress even though the photo was taken only a couple months after I was born, so I imagine it made its way to become a "hand me down" and was my dress too. There are things in the photo that are long gone, the white picket fence is gone, even the hedge to the right, and the barn is also gone. Isn't it a wonder that even though things disappear with time, memories are refreshed with a simple look at a photo?

July 1957, We teased Stevie about his talent at pouting when he was a kid. Although this photo is pretty dark, you can't escape the lower lip protruding. I wonder what he was upset about? Did his truck crash? Maybe he wasn't ready to come in from playing outside. What a cutie.

Winter of 1961, Bibsey was our horse and as you can see she was very old. If I couldn't be found outside it was said Mom would look for Bibsey and I would be near. I remember taking naps outside with her. The day she died I remember a storm came through with a heavy downpour of rain and of course lightening and thunder. I wasn't allowed out in the storm as Dad dug a grave out in the pasture and picked up Bibsey with the Ferguson tractor's loader as I watched crying from the dining room window. She was the first friend I lost.

August Garden Pictures

Well, I never completely got my garden cleaned of weeds, but it seems to have bloomed anyway. Our rains this summer have kept everything green and growing. The view from my back deck.Hostas and Suprise Lilies.Hostas, Chameleon plants and an old rake hanging on the side of my garage.Hostas and Phlox in bloom.Hostas, Phlox and Wild Flowers.A college friend, Penny, gave me this cast iron pig. I always say my garden will be completely weeded "When Pigs Fly"! My friend Kem and I made these cement fossil birdbaths a few weeks ago. I have an evergreen tree that needs to be cut down and this will be placed on top of the stump. It's a little over 2 ft. wide.More Surprise Lilies and a variety of Sedum and Liatris I think.

Summer Storms

While on the farm we had a couple storms. These views are of it approaching before the rain. It was like a blanket of clouds being dropped from the sky.
Looking Northeast of the house.Looking South of our house.Mom sighted this rainbow first after a nice steady rain. I grabbed my camera to find I couldn't fit it in the viewfinder, so I merged two photos together to show off this view looking east of our house.

Many Views Become One

The Johnson family living room. I took these photos back in 2006, so yet again things have changed. My dog Sophie, who was interested in what I was doing, is no longer here. The green carpet is gone and beautiful refinished wood floors with a couple tapestry rugs are in it's place. I stood in one place and took photos looking in different directions. I tried to capture every view but see I missed a little up front. I always had intentions of making a collage/montage out of the photos but never took the final step until now. I think I'll try taking some more photos like this and experiment with what the views turn out like. Remember you can click on the photo above and it will appear larger in a new window on your computer. I wonder how many people viewing this have been in this room?

Granite, Sioux Township, Lyon Co., IA

Granite will celebrate it's 125th Quasquicentennial in 2012, who's making plans for the celebration? :-) I compiled and wrote the following years ago with some help, first for a sign placed in Granite and adapted it later adding more information for the book I wrote, "A West Ender's Scrapbook", finishing it in 2004. It's my heritage, close to home, and full of familiar people and places to my minds eye. Think of all the seeds spread by these early pioneers of our community.

This area, where Blood Run Creek passes on its way to the Big Sioux River, was inhabited by Native Americans between 1300 and 1750. As many as 10,000 Oneota Indians lived on the surrounding fertile prairies. There is also evidence of the Sioux inhabiting the area for some time in smaller numbers. The first European explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 1600’s. Pioneers would follow full of courage and faith, to build dugouts and sod houses, on the 1870’s prairie and Sioux River Valley they chose to call home.
D. C. Rice surveyed and staked out blocks, lots, streets and alleys in the southwest quarter of Section 19, Township 100, Range 48 on June 12, 1886, at the request of the owners; Richard and Bessie Pettigrew and Samuel and Bell Tate. The town of Iuka was officially filed March 14, 1887.
Left: Book 1 of Town Plats of Lyon County, Iowa, pg. 384. Feb. 1887
Transportation through this area was new as stagecoach trails passed on their way to Dakota Territory. Railroads traveling west across the prairies brought the Cedar Rapids, IA, Northwestern Railway coming through in 1886, bringing the need for waterwells and tanks where they could fill their steam engines. In 1893, the Board of Supervisors established a “Granite Highway” to go through the Village of Iuka, easing the way for transportation to and from the young town.
The town name of Iuka was officially changed to Granite in late 1887. Although many documents still used Iuka, the new name of Granite appeared on state maps as early as 1895. In 1900, fifty people resided here with A. Parker serving as postmaster and shopkeeper.
A blacksmith was vital to a community and Gust Anderson wore that title.
The railroad changed in 1903 to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and had W. J. Brown serving as its agent. The Depot, on the southeast edge of town found many visitors gracing it’s doors and platform. A passenger train went west through Granite about 10 a.m. daily. People often left their horse and buggy at the depot and would go to Sioux Falls to conduct their business. There they could shop at the dime store or other stores on Phillips Avenue or maybe go to see a doctor. They made sure to be on the train when it left Sioux Falls and arrived in Granite about 3 p.m. They were the first commuters. The freight train came thru later and on the return trip they pulled several cars of meat from Morrells.
Organized baseball was played in the “ball park” that was a pasture on the north edge of town. The Granite team had competitors nearby, playing teams from area towns. In 1915 the team included players; Ralph Anderson, Melvin Anderson, Sam Bennett, Herman Grotewold, Walter Grotewold, Bill Hughes, Tom Hughes, Claire Lind, Francis Martin, Henry Parkinson, Ed Portice, Charlie Riley, and Melvin Scott. A later team included Malc Rabey, Frank Lewis, the Grotewolds, Herb Gottlob and sometimes Melvin Burns.
Left: Looking North in Granite, the white building on the left is the DeZotell grocery store and the dark middle building is the Granite Savings Bank. Years later the grocery store was turned into a hatchery and the bank and bank building were moved to Larchwood. The white building on the right is the Zimmer grocery store and post office. The silhouette of one of Granite’s two elevators is seen on the left edge of the photo and the railroad tracks for the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad are visible near the fence line. Willow Street, running east and west, and First Street, running north and south can also be seen. (Granite Threshing Bee book 1997)
James DeZotell moved into town in 1918 and started a grocery store where a sack of candy accompanied grocery orders. DeZotell’s Store was a community gathering center. On cold winter days Herbert Bjork, Pete Cox, the Swanson brothers Anton and Ed, Henry Viereck, and Clint Vosberg could be seen playing Whist, the card game of choice, around the pot bellied heater in the back. There were some hot games but when it came time to go home and milk the cows, they left as friends until the next game. He also had a gas station and later operated a “night club” in the basement of the store. Locals smile when talking about the happenings in DeZotell’s basement but some excitement came to the community as a result of it.
In 1920, J.C. Zimmer moved into town and became the new postmaster, opening a Drug Store that included a soda fountain. Area residents often found the need to “call central” where the phone operator in Granite routed their call to its destination.
A parsonage for the Grand View Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church, that was located south of town, was also a gathering place for many community members.
Two grain elevators with titles over the years such as the Farmers Mutual Elevator Co., the Sioux Elevator Co. and Skewis-Monen Elevator, operated next to the railroad tracks providing for area farmers’ needs.
Stockyards and a scale house operated by Charlie Riley, were put to use by farmers who brought their livestock to Granite. In late June of each year, preparations were begun for a special trainload of cattle to be shipped to the Chicago Union Stockyards. The railroad made a commitment to the area farmers that if a whole trainload of beef was shipped at one time, they would guarantee arrival in Chicago early Monday morning if loaded the prior Saturday afternoon. The special train had right-of-way over all other rail traffic for the incredible 36 hour trip. These shipments reached their peak shortly after World War I, and continued until the late 1920’s.
Right: The Granite Depot, next to the Rock Island railroad tracks, and the elevator office.
A Saturday night in the summer found Granite the favorite shopping and visiting place. After the eggs and cream were traded for groceries, the women folks visited from car to car while the men talked about crops and livestock, the kids played games after they got their pop and ice cream if there was money left over from the cream and egg money.
Early in the fall, DeZotell’s store started taking orders for a carload of flour. Farmers with large families ordered 25 to 30 sacks of flour. They came with a team and wagon to haul the flour home. Periodically they would move the sacks to keep the flour from spoiling. Store bought bread never tasted as good as home baked bread.
The Granite Savings Bank, chartered in 1920, had Oscar E. Holly as its first president and L.L. Penning was cashier. Original board members were T. G. Bennett, Wm. Grotewold, Oscar Holly, Lars Jensen, Nels Martin, C. T. Swanson, and Ed Swanson. In 1931, C.T. Swanson, president and R.W. Wyant, cashier, saw the Granite bank become the only bank in Lyon County to remain open through The Great Depression. In the fall of 1934, as the small village was disappearing, the bank and bank building were moved to Larchwood by Brandt Engineering Co. of Sioux Falls. The brick building was 22 x 42 feet and moved a distance of eight and one half miles on November 19, 1934 without breaking a glass window or dislodging a brick. Now known as the Security Savings Bank, it is the oldest chartered bank in Lyon County.
Well known to the long time residents, Paul the Prophet came to Granite in the mid 1920’s. He was a drifter, walking the tracks but Jim DeZotell took him in and gave him a bed and food for doing some work around the store. He knew his Bible and in the evenings the farmers gathered around to hear him prophesy. Paul told them that dry weather was coming and the dust would blow so thick they wouldn’t be able to see the depot as they stood in the store. He also predicted the great depression. No one believed him but we got the dust bowl and many farmers went broke and moved to CA.
All of the business places are now but fading memories as the years go by. The flood of 1972 took out the railroad tracks. The last old store building to go was the DeZotell Store, purchased by Ralph Wineman, who turned it into a chicken hatchery that was in operation until 1973. A few homes and one business, Miller Loaders Inc., are what remain of Granite today.
It does thrive once again, when the town swells with people who travel from near and far to reminisce those days of long ago, during the Annual Threshing Bee in July. What once was a prosperous business and farming community is now a community full of shared memories, of those who came to this area before us and the days that have passed since they walked our path.
Right: A drawing by Dolly Zangger, of Larchwood, gives an overview of where the old buildings once were.

Compiled and written by Diane Johnson in 1999. Excerpts of this article are on a sign in Granite. Sources for this document include:
- Alvord Centennial Book, 1893-1993
- Compendium of History Reminiscence and Biography of Lyon County, IA 1974.
- Historical Sketch of Lyon County, IA by, S.C. Hyde, Perkins Bros., Printers and binders, Sioux City, IA 1873.
- Larchwood Centennial Book, 1872-1972
- Personal Papers of C. T. Swanson (1862-1954)
- Remembrances of Russell Bonander, Ruth (Bjork) Hansen, Calvin & Darlene (Wettestad) Johnson, Larchwood, IA

Sioux Township was set off from Larchwood in January, 1879. It is comprised of all of township 100, range 48, and so much of range 49 as is east of the Big Sioux river. Its population is 449, including the hamlet of Granite, on section 19, which has about fifty persons (1900 Census). This township is bounded on the north by South Dakota and Minnesota, on the east by Larchwood township, on the south by Centennial township and on the west by the meanderings of the Big Sioux river. A line of the Rock Island system of railway passes from east to west through its territory en route to Sioux Falls. (Compendium of History Reminiscence and Biography of Lyon County, Iowa., 1904-1905)
The 1880 Census listed people of the area under Lyon Township, Lyon County, Iowa.

Sioux Twnshp. sect. #16, Lyon Co., IA

I wrote the following back on June 7, 1989, while taking an Iowa Writing Workshop through the University of Iowa.

Everything has to start somewhere at sometime and a home is not an exception to this statement. The former generations of my family came over from Sweden in 1869. My Great-greatgrandfather bought 160 acres in what was then Dakota Territory and built a one-room log cabin and a hay stable for the cow and horses. His land adjoined the Big Sioux River, and from those timbered slopes he received wood to burn and build with.
My home had its beginnings back the the 1920's when my grandparents, Joe and Phoebe Johnson, were starting their family in Lyon County, Iowa in the extreme northwest corner of the state. What was once just a cornfield was about to become a building site. It was a time of strong family ties, religious beliefs and community closeness. People took on enormous responsibilities and were rewarded by the lifelong friendships formed and respected.In 1923 my newlywed grandparents lived with great-grandpa and grandma for a couple months until their temporary structure a quarter of a mile away was built. A farm was being built starting with the barn, the most important structure, by two men Sievert Thompson and Otto Lund. They mixed the cement by hand and painted the wood red twice, once on the ground and the second time while the barn was all erected. The 60 feet long by 40 feet wide structure complete with bunks and a full length hay mound was built at a cost of $500. for labor charges plus the cost of supplies. To celebrate the completion of the round roof barn, they hoisted a piano up into the hayloft and a barn dance was held for those friends and relatives from both near and far. The church ladies aid group also held a meeting in the hayloft to commemorate it's completion. To this day the crowd that attended that meeting was the largest crowd to assemble of the Grandview Covenant Ladies Aid. Imagine the hymns floating through the windows after ladies young and old climbed the stairs, especially built for that occasion, or ladder to the loft and sat on fresh bales of hay to share God's word. Other buildings appeared soon as my grandparents attempted to complete this farmstead. The "little garage", a white two car garage, was built before the large house to provide shelter for my grandfather's Franklin car and 1916 Luverne truck.
Right: Grandpa Joe with his Franklin in the driveway in front of the house.
My father was born in what has now become known as the chicken house on our farm. It was a home at that time with ruffled curtains hanging in windows that welcomed the south breezes in the summer and fought against the cold winter winds. Grandma fixed her two room home up with little touches like flowers, pictures on the walls and clean linens and cloths covering furniture arranged carefully in the close living quarters. Dad's bed was a bassinet seated upon the piano bench, a simple start to a life spent calling the same address home.
Moving into the big house came about three weeks after dad was born. Imagine a young wife and mother of two children, Joyce at 1 1/2 years and Calvin only 3 weeks old overseeing such a transformation of environments and lifestyles. It was December of 1925, and the young family was in the new house by Christmas. The house was a large two story yellow stucco structure with white wooden trim. It was positioned on top of a hill overlooking Blood Run Creek and family farmland. Paths were still in nearby fields where the stagecoach trails of not so long ago transported passengers to their destinations. Trees had been planted to accompany the driveway up the hill. They also provided windbreaks and shelter for wildlife and for the house and family within. Many of the groves surrounding the buildings were planted by Grandpa Joe and his young son.
Right: the Johnson Home in 1957.
Grandma Phoebe was a magician with flowers and transformed the yard into a showcase of colorful flowers on all sides of the house. There was a hedge around the front yard with a white picket fence standing next to it. Rows and rows of flowers added backdrop for many family pictures taken outside the home over the years. Lilac bushes now ran the length of the little two room home that had by now been turned into a chicken house, dividing it from the large house and yard.
Uncle Carl, grandpa Joe's older brother, joined the family of five in 1931. At one time Grandpa fed cattle with farmers on 13 different farms, splitting profits on up to 1200 head, the bookkeeping tabulations he must of performed at his desk without the benefit of modern aides. The time came to add cement to the barn floor and troughs. The youngest Johnson at that time, Carol Ann, lent her feet for footprints into the yielding wet cement. In 1936 the first Johnson owned tractor came on the farm; before then grandpa had rented the land to others because he also farmed by Tea and Flandreau, South Dakota. In 1938 the "big garage" came after the purchase of two Diamond T trucks on the farm. The farm was growing out of necessity and progress. Grain needed to be weighed and stored so a scale house and corn crib appeared as did feeders for the feed lots and buildings to house hogs. The set of buildings started to surround the family as if to provide for and protect them.
Left: An early view of the farm from around 1940, looking west from the pasture.
When dad went to the army, grandpa rented the land out again selling off some equipment; any changes awaited the return of the only son. Upon dad's return home he and Uncle Carl lived together in the big house. They bached it from 1948-1950 while Grandma and Grandpa moved to Sioux Falls, leaving their home in the hands of future generations.
My parents, Calvin and Darlene Johnson, were married in 1950 and added their own touches to the Johnson farm. Uncle Carl lived with mom and dad for five years after their marriage, sometimes resisting changes they wanted to bring about. Starting their own family brought about changes to the grounds. The picket fence was removed when Dad thought my oldest brother Joe would hurt himself after he was found climbing back and forth over it. The hedge disappeared also, bringing about change in the landscape that had grown so familiar. Vines have grown up the side of the house adding character to the stucco and shade. Cool green leaves of the vines fly in the breeze to make you feel refreshed and protected. Mom took over grandmas love for flowers and adapted the gardens with care and patience.
Right: In 1961, the Cal Johnson Swap Meet was held on the farm.
As four kids, Joe, Deb, Steve and Diane, grew up on the farm we managed to explore and utilize all areas of it. There were the games of hide and seek where we'd climb onto the roof of the chicken house and jump back and forth to escape being caught by those on the ground. We inhabited the big old tree back by the garden when dad transformed an old garage door into a two story tree house. The big house lent old green and black screens to enclose the "upstairs" to intruders while a child's imagination supplied other necessities. The corn crib and the barn were places to explore and defend, where plans were made and secrets told and shared. With a young family on the farm again, the barn's hayloft lent itself to a Halloween party for the neighborhood. To clean a 40 year old barn is not an easy task; but shovels, brooms, mops and buckets along with helpful hands transformed it again into a party sight.
Modernization brings about change and the farm soon outgrew it's storage capacity, and again it was time for a new building. It was the early seventies and the need for a machine shed location overshadowed our childhood treehouse, family garden and some favorite trees. The machine shed was to know dances like the barn had known; but it also has held neighborhood rummage sales, family reunions, grain, machinery, antique and modern auto storage. It has become a dry refuge to stand and watch rare summer rains and rejoice in their arrival. Its utilization still continues as it acquires memorable events as the years go by.
A huge tree that provided shade to the front of our house was cut down in 1988. Its day had come and gone. Dad remembered jumping over the newly planted tree as a boy and was standing with remorse as the family gathered to watch the old elm being cut down. Three log chains gave the length needed to provide safety to the driver of the tractor as he pulled the tree over. It had reached it's branches toward the sky for over 60 years. Dutch Elm disease took its toll on much of the grove. Trees started to turn leafless and gray as their branches broke in defeat. This spring a skidloader operated by dad and a bulldozer came and leveled the ground where they once stood. Seventy-five trees stand no more. Now the barn must accept defeat after a full life of usefulness. The weather elements have not been kind. Tornados toyed with the structure weakening it's supports. It has not aged as gracefully as dad, its closest living kin. Now it comes down ever so slowly, board by board, as if it's slowly saying goodbye. What has come to be known as a friendly joke, about when the wind would allow it to completely lie down, has refreshed memories of days long since past. Gone now are the days of cousins coming out to the farm to hold shooting practice in the hayloft with unsuspecting pigeons as the targets. Memories are the only place where baseball games will be played in front of the barn and automatic homeruns will be declared when the ball flies over the top. I long to see what the barn has not allowed anyone to see for over 65 years, a view to the east. A large morning shadow has vanished forever.
Certain changes over the years have been brought about by the changes in our environment, the people living there and the deterioration age brings. The memories will live on forever if only we share them with others. Home... many places will earn this title throughout a person's life, but specifically it is a place that is full of acceptance and welcomes you with open arms. I am accepted there without question and allowed to give and take in situations that will form memories and direction for those to come.