100 YEARS OLDCENTENNIAL 1855-1955 NEW SCHOOL FACILITIES The school building built in 1928, provided ample space for classrooms, laboratories, home economics facilities, and a large room for physical training and athletics. When the school lunch program was started in Iowa and public funds became available, the Steamboat Rock school could […]

100 YEARS OLDCENTENNIAL 1855-1955 THE RAILROAD SAYS GOOD-BYE There is no doubt that the automobile brought the demise of passenger service on the railroad. A bit later truck lines greatly cut into the freight business of the railroads.    Passenger service was discontinued all together in May of 1958. Many […]

100 YEARS OLDCENTENNIAL 1855-1955 HAROLD H. LUIKEN & SONS The story of Harold Luiken began well before the town of Steamboat Rock began its second 100 years. I have outlined his life in the prior section up to 1955 (the Centennial year). Harold was one of few shining stars in […]

100 YEARS OLDCENTENNIAL 1855-1955 A WHOLE NEW ERA Take walk through Steamboat Rock. as the small town turns 100 years old.    Starting in front of the School. The gym hadn’t been added and the original building’s front was covered with ivy. I had completed second grade that spring, my […]

100 YEARS OLDCENTENNIAL 1855-1955 The Eldora Herald-Index wrote the following about the Centennial Celebration. “Steamboat Rock was a proud little town Saturday night,” the Eldora newspaper wrote in a collum following Steamboat Rock’s 1955 Centennial Celebration;“…and justly so, for they had successfully produced one of the finest old fashioned Centennial […]

AFTER THE WAR AN ENTREPRENEUR As Steamboat Rock, grew close to it’s 100th birthday and beyond there were many respected business men in the community. Russell W. Holmes the owner of the Sundries store and soda fountain, and his beloved father who helped him in his store in his retirement […]

AFTER THE WAR A NEW TOWN HALL The town of Steamboat Rock built a new town hall in the fall of 1950. It was made of concrete block and tile. Roger Gast took charge of the construction. A fire truck was also housed in the building. The building serviced both […]

AFTER THE WAR KOREA In 1949, after a long Civil War, Communist forces finally succeeded in winning China. America grew fearful that other areas of Asia would also fall to Communism. In 1950, China’s neighbor Communist North Korea invaded noncommunist South Korea. President Truman asked the United Nations to send […]

AFTER THE WAR STEAMBOAT ROCK RIFLE CLUB In 1947, the Steamboat Rock Rifle and Pistol Club was organized. It came as a result of a pre-induction small arms training course which was sponsored by the National Rifle Association during the World War II era.    The Iowa Falls Rifle Club […]

AFTER THE WAR RAILROADS After the war many of the troops came home on the train. The railroad had been a major player in the war effort. A great amount of war material, equipment and manpower was moved by rail through the war years.    The M & St. L […]