SHOWN HER IS LORI EVILSIZER.
HER HUSBAND IS JIM AND THE BARN IN BACKGROUND IS KNOWN AS THE STROMEYER BARN, AT 37647 IRON BRIDGE ROAD, JUST WEST OF SPRAGUEVILLE. LORI GREW UP AT THIS FARM AND THEY STILL LIVE THERE. I TOOK THE PHOTO YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
ON THE SECOND DAY OF THE WEEKEND IOWA TOUR OF BARNS, WHICH INCLUDED THIS ONE AND
6 OTHERS IN JACKSON COUNTY.
PERFECT WEATHER FOR THIS ANNUAL EVENT. LORI SAID AROUND 100 VISITORS CAME BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
SATURDAY, THERE WAS EVEN A BUSLOAD FROM GRINNELL. THE BARN WAS BUILT IN 1902 AND INCLUDES 12 WOODEN MILKING STANCHIONS. LORI WAS OUR TOUR GUIDE AND NANCY AND I HAD NEARLY AN HOUR HISTORY PROGRAM AND TOUR. THE FARM WAS SETTLED IN 1842 BY MR. REED AND HIS 7 CHILDREN, WHO
CAME FROM THE EAST TO ESTABLISH THE FARM ON LAND THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OR BOUGHT FROM GOVERNMENT. THIS IS A TRAGIC STORY. AT THE WAPSI RIVER, THE MOTHER DIED OF A SUDDEN BAD ILLNESS. MR. REED WANTED TO BURY HIS WIFE AT THE NEW FARM, SO HE WRAPPED HER IN BLANKETS AND HE AND HIS 7 KIDS WITH HER IN THE WAGON HEADED FOR SPRAGUEVILLE, TAKING TWO WEEKS TO GET THERE. HE THEN BURIED HER ON THE HIGHEST HILL OF HIS NEW FARM. THAT CEMETERY WAS RESTORED SOME YEARS BACK BY THE JACKSON COUNTY CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. IT CONTAINS 130 GRAVES, THE LAST BURIED THERE IN 1902 WAS A BABY. IT IS MAINTAINED EVERY YEAR (LIKE ALL COUNTY CEMETERIES) WITH COUNTY FUNDS. LORI'S MOTHER IS LAUREL
WILLIAMS OF PRESTON. SHE WAS THERE YESTERDAY AND TOLD HOW AS A LITTLE
GIRL, SHE ROLLER SKATED WITH HER GIRL FRIENDS IN THE UPSTAIRS OF THE
BARN. WE ALSO HAD A TOUR OF THE SUMMER KITCHEN, RIGHT NEXT TO THE HOUSE. THERE, THE FAMILY SPENT MUCH OF THEIR TIME DURING HOT SUMMERS.
IT'S A LITTLE MUSEUM NOW, THANKS TO LORI AND LAUREL. LORI'S GRANDFATHER, LAUREL'S FATHER, WAS GIL STROMEYER, WHO FORMED THE
FAMOUS OKLAHOMA COWBOYS BAND. HE DIED AT AGE 96 IN 1996. WHAT AN
INTERESTING VISIT WE HAD SATURDAY AFTERNOON. I COULD TELL YOU MORE
IF I HAD TIME. THE BARN WILL BE OPEN FOR VIEWING AGAIN ON NEXT YEAR'S FARM TOUR WEEKEND. YOU WILL WANT TO VISIT JIM AND LORI'S FARM THEN.......
OR, I'M SURE YOU COULD STOP OUT ANYTIME AND TAKE A LOOK. LORI WORKS
AS THE RECEPTIONIST AT THE HOSPITAL IN MAQUOKETA AND JIM COOKS THE BEST PULLED-PORK IN THE COUNTY AND SOON WILL BE SERVING IT UP
IN KEYWEST, MOVING THERE FROM BELLEVUE WITH HIS BAR-B-Q RECIPIES.
LORI'S ONLY SISTER LIVES IN DEWITT AND SHE HAD NO BROTHERS. THE FOLKS
FROM GRINNELL COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW BEAUTIFUL RURAL JACKSON COUNTY
IS. HAVE YOU DRIVEN THE COUNTY LATELY? CLICK-ON THIS PHOTO TO
ENLARGE IT. THANKS LORI FOR BEING A GREAT HOST!
DENNIS VOY