Thursday, April 30, 2020

THURSDAY DAILY

THE 61 DRIVE-IN THEATRE JUST SOUTH OF MAQUOKETA,  FOR MORE PRE-SHOW
FUN, NOW HAS A SOFTBALL DIAMOND.    HOME PLATE AND THE BASES STILL
COMING.
AND A NEW BASKETBALL COURT TOO.    BOTH THE SOFT BALL DIAMOND AND
ABOVE BASKETBALL COURT BY CASEL CONSTRCTION IN MAQUOKETA.   I'M SURE
THERE WILL BE A LOT OF  "H_O_R_S_E" MATCHES NIGHTLY BEFORE THE MOVIE
STARTS.    THAT'S NANCY  SHOOTING A BASKET....SHE MISSED.       ALSO A THIRD
TEATHERBALL HAS BEEN ADDED.    AND THIS IS ALL IN ADDITION TO THE
BIG SWINGSET, SANDBOX, VOLLEYBALL NET AND THE RUBBER-TIRED FOUR-CAR 61
TRAIN.    NO CHARGE TO USE THE PLAY GROUND ATTRACTIONS AND A TRAIN RIDE.
HOPEFULLY THE DRIVE-IN WILL OPEN BY MID-MAY, ON A FRIDAY NIGHT AS ALWAYS.
REMEMBER, AT THE 61, WE HAVE GRASS INSTEAD OF GRAVEL FOR WATCHING
THE MOVIE OUTSIDE YOUR CAR AND LISTENING TO THE FM SOUND ON YOUR CAR
......OR PORTABLE RADIO YOU BRING ALONG, OR RENT IN OUR CONCESSION STAND.
THE 61 STARTED 70 YEARS AGO AND THE SOUND FOR THE FIRST 15 YEARS, CAME FROM A SPEAKER THAT YOU HUNG ON THE CAR WINDOW.
THE SPEAKERS ARE LONG GONE AT THE 61 DRIVE-IN THEATRE.









 






MOST KMAQ AREA RESTAURANTS ARE STILL GOING WITH CARRY-OUT OR DRIVE-UP SERVICE IN THE WEEK AHEAD, EVEN THOUGH THEY COULD START SERVING INSIDE.








                        HAPPY MAY DAY

DENNIS VOY




Friday, April 24, 2020

FRIDAY DAILY

THIS WAS PUT IN THE GREEN SPACE DOWNTOWN TODAY.     CLICK-ON TO ENLARGE.
BELOW, TWO PROJECTS UNDERWAY FOR THE FACADE REHABILTATION.
THE   FORMER TIMBER CITY SHIRT WORKS'
BUILDING.    ONE HALF WILL BE USED FOR A
NEW MAQUOKETA BREWERY.    OTHER HALF
NOT RENTED TO MY KNOWLEDGE.    AT LEAST TWO NEW APARTMENTS UPSTAIRS ARE PLANNED.
THIS BUILDING OWNED BY BRAD DEERY.
LEFT IS VACANT.   MIDDLE A BARGAIN STORE.
RIGHT, USED BY DEERY FOR DEALERSHIP BUSINESS.
CAR LOT JUST TO RIGHT AND YOU CAN  
SEE A LITTLE OF THE DECKER HOTEL.


DECKER HOUSE FACTS:   BUILT IN 1875-1876,
BY JAMES DECKER OF WATERTOWN, N.Y.
IS 45 BY 140 FEET.     THREE STORIES HIGH,  BESIDES BASEMENT AND ATTIC.     COST $30,000 TO BUILD.
WHEN COMPLETED IT HAD 100 ROOMS. 
(IT NOW HAS 15)      WHEN IT OPENED,  IT WAS
CONSIDERED ONE OF THE FINEST HOTEL BUILDINGS IN EASTERN IOWA.   MAQUOKETA HAD 3,000 PEOPLE.



GAS IN DEWITT TODAY WAS  $1.09.9

DENNIS VOY





Wednesday, April 22, 2020

WEDNESDAY DAILY





1878 AD      I THINK THIS BUILDING IS NOW GETTING A NEW SOUTH MAIN STREET FRONT TO IT.... OR MAYBE ABOVE  BUILDING COULD HAVE BEEN A BUILDING ON PLEASANT STREET 4 DOORS WESTERLY FROM MAIN STREET, ON PLEASANT.
ANYWAY...MAQUOKETA WAS AN "ART TOWN" IN 1878...
IS AN "ART" TOWN NOW....HAS ALWAY BEEN A TOWN
FOR "ART".




DENNIS VOY


Tuesday, April 21, 2020

TUESDAY DAILY

TODAY, WE WILL VISIT THE ABOVE STORE, ON THE CORNER OF SOUTH MAIN AND EAST  PLEASANT STREET.    MY BUSINESS NEIGHBOR,  JUST NORTH OF THE
VOY THEATRE AND BEAUTY SHOW.      ABOUT TIME I PAID A VISIT.
I DO NOT OWN THE BUILDING, IT IS OWNED BY BOB WAGENER.
MEET PATRICIA ALEX.    SHE IS THE OWNER.   SHE HAS A 9-YEAR OLD SON NAMED
D.J. WHO  THE STORE IS NAMED AFTER AND HE HELPS HIS MOTHER.   HER HUSBAND
WORKS FOR FAMILY DOLLAR DISTRIBUTION CENTER SOUTH OF TOWN.
THEY CAME FROM MICRONESIA AROUND 10 YEARS AGO.   ENGLISH IS THE
MAIN LANGUAGE THERE.    HER MOTHER AND DAD ARE RETIRED AND LIVE IN
MAQUOKETA.   HER DAD WAS A HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IN MICRONESIA AND
HER MOTHER WAS IN FINANCE WORK FOR POSTAL SERVICE IN THEIR AREA.
SHE HAS TWO SISTERS THAT LIVE HERE ALSO AND BOTH WORK AT "IMAGINE
THE POSSIBILITIES".
THE MICRONESIANS STARTED COMING TO MAQUOKETA A DOZEN OR SO  YEARS
AGO AND NOW THERE ARE ABOUT 250 LIVING HERE.    MICRONESIA IS AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES.    THERE ARE 4 STATES IN THE
COUNTRY WHICH GOES FROM WEST TO EAST  AND IS SPREAD ACROSS THE WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES AND HAWAII.
THEIR MAIN FOOD IS TARO, YAMS, BREAD, FRUIT, ESPECIALLY BANANAS, AND
COCONUTS AND FISH OF COURSE.
PATRICIA CATERS TO HER FELLOW MICRONESIA FAMILIES,  HAVING IN STOCK,
SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE FOODS  .    BUT,  SHE ALSO HAS A LOT OF AMERICAN
FOOD AS THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVING IN APARTMENTS IN DOWNTOWN
MAQUOKETA AND MORE COMING.    FOR THEM,  SHE HAS MILK, POP, COFFEE,
BREAD, EGGS, PEANUT BUTTER AND MORE.    
HOMAI BROWN RICE MEANS "TREASURE" IN JAPANESE.   RICE FROM WHICH ONLY THE HULL HAS BEEN REMOVED.   IT MAY BE COOKED AND EATEN AS IS OR MILLED INTO REGULAR-MILLED WHITE RICE.    THE LIGHT BROWN COLOR IS DUE TO THE 
PRESENCE OF THE BRAN LAYERS AND THE EMBRYO OR GERM.    BROWN RICE
REQUIRES LONGER COOKING TIME THAN EITHER PARBOILED OR REGULAR-MILLED
RICE.    WHEN COOKED,  BROWN RICE HAS A SLIGHTLY CHEWY  TEXTURE AND MILD, NUT-LIKE FLAVOR.
I COULD HAVE TAKEN MORE PHOTOS OF MORE SHELVES.   STOP IN AND BROWSE.
WOMEN FROM MICRONESIA STILL WEAR A LOT OF SKIRTS AS SKIRTS ARE A
SIGN OF MODESTY AND RESPECT IN THEIR COUNTRY.

DJ'S IS CLOSED MONDAYS.
OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY FROM 10 A.M. UNTIL 6 P.M.
SUNDAYS FROM 11 A.M. UNTIL 3:30 P.M.

I SUGGEST YOU STOP IN SOON.   PATRICIA IS A DELIGHTFUL LADY TO TALK TO.
WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING QUICK, PARKING IS RIGHT OUTSIDE THE FRONT 
DOOR AND PRICES ARE RIGHT.  
THESE BUSINESS FEATURES ON THIS  DAILY REPORT  ARE FREE AND MENT TO LET YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR FELLOW MAQUOKETANS.        PATRICIA WORKS HARD AND I GAVE HERE SOME THEATRE PASSES SO WHEN THE THEATRE RE-OPENS
SOON,  I HOPE,  SHE  CAN ENJOY A MOVIE WITH HER HUSBAND AND SON.   
AND TRY THE BEST POPCORN IN TOWN.

BUT GET YOUR RICE FROM DJ MINI MART!



1878 AD








DENNIS VOY






Monday, April 20, 2020

MONDAY DAILY

THE 2020  RAGBRAI  HAS BEEN CANCELLED.     IT WAS GOING TO STAY OVERNIGHT IN MAQUOKETA ON FRIDAY, JULY 24TH.       THE SAME ROUTE WILL BE USED NEXT YEAR FROM JULY 25-31, 2021.















CAMP COURAGEOUS AT MONTICELLO ANNOUNCED TODAY THERE WILL BE NO CAMPS THIS YEAR.