Love Letter to a Small Town

I'm sitting on the sidewalk by Casey's with a few other students. I decided to skip the hot lunch in the cafeteria today. It's a Friday and I decided I didn't feel like eating “shrimp shapes.” Or, perhaps it was a fish square on a bun. Our school clings to the tradition of fish on Fridays.

Casey's is on Tilden Street and is only a short walk from the school.

By the way, it's September 1985. I'll graduate soon and be off to college next year.

It's almost fall so we're wearing light jackets. I'm wearing my Postville Wrestling jacket. I don't wear my Member's Only jacket anymore. They aren't as popular as they were my freshman year. Mine was just a knock-off but my girlfriend at the time still liked it. I like my wrestling jacket. It's comfortable and I like to advertise that I'm proud to be on the wrestling team.

A couple of the others are wearing leather jackets. Some of them are smoking cigarettes. Wearing leather jackets and smoking cigarettes is about as badass as it gets around here. The female's leather jacket is actually modest and stylish. She doesn't look like she'd be found straddling a Harley. 

No one really stands out at my school. No one is exactly what you would call a rebel.

No one dresses like a punk rocker with safety pins on his clothes or in his ears or cheeks for that matter. We don't have any goths with pale skin dressed all in black.

A few guys wear western shirts, belts, and boots. I have a turquoise colored pair of cowboy boots myself. I don't live on a ranch and ride horses but I live on a farm so I still think it's legitimate for me to own a pair of boots. My dad even has a subscription to Western Horseman.

I had a rat tail haircut for a while last year. I'm one of the most quiet and modest students in the school. How come I was the one to get an unusual haircut? Well, it surprised my wrestling coach and a few other people which was kind of funny. I'm not as virtuous and reserved as some people think. 

We have a lot of students who wear t-shirts and jeans and we have a lot of preppies. I'm not saying anyone comes to school wearing a blue blazer and khakis but most of us have a few polo shirts and some boat shoes. My parents don't own a sailboat and the nearest ocean is over a thousand miles away. Even Lake Michigan is 300 miles away. So, I don't really need a pair of so-called boat shoes but they're the style right now so everyone has a pair.

Tim, one of the leather jacket wearers, is eating a square slice of microwavable pizza and smoking a cigarette.

“Doesn't that make the food taste bad when you smoke at the same time?” someone asks.

“This microwavable food never tastes very good anyway,” he responds.

I have to agree with him. The hamburgers and cheeseburgers have an odd aftertaste. What kind of chemicals are in those things? I do like the microwaveable burritos though. They're cheap and filling. The package reads Red Hot Beef Burrito. They're a bit spicy but not too bad. They're probably an insult to real Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. But what can one expect from something that comes wrapped in plastic and is prepared by zapping it in a microwave? 

The microwaveable sandwiches all have a letter on them like A, B, C, etc. The dial on the microwave has those letters as well. Just match up the letter on the sandwich with the corresponding letter on the dial and you're good to go. Of course, it doesn't always seem to work out that way. Sometimes the food needs a little extra zap. A cashier there warned me once that she thought the burritos might still be a bit frozen. I should have listened to her because she was right. But, I was halfway back to the school before I noticed the middle was frozen.

I like getting candy and drinks from Casey's too. Wade and I used to get Slush Puppies there sometimes. We liked eating a licorice called Nibs too. Honey buns warmed up in the microwave are amazing. Sometimes I buy Hostess Fruit Pies. During wrestling season I buy diet pop and even apples sometimes.

Casey's has a pay phone which is nice in case I have to call home for some reason. I needed the pay phone a lot more in junior high when I couldn't drive. When I was a freshman I forgot my jock strap one day and used the phone in the principal's office to call my mom. The secretary was sitting right there so at first I tried to hint at what I needed.

"Mom, I forgot something I need for wrestling practice if you know what I mean."

I think I finally just had to whisper what it was I needed.

Casey's has a tiny shopping cart for its patrons to use. I've never seen anyone use it except for my smartass friend Brad who, of course, thinks it's funny to push around a miniature shopping cart.

I believe Casey's store manager is a nice woman named Katie. I think my classmate Sheila works there after school some evenings. When Casey's General Store came to Postville it was a pretty big deal. I guess it's our only so-called convenience store. Decorah has Kwip Trip and Kum & Go I think. We don't have a 7-Eleven around here. No Big Gulp or Slurpee for me.

If a student desires food that doesn't need microwaving he can go to Meyer's “66” Cafe located just on the edge of the school campus. Most students simply call it The Station because it used to be a gas station. They have good food and they even have a student special. It's hard to beat a burger and fries. 

Ginger's Drive-In is on the west edge of town so it's a little too far to walk for lunch. I did go there with a friend once for lunch during semester tests because our schedule allowed the time to walk there. The food there is good. It's just simple fare like burgers and other sandwiches, fries, and shakes.

Ginger's is right across the road from Iowa Turkey Products. Like the name would suggest it's a turkey processing plant. The plant employs a lot of people. There used to be a meatpacking plant in the same area called Hygrade Food Products.

Norplex is a plastics factory northeast of the city limits. Technically, I think they manufacture something called industrial laminates. My buddy Daryl works there. He's a family friend who's about ten years older than me. I think my mom has a cousin who works there and I think my classmate Eric might have a brother who works there.

Some of my friends' fathers work at REC as linemen or in other capacities. Brad's dad works there. Maybe Brad will be a lineman someday if he doesn't go into the grocery business.

This small town has bars and churches. It has a swimming pool and a couple of parks. It has feed mills and flower shops. It has clothing and jewelry stores. It has salons and barber shops. It has banks, hardware stores, and lumber yards. It has service stations and car dealerships. It has a public library.  It has doctors and dentists too. Well, you get the idea.

For a small town there is a lot more going on than one might imagine.

When I was younger the Iris Theater was still in operation. I saw Star Wars there which was a pretty big deal at the time. And, I saw Grease there with my buddy Chris. I saw a few other movies there too in my younger days. I wish it was still open for business.

Hi-Way Lanes, the bowling alley on the edge of town, holds a special place in my heart. It's not that I'm a great bowler. In fact, I'm a lousy bowler. But, my buddy Wade's parents own the alley. Even before they bought the alley Wade and I would hang out there sometimes. The first time I stayed over at his house back in junior high his mom let us go out for dinner on our own. We walked all the way from the north end of town to the bowling alley on the south end to have some chicken strips and fries. I think we probably played Space Invaders too while we were there. After his parents took ownership, Wade tried to teach me how to bowl without much success. Did we ever sneak a drink from the Spare Room Lounge? How dare you suggest such a thing!

Sometimes instead of going to Casey's kids will walk just a little farther down the sidewalk to the S & S Foodliner to buy something for lunch. The S & S is one of two supermarkets in Postville. The other grocery store is called The Farmers Store because it's owned by the Postville Farmers Cooperative. My friend Brad works at The Farmers Store. Brad has a coworker who teases him sometimes.

"You do good work Brad," he'll say, "just not enough of it."

There's an apocryphal story of how Brad got a job there. Brad was walking by the grocery store one day when a serious looking man came bolting out the door and threw an apron at Brad while exclaiming, “Hey kid! You want a job? Get in here and start bagging groceries!” So, Brad took him up on the offer and has been working there ever since. Brad saved up enough money to buy a Chevy Monte Carlo. It's a cool car with a kick-ass stereo! A couple of other students work there too.

I'm not that hungry for lunch today because I stopped at the Masonhall Bakery on the way to school this morning and bought some rolls and donuts. I like fried cinnamon rolls, cream filled Long Johns, and French donuts. Cheryl's Beauty Hut and Livingood's Corner Clothier are also on Greene Street.

I stopped at Hanson's Variety on Lawler Street as well to buy a notebook and a pencil. I must admit I usually buy stuff like that at Pamida in Decorah but Hanson's is convenient when I really need a pencil. I like their candy counter as well.

During wrestling season I eat breakfast at The Grill after early morning weigh-ins. I'm partial to pancakes but I like eggs and French toast too. When I was younger, my family went to The Grill on Sunday after church sometimes. I would usually get the pork fritter and fries.

Tonight I'm going to the football game. It's only the second game of the season. This will be the first game on our new field. We used to play our football games on the field by the fair grounds. But, when a new edition and gymnasium were added to our existing high school they built a new football field as well.

The first game of the season was last Friday at Waukon. I rode with Brad in his Monte Carlo. We met some Waukon girls at the game and ended up going to Happy Joe's Pizza with them in town after the game. One of the girls was a French foreign exchange student. 

Our Homecoming game and dance will be coming up soon. I want to ask the girl sitting here in the leather jacket smoking a cigarette because she's cute and likes to party. I'm not sure if she knows I exist. The dance will be held at Dreamland Ballroom as usual. I like Dreamland and have been to a lot of dances there during my high school years.

I asked my dad if he ever went to dances during his teenage years. He just laughed and said, "Well, sure. But, we called them sock hops back then."

My parents have some history with this town as well. They used to go to the movies here as teenagers and then grab a bite to eat across the street at the Thoma Coffee Mill. I think they went to a place called Waters Dairy as well which doesn't exist any longer.

Just across the street from Casey's and up about a block is Community Presbyterian Church. I met a girl there at a youth retreat during the fall of my sophomore year. Who knew church could bring me a girlfriend? We've went out on and off for the last two years but I think that's finally over.

My older sister and I used to race into to town and check the Citizens State Bank clock on the corner of Lawler and Williams to see how we were doing on time. We usually made the trip from our farm to town in 15 minutes. Lawler Street is the main drag in this small town.

One of the main hangouts is Lil' Ole's. That building on Lawler Street has quite a history. I believe if one traces its history back far enough the building once was home to Evan's Koffee Shop and then later the V & J Café. I believe it was Mitch's Restaurant and then The Sunshine Inn. It was briefly known as The Postville University before Jeff bought the establishment and named it Lil' Ole's.

Lil' Ole's has pizza, burger baskets, and chicken. The bar in back is popular if you're of drinking age. There are some video games too like Ms. Pac-Man. It was the place I usually met my girlfriend during my freshman year. Different students have worked there over the years. Robin L., an employee there, probably got tired of me asking for change so I could play Pac-Man.

Don's Jewelry and Men's Wear is located right next door. I've bought some clothes there a few times including the black pants I needed for FFA. I also rented my tuxedo there last spring for the Prom.

I guess teens need a place to hang out which is why I like Lil' Ole's. Archie and the gang from Riverdale had Pop's Chock'Lit Shoppe. Fonzie and Richie and the rest of the gang from Happy Days had Arnold's Drive-In.

Last year I was hanging out at Ole's one evening and an eighth grade girl who was exiting the place turned and winked at me. How does an eighth grade girl have so much confidence? She's a freshman now. I could ask her to Homecoming I suppose. But, I'd rather go with the girl in the leather jacket.

Not all of the action takes place inside of Ole's. Sometimes it's just our meeting place and our base of operations if you will. One time when I was a freshman a group of us walked from there all the way to Lull's Park on a cold winter night. I kissed my girlfriend at the time for the first time there in Lull's Park so I guess it was worth walking in the freezing cold. I used to kiss that same girl sometimes in a small area between Ole's and the building next to it that we'd dubbed the MOP (make out place).

One night I was supposed to pick up two girls there and take them to the game in Waukon but showed up to find out they'd caught a ride with someone else. Stood up by two girls!

When I was younger I used to go to Paul's Place occasionally. Paul's Place, the youth center at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, was especially fun during junior high. I went there with Chris or Wade sometimes. I walked there one time with Wade and a small group of others while holding a girl's hand. That girl moved away unfortunately.

Postville finally got cable TV a couple of years ago.

"Cable TV has arrived in Postville, and everyone is busily and happily enjoying the advantages of it. There are 15 total channels in all; 13 is the basic number. The basic 13 channels are already provided; HBO and Cinemax are optional."

I became kind of close to a local girl during my sophomore year and she would invite me over with the promise of watching cable TV. She didn't really need to tempt me with cable TV. I would have come to spend time with her anyway. We did catch part of a movie on cable once with a funny sex scene which made her laugh. I don't think I can ask her to Homecoming. I think she still has a boyfriend.

Homecoming is fun with the parade, bonfire, game, and dance. The Sweetheart Dance will probably be in early November just before wrestling season starts. The FFA/FHA Sweetheart Dance is our version of a harvest ball I guess.

This small Iowa town is like many other small towns I suppose which is why I like it.

Small towns in Iowa mainly focus on family, church, picnics, agriculture, change of seasons, county fairs, parades and festivals, small businesses, gardens, and high school sports.

Next fall I'm going to college but I'll still be in another small town with its own charm.

Well, dear reader, I've got to run. It's almost time for my next class and I don't want to be tardy. Can you believe they only give us 20 minutes for lunch? Wish me luck with the girl in the leather jacket.
 

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