Colfax: 1954-1965

My dad was transferred to Colfax, Iowa in the summer of 1954 to take over management of an Easter’s store. Initially, Easter’s was a small independent grocery chain, but was eventually allied with the Super Valu chain of stores. He would remain manager of the store in Colfax until transferring to a new supermarket in Mason City, Iowa in 1965. See Appendix 2: Lorimor, Pleasantville and Colfax, Iowa.

The store is on the near right hand side of the street.

We lived in several rental homes in Colfax before my parents purchased the house at 219 South Locust. I think the purchase price was about $11,000 in 1958.

The rental house on Lincoln Street was an old large two-story house that harbored a coal-fired furnace in the basement. Only the main floor was heated, but my brother and I slept in a bedroom on the second floor. Fortunately, the bedroom had a vent from the kitchen located directly below it to keep the room warm. The bathroom was added on after the house was built and was on the unheated second floor. The best thing about the house was its large back yard just right for digging holes, playing sports, and being several houses down from a best friend Jim Hamer.