Iowa City Press-Citizen from Iowa City, Iowa • Page 14

2C Iowa City Press-Citizen Saturday, March 14. 1981 The only lumber yard in town by a dam site' TV" Irving Weber's Iowa City ll.Uill lit EDITOR'S NOTE Irving Weber's historical articles on Iowa City now appear each Saturday in this new format, rather than in a aeries on the same general subject. A greater flexibility in topics will provide our readers with stimulating stories on Iowa City's 142-year history. A question on Iowa Ctty history will appear at the top of the column with the answer appearing at the bottom. Questions will not necessarily relate to the currnt article.

Today's question is: How low did the price of corn drop in the Depression of the early 1930s? The price of corn today is 3. "THE ONLY LUMBER YARD IN THE CITY BY A DAM SITE." Ralph Dunlap really livened up his Iowa City lumber yard with that catchy slogan. No one ever forgot it. Old timers like me still remember it and smile. It makes that lumber yard one of the businesses of my boyhood years I remember best.

The slogan stemmed from the fact Dunlap's lumber yard was located just a block from the University of Iowa's Burlington Street Dam on the Iowa River. The lumber yard's address was 120 W. Burlington Street. That's on the north side of the street between Madison Street and the In-terurban tracks. Nagle Lumber Co.

was to follow Dunlap, operating at the same location for 50 years. The name of Dunlap's firm was R.L. Dunlap Lumber and Coal Co. They also handled cement No record is available as to exactly when the lumber yard was started. The Burlington Street Dam was constructed This is bow the Dunlap Lumber and Coal Co.

at 1922. In 1922, the building was purchased and 120 W. Burlington St. looked from about 1906 to became the Nagle Lumber Co. he sold 200 reapers, 25 threshing machines, 300 wagons, 60 corn planters, 70 sulky rakes, 300 cultivators, and 300 plows.

The agricultural economy of Johnson County and adjacent counties apparently was moving at a brisk pace. Interestingly, the elder Dunlap was originally a member of the so-called "Know Nothing" political party, whatever that was. Later, he became a Republican and was active in the Temperence Movement. So strong was his stand against saloons that one time he undertook single-handed the prosecution of the liquor interests. He attempted to abolish saloons, and as a result his house was mobbed by extremists of the liquor group.

Feelings between the saloon operators and the temperance organization were extremely bitter and intense in those years. I recall as a boy hearing my folks talk about the circulation around the city of the so-called "Saloon Petition," which attempted to force out the saloons. Peo- in 1905-06, so possibly the business started about the same time. Ralph Dunlap was a successful, highly respected Iowa City businessman. A graduate of UI, he lived with his wife and daughter in the old Dunlap home at 114 E.

Market just west of the large metered parking lot on the north side of the street between Dubuque and Clinton streets at the present location of Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity. The famed Arthur Cox mansion adjoined the Dunlap home on the west. Dunlap was the second generation of his family to live in Iowa City. His father, Robert Livingston Dunlap, arrived here in 1858, shortly after the railroad reached the city. The elder Dunlap became one of the largest implement dealers in the state, operating first at 220 E.

Washington St. His business later moved to the southwest corner of Washington and Capitol streets, where the UI College of Engineering building stands today. In one year at the latter location. JJLd(Utd' cordially invites VWr you to aiifiiu uieu in home heating made the coal business uneconomical. George Dane, who had taken over the business after World War used the silos for corn storage from 1954 to 1960.

They were idle from 1960 to 1966 and then torn down. The UI purchased the Nagle Lumber Co. and tore it down. The UI also bought the Shell service station on the northwest corner of Burlington and Madison streets, as well as three houses in the 200 block of Madison Street, including the Short-Belle home where the two families had lived for 80 years. With the removal of all these buildings, the south approach to the UI Library is completely open the entire square block between Burlington Street and the Library, and from Madison Street to the Interurban tracks.

It may sound like a sacrilege, but the UI Library might now boast it's "the best library in the state by a dam site." I hope I'll not now be banned from the stacks for my face-tiousness. The answer to today's question is 10 cents per bushel. Some farmers reportedly burned corn for fuel because of the extremely low price. It produces a very hot fire as neighbors of the Main factory remember. The factory was used for hybrid seed corn storage.

Some 45,000 bushels caught fire and burned one bitterly cold Sunday in the winter of 1337. full block north to College Street In 1923, Dunlap sold his coal business to Hal Dane of Minneapolis, father of present-day Iowa Citian George Dane (who was 1-year-old at the time), and John Dane, though the latter had not yet made his appearance in Iowa City. Dunlap had always operated the coal and lumber phases of the business separately. He leased a small building (later the Interurban depot) on the southeast corner of Burlington and Front streets from the Interurban for an office, and coal sheds on leased Interurban property where the UI Power Plant is today. Dane took over these lease arrangements and continued with them until buying property on the southest corner of Court and Front streets in 1926.

At this location he built an office building, garage, modern silo and automatic coal handling system. On the superstructure high above the silos in large, bold, black lettering appeared the firm name, and retaining the old Dunlap slogan, thus: "DANE'S COAL YARDBEST BY A DAM SITE." When the sign appeared, a ladies' church group called and complained they "didn't think the sign was very nice." Dane replied he was Just getting started, but if they wanted to furnish the paint he would paint out the slogan. The paint was never forthcoming. Dane continued using the silos for coal until 1954, when the switch from the use of coal to oil and natural gas pie lined up on one side or the other; there was no middle ground. Businesses selling liquor and beer in those years for some reason always were called saloons never taverns, cocktail lounges, etc.

Because of the early connotation of strife and dissension, the name "saloon" may have been dropped by the liquor interests when liquor "came back" in 1933, after 17 "dry years." Now, only old timers ever use the word "saloon." In 1922 Dunlap sold the lumber phase of his business to Lee Nagle and his brother, Bill, from Red Oak, Iowa. Dunlap retained the coal business which he had always operated on the opposite side of Burlington Street, however. The Nagles changed the Dunlap's slogan to: "NAGEL LUMBER COMPANY BY THE DAM." Nagles continued at the location for 50 years, making the move to the present location at 1201 S. Gilbert St. in 1972.

George Nagle Sr. joined his father in the business in 1922. Later his brother, Leland, came into the firm. The business is now headed by George Nagle making it a three-generation business. During the 50 years on Burlington Street, the yard was enlarged to extend from the alley to the Interur-ban tracks (except for one small corner where Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Co.

transformers are located), and from Burlington Street one TABLE TOP v. nnmAT a nnv SUNDAY, MARCH 15 12-5 i PLE A8E join us on Sunday. March 15 as wt calibrate our Tabla Top Bridal Party. REOISTER toXin our tarriftc doorrize of an Onaida Silvarplate aarvica of Jplus 8 serving placet. You need not ba pretent to win.

MEETNfcrs. Dorothy Brown, our No tickets ntfdod. ragiatrar. She aW her aaaiatant will be an hand to answer yoVr quaations about our bridal registration, aarvices. weddine i See famous table top names like: Arabia Lenox Noritake Mikasa Mutchenruther Royal Doulton Minton Oneida Fraser's Towle Pfaltzgraf Dtnby And More plans, and new storjkf 1 jsH'-A sSv.

hours to serve you and your guests. JOIN us foir (rake, cookies and pnch then see a film on the tradition oqualitf i I III. is. i i 4 i V. if i fc' v.

1 behind the making of Denby's stdneware. You'll love bur fabulousdisplas. AFTER all. ybure. jre)aring for ttfe i i i -4 zrVl ty, ntjix beautiful day of right at Jackson's.

New Hours 10- 10 i 12 a Iwii HMkatL. GIFTS CHINA ti mi wwmm MnttMl This is what you see at the former Dunlap-Nagle lumber yard site today. Tr TiART cx FRAME-UP Discount applies only with cash or bank cards. 1 1 1 6 E. Washington St.

337-5745 itmmi -4r 1 i JUJUUl nntiersl 1 1HURS- FRI SAT. 75 OFF MANY ITEMS Open un. illifeiWf lw if (J 50 OFF FASCIA FRAMES 40 OFF READY-MADE FRAMES 20 OFF READY-FRAMED PRINTS CHARTPAK BRAND TRANSFtR LETTERS-2 FOR I SV 50 OFF METAL SECTION FRAMES (kitsomy) FREE APRONS to the first 25 customers FREE SHIRTS to the first 25 customers (st I A 20 OFF EVERY! HINCj (Some items excluded including custom fromtng) 0) iin stoc.