My Town Monday

Valley Junction, Iowa

Charles Adrian Ames was born in a little house not a stone's throw away from where my husband and I currently reside. The house is small but still stands as a testament to my husband's grandfather's lineage. The Ames family was an original family of the Valley Junction era; they were here before the metropolis of West Des Moines was given birth to and here before antique shops dominated the main street of Valley Junction.

Nellie Ethridge was born in a small rural town in southern Iowa. She finished high school and received a teaching degree. Both her parents are from Allerton, Iowa and this is the town where Nellie met Charlie.

I can not relate all of the details of their courtship but I do know that Nellie was quite a few years older than Charlie but they both became smitten and soon married. They would have five children: Margaret Adrienne, Carol Anne, Edward, Constance Adele, and Cathy. (I can not recall the middle names of Edward and Cathy.)

Charles worked for the railroad for a time and Nellie stayed home to take care of the children. Margaret was the oldest and there would be nine years between her and Constance, who would become my mother - in - law later in life, and just a year and a half between Carol and Edward. My mother - in - law, aka mother preTzel, told me stories about growing up in Allerton but her fondest memories would be riding the "Rocket" from Allerton to Valley Junction to spend time with her aunts (Ames) and paternal grandparents.

Soon Charlie would be looking for work and decided to see what he could find in Valley Junction. We have letters in storage someplace of Charles and Nellie writing each other while he was miles away from his family in Valley Junction. She wrote of their mundane daily life and Charlie would write about trying to earn enough money to buy his family a home in Valley Junction so they could join him and not be separated by the miles.

Charlie would sometimes wax poetic of his love for Nellie and Nellie would write back of her love of Charlie. Reading these letters makes one feel like an eavesdropper and it makes you want to lovingly fold the letters and leave them but once you begin you can not stop.

Soon Charlie earned enough money to buy a home for $3500. It was a small 3 bedroom home located in the heart of Valley Junction. He sent for Nellie, Margaret, Carol, Edward, and Constance. They made the trek on the "Rocket" leaving behind Nellie's siblings, parents, and furniture to move to a city that only Charlie knew about. They were soon moved in and found their home to be lovely and comfortable. This would have been 1949.

Charlie must have missed Nellie an awful lot because she soon found herself pregnant early in her '40s and Cathy would soon be born and join the family in their small home.

Mother preTzel has told me many stories how every Sunday Charlie and Nellie would send the kids down to a theater located on 5th Street and give them a dime each to enjoy the double - feature. Mother preTzel does not like to think what Charlie and Nellie would be doing during that "double - feature" but the redness of her face gives me a clue.

It would be this house that my husband would purchase in 1988 from his grandparent's estate and where all of my children would live when they were born.

Valley Junction has grown from the small town it once was to a larger Metropolis that continues to grow and grow. I find it fun to walk among the shops and peruse the antiques and think about the stores that used to occupy this main street of Valley Junction. Every Thursday they hold a Farmer's Market and have a music concert down by the old caboose that stands as a monument to how Valley Junction continued to thrive.

Here are some pictures I took today:

This first one is of the original Ames homestead - the home that Charlie was born - and while the trees/bushes/weeds hide most of the house it is as small as it seems:



This next one is the school in which Charlie, mother preTzel and her siblings, Mr., and all of our children attended:




When Charlie attended the school it was made of wood and very small. mother preTzel stated that across the street there used to be an old building that housed the telephone company and that is where they held some of the 6th grade classes and physical education. That building still stands but it is now a beautiful private residence. I was going to snap a picture but the owners were outside and I wasn't up to answering any questions.

Here is the caboose I spoke of above:



This is a shot of old Main Street looking North from the South:



This next is a series of shots near the VFW and the wall that was hand painted on the side as a tribute to all veterans:












Beautiful, isn't it? My pictures do not do justice to that mural. Everytime I walk past it I can almost hear the whispers of fallen comrades and of those veterans that have returned home only pass on as war heroes later in life.

I know I have focused a lot on the life and times of Nellie and Charles but I do this for a reason. mother preTzel found herself pregnant in January of 1964 and was unmarried. During those times most women would either be ostracized or sent on to a family member or an unwed mother's home to give birth so as not to bring shame to the family. Charlie and Nellie embraced mother preTzel and gave her support, love, and guidance during this time and Nellie was present at the birth of Mr. Mr. would live in this house for the first 9 years of his life with mother preTzel, Charlie, Nellie, and Cathy. Mr. often jokes about having three mothers and Cathy often says that Mr. "was my first born."

Charlie would live long enough to watch Mr. walk across the stage to graduate from high school but would die just three months later with emphysema. Nellie would live another 7 years and then succumb to cancer. It is with pride that Mr. bought this house and it is with pride that he continues to live here.

There are times that I think I feel the spirit of Nellie wandering the house and wondering what is going on. See, Nellie was a scorpion like me and was quick to temper but quick to love as well. I think she watches over Mr. and I and our children and makes sure that we're kept safe and no harm befalls us.

Valley Junction now resides as the "lower income" portion of West Des Moines and I've often heard it referred as the "ghetto" of West Des Moines. I don't care. I live here with my head held high and watch my boys do the same. Often when I'm asked where I live I find myself saying "Valley Junction" and not West Des Moines. I will often tell people the tale of Nellie and Charlie and how they worked hard to provide for their large family and how their hearts were bigger than life.


You can find other My Town Monday entries on Travis Erwin's blog.