Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , The Millrace: Harnessing Decorah’s Water Power , Demosthenes, Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens observed: "Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises." During an 1848 scouting trip to appraise the region's opportunities, William Painter, a Quaker from Ohio, looked at the rapid fall of the Upper Iowa River and envisioned its power harnessed to serve the needs of his family and others who might settle here. One definition of creativity is “to look at one thing and see another” and that is what Painter did, seeing "visions of mill-wheels, mill-stones, of saw mills and tanning-lathes, possibly of woolen-mills even in connection with the curves of our river and the adjacent springs..." He made his claim, built a cabin on the square and returned home to bring his family here in 1849. Painter was also a millwright, stonemason, and a man "endowed by nature with more than ordinary mechanical skill." He inaugurated his vision with the construction of what came to be known as the Dunning's Spring Mill, setting it running with millstones he brought from Cincinnati. , The arrival of a third group of settlers, the Philip Morse family, provided Painter with an opportunity to join forces and accomplish bigger things. Painter owned the area today housing the Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum complex, and there he visualized a larger grist mill. In the summer 1851 Painter sold some of his claim to the newly arrived Morse for development of a saw mill and together he and Morse made a claim on the Upper Iowa River and dug a millrace to serve both Morse's sawmill and Painter's new grist mill. The original dam was constructed of stone according to H.L. Tavener, Painter's grand-nephew, and Painter and Morse dug the millrace by hand. The millrace angled diagonally from the river near the end of W. Main Street, crossed what is now 101 College Drive and flowed thence across College Drive to a holding pond located behind where you are standing. From the holding pond, it diverged, then crossed N. Mill Street to provide water power for the sawmill located behind what is now the Vesterheim main building and for Painter's stone mill at the corner of N. Mill and Heivly Streets. As Decorah developed, Morse's sawmill provided building materials and Painter's grist mill supplied flour and ground feed for the growing town's needs. The story is told that during a year of crop failures, many families were in desperate straits. Painter offered to give away a free bag of flour to any family in need and a long queue of wagons was produced along what is now Heivly Street as families waited for their free bag of flour. This drained Painter's resources but produced relief for many families who took advantage of his offer. Painter's first mill constructed in 1848 was sold to fourth settler, E.C. Dunning. Ultimately, the whole community benefited from the early development of Decorah's water power by Painter, Morse, and Dunning. , Metamorphosis: From Church to House , The Tudor Revival house standing at the northwest corner of W. Water Street and College Drive began life as a Baptist church. Built in 1892, its first pastor was Rev. Henry Grant who served Decorah for a time, moved on to another pastorate, but returned to Decorah some years later to serve as the church's pastor a second time. The church was built in the Gothic Revival style with high-pitched roofs, pointed arch windows, crossbracing with quatrefoil trim in the gables, and quatrefoil trim on the steeple. A high wind toppled the steeple on March 16, 1920 and it was never replaced. Membership eventually dwindled and according to a Des Moines Register feature article in 1933, the Seventh Day Adventists took over the building when the Baptists vacated it. The church was later abandoned for a time until Adolph Leytze bought it. Architect Charles Altfillisch redesigned the church as a Tudor Revival style house and contractor A. R. Coffeen completed its transformation. The high-pitched, clipped-gable or jerkinhead roofs’ profile and the stucco cladding with decorative red brick framing windows and doors add to the home's cottage ambience. Large full length windows on the home's south side with decorative wrought iron railings add interest. Adding to the Tudor cottage flavor, the home originally had shutters on its second story easement windows with window boxes under the dormer and windows. , The Whippy Dip , An icon of Decorah tradition, the Whippy Dip appeared on the scene a short time after the millrace was eliminated due to flood control measures instituted in 1949. Built in 1954 by Durwood Baker, the treat stand was originally part of the nationwide Tastee-Freez franchise. The franchise was begun in Joliet, Illinois by inventor Leo Moranz and entrepreneur Harry Axene who collaborated to produce soft-serve and fast food products. Their partnership marketed a new soft-serve pump and freezer that used the newest technology, far exceeding the other available options at the time. This facilitated a quality product and quicker service when ordering at the window. Moranz and Axene were also the creators of a special nozzle used on Tastee-Freez ice cream that created the five point star now commonly used on soft-serve ice cream. In exchange for rent paid on the soft-serve pump needed to operate each freezer, walk-up stands across the country were allowed to use the Tastee-Freez name. In the 1950s a large ice cream cone was featured as part of the sign advertising the Tastee-Freez. Two mascots, the Tastee-Freez Twins, Tee (female) and Eff (male) with ice cream on their heads, strawberry and chocolate respectively, were trademarks of the enterprise. , In 1958 Baker dropped affiliation with the franchise and renamed it the Cremee-Freez. Martin Winkie purchased the Cremee-Freez in 1959 and he and his wife operated it for eight years. When the Winkies sold the business to Chuck and Marilyn Istad in 1967, the Istads operated it as the Cremee-Freez until 1972 when they changed the name to The Whippy Dip. The Istads sold it to Paul and Lois Christianson who operated it until 1985 when they sold it to Greg and Rosie Carolan. The Carolans have owned and operated the Whippy Dip for over 30 years. , A perennial favorite of Decorah residents, Luther students, and out-of-town visitors, a trip to the Whippy Dip is a must for nostalgic former residents returning for a visit, or anyone who enjoys their sweet treats. , International Style: Weis Buick , Designed by Bill Lockard, assistant to architect Charles Altfillisch, the Weis car dealership building originally had a flat roof without ledge at the roof line, windows set flush with the outer wall, unornamented wall surfaces with no decorative detailing at windows and doors and an asymmetrical facade. These characteristics marked it as part of the International style that emerged from Oud and Rietveld in Holland, Le Corbusier in France, and Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe in Germany. Working without historic precedent, 1920s European architects set out to exploit the materials and technology of the day with American architects introducing these ideas in the United States beginning in the 1930s. Functionalism, how a building served its inhabitants, was primary in importance to the International style with extraneous elements eliminated. Ribbon windows with metal framing, both regular height and clerestory, produced rhythm in the design and smooth stucco walls created a clean, uncluttered look. Cantilevered sections of the upper roof and second-story balcony as well as the first-story projection above the auto display area produced dramatic emphasis in the facade. , The Weis GMC/Pontiac/Buick dealership was begun in June of 1933 by Al and Pauline Weis and operated in four different locations in the downtown area before the building at 131 College Drive was constructed in 1948. After Al died in 1953, Pauline sold the business and building to four of her sons in 1958. It is still operated by Weis family members. The GMC and Pontiac part of the dealership was sold to Howard Bradley in 1938. Buicks were sold exclusively by the Weis brothers until 1999 when the Pontiac/GMC dealership was bought back from Elton Bradley. , [other photo captions] , . The bridge over the millrace on N. Mill Street is shown to the left of the mill with an early street lamp nearby.