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You are here: Home / Archives for Waukee History

The Heartbeat Of The Downtown Triangle And Waukee Community

September 12, 2018 by admin

Lyn Schafer and Classic Floral: The Heartbeat of the Downtown Triangle and Our Community

By Sue Ellen Kennedy

Lyn Schafer was born in Portland, Oregon, and her family moved to Iowa in 1962.  She has also lived in Washington, California, Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois and Connecticut.

After returning to Iowa with her children and managing a flower shop in Des Moines, she heard about a flower shop for sale in Waukee that was owned at the time by Rick Husery.  In 1990, she bought the store—Classic Floral and Gifts.

A single mother since 1983, Schafer raised five children and fostered four others.  She worked very hard to help reunite the foster children with their families. Her children are Andrea (47), Erin (44), Michael (42), Jason (38) and Savannah (22). Three of her five children, as well as her four foster children, attended Waukee schools.

Classic Floral is not only a business, but also the family’s home. In 1992, Schafer bought the building and later had the north side of the building converted into a home for her family, including their rescue dogs.  Classic Floral has been a family affair ever since.

Schafer has fond memories of her grandchildren hunting for chocolate eggs in the flower shop every Easter.  Bernice Johnson, an employee, recalls finding the missed eggs several weeks after and tossing the stragglers in the fall. Johnson also fondly recalled that Brandon, the oldest of Schafer’s eight grandchildren, would hide his toys in the flower shop when he was very young, and she would find them while she was working.

Johnson has been a friend and loyal sidekick for 25 years, even helping watch the grandchildren when Schafer had to leave to make deliveries.

“If there’s an obstacle in Lyn’s path,” said Johnson, “she finds a way around, over, or through it.”

When city hall, the post office, and the library moved from downtown, it was expected that the downtown area would fizzle out. The downtown businesses rallied together and there was no one more passionate about keeping downtown alive than Schafer.  She had the vision to see what it could be again and understood the importance in keeping it alive.

Schafer has also been a staunch advocate for the Downtown Business Group.  The original members of the group were Schafer, Jerry Wright, Larry Cranel, Sheryl Humphry, Chet Chedester, Joe Stork and Bill Vasilonikolidaks.

The Downtown Business Group works closely with the city of Waukee in the promotion and preservation of our downtown Triangle business area. “It takes a group to accomplish what we have,” said Schafer.

Today, the Triangle Business District boundary starts at the south side of Highway 6 including Kum and Go, to the south side of Locust to the east side of 4th to 7th Street.  The boundary currently encompasses over 30 businesses.

As president of the Downtown Business Group, Schafer was instrumental in establishing the Waukee Farmers’ Market, which takes place every Wednesday from the first week in June through the end of September. Though she will no longer be involved after this September, her hard work will be continued for many years by the group.

In addition to the Farmers’ Market, the Downtown Business Group helps with the Winter Festival every year, and gives out bananas to BACooN Ride participants.

When asked about her current vision for our downtown district, Schafer said she would like to see a quilt shop and a bike shop. “These would fit best in our business district and would bring more traffic to our area,” she said.  She added that these businesses would also fit into downtown’s small-town feel.

Schafer has received several accolades over the years, including Waukee Citizen of the year in 2002.  But the beaming look of gratitude she expressed when she showed me her 2017 City of Waukee Proclamation in Recognition of her retirement was priceless.  It was a heartfelt thank-you for demonstrating her commitment, lending her expertise and using her passion to promote the Waukee Triangle Business District.

“It’s never been about me, it’s been about and for the community,” said Schafer.

For 28 years, Schafer has been the sole owner and operator of Classic Floral. On Labor Day of 2018, the shelves will be emptied, the cooler bare, and at closing time, a long-time staple in our community will be no more.  We are sad that a buyer for the business could not be found, but the truth is, Classic Floral would not be the same without Lyn and Bernice. We understand that it’s time for you both to go, but dang it, we don’t like it. Good luck to you both as you begin these new chapters in your lives.

“Lyn and Classic Floral have been the heartbeat of downtown and the community. Her leadership and guidance will be missed. Thank you, Lyn.” –Geoff Warmouth

 

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Filed Under: Activities, Events, Lifestyles, My City, Waukee, Waukee History Tagged With: entertainment, events, History, outdoor activities, Outdoors, waukee, Waukee History, Waukee Iowa

J.H. Carter of Carter and Sons

January 8, 2018 by admin

By Sue Ellen Kennedy

John Henry Carter was born in Monck County, Ontario, Canada on July 19, 1856.  In 1876, he came to the United States and settled in Dallas County, Iowa, securing employment as a brick mason in Dallas Center.  In 1877, he bought a farm in Dallas County and worked the farm while continuing to build homes for eight years.  He eventually purchased the farm next to his, for a combined total of 240 acres.  John went home to Ontario in 1883, and returned to Iowa with his bride Susan Wills.

In 1888, he rented out his working farm and moved his family to Waukee, where he built, by written accounts, a grand home of that time.  John and Susan had eight children: A.B. “Burt”; Kathyrne; John W.; George; and Gordon; with three children passing—Roy, Letha and Henry.  Susan passed away on December 7, 1904.   

Following is a quote from the Memorial and Biographical Record Iowa, Vol. 2:

“He who makes a visit to the town of Waukee, Iowa and has the pleasure of a drive through its streets, is sure to have pointed out the handsome and commodious residence of John Henry Carter, one of the most enterprising and influential men of the place.”

If you live on Ashworth Drive in Waukee, check your deed abstracts.  You may be living in the home built sometime between 1888 and 1890, referred to in this written account.

John was well-known as the manager of the grain elevator.  He established J.H. Carter Grain & Stock located on the north side of our downtown Triangle around 1890.  The business sold coal, grain and stock.  The original building burned in 1901 and was replaced.  As Waukee grew, so did the business. Various hardware and farm implements were added to the inventory.  By the 1920’s, John’s sons John W. and Burt joined the business, renaming it J. H. Carter and Sons.

John passed away in March of 1939, and his two sons ran the business until the 1950’s, making it one of the longest-running family businesses in Waukee.  

John was interested in politics and was very involved in our community.  He was a member of the Methodist Church, IOOF (Independent Order of the Odd Fellows) and the Order of Knights of Pythias.  The IOOF was created to improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting the principles of friendship, love, truth, faith, charity and universal justice.  The Order of Knights of Pythias is an international, non-sectarian fraternal order that was established in 1864.

This year, I will be focusing on men and women that were business and civic leaders in our community.  If you have any photos, documents or other information of historical significance on John Henry (“J.H.”) Carter or anyone we feature in this section, please contact The Waukee Area Historical Society at (515) 782-0025 or waukeehistory@gmail.com.

The Waukee Area Historical Society will hold an indoor golf fundraiser on February 24 at Broheim’s Indoor Golf and Pub.  Please register on our website at waukeehistory.org.  Be sure to check out our Facebook page for information on all of our upcoming events.

May you have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Filed Under: Waukee History Tagged With: John Henry Carter, Waukee History

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