Ok, so Wanda shamed me into showing
my hobby on our web site since
everyone loves her gardens.....

Having grown up in New Jersey, I am
very interested in small town Iowa life.
Several years ago I bought a house with
a friend in a beautiful river valley in
Northeastern Iowa in the small town of
Elgin.

Elgin is 3 blocks wide and a mile long.
Population 700. The whole county
(Fayette) is only 14,000. You can stand
in the middle of Center Street and see
farm fields on both sides of the town.
The town is full of nice people and is
picturesque in a very Midwestern way.

My friend and I are renovating this old
place and use it as a weekend house. It
may become a retirement home, who
knows! But it is only 80 miles from my
home in Cedar Rapids.... and in Iowa
that means only 75 minutes away! There
is VERY little traffic between both
places and it is a lovely drive. Some of
the towns along the way are Coggon,
Masonville ( home of the BEST fried
fish), Lamont, Arlington, Wadena and
then down the valley into Elgin.

In 2004, Elgin had its five year reunion
called "Homecoming." People from all
over the country that have family and
friends in the area came for a three day
festival. We had a great parade, lots of
fun food and activites. My parents even
drove up all the way from North
Carolina to attend. It is amazing to me
that in this day and age there are still
simple, clean, nice places to live and a
simple inexpensive lifestyle.

Elgin to me is what is best about living in
the USA. When I bought the house, I
found out that there was no key for the
front door. The previous owner had
lived there since 1968 and accidentally
locked herself out the first day she
owned the house. She was so mad, she
hammered a nail in the front door so
you couldn't turn the lock and lock the
door.
Of course it was never a problem in a
small town like this.... amazing!

So here are my pictures of this odd
place. The house was built in 1908 we
think. It did not have an indoor
bathroom until 1957. There even used
to be a barn in the backyard. The first
owner had a cow that he walked from
the house across town (3 blocks) to a
neighbor's farm field every day.

If you'd like to know more about Elgin,
click on this link.

www.elginiowa.org

I do the web site for the town (note the
similiarities!) and there are some fun
pictures. Who knows... you may want
to visit.!

John Cairns
First Animation Art
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Call toll free 1-888-921-1001 or 319-862-1169
John's Project
Right - Front
of house
before the
work began!
Note the classy
picture window

Below: Winter
2001 with
some serious
labor done.
Stripping Wallpaper in
the PINK bedroom. 5
layers and two coats
of paint on top. I am
REALLY good at
stripping wallpaper
now. I have had
LOTS of experience!
Same corner of the back of the house. Before
door and window removal and new siding
repair,.
Summer 2007
(Guess who gets me plants for my garden?!)
View from the bank of the river in the
backyard. This is the Turkey River
which flows 30 miles southeast to the
Mississippi.
Fall view from the upper back yard. Turkey
River in the background....... all this for the
price of a Minivan!!
House interior.... believe me, this is AFTER the renovation. I made the woodwork to
match the original. New crown mouldings too. Did you know that small towns have very
relaxed building codes?! I was able to do the wiring with only a little family supervision!
My new pocket doors (left and
above) ....that I just installed fall
of 07. I'm going to finish the
wood to a dark walnut color like
the new door to the kitchen in the
picture above..... now I just have
to find the time to finish the
drywall!
Dec 2007 - 18 inches of snow on the deck
and looking down to the river. It's COLD
up here.. but then it's cheap too!