The Sanborn Sentinel - Dec 1, 2005
When I walk to the post office from my place I usually have to stop and rest at the locker plant where they have benches to sit on.
The other day as I was sitting there I started reminiscing about how Main Street looked many years ago.
Across the street on the corner of the block stood a house belonging to Harry Brazle. Next to the north was Ada Otto's house. Then north of her house was a long narrow building that Minnie Haak lived in. Her husband had a shoe repair business in front. Next was a service station with gas pumps and later turned out to be a produce that Herb Zimmerman ran. Later Armin Robinson ran it. Then came the post office with the south half of the building being a barber shop run by E. J. Kilpatrick. Then came the City Cafe on the corner.
Across the street on the corner was a gas station run by Harry Brazle. Then came a pool hall that Moe Stock ran and later Mike Becker. Next was Bert Peake's grocery store. Then came Yaeger Pharmacy. John Yaeger worked for Erwin Yaeger and Erwin had a soda fountain in front, and we boys would make different ice cream dishes. Then came the Dietz Fairway Store grocery and dry goods. Then came John Hageman's harness shop, a place for farmers to come in and shoot the bull. Then came Posz Hardware, a place for lots of loafers to hang out. Then the garage run by Eddie Graff. Then the Becker-Shonka Meat Market. You could go in and get four wieners for a nickel when you went to the river for a cookout. Either the wieners were cheap or they had a soft spot in their heart for us kids.
Then Streich Hardware and Implement in two buildings. Across the alley was Duley Implement with their house to the north. Next to the railroad track was the stockyard where fanners could bring in live-stock for shipping by rail.
Across the tracks was a gas station run by Ray Kansanback.
On the west side of the street south of the railroad tracks was the Farmers Elevator. South of the elevator was Lampert Lumber Yard. Across the street to the south was the Dine-a-Mite Cafe. Then came Hornick Hardware. A small building for a grocery store and later the Arnold Code Barbershop. Then the Farmers Bank. Later after it closed, Floyd Simpson turned it into a liquor store. Across the alley was Ted Hensch's grocery store, which in the 1930's burned down. He built the present building with the fire insurance; John Leopold used the building as a bakery. That went up in smoke also.
Then came the Sanborn State Bank. With a liquor store on the corner and Eat-a-Bite across the street to the south was a big Buick building. The Nu Way Grocery run by Bob Hageman in the south half of the building was the Sanborn Sentinel and a barber shop run by Dubby Yackel. Then a garage run by Pete Pint. Next a blacksmith shop and then a house owned by Charley Gumto who had a shoe repair shop and gas pumps in front. Then the Steinberg Creamery and finally the opera house where the school had plays and graduation. The Legion put on plays. There were dances and Bob Hageman had silent movies. There were meeting rooms upstairs used by the Legion and Masons. Later Pete Bassett bought it and made a locker plant out of it.
When I come down Saturday morning and see so few cars on Main Street, it makes me sick. Saturday was our busy day.
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