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Help Us Restore the Roseville General Store
Text Box: Historic rural country store building finds new home By Mark Wicks, Managing Editor Published: Thursday, April 17, 2008 8:46 AM CDT  You had to forgive Jason Skillen if he was as giddy as a kid in a candy store on Wednesday — it was because he was watching first-hand as the candy store of his childhood found new life and brought back with it some sweet memories. “I remember when I was just a little guy we’d go to get gas there and stuff,” recalled the now middle-aged Skillen. “Everybody knew everybody, and there were a lot of good things in there — especially the candy. Candy was my favorite.” The Greene man was one of many who turned out Wednesday morning to help or watch as one of the last surviving old country store buildings around rolled down the road on a special semi trailer rig en route to salvation from the decay of time. After sitting vacant for 40 years, the 105-year-old building was moved to a new home on the Cedar Valley Engine Club grounds just west of Charles City along Highway 14 at the Rockford corner. “To me, it’s persevering history. It’s something that should be saved for future generations — seeing an old store that had some significance from way back when,” said Skillen, who is a long-time member of the engine club and whose uncle, Harold Swartzrock, was born on the farm that the club now calls home. It is also home to numerous antique tractors, steam engines and other vintage farm memorabilia — including a rescued one-room country school house that was relocated and restored. Skillen was involved in moving the school house and gladly offered his support on Wednesday. “I’d like to see it up and running again like it was,” he said of the old Roseville general store. “It would have been a shame to see it destroyed.” The Koenigsfeld family and the engine club members weren’t about to let that happen. “We started thinking about it five years ago, knowing that something needed to happen with this building,” explained Charles City resident Mary Koenigsfeld said of relocating the building to the club grounds. “There was so much history involved with it, And the surrounding area feels like it’s not just the Koenigsfeld family’s, but it involves all of them.” Mary’s husband, Al, grew up in that store, which has been owned by his family since 1932. He began working there when he was six years old, sacking potatoes, and continued working there until he was 19. “All the people around here who have been in the store at one time or another are happy it’s being preserved,” remarked Al Koenigsfeld. “We’re trying to save some history from this area, I think that’s important. It fits right into the club here with the school house and the James Watts steam engine and other old things that have been revived and preserved.” Moved from Roseville Since 1903, the building has sat at the corner of Highway 14 and 240th Street, kitty-corner from St. Mary’s Catholic Church and School. It was originally built as a store by Jake Keifer, who two years later sold it to Bill Haggeman. A couple of years after that, it was purchased by John Sinnwell, Jr., who turned it into a home for his parents. Then in 1932, the building was bought by Peter and Dora Koenigsfeld, along with their son Lawrence, who reopened it as a general store. “Many people remember Lawrence delivering groceries to area farms in their 1939 Chevy panel truck,” a club press release Wednesday stated. “Lawrence is Al’s dad,”?explained Mary. “All the brothers and sisters worked in that store at one time or another. “You never knew what the 11 kids were going to get for Christmas — it might each be a pair of Yankee Doodle work gloves that were left over from the store. It got to be a family joke, because you knew whatever the first kid opened, the other 10 were going to get the same thing.” Lawrence Koenigsfeld married Marcella Marzen in 1941 and the couple took over running the store in 1945 until Lawrence began thinking about retirement in 1968. “That’s when the big tornado hit Charles City and their shelves were literally stripped clean of a lot of things because people from town needed a lot of supplies. That was instrumental in the decision to close that year,” reported Mary. Oversized load Since then, the building has sat quiet and alone, watching four decades come and go along the highway in front of it. On Wednesday, though, all eyes were on the two-story structure as it sat jacked up on a trailer and at 8:35 a.m. rolled across that very highway. The Koenigsfelds explained that because of the prohibitive cost of moving power lines out of the way on Highway 14, the building took a little longer route to its new home three miles to the north. A moving caravan of Ron Holland Housemoving, Inc. trucks, Koenigsfeld family members, engine club members and interested spectators traveled slowly west on 240th Street, turned north onto Kirkwood and then carefully rounded the corner onto the Rockford blacktop and headed east toward the club grounds —?all at around 10 miles an hour or less. Butler County REC?and MidAmerican Energy crews assisted in moving power lines out of the way, while onlookers lined the route or joined in behind the caravan in their own vehicles. “The wires weren’t a big problem, they just had to take their time and get them down,” said Mary of the electrical crews. “MidAmerican Energy was all ready for us on the corner, so we could just make the corner and keep on rolling.” The building arrived at it’s new home right around 10 a.m., but found the final few yards the toughest of the entire trip. In addition to have to negotiate the main entry gate to the grounds, there was a power pole on one side of the driveway and a tree on the other. An overhanging branch clipped the corner or the building’s roof, causing a little damage and a lot of concern. However, a little skillful driving saved the day. “The worst part was coming through the gate,” said Mary, “The man in the truck for Ron Holland, Art Schultz, is amazing in how he can maneuverer that equipment. He’s got a really good crew of hard-working guys.” The building will continue to sit atop moving beams until a new foundation is created by the club later this spring, then it will be moved into place adjacent to the barn and just off of the grounds’ main entrance. Restoration work should commence by this summer, according to Mary, but it likely will not be completed much before the 2009 Labor Day Thresher’s Reunion. “We hope to get lights in and enough work done that people can see at least some of it this Labor Day,” noted Mary. “But there is a lot of work to be done before it is all finished.” A?new roof, new windows, fresh paint, replacing the long-removed overhang and gas pumps outside, as well as restoring the interior to its original appearance from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s are included in the restoration plans. “We’re so excited that it is finally here and that everything has gone so well,” commented Mary. “Al is very excited about this. He is somebody who is so interested in history and in preserving history. He enjoys it — loves it. He has my basement full, he has my garage full, we have a large shed that’s full with all kinds of things he wants to put back in the store. “ The Koenigsfeld family and Cedar Valley Engine Club are seeking donations of other items once sold in the store, as well as related photographs and stories. Monetary donations toward the restoration process are also needed and welcomed. Tax-deductible donations may be made to: The Cedar Valley Engine Club (with “Roseville Store”?written in the memo section of your check), in care of Al Koenigsfeld, 3124 230th St., Charles City, IA 50616. You may also call (641) 228-1946 to arrange a donation or for more information. A Web site has also been established to provide updated information and photos documenting the progress of the project at www.restorerosevillestore.com.