New things - a look back

While searching the Odebolt Newspaper Archive and other area newspapers I've run across some interesting articles chronicling the excitement of new things happening around town. Hope you enjoy this look back in time!

In 1883, the Denison Review had an article about the "largest and most elaborate farm barn in Iowa" on the Cook Ranch.

The first is a March 22, 1917 listing of who in Odebolt were buying cars!

The July 28, 1949 Odebolt Chronicle had an article on "Another Television Set in Operation Here in Odebolt!

An ad in the May 30, 1946 Chronicle announced the opening of the Ida Grove Airport.

And in the next edition of The Chronicle (June 6, 1946), an article about Dennis Peterson flying a plane during the opening.

Finally, the opening of the Odebolt swimming poot on August 7, 1953, was a long awaited event and many community members spent hours and hours of volunteer time to get the pool and pool house up and going. A real Odebolt milestone! And it is still operating in 2020!

Brookmont Farm Presentation

During Odebolt Creek Days on June 21, 2014, father and son, Don and Dan Etler, gave a presentation about the Cook Ranch/Brookmont Farm and the Cook Corn Trophy.  This presentation is now on-line on YouTube and can be reached by clicking the following link.

The Cooks of Brookmont Farm

Many thanks to the Etlers for making the presentation available to the public.

Cook Ranch Presentation July 16

The Odebolt Historical Museum is hosting a presentation on the Cook Ranch (Brookmont Farm) at the Odebolt Community Center on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 7:00 pm.

Joleen Dentlinger of Storm Lake, Iowa will be giving a very interesting and informative presentation about the Cook Ranch. She has spent many years researching and collecting photographs and memorabilia from the Cook Ranch. She is also planning to publish a book about the ranch in the near future.

The Odebolt Historical Museum members will be serving cookies and beverages after the presentation. Please make plans to attend.

The Brookmont Passion
      by Joleen Dentlinger

What started out to be a ride around Sac County in the 80’s, ended up being a passion for “wanting-to-know-more.” Often times we took our dogs so that they could run. Always having my camera with me to take photographs for pleasure or references for future pen and ink drawings.

One particular Sunday, we came across this long abandoned farm site - unlike anything that we had ever seen before. It captured my heart and soul...it was like it talked to me. I have been hooked on it ever since. From that point on I took more photos, searched for its beginnings and saw it end. I spent years researching its glorious past and have shared what I learned with many.

This particular farm was born on the prairie in 1873 and it was named: Brookmont - The Great Cook Ranch. It was developed by a successful young man from Chicago, Charles W. Cook, who was an acquaintance of Hon. Hiram Wheeler, the original owner of the famous “Adams Ranch.” Wheeler encouraged Mr. Cook to invest in Iowa farm ground. He purchased 12 sections of Iowa prairie from the Iowa Railroad Land Company for $5.00 an acre. In 1883, Mr. Cook traveled to Herefordshire, England and purchased 306 head of thoroughbred cattle. He then owned the largest herd of Herefords in the world and was the largest importer ever. Imagine - going to England in 1883 to buy cattle?

Charles W. Cook was a very wealthy and brilliant man - he did a lot for the area and saw the world all at the same time. He developed things that made work on the farm easier, faster, more productive.... When he passed away in 1900, his son Albert E. Cook, took over the ranch and he too, was very inventive. Having the ways and means to be successful. When Albert decided to leave Iowa in 1911 and sell the ranch, he originally tried to sell it as is, but eventually it was sold in numerous parcels. It took close to 7 years to sell everything. The home base and a section of land, sold in 1918, is still owned by the family that purchased it nearly 100 years ago!

After years of searching, letter writing and now internet surfing - the quest continues. Preserving the Brookmont memories by finding photographs and facts, meeting descendents and digging deeper will never end - it is on-going. It’s that “wanting-to-know-more” passion that, like an addiction - just takes over your mind!

Cook Corn Trophy articles

6/17/14 Video and article by Kyle Munson of the Des Moines Register

Munson: Huge trophy tied to historic Iowa farm

Two more articles:
From Iowa State University - June 17th, 2014
110-year-old Corn Judging Trophy Returns Home to Odebolt

From Sioux City Journal - June 22, 2014

GALLAGHER: Odebolt all ears for Cook Corn Trophy

Land Owners of old Cook's Brookmont Farm

 

(Click the image to enlarge it)

 The above is a photo was taken during the 2014 Odebolt Creek Days of all the owners that now have land that was once part of Cook's Brookmont Farm north of Odebolt. In the center of the group is the Cook Corn Trophy.

Don Etler and his son Dan Etler (right) did extensive research on the old "Cook Ranch" and the Cook Corn Trophy.  They presented their findings during two very interesting presentations on Saturday, June 21st.  The presentation was recorded and will be available via YouTube at a later date.

Read about the Cook Corn Trophy

From Iowa State University - June 17th, 2014
110-year-old Corn Judging Trophy Returns Home to Odebolt

From Sioux City Journal - June 22, 2014
GALLAGHER: Odebolt all ears for Cook Corn Trophy

Cook Ranch Corn Trophy Returns to Odebolt

Courtesy of the April 23rd edition of the Ida County Courier - www.idacountycourier.com

The A. E. Cook Corn Trophy, from Brookmont Farm, Odebolt’s Cook Ranch, will be available for public viewing in the lobby at First State Bank in Odebolt from June 16–July 25. Special presentations on the trophy and about Brookmont/Cook Ranch history will be held on Saturday, June 21, at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church during Odebolt Creek Days’ festivities . Group Photos for Cook Ranch landowners with the Corn Trophy will be taken at 2:30 p.m. at First State Bank on the same day.  (Photo submitted)

 

Cook Ranch artifact returns to Odebolt

The Odebolt Museum is excited to share the news that a significant and virtually unknown artifact, the A. E. Cook Corn Trophy, from Brookmont Farm, Odebolt’s Cook Ranch, was recently discovered in the museum collection at Iowa State University in Ames.

In 1903, Albert E. Cook, the second-generation owner of Brookmont Farm, commissioned a $1,500 (nearly $40,000 today) 36-inch high bronze trophy to hold the winning ears of corn from the annual corn judging contests that Iowa State participated in during that era.

The trophy was presented to the college in January 1904, but was only used for four years, when inter-college corn judging contests fell out of popularity. The trophy was then lost for the next eight decades.

During a renovation to Curtiss Hall in the late 1980s, construction workers discovered the trophy hidden in an empty space behind a wall. It has since been restored and is now featured prominently in the Dean’s Gallery of Art. In 2012, the trophy was featured in the University Museum’s newsletter and discovered by someone who knew its significance to the Odebolt community.

The trophy was created as a tribute from A. E. Cook to his then recently deceased father, Charles W. Cook, the man who, in 1873, purchased and developed the 12 square miles (7,860 acres) that made up Brookmont Farm, north of Odebolt.

The three glass cylinders showcasing the winning ears are believed to still be the originals from the last contest in 1907. The cylinders are flanked by statues of C. W. Cook and of a Native American dressed in full regalia. On the back pedestal, three eagles support a globe of the earth with the state of Iowa—the corn breeding belt—featured in raised relief.

A plaque on the trophy says: “The Cook Trophy Presented to Iowa State Agricultural College by A. E. Cook, Odebolt, Iowa, for Excellence in Corn Judging To Be Awarded in State or National Contests as the College May Direct— the Cylinders To Hold the Sweepstake Ears.”

For the past year, a group has been working with Iowa State to arrange for a loan of the trophy to the Odebolt Museum for display this summer in conjunction with the Odebolt Creek Days festival.

First State Bank in Odebolt is funding all transportation and insurance costs for the trophy’s return home after 110 years. This important piece of Odebolt’s rich, farm history will be available to the public in the lobby at First State Bank from June 16–July 25. A special presentation on the trophy and of Brookmont/ Cook Ranch history will be held on Saturday, June 21, during Creek Days’ festivities.

The Odebolt Historical Museum Association is grateful to First State Bank and Iowa State University Museums for their support of this important, historical event. Special thanks also go to Don Etler, Dan Etler and John Currie for all their work in making this happen for the Odebolt community.

Anyone with Brookmont/ Cook Ranch pictures, artifacts or information is encouraged to contact the Odebolt Museum.


Read about the Cook Ranch at the Odebolt History Pages
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iaohms/cookranch.html

Photos of Brookmont Farm
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iaohms/cookranch_photos.html

Brookmont Booklet
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iaohms/brookmont/booklet.html

The Business of Farming - from the May 14, 1910 Saturday Evening Post (.pdf file)
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iaohms/brookmont/1910May14-business-of-farming.pdf