As in all frontier towns, Manning's first shops were established to provide the necessities of life. To the railroad workers, builders, and farmers, good food and good drinks were as important as shelter over their heads.

Milo Clark, who farms west of Botna, reports that his father Joseph watched the construction of the first building in Manning, a saloon. It was one of a half dozen in operation by November, 1882, despite prohibition laws which were enacted in Iowa in 1882. Before national prohibition laws were issued in 1919 Manning had 19 saloons operating at once.

March 6, 1882, the Town Council minutes record that an informal ballot was taken on the amount of liscense (sic) to be paid by saloons. The concensus of opinion was $293, so "licenses" were fixed at $300. These were to be paid semiannually in advance. In addition, there was a bond required of the saloon keeper which was fixed at $1,000. This was an attempt to ensure non-violation of the laws. May 22, 1882, the city passed an ordinance that the license of $300 would apply and the hours of opening would be from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. weekdays only.

Carroll County was one of the few counties in Iowa where the 1882 prohibition law was not passed by a heavy majority. The law was not effective, especially not so in Carroll, where taverns were built on skids and could be moved to avoid law officers.

Openly running their saloons in Manning were Fred Gestenberg, W.E. Heitman, John Marks, Joseph Loch, J.C. Hire, and Webb and Hartenhoff. Many of the establishments also offered lunches and featured billiards.

Within Manning's first year, meals could be obtained at a number of places. Gaylor and Wilson served everything from milk stew to raw oysters, had confectioneries and a bakery at the corner of Main and Fourth, and A. Young offered confections, fruits, and other treats at the northeast corner of Third and Main. Other restaurants were operated by Ben Lathrop, L.M. Freelove, E.

Bilhorz, and Jacob Bruner, with meals also being served by M. Hensley, Charles Knox, William Lisk, and others who ran hotels and boarding houses. A 35c dinner could be purchased in the Senate Lunchroom in 1886.

Numerous eating and drinking places were opened in Manning's early years. Some existed for many years, others had only temporary careers, and others fell to disasters such as fire. In 1891, a fire took the entire block between Third and Fourth Streets which included a saloon owned by John Albert at the southeast corner, and another two doors to the north. Both buildings were re-erected, with the Albert Saloon eventually becoming today's Corner Cafe, and the second operated as a saloon by Jens Hansen for a number of years.

A fire in 1895 destroyed a restaurant owned by Ferguson Bros., which was located adjacent to the First National Bank, plus the Peter Wacker Saloon in the same block.

The Club Cafe, owned by John Schmidt and located in the G.B. Jones Building next door to the Valentine Bakery, was destroyed in a two-alarm fire May 28, 1942. The cafe was re-established; February 22, 1951, fire again struck the Club Cafe, then owned by Anne Paulsen. She reopened the cafe in a few weeks in a new location. The 1951 fire also took the People's Barber Shop, owned by Joe Stein.

As Manning approached the Twentieth Century, restaurants and taverns flourished. The English Kitchen, in 1893, boasted "warm meals at any hour and oysters served in any style". The Feldmann brothers opened a saloon in conjunction with their bottling factory in 1889; Joseph Feldmann later took over the saloon, and called it "Zum Lahmen Hirsch'', or The Lame Deer. Others in 1898 included A.F. McEnturff's restaurant, Gustav Stegemann's saloon, John Hansen and John Frahm's tavern, and The Orient, run by Jens Hansen.

A State Firemen's Convention was held in Manning in 1926, and a Guide and Information booklet was distributed to aid the visitors. The firemen were invited to Frank Livingston's Pool and Billiard Hall at 316 Main; the O-C-O-L-A Inn,

operated by Carl H. Glade; the Manning Soft Drink Parlour at 326 Main Street, owned and operated by Carl Voss and John Frahm; the Princess Cafe; the Virginia Cafe and Hotel, with Mrs. Kathryn Eden as proprietor; and the Graves and Peters Barber Shop, Pool Hall, and Horseshoe Cafe, at 314 Main.

Although hard times prevailed in the early 1930's, restaurants continued to operate. It has been said that hamburgers cost a nickle, "but in those days who had a nickle?" In existence in 1931 were the Virginia Cafe at 303 Main, Graves and Siem at 314 Main, Livingston Pool and Billiard Hall at 316 Main, Mrs. Amanda Petersen's Green Lantern Tea Room at 421 Main, Odessa Holmberg's Mayflower Cafe at 405 Main, Robert Kuhl's Princess Cafe at 406 Main, Henry Albert's Temperance Parlour at 326 Main, and the Manning Hotel, at 105 Main, with Mrs. Kathryn Eden as proprietor. Mr. and Mrs. V.C. Hensen also owned two hamburger shops, "Vick's" on Main Street in Manning and the second in Templeton.

Grant and Minnie Harding ran a cafe on the east side of Main Street.

The United States Prohibition Act, passed in 1919, put a sudden stop to the tavern business until 1933. Within months of its repeal, Manning again had a number of taverns, many operating out of buildings which had housed saloons 15 years previously. By 1956, these establishments included Herb Kuhl's Place, Peters Tavern, Siem and Grimm's, Johnny and Chub's, Henry Hagedorn Place, and the Anthony Tap.

In 1963, Iowa began to allow the serving of alcohol in restaurants, and Merle Saunders and Ruth Hiatt received permits to open a bar in their drive-in cafe. The business thus became the Saunders Steak House.

One of Manning's long-time taverns closed in 1979. Located at 810 Fifth Street, the business had once been the home of various vereins, or clubs. Victor "Jim" Spack purchased the tavern from Henry Hagedorn in February, 1961, and it was called Vic's Place until Spack's death in 1965. His wife Arlene then took over the tavern and called it Arlene's Place. Arlene retired in 1978, and her son Mike continued it as Mike's Place until July, 1979. The building is now a part of the Manning Motor Company.

Today, Manning has three taverns, Grimm's Place, Chub's, and Cliff's Place. Piccadilly Circus Pizza sells beer, Saunders Steak House has beer, wine and liquor, and L & M Bowl installed a bar in 1979. Restaurants are the Corner Cafe, Chris's Dairy Sweet, and Ral-Mar's.

Robert and Emil Kuhl and their wives, Bertha and Pearl, rented a building from Harry Reinholdt and opened a restaurant called "The Princess" in 1922. The cafe was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Robert Kuhl's daughters Arlene, Maxine, and Jeanne, and Bobbie also worked in the cafe.

Zetta Theulan, Nola Kuhl, Hazel Stahl, Bill Boss, William Boss, Elsie Ronfeldt, Harry (Fuzzy) Hass, Don Owen, Petie Petersen, and several other persons from other areas did the cooking on day and night shifts.

Petie Murray, Opal Bladt, Onalee Grief, Loretta Vollmer, Ed Vollmer, Elsie Barrow, Mary Kortum and Buzz Cunningham were some of the local people who held various positions in this business.

Charles "Pitts" Gruhn was a long-time employee and was responsible for making "lollypops", a chocolate covered dipper of ice cream which was a very popular 5c treat for the youngsters and oldsters as well!

Albert Bock and Ginger Kause were able to finish high school by working in the cafe and making their home with the Kuhls.

The father of Wing Poy Fong, the owner of the local laundry, was an accomplished cook and made chop suey twice a month which became a regular night out for many local patrons.

A typical luncheon menu consisted of your choice of entrees such as roast beef or pork, Hungarian goulash, liver and onions, meat loaf, or pork chops. These were served with soup, salad, potatoes, vegetable, dessert, bread/butter and your choice of beverage----the price? 50c!

A dinner menu consisted, among many choices, of a T-bone steak served in a sizzling

platter with the same additional servings---Price? 75c!

A hamburger sandwich made from one-quarter pound of hamburger with your choice of tomato, lettuce, onion and all the relishes was served with a generous portion of potato chips----Price? 10c!

Other prices included homemade chili, 10c a bowl; home baked pie (one-fourth of a pie), 10c; home baked donuts, two for 5c; cookies, two for 5c; coffee, 5c; and milk, 5c.

All of the baked goods such as pies, cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, etc. were baked by the day cooks in large amounts. They also made the soups and entrees which were much appreciated by all, including the regulars and the construction crews building Highway 141 and by the crews working on the Milwaukee railroad.

Emil went into business with his sister Bonita in 1928, opening "The Virginia". Several years later he also opened a coffee shop on the new Highway 141.

Bob continued to operate the Princess and due to illness the last few years, turned it into a tavern, continuing until his death in 1945.

Cliff's Place, located at 417 Main Street, opened June 14, 1976, Flag Day of the Bicentennial year.

Cliff Waterbury, owner, is a native of Manilla, and his wife, the former Vicki Atkins, is a Manning native. This is a family operation as their children, Jim, Jeff, Jon and Joni, help with the business.

The winter of 1976 saw the remodeling of a room of the tavern into a kitchen, which opened in February, 1977. Flavor crisp chicken, shrimp, and sandwiches are served.

Fall of 1978 brought about a facelift for the tavern front, in the town's new Bavarian theme.

During the fall of 1979, the basement was extensively remodeled. It was given a country theme, complete with a dance floor and seating capacity for 125. Cliff's Lower Level features country music bands on Saturday nights.

The business operating as "Chub's Place" was the former home of the Nielsen Harness Shop. In November of 1940 Speed Pfoltner remodeled it into a tavern and it was called Speed's Place. The tavern was sold to Herb Kuhl in 1946 and then was known as the Blue Moon. Herb sold it to Johnny Kisgen and Linus Heithoff in July, 1948, and they called it Johnny and Chub's Place. In June, 1962, Johnny Kisgen sold his interest to Chub and Marge Heithoff, who call it Chub's Place. When extra help is needed at the tavern, they call on Merle Thomssen to help them.

The business is located at 407 Main St.

The history of the Virginia Cafe spanned more than 70 years; the various owners operated the cafe out of at least five locations, but kept the same business name until the cafe's final years.

Bonita Hagedorn ran the cafe for 31 years, first at 303 Main Street (the present Dime Store building), later at 311 Main Street (the present Golden Rule building), and finally at 313 Main Street (the present Hornberger Real Estate offices). Bonita and her brother Emil Kuhl bought the business in 1928 from Kathryn Eden; earlier owners had been Henry Buhmann and J.C. Cunningham. The business was also located out of two buildings on the east side of Main Street throughout the years.

Emil established the Hi-Way Cafe in 1941; Bonita continued the Virginia until August, 1959, when it was leased to Harvey and Clara Freese. Mr. and Mrs. Freese purchased it in April, 1962.

The cafe was closed for several months in 1971, and in November of that year, it was purchased by Fred Milkert. Milkert renamed the cafe "The Bavarian" in the mid-1970's.

The cafe was closed in February, 1978.

Carl Voss and John Frahm, owners of the Horseshoe Bar.

The building now housing the Corner Cafe at the northeast corner of Fourth and Main, has had a long and interesting history of serving the public. The building was, of course, once wooden, and there were a succession of businesses at the location before 1891.

By 1891, the property belonged to John Albert and was being used as a saloon. May 8, 1891, a terrible fire destroyed the entire block, including the Albert Saloon. Only one pool table was saved. As a result of the fire, the building was rebuilt by Mr. Albert as a two story brick. He did not live to see the property completed, however, and it passed into the hands of Honnas Wunder who continued to rent out the premises as a saloon.

It was occupied in succession by A.L. McEnturff, Graves and Mreau, Claus Edens, and John Hansen (1898). The 1900 Business Directory lists Henry Buhmann as a bartender for John Hansen. Henry and Bill Buhmann were later the proprietors of the ''Eck (Corner) Saloon".

The saloon gained fame as the "Horseshoe Bar", touted by the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Co., brewers of Banquet Beer, as the longest bar west of the Mississippi River. The bar was of solid mahogany, was 120 feet long and took eight bartenders to service. The bar had a solid marble kickplate, part of which is still in the cafe basement.

This saloon was one of 13 in existence in Manning when a law passed by Iowa's 33rd General Assembly (1909) limited the number of bars in a town the size of Manning to only one. A Gentlemen's Agreement between the saloon owners gave the license for the one saloon to John Frahm at this location, on December 28, 1911. This license cost $4,200. he then hired many of the other saloon owners as bartenders. When Iowa went dry in 1916, the very colorful history of this property as a saloon ended abruptly.

The building's life of serving the public did not

Carl Voss and John Frahm, owners of the Horseshoe Bar.

end, however. The business came to be known as the Voss-Frahm Soft Drink Parlour, and in 1932, was the Henry Albert Temperance Parlour. In 1940, Henry Peters took over and ran a very successful tavern and cafe venture until 1975. The business was then run by Dave Kite for a short while.

It was purchased by the current owners, Tom and Sharon MacDonald-Williams, in January, 1977. At that time began a huge renovation job and an attempt to restore the building to some of its former glory. Future projects will include a "Crystal Room" to be located near the rear of the premises; this room will utilize a 1' by 5' stained glass motif from the old Crystal Theatre and numerous other pieces of stained glass. Dark panelling is planned for around the kitchen area with a collection of antique kitchen utensils to be displayed thereon. The front two-thirds of the original pressed metal ceiling will be restored and left intact. The rear one-third will need to be sealed off to prevent further deterioration. The outer south wall will undergo a facelift and take on a half-timbered appearance. These improvements should prove to ensure that the proprietors of the Corner Cafe plan to continue serving the public for some time to come.

Saunders Steak House as it looked in the 1960's.

Saunders Steak House had its beginnings more than 30 years ago as a drive-in cafe; today, it offers a full menu, has licenses for liquor and beer, and caters to the evening crowd.

The drive-in and three motel rooms were built on Highway 141 by Bruce Fuller and Jake Kuker. In 1953, Frank "Shorty" and Lorraine Sextro purchased the business, and installed additional cooking facilities which they had previously used at the Sportsman's Club at the Great Western Park. Customers were served through windows on the west side of the building and in a dining area at the south.

The business was sold to Merle Saunders February 1, 1955. Ruth Hiatt was hired as a waitress in April, and later that year a dining room was added to the north of the building. Three more motel rooms and living quarters for the Saunders family were later added.

Ruth and Merle formed the EMAR Corporation in March, 1963. Iowa liquor laws were revised that year, and Saunders received its first license to serve alcoholic beverages. Business increased so rapidly that another dining room and meeting room were built to the east of the new bar area.

Within two years, it was evident that Saunders' future lay in its dinner crowd, and the breakfasts and lunches were discontinued. The restaurant began opening at 5 p.m. and featured the top cuts of steaks, pork, and sea food. The business, now renamed Saunders Steak House, was the first in the area to begin offering a salad bar; the owners had to drive to Omaha to see how similar salad bars were set up. Another innovation at this time was the feature of live music.

The business had undergone two major renovations. The first was in 1963 and the second was in 1974-75. Both times the building was entirely recarpeted, the walls recovered, and new booths added.

Kay Saunders Houghton and her husband Ray purchased Saunders Steak House in August, 1978. They have continued the fine tradition of good food in a pleasant atmosphere. The restaurant has seating for 100, and serves as a site for receptions, meetings, and other large dinners.

The Horseshoe Bar is now run as a cafe by Tom and Sharon Williams.

In 1965, a new Dairy Sweet, drive-in restaurant was erected at the corner of Hiway 141 and Sue Street. The business began operation on October 7 of that year. The owners and operators were Sondra and Mervin Christensen and the business was called "Chris's Dairy Sweet". The drive-in had window service and inside counter with ten stools. A fast food menu and soft serve products were available.

In 1969, the Drive-In was expanded by adding a dining area with five tables and the total inside seating was increased to 38. Mervin and Sondra employ local high school teens. The menu was extended to include hamburger steak, chicken and sea food dinners, as well as a wide variety of sandwiches and soft service desserts.

During the late 1970's, pizza sales began to take an ever-increasing bite out of the fast food sales of industry giants like McDonald's and Burger King. Manning received its own pizza house in July, 1979, when Piccadilly Circus Pizza, Inc. opened its doors at 302 Main Street, for many years the home of Kuhl & Vogt Hardware.

Piccadilly Circus is managed by Rick and Sue Grage. It has seating room for 80 customers, and the business is decorated with circus animals, posters, and colorful lights, all adding to the circus theme.

The business is part of a chain which began in the small rural community of Arthur, Iowa, in May, 1978. The main offices are located at Odebolt, with a number of towns in the area now having the franchise.

Donna McLaughlin opened her drive-in cafe at the east edge of Manning in August, 1980. The 16 by 28 foot building, which seats 25, was built by the construction firm owned by Mrs. McLaughlin's husband.

The drive-in is open from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m., seven days a week and features home-cooked food. Car hop and phone service is available for the convenience of motorists passing by on Highway 141.

This business partnership between John W. Detlefsen and John R. Hornberger, Jr. was formed in May of 1979, as a residential and commercial building and investment company. To date U.B.E. has built two homes and purchased a building at 313 Main Street, which they have remodeled for their offices and to house Hornberger Real Estate and Insurance. U.B.E. has also purchased several lots in town which will be used for new housing.

The partnership consists of John Detlefsen, who was born and raised in Manning, attending Manning schools and graduating in 1968. John attended Iowa State University, graduating high in his class of construction engineering in 1972. He married Gwen Tank and moved to Southern California, working for Peter Kiewit Sons' as resident engineer on several large projects. John and Gwen moved back to Manning in 1975, with John going to work for his father in Detlefsen Electric. They have two sons, Phillip and Matthew, and one daughter, Sarah.

John Hornberger, Jr. was born and raised in Manning, attending Manning schools and graduating in 1969. John graduated from Morningside College in 1973 and worked for I.M.T. Insurance Co., Des Moines, as a claims representative until 1976. He then moved to Oakland and worked as an insurance agent. He acquired his Real Estate Brokers license and moved to Manning, starting Hornberger Real Estate and Insurance in 1977.

When the farm boys rode their ponies to "town school" and high school. The boys carried their noon lunches in a paper bag, and in the cold winter, the lunches often froze. Ed Steen and Lester Wiese were two of the boys who rode ponies to school.

---Alice Grau