Horse Hitches, Draymen, and Icehouses: The History of Moneta, Iowa

Silence engulfed me. The warmth and wholesomeness of yesteryear embraced me. I stood quietly on the main street. The sound of the Rock Island train could be heard in the distance. The train whistle, the locomotive shuffle, and the smokestack release joined other familiar, audible sonances. For it was the sounds of horse hooves, horse hitches, and squeaky wagon wheels that, ceremoniously, were entering Moneta.

And it was just like yesterday. I breathed an aroma that once prevailed in the General Store. I remembered the penny candy. It brought a smile to my mature face. I recollected Grandpa's memories of the penny beer. The playground was the biggest ever! The railroad pump car...family baseball games...turkeys off bank buildings, and the largest family imaginable!

Oh, to relive them again was not far away. They remain in the realm of my memory. Like nothing else in life, they are so deeply cherished. And so these memories and the untold history of Moneta, Iowa, are shared with you.