Fort Dodge, Iowa

A Decade of Exponential Growth

1950-1960

​

The decade between 1950 and 1960 was one of remarkable growth in Fort Dodge and Webster County.  The region and the nation were well into recovery from both The Great Depression and World War II.  People were looking forward to the future with optimism and resolve.

 

• Fort Dodge’s population increased from 25,100 in 1950 to 28,400 in 1960, an increase of 13.15%.

• Annual household income increased from $2,600 in 1950 to $4,240 in 1960, an increase of 64%. 

• In 1950, 75% of households had running water; in 1960, that increased to about 83% (this includes both rural and urban; there was likely a much higher percent of urban households in Webster County that had running water). Before WW2, less than half the households had running water. ​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Impact of WW2, the G.I. Bill and the Baby Boom Generation

 

The number of individuals with both high school or higher degrees also increased during this decade.  Forty five percent of young men, and a few women, served in the armed forces during WWII.  Both men and women who served in the armed forces were eligible to receive benefits from the GI Bill, which had been signed into law in June, 1944.  G.I. Bill benefits included the following:

 

• Tuition assistance for trade schools, community colleges, universities and post graduate degrees

• Government-backed loan guarantees for home buyers

• Low-interest rate mortgages

• It also allowed some qualified veterans to purchase a home with no down payment

 

The post war Baby Boom (babies born between 1946 –1964) added to the demand for new housing, goods and services. Many returning G.I.’s who had postponed marriage and children due to the war began marrying and having children.  Favorable mortgage terms helped veterans buy homes, which resulted in a housing boom.  A significant increase in individuals receiving  higher education degrees lead to overall prosperity for the Fort Dodge region and for the country.

 

In 1940, Iowa home ownership rate was 51.5%; in 1950 it was 63.4% and by 1960, it was 69.1%,  a result of 1950’s prosperity and often, the G.I Bill.  Further evidence of the success of the  G.I. Bill was indicated by the number of people who had increased levels of education.   In 1950, 39.9% of Webster County residents had a high school degree or higher; by 1960, this increased to 48.4%. 

​

Increased national demand for housing goods positively impacted the Fort Dodge/Webster County gypsum and limestone industries .  High demand for construction materials helped fuel Fort Dodge’s economy.  Proximity to the many rail lines that ran through Webster County helped transport these products throughout the United States. The sale of these products provided well–paying jobs for local workers and contributed to the overall prosperity in the region.   The Fort Dodge gypsum and limestone industries thrived. 

​

Construction and Improvements in Fort Dodge

 

During the 1950’s, additional infrastructure was installed throughout Fort Dodge and Webster County  (water, sewer, gas, telephone and electric). These projects provided good jobs for workers and improved the quality of life for residents.
 

In 1950, Fort Dodge had approximately 7,448 households; in 1960, this had increased to approximately 9,460 households, a 27% increase.   Again, locally increased demand for construction materials, furniture and household goods boosted the income of local individuals and businesses.  More lumber, tile, roofing materials, paint, appliances and other household goods were sold from local stores to meet the demand from newly constructed homes in Fort Dodge and Webster County. Plumbers, carpenters and electricians also saw high demand for their services.

 

New schools  were built to accommodate the increased number of households and Baby Boom children in Fort Dodge’s expanding neighborhoods.  The following schools were built during the 1950’s: 

​

• Highland Park School (1952)

• Hillcrest School (1956)

• Cooper School (1956)

• New High School and Junior College  (1958)   ​

​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​                                                                                               Hillcrest School

​

​​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                   

                                                                                              Cooper School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                       Fort Dodge Senior High and Junior College

 

Economic Growth and Prosperity 

 

Webster County’s agricultural sector prospered.  Innovations and

inventions that had been developed  during WW2, such as improvements

to gasoline-powered engines, ultimately helped farmers.  Farmers began

to rely less on animals to power their machinery (for plowing, planting

and harvesting) and were able to utilize gasoline-powered tractors and

other machinery that greatly improved efficiencies in farming. 

​

​

Webster County Implement, 402 1st Ave South, sold Oliver products (farm implements and tractors), Horn Manufacturing (founded in the early 1900’s), manufactured wagon beds and hydraulic manure spreaders.   It was purchased by Avco in 1951 and later absorbed by  New Idea.  NEW Idea manufactured manure spreaders in Fort Dodge.  International Harvester,

John Deere, Ford and Massey-Harris Case were names of different tractors that were sold and  used in Webster County.  These “big-ticket” items added to the lucrative agricultural sales in the region. 

 

Simultaneously, Iowa native Nobel Prize Winner Norman Borlaug was developing hybrid corn and wheat seeds that were high-yield and disease resistant, sparking the “Green Revolution”, which vastly improved crop yields and the lives of millions around the world.  These new seeds and agricultural practices were adopted in Webster County and helped increase crop production. 

 

While there no data available that is specific to Fort Dodge/Webster County for this decade,  Iowa’s corn production increased by 69% from 1950 to 1960.  This increased income allowed farmers to significantly modernize farming  practices during this decade, resulting in being able to plant more acres and increase yields. Innovations in food canning, preservation and packaging that were developed during WW2  translated to increased production and sales for the retail food industry as producers incorporated those practices in their factories.  Webster County farm products sales benefitted directly from these new processes.

 

People throughout the United States were also earning higher incomes which allowed them to purchase many food items that had been scarce during the Depression and WW2. This increased demand benefitted Webster County farmers.

 

In 1950,  30% of Iowans lived on a farm; by 1960,  

this decreased to 24%, a reflection on  residents moving

from rural areas to urban areas. 

Less manpower was needed for farming

due to better farm equipment and machinery. 

Farmers were also in a better financial position to purchase that

modernized equipment.  Well-paying factory jobs with regular hours

were appealing to farmers who often worked around the clock with their

livestock, dairy farms and crop production

and could now have a more routine workday.   

​​

​

              Cargill Plant in Fort Dodge

​

​​​Both Hormel and Iowa Beef Processors  established their presence in Fort Dodge in the 1950’s.  Hormel became the largest and highest-wage employer in the region.  Cargill expanded its production lines from oatmeal processing (purported to be the largest oatmeal processing plant in the world)  by adding soybean processing, a relatively new concept.  Many grain elevators existed throughout Webster County, serving as a place for farmers to store their grain before selling it.  Grain elevator operators were often seed dealers as well.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​                    Cacioppo Grocery near Expo Pool                                                  Eddie's Grocery on S. 22nd Street

 

In 1952, Fort Dodge had approximately 48 neighborhood grocery stores.  Traditionally, the store staff (usually the owner), would take the customer’s order and fill it for them.  Many of these stores specialized in dry goods, meat, vegetables, etc.; supermarkets were just on the horizon. 

 

In 1952, Fareway was the only “supermarket” listed in the Fort Dodge Yellow Pages Directory.  Supermarkets eventually revolutionized grocery shopping because they became “One-Stop-Shopping” – and, the shopper selected his/her groceries.  This eventually led to the demise of the neighborhood grocery stores, since customers preferred the convenience and efficiency of supermarket shopping.  Additionally, more and more families had one or two cars, making it easy to drive to a supermarket as opposed to walking the neighborhood grocery stores.

 

Fort Dodge’s rail connections also allowed it to receive products that were manufactured in other parts of the country.  Food goods, furniture, clothing and other retail products were shipped to Fort Dodge’s stores, which enabled Fort Dodge to serve as an important retail center in northwest Iowa.  Stores lined Central Avenue and provided a wide variety of merchandise for customers. 

​

​

Healthcare 

 

Fort Dodge had two hospitals, Lutheran Hospital and Mercy Hospital in the 1950’s.  These entities employed  many physicians, nurses, lab and X-Ray technicians and staff  who provided excellent medical care to residents in Fort Dodge and residents in Iowa’s northwest region.

Mercy Hospital began to expand in 1950.   A pediatrics unit and a Sister Convent were located on the fifth floor; a new surgery unit with five operating rooms, a recovery room and a new radiology department were installed on the fourth floor as well as a doctors’ lounge, dressing rooms, sterilization, work rooms and storage.  The third-floor patient rooms were was used for medical cases and the second floor for surgical cases. The first floor of the new addition housed the chapel, administrative and purchasing offices, a business and insurance office, two guest rooms, the switchboard office and waiting rooms.  Pathology was located on the ground floor along with the auditorium, coffee shop and private dining rooms.  A sub-basement provided space for storage and could be used in case of mass emergencies. 

​

​​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

                                                                       

                                                                        Mercy Hospital and Nursing School

Mercy Hospital and Nursing School

From 1908 and throughout the next fifty years, the Mercy Nursing School operated as an independent three-year nursing program.  By 1959 it had become difficult to staff the nursing school adequately, and a decision was made to discontinue the school after its half-century existence.  During the last decade of service, the school operated as a unit of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital School of Nursing at Sioux City.  Before the school was closed, there was discussion about instituting a nursing program at Fort Dodge Junior College. This forward-looking idea was realized with the organization of Iowa Central Community College in 1966 which allowed the degreed nursing education program that had been established in 1908 to continue in Fort Dodge.

 

Lutheran Hospital, too, was experiencing space constraints. Overcrowding of hospital facilities led to the addition of the west wing to Lutheran Hospital in 1950. The addition raised the bed capacity to around 240. The addition included three floors, two of which were completed immediately. The third floor was finished seven years later, and two more floors were added, with the interior finishing of the fifth floor postponed until 1967.  

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​

                                                                                                Lutheran Hospital

The Kersten Clinic opened in 1952.  It provided physicians who practiced in a wide variety of specialties.  Surgery, rad Radiology, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Practice and Urology. Eventually,  the Kersten Clinic employed 21 physicians and 42 staff members.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​                                                                                         Kersten Clinic on 5th Avenue South​

​

Medical advancements, including the use of antibiotics (which were used successfully during WW2) and the Polio vaccine (which became available during the 1950’s), saved lives and improved the health of many.  These revolutionized healthcare – and alleviated the suffering that many had endured prior to their development.  The Fort Dodge medical community was on the cutting edge of these new advancements and was able to offer them to patients in northwest Iowa.  Truly life-altering. 

 

The Business Community and

Downtown Retail and Restaurant Establishments

​

Fort Dodge served as a hub for many commercial,

industrial, agricultural, social, educational and

medical activities, which brought

steady economic growth and prosperity to its residents.  

​​

​

The 1952 telephone directory Yellow Pages included 50 pages of business listings.  Some of those businesses continue to operate in Fort Dodge today (2025).  They include the following:

​

• Butler and Rhodes Abstractors

• Shimkat Motors

• Laramar Ballroom

• Mitchell Dental Laboratory

• Woodman Electric (now it is Woodman Controls)

• Becker Florists

• Laufersweiler Funeral Home

• Daniel Tire Service

• Decker Truck

• White Transfer dealers

 

Some of the listings that were quite extensive in the 1950’s have become obsolete or in less demand due to changing technologies, hobbies and lifestyles.  The following businesses have become obsolete or streamlined:

​

• Adding machines 

• Over 15 separate car dealerships,

• Barrels (Illinois Cooperage – used for transporting food, liquids but soon became obsolete due to the use of steel containers for transporting goods)

•  Kautzky Sporting Goods

• Cigar Stores

• 12 coal merchants

• 21 construction contractors

• 9 bottled natural gas (used for cooking, home-heating)

• 54 Grocery Stores

• 1 hat cleaner

• Milk Sanitation Agency (a government agency that ensure safe milk production and pasteurization)

• 32 Real Estate Offices

• Numerous sewing machine sales and repair stores

• Stoker Service (for coal furnaces and coal-fueled appliances)

• Radio and TV sales and repair stores

• Typewriter sales and service

 

The growth of the Fort Dodge community led to the proliferation of many types of businesses; new homes being built resulted in high demand for building materials, appliances, electricians and plumbers;  the large number of real estate offices was also a strong indication that there was a high demand for housing in Fort Dodge; the increase in the number of people owning cars lead to the considerable number of car dealerships;  coal was still widely used to heat homes (natural gas was just beginning to be readily available to heat homes); typewriter sales and service  were crucial to any business – manual typewriters were used in offices, schools and businesses and were critical for record-keeping and all communications. Numerous neighborhood grocery stores were spread throughout Fort Dodge, still in high demand, since the supermarket was just on the horizon.  Fort Dodge was indeed booming during the 1950’s. 

 

Please click here for a list of Fort Dodge businesses in the 1950’s. ​​​​​​​

​

Restaurants

 

Fort Dodge had 40 restaurants and cafes listed within the city limits in the 1950’s.  Many were small “mom and pop” restaurants, but the two largest restaurants, Treloar’s and Tony’s, were legendary for miles around. 

 

Treloar’s was famous for its ribs and bar-b-que.  Les Treloar was well known for cooking ribs by  hanging them on hooks and letting the juices drop into baked beans that were in pans below the ribs.  The taste was extremely popular!  Treloar’s Restaurant was also famous for its fried chicken.  Macaws in cages were installed at the front door of Treloar’s.​​​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treloars

​

Tony’s Famous Restaurant  was an upscale restaurant known for its  Italian cuisine, steak and seafood and pizzas baked in a wood burning oven.  A parrot in a cage greeted diners as they entered the restaurant.  There was often live piano music in the lounge.  Owner Tony Amanzio was born in 1900 and died in 1978.  He served in the U.S. Army in Italy during WW2. 

​

Tony's Famous Restaurant

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

While smaller, there were many other popular restaurants.  The Dog House was also a well-liked restaurant, featuring hot dogs and car hops on roller skates. It was located on 5th Avenue South.  The Dog House had car hops on skates who delivered food to guests' cars.

​​​

                  The Dog House Restaurant                                                                               Constantine's 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

Constantine’s, located at the SE corner of Central Avenue and 9th Street, was owned and operated by some Fort Dodge Greek families.  It was famous for its cherry cokes and cherry phosphates, delicious French fries, homemade candy (the most popular were its English Toffee and peanut brittle)  and ice cream.  Its candies were wrapped in shiny white paper and tied with blue ribbons, the colors of the Greek flag. ​​​
 

The following is list of some of the restaurants in Fort Dodge in the 1950’s:

 

Bennie Salvatore

Bob's Burgers

Butterfly Café

Carl's Hamburger Shop

Chas Hartung Café

Constance Hockert Restaurant

Constantine’s

Edwin Davisson Restaurant

Ethel's Clausen's

George Smith's

Gust Katsoulis's Café

Guy Boswell

Harriett Malvey's

Henry Heesch

Joseph Simone's

K Coffee Shop and Restaurant

Kermit Taylor Restaurant

Lester Treloar

Mae's Coffee Shop

Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop

Maywood  Restaurant

Michael Mori's

Milo Hlavacek Restaurant

Nelson Argus Root Beer

New Club Café

New Goody Shop Café

Norman Grimes

Oasis Café

OK Coffee Shop

Pop's Lunch

Royal 400 Restaurant

Schrader's Steak House

Sonny's Grill

Stephan Valissiades

The Dog House

The Interstate Company

Tierney's Café

Tony’s

Warden Hotel Coffee Shop

Wimpy's Place Restaurant

​

Social Life

Almost every national big band played in Fort Dodge – often at the Laramar Ballroom.  Live music dances were  sponsored by fraternal orders and social organizations.  Teen dances became popular in the 1950’s, often with live professional bands as well as local “garage” bands.  The Laramar had a teen night; the YMCA held Blue Diamond Dances; DeMolay and Rainbow Girls held formal dances with live music. 

​​

As another sign of prosperity, local merchants provided free movie theater matinee tickets to children during the Christmas holidays.  This was their way of thanking their customers and providing fun entertainment for their customers’ children.

 

Fort Dodge hosted an annual Harvest Festival, held in Dodger Stadium.  This much anticipated celebration had acrobats, musical entertainment, the Karl King Municipal Band, food vendors and prizes – it was an event for the entire family and was held from 1946 – 1959.  

 

Fort Dodge was known as a regional cultural center.  The Fort Dodge Symphony Orchestra, which began with a few musicians in the 1940’s, expanded to become a full orchestra in 1958 and held performances throughout the years.  It is still in existence today (2025).

 

Handel’s Messiah was performed annually at Fort Dodge Senior High for many years.  This is a significant production, a testimony to the talent and dedication of local musicians.

​

                                        Laramar                                                                        Strand Movie Theater​

​

​

​

​

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Communication Advancements

1953, Fort Dodge’s television station began broadcasting,  KQTV.  It later became KVFD-TV, owned

 

and operated by local businessman Ed Breen .  Programs like Eve’s Kitchen, Uncle Dick’s Funhouse and “It Seems to Me”, editorials reported by Ed Breen, were broadcast to a 45-mile radius audience.  KVFD was an NBC affiliate and provided some of the network’s programs.   In the 1950’s, there weren’t many television stations in Iowa (Des Moines, Ames/ISU, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Waterloo had stations), so having a television station  in Fort Dodge helped broadcast  local and national news,  which supported and enhanced the economic growth Fort Dodge was experiencing.  This regional broadcasting system also helped to strengthen Fort Dodge an important retail center.  People came from surrounding counties to buy groceries, apparel, appliances, cars and household and agricultural products.  Fort Dodge was booming!

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transportation

 

Another major development in the 1950’s was the relocation of the Fort Dodge Regional Airport from the east side of town to its current location on the north side of Fort Dodge.  Once again, Ed Breen was instrumental in ensuring that commercial flights could come in and out of Fort Dodge.  He understood that this would be critical for the success of local industry, residents and the growth of the region.  Braniff Airlines and later Frontier Airlines (an airline that focused on serving smaller communities), flew in and out of Fort Dodge in the 1950’s. 

​

​

​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​​​​​​​Sources: 

Census.gov

Local.gov/resource – FD City Directory 

Iowa Data Center

Iowa Department of Agriculture : Iowa Land Productivity

www.nationalbeefwire.com

Wikipedia

Library of Congress, FD Directory 1945-1952

www.mainstreetfd.org

www.agweb.com

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​