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Around Atlantic

Atlantic’s Living Archive

Preserving and celebrating the history of Atlantic, Iowa. Including people, places, events, photos and community news.

This page is about anything related to Atlantic, Iowa and it's surrounding communities and people. Let's focus on the positive and embrace our common interests rather than debate our differences. Post submissions and ideas can be emailed to [email protected]

Page Administrator: Nick Harris, Brocker, Karns and Karns Insurance

06/07/2026

The Mystery of the Cass County Garage

There is much we still do not know about this fascinating photograph. The exact location and date remain unknown, but the image clearly captures Atlantic during the earliest years of the automobile age, likely sometime between 1910 and 1915. Prominently displayed are the words “Cass County Garage” and “Auto Livery,” along with advertisements for Kelly Tires, Mobiloils, batteries, and hood lamps. Together, these details offer a rare glimpse into a time when automobiles were still a novelty and the businesses that supported them were helping shape a new era of transportation across southwest Iowa.

One of the most intriguing clues in the photograph is the phrase “Auto Livery.” Before most Americans owned automobiles, auto liveries provided cars for hire, often complete with a chauffeur. Much like the horse-drawn livery stables that had served travelers for generations, these early businesses rented automobiles, met arriving trains, carried passengers throughout the county, and introduced people to a technology that was rapidly transforming everyday life. For many residents, a ride in an automobile from a place like the Cass County Garage may have been their very first experience behind the power of an engine.

Atlantic was quick to embrace the automobile revolution. According to Huebinger’s Map and Guide for the River to River Road, published during the early motor age, Atlantic was noted as having more automobiles than any town of its size in the region. The guide described Atlantic as a thriving city of approximately 6,000 residents and proudly noted that the community supported three garages. The publication observed that Atlantic had “more automobiles in the town and county than any other of its size in the country,” a remarkable statement that reflects just how quickly local residents and businesses adopted the new technology.

Among those helping usher automobiles into Atlantic was the Atlantic Automobile Company, which sold some of the earliest motorcars, specifically Ford automobiles, to area residents. Atlantic's place in automotive history was further cemented through local automobile pioneer Clyde Herring, who would later become governor of Iowa. During one visit to the community, Henry Ford and his son, Edsel Ford, reportedly spent the night at the Herring home while traveling through the region. Though the full story of the Cass County Garage remains a mystery, this photograph preserves a moment when Atlantic stood at the forefront of the automobile age, embracing a future that was arriving one motorcar at a time.

📢 I have had this photo for years. I cannot remember anything about it or where it came from. Any help is appreciated!

*AI restore and colorization
*original photo in comments

06/06/2026

Through the Gate: Lindeman Tractor in the Summer of 1952

This photograph, labeled simply "Summer '52" and "Present Store Driveway in 1952," offers a fascinating glimpse into one of Atlantic's longest-running agricultural businesses. Standing over the gravel entrance is a large sign reading Lindeman Tractor Co., flanked by Ford Tractor emblems that proudly identified the dealership as a Ford equipment dealer during the early 1950s. Beyond the gate sits an assortment of machinery and equipment, with fields, homes, and rows of trees stretching across the background—a scene that perfectly captures the agricultural character of Atlantic and southwest Iowa during that era.

While many residents know Lindeman Tractor as the longtime equipment dealership located on West 7th Street, the company's roots appear to reach back much further than many realize. Company history indicates that the Lindeman family has been serving area farmers since approximately 1917, making it one of the oldest continuously operating agricultural businesses in the region. By the time this photograph was taken in 1952, the dealership was already well established and helping local farmers embrace the mechanized future of agriculture. The Ford tractors and equipment represented here were part of a farming revolution that transformed the countryside in the decades following World War II.

More than seventy years later, Lindeman Tractor remains a fixture in Atlantic, continuing a tradition that has spanned multiple generations of the Lindeman family. While the equipment has changed dramatically, from the Ford tractors of the 1950s to today's sophisticated agricultural machinery, the mission remains much the same: helping local farmers work the land. This simple photograph of a gravel driveway and a dealership sign serves as a reminder that many of Atlantic's most enduring businesses were built not only on machinery and sales, but on decades of relationships, trust, and service to the agricultural community.

*AI edit
*original photo, from Preservation Circle Member Fred Lindeman, in comments

06/05/2026

The Flood of ‘58

In this striking photograph, the cameraman, Phil Chinitz, is looking north from the intersection of 5th and Birch Streets as Atlantic endured one of the most devastating floods in its history. Taken on Wednesday morning during the great flood of 1958, the image shows floodwaters stretching from yard to yard and porch to porch, transforming a familiar neighborhood into what looks more like a quiet lake. Towering shade trees stand in water up to their trunks, while homes sit surrounded by the muddy currents that had spilled far beyond their normal boundaries. For residents living along these streets, the scene was both remarkable and heartbreaking.

The Flood of 1958 remains the benchmark by which many other high-water events in Atlantic have been measured. Following days of heavy rainfall across southwest Iowa, waterways swelled beyond their capacity and low-lying areas of the city quickly filled with water. Families scrambled to protect belongings, move furniture to higher ground, and wait out the rising waters. While the flood eventually receded, it left behind damaged homes, muddy streets, and memories that would be retold for generations. Photographs like this one serve as powerful reminders of the resilience of Atlantic residents and of the extraordinary force of nature that swept through the community during that historic summer.

Did you hear stories of this flood?

⭐️ Thanks to our monthly sponsor, Brocker, Karns and Karns Insurance!

*AI colorization
*original photo in comments
*map photo showing location of photo in comments

06/04/2026

Standing Together as AHS

There was probably a lot more laughter than precision the day the Atlantic High School senior class of 1980 lined up on the grass at the Trojan Bowl to form the giant letters “AHS” for this unforgettable aerial photo. One by one, students shuffled into place under the direction of yearbook staff and photographers, trying to make the letters look right from high above the field. Long before drones and digital photography, photos like this took patience, teamwork, and a little imagination, with classmates joking around while trying to hold their spots in the formation.

Looking back now, the image feels like a perfect snapshot of small-town high school life at the dawn of the 1980s. The feathered hair, striped shirts, bell-bottom jeans, and casual smiles capture an era when the Trojan Bowl was more than just a football field, it was the center of Friday nights, pep rallies, friendships, and memories that many of these classmates still carry today. For one afternoon, the Class of 1980 literally became Atlantic High School itself, spelling out “AHS” across the grass in a yearbook photo that still instantly transports people back to their final year as Trojans.

⭐️ This Atlantic memory is brought to you by our monthly sponsor, Brocker, Karns and Karns Insurance!

*Photo from 1980 Javelin

05/31/2026

🌼 Where Atlantic Once Bloomed 🪴

For decades, Atlantic Greenhouses was a familiar sight on the north side of Atlantic, serving customers from communities all across southwest Iowa. Located at Ninth and Linn Streets, the sprawling greenhouse complex became known for its long rows of glass growing houses, neatly kept grounds, and the tall smokestack that rose above the surrounding neighborhood. At one time, the business proudly advertised that it served customers within a 40-to-50-mile radius of Atlantic, helping supply flowers and plants to much of the region.

The greenhouse operation traced its roots back to C. E. Anderson, who first established the business at Ninth and Chestnut before it was later purchased by W. M. and F. D. Nichols and moved to Ninth and Linn. Charlie Olsen managed the operation from 1897 until 1938, helping guide the business through some of Atlantic’s earliest decades of growth. In 1942, the greenhouses were purchased by E. S. Zurfluh, whose name appears prominently on this advertisement celebrating Iowa’s 100th birthday in 1946. By then, the property had undergone major renovations and expansion to keep up with a growing customer base throughout southwest Iowa.

Today, the greenhouse buildings themselves are long gone. The property now sits within the parking lot of Zion Lutheran Church, where the greenhouse complex once occupied the southwest corner of the lot along Linn Street. It’s hard to imagine now, standing in that open space, that rows of glass greenhouses and a towering smokestack once stood there. But photographs like this preserve a small piece of that forgotten landscape and offer another reminder of how much Atlantic has changed over the generations.

*AI edit
*original restored photo in comments
*restored advertisement in comments

05/30/2026

Cook & Caslow’s Centennial Tribute

Atlantic turned 100 years old in 1968, and businesses across town joined in celebrating the community that helped shape them. This advertisement from Cook & Caslow Drug marked not only Atlantic’s Centennial, but also the drugstore’s own 30-year journey serving the people of Atlantic from 1938 to 1968. Featuring the familiar Rexall branding, the storefront, and the faces of the employees who worked there every day, it captures a time when local pharmacies were more than just places to fill prescriptions, they were part of the heartbeat of downtown.

What makes pieces like this special is how personal they feel. The names and faces printed here were people many longtime residents likely knew by sight, helping customers at the counter, chatting on Chestnut Street, or serving generations of Atlantic families. Even the bold “Happy Birthday Atlantic!” message feels sincere, a reminder of how deeply local businesses once tied their identity to the success and future of the town itself.

Who do you remember?

What would you buy if you could go in that store today?

Compare the edit to the original. Do the likenesses look accurate to you?

*AI restore and edit
*original photo, from the News Telegraph, in comments

05/29/2026

Safeway Grocery Stores *edited info in comments

This was the Safeway Grocery Store in Atlantic. It later became Easter’s Grocery Store and is now Iowa Western Community College.

Did you shop here or at Easter’s?

*AI edit
*original photo in comments

05/28/2026

🪂 The Giant Rainbow Parachute 🪂

There was something about gym class in the 1980s that felt a little different than today. Long before smartphones and tablets, kids found excitement in the simplest things, dodgeballs lined up against a wall, the squeak of tennis shoes on a polished floor, and, every once in a while, the giant rainbow parachute coming out of the equipment closet. The moment that parachute appeared, the entire mood of class changed.

For many kids, parachute day was one of the highlights of elementary school gym class. Dozens of hands would grab the edges as the colorful fabric billowed into the air like a giant wave. There were games of running underneath before it floated back down, trying to trap air to make the biggest “mushroom,” or bouncing rubber balls across the rippling surface while everyone laughed and shouted directions. It was chaotic, simple fun, the kind of thing that somehow brought every kid together, whether they were athletic or not.

Looking back now, those parachutes have become one of those surprisingly powerful memories of growing up in the 1980s. They weren’t expensive or high-tech, but they created moments nearly everyone remembers with a smile. For a generation of kids, the sight of those bright colors spreading across a gym floor or playground still instantly brings back the feeling of being young, carefree, and part of something together.

Do you remember the parachute?

05/25/2026

🇺🇸 Freedom isn’t free 🇺🇸

05/24/2026

The Little Sinclair Station on Poplar

Saunders Servicecenter sat at the corner of 4th and Poplar in Atlantic around 1953, during the golden age of the American service station. Long before convenience stores and self-service pumps became the norm, places like Saunders were neighborhood gathering spots as much as they were gas stations. The little Sinclair station offered everything from tire service and brake work to battery charging and tune-ups, all under the promise of “Courteous Service.” With its rounded corner building, tall pumps out front, and Sinclair pennants fluttering overhead, it looked exactly like the kind of station that once dotted small-town America.

Sinclair stations carried a style all their own during the 1940s and 1950s. The company’s familiar green branding and dinosaur logo became a common sight along highways and in towns across Iowa. At stations like Saunders, attendants would often rush out to greet customers, pump the gas, wash the windshield, and check the oil while neighbors exchanged news from rolled-down car windows. In many ways, stations like this were unofficial community hubs, especially in towns like Atlantic where nearly everybody eventually crossed paths downtown.

Looking at the old advertisement today feels like stepping into a quieter era of Atlantic history. The ad proudly lists services that once mattered to nearly every driver, wheel balancing, battery charging, pickup and delivery, and a “complete line of accessories.” Even the phone number, “1216-J,” reflects a different time in local communication. Saunders Servicecenter may have been just one corner station in Atlantic, but for the people who stopped there in the early 1950s, it was part of the rhythm of everyday life along 4th and Poplar.

*AI edit
*original photo in comments

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