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Son saves curved-truss barn from bulldozer

ELDORA - Mark McDowell wipes the oil and grime from his hands that bear testimony to his career as a mechanic and said, "I've been at this location for eight years."

McDowell was talking about his business, Country Car Repair. He was grew up on his family's farm a few scant miles east of the county seat town of Hardin County.

McDowell's repair shop sits along Iowa Highway 175 inside a 60-year-old curved-truss barn that stretches 56 feet north-south on the McDowell farm. It is one of three structures on the farm that have the same roof design.

"I grew up on this farm and did chores everyday in here" he added, indicating the barn. "I milked cows along this west side and the pigs (or more precisely, the sow herd) were on the east side, over there."

The curved-truss design, McDowell said, was common in the late 1940s and early 1950s when the barn was constructed. The two other structures include a corn crib and a farrowing facility. "I love those curved roofs," he said.

On a plaque in McDowell's office hangs a sign that was found in the corn crib that claims the builder of the three structures was Lawrence Kewatt. Kewatt was assisted by Carl Orgel and Dale "Pete" Chinburg. The structures were built for R.A. Scott, the owner of the farm at the time.

McDowell said his great-grandfather, Riley J. Hadley, purchased the farm in 1953. McDowell's father, Raymond McDowell, purchased the site in 1974 and used the three buildings in his farming enterprise. Mark McDowell came in possession of the buildings in 2001.

By then, Raymond McDowell had retired from farming and was planning to raze the three structures.

"I was done with them," Raymond McDowell said, confirming that he was very close to dismantling the structures. "I was tired of maintaining them and paying the taxes on them," he explained. "I was very close to calling in the bulldozers."

That's when Mark McDowell stepped in. Resigning from a 23-year stint as a mechanic for Jensen Ford, in nearby Marshalltown, the son returned to Eldora, intent to go into business for himself. He purchased the structures and preceded a total revamp of the barn building.

"The hay mow was unserviceable," McDowell recalled. Rich Van Hayden, of Eagle City, was contracted to remove the hay mow, salvaging the lumber to build a horse barn.

"You could stand on the floor and look up through the cupola," McDowell said, describing the interior after the mow was removed. "This was nothing but a shell." When McDowell saw how well the structure endured the winter, he decided it was strong enough to be transformed into a car repair shop.

"We spent an enormous amount of money on it," McDowell said.

Where he once cared for livestock, he now cares for clients' vehicles. A new floor was installed overhead for storage. The former block and tackle system that was used for raising hay to the upper level is still in service, It's used for lifting auto parts and supplies to the new floor.

Mark's wife, Dianne McDowell, who grew up in Steamboat Rock, just a few miles to the north and west, said she was glad to have helped save the buildings.

"Mark and I have known each other since we were kids," she said. "I spent many summers on this farm, walking beans and helping to paint buildings."

Lean-to being added

The McDowells' structures were not spared from the ravages of the Aug. 9 hail storm that caused billions of dollars of damage to crops and property. The Eldora area was the worst hit in that storm.

The west walls of the three buildings are pockmarked with chipping paint where egg-sized hail, driven by strong winds, pummeled sidings and roofs and smashed windows.

Mark McDowell said that he was planning on expanding his vehicle repair space with a large lean-to on the west side. He wasn't planning on building it this year, but after the hail storm, he opted to build the lean-to now, since he declined to repair the hail damage with new siding, only to erect the lean-to in a few years.

He acknowledged that the addition would ruin the original view of the barn on that side. "But it'll still look the same on the other side." The addition will be cold storage in the winter and work space in the warmer months.

Contact Larry Kershner at (515) 573-2141, ext. 453, or by e-mail at kersh@farm-news.com.