Story by Wayne Wiltse

Charles City, Iowa

New Neighborhood

We moved from a little house on 9th Avenue on the north side of town to a little house on 5th Avenue when I was 4. Not such a big distance for Mom and Dad, but into a new world for me.

Harry and Vera Brenton became our neighbors, along with the Jacobses, Morleys, and an older lady named Margaret Wolf. Margaret's father, Lawrence, had been head of the Hart-Parr foundry pattern shop all the way back in Madison, Wisconsin, where Hart-Parr started out.

The rest of the neighborhood was made up of the first person to graduate from Iowa State as an agricultural engineer, Mr. Wagoner. If you threw a stone in any direction, you might hit an Oliver machinist, assembly line worker, toolmaker, maintenance man, or someone in management.

The plant whistles could be heard from our house, announcing shift changes, foreman calls, and whatever else those whistles were used for. The sounds of the foundry cupolas and the air cleaning system could also be heard all around.

The Brentons would become babysitters, friends, and mentors, and I would become Harry Brenton's protégé and right-hand man.

Charles City Iowa The neighborhood with the Oliver Factory in the background

The house on 5th Ave Charles City, Iowa

Oliver Factory Whistle