2020 Art by Your Friends & Neighbors Winners

Charles F. Meyer, a long-time Bertram and Mt. Vernon area-resident came to the Rock View Tavern in 1924. He was operating a paint and wallpaper business in Mt. Vernon that he started in 1919 and needed housing for his work crew. He leased the whole hotel to provide room and board for his men. A few of the Lower Palisades summer-residents staying in nearby cabins asked if they could eat at the hotel. Charley obliged them and found himself in the hotel business. He continued leasing the property from Louis Kepler in subsequent years and stayed in the paint & paper business at least through 1925. In 1926 Louis Kepler died and willed his Palisades property to the State for the creation of a park. The State Conservation Commission asked Meyer to lookout for their interests, which initially were limited to the opposite (south) side of the river, and maintain the property for visitors. For two years, while the State debated and considered financing, Meyer paid county property taxes on land he didn't even own to stay open. In 1927 the State formally accepted the offer of the Kepler estate and in 1928 took control. They appointed Meyer a deputy game warden and the first park ranger that year. He continued operating Rock View until 1931 when the State tore down the hotel.

Meyer served as Park Ranger through WWII. In 1945 the State Conservation Commission appointed him Supervisor of the entire northeast district and he left Palisades State Park to oversee their widespread operations, but his work was gradually cut back until he was once again just at Palisades. He retired in 1954 after 30 years of service in Iowa's state parks but returned to Palisades as manager of the park restaurant.

Charles F. Meyer (1885-1966) ran away from his home in NY when he was 11 and joined the circus. At different times he was a railroad worker, a soldier, a policeman, a painter and wall paperer, a bartender, a farmer, a cook and a hotel manager. . . all of which left him well-prepared to become the custodian of the Rock View Tavern, and in 1926 the first ranger of Palisades-Kepler State Park. In his early years in Cedar Rapids Meyer entertained spectators at the carnival shows held at the site of Roosevelt school as "Hi-Ki The Wild Girl." He sat in a cage, danced, screamed and ate raw beef to entertain spectators. Another time he ran a street show concession raffling off "canaries" at each turn of his wheel. They were really sparrows, which he caught nightly and dyed yellow; he left the real canaries in the cage. See him at Find a Grave memorial # 204942534. Next time: Unexpected blocks on the road to the Park ... See MoreSee Less

21 hours ago  ·  

1916 marks an important turning point in Palisades history--property owner C. W. Kepler gave control to his son, Lewis H. Kepler (1880-1926), who invested new energy and capital in the resort. He razed Minott's old log cabin hotel and erected a new 2-story frame structure. The upper story included six guest-rooms and a bath; an office and comfortable lounge with a large fireplace made up the ground floor. As before there was a concession area offering refreshments to guests. A new addition to the resort was alcoholic spirits if the new name "Rock View Tavern" is any indication--the resort was "dry" in Minott's time. The new investment and commitment by L. H. Kepler drew managers Ray & Elsie Turner to sign a long-term lease, and they stayed until 1923.

Raymond C. Turner (1886-1965) was born in Narisburg, NE. He was bright and personable, and pursued a variety of mostly people-oriented business enterprises in his lifetime. He married Elsie (Robbins) in 1908. In 1911 the Turners came to Mt. Vernon and Ray opened the Fairy Wand Chocolate Shop; he later opened a Cedar Rapids candy store. From 1916 to 1922 he managed Rock View with his wife. In 1919 he opened the Lincoln Cafe on the Lincoln Highway in Mt. Vernon. In 1924 he sold the restaurant and returned to candy making. Throughout his years at the Palisades Ray also farmed and operated an acclaimed dairy. Ray and his wife divorced in 1929. Elsie stayed in Cedar Rapids, but Ray left the area. She is buried in her family plot in Lansing, IA. See her at Find a Grave memorial # 36900419. Raymond died in 1965 in CA, his grave site is unknown. See his family at Find a Grave memorial # 61952155.

Willard A. Robinson (1898-2000) took over the Rock View lease at the beginning of the 1923 season. Robinson was attending college at Grinnell when the U.S. entered WWI. He enlisted in flight training in San Antonio, TX, becoming a pilot in the 35th Aviation Corps. After the war he returned to Grinnell to finish his degree, but a ruptured appendix and long recovery disrupted his plans. In 1920 he organized a children's summer nature camp at the West Palisades he called "Camp Iowar." The camp was initially aimed at boys but a trial program for girls was such a success that he focused on them thereafter. The YWCA contributed recreation staff and administrative support for the week-long programs. Robinson leased the Cliff House in the early years and later Rock View after he took over its management. Robinson left in 1924 and probably abandoned the Camp Iowar venture at the same time. The 1930 US census shows him back in San Antonio, still single, and selling flying school supplies. He died in Menlo Park, CA in 2000 at the age of nearly 102. We haven't located his grave yet, but see his parents and siblings at Find a Grave memorial # 146617305. To be continued. ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago  ·  

Two more Cornell collegians took over the Palisades Rock View Hotel in 1909: cousins Rhea and Merle West. Rhea was the first of many West-family sports standouts at Cornell College. Known as "Fat," Rhea attended classes 1901-1903, and returned in 1911. He played LT on the second football team in 1901-02 and punted on the 1903 varsity squad. He left school in 1904 and went to St. Louis to work at the World's Fair. He didn't return to school in the Fall, and instead took a position as a traveling salesman for a publishing company. He worked at the Bell Telephone Co. and in his father's land office in Pierre, SD before returning to Mt. Vernon in 1909 to manage the Rock View. He reenrolled at Cornell in 1911; too old for football he played French horn in the school orchestra. West married Marion's own Madge Alderman in 1911, and in 1912 took a job managing a large apartment complex in Long Beach, CA. He passed control of Rock View to his cousins Emerson and Estol West. See Rhea McCabe ("Fat") West (1883-1962) at Find a Grave memorial # 48881727.

Merle Scott West (1886-1983) played on the varsity football team 1906-08. He graduated with a B.S. in 1909. He co-managed Rock View for just a single season and then moved to Klamath Falls, OR where he became a pioneer in the timber industry and a major benefactor to the local hospitals, his church and the YMCA. Cornell College dedicated its $2 million science building to Merle in 1976. See him at Find a Grave memorial # 81039271. His cemetery is a wreck today, bankrupt and abandoned. His wife is almost certainly buried next to him, but it's difficult to confirm.

Emerson ("Pony") West (1889-1918) took the reins of the Lower Palisades resort from 1910 to 1915. Managing Rock View was a summer job while he attended classes 1910-13. He hired his school chums to help, including several family-members. His brother Estol ("Purty") West co-managed with Emerson 1913-14. Their father was the Mt. Vernon postmaster. Emerson was a stand-out athlete at Cornell and a leader on the baseball and football teams, for which he earned varsity letters in 1910, 1911 and in 1912 for baseball. He was named All State quarterback in 1911, and was captain of the 1912 football team. He left college in 1913, without graduating, to run the family farm.

"Pony" West was given his nickname by his football teammates. Reporters and fans often referred to football players as "horses" in his day because of their large size, but that didn't fit Emerson, who stood only 5 ft. - 5 or 6 in. and weighed a scant 130 pounds. He made up for his slight stature with speed, quickness and courage. It made him a sensation at quarterback and running back punts and kick-offs. He was inducted into the Cornell College Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. He perished in the 1918 flu pandemic. See Emerson at Find a Grave memorial # 142281051 with a link to his brother. Raymond and Elsie Turner joined West in co-managing Rock View in 1915. Their story next time. ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago  ·