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| Tina and Wulf in Amalfi, Italy |
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Wulf and Tina live on 6 acres high in the hills of Jo Davies County. Wulf (Mike) Clifton has been collecting antiques for over 20 years. His specialty is in ephemera and German World War II history and valuables. He grew up near the Quad Cities and has lived in Illinois and North Carolina working in a variety of positions at Caterpillar, Kingston, North Carolina (Traffic Engineer) and most recently at the Diamond Jo Casino, Dubuque.
Tina (Christina) Hollis grew up in Minnesota and has lived in Iowa, Illinois and New Jersey. She was an Engineer and Engineering Manager for 30 years with John Deere, and then formed her own Engineering Consulting Company in 2001. Since retiring from "engineering work" in 2006, she has been actively involved in Dr Woodchuck's.
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Wulf and Tina bought the "Old Feed Mill" in Scales Mound in 2004 after becoming infatuated with the history and antiquity of the building. Wulf named the building "Dr Woodchucks" for no known reason other than the name is memorable (there is no truth to the story that he named it after his grandmother!). The building, although structurally sound, required alot of tender loving care as time was on the attack. On the outside, a key supporting timber was replaced, the building has been repainted, a deck was built on the railroad side of building, the front deck repaired and the outer stairs and deck to the opera house, which had fallen down around 1970, replaced.
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On the first floor, fluorescent lights have been added to provide great lighting for our auctions. The old indoor "biffy" was removed and numerous holes in the walls and floor replaced. The office has been repainted. On the second floor work really began! The wainscotting was repaired on several clings and walls, floors had to be reboarded due to rain damage, the waincotting was entirely sanded to remove 100 years of dust, grime and pigeon droppings and all ceilings and walls were shellacked to a warm glow. Chandeliers and sconce lighting was added, the old cob shed and feed mill was removed and a stage built in the original location.
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After rebuilding the stairs and deck to the second floor, a 16' bar, authenticated to be from one of Al Capone's speakeasy in Wakefields in Cicero, was installed on the west end. Bar sink, back bar, a bathroom, electric and water have all been added. The floor was sanded and sealed to ready it for dancing and parties. Over half of the 18 original windows (each window has two 4' windows for opening on both top and bottom) have been replaced with the intention to complete in 2008. The original ticket booth remains intact - yet more loving care is still in process.
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Some history on the building. This unique building was built in 1873 when James Allan saw the need for a grain and produce warehouse to be used for buying, storage and selling of farm produce. The building was located next to the railroad tracks and a few years later he added a floor on the second story that became the opera house. This was where Chautauqua's, dances, home talent plays, school graduations, and church festivals were held. As years went by added to this were skating parties, movies and basketball games.
Mr. Allan sold the business to James R. Berryman and John T. Walton who installed an elevator for the handling of grain. The elevator functioned until about 1955. Subsequent owners were Lloyd W. Rummel and John H. Hesselbacher. A company of farmers bought the business and hired William M. Edge to manage it. Successive owners have been Bub Doyle, Paul Homb, George Charnas and Terry Schoenhard.
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We are still researching the history of the building. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
We can be contacted as follows:
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