Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, July 24, 2003, Pages 1 & 12

An update on plans fo the Ramsey Farm at Leasonville project and work around the square in Mount Ayr were shared at the annual meeting of the Gooseberry Lake Agency board of directors in Mount Ayr Thursday.

Officers were elected for the coming year and a regular meeting was also held. A report on the regular meeting will be included in next week's MOunt Ayr Record-News.

Elected as officers for the coming year were the slate that has served this past year as well. They include president Dick ELLIOTT, vice president Randy BISHOP, secretary Royce DREDGE and treasurer Matt DELUHERY.

Phil BURMEISTER shared information on the Ramsey Farm at Leasonville project, which will host its first official visitors later this summer when a group from the Hollywood YMCA visits.

The presentation covered three fronts of work being done under the leadership of Paul RAMSEY -- work on the square in Mount Ayr, the planned motel project and the Ramsey Farm and Lesanville project.

BURMEISTER told the lake agency board that these projects work well with the Gosseberry Lake project. "What is good for the lake will be good for our projects and what is good for our projects will be good for the lake," BURMEISTER told the board.

All of the projects work together to enhance places to stay and things to do when visiting Ringgold county, he noted.

In terms of the square project, it is hoped that a business will be in place in the remodeled former Extreme's building on the north side of the square by Christmas. Work is continuing on remodeling the second floor of the building and the Cunning Co. Inc. building next door into apartments.

It is hoped to have the exterior of the Princess Theater building restored with a marque by sometime next year, when work on the inside of the building to turn it back into a movie theater will begin. It is hoped that a volunteer community group will take over management of the theater once the building has been remodeled.

The motel project is continuing, though some of the plans have changed. Instead of placing the building on the southwest corner of the intersection with Highways 2 and 169 in the eastern part of Mount Ayr, land has been purchased to site the project on the north east corner of the intersection.

Purchase of the land has been finalized and clearing of the property will [Page 12] begin soon. No time frame has been set for the actual construction of the motel, however, BURMEISTER said.

Work is continuing at the Ramsey Farm at Lesanville project as well, BURMEISTER told the group. It is hoped to have the farm completed by May 2004 with everything in place and be fully opened for business for the summer.

A new addition to the farm project is the SAUNDERS barn, to be built north of the RAMSEY barn on the property. Wayne SAUNDERS of Manilla is donating all the horse-operated farm equipment of his grandfather and a replica barn is built for the equipment.

Wood from an old barn owned by Hank SMITH is being used to build the new structure, with Amish workmen to do the construction.

The SAUNDERS family wanted all of the equipment to be located at one space so they could visit the barn from time to time.

Also to be built are a depot and gift shop to join the school, church, carriage house, barns and homes already in place on the site. A house across the road will house a bed and breakfast for visitors to the farm.

Several groups are already using the farm facilities. A wedding was held at the church earlier this supper. On Thursday, July 31, the Sites For Learning program will bring 100 youngsters to the farm. They will be playing games, riding horses, having a tour and hearing stories about farm life in the 1930s during their visit.

A group of youngsters from the Hollywood YMCA will be making the trip to Ringgold county in August to stay on the farm, learn about its history, and visit other places such as the Iowa State Fair.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2012