Month: June 2014

This image, taken from along the shoreline south of Arnolds Park and looking to the northeast, highlights the amusement park that bordered the lake during this era.

The amusement park is still at this location and is thriving today. This image is marked with the date 1942.

This aerial photo shows the town of Arnolds Park as it borders on W. Okoboji Lake in Iowa. The town is in the extreme northwest corner of Iowa, and is closer to many cities in Minnesota than in Iowa.

This town forms much of the southeast shore of W. Okoboji Lake. This caption indicates this image was made in 1942.

This picture was taken from a vantage point that would put it just off the right edge of the previous picture. The same objects are present in the foreground and background.

In addition, the legend on the picture clearly states this is the Highway 71 route between the lakes, looking generally southwest. It is a habit of road constructors to put these barriers at the sides of bridges as they cross over water, but the difference in safety provided the barrier relative to the road immediately before and after is such as to make the barrier almost comical.
This card likely dates from the 1940s.

It is not clear exactly where this road is located in the Lake Okoboji area, but the fact that it is a long causeway between two bodies of water strongly implies it is the U.S. 71 Highway route between the two lakes.

The lakes are described as being distinct entities, but this navigable connection between them indicates they are now one body of water. This card likely dates from the 1940s.

This fountain is decorated extensively with local fieldstone, and is believed to be known as Stone Fountain now. Apparently the older name was associated with the resort and cabins nearby which have been replaced.

The card likely dates from the 1940s. The resort was mentioned in newspaper articles of 1940 and the fountain is certainly much older.

This image is an aerial shot of the smaller East Okoboji Lake, which is separated by only a small strip of land from West Okoboji Lake.

This postcard, like the rest of this series for the week and next, have no captions other than what is written in white on the front. This postcard likely dates from the 1940s.

This obelisk is a monument to the victims of the last Indian attack on white settlers in Iowa, which occurred in Spirit Lake, Iowa in 1857. There is also a cabin originally occupied by one of the survivors of the attack, who was held until ransomed. The woman, Abbie Gardner, also wrote about her experiences and operated her cabin as a tourist site.

The monument is nearby the cabin where Abbie Gardner lived before and after her abduction. This picture likely dates from the 1940s.

This is an image of an imaginatively decorated souvenir shop once present in Arnolds Park, Iowa. The Kurio Kastle was originally located at 169 U.S. 71, Arnolds Park, Iowa, and recently moved to the new location of 709 16th Street,  Spirit Lake, Iowa, a nearby town.

It has been repurposed in its new location as a do-it-yourself pottery decoration center, a popular activity around the country. The image shown likely dates to the 1940s.
 

This image begins a series of cards featuring East and West Okoboji Lakes, in northwestern Iowa. The first image here is of a promontory of land at the northern end of Pillsbury Point State Park, a sliver of park land along the southwestern shore of West Okoboji.
There is no description on the back of this card, as it is a typical photo made into a card by stamping the back with markings for address, message and stamp locations. It is also unclear what purpose the partially submerged wheel serves in the middle of the lake. This card likely dates to the 1940s.
This post marks one year of daily postcard postings. There are enough for about 3 more years of daily posts.