Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

subsequent long recuperation. Maurice subscribed to.
and passed. a real estate correspondence course. and
embarked on a real estate career that would span
nearly 40 years. Many current area residents have
purchased houses or farms through Maurice Fay.
Many older Anamosans have mentioned to this writer
that Maurice Fay. always had a joke. one-liner. or story
— always a ‘clean’ one — for any occasion. He
continued to manage the family farm and to sell real
estate until his death in 1961. at the age of 91. His wife.
Ann. preceded him in death in 1957. The three sons
survived Maurice and Ann. Robert Edward.
worked at the Citizens Savings Bank while in his teens.
He later graduated from Columbia (now Loras) College
in Dubuque. and moved to Omaha. Nebraska. where he
worked for the Federal Land Bank. In Omaha he
married June Sweat. and they later moved to Cedar
Rapids. where he worked for the Allis Chalmers Co..
and for many years sold real estate and managed
various investments. He currently resides in Cedar
Rapids. Bill and Lewis Fay never married. Bill
graduated from Loras College and then worked for the
Iowa Social Services Department for a time during the
Great Depression. He served in the army in World War
1 1. and was discharged a captain. He later worked in an
office for the John Deere Co. in Dubuque. In the early
1950s he returned to Anamosa and the family home.
He entered his father's real estate firm and sold in this
area until his death in 1968. from a heart attack. at the
age of 58. Bill Fay. like his father before him. was a wellrespected
real estate broker. Lewis Fay worked as a
printer: first for Tom Powell. editor of the Journal. then
for Niles at the Eureka. Lewis drove. or walked. to the
family farm. north of town. nearly every day of his adult
life. He raised Hereford cattle there. a tradition begun
by his father. Lewis lived in the family home on North
Williams street all of his life and died there in 1979. at
the age of 61.
Ed and June Fay reared four sons: Daniel. Michael.
Timothy and John. Dan. an attorney. has worked for
many years in Des Moines for the Iowa State Commerce
Commission. He has one son. Sam.
Mike. also an attorney. has a law office in Springville.
and lives in the family home on Williams Street. He has
a daughter. Ann.
Timothy Fay. after college. moved to this area in
1975. He operates a printing business. the Rt. 3 Press.
from the family farm north of Anamosa. He has two
children. Katy and Lee.
John Fay. his wife Linda. and three children. Marie.
Ben. and Moza. moved to the family farm in 1980. He
operates the family farm: the first Fays to do so since
Maurice Fay and his father moved to Anamosa from the
farm in 1903.
The Foley Bros. This name is synonymous with
railroad and highway grading since the Civil War.
Thomas and Mary of Chillicothe. Ohio. came to
Fairview township in the early part of the 19th century.
They were the parents of three children. John. Williarn.
and Edward. who later organized the firm of Foley Bros.
About 1855. the brothers dissolved partnership. but
each remained active in the work.
Edward operated a grocery store for 14 years in
Anamosa. which was located on the northeast corner of
Main and Ford streets.
In I900. Edward sold his grocery interests and once
again took up contracting. taking his two sons. William
E. and Charles T.. into the business.
From 1900 until 1910. the Foley name was
prominent in the field. Edward retired in 1908. and in
1911 the sons retired from road construction and
farmed for eight years. Once again. after World War I.
they went back into the contracting business when the
state began its network of permanent highways.
For the next 18 years. the sons worked side by side in
The Foley Brothers
submitted by Mrs. Edward (Mary) Houser
building Iowa roads and highways. until William's
retirement in 1938. which ended the name of Foley
Bros. The name of Foley continued to be a part of road
construction up to the death of Charles in 1951.
Keeping pace with the development of new
equipment. at a sale in 1934 at the Anamosa
Fairgrounds. over 70 head of mules were sold at public
auction.
In 1938. when William retired. Charles estimated
that from the time of the Civil War to World War I. the
Foleys had moved millions of cubic yards of dirt.
enough to fill the entire valley where the city of
Anamosa is located.
Before his death in 1935. at the age of 87. Edward
saw his sons rise to become two of the largest operators
in the midwest.
Charles Foley's granddaughter. Mary. wife of Edward
Houser. is presently living on the Foley farm north of
Anamosa. moving there in 1936. Mary and Ed are the
parents of Patricia. Janice. Kathleen. Diane. Linda. and
Mike.
The Lawrence Brothers, Ray & Roy
Anamosa has had many sets of twins. The names of a
few that come to mind are the Smykil brothers. Carl
and Kenneth: the Kelloggs. Keith and Kenneth: the
Brays. Lois and Lorna; the Joslins. Lawrence and
Leonard; the Boos brothers. Leonard and Bernard: and
the Dearborns. Patricia and Patrick.
Undoubtedley. the most widely-known were the
Lawrence twins. Ray and Roy. While known locally for
by Bertha Finn
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their frugal life-style. they were known nation-wide
through their stamp and coin business. of buying and
selling stamps and coins.
Ray and Roy were born March 22. 1904. on South
Booth Street. in Anamosa. They started out as young
lads collecting stamps. through an interest in their
father (Geroge's) collection. Their hobby later
developed into a full blown business and they never. as