Country School Kids – Larry Van Moer – Growing up around Amiret
Trending
We have been learning about Larry Van Moer, the second of five children born to Marie (Marcotte) and Herbert Van Moer. Larry and his siblings grew up on their family farm north of Amiret.
Larry has fond memories of growing up around Amiret and described the community during his early years.
"Amiret was a flourishing, little town. It had two gas stations, a grocery store, a little bank, and a pool hall. It had two restaurants. Mr. Meinser had a lumber yard there, Standard Lumber, that did big business. Across from that was the Post Office. My dad did all of his trading at the lumber yard and at the elevator. There was a repair shop with a guy who fixed cars and tractors. They had a bulk, gas service for tractor gas and fuel oil. They had a two-room school where my older sister, Joan, went for her first couple years of school. They had a church where we (District 64) students went to those church dinners. The church was closer to town. The school was set out by itself."
Saturday evening was a big night for Amiret and for the Van Moer family.
"Saturday night was the night when all the mothers would go to Mr. Neske's grocery store. Mr. and Mrs. Neske lived upstairs and he had a nice, clean grocery store. For a while he would take the eggs and cream Mom and Dad brought in. Later, a Marshall Co-op truck route picked up our eggs and cream. Mr. Neske fixed up the boxes for the ladies who'd bring in their grocery lists for the week. They'd sit around and visit on benches and Mr. and Mrs. Neske would fill out those grocery lists. I'll never forget that store. He had a candy counter and he always give us kids a piece of candy. While the moms got their groceries, the dads would go to the pool hall and play cards. Us kids would run up and down the street. There was a big playground across the street by the elevator that was an open, grass area. It was a pretty lively night."
Larry's dad joined the other men at the pool hall to socialize.
"That was Shorty Monsell's pool hall and it was just as clean as a whistle. He had two pool tables and a couple card tables. A lot of the farmers would come in and play cards or play pool. Adler Hebert came down from Marshall on Saturday nights to cut hair in a little room in the back of the pool hall."
If Larry or his brother were due for a haircut, their mom gave specific instructions.
"My mother would tell Dad, 'Get (them) a haircut as soon as you can.' Adler would drink too much, (Larry laughed) so nine o'clock would probably not be a good time to get a haircut."
When Larry's mom had her groceries, she'd tell her kids to gather up their dad from the pool hall. They'd pile in the family car and Larry's dad drove them home.
Friday nights in Amiret were also a big deal as they were movie nights.
"A guy from Milroy, I think, went around to little towns and showed movies. There were two poles out in the grass field by the depot right across from the businesses and he'd put a sheet up there with ropes. Then he showed a movie with his movie projector on a little table by his car. He had a couple speakers up by the screen. It wasn't state of the art, but at that time it was pretty nice. Everybody drove their car in there and parked on the grass. I don't think my parents ever (watched the movie). They'd visit in the store and the pool hall where Dad would play cards, but us kids would sit there in the grass and watch the movies. They were pretty good. (Larry chuckled) He showed family movies like Hopalong Cassidy and cartoons. On a quiet night, if we didn't go to the movie and there was a south wind, you could hear it out on our farm."
Several businesses were directly related to the Chicago Northwestern rail line that serviced Amiret.
"There were two elevators, which are still there, but not in operation, a coal house, and a rail depot, all on a rail siding off the main line. Mr. Welter ran the depot and he did income taxes for people, too. I think there was only one train a day. They were those old, steam engines. I think it was just for freight and grain service. The train went from Tracy to Marshall, Ghent, Minneota, and all the way to Astoria, South Dakota."
Larry recalled his dad explaining how he helped with the construction of the Amiret elevator.
"Dad told me he was about 6 years old when they were building the Amiret grain elevators. He'd ride the family horse into Amiret and used it to pull the lumber up for the carpenters building the elevator. They used a block and tackle system and the horse. All day long they'd place a load of lumber in a sling and he would lead the horse out to pull that load up to where they needed it. He couldn't remember how much the contractor paid him for that lift service."
The Chicago Northwestern rail line and its associated businesses offered Larry and others adventures when they were young and different adventures as they grew older.
©2026 William D. Palmer.