Now widely known for its Memorial Day/July 4/Labor Day antique and flea markets, Vick’s Corner Works is an Iowa Great Lakes landmark with its bright orange tile roof and eclectic general store and fishing supplies.
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Vick’s Corner World
Vick’s Corner was started in 1930 by Layton C. & Edna M. Vick with a small hamburger place and the original station with living quarters above the station. Both were located on the south side of Hwy. 9, the hamburger shop on the east side of what is now Hwy. 86 and the station on the west side of Hwy. 86. Vick’s Place (hamburgers) was soon to expand to Vick’s Cafe and again adding a bar and dance hall to Vick’s Restaurant. Vick’s Restaurant become very well known for three main things–Very Good Food with a full line menu, Good Service, and the place to meet and have a lot of fun. Through these traits Vick’s became very well known through out the Midwest.
The Service Station had a basement under the original part, also enlarged by adding a service bay area also with additional living quarters above it. The service bay was a drive over pit type with storage compartments and work area below the floor for working on the cars. Later on, live bait and tackle and block ice were added. Half of the basement was converted to a live bait tank for extra bait supply. At different times there were full pledged boxing matches held behind the station and later on a trap shooting area.
Layton C. and Edna were both avid sports people and were able to muster a hunting and a fishing trip from time to time. They had five children (one of which passed at birth three still living.) One owns Millie’s Pancake Haus in Tucson, AZ, which has now passed on. One lives and works in Garland, TX. area, one lives in Loveland, Co., and retired/works part time for a large natural gas co. and the other one owns and operates the present Vick’s Corner World. In the 60’s, Hwy. 32 (now 86) was totally re-done. Traveling north on 86 along the spur that goes toward Spirit Lake would go through the middle of the restaurant and the spur that goes to the west would go through the station area.
At that time Layton C. and Edna bought the farm across Hwy. 9 on the northwest corner. The restaurant was demolished and the station was moved to its present location. The farm house they had acquired had no indoor plumbing, little wiring and space heaters for heating and a dirt basement floor. The Vick’s had to revamp the house totally then deal with getting every thing revamped for the station. The station sits in the outer part of the original barn yard area. Grading, fill and extensive work was done. Two driveways were added with entrances on highway 86 and 9.
There were several wells on the farm that weren’t much good, so a better well was witched. As you can tell, the relocation was a very major project!
In the mid 60’s Layton C. passed on and Edna with the help of two boys still at home ran the station. As the boys graduated and moved the eldest son Layton W. moved back from business college in Des Moines and for two years leased the station from his mother, Edna. During this time Hwy. 9 was totally revamped and made into a four lane towards Spirit Lake with a larger intersection going to a wider two lane towards the West. Again, the Vick’s were faced with very trying times as the road project took a portion of the farm and station property. All the underground tanks, signs and so on had to be moved again. The entire driveway system had to be rebuilt and due to the loss of space in front of the station.
Now, the east entrance is behind the building and the west entrance was 800 feet further to the west. This ultimately meant a lot more driveway maintenance. The pump islands were relocated and wiring all re-done again. It took two years for the driveway to become fairly stable and a lot of work. During this time period Layton W. bought the station and grove area from his mother, Edna. When Layton W. bought it, the entire grove area was a typical old farm grove with piles of rock, old fencing rolls, machinery, accumulated junk, scrap wood piles and numerous other materials. It took several years of work to clean the grove up to what it is now, including planting 80+ trees and grass seed as well as building two roads into the grove area.
When the grove clean up first started, Darrold & Sygrid Weaver rented the cleaned end for an Antique Show and Flea Market one weekend. The next year for two weekends, then Darrold had medical problems, so at that point with encouragement from some dealers, Layton W. took over the shows and went to three shows a year.
A 200 AMP electrical service with lighting was installed in the grove area for the dealers use and later on another 200 AMP system with lighting was added. Through promotion and quality dealers, the way the show was run and the clean grove area the Annual Antique Show and Flea Markets became well known through the entire country and has grown up to 100 dealers from up to 8 states showing. Of the two barns on the farm, the big one was torn down and the smaller one was finished off and heated and had new furniture and mdse. auctions through the years.
One late afternoon after the auction people left it burnt to the ground. That stopped the auctions but in due time a new Morton building was put up for storage.
There was one more brush with fire that could have been totally devastating. With almost no insurance and on the 50 year anniversary of the start of Vick’s Corner. Fully stocked up for the summer season and on Tuesday morning at about 3AM, a serious fire was discovered at the station. The volunteer Spirit Lake fire department were called in and arrived just in time.The fire chief said afterwards if it had been 10 to 15 minutes more the building would have been burnt to the ground.
Even though the building was severely damaged and most of the stock inside had to be destroyed, through Yankee ingenuity, we were pumping gas that afternoon. The building was slowly restored as soon as we could and was usable again.
Present
Currently, the living quarters is used for storage. The Vicks have been repairing the siding on the original station building. Due to the age of the building, the new siding had to be milled, in order to be original, as no one had that pattern in stock any more. A more recent improvement has been new style electronic fuel pumps and a redesigned pump island. Additionally, there is all new signage in line with going independent so a better higher quality fuel source could be offered to customers.
As time progressed, Layton W. kept adding new products. A new building was needed, but how? He wanted to keep the original building, after all his home was above that building when growing up so the canopy idea came about.
There are now full hook up camping spots for RVs and many spots with just electrical hook ups that are available between Antique Shows with another 200AMP system and now an additional 100AMP system that was installed in the grove area for even better facilities. (500AMPS) As demand increases, additional full hook ups will be added as needed. At this point Layton W. has no plans for retirement but plans to keep on expanding facilities and services as best as possible. In 2001 through 2003, a large 3 car garage was built near the house and an office area that connects the house and garage was added. A new water line has also been installed towards the top of the grove area.
The business is owned and operated by Layton W. Vick. Layton C. Vick II and wife Michelle, Layton W’s youngest son live near by as he owns and operates Layton’s Backhoe Service. Peter & Anna Vick immigrated from Prussia/Germany in 1869 and homesteaded a parcel of land located 2 miles north and a half mile west of the present Vick’s Corner location. Peter was one of a handful that named Diamond Lake Township and also was the founder of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit lake. They had two children, William F. and Mary C.. Mary moved to Arkansas and married. William F. moved to the railroad town of Montgomery with his wife Nancy “Nanna.” They started a business named Vick’s Garage.
With the garage, the pair serviced and sold cars, tractors, windmills, power plants, and much more. Nanna also ran a small boarding house and William also supplied the electricity for the homes and business in Montgomery, which is 1 mile Northwest of the present Vick’s Corner. They had one child, Layton C. Vick. In 1930 Layton C. and wife Edna M. Vick started Vick’s Corner. They had five children one which passed at birth. Three still living. Their eldest son is Layton W. Vick. Layton W. and first wife Patricia had one child. Layton W. and his second wife, Janet had four children, one passed at 6mo.. Three are living, with one living in Lake Park, the second lives in Missouri and the third lives in Switzerland.
When Layton W. and Dorothy (Dee) were married, she had 2 children who lived with them at the corner but have now gone on their own paths and presently live in Minnesota and South Dakota.
As of May 16, 2013, Dorothy “Dee” Elizabeth Vick (Past Names) Brown, Otis, Pesante no longer lives here and has no association with, Vick’s Corner World or Layton W. Vick!!!
The latest improvement has been replacing the roof of the building with steel Brite RedKasselwood style shingles, which simulate the original cedar shingles. Shingles were from www.kasselandirons.com and the installation was done by Ramirez Roofing. On the inside, the carpet tiles were from Snook’s and the installation was done by Don Delgado.