Tom sent me this Grant Wood "American Gothic" photo. This one tickled my Dad as he also grew up in Iowa (Iowa City) and Grant Wood stopped by for dinner one night back in the '30's.

The other person in the photo with Mike is Tom's girlfriend Carol's son.

I didn't take these photos. They were loaned to me by Mike himself and are from his family albums. I color copied them years ago, thus the mediocre picture quality of some.

 

A "Before" photo of Mike's old boyhood home in Sigourney, on Elm Street. The house was built in 1906 and brother Tom recently lived there until he passed away in a tragic fire that burned the house to the ground on October 30, 2004. The red brick building on the right is what remains of the old Sigourney High School, built in 1900. Mike attended this school.

 

An "After" photo of the home after Tom's recent renovations and before the fire.