One morning this week, as he is wont to do, Clyde Toland was sequestered on his front porch, reading. A friend dropped by.
As conversation meandered, Toland demonstrated with his left arm how his dedication to therapy continued to help him recover from debilitating effects of a June 2010 stroke. He’ll never give up, Toland said, and meets therapy sessions with religious zeal.
Same may be said of the Iola attorney and historian’s dedication to his neighborhood, a core part of what was to become Iola today soon after the city was founded in 1859.
When two houses in the same block as his, 211 S. Colborn, fell on hard times, Toland bought them with two things in mind, neither to make money.
“I wanted to help with the housing stock in Iola and maintain stability in a historical part of town,” Toland observed. “Early settlers were part of the neighborhood, Rhoades Addition, and just a block from the original townsite.
Steve French, a contractor who specializes in restoration, did much of the work on the house at 221 S. Colborn, including a vaulted ceiling that makes a difference in the ambiance of the dwelling.
“It was in terrible shape when I bought it,” Toland said. “The flue had fallen in, leading to leaks from rainfall and there was a hole in the second story floor.”
French had help from electricians and plumbers and Don Britt, long known for his woodworking skills, fashioned a porch railing, “which I think really dressed up the place.”
Son David and his wife Beth also had compelling roles.
Two families that had impacts on Iola lived in the house before it began to degrade — Ray and Donna Houser in the late 1960s and ’70s, and after them Jay and Pam Evans.
“When the kitchen cabinets arrived, Beth put them together and helped with day-to-day remodeling,” Toland recalled. “David and Beth have experience from when they lived in Washington, D.C.,” as well as with several downtown commercial buildings. “They are marketing the house and will the north one (corner of Madison and Colborn) when it’s ready to sell.”
THE “NORTH house,” as Toland calls it, is another matter.
His pragmatic motivation is the same, but it also has family ties.
Toland traced history of the house from memory, as easily as if he were reading a a historical account.
The house was built in 1880 by Morg Hartman, whose place in Iola history probably has escaped most, but is integral. Hartman and George Bowlus were co-founders of the Allen County Bank — Bowlus’ son was Thomas H., whose benevolence led to construction of the Bowlus Fine Arts and Cultural Center.
