The first post office was established in the Story County town of Slater in 1887, with Lew Askland appointed postmaster. He operated the first office from within his general store; within a year, the post office was relocated and John Scott was appointed postmaster. The current building was constructed specifically for post office use in 1962 on the corner of Main and Story Streets in downtown Slater.
Methodists have been in the Story County town of Maxwell since the town was founded in the early 1880s. Shortly after railroad track was laid through the community, services were held in a schoolhouse before a permanent church facility was constructed in September 1882. The church served members for thirty years until construction began on the present building. A cornerstone was laid on September 17, 1912, with a number of items including a photo of the current church, a copy of the discipline, a local newspaper and a list of building committee and board members.
The church building will celebrate 100 years on February 23, 2013. There are around 150 members.
A volunteer fire department was organized in the Story County community of Slater in September 1914. Resident Pete Hall was named the organization’s first fire chief, and early fire trucks were stored in the garage of the new city hall building, which was constructed three years prior. The current fire station was constructed for use as both a city hall and fire station in 1960. Both departments quickly outgrew their space, so the brick building is now used exclusively by the fire department.
The Zearing Post Office was one of several across the state of Iowa to be constructed in the 1960s. These cookie-cutter brick post offices, designed to official U.S. Postal Service specifications, provided more space for employees and more mailboxes for locals. The Zearing location was constructed in 1962, eighty years after postal service was first introduced to the community.
The community of Kelley has gained statewide attention from its downtown phone booth, one of the last working phone booths remaining in the state of Iowa. It was featured in theDes Moines Register in May this year; in August, popular radio hosts Van and Bonnie broadcasted their WHO morning show from the phone booth. Constructed in 1963, the phone booth sits at the intersection of Giddings and Grace Streets in downtown Kelley.
Kelley’s Post Office, located one block to the east, was first established in June 1875. Kelley’s population was 300 as of the 2000 census.