Traer Museum

 

Traer is a unique and progressive town, characterized by commercial and community involvement.  It is advantageously located at the intersection of two busy highways - Highway 63 and Highway 8 - so benefits from through traffic as well as permanent residents.

 

Regardless of how you enter Traer, there is evidence of development.  Entering from the east, on Highway 8, one passes the North Tama Athletic Complex on the edge of town.  This site is used for multiple athletic practices and events.  A bike trail, which parallels the highway, assures safety for youth who are riding to the complex.  Both these ventures were the result of much work on the part of citizens who saw a need and worked to see those dreams become a reality.

 

One major manufacturing plant - Clearline Cutlery - is on Highway 63 south; these businesses add a significant boost to the economy of Traer through providing jobs.   Pied Piper Preschool and Child Care is also located on south 63, where a new addition is currently being constructed.  Local intense fund-raising has made this much-needed facility possible.

 

From the north, a former grocery store building has been attractively transformed into the North Tama Activity Center over the past two years.  Youth use the facility for Young Life activities, senior citizens hold meals and other social events there, plus individuals and organizations can rent the building for meetings.

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Two other recent accomplishments show evidence of community effort. A major renovation of the existing Andrew Carnegie library building on Main Street.  Another source of great pride in Traer is the Traer Historical Museum, which originated in 1998 and is now an incredibly organized collection of historical memorabilia. 

 

Traer residents extend a continual invitation and welcome to visitors, as the slogan "Wind Up in Traer" indicates.  We do have need of help in the future financial incentives for our community to preserve the small but proud Iowa heritage and that of downtown Traer.  One of the critical needs is repair of the Traer Theatre building, so that it can continue to provide entertainment for the community as it has done for the past years.   

 

As you can see, the people in Traer are proud of their town - and have been willing to donate toward these worthwhile projects in order to maintain the quality of living which a small town can offer.  However, there is a financial limit to what business owners and residents can do.

 

Many of the downtown buildings are unique architecturally; this committee feels they need to be preserved in that same fashion for the enjoyment and use of future generations.