A Forgotten Name Resurfaces on the Kahoka Square
By Emily Bontrager
A piece of downtown Kahoka history was uncovered last week during repair on the Clark Mutual building where Clark Mutual Insurance Company and Ross Insurance are located on the west side of the square.
As work began near the top of the brick building, the name “J. H. Puder” became visible once again.
Archived editions of the Clark County Courier provide insight into the life and business history of John Henry Puder; a longtime Kahoka businessman whose name once appeared regularly in local advertisements and business notices.
According to Puder’s obituary, published in the April 4, 1930, edition of the Clark County Courier, John Henry Puder was born June 9, 1865, in Keokuk, Iowa. At the age of 19, he moved to Kahoka and began working at the Schlagel Meat Market. The obituary noted that at age 23, Puder entered business with William Crear and that “from then until his health failed, he was identified with business here.”
A March 20, 1914, edition of the Clark County Courier reported that “John Puder has purchased the butcher business of the Blum Grocer & Butcher Co.” The article stated the business would be moved to the Blum room on the east side of the square and noted that Puder was “an old hand at the business and should make a success of his new venture.”
Newspaper advertisements show Puder operated the West Side Meat Market on the Kahoka square during the mid-1920s. On November 6, 1925, he announced that the new meat market on the west side of the square was ready for business in Bohon’s Grocery and promised “prices within reach of everybody.”
The November 13, 1925, issue of the Kahoka Gazette- Herald also contained an advertisement for Bohon’s Grocery that mentioned J. H. Puder having an up-to-date meat market in connection with the store.
The first advertisements promoted the West Side Meat Market and encouraged shoppers to come in “for the best of fresh and salt meats. Fresh fish every day.”
One January 1926 advertisement read, “Home Killed Beef and Pork. West Side Market. J. H. Puder.”
Another encouraged residents to “Save money on your home supply of pure lard.”
Puder died March 30, 1930, at his home in Kahoka at the age of 64. His obituary also noted that he was a longtime member of the Kahoka Baptist Church.
Today, although the businesses occupying the building have changed over the decades, the recently uncovered lettering serves as a reminder of the early storefronts and local business owners who helped shape Kahoka and its history. For a brief moment, the faded name offered a glimpse into a chapter of the towns past that might otherwise have remained hidden.
