Jordan Independent makeover revealed 
The Jordan Independent was established around 1880. You could look up exactly when, because the back issues are now prominently displayed in public view in the front reception area of its newly redecorated offices.
The present building was originally constructed about 1955 for use by the U.S. Postal Service. It was a big deal back then. The dedication included an open house, guest speakers and dinner at the VFW, according to a boastful news article of the day. It was built across from the railroad tracks so mailbags could be efficiently tossed off the train, rolled through the big back door, sorted and dispensed to the front hall customer lock boxes.The original newspaper office was near the post office. That's not by accident. It is fun even today to drive through small towns, look for the old post office and then, sure enough, there will be a newspaper office (probably shuttered) nearby, reflecting an old-time symbiosis.
In 1982 we sold the old Jordan Independent newspaper office and purchased the post office building. The Post Office, now served by trucks, had moved to the old Super Valu store, because Super Valu had moved to the edge of town in a much bigger building. Progress, you know.We didn't do much to the interior. Just put some typewriters, files and desks into it. The editor sat in the old postmaster's office. There was a crummy government bathroom and little else. In the succeeding years we've fixed the roof, changed out all the windows, put in air conditioning and painted it a couple of times.
This summer we did a complete makeover of the interior, and didn't spend too much money doing it. We went with a 1940s theme to reflect some small town ideals and values, even though Jordan is presently one of the fastest growing towns in the metro area. Someday, the population center of Scott County will be near Jordan.Just about everybody loves the warmth of the Norman Rockwell family of paintings. His work represents the idealism and spirit of that era.
We bought some 40s prints reflecting newspaper humor, but in addition to that purchased copies of "The Four Freedoms" that President Franklin Roosevelt espoused during the run-up to World War II. The freedoms: "Freedom from Fear," Freedom from Want," "Freedom of Religion," and "Freedom of Speech," were values that differentiated the U.S. from its enemies. Rockwell painted representations of them and helped sell War Bonds.
The prints hang in the reception area, near the new shelving for the decades of historical copies of the Independent. We hope visitors will sense and associate these values with our product.
The building was built for the government without any frills. We added crown mouldings by ripping and routing big 4x8 sheets of medium density fiberboard to good effect and little cost.Fluorescent lighting was a big deal in the 1950s and the 10 foot ceilings were loaded with them. That was great for sorting mail, or WalMart, but not for reporters working three feet above the floor, staring into cathode ray tubes. So we threw out the rusting, buzzing, flickering fixtures and replaced them with low-cost reproduction retro fancies featured at a local big box and built by Chinese communists. We screwed in some eco green bulbs and we're done.
My partner, Matt Drees, did the painting and just about every odd job, including setting a new ADA Big John. Carpenter Charley Reis cut the vanity in a sexy french swash.We store 50 banker boxes (two feet deep) of company business records in Jordan, much of it is held as long as the IRS requires and then discarded, only to be replaced by new records. We built a dry storage system to accommodate this cycle.
In keeping with the 40s theme we put a checkered resilient floor in beiges throughout most of the building, with a small amount of carpet in the work station areas. We cleaned and sealed the glass block, an innovation when the building was built and a feature which is regaining popularity. For our purpose, it gives nice lighting to the south side of the building. Sealing the cracks and adding a storm window should eliminate the present need for space heaters in winter.Left undone is a conference room. Office hours are 8:30 to 3:30 weekdays. Come visit and see what we've done.
