City of Anita, IOWA 50020

Population 1076

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Brought to you by West Iowa Telephone Company

LOCATION:
Anita is located three miles off Interstate 80 at mile marker 70, halfway between Omaha and Des Moines.

TELEPHONE COMPANY & SERVICES:
West Iowa Telephone Company provides private line telephone service to the towns of Alton, Anita, Calumet, Marcus, Quimby, Oyens, Remsen and Sutherland and the surrounding rural area. The company uses digital switching and predominantly buried cable plant to provide high quality voice and data circuits to meet the needs of business and residential customer needs West Iowa Telephone also offers custom calling features, voice mail, video conferencing, and Internet services to its customers. Our customers have centralized equal access with Iowa Network Services as the provider of this service. Both intralata and interlata equal access is available. All outgoing long distance calls placed by our customers are routed over 100% fiber optics facilities.

SCHOOLS:
Anita Community Schools (K-12)

WELCOME MESSAGE:
Come to Anita-"It's a WHALE of a TOWN."--The Anita Chamber of Commerce
Contact- The Anita Tribune

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Lake Anita State Park, Tree in the Middle of the Road, Crestwood Hills Golf Course (18 holes), Anita Public Library, Antique Shop, unique architecture on Main Street. Bingo every Saturday night at the Anita Legion Hall, auctions every Monday at Vais Auction House, farmers' market on Monday nights-late spring to early fall, and several parks including Band Shell Park.

BUSINESSES:

We have various businesses including a grocery store, medical clinic, nursing home, pharmacy, gas stations and airport.

AGRICULTURE:
We are a farming community.

LODGING & RESTAURANTS:

Anita Grand Motel, Redwood Steak House, Anita Cafe, Nick's Sports Club, Pit Stop Drive In, Lake Anita State Park--camping with full service hookups.

LOCAL LEGENDS & HISTORY:

One day in the summer of 1869, a number of railroad officials were taking dinner at the Lewis Beacon house, which stood facing the alley (back of the old Victoria Hotel, now Larsen Const. Building west of Tom's Service Center), when the subject of the new station and its probable name was being discussed. The railroad proposed to call it Beason, but that gentleman (Mr. Beason), out of modesty, objected. Mrs. Beason suggested that the town be called "Anita" in honor of her niece, Anita Cowles of San Francisco. Mr. Beason was later informed by the railroad officials that his wife's suggestion had been adopted and the town had been christened "Anita". The name is Spanish and translated means "Little Anna".

The site of Anita is located in the central point of Grant township. It was originally the property of Lewis Beason, who caused the town to be surveyed and plotted in 1869, but in 1870, he disposed of it to Frank Whitney, R.F. Allen and John P. Cook, who were also the principal proprietors of the city of Atlantic, and who filed the plat of Anita for record on Nov. 10, 1870. To the original plat, Mr. Whitney made an addition on Sept. 24, 1874, and Norman Haskins another on March 13, 1879.

CELEBRATIONS:

Alumni Banquet-Last Saturday in May
Fireman's Steak Fry & Celebration-First Saturday in August
Whaletown Triathalon-First Saturday in August

REAL ESTATE:
Lake Ridge Addition, Sun Valley Trailer Park, Anita Development Corp.--5 one acre lots at Industrial Site north of town with two existing buildings.

CHURCHES:
Congregational United Church of Christ, Christian Church, Bible Baptist, Anita United Methodist, St. Mary's Catholic, Holy Cross Lutheran.

LIBRARY/ Community Center: Anita Public Library 812 3rd St., Box 366 Anita, IA 50020-0366 Phone: 712-762-3639 Fax: 712-762-3178 Email: anitapl@midlands.net

The Library was built in 1931 by the Christian Science Church. In 1963 the Church donated the building to Anita to be used solely as a public library. The building is made of cobblestones from area farms. The interior has beamed, vaulted ceilings, and oak plank, pegged floors with green stained rounded arch windows. Through the generosity of the Henneberg-Roots Foundation, the Anita community here and away, and several grants a 3300 sq. ft. addition was dedicated in November of 1999 along with a 4100 sq. ft. community center in the lower level. The addition's architecture is true to the original building.