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TELEPHONE COMPANY AND SERVICES:
The Sully Telephone Association provides private line telephone service to
the towns of Sully and Reasnor and the surrounding rural area. The company
uses digital switching and all buried cable plant to provide high quality
voice and data circuits to meet the needs of their business and
residential customers. In conjunction with Iowa Network Services, Sully
Telephone Association is able to provide voice mail, internet access and
paging to its customers and surrounding towns.
SCHOOLS:
Sully is privileged to have two fine schools to educate their children.
The Lynnville- Sully School is made up of a K-5 elementary school, a 6-8
middle school and a 9-12 high school. The objective of the parents, school
board, administrators, teachers, staff, and other support people is to
help each child develop into a mature individual and a contributing member
of society. Ninety-five percent of the freshmen class will graduate with a
diploma from Lynnville-Sully High School. The total number of students is
520. This small size allows for an excellent teacher to student ratio, the
opportunity to explore and develop most any interest the students may have
and develop personal relationships with teachers and friends in a way only
possible in small schools.
The Sully Christian School is a K-8 school that is run by the Christian School Society. The mission statement of the school is, "The Sully Christian School, together with the Christian parents and society, will provide a quality education that is based on the infallible Word of God. We will equip and enable our children, through God's grace, to be active members of God's Kingdom." The school has a total of 150 students and eleven full and part time teachers and administrator.
AGRICULTURE:
Rich rolling farm ground with normal rainfall provide local farmers with
excellent yields of corn, soybeans, hay and oats. On many of the farms you
will see hogs, cattle, or sheep raised and fed to market weights and
delivered to area meat packers. There is also a sprinkling of dairy
farmers who with the others make up one of the richest food producing
areas of the nation. Agriculture is the backbone of most of the business
that goes on around Sully and many jobs are in agriculture or ag related
business.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY:
Within one square mile, Sully boasts more than 60 businesses. Our
quarterly retail sales tax receipts rival that of towns twice our size.
Sully's business district is anchored by one of the larger cooperatives in
the state. Sully Co-op Exchange is also the largest single employer in
town. The cooperative is divided into three units: the elevator
department provides seed, feed, fertilizer, grain storage and marketing,
or most any service or product associated with grain or livestock
production. The oil department provides fuel, lubricant, tires, propane
and a full service shop for cars, pickups, trucks and tractors. The
lumber department provides lumber and related products and provides
planning and construction for farm, light commercial and residential
buildings. There are also many other businesses important to the area
including a hardware store, bank, grocery store, insurance office, barber
and hair stylists, satellite offices of doctors, dentist, lawyers, and
accountants, flower store, grain bin sales and service dealer, skid loader
dealer, two restaurants, telephone company, newspaper, meat locker, and a
large machinery dealer just to mention a few. There are also several
trucking firms in and around the area that transport livestock, fuel,
fertilizer, feed and grain.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
The City of Sully has its own well and water treatment plant that uses
reverse osmosis for water purification. The waste water treatment plant is
in the process of being upgraded to the latest state of the art facility.
Electricity and natural gas are supplied by ISE Industries and the
citizens have long enjoyed some of the most competitive energy rates in
the state. Total tax levies are some of the lowest in Jasper County. Fire
and ambulance service are provided by the Sully Rural Fire and Ambulance
Department. The department is staffed by 19 volunteers 15 who are
certified as EMT-D's, 2 as EMT-A's. The department is housed in a fire
station that was completed in 1992, and includes parking for the vehicles,
wash bays, storage room, offices, bathrooms, and a training and meeting
room. Equipment used by the fire department include two pumpers, one
tanker, quick attack unit, equipment van and a well equipped ambulance.
Sully Rural Fire and Ambulance is tax supported but also receives notable
contributions for equipment purchases. During 1994 the city completed a
7200 square foot community center that includes council chambers, clerk's
office, library, kitchen, restrooms, and a large meeting room that is
available to the public for social events. The city also actively uses tax
increment financing to enhance residential areas and encourage business
development and growth.
LIBRARY:
Our local library has expanded three times in the last four years! Now
housed in Sully's new Community Center, our computerized checks out an
average of 30,000 books, videos, and books on tape per year. The present
collection contains over 9000 volumes. The library also has a summer
reading program, a winter reading program, delivery service for house
bound readers, and participates in a state-wide interlibrary loan program
acquiring materials not available locally for patrons.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Popular tourist attractions in the Sully area include historic Wagaman
Mill, built on the North Skunk River in 1846 to grind corn and wheat for
area farmers. In later years a generator was installed to provide
electricity for the people of Lynnville. Just a few miles Northeast of
Sully is "Dollyville" where over 600 dolls share a century-old farmhouse
with their owners. Tours are available by appointment. Perhaps the most
frequently visited spot in Sully is the Coffee Cup Cafe........
RESTAURANTS AND LODGING:
......... where the food is homemade and you can order something called
Dutch Mess (clue - its' a salad). Don't miss their rhubarb pie or biweekly
Cream Puff Friday. There's also the SOS Cafe, specializing in sandwiches,
home-made desserts, and soft-serve ice cream. Only a short 30 minute drive
from Sully, you'll find a wide selection of quality lodging at Newton,
Pella, or Grinnell.
FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS:
Sully's biggest yearly event salutes our nation's birthday every July 4.
We've kept alive the spirit of the small town celebration with a parade
complete with horses, fire trucks, the high school marching band, kids on
bikes and tykes on trikes and always a surprise or two in the float
competition. The day kicks off with a pancake breakfast and free coffee
and donuts in the central park. After the parade there's' a kids' tractor
pull, kids games in the park, a Lion's Club lunch, fast pitch tournament,
and a musical variety program.
Another tradition, usually the second weekend in December, is Sully's Christmas Tour of Homes, a Merchants Open House, Festival of Christmas Trees, Christmas Lighting contest and Santa also puts in an appearance and checks up on how the children have been behaving.
PARKS AND RECREATION:
Sully is in the middle of a great hunting and fishing area. Local farm
ponds yield bass, bluegills, crappies, and catfish while some state lakes
and rivers offer walleyes, stripers and an occasional northern. Ice
fishing also produces some very fine tasting fish. There are state parks
and county parks that offer boating, camping, fishing, swimming, bike
trails, and picnicking. In the fall we have some really great pheasant
and deer hunting. Rabbits, squirrels, and quail are also available.
Snowmobiling is also a winter activity that several families enjoy. Not
far from Sully in any direction are several golf courses where golfers
enjoy themselves.
REAL ESTATE:
Sully has lots available in three subdivisions with varying sizes and
price ranges. Most homes are valued between 35,000 and 120,000 dollars.
The City of Sully is developing a light industrial area to attract
business to the city.
PEOPLE OF SULLY:
The people who make up the citizens of Sully and the surrounding area are
quite diverse but our population is strongly influenced by people of Dutch
heritage. There are many third, second, and even some first generation
Dutchmen that moved to this area and have made it their home. The people
of Sully are characterized by strong moral values, good work ethic, and
respect for life and property of others. Many of our residents work in the
surrounding towns and most are considered highly valued employees. Sully
also has a goodly senior citizen population. Extended family get togethers
on Sundays after church and family reunions during the summer are
commonplace.
CHURCHES:
........play an important part in the lives of Sully residents. Our roots
are largely conservative Protestant with a Christian Reformed Church, a
Reformed Church, and a non denominational fundamentalist congregations in
town. Nearby communities offer Lutheran, Methodist, Friends and Church of
God denominations. Our churches are at the center of many of our social
activities. Our locally-owned business are closed on Sunday so that
families may spend time together in worship, visiting and leisure
activities. We believe our Christian heritage helps account for very low
incidence of divorce and crime in our community.
HISTORY:
Sully lies along an old wagon train road called the "The Diamond Trail"
after a particularly arduous journey a bone weary pioneer lamented "I
wouldn't take that trail again for a bushel of diamonds!"
Lynn Grove Township where Sully is located was "laid off" on May 14, 1846, and platted on August 3, 1882 At the time of our incorporation on February 23,1901, there were 150 residents. In 1883, Alfred Sully, a railroad magnate, built a railroad through Lynn Grove township and influenced the establishment a depot which was named in his honor. The town has grown steadily ever since and today has 850 people living in it.
BRAGGING RIGHTS:
Sully is almost what you would call a "picture book town" with its
well-kept houses, yards and flowers, parks and business district. The town
has three well-attended churches and no bars. Day and evening, you'll find
children and adults walking and riding bikes all over town or visiting on
the square. During the summer our ball park is the place to meet and watch
LittleLeague, Powder Puff, and other soft ball games. During the winter,
school activities and church functions keep people happily occupied. If
people have a desire for big city malls, concerts, opera and etc. Des
Moines is only a short hours' drive away. Sully is really a neat place to
come home to; a great place to raise children and a place you can live
without fear.
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(All text and original graphics copyright (c) 1994 / 1995 Iowa Network Services, Inc.)