Home Town Food

Barb's is  named for a barber
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer

EVERLY, Iowa -- How good are the burgers at Barb's Restaurant & Lounge north of this Clay County town?

"We've been known for our burgers forever," says LuAnne Ginger, a cook here for three decades. "We used to have the burgers pictured on the back of bowling shirts."

Barb's, also known as Barb's Corner and Barb's Cafe, has been a popular stopping point for folks driving from Omaha and Sioux City to the Iowa Great Lakes. The business at the intersection of Highway 18 and Clay County Road M-27 opened in the early 1960s as a gas station. Soon after, owner Verlin "Barb" Dillingham began grilling burgers.

"This was a landmark for people," says Randy Dillingham, son of the late "Barb" Dillingham. "We had lots of traffic here as people went to the lakes all summer long. There were people who didn't know where Everly was, but they knew Barb's corner."

Everly, home of the once-famous Cattlefeederettes (the nickname for Everly's girls' high school teams) is about two miles south of this spot on the map.

How much traffic passed by? Randy Dillingham uses a story to illustrate.

"When I was 15 or so in the early 1960s, I used to hitchhike on Saturday night to the Roof Garden (at Arnolds Park) for their dances," he says. "It took no time at all to get a ride as people from Sheldon, Sanborn, Hartley and all around here were all heading to the same place."

The traffic has since diminished a bit with the opening of four-lane Highway 60 to the west and a bypass on the east side of nearby Spencer.

Despite lower vehicle numbers, Barb's still stands and remains an active hub, staring each day at 6:30 a.m. It remains open until 9 or 10 p.m. daily, save for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How does man get to be called Barb?

"My dad's dad, Alvah, was a barber, so he got the nickname," says Randy Dillingham, son of the late "Barb" Dillingham. "He was a barber at Moneta when it was a booming town and then in Everly. I was told that people back then were so busy farming that he sometimes would cut people's hair at 1 o'clock in the morning."

Beyond thick, juicy burgers, Barb's staff has perfected a baked beans recipe as well as broasted chicken, prime rib (on Friday and Saturday night) and sandwiches called the McKevin and the McCarole. The McKevin, named for third-generation family member/cook Kevin Dillingham, features fried eggs, cheese and sliced sausage links atop a toasted bun.

The McCarole is named for Carole Kluender, a waitress at Barb's for 30 years. That fried egg sandwich has cheese and two pieces of bacon, all served on a toasted bun.

"We've also had free popcorn here since Day 1," says Bev Schoorman, a server who works part-time when she's not serving as a teacher in the talented-and-gifted program at Clay Central-Everly.

Other favorites in the bar/restaurant include cheesy hash browns topped with onions and shakes and malts, which have been particularly popular among summer travelers heading to and from Okoboji

 >>>> THE good old days when people cared about people  <<<<<<<<