Whether talking about his business opportunities, fly fishing, racing or foreign sports cars, the enthusiasm he shows conveys his love for whatever it is that he enjoys.

A Marshalltown native, Elder Jr. said his grandfather worked on the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad, while his father and Uncle Jim opened Monarch Motors in Marshalltown in the late 1930s. When that was closed in the 1950s, his father became a salesman for Arbie Feeds, Lennox and then entered real estate with Thad Smith.

“My work experience began in the personnel department at Lennox. I then met Dave Ostrem from Des Moines through a sports car club and worked in his business for a few years before dad called and said there were opportunities in the real estate business in Marshalltown. I returned home and became licensed,” Elder Jr. said.

“I opened Elder Partners Reality and then worked for Marlene and Jack Harkness in their agency and finally at Premier Reality before I retired,” he said. “I loved my work as there were so many opportunities, and I would still be working today if things making it so hard for me to get around had not crept up on me.”

T-R photoS by Chuck Friend Dean Elder Jr. looks over some of the many sports and race car models that he has put together in the basement of his Marshalltown home

Fishing was a hobby that Elder Jr. developed as a Boy Scout under the leadership of John Garwood who helped him achieve a fishing merit badge. He then helped start the Hawkeye Fly Fishing Club and took fly tying classes at the junior college in the building that is now Miller Junior High in Marshalltown.

“The Hawkeye Fly Fishing Club is nearly 50 years old now, and still has members from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa,” Elder Jr. said. “People do not do as much fly fishing as they did years ago, so I do not teach how to tie flys anymore like I did for some time through the college.”

Although he does not have as many fly rods as he used to, Elder Jr. feels fly fishing with the bamboo rods is really a lot of fun, and that some of the better rods are now worth a lot of money. He said that the strength of the bamboo used in fly rods is incredible and that catching trout and other large fish pose no problems

He described many of the flys that he has tied, and said that he has given a lot of them away – but his are a lot more crude that those tied by the professionals.

Tying flys still is enjoyment for him in his retirement years, as is building intricate models of foreign sports cars.

Elder Jr shows off a box of fly fishing flys that he has tied and has used for bluegill and crappie fishing

“I have always had a love for foreign sports cars and am a member of the Sport Cars Association of America. I met David Hesmer, (the 360 champion in sprint cars who races in Knoxville) through his father that helped me when I did a little small engine racing myself,” Elder Jr. said. “My love for racing is now found in building models of Indy cars, sprint cars, sports cars, Formula 1 cars and midget racers.”

He added that the models he builds are not the small plastic models that can be bought most everywhere and assembled quite quickly, but rather those that have intricate engines and some even have wiring harnesses to install.

“My interest peaks and ebbs, but it is nice to know that I have the fly tying and model building to keep my love for these past elements of my life current,” he continued.

Yet another interest and love of Elder Jr. is an interest in the downtown and future of his hometown.

Being in real estate has allowed him membership on the Board of Adjustment and to the creation of the Marshalltown Development Corporation, along with Duane Garber of Clappsaddle, Garber and Associates. Through that corporation Marshalltown’s downtown was named a National Historic Development site.

Fly fishing flys that Elder has tied and used for bluegill and crappie fishing.

“Marshalltown has gone through a series of socioeconomic changes. Previous development plans have not provided much fruit, so redevelopment of the downtown remains interesting,” Elder Jr. said. “With all the reconstruction after the tornado, I hope that they can create a much improved downtown,” he concluded.

One of Dean’s Midget race car models.