It was like finding a diamond.
As construction workers scraped decades of plaster from an interior wall upstairs at 15 E. Madison, a long-hidden architectural detail began to emerge: a huge brick archway in the center of the hallway.
Its just beautiful, Cheryl Sparks said. Its a great place for people to stand and take a picture.
It was blocked in. You never knew it was there, her husband, Terry, said.
The archway now beckons as a centerpiece of The Lofts, short-stay apartments in the upstairs of historic buildings on the south side of the square. Its a project rooted in Iolas history, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the nations largest downtown square and the enterprising families who settled in Iola in the late 1800s.
But for the Sparks family, their history in Iola dates back just 38 years. With roots perhaps considered still-shallow, the Sparkses are as committed to Iolas future as those several generations deep by serving on community boards and investing in local business and renovation projects that will restore key parts of the citys history and survive for decades to come.
For their efforts, Cheryl and Terry Sparks have been named town marshals for this weekends Farm-City Days parade.
THEIR STORY began at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. Thats where Cheryl, from Raytown, Mo., and Terry, from the St. Louis area, first met. They went to an outdoor movie on campus for their first date. A couple of years after graduation, they married.
Terry was an elementary education major, but after student teaching, decided maybe he didnt want to be a teacher after all. Instead, he went into the insurance business. After more than three years selling life and health insurance in Kansas City, he followed a friends advice and became an agent with State Farm Insurance.
He and Cheryl moved to Iola in 1980 to run a State Farm office at 108 S. Jefferson, most recently the site of Around the Corner. It was just the two of them, along with an 8-month old daughter, Laura. Cheryl handled the business side of the business in a position that at the time was called secretary. In reality, she was more of an office manager, a position shes more or less continued in some ways ever since, either full or part time.
We learned the business together, Cheryl said.
Their first staff member joined in 1981, just before the couple welcomed twin boys, Ryan and Shawn. The business soon moved to 109 S. Washington, where it would remain for the next 15 years. Another son, Eric, came along in 1988.
In 1995, State Farm moved to its current home at 15 W. Madison, a building that formerly housed a music store and then Fashion Crossroads. Since then, the building has been remodeled three times. Son Ryan joined the business in 2005. Staff now includes the three family members, plus Kyle Perry, Kyla Sutterby and Dena Daniels.
The agency has become one of the top performing State Farm offices in the nation, earning national ranking in the company in the Top 5 in the banking category and earning Chairmans Circle designation for being in the top 3 percent overall for seven years.
