Prophetstown has had its share of interesting people. Bud DeWeerdt was certainly one of them. He and his wife were our neighbors here in Brookhaven, living on the other side of the street and a couple of houses to the north. Our two kids loved them. They were always welcome at the DeWeerdt house and would watch TV with Bud and Arlene.
He had a reputation as quite a “character” who loved a good practical joke. Bud and his wife, Arlene, owned the Ben Franklin Store here in Prophetstown from 1953-1978.
I contacted some of the resident who knew Bud and what you read below is their memory of him. I included one of my own which happened here in Brookhaven and then made its way through the business district, giving another neighbor a good laugh. People loved it when they could pull something on Bud. They all agreed he did not take it too well most of the time.
336 Washington Street through the years:
1920
2000
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2005
From the Echo, August 5, 1974
When you see Allen “Bud” DeWeerdt with a frown on his face, he’s probably only teasing, because he’s the man with the smile who has operated the Ben Franklin Store at Prophetstown for the last 21 years. He’s a great friend of all the youngsters and always mingles a little fun with his patience while they make their purchases, however small. He says he likes Prophetstown people very much, and when he’s not busy at the store or meeting friends at the coffee shop, he likes to do a bit of golfing. He and his wife, Arline, live in the Brookhaven Subdivision just east of Prophetstown and they have three children, Jesse James of Seneca, Doug James of Trenton, N.J., and Mrs. Gary Youngblood, San Diego, Calif. (From the Echo, by Barbara Boone)
From the Echo, November 21, 1995. 
Believe it or not, for the past 50 years there has been a BEN FRANKLIN store in Prophetstown. That’s half a century at the same location. True, the local Ben Franklin store was a variety store even before that, how long nobody seems to know.
However, come Nov. 24th and 25th, the present owner of the store, Dolores Francis, is going to celebrate the occasion with a BAG SALE, handing out prizes and all that stuff on both days. According to Dolores, the idea to celebrate came from the Ben Franklin company. The company called to tell her they had been going through their records of late and noted that 50 years was just a few weeks away. “Why not celebrate?” they suggested. “That’s a long time at one location.”
With that Dolores called Arlene DeWeerdt, who with her husband Al, operated the store for 25 of those years, from 1953 until selling it to Dolores and Kenny Francis in 1978.
You can bet that Arlene will be in the store to help celebrate Nov. 24th and 25th. You can’t be part of something that long and not still love it.
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From Bud Thompson:
“There was a story going around: Bud and Dr. Tyler (local dentist) were pals. They enjoyed playing tricks on each other. One morning Bud went dashing into Doc. Tyler’s office (it is gone now) and said he had a bad tooth-ache. Doc. got him in the chair and Bud pointed out which one was hurting him. Doc. poked around and said your bad tooth is on the bottom, not the top as you are saying. Bud got upset and said: ‘I know which one is hurting, just pull it.’ So Doc. Did, showed Bud the tooth he just pulled and said: ‘this is a good tooth, the bad one is still in your mouth'”.
From Cal Schuneman:
“Oh yes, good old Bud. He certainly loved a practical joke, unless he was the victim. When most business people went to Chuck’s Place for morning coffee, Bud would sometimes announce ‘John, I’ll buy your coffee today.’ John, assuming his bill was paid, would leave Chuck’s and go on his way. The problem was that Bud did not pay Chuck. Bud thought that was great fun.
Chuck not so much, he would need to follow his customer down the street and ask for payment. “For years, Bud’s store and Bob Jackson’s barber shop adjoined. They would clear the snow from their walk and pile it all in the other doorway.”
“Harold Plautz never took the keys out of his car when he parked on Washington St. Bud would sometimes move Harold’s car and park it far from where it was left.”
From Dolores Francis:
“I really didn’t know Bud very well. We bought the store from him when it was advertised that he wanted to sell for health reasons. He loved to play jokes I’m told. He also visited the store many times after selling because it was his life. And I know now what it means, because it became my life and I loved it.”
From Eileen Detra:
“I don’t know about him. But, Jesse James, his step-son, was in my class of 1960 and he was known as very humorous and actually very witty and funny – kind of class clown who became a Superintendent in Michigan and then Rock Falls with a doctorate in education!
Bud was always friendly and actually walked around the store following you in case you pick pocketed something.”
From Fran Hansen Hamann
“Bud & Arlene DeWeerdt were a big part of my youth. Arlene was always sweet and kind with a warm smile. Bud also had his kind and gentle side, but with it also came the heart of a prankster. At times he would be joking in some way, but it was difficult for me to know when that was; his facial features usually remained flat and without expression.”
“My Dad, (Kenny Hansen), owned and operated Hansen’s Coffee Shop with my Mom (Mildred Hansen). Bud often would come in for breakfast, before opening the Ben Franklin (sometimes called the five & dime store in the 50’s) for the day. Dad and Bud seemed to be on some kind of race to see who could out prank the other. I don’t remember what pranks Bud did on Dad but I do remember one that Dad did on Bud.
“Bud came into the Coffee Shop early one morning, sat at the counter in his usual spot, put in his order for one large pancake, milk and coffee. I guess Dad was feeling perky that morning and decided this was his day to pull a prank on Bud. Dad poured a nice round circle of pancake batter on the grill, neatly placed a freshly cleaned can lid on top of the batter, and carefully poured more batter over the whole thing. I was a young girl at this moment in time in the early 1950’s. As this special pancake was delivered by the waitress to Bud, I watched, hardly noticed, from the kitchen door. Bud went through the motions of buttering and smothering his pancake with syrup. Took his fork to cut off a bite. When the pancake did not budge to offer up a bite, Bud took his butter knife and fork to see if that would solve the problem. Suddenly, he stood up, slammed his utensils down on the counter and stormed out of the Coffee Shop front door. I suppose the clue was when the pancake appeared to be shiny on the inside like never before.”
“Dad was red faced and teary eyed with roaring laughter. I have no idea who was the ‘prankster victor’ between these two over the years.”
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Here you see Bud and Arlene seated at the lunch counter where Kenneth Hansen pulled one on Bud.
From Fred South:
“We built our Brookhaven house in 1966. In 1972, Bob and Nova Schultz built on the lot just south of us. Bob, some of you will recall, ran the Thermogas business in Prophetstown. He and Bud DeWeerdt were quite a pair, always at each other. In 1972, Brookhaven was not yet in the City of Prophetstown, so we had our own rules to live by. One rule was that no trailer houses could be used. Bob had purchased the lot and just before construction started he asked me to go out at night, mark out a place for a trailer on the lot, using stakes and string. Bud DeWeerdt also lived in Brookhaven. Apparently, in the morning, he looked down the street and saw the stakes and string I had placed the night before, noting it was a layout for a trailer. Shortly thereafter, the word was all over uptown that Bob was going against the rules and was putting a trailer on his Brookhaven lot.”
“Bob loved it; thought it a hoot. Actually, he and I had designed his house the winter of 1971-72 and the contractor, Red Blackert, was set to begin construction. Of course, all Bud knew, or thought he knew, was that Bob aimed to put a trailer on his lot.”
From Lorraine Thompson:
“I remember Bud well. It happened that he worked with my mother around 1946 in the office at Clinton Corn, which I believe is now ADM. We often shopped in Ben Franklin, and it was fun to go into Bud’s store. There were double doors and a bubble gum machine on the outside. When giving the change back, he would keep a grip on the coins or bills in his hand and pull back quickly before us kids could grab a hold of it. He used to have a candy counter in front, and we would select butterscotch or chocolate candies that were placed in little white bags. Once, around Christmas time, when I was by myself and went to pay for candy, the nice clerk said Bud had told her it was already paid for. When I got to the car and told Mom, she got a big smile on her face and said it sounded just like Bud. He always said hello and had a big smile. His wife was also very nice.”
From Tracy South-Paulsen:
“My strongest memory of him is that he teased us kids when we would come into the dime store. If we bought candy, he would palm it, or our change we were paying with and try to convince us that we hadn’t given him enough. Then, he would pull it out of our ear and ask us why we were keeping change or candy in our ear. He was always so funny. I was used to teasing, coming from our house, so I guess it made me feel at home when he teased me. I remember taking my money into the store and pouring over the penny candy to figure out what I should buy. I loved Sixletts and Smarties, but often ended up with Jolly Rancher sticks, which you can’t buy anymore. Just thinking about those Jolly Ranger Sticks makes my mouth water! I was lucky enough to have him live in our neighborhood. I remember going down to visit him and Arlene. They were always so kind and welcoming to us kids. I was so sad when he passed away. The dime store wasn’t the same without him in it.”
From Elizabeth Robinson-Green:
“I just remember he always teased us when we went into the store. I never knew if he was serious or not. He would stand with us as we made decisions on which penny candy to buy and give us suggestions, then help us count out our change on the counter.“
One Response
Very Interesting. Love your stories.