Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
THOMPSON, Mary Virginia "Winnie"
THOMPSON, Mary Virginia "Winnie" (Youngstown, OH, May 2, 1928--Dubuque, IA, Apr. 18, 2014). "Winnie" childhood was divided between Cleveland and Dubuque. Her father, Peter Deibel, transferred thirteen times between plant manager jobs for GENERAL DRY BATTERIES in both cities. She was elected class president at ACADEMY OF THE VISITATION (THE) where she also played basketball and attended CLARKE COLLEGE for nearly two years before marrying.
Always interested in business, Winnie began making Barbie doll hats which were sold in the food market and through the mail. Around 1974 she opened her own store to sell reproductions of old-fashioned gift items along with some of her own craft creations. Her gift shop led to entry into civic activism with the revival of the FARMERS' MARKET. With her family and friends, she erected barricades every market morning for as many as seventh-five farmers. At about this time, she and her husband sold their ranch house along Asbury Road and purchased and remodeled an old house at 215 Fremont. In 1982 the reclamation of an old warehouse at 169 Iowa led to the growth of the ICE HARBOR EMPORIUM. Her drive to collect needed signatures led to the creation of a historic preservation district in the area of ST. RAPHAEL'S CATHEDRAL and the recognition of her work with a position on the Historic Preservation Commission. (1)
Thompson's civic activities included helping to raise the $50,000 in private funds needed for a Main Street revitalization program. She held memberships on the central committee of the Main Street Project, the board of the Dubuque Downtown Association, Dubuque Historic Preservation Commission and the attraction committee of the DUBUQUE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Her hopes of establishing an excursion train between Bellevue and Dubuque proved uneconomical but resulted in the creation of Dubuque Trolleys, Inc. She was also involved in some decorating for his husband Jack's TFM Co. which included the Iron Kettle Deli, the Upstairs and The Caterers restaurants, and OKY DOKY. (2)
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Source:
1. Kirchen, Rich, Telegraph Herald, "Faces of Business," April 29, 1985, p. 9
2. Notable Local Deaths, Chronology 2014, Telegraph Herald, January 1, 2015, p. 2