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Oldest Iowan Birthplace
Valo Photo supplied by Jerry and Bonnie Ballantyne

This Olav Smedal mystery farm photo shows the birthplace of Neva (Freed) Morris, longtime Ames resident.  She is currently the oldest Iowan and will celebrate her 112th birthday at Northcrest August 3rd.

In response to the inevitable question, “To what do you owe your longevity?” – Neva invariably replies, “Nothing special.”  However, her son-in-law, Tom Wickersham, observes, “It didn’t hurt that she worked hard all her life and ate hearty and healthy meals prepared from meat, dairy products and vegetables produced on the farm.”  Walter Morris, Neva’s youngest son and sole surviving scion, thinks her passion for fast cars was a factor, as witnessed by her 80-year accident-free driving record.

Through much of her life Neva has been closely involved with farming.  She is a member of PEO Chapter OH, a 60-year member of Collegiate United Methodist Church, and for 75 years was active in Eastern Star.  She also enjoyed singing in women’s choral groups, including one in Gilbert and the Story County Women’s Chorus under the direction of Max Exner.  Neva particularly loves to sing “You Are My Sunshine.”

Neva’s parents, Schuyler and Carebie Freed, farmed land located on the Slater road one-half mile south of new Highway 30.  Her father was known for raising Durock Jersey hogs that won championships at the state fair and attracted buyers throughout the Midwest.  Neva was the youngest of four children, all of whom attended a one-room country school through the eighth grade and then entered Ames High School.

Neva Freed married Edward Leonard Morris in 1914.  The couple lived with Edward’s parents, Gertrude Rutherford and Walter Leonard Morris, on a farm encompassing 224 acres of land between 24th Street and Top-O-Hollow Road and west of Hoover Avenue.  Edward graduated from Iowa State College in 1917 with a degree in engineering.  Shortly afterwards, Neva and Edward moved to Chicago where he took an engineering position with a building contractor.  Edward also taught at Mooseheart Child City and School located 38 miles west of Chicago.  This facility provided a home for children and teens in need and taught them skills for success in later life.  Neva loved the city and considers it the best time in her life.

When Edward’s employer quit the contracting business in the mid-1920s the family moved back to Iowa.  Working as an engineer with the Iowa Highway Commission, Edward and family moved around the state as he oversaw one construction project after another.  During the Great Depression, they moved back to Ames and took over the Morris family farm, rented by “Sig” Olson after Walter’s death.  Farming guaranteed a living and food on the table in those difficult years.  Neva worked hard taking care of chickens, hogs and dairy cattle.  Leslee, the oldest son, and his two sisters, Betty Lee and Mary Jane, delivered milk daily to the Iowa State College Dairy Industries Building driving an old black Chevy coup loaded with two 10-gallon milk cans in the trunk.

Eventually, Leslee took over farming both the Freed and Morris farms, allowing Edward to return to his engineering career at the City of Ames and Iowa Department of Transportation.  Edward also oversaw the construction of the student center addition to Collegiate Methodist Church.  After Edward’s death, Neva continued to live in the two-story farm home designed by Edward and built by Phil Coy and Sons in 1939.

Neva is known for love of cars and her lengthy driving career.  She continued driving her 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis until age 95.  The ‘Merc’ was her favorite for two reasons: it was fast, and it had an extra long seatbelt installed on the driver’s side by Moffitts, the car dealership in Boone.  Neva loved powerful cars, but did not always relish their required maintenance.  She was known to have a “heavy foot” and once asked if the new 55-speed limit applied to “everyone.”  She took particular delight in breezing down to Des Moines on shopping trips with her two daughters.  One day, however, the trip was cut short when the engine in her Pontiac burned up for lack of oil.

Many Ames residents will recall the Morris homestead at 2519 Hoover where Neva lived for over 55 years.  The deep lot features an expansive lawn sloping up to the west and highlighting the stately white house.  The Morris home will long be remembered as being among the first in Ames to display outdoor, lighted Christmas decorations.  The tradition began about 1939 or 1940 when artistic daughter, Betty Lee, cut out a sleigh and reindeer from an old refrigerator carton and mounted it on the housetop.  The following year and thereafter a more permanent plywood display graced the peak.  Hundreds of people drove along Hoover Avenue to view the novelty.  In later years, Neva could be found enjoying the warmth of Florida during the winter months.

At age 99 ½ she moved from her beloved farm home to North Grand Care Center and later to Northcrest Community.  Although facing hearing and vision challenges, Neva still enjoys visiting with her close relatives and spending time with her eight grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, and several great-great-grandchildren.  May she survive to be the oldest person in the world!