This bin is part of the sorting/grading system used by the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company.

“Iowa has become hybrid seed corn minded since 1934 when three and one-tenth percent of the Iowa corn acreage was planted with hybrid seed. In 1942 more than 95 percent of the corn acreage was hybrid, and (in) 1945 it is safe to say hybrid seed is used all the time,” reported the October 11, 1945, Denison Review.

“Malloy Brothers, of Westside, have had an enviable part in making seed corn history not only in Crawford County, the state of Iowa, but throughout the corn belt.”

With that part of history in mind, Christy Rickers, of Vail, has assembled a museum of artifacts from the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company in a Jackson Township building that was once owned by the company.

The exterior of the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company building looks much as it did when it was in service in the mid-20th Century.

“It was started in 1934 by the children of Margaret and Thomas Malloy; Thomas died young in 1920 when the kids were all 17 and younger,” Rickers said.

“In 1934 – the boys – there were nine of them – came together and started the seed corn company.”

Rickers is an archaeologist - and history is one of her obvious interests.

In 1988, her father, Robert Rickers, who died in 2020, bought the property where the company was located.

“The history of it was always intriguing to my father,” Rickers said. “The company was a big part of this township – a big part of the county. As I did research, I found out there is actually some regional and national significance to the company.”

The Malloy brothers sold their hybrid corn in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota, she said.

During World War II, the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company provided seed corn that was sent to Europe to replace seed corn in areas where the crops had been destroyed.

Brothers Bill, Ed and Clarence joined the Army in the war; Clair worked in the defense industry; Joe, Rupert, Ray, Melvin and Louis spent the war years growing corn on 763 acres, according to the July 22, 1943, Denison Bulletin.

The Malloy Hybrids Museum is located in a building that once housed the company’s main grain cleaning and sorting facility.

“This year, we bought the piece of ground across the road that was also Malloy ground,” Rickers said. “The (Malloy) descendants and I were looking at some of the documents and the abstracts, so I started pulling together a little more information about it because it was so interesting.”

A lot of Malloys and their relatives still live in the area, Rickers said.

She put together a display of artifacts, photographs, original newspaper articles and promotional items related to the company.

Christy Rickers assembled this display of artifacts, photographs, original newspaper articles and promotional items related to the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company.

On display is one of the promotional signs - and the order form that was used to order a batch of the signs.

The building still houses much of the original infrastructure used in the process of sorting and storing the hybrid corn, including chutes, conveyors and a sorting/grading machine.

The building still houses much of the original infrastructure used in the process of sorting and storing hybrid corn.

The original desk for the company office and a wood-burning stove are located on the first floor of the three-story building, which also has a concrete basement that was used in the operation.

The building’s north side still has a drive-through area for loading and unloading corn, which is now used for storage.

The July 27, 1939, Denison Bulletin explained how the company went about creating its hybrids.

“Ten members of the Malloy family provide a crew to detassel corn that makes easy work of the thirty acres that Malloy Bros, of Jackson Township are growing this year. Joe acts as the directing officer of the crew. Tassels are pulled on each of the four rows on which seed corn will be picked. The fifth rows furnish the pollen. Iowa No. 939, Iowa No. 13, and Indiana No. 432 are the varieties that are being grown this year. Plans are being made to adequately dry the seed at picking time. This is the third year that Joe and his brothers have grown hybrid seed corn.”

“It was a big part of the neighborhood history,” Rickers said. “My two great-aunts, Hilda and Malinda Rickers, worked here - probably in the sorting and drying building. My mom, Linda Vergith, and her sister Lorna worked detasseling for the Malloy Seed Corn Company.”

Rickers said the company had many buildings in its heyday, but only the building with the museum and two small outbuildings remain on the Rickers property today.

Stories about the company appeared many times in the Denison newspapers between the mid-1930s and the mid-1960s.

The newspapers printed in early December 1965 announced the end of the Malloy Hybrid Seed Corn Company.

“The Malloy Brothers, having disposed of their seed corn business are now dissolving the partnership and will offer the following items for sale at public auction…,” announced the December 16, 1965, Denison Review.

The sale took place on December 20 of that year.

“They were kind of a big deal and we’re just really proud of it,” Rickers said. “The family and the descendants are really proud of it.”

She shows her pride with a Malloy’s Hybrids license plate frame on her truck.

Individuals who would like to take a tour of the building and see the museum may contact Rickers at 712-269-8436.

She noted the building is not handicap-accessible.

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This bin is part of the sorting/grading system used by the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company.

Christy Rickers assembled this display of artifacts, photographs, original newspaper articles and promotional items related to the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company.

The building still houses much of the original infrastructure used in the process of sorting and storing hybrid corn.

The exterior of the Malloy Brothers Hybrid Seed Corn Company building looks much as it did when it was in service in the mid-20th Century.