The parents of the currrent owners had owned and operated a small bait and tackle shop and bar from 1967 until October of 1996. A tornado destroyed that building on October 26, 1996. Construction of Angels' Straw Bale Saloon was started in June of 1997. It was a time-consuming process as all labor was provided by the owners and funding was minimal. The bar was completed in December of 1999. The first day in business was December 31, 1999. Radiant thermal heat was installed in the concrete floor. A post-and-beam structure was then built, with the roof complete before the walls were ever started. Straw bales were then stacked from the floor to the roof, pinned together as they went up. Door and window bucks were set in place as the walls went up. Once the stacking was completed, the walls were then smoothed up, wrapped in chicken-wire and then stuccoed with a concrete stucco. Interior walls were then finished with sheetrock compound and painted. Interior finishing includes the rough-cut beams used for the framework, a wood ceiling and cedar trim. One of the main focal points of the bar is the hand-built cedar front and back bar. All cedar and pine used in the bar was harvested locally. Please visit the barfor a more thorough desription of the building process, which is depicted in a large collage of photos we have displayed there.
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