About Doyle Bluffs

The Doyle Bluffs Movie Review is proudly brought to you by Ira Crabtree and Gomer Hinkle. Ira and Gomer are farmers by trade, but they have many hobbies of a more genteel nature. Chief among these is watching movies.

Though brothers-in-law, they are as close as brothers. They are best friends, but can also fight like dogs. These two are known to “take it to the fields” when they disagree on a movie. In past times this was a wrestling match in the beans, but as they’ve gotten older, and bruise more easily, they now have a golf driving contest over Gomer’s pig barn.

A few years ago, Ira purchased the old Maverick theatre on the town square of Doyle Bluffs. It had been closed for almost 15 years and over the next four summers, Ira and Gomer restored the old girl to the glory the boys had enjoyed as kids growing up. The theatre seats 250 patrons and shows 2 movies per week. This gives the lads a great excuse to view movies since Ira runs the projector and Gomer serves the popcorn at the snack bar.

This web site was first created to advertise the movies for the Maverick theatre, but after numerous requests from their neighbors, they started writing reviews. Though farmers, Ira and Gomer know movies. They have a fairly simple way to grade the shows they see and also have vastly different tastes. But once you get to know the boys, you can count on their reviews..

Gomer lives about three miles north of Fiske Park on the eastern edge of Doyle Bluffs. He farms the Doyle family Pig farm as his clan has for almost 150 years. Gomer claims to be 49, but we are pretty sure he is just north of 50 by now. Currently he is unmarried and has asked that any offers of marriage (or other types of relationships) sent via the Internet be accompanied by a picture. Gomer is, by his own admission, a handsome and well groomed individual. His hobbies are movies, golf, ballroom dancing, bird calling, and fishing.

Ira Crabtree lives about a mile west of Gomer on Farm to market road 114. He is very proud of his 76 acres where he farms corn and beans. He also has two dozen cows and a handful of chickens to boot. He has been happily married to Gomer’s sister Bunny for over 25 years. Ira is 48 but feels 35. Ira is an avid fisherman and loves to spend time with his daughters, Lee and May. If you can’t find Ira at the theatre, look for him on one of Gomer’s bass ponds.

Doyle Bluffs History

Doyle Bluffs is situated just two miles from the Missouri River on the western border of the state. It has a fairly steady population that ranges between 1500 and 1700 inhabitants with the main occupation being farming. The town itself is about a mile and a half-wide and 2 miles long. We have two banks, two grocery stores, two clothing stores and 7 bait shops. We have a community college, 4 churches and of course the old Maverick theater on the town square. We are the county seat and have a courthouse right down town. It's a nice little town and we are proud of it.

The town of Doyle Bluffs, Iowa was first settled by Obadiah Doyle of Marboro, Maine on August 20, 1878. Obadiah settled in Iowa after becoming lost on his way to Texas in mid 1878. After two months of riding his mother's mule, he found his way to St. Louis, Missouri. He traded his mule and his savings for a ticket to Texas on the Missouri River Steamer "Arcadia". Needless to say, the Missouri River does not go to Texas, but Obadiah was not much on directions and soon found himself on the western edge of Iowa midway between Kansas City, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska. Obadiah and a small band of Irish settlers built the town on the shores of the river. Good soil, good water source, good people and lots of worms. An Iowa farm town was started.

A statue of Obadiah Doyle was bronzed in 1926 and still stands in front of courthouse. The statue's artist has remained anonymous, but whoever it was, they had a sharp sense of humor. Obadiah stands on the pedestal looking at a map. If you venture close to the statue, you will notice that it is a map of the United States, which is turned upside down. This probably is not too far from the truth.

If you pass through Doyle Bluffs, it may seem like any other Midwestern town. But if you take a closer look, it is full of characters and charm. Thanks for visiting..

Come back soon!