Bill Rood surrounded by daughters Tami and Tracy, 1979
Rood's Artesian Service, later known as Artesian Apco, was a popular stopping point for travelers along the Highway 69 corridor because of the constantly flowing artesian well located immediately north of the station. The photo below from 1951 shows a nearby flowing well typical of the artesian activity within a mile of Artesian Service Station. Lake Comar was also sustained by a similar water supply from the same vein. Both the Highway 69 well and the Comar well have been capped to protect groundwater from contamination.
Artisian Well frozen over, 1951
2009
High water keeps customers from taking advantage of the 3 cent savings at the gas pumps of Bill Rood’s Artesian Service located north of Ames. Between news reports of the Joe McCarthy hearings of June, 1954, the Tribune reported on Story County’s worst flooding since 1918. Read Tribune articles describing Story County's 1954 rain-related problems.
