Both the Adams brothers may be right. This is pronounced hoyle vower as though it rhymed with foil power . Back in What Cheer, Vicky Duncan, the city clerk, says the place was renamed from Petersburg by an army major named Joseph Andrews in the 19th century. I can't tell you what he was thinking when he renamed it. Duncan says she frequently gets questions about the name of the place from strangers.
People get off the highway and take a ride down here.
You always can tell when you're near What Cheer. Just study the signs for other villages in southeastern Iowa. If you see signs pointing to Sigourney, Ollie, North English, and South English, you're in the right neighborhood. Bergen Record Corp.