The Iowan | July/August 2014 vol. 62 | no. 6 by The Iowan magazine

STATE FAIR STUNTS

Train Wrecks! Human Bats! Death Dodgers! page 40

20-MINUTE RESORTS

Stop in — they’re free! page 28

LACROSSE page 62

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contents JULY/AUGUST 2014

volume 62 | number 6 iowan.com ON THE COVER: A West Des Moines Tigers lacrosse player on the field. Story, page 62. Photograph by Glen F. Burmester THIS PAGE: The Tigers huddle. Photograph by Jordan Morey

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Features 28 20-Minute Resorts by Deb Wiley

Iowa’s newest rest areas feature great public art, local history, regional culture — in fact, they’re almost destinations in themselves.

40 Train Wrecks and Other Genteel Amusements

by Dan Weeks An illustrated history of calamity as entertainment at the Iowa State Fair. (And you thought deep-fat- fried candy bars were over-the-top!)

52 Aloft

Photoessay by Bobbie Russie and Dan Weeks A balloon flight offers an abstract perspective on an Iowa summer landscape.

62 Lacrosse

By Jason Morey The fastest game on two feet is coming to a playing field near you.

Departments 4

from the editor

6 letters

An Iowa Treasure

day trips

Events Worthy of an Excursion

16 garden

Grow your Own Superfood

18 food

Queen of Greens

20 home Iowa’s ReStores 68 made in iowa Bug Soother 70 flashback: 1954 The Amana Colonies 72 escapades

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Come See My Mole!

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from the editor

From the Sublime to the Calamitous

PROUDLY PUBLISHED AND PRINTED IN IOWA BY THE PIONEER GROUP Publisher Polly Clark

Editor Dan Weeks

Creative Director Ann Donohoe

Senior Graphic Designer Megan Johansen

There are many moods to an Iowa summer. I took my first balloon ride in Grinnell in the late ’70s and was immediately entranced by this quiet and gentle mode of travel. Bobbie Russie’s photos for “Aloft,” page 52, capture one flight’s majestic trajectory over the landscape. Summer brings the merry bedlam of the Iowa State Fair. Its grandstand stunts have always been a magnet for thrill seekers. As you’ll

Image/Photo Specialist Jason Fort Copy Editor Gretchen Kauffman

Advertising Executives Kimberly Hawn

Ronda Jans Meghan Keller Tom Smull Becca Wodrich Circulation Manager Katrina Brocka Subscription Services Becca Leffler

experience on page 40, fairgoers have packed the seats to watch such spectacles as two 40-ton locomotives colliding, daredevils leaping out of airplanes in homemade bat suits, and cars crashing through walls of fire.

Summer is also the time for travel. Iowa’s interstates are getting

a national reputation for what we call “20-Minute Resorts” (page 28) featuring delightful doses of Iowa history, culture, and art — and what some travelers are calling the best rest areas in the country. Lacrosse (page 62), anyone? Iowans are finding out it’s not just the name of a city in Wisconsin. It’s also one of our state’s most exciting and fastest-growing sports. We hope you get out and enjoy all that an Iowa summer has to offer. Have a look at “Day Trips” (page 8) and plan some excursions of your own! To learn what The Iowan’s staff is up to this summer — and for even more ideas of where to go and what to do — follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheIowan or on Twitter @TheIowan. While you’re at it, drop us a line and tell us: What is your favorite part of an Iowa summer? Sincerely,

Dan Weeks, Editor editor@iowan.com

facebook.com/theiowan @theiowan

Jim Slife Twilla Glessner Accounting Manager Allison Volker CEO

Production Manager

The Iowan, ISSN (0021-0772), is published bi-monthly by Pioneer Communications, Inc., 300 Walnut Street, Suite 6, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. This issue is dated July 1, 2014, Volume 62, No. 6. All content © 2014 The Iowan/Pioneer Communications, Inc., and may not be used, reproduced, or altered in any way without prior written permission. Periodicals Postage Paid in Des Moines, Iowa, and at additional mailing offices. We cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited material. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: The Iowan, 300 Walnut St., Suite 6, Des Moines, IA 50309. Prices: Subscriptions — Special rate when ordered direct or by mail: six issues per year for $24. International orders require additional postage. Please call for rates. Single copies — on newsstands: $4.95; current issue by mail: $4.95 plus $3.50 S+H. Please call for quantity discount pricing. Single past issues 2005 to present: $5.95 plus S+H, two for $9.95 plus S+H; prior to 2005: $14.95 plus S+H. New Subscriptions, Renewals, Gifts: iowan.com > SUBSCRIBE subscribe@pioneermagazines.com 877-899-9977 x211 Change of Address: iowan.com> CONTACT > Address Change subscribe@pioneermagazines.com 877-899-9977 x211 Past Issues: subscribe@pioneermagazines.com 877-899-9977 x211 Mail Orders: The Iowan Subscription Services P.O. Box 2516, Waterloo, IA 50704 Advertising Information: 515-246-0402 x202 or 877-899-9977 x202 advertising@iowan.com iowan.com Proudly printed in Iowa 10% PCW Paper Made in the USA

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THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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Seed Swap

Speakers

Workshops & more!

Greater Des Moines

Botanical Garden Exploring, explaining and celebrating the world of plants

34th Annual

ampout C & e c C o n f e re n July 18-20, 2014

Members and children 3 and under: FREE 909 Robert D. Ray Drive Des Moines, IA 50309-2897 dmbotanicalgarden.com 515.323.6290

• Seed Saving • • Root Cellaring • Apple Grafting • • Cooking & Preserving the Garden Harvest • • Organizing a Seed Swap • • Homesteading skills • Good Food and Fun • Go online for details: seedsavers.org/annual-conference

Seed Savers Exchange 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 563-382-5990

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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letters GRANTED!

ICE CREAM!

I would like permission to reprint the

[In response to your request for

Escapades “Paper Blizzard” article

favorite local ice cream joints in

from The Iowan January/February 2014

“We All Scream for Ice Cream, page

issue for our church newsletter. We

14, The Iowan May/June 2014] Sweet

receive your magazine and love the

Treats in Jewell is a real delight!

outstanding articles and photography.

Michael and Jan Miller (918 Edwards,

Thank you very much for your

Jewell, 515-827-5765) operate Sweet

excellent publication.

Treats on their farm just east of town.

—Rev. Denise Croskey Holmes City, Minnesota

The menu features SO MANY good ice cream flavors. They have seating in the yard and are open May–September

BEFORE THE FIRST We always enjoy your great

ice cream year-round at Anderson’s

from 1966–1970, my mom saved the

Grocery in Jewell and perhaps

issues for me to look at when I came

elsewhere, too. It is fun to watch the

home during school breaks. After I

I love The Iowan magazine! You do

vintage convertibles pull into the drive

graduated, I returned the favor by

an exceptional job showing all that

as folks take an evening cruise to enjoy

paying for her subscription until she

is wonderful about Iowa. I especially

some Sweet Treats.

passed away in 2006 at the age of

enjoyed the article on Brian Duffy.

wedding venues of interest since our

fortunate to get to know Brian and

son Noah Miller and his wife, Racheal

his wife at a C.U.B.S. (Chicago Urban

Peters, were married at Honey Creek

Bicycle Society) annual banquet during

Resort on October 8, 2011. It was a

RAGBRAI. Each year the C.U.B.S.

WRITE TO US!

beautiful fall day, and the ceremony

do something special for Camp

was between the lodge and the lake,

Courageous in Monticello during

The Iowan

facing the lake. We just wanted to

RAGBRAI. At one time it was Kybo

300 Walnut Street, Suite 6

clarify this as the caption under the

Roulette, where people bet on which porta potty door will open next. Brian portrayed in a cartoon an Iowa tax collector standing there waiting for

Des Moines, IA 50309

picture said the Tompkinses were the

editor@iowan.com

first couple to be married outdoors

iowan.com > Contact

there. Keep up the great work.

Facebook.com > The Iowan Magazine

—Paul and Ruth Miller Delmar

his piece of the action. The cartoon of Brian moving next to Terrace

Outdoor Wedding Venues

Hill and Governor Branstad saying “There goes the neighborhood” is priceless.

edition of the magazine on your

by DEB WILEY

computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Here come the bride and groom, past a vineyard, barn, or rose garden. Five Iowa couples invite you join them at a few of Iowa’s best outdoor wedding venues and hear what it’s like to get married there.

Celebration Farm, Iowa City You might assume that Celebration Farm was designed to host weddings and other events, and you’d be right. But the impetus came years earlier, thanks to Schwab’s Rule of Stuff: “You always have 25 percent more stuff than you have room for,” says Dick Schwab, the mastermind behind the stunning location that opened in August 2011 and includes a double round barn, a timber frame barn, and an outdoor amphitheater. To hold his stuff, Dick decided to build historic-style barns on his farm near Solon. He started with a double round 18-sided barn and a 40-foot round barn with cedar shingles. Then came a 54-foot 12-sided barn, a 72-foot round barn with 16 sides inside, an octagon privy, and so on until eventually he had a village of — how many barns, Dick? “Um, big and small . . . I have . . . hmm . . . seven big . . . and eight small, yeah, um . . . we have lots of barns.” After every building was finished, Dick hosted a barn dance. “I started getting about 150 calls a year to do events, and after I built a 100-foot-diameter true round barn, I started getting 300 calls a year,” he says. 46

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046-055 Outdoor Weddings.indd

PHOTO BY EMILY CRALL

Celebration: It’s Built Right into the Name

date on what this Iowa treasure

—Charlie Becker Monticello

THE IOWAN ONLINE Visit iowan.com and read a digital

Invite Iowa’s natura l beauty to your ceremony

Thank you for bringing us up to

Des Moines Register.

—Claudette Taylor Ellsworth

104. We found your article on outdoor

Brian is a brilliant individual. I was

is doing. We miss him in the

at the Farmers Market on Court Ave. in Des Moines and sell their delicious

publication. When I was at Iowa State

AN IOWA TREASURE

from 6–9 p.m. They are also regulars

Rachael and Lucas Fewell said their vows last August in front of a trio of limestone Gothic arches at Celebration Farm near Iowa City.

46-47

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Points of Interest in This Issue

38 41

17 40

30 23

45 25

16 24

3 36 11

43 6

52 53 35 12

1. Adair — p. 34, 36, 37

27. La Porte City — p. 47

2. Amana — p. 70

28. Lamoni — p. 36

3. Ames — p. 8

29. Manchester — p. 9

4. Ankeny — p. 34, 43, 66

30. Marshalltown — p. 9

5. Bellevue — p. 11

31. Mitchellville — p. 37

6. Boone — p. 12

32. Monticello — p. 6

7. Cedar Falls — p. 11

33. Moville — p. 13

8. Cedar Rapids — p. 8, 21, 28,

34. Mount Vernon — p. 68

30, 37

9. Charles City — p. 12

35. Muscatine — p. 68 36. Nevada — p. 17

10. Cherokee — p. 12

37. Northwood — p. 36

11. Colo — p. 38

38. Okoboji — p. 11

12. Columbus Junction — p. 68

39. Sergeant Bluff — p. 33, 34, 36

13. Council Bluffs — p. 21

40. Sioux City — p. 20, 21

14. Davenport — p. 10, 20, 21, 37

41. Spencer — p. 8, 13

15. Delmar — p. 6

42. Stone City — p. 30

16. Des Moines — p. 8, 9, 20, 21, 42,

64, 65

43. Story City — p. 36 44. Strawberry Point — p. 10

17. Dows — p. 36

45. Tiffin — p. 33, 37

18. Dubuque — p. 68

46. Tipton — p. 33

19. Eldora — p. 9

47. Underwood — p. 35, 36

20. Ellsworth — p. 6

48. Washington — p. 13

21. Fort Dodge — p. 9, 21

49. Waterloo — p. 10

22. Greenfield — p. 12

50. West Branch — p. 10

23. Grinnell — p. 4, 37

51. West Des Moines — p. 64, 65, 66

24. Indianola — p. 13, 53

52. West Liberty — p. 13

25. Iowa CIty — p. 21, 32

53. Wilton — p. 37

26. Knoxville — p. 9, 11

54. Wyoming — p. 9

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Events worthy of an excursion Classics at Brucemore: Hay Fever

Friday, July 11– Sunday, July 13 Thursday, July 17– Sunday, July 20 Friday, July 25– Sunday, July 27

COURTESY BRUCEMORE

Brucemore Estate Cedar Rapids

2160 Linden Drive SE brucemore.org 319-362-7375

PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPIC-STYLE COMPETITION Various locations Ames

EXPERIENCE OUTDOOR THEATER

Thursday, July 10– Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m. Thursday, July 17– Saturday, July 19, 8 p.m.

Summer Iowa Games

At gate: $20; in advance: $18; Brucemore member or student, in advance: $15

iowagames.org 888-777-8881

PHOTO BY KEVIN BOURKE

DAY TRIPS

Free for spectators (registration cost for individual participants and teams) The Summer Iowa Games is an annual Olympic-style sports festival in which you can be an athlete. Join more than 15,000 Iowans of all ages and abilities and compete in one or more of 50 sports from archery to Zumba — including some you might not expect, such as BMX bike racing, disk golf,

Performed outdoors in a natural amphitheater where

electronic darts, Hapkido, and Judo. Participants

actors emerge from the woods, get dunked in the pond,

and spectators also enjoy an Olympic-style torch

and help themselves to the audience’s picnics, Noël

run, Opening Ceremony, Athlete Jamboree, live

Coward’s Hay Fever takes place at the summerhouse of a

entertainment, and food. Register at iowagames.org

moneyed bohemian family who turn a weekend of intimate

to participate. Or just come spectate.

leisure into riotous mayhem. Bring your own picnic or preorder anything from deli sandwiches to elaborate spreads of antipasto and roasted chicken from Brucemore when you order your tickets.

Rocket Suzie ENJOY A WEEKEND OF INDIE FOLK Spencer

Nitefall on the River

Friday, July 18–Saturday, July 19 24 West Park rocketsuzie.com 712-580-2327

LET YOUR SOUL SHINE Simon Estes Amphitheater Des Moines

nitefalldsm.com $45; in advance: $40 The picturesque Simon Estes Riverfront

Rocket Suzie is a locally sponsored THINKSTOCK ®

Saturday, July 12, gate opens at 6 p.m., show 7 p.m.

outdoor music festival near the Little Sioux River in downtown Spencer. Last year’s festival sold out, overcame a downpour, and proved to be a magical

Amphitheater on the river in downtown Des Moines hosts Soulshine,

event in spite of the weather. Bring your

a full-blown dance party featuring the sounds of four bands: Michael

blanket and lawn chairs; there’ll be

Franti & Spearhead, SOJA, Brett Dennen, and Trevor Hall, plus special

plenty of food vendors on-site.

guest yoga teachers such as Canada’s Ryan Leier. It’s all designed to make your soul shine.

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day trips

The Iowan Fairathon July 12 540 Miles 17 Hours 7 County Fairs

Manchester

Fort Dodge Eldora

Wyoming

Marshalltown Tipton Des Moines Knoxville

While compiling our sampling of county fairs on pages 12–13, we got to wondering: How many fairs could we attend in one day? The Iowan’s Fairathon is our answer. On Saturday, July 12, we’re piling the magazine’s staff into a van and hitting the road to celebrate summer with a marathon one-day trip to seven county fairs. Look for us on July 12 — we’ll all be wearing The Iowan t-shirts — and say hi! Meanwhile, for more details about the Fairathon and many more The Iowan adventures, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheIowan and on Twitter @TheIowan. See you at the fair!

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival BACK TO THE (MUSICAL) FUTURE Various Locations Waterloo Saturday, July 19–Monday, July 28 cedarvalleymusic.org 319-235-1201 This summer’s festival mixes the old with the new,

Backbone Bluegrass Festival

presenting Mozart’s G Minor Piano Quartet, the second orchestral suite of J.S. Bach, and Grieg’s “Suite from

HAVE SOME BACKBONE!

Holberg’s Time.” Surrounding these compositions are 20th- and 21st-century works that were influenced by them.

Strawberry Point Friday, July 25–Sunday, July 27 backbonebluegrass.com 563-608-1056 The 33-year-old Backbone Bluegrass Festival is one of the longest-running in Iowa. It offers 5 separate stage shows and free bluegrass workshops from high-quality instructors on a range of instruments for both beginners

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival HEAR 15 JAZZ BANDS Various Locations Davenport Thursday, July 31–Sunday, August 3 bixsociety.org 563-324-7170

of the many informal jam sessions on the grounds for a friendly, family-oriented good time.

Hoover’s Hometown Days JOIN THE FUN West Branch Friday, August 1, 5 a.m.–9 p.m. Saturday, August 2, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Main Street hoovershometowndays.org 319-643-5327 Free

$30–$180

Hoover’s Hometown

The 43rd annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival

Days takes over

returns to the Davenport RiverCenter & Adler Theatre and

downtown West

LeClaire Park in downtown Davenport. The lineup includes

Branch and the

some new acts to the festival, including the Peter & Will

Hoover National

Anderson Sextet from New York, Banu Gibson & her New

Historic Site for a

Orleans Hot Jazz Band, and The Fat Babies from Chicago.

weekend of family-

The festival welcomes back the Jim Cullum Jazz Band,

focused fun. Watch the 27th annual National Hoover-Ball

Dan Levinson’s Roof Garden Jass Band, the Dave Bennett

Championship games along with a full day of entertainment

Quartet, and Josh Duffee & His Graystone Monarchs. Quad

at the stage — including bands and acts for the Bill Riley

Cities’ own Jimmy Valentine Quintet, Josh Duffee Orchestra,

Talent Search. There’ll be rides and games and arts and

Tony Hamilton Orchestra, River City 6, Five Bridges Jazz

crafts for kids, more than 100 exhibitors, and lots of great

Band, and the Rock River Jazz Band will also perform.

food. The festivities end Saturday night with fireworks over

PHOTO BY LYNN SMITH

THINKSTOCK ®

and intermediate players. Bring your instrument and join one

Hoover Park.

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day trips Okoboji’s Art in the Park BROWSE FINE ARTS AND CRAFTS Preservation Plaza Arnolds Park Saturday, August 2, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Knoxville Nationals

lakesart.org 712-332-7013

GET YOUR HEART RACING

Free COURTESY PEARSON LAKES ART CENTER

This juried show features sculpture, pottery, silversmithing, glass, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, folk art, mixed media, and more from nearly 100 artists from throughout the Midwest and across the nation. It all takes place at Preservation Plaza next to Arnolds Park Amusement Park overlooking beautiful West Lake Okoboji.

Knoxville Raceway Knoxville Wednesday, August 6–Saturday, August 9 7 p.m. each day 1000 N. Lincoln St. knoxvilleraceway.com 641-842-5431 Adults: $52/$39; children: $52/$20 The FVP Knoxville Nationals is a four-day festival of fans, food, fun, live music, parades, expositions, and more. It’s capped off each night with some of the most exciting motorsports racing in the world. More than 100 drivers from around the world will compete for a $1,000,000 purse and the prestigious title of FVP Knoxville Nationals Champion.

Old Time Power Show

Fishtival

WATCH THE SPARKS FLY

South Riverview Bellevue

Antique Acres Cedar Falls

Saturday, August 16, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Friday, August 15– Sunday, August 17 Friday, noon–9 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. 7610 Waverly Road antiqueacres.org 319-987-2380 $14 weekend; $7 daily; 12 and under: Free

CELEBRATE ON THE RIVERFRONT

Riverview St. bellevueia.com 563-872-5830 Free The picturesque town of Bellevue celebrates the arts and its Mississippi River location with an exhibition of regional arts, hands-on art projects for the kids, a mermaid sighting, and a water ski team exhibition. All that is followed by a street dance with The Matriarchs and The Fattenin’ Frogs.

Step back to a time of steam engines, threshing, and old-time fun at the 50th annual Old Time Power Show. live demonstrations of blacksmithing, butter churning, corn shelling, horse and tractor plowing, rock crushing, rope making, saw and shingle milling — and, of course, threshing. There are also a farm power equipment museum, a huge flea market, and on-site camping.

PAINTING BY DEANNA COOK

Watch tractor pulls, a parade of power, a tractor rodeo, and

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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CHARLES CITY FLOYD COUNTY FAIR America’s County Fair Wednesday, July 16–Sunday, July 20 7 a.m.–11 p.m. 2516 Seven Mile Road floydcountyfair.org Free admission and parking, some events ticketed Billed as “America’s County Fair,” the Floyd County Fair claims one of the largest county fair livestock shows in the state, plus fair food, a midway full of carnival rides, truck and tractor pulls, a demo derby with a fireworks finale, nightly bands, hypnotist and illusionist shows, and more. Kids’ events include free laser tag, pedal tractor pulls, and a movie night featuring Charlotte’s Web.

CHEROKEE CHEROKEE COUNTY FAIR The Fair That Founded a Town Thursday, July 17–Sunday, July 20 8 a.m.–11 p.m. 200 Linden Street cherokeecountyfair.org

COUNTY FAIRS

13 and older: $6; 4–12: $4 (free Saturday 1–5 p.m.); 4 and under: Free The Cherokee County Fair, founded in 1872, is older than the

July, August, and early September is county fair time in Iowa. Each has its own personality and claim to fame, and they’re all great fun. Here are a few that caught our eye this year:

city of Cherokee. It morphed into the nationally famous Pilot-

BOONE

family entertainment; 4-H, commercial, animal, and open-class

BOONE COUNTY FAIR The Sight to See Since ’23

Rock Plowing Match in the 1920s, then expanded to include the Cherokee County Livestock Show and Farm Bureau picnic before reverting to its original name in 1972. Now there are nightly exhibits; a demo derby; musical and kids’ entertainment; a pickup pull; and more.

Thursday, July 17–Sunday, July 20 7:30 a.m.–midnight

GREENFIELD

1601 Industrial Park Road boonecountyfairia.com 515-432-5899

ADAIR COUNTY FAIR

Free admission, some events ticketed This fair has 4-H and FFA competition, open livestock and home division classes, commercial vendors, and, of course, fair food. There are also free daily magic shows, a helping hands farm, a kidz korner with crafts and storytime, parade, pie eating contests, and concerts. Thrill seekers can ride the mechanical bull and other rides and enjoy a truck pull, demo derby, and mud race.

Free-for-all Fun Wednesday, July 16–Sunday, July 20 Fair: 6 a.m.–11 p.m. 900 N.E. Elm Street adaircountyfair.org 641-743-2856 or 641-743-8412 Free admission to the fair and all events except inflatables Wednesday features 4-H/FFA judging, a dog show, and free BBQ, music, awards, and contests. Daily livestock shows begin Thursday; nightly entertainment features an Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull, side-by-side ATV races, and demo derby. The fair concludes Sunday with a livestock sale, Bill Riley Talent Show, and the Wright Rodeo Company.

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day trips INDIANOLA

WASHINGTON

WARREN COUNTY FAIR

WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIR

On the Ground and in the Air

Iowa’s Only Solar-Powered Fair

Wednesday, July 23–Monday, July 28 6 a.m.–11 p.m.

Sunday, July 13–Friday, July 18 7 a.m.–10 p.m.

1400 West 2nd Ave. warrencofair.com 515-961-6687

611 Hwy 1 South washingtoncountyfairia.com 319-653-2552

Free admission and free parking

Solar panels generate 88 percent of this fair’s energy,

Three big summer festivals converge on one weekend in

lighting up the grandstand Sunday with a queen contest

Indianola: The Warren County Fair, the 10th Annual Warren

and garden tractor pull; Monday, a sanctioned tractor

County Tractor Ride, and the National Balloon Classic,

pull; Tuesday, a rodeo; Wednesday, the Bill Riley Talent

a multiday hot-air balloon festival. The fair itself boasts

Search and Loftland opening for Acquire the Fire Live;

4-H/FFA and open-class exhibits, a full schedule of

Thursday, motocross; and Friday, a demo derby.

grandstand events, free stage entertainment, livestock shows, a carnival, and much more.

MOVILLE WOODBURY COUNTY FAIR The Fair That Outgrew the Town Wednesday, July 30–Sunday, August 3 7 a.m.–closing 206 Fair Street woodburycountyfair.com 712-873-3707 Adults: $4; children: $1 Moville hosted the first Woodbury County Fair in 1930 right in town with street booths, 4-H exhibits in a garage, and livestock in a barn on the east end of Main Street. Now there’s a large fairgrounds with 4-H/FFA exhibits, kids’ activities, a carnival, nightly entertainment — everything you’d expect from a great county fair.

WEST LIBERTY MUSCATINE COUNTY FAIR Iowa’s Oldest Fair Wednesday, July 16–Sunday, July 20 Carnival hours: Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 1 p.m.–midnight Friday, 5 p.m.–midnight, Sunday, 1 p.m.–10 p.m. 101 N. Clay Street muscantinecountyfair.com 319-627-2414 See website for admission prices. In the fall of 1852 the first fair in Iowa was held, and in 1871 it moved to its current location just south of West Liberty. Now bigger than ever, it features 4-H/FFA and open-class competition, a carnival and free grounds entertainment daily, nightly grandstand entertainment, livestock exhibits, and more.

SPENCER CLAY COUNTY FAIR The World’s Greatest County Fair Saturday, September 6–Sunday, September 14 1401 4th Ave. West claycountyfair.com 712-262-4740, x12 See website for fair hours and admission. Clay County’s fair boasts 300,000 attendees, $100,000 in free entertainment, thousands of exhibits, daily livestock and horse shows, hundreds of vendors, the largest farm machinery display at any United States fair, “every imaginable type of fair food,” and more events than any one visitor can witness. See this fair at least once!

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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Upper Iowa UnIversIty

Figge Art MuseuM eXHiBitiON

Experience. Learn. Lead.

education that changes lives, one student at a time. • Student-centered (build quality, working relationships with your professors) • Experienced, credentialed faculty (more than 70% of faculty earned highest degree in their field) • Personalized attention (instructors know you and WANT to see you succeed) • Aggressive financial aid (100% of accepted students receive a scholarship)

8 2

Week Terms

Classes Per Term

16,017

Stuart Davis and Grant Wood July 12-November 2, 2014

rtists Grant Wood and Stuart Davis both studied in Paris during the

1920s and eventually enjoyed considerable

(2012-13 data)

Fayette Campus

14:1

Average gift aid given to each qualifying UIU student

STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO

Two Americans in Paris:

reputations for depicting scenes of American life. The exhibition features paintings and works on paper from the Figge’s Grant Wood Archive as well as a selection of Stuart Davis lithographs from a private collection.

Sponsored by Don and Connie Decker and Robert W. Baird Grant Wood, The Luxembourg Gardens, 1923, oil on masonite, 2001.12

Davenport, IA • 563.326.7804 www.figgeartmuseum.org

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July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

5/27/14 3:04 PM

THINKSTOCK 速

Grow Your Own Superfood

Plant kale now for a sweet, crisp harvest of good-for-you greens this fall. by DEB WILEY

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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garden Kale curmudgeons, beware: Do not — repeat, DO NOT —

Don’t want to grow your own? Kale, like most

try baked kale chips. “You’ll get hooked,” says Sally Gran,

vegetables, tastes best when it’s fresh from local sources

who with her husband, Luke, grows kale near Nevada to

such as a farmer’s market or CSA. For a list of CSAs, go

include in the community supported agriculture (CSA) shares

to store.extension.iastate.edu and search for PM1683 or

they sell to summer customers.

localharvest.org/csa and search by zip code.

Kale, a member of the Brassica family of vegetables along with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and others, has become a food fad favorite the past few

KALE CAUTIONS

years. Perhaps that’s because kale and its Brassica buddies are nutrient-dense superstars. [See “Queen of Greens,”

TALK WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE EATING A LOT OF KALE, says Sarah

page 18, for more information on kale’s nutritional and

Francis, an Iowa State University nutrition specialist.

health benefits.]

Kale is rich in vitamin K and can interfere with blood

Sally Gran uses kale continuously, almost as a matter

thinners such as warfarin. “Despite its many health

of habit. “I just put it in everything!” she says. “I slice it,

benefits, kale has oxalates, which can interfere with

sautéing gently till the color changes to bright green, and

calcium absorption,” Francis adds. “So it’s important

eat it with eggs for breakfast. If I’m making soup, I’ll throw

to eat calcium-rich foods at different times than

in some kale. Stir-fries, casseroles, you name it.”

when eating kale.”

The Grans are growing five types of kale this year: Siberian, a tender, curly plant with light blue-green leaves; ‘Red Russian’, a smooth green kale with purple stems as part of a baby greens mix; ‘Redbor’, a tall ruffled magenta plant, and ‘Winterbor’, the green version; and ‘Toscano’, a lacinato, or smooth-leaf type, that’s sometimes called “dinosaur kale” for the nubbly surface on its swordlike leaves. Kale is relatively easy to grow. In a full-sun garden location, sow the seeds 2 inches apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Cover seeds with ½ inch of soil and keep

STORE KALE PROPERLY. After buying or harvesting kale, Francis suggests placing it in a plastic storage bag, removing as much of the air from the bag as possible. Do not wash kale before storing; exposure to water encourages spoilage. Kale keeps in the refrigerator for about five days; it becomes bitter the longer it is stored. Immediately before using, rinse kale leaves under warm running water. Massage the leaves gently to tenderize.

the soil evenly moist for best germination. You can start seeds indoors in late winter or sow directly in the ground in early spring and again in late summer for a second crop. Kale is best grown in cool weather; frost actually sweetens the flavor. Mulch the plants to retain soil moisture and keep weeds down. Harvest the outer leaves once plants have 6 to 8 leaves, leaving the rest of the plant to grow more. Remove plants when they begin blooming; the leaves begin to taste

SEED SOURCES Seed Savers Exchange: 563-382-5990; seedsavers.org Territorial Seed: 800-626-0866; territorialseed.com Johnny’s Selected Seeds: 877-564-6697; johnnyseeds.com Rare Seeds/Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: 417-924-8917; rareseeds.com

tough and bitter. If you have cabbage loopers — small, hungry caterpillars that can chew up your crop — you can try a product such as DiPel or Thuricide containing Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis, a

Deb Wiley, a garden writer from Des Moines, recently

naturally occurring bacterial insecticide that’s considered

learned how to massage kale with olive oil and salt before

food-safe) or just pick them off by hand.

using it in a salad.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Queen of Greens Kale really does live up to its health hype. Here are two great ways to enjoy it. By VERA MORTON | photography by DEAN TANNER

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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food Kale is off the charts in popularity

Savory Kale Frittata

Kale Caesar Dip

right now because it’s one of the most

A mix of elements enhances kale’s gentle flavor in this frittata. And because there’s so much kale baked in, you’ll be loading up on the health benefits.

Great as a veggie dip, sandwich spread, or on a baked potato.

healthful vegetables. This dark leafy green boasts impressive amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. It even has more iron per calorie than beef! Consider: One cup of chopped kale contains 9 percent of the

8 c. packed kale, chopped (ribs removed) 12 eggs ½ c. heavy cream

calcium, 134 percent of vitamin C,

¼ c. Dijon mustard

206 percent of vitamin A, and

1 t. kosher salt

684 percent of vitamin K.

strips thick-sliced bacon, finely diced

maintain strong bones and combats

2 T. olive oil

chronic inflammation, which can

½ c. onion, finely diced

lead to a host of illnesses such as

1 T. fresh thyme, minced

cardiovascular and autoimmune

1 T. garlic, minced

diseases. Kale detoxifies the body

1 T. garlic, minced 2 T. olive oil

Makes 6 servings

recommended daily allowance of

That means kale helps build and

Makes 1½ cups

and keeps the liver healthy, prevents

½ c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

UV damage to the eyes and supports

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

healthy eyes, and keeps your brain in

2. Pulse kale in a food processor

6 c. packed kale, chopped (ribs removed) ¼ c. water 1¼ t. anchovy paste 1 t. Dijon mustard ½ t. Worcestershire sauce 4 t. fresh lemon juice 1 T. red wine vinegar 8 oz. cream cheese, softened ½ c. mayonnaise ¼ c. Parmesan, grated ½ t. ground black pepper

1. In a large skillet cook garlic in oil over medium-low heat until softened.

2. Stir in kale, water, anchovy paste,

top working order and lowers the risk

until nearly minced. In a separate

Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce;

of depression. Kale is also reported to

bowl whisk together eggs, cream,

cook, covered, until kale is wilted.

fight bladder, ovarian, breast, colon,

Dijon, and salt; set both aside.

Remove lid and cook kale, stirring,

and prostate cancers. So if kale isn’t already a staple in your diet, make it one. There are more than 50 varieties that range in color and texture, but all are relatively mild in flavor. [Homegrown kale is much more tender and mild than standard grocery store options, and it’s easy to raise — see “Grow Your Own Superfood,” page 16, for growing and harvesting information.] Eat it raw in a salad; blend it into a smoothie; bake

3. Cook bacon in a large nonstick oven-going skillet over medium

3. Remove from heat; stir in lemon

heat until crisp; transfer to a paper

juice and red wine vinegar. Cool

towel-lined plate. Add olive oil to

kale mixture to room temperature.

drippings in skillet.

4. Puree cream cheese, mayonnaise,

4. Add onion and thyme to drippings

Parmesan, and pepper in a food

and cook until lightly softened.

processor until combined, then

Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds.

add kale; puree until kale is

5. Add kale, season with salt, and cook until tender.

minced. Chill dip at least 4 hours before serving.

6. Pour egg mixture into skillet and

it into chips, breads, and casseroles;

stir, using the flat side of a heat-

sauté or braise it. The options for this

safe spatula. When curds begin to

versatile green are endless.

form, stir in cheese and bacon.

7. Bake frittata until set in the center,

until tender.

Vera Morton eats kale by the pound. She’s the healthiest food writer we’ve ever found.

about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Iowa’s ReStores Discount building supply outlets with a mission story and photography by DAN WEEKS Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide nonprofit known for offering people who desperately need a house the opportunity to build and buy their own — including 226 families in central Iowa alone since 1986.

A homeowner’s treasure chest But the organization offers a treat to current homeowners as well: ever-changing, self-refilling treasure chests known as Habitat for Humanity ReStores. There are nine of them in the state, stretching from Davenport to Sioux City (see “Where to Find Them,” page 21). Each store is different, but each sells donated building materials, flooring, cabinets, lumber, hardware, and other home-related goods at a fraction of retail. Some materials are new, some used, some are even antique and one-of-a-kind. Part thrift store for houses, part discount home center, part architectural salvage shop, ReStores feature a combination of bargains and serendipitous finds that can quickly turn an occasional visit into a weekly addiction. Clientele range from bargain-shoppers looking to complete basic projects to “cruisers” — homeowners who show up regularly and stroll the aisles, looking for things they didn’t know they needed — an antique, varnished-oak school door with old-fashioned wire-reinforced, pebbledglass windows and brass hardware that is the perfect replacement for a weathered entry door, for instance. Fifty bucks! Who knew? “We get everybody, from people who can’t afford to buy retail to attorneys and university deans,” says Heath Brewer, the director of the Iowa City ReStore.

Hanging signs catalog the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity ReStore’s contents, top. Flooring is that store’s top seller. Davenport ReStore’s truck, above, picks up large donations and acts as the store’s billboard.

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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home Individual character It’s gotten to the point where we stop in at ReStores when we travel, just to see what’s there. Each has its own character and specialty: Davenport’s store sells like-new home medical apparati such as wheelchairs, scooters, and hospital beds at prices that bring customers from all over the Midwest. Iowa City’s store shares a location with the city’s recycling center and a salvage shop, making a one-stop destination for folks who like to recycle and upcycle. The Des Moines store has a tool library that anyone can join for a nominal annual fee to check out floor sanders, garden tillers, and hundreds of other home and yard tools. At each store, all proceeds support Habitat for Humanity’s house-building mission, and all donations are tax-deductible. The Greater Des Moines store alone diverts 1,000+ tons of materials from landfills annually, and housetinkerers like Randi and me appreciate that we now have a place to donate materials that other thrift stores can’t accept. ReStore trucks will even pick up large items. At the Iowa City store, a first-time customer groaned as Let there be lights! Most ReStores carry them in styles ranging from generic to retro to antique. If you see what you want, act fast; inventory changes daily.

she strolled down the plumbing aisle. A concerned ReStore employee asked if she was OK. “Not really,” she said with a wistful look. “That fancy toilet there that you have marked $25? I spent $300 for it somewhere else last Saturday!”

Upscale bargains One of the perks of ReStore shopping, apart from the prices, is the surprising quality of the inventory: A recent visit to the Davenport ReStore — the state’s oldest — turned up salvaged architectural woodwork, trim, and built-ins from old-growth lumber that can’t be reproduced at any price these days. Also: an elaborate Victorian wicker baby carriage in near-perfect condition. The Greater Des Moines ReStore, the state’s biggest, took over an entire former lumberyard recently and turns over a massive inventory: The staff prices a thousand items a day, from brass tacks to half-ton blocks of rose granite to a brand-new upscale kitchen, donated by a magazine that used it for a photo shoot. My wife, Randi, and I have become weekly cruisers. That cedar picket fence around our 1924 cottage? Twelve bucks a panel, or about a tenth the price of new. The Harbor Blue deluxe roof shingles that perfectly match the trim? Half-price. Our porcelainized cast-iron Kohler kitchen sink

WHERE TO FIND THEM Cedar Rapids, 350 6th Ave. SE, 319-294-1500, cvhabitat.org Council Bluffs, 1228 Main St., 712-256-0838, habitatcb.org Davenport, 3629 Mississippi Ave. Suite B, 563-391-4949, restoreqc.org Des Moines, 2200 E Euclid, 515-309-0224, gdmhabitat.org Fairfield, 909 W. Broadway Ave., 641-209-9450, fairfieldhabitat.org Fort Dodge, 118 N 12th St., 515-576-4316, twinrivershabitat.org Iowa City, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE, 319-338-5687, iowavalleyhabitat.org Mason City, 517 1st St. NW, 641-423-1688, hatitatnci.org Sioux City, 1150 TriView Ave., 712-224-6133, siouxlandhabitat.org

and cast-brass fixtures (retail value about $1,500)? $150. I can go on about our ReStore purchases — painting supplies, tools, antiques, lumber — until I’m insufferable.

Dan Weeks is editor of The Iowan.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Explore Iowaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heritage

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Explore Iowa’s Heritage Where Iowa Began... • Old Fort Madison — Iowa's only true battlefield of The War of 1812

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Plum Creek Art Center is pleased to announce that we will now house the Connie Mohr Gallery in Fredericksburg. Connie is a well known Northeast Iowa artist and a 60 year resident of Fredericksburg. Please visit our gallery when you are in our area. Check our facebook page at Plum Creek Art for a list of upcoming art classes. 3rd ANNUAL PLUM CREEK ART FESTIVAL July 12th • 10 am–4 pm Indoor/outdoor event with multiple artists 115 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, IA plumcreekart@gmail.com www.plumcreekart.org

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Spearfish, South Dakota

Great Western Cattle Trail Event

Celebrating the National Day of the American Cowboy

July 4 • 5 • 6

Western Art Show Saddle Displays American Cowboy Displays Saturday July 5, 1pm Cowboy Music & Poetry Cattle Trail Project Presentation

Sculptures made of wooden matchsticks 319 2nd Street • Gladbrook, IA 50635 Open April 1 thru Nov. 30 7 days a week from 1–5 p.m. www.matchstickmarvels.com

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Admission $10 www.westernheritagecenter.com

Agri-Farm Tours  Amish Tours Hay Bale Art Tours  Red Bud Tours For eco-tour seasonal availability call 641.774.4059.

Open Daily 9–5 I-90, Exit 14 Spearfish, SD

LUCAS COUNTY TOURISM

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Explore Iowa’s Heritage

28th Annual Quad City Air Show August 9–10, 2014 Featuring the F-22 Raptor Demonstrations from: Aeroshell Aerobatic Flight Team Mike Wiskus — Lucas Oil Pitts Patty Wagstaff Air Shows and many many more! Over 200 ground exhibits! 563-322-7469 Ticket and additional info at: www.quadcityairshow.com

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EXPERIENCE

Originally opened in 1910, The Historic Park Inn Hotel is the last remaining of five Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built hotels in the world. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it now operates as a boutique hotel.

Tours: Thurs/Fri 11:30 & 1:00, Sat 11:30, Sun 1:30 Call WOTP to schedule group tours D $10/person D

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July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

5/28/14 1:28 PM

Gothic arches recall Iowa artist Grant Woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous painting â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and signal the theme at the I-380 rest area south of Cedar Rapids.

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20-Minute Resorts Bask in great public art, local history, and regional culture at Iowaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest rest areas. by DEB WILEY | photography by KEVEN ARROWSMITH, IDOT

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The farmer and his daughter from the painting American Gothic mark the men’s and women’s rest room entrances, respectively, in the Cedar Rapids rest area. Stone City, Iowa, another Grant Wood painting, is reproduced in tile.

You notice the big things first, like that giant Gothicarch window rising in front of the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) rest area on Interstate 380 south of Cedar Rapids. Pull into the northbound rest area and slow down to park. Yes, indeed, the window is a reference to American Gothic, the iconic painting by Iowa artist Grant Wood. Four smaller freestanding Gothic windows stand nearby, their glass etched with images of native plants that Wood, an Anamosa native who lived much of his life in the Cedar Rapids area, featured in his regionalist art of the 1930s and ’40s. Inside, the American Gothic farmer’s daughter stands by the women’s room entrance; the dour old guy with the pitchfork marks the men’s side. Stunning tile reproductions of two of Wood’s best-known works, Stone City, Iowa and Young Corn, explain the presence of curvaceous green sculptures beside the walkway outside

— they represent the voluptuous rolling Iowa landforms the artist depicted in his work. Now look down. The epoxy-terrazzo floor is a riff on green, brown, and gold fields leading you right into the paintings — and into the restrooms. Outside, limestone benches replicate hay bales; picnic shelters represent the ice wagons in which Wood and other artists lived and worked in the summer artists’ colony of Stone City. There’s just so much to see. Check out that picket fence and the sculptures that look like small homes. Suddenly you realize you’re not just traveling through. You’ve arrived at a real themed destination with a name: The View from Our Window. “We’ve actually had people call and want to set up their vacation based on these sites,” says Steve McMenamin, the Iowa Department of Transportation administrator for the rest areas along Iowa’s interstate highways for the past 20 years.

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PHOTOS BY CORY HEINTZ, IDOT

“People call and want to set up their vacation based on these sites” —Steve McMenamin, IDOT Cedar County had 15 stops on the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves achieve freedom in the North. The eastbound I-80 rest area near Wilton, top, pays tribute to this heritage with imagery from both railroads and quilts. left and above, which were used as communication tools.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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The rest area on I-80 eastbound near Tiffin wears its theme — It Has Iowa Written All Over It — on its facade. Located near the internationally famous Iowa Writer’s Workshops in Iowa City, the rest area celebrates Iowa’s literary heritage.

“Iowa Rocks!” Since the late 1990s, the IDOT has been steadily replacing bare-bones rest areas built during the ’60s and ’70s with innovative structures that boast improved accessibility, air-conditioning, more parking, upgraded amenities that include Wi-Fi, and individual themes based on local history and culture. About 16 million visitors stop at Iowa rest areas every year. Sixteen of the 40 full-service rest areas have been renovated since August 1999, when the I-80 westbound rest area in Cedar County near Wilton opened with a harvest theme. IDOT expects two more rest areas now under construction near Ankeny on I-35 to open this year, featuring agriculture (southbound) and Iowa State University’s contribution to computers (northbound).

Each rest stop costs about $1.4 to $1.8 million, depending on its size. Two to four percent of the budget is allocated to public art that “adds so much to the building and doesn’t really add much to the cost,” McMenamin says. “We’ve scaled back on the art components that tend to make them look more expensive than they really are.” One Iowa lawmaker expressed concern last year about Iowa’s “Taj Mahal-type rest areas,” but most people, especially out of state visitors eagerly embrace them. The rest areas have attracted plenty of positive Internet chatter, including reviews on Yelp.com. Blogger Peggy Woods of Houston, Texas, wrote on HubPages.com about her experience at the harvestthemed rest area near Wilton. “What a wonderful

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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A giant pen nib, left, is inscribed with one of the definitions of the word Iowa: the beautiful land. The letter M, displayed in various fonts as if in a typecase, marks the entrance of the men’s room, above center. Giant pencils flank the area’s walkways, above right, and native limestone blocks spell out the state’s name and serve as seating areas and as reminders of moveable type, above.

image that creates for the state and how very nice for travelers who stop to use the facilities!” After a friend sent her pictures of the writer-themed rest area near Tiffin with giant fountain pen nib sculpture outside and type-case letter blocks that denote the men’s and women’s restrooms, Pat Pleacher of Kentucky wrote a post for her Art Kerfuffle blog: “This is by far the best rest area I have ever seen, and I may just make it a destination trip some day!” She added, “Iowa rocks!” The rest areas have been popular close to home, too. Teachers have used them on field trips, according to McMenamin, who talked to classes from Sergeant Bluff about Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery and to Tipton schoolchildren about Iowa’s role in the Underground Railroad that moved people from slavery in the South to freedom in the North.

Storytelling and Themes The rest areas begin with a standard template that comes in three sizes, depending on available space. The unique designs make each stop “so much more than just a place to go to the bathroom,” says McMenamin. “Sometimes a rest area is the only place people stop in Iowa.” Artist David Dahlquist of RDG Dahlquist Art Studio in Des Moines collaborated with a team of architects, landscape architects, artists, designers, engineers, and fabricators and RDG Planning and Design to craft the themes and artwork for 14 of the 18 newest rest areas. Dahlquist says the impetus for the program began back in the 1980s, when state leaders examined ways to raise the quality and awareness of design in the public infrastructure, and the IDOT jumped on the idea.

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A 148-foot-tall wind turbine blade marks the entrance to the I-80 westbound rest area near Adair, above left. The area’s theme, Lift, interprets the history of wind energy in Iowa. Blades that resemble Dutch immigrant windmills flag the locations of covered picnic tables, above right.

“No, I didn’t imagine that I’d be doing bathrooms,” Dahlquist says with a smile. But he quickly recognized the value of linking art to a sense of place. That the art is in a public rest area adds value by making it easy to see and interact with. Dahlquist starts the design process by visiting local museums and digging into local culture. “You’ve got to immerse yourself in the story,” he says. “Then the story has to take on a life of its own.” One of his first projects was the Corps of Discovery rest area near Sergeant Bluff, where the theme became obvious. Likewise, Lift, the wind-farming rest area near Adair with its striking single 148-foot-tall wind turbine propeller is surrounded by fields that are home to hundreds of wind turbines. Each time he proposes a design, Dahlquist digs deeper, looking for new ways to tell the story. The planning process currently under way for a new Jasper

County rest area, for example, may result in using video. “We’re getting into the production of video vignettes,” Dahlquist says. “So you’re going to enter those rest area buildings and there may be a kiosk that we designed. Perhaps you’ll throw the image on a monitor and you might be in the cab of a giant combine to know what it’s like to harvest corn.” He’d like to do videos of several generations of Iowans talking “about what it means to have grown up on this farm you’ve had in your family for over 100 years.” The two Ankeny rest areas under construction now will tell different, yet companion, stories. The northbound one, A Technology That Changed the World, tells how Iowa State University helped develop the computer. The southbound side, A Technology That Feeds the World, is “about how the computer and digital technology affected agriculture,” Dahlquist says.

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Loess Hills, a landform found only in Western Iowa and in a region of China, serves as the theme for the I-80 westbound rest area near Underwood. The curved sculptures in front of the building double as lighting elements.

Safety in a Beautiful Setting Safety is always the priority for rest areas. Creating compelling reasons for motorists to stop (beyond the obvious need for a toilet facility) contributes to driver safety, say McMenamin and Dahlquist. But Dahlquist hopes visitors will take away something additional from their rest stop — perhaps a reason to spend more time in Iowa or to delve deeper into less-well-known aspects of the state. “Think of it as cultural tourism,” he says. “I really believe that all of these projects for the IDOT have encouraged that.” Which is why it’s hard for McMenamin, the IDOT administrator, to pick a favorite. He likes them all but learned the most from the Dows rest area. “I wasn’t even aware of Iowa being involved in the Civil War,” he says. His favorite might be the Story County site because it focuses on his expertise, transportation,

but McMenamin believes the Grant Wood and wind farming rest areas are universal favorites. One new rest stop is slated to open in each of the next five years. Each will offer a new reason to stop and relax. “We still design for 20-minute stays,” McMenamin says. More storytelling might compel longer visits. McMenamin recalls talking to a Minnesota visitor at the Civil War rest area near Dows. “I was explaining the theme, and suddenly I had a little tour around me.” CREDITS: Iowa artists William Conway (Pioneers at Grinnell), Concetta Morales (Town & Country at Mitchellville), and Tom Stancliffe (Harvest at Wilton) each created one rest area. Top of Iowa at Northwood does not include public art. David B. Dahlquist, in collaboration with RDG Dahlquist Art Studio/RDG Planning and Design, designed the artwork and integrated theming at the remaining 14 rest areas.

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STOP HERE I-29

Top of Iowa

Corps of Discovery

Northwood, northbound and southbound, milepost 214

Sergeant Bluff, southbound, milepost 14 The great Lewis and Clark expedition is celebrated here. Listed are the names of everyone on the expedition, including the dog, Seaman. A nature trail uses the explorers’ journal entries to tell stories of the trip.

The red, barn-shape building funded by a publicprivate partnership looks iconically Iowan. It houses a coffee shop and Iowamade gifts and products

I-35 Eco Walk Lamoni, southbound and northbound, milepost 6 Southern Iowa’s river bottoms and riverbanks,

PHOTO BY CORY HEINTZ, IDOT

These are Iowa’s 16 renovated rest areas (two more on I-35 near Ankeny are scheduled to open later this year).

in a boutique on the upper level. You can reach them by an elevator housed in a silo adjoining the building or by an open stairway.

woodlands, and prairie come alive in the artwork and plants here. Two overlooks resemble the ruins of old homesteads. One walkway leads to Slip Bluff County Park and its spectacular overview. Original ruts from the Mormon Trail remain visible.

Celebration of Transportation

I-80 Loess Hills Underwood, eastbound, milepost 19 Lighted sculptures interpret these beautiful and abstract landforms, found at this scale only in western Iowa and Shaanxi, China. Art elements throughout depict this

Story City, southbound, milepost 119

area’s role in Native American culture, the Lewis and Clark

The rest area marks the intersection of I-35

expedition, the Mormon migration, and the discovery of a

with the first transcontinental road — the

human burial site used at least 5,500 years ago. Sheltered

Lincoln Highway, now known as U.S. 30 —

picnic structures dot the property.

and commemorates the many transportation discoveries made in Iowa. Lighted sculptures depict various modes of transportation, from steam locomotive to bicycle.

To Preserve the Union: The Role of Iowa in the Civil War

Lift Adair, westbound, milepost 80 A stunning 148-foot-tall wind turbine blade visible from miles away stands in front of this rest area. The surrounding countryside is home to

Dows, northbound and southbound, milepost 159

huge windmill farms that help make

Franklin County sent more Iowans to the Civil War

Iowa the top state in the nation for its

than any other county and suffered huge casualties in

percentage of electricity generated by

Louisiana’s Battle of Pleasant Hill. Sculptures reminiscent

wind: more than 27 percent in 2013.

of bullets or cannon shells lead you to the building.

The wind and energy theme runs

Inside, art symbolizes the struggle between North and

throughout this area’s design. Each

South. Tombstones are inscribed with snippets from

picnic shelter, for instance, features

soldiers’ letters home.

a leg resembling the gridwork blade used on Dutch immigrant windmills.

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Mississippi River

Adair, eastbound, milepost 81 Pillars that resemble soil core samples draw you into the

Davenport, westbound, milepost 300

facility. Murals and other artwork pay tribute to the life

The Mississippi, one of two great

of agriculture giant Henry A. Wallace, a United States vice

rivers that flank Iowa, is celebrated

president and secretary of agriculture and commerce in the

with a lighted bridge sculpture

1930s and ’40s, who was born in Orient, just south of here.

leading into the building. Murals

Enjoy sheltered picnic tables outside.

inside show barges going through

PHOTO BY CORY HEINTZ, IDOT

The Greatest Story Never Told

one of Iowa’s locks and dams.

Town & Country Mitchellville, westbound, milepost 148

Underground Railroad

A town-square-style clock tower beckons out front; artwork

Wilton, eastbound, milepost 270

features rural and urban motifs. Play equipment behind the

A train-depot-style roofline sets off artwork celebrating

building is both artistic and functional.

Cedar County’s 15 stops on the Underground Railroad that led enslaved people in the South to freedom in the North. The ceramic quilt blocks pay homage to women’s

Pioneers

art and tell how quilt patterns communicated with

Grinnell, eastbound, milepost 181 Search for the word “pioneer” throughout this rest area. A glass block in a wall encases shelled corn in an airtight container. Natural trails run through the migration path of monarch butterflies in August and September. Bonus points: Guess the nickname for the Grinnell College athletic teams.

escapees. An observation deck wraps around the building, offering views of the nearby landscape. Covered picnic areas dot the grounds.

Harvest Wilton, westbound, milepost 270

It Has Iowa Written All over It Tiffin, eastbound, milepost 237 Iowa’s writing heritage comes vibrantly to

Metal cylinders depict Iowa’s natural resources, agriculture (a pig and ear of corn peek through the tops), industry, education, and cultural heritage. Several trails offer exercise opportunities and views of a native prairie.

I-380 The View from Our Window

life in the form of the giant pen nib sculpture out front. “IOWA” is written across the facade in script as tall as the

Cedar Rapids, northbound, milepost 13

building. The names of well-known writers linked to Iowa appear throughout, and their quotes line the backs of

The Iowa roots of regionalist

the picnic shelters.

artist Grant Wood are visible throughout, including several

Land to Learn

Gothic windows with etchings

Tiffin, westbound, milepost 240

of Iowa plants he portrayed in

Iowa is known for its high standards of education, and the

his works, pillars reminiscent of

theme pays tribute to the nearby home of the University

a farmhouse, concrete benches

of Iowa and ACT, a nonprofit that administers a college entrance exam. Book themes embellish pillars, masonry, planters, and lighting; picnic shelters resemble schoolhouses.

that resemble straw bales, and a lighted medallion showing Wood’s Arbor Day drawing on the Iowa quarter.

Deb Wiley, a Des Moines-based writer, thrills to the sight of a 148-foot wind turbine blade used as a sculpture at the I-80 westbound rest area near Adair.

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Take a step back into small-town Iowa History! Visit the Historic Burkard Riegel Blacksmith Shop 210 Mill St, Clermont, IA Open Memorial Day–Labor Day for self-guided tours. Guided tours by appointment. Call (563)423-5561

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IOWA’S ORIGINAL BARN QUILT PROJECT

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Train Wrecks and Other Genteel Amusements An illustrated history of calamity as entertainment at the Iowa State Fair by DAN WEEKS

Crowds love a good disaster â&#x20AC;&#x201D; especially if it involves daring, risk, earth-shaking collisions, high speed, falling from a great height, or all of the above. Now we have action-adventure movies.

But just a generation or two ago, we took our annual dose of special effects live at the Iowa State Fair, courtesy of daredevils willing to tempt death to fill a grandstand with a cheering crowd.

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COURTESY STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA, DES MOINES

A steam engine boiler exploded and debris flew during the 1932 crash of two locomotives by Iowa’s “Head- On Joe” Connolly. 45,000 fairgoers witnessed the spectacle.

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TRAIN WRECKER “Head-On Joe” Connolly As a farm boy from Colo in the 1860s, Joe Connolly wondered what would happen if two of the Chicago & North Western Railway trains that puffed past the family’s fields were to collide. As a theater manager in Des Moines in 1896, he decided to satisfy his curiosity — and make some money — by buying a couple of retired locomotives at scrap value, laying a half mile of track, and crashing them into one another in front of the Iowa State Fair grandstand at 40 miles per hour. Calamity on cue The plan was for two intrepid engineers, one in each locomotive, to each start his train on signal, open the throttle wide, tie the whistle down, and stay aboard the shrieking, roaring engine long enough to ensure that it would hit the opposing train in the dead center of the racetrack, then jump to safety at the last second. The presence of the engineers was crucial. If one train were faster than the other, the two might collide in the midst of spectators rather than in the center of the ring, potentially killing and maiming hundreds with shrapnel, flaming debris, and superheated steam. The danger was all the greater because the 60-ton locomotives were worn-out and perhaps unreliable and would need to be pushed to their limit to obtain the speed necessary for a spectacular crash. “A scared engineer,” Connolly later confided with cool understatement, “had it in his power to make a mess of the whole show.” To heighten the drama, Connolly named the two engines Gold Bug and Silver Bug for the coinage issue then being hotly debated, giving spectators reason to cheer for one engine or the other. It was a big gamble — financially and with life itself. But as Connolly later told a writer for the April 1933 issue of Railroad Stories magazine, “I believed that somewhere in the makeup of every normal person there lurks the suppressed desire to smash things up. So I was convinced that thousands of others would be just as curious as I.” He added, “I wasn’t wrong in my convictions.”

The greatest spectacle It was perhaps the greatest spectacle yet to be witnessed in Iowa. Between 50,000 and 60,000 people showed up to watch, arriving by train, carriage, wagon, horseback, and foot. According to the Des Moines Daily News, the crowd filled every seat in the grandstand, and people stood between 10 and 50 deep along the fence around the racetrack.

“Somewhere in the makeup of every normal person there lurks the suppressed desire to smash things up.” —“Head-On Joe” Connolly In spite of the risk and the variables, the affair came off perfectly. The Daily News reported: “There was a smashing of iron, hissing of steam from the broken boilers and falling apart of the old engines, which mingling together, fell in a heap.” Hundreds of spectators tore at the wreck within minutes of the crash and came away with souvenirs to prove they’d been witness. Connolly came away with $3,538 in profit — nearly $100,000 in today’s dollars — and a new career. For the next 36 years he traveled the country, staging train wrecks from coast to coast. He claimed to have produced two such spectacles per year and wrecked a total of 146 locomotives. He staged two more train wrecks at the Iowa State Fair, once in 1922 and again — his last and by far most spectacular of all — in 1932.

The crash that saved the fair 1932, in the depths of the Depression, was a grim year for the nation, for Iowa, and especially for the Iowa State Fair. Many would-be fairgoers simply could not afford a ticket. Others were deterred by the picketing and blockading of all roads into Des Moines by armed farmers disgruntled by financial distress. Then there was the drenching rain that canceled the horse races. The fair was headed for financial ruin.

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COURTESY STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA, DES MOINES

The 1932 trains were freighted with dynamite and gasoline and crashed at full throttle to make sure spectators got a good dose of carnage. “The bell and the smokestack from the Hoover went up in the air — I can see it — and landed in the [race track] infield,” said spectator Art Correy.

For this crash Connolly employed every trick he’d learned in more than three decades of stuntsmanship. He named the trains Hoover and Roosevelt after the two competing presidential candidates. Both pulled railcars soaked in gasoline and equipped with barrels of hot coals designed to spill on impact, igniting conflagrations. He rigged dynamite to the front of both locomotives and lined the track with pressure-sensitive “torpedoes” that exploded at intervals as the trains raced toward impact. “At the top of their speed, the engines crashed with a roar,” reported The Des Moines Register. “The boiler on the Hoover blew up, hurling out metal for yards, while the cab on the Roosevelt was crushed like an eggshell.” According to the state fair secretary’s report, “All the leading news reel companies in the country ‘covered’ the show, and films depicting the wreck have since been shown in theaters around the world.”

One newsreel shows a spectator running toward the locomotives just before the crash for a closer look; when the trains collided, he quickly reversed course. Two spectators were injured by flying debris, and the trains burned for days after. “It was a bit like witnessing Macbeth from the first gallery,” commented railroad historian Robert C. Reed in his book Train Wrecks. Spectator Art Correy of Ankeny, interviewed by the Register in 1976, said the moment of the crash was still seared on his mind’s eye, 44 years later. Another spectator, Charles Schulling, said Connolly himself was less impressionable. “Well,” said Head-On after it was all over, “that’s that!” and walked away. Perhaps those most delighted were on the fair board. The event made $15,000 — more than a quarter million dollars in today’s money — and saved a beloved state institution from going under. —Based on the book The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives by railroad historian and publisher James J. Reisdorff

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DEATH DODGER

Tournament of Thrills “More than twenty-five top stuntmen from all over the nation … will make autos fly, jump, roll, and crash in dizzying demonstrations of iron nerves and daring,” announced the Dayton [Iowa] Review on August 3, 1950, about the Tournament of Thrills daredevil driving show at that year’s Iowa State Fair. For several years, Chuck Beeler was one of those stuntmen, driving first for Jimmie Lynch and his Death Dodgers — one of the first and most famous daredevil driving outfits — and later for similar acts. Beeler looked the part. Even in his seventies, he remained the iconic ’50s hot-rodder: lean physique, ducktail hair, white t-shirt, jeans. Yet he was approachable and modest and clearly loved every minute of his decades-long career. The head-to-head crash “We did all kinds of stunts. The big one was the headto-head crash. They were dangerous, though, ’cause the new guys, they’d get scared. You’d be driving towards one another in the arena, both cars going 70, and they’d chicken out and try to swerve away. You had to swerve and hit ’em, no matter what they did, or you’d both go right into the stands and kill people. “We drove from the back seat, with extensions on the controls, and just before the crash you’d dive down to the foot well, where we had an old mattress for padding, and the car would explode around you. “After the war, cars were scarce, and head-to-head crashes — we had to stop doing ’em. There just weren’t enough cars available to total two a night. We went to ice wall crashes, brick wall crashes, and fire wall crashes — driving through a burning wooden wall. Those only killed one car a night.”

COURTESY CHAD VAN DYKE, THRILLS AMERICA

Chuck Beeler When the country ran out of steam engines to scrap, automobiles took over the mayhem and destruction portion of state fair entertainment. The car shows provided an additional thrill: The drivers remained in the vehicles during crashes.

Jimmie Lynch’s Death Dodgers and similar acts appeared at the Iowa State Fair for decades, crashing, rolling, and otherwise demolishing cars to the delight of crowds.

The human cannonball There were other stunts as well: driving cars on two wheels, “dive-bombing” from a high ramp at speed and crashing nose down into a parked car. For one stunt he drove a motorcycle through a plate glass window; for another, through a tunnel of fire. Beeler held the record for the longest ramp-to-ramp broad jump in a car for a while. But perhaps his most elite stunt was being fired out of a cannon.

“The first time I did it, I was scared as hell. After you got used to it, it was fun.” —Chuck Beeler

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COURTESY STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA, DES MOINES

A sedan does the fire wall crash, an auto thrill show staple. Although driver Chuck Beeler makes such stunts sound routine, they were every bit as dangerous as they looked and required iron nerves, quick reflexes, and great skill.

“Well, ‘fired’ isn’t exactly right,” he said. “We set off a charge with a bang and a flash and a puff of smoke to make it look like we were propelled by gunpowder. But if people asked, we’d tell ’em it was actually springs and compressed air. That sounded more exotic than what it really was: super-strong bungee cords pulled back with a winch. “Still, the acceleration was so extreme that you’d black out when you launched. You’d come to over the Ferris wheel. That was a rush! The first time I did it, I was scared as hell. After you got used to it, it was fun. “The one thing they told you before your first time: ‘When you hit the safety net, DON’T HANG ON.’ The rebound would rip your arms off.” Beeler performed all over the world and amazingly claimed he was only hurt once, when he didn’t land quite right after one of his early cannon flights. He

credits his longevity to professionalism. “There’s a difference between a daredevil and a damn fool,” he said. “One works every day; the other spends most of his time in the hospital.” In fact, he said his biggest risk wasn’t performing. “My cholesterol’s over 400,” he said matter-of-factly during an interview in the early 1990s. “I could go tomorrow. But that’s all right. I’ve done everything once and started in on my second time around. I’ve enjoyed myself. Wouldn’t change a thing.” He died peacefully of natural causes a few years later. According to a fellow performer, Beeler never had a car accident. “His crashes were all in the ring,” he said. “And they were all on purpose.” —Based

on a live interview with Chuck Beeler by Dan Weeks

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IOWA’S BATMAN

Free fall But perhaps the most daring aerial stunt was by “bat-winged” daredevils who strapped on wood-andcanvas “bat suits” of their own design, jumped from planes, and flew — at speeds of up to 175 miles per hour — before pulling a ripcord and floating the last few thousand feet to the ground. The first of these was experienced pilot and parachutist Clem Sohn, from Michigan, who performed at the Iowa State Fair in 1935. He’d studied the techniques of bats and flying squirrels, built himself a 75-pound suit out of sailcloth and steel tubing, and made his first flight earlier that year in Daytona Beach. Incredibly, his experiment was a success, and he found he was able to change direction and even perform three consecutive loops in the air on his very first drop. “Every movement of my arms and legs is obeyed and magnified in the swoops and turns of my flight,” he said. “I feel like birds must feel. And someday I think that everyone will have wings and be able to soar from the housetops. But there must be a lot more experimenting before that can happen.” His Iowa State Fair flight was proof enough of that: The wind took him off course; instead of landing on the fairgrounds, he touched down on Grand Avenue, smack in the middle of fair traffic, where he was mobbed by the crowd.

COURTESY DES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE

Roland Kumzak Human cannonballs weren’t the first or only airborne thrills at the Iowa State Fair: A primitive dirigible flew from the fairgrounds to the statehouse and back in 1906. Amelia Earhart saw her first airplane at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in 1908. The Wright brothers made four flights each day during the 1911 fair. In 1914 an aircraft raced a car around the grandstand track — and won. And in 1937, 60,000 spectators watched in awe as Captain Frank Frakes flew an airplane into a house and emerged unhurt. (Frakes’ secret: The “house” was very lightly built, and “I never let the engine’s crankshaft hit anything solid,” so the impact was absorbed by the collapse of the aircraft’s wings.) Unlike the Wright brothers, who wind-tunnel-tested model planes before attempting flight, Roland Kumzak just sewed up a suit made of canvas and wood and jumped. His first flight put him in a high-speed spin, and he was lucky to survive. He soon became an adept flier.

The Iowa Batman Roland Kumzak of Milford saw Sohn perform at the Clay County Fair earlier that year and decided on the spot that he would also be a batman. Milford’s Junior Chamber of Commerce offered him $50 to make a winged jump at an airshow in Spencer, and although Kumzak had neither a suit nor any aeronautical experience, he eagerly signed the contract. When the Milford Men’s Business Association heard of the agreement, the group apparently considered it tantamount to paid suicide and told the Junior Chamber of Commerce to call the whole thing off. The Chamber was ready to do so, but Kumzak was so smitten by the idea that he told everyone he was going to jump anyway, 50 bucks or no. On the appointed day he showed up with a suit similar to Sohn’s but apparently without any of Sohn’s flight study or experience. As soon as he hit the air, he found himself on his back. He managed to right himself and open his wings but then found

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himself beginning to roll. He fought to stop it but was thrown into a head-pounding spin, turning faster as he descended. At around 5,000 feet he was conscious enough to notice that the ground seemed to be rushing up at him. He pulled both ripcords — that of the main chute and, for good measure, his reserve as well. He landed safely, if awkwardly, on the ground a mile and a half from the airport. He seemed unfazed. “I think the whole secret is in the beginning of the downward fall,” he told a reporter. Emboldened by his survival, he started touring the Midwest, trying his best to be known as “the Hawk.” But he could never shake being called simply “the Iowa Bat Man.” By the time another Iowa State Fair rolled around, Kumzak had made 35 jumps with his wings and spoke of loving the batman life, which was filled with “plenty of fresh air.” He made several flights at the 1936 Iowa State Fair, much to the pleasure of his home-turf crowd, and kept the mishaps to a minimum. On one jump, the lines of Kumzak’s main chute ripped the goggles off his face. They were later returned by a young boy who was pleased to receive a dollar as a reward. On another, Kumzak landed on a roof, smashing a few shingles but leaving himself intact. The neighbors called for an ambulance, but Kumzak was gone before it arrived. Ironically, unlike the better-trained and more scientific Sohn who was killed in 1937 when his chutes failed to open, Kumzak survived his fascination with semicontrolled free fall. After making more than 100 jumps, he shed his wings for good and made a career out of repairing and packing parachutes and other survival gear for the Navy, and later for the U.S. Government, to support his wife and four daughters. Perhaps he just knew when to quit.

FOR MORE ON IOWA’S DAREDEVILS READ The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives by railroad historian and publisher James J. Reisdorff. This large-format, 48-page softcover book includes lively, quote-filled, well-researched text and 40 photos and illustrations on Joe Connolly’s train wrecks. It is available directly from Reisdorff at southplattepress.com. $19.95.

VISIT The Iowa State Fair Museum located in two buildings northeast of Pioneer Hall on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The Richard L. Easter Museum Complex contains permanent and changing exhibits, some of them interactive, that chronicle the state fair’s history from its founding to the present day. Watch a film clip of the 1932 head-on collision of the Roosevelt and the Hoover in Richard O. Jacobson Hall’s Kenyon Gallery. The museum is perhaps the fair’s best-kept secret: Only one in ten fairgoers visits it. Those who don’t are missing a real treat. Open only during fairtime. Free with fair admission.

VISIT The Auto Thrill Show Museum at Thrills America in La Porte City, which bills itself as “America’s largest public display of auto thrill show memorabilia.” It features photos, programs, posters, uniforms, toys, and other collectible articles related to auto thrill shows, many of which are on sale as well as on display. Proprietor Chad Van Dyke is a font of knowledge about auto thrill shows and enjoys talking about them with visitors. 301 Commercial Street, La Porte City, 319-342-3300, thrillsamerica.com. Free.

READ Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyfliers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them by Michael Abrams. This

—Based on the book Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyfliers:

320-page book tells the story

Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them,

of wingsuited fliers from the

and Perfected Them by Michael Abrams

pioneers of the 1930s to today. $13.94, paperback; $9.99, ebook.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover discover WATERLOO, IOWA

Paid for, in Part, by the waterloo hotel motel tax

319.234.6357 | GROuTMusEuMDIsTRIcT.ORG

Shelby County Historical Museum Visit the Shelby County Historical Museum to view original 1850s log cabins, antique furniture, presidential signatures, Native American artifacts, horse-drawn farming equipment, household appliances, an extensive military collection, an inaugural gown worn by one of Iowa’s First Ladies, thousands of books and photographs, and much more! We have a genealogical research center with thousands of manuscript items and documents, combined with a knowledgeable and friendly staff to help you answer all of your research questions. 1805 Morse Avenue Harlan, Iowa 51537 (712) 755-2437

Iowa Museum Association

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Open M–F 8am–4pm FREE admission www.shelbycoiamuseum.org

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scover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER The True Story of

Curious George The Wartime Escape: Margret and H. A. Rey’s Journey from France

See the largest collection of National Bank Note issues on permanent exhibit in the U.S. Come see America’s commemorative paper money depicting: * Landing of Columbus * Embarkation of the Pilgrims * Signing of the Declaration of Independence * Other great events in our history

FREE ADMISSION

Open mid-May until mid-September Tues. - Sun., 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Summer Exhibit for All Ages July 5 - Aug. 15 Did you know Curious George escaped Nazi occupied France on bicycle by night? Explore how the authors of this beloved children’s book series saved themselves and the original manuscript! Visit our website for more info about the exhibit and a special opening day event!

615 First Ave SE Cedar Rapids, IA (319)362-1501 www.historycenter.org Tues - Sat (10 - 4) Allan Drummond, Endpapers – The Atlantic, Courtesy Institute for Holocaust Education, Omaha, NE.

The Dollies

This unique display is now open near the 1905 Study Hall. Anatomically correct, these 81 hand-carved “Dollies,” also known as the “Firewood Floozies,” are 5/8ths human size and complete with handmade clothing, jewelry, and furniture. The artist, Robert Smith, farmed near Battle Creek and created the collection over 20 years. Visit one of the Midwest’s largest county heritage museums to see these treasures and more!

Plymouth County Historical Museum

335 First Avenue SW, LeMars, Iowa pchmuseum@gmail.com

Jasper County Historical Museum This summer the Jasper County Museum salutes the veterans from the Civil War to Vietnam!

We're that windmill place off of I-80 641-792-9118 / jaspercountymuseum.com Special Advertising Section

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49 THE IOWANwww.IowaMuseums.org July/August 2011

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discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover discover

Exhibit open August 2nd–October 25th at the Octagon Center for the Arts. Opening reception held on August 22nd from 5:30–7:30.

www.ameshistory.org 1 5/5/14 12:16 PM EXPERIENCE LIFE ON THE FRONTIER AmesHistorical_JAIowan_2014.indd Prairie Trails Museum

Visit an 1855 log home, 1857 sutler store & country school, general store, cabinet shop, blacksmith shop, livery stable, and more. 19 buildings in all. OPEN DAILY APRIL 26–OCT. 11, Mon.–Sat. 9–5, Sun. 11–5

C TORI SIT IS

CULTURAL CENTER

3/18/14 Dyer-Botsford Historical House & Doll Museum

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The Iowan July/August 2013 CLIENT: The Brucemore SECTION: Maquoketa PROOF #: 2 DATE: 5-28-2013 Iowa’s Best Kept Secret

Stroll through historic buildings, quilt galleries & museums to see vintage treasures & rare antiques, or take an Amish Countryside tour. Groups Welcome.

715 D Ave, Kalona, IA 52247 319-656-2519 www.kalonaiowa.org

1930’s Shirley Temple Doll

The Dyer-Botsford Historical House and Doll Museum, features a 2,000+ doll collection, PLUS beautiful antiques and unique artifacts.

563-875-2414

OPEN: May through October; Mon–Fri 10am–4pm Sat–Sun 1 pm–4pm ~ $5 Admission 331 1st Ave E, Dyersville (across from City Hall) www.dyersvillehistory.com

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The Figge Art Museum

50 Museum Iowan.com Iowa Association Date: 7-10-2013 Proof #: 1

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Highway 2 East, P.O. Box 104 Corydon, Iowa 50060 641-872-2211 | ptmuseum@grm.net

Fort Museum & Frontier Village Located on Business Hwy. 20, Fort Dodge, IA 515.573.4231| www.fortmuseum.com

www.brucemore.org Cedar Rapids, IA

Put a little art in your life and visit today. The Figge is known for art exhibitions, education and some of the Midwest’s finest collections. 225 West 2nd Street Davenport, IA 52801 563.326.7804 www.FiggeArtMuseum.org

of Wayne County

at the Fort Museum!

appen here h s g in h t fun

www.prairietrailsmuseum.org

3:25 PM

Visit the

George Curtis Mansion Memorial Day - Labor Day

Tuesday Teas 1-4 pm Tours Weds 1:30-3:30 pm Private party rental and tours available Call or email for details paris430@hotmail.com

420 5th Avenue South Clinton, Iowa

563-242-8556

5/5/14 1:28 PM

This 9-acre site, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, celebrates the role of the draft horse during the Golden Age of Iowa Agriculture. OPEN MAY TO NOVEMBER. Tue & Thur 1–4 pm and Sat 10–4 pm Located at the intersection of Hwy 1 & US 34 www.JeffersonCountyIowa.com/barns 641-919-8262

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scover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER discover DISCOVER Delaware County Historical Society

HUMBOLDT COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

Nine Buildings (Restored Lenox College): Civil War Monument and Resources. Local, School, Farm, Railroad, Pharmacy and Natural History displays. Listed on Iowa Scenic Byway and National Register Historic Places 563.926.2639 www.delcoiowahistory.org

Preserving the past for future generations. OPEN June 1–September 30 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat 10 am–4 pm Sun 1:30 pm–4:30 pm

905 1st Ave N Humboldt, IA (515) 332-5280 www.humboldtiowahistory.org

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3/27/14 10:36 AMClient: Delaware County Historical Society Carnegie Section: IMA Treasures HistoriCal Date: 3-28-2013 MuseuM

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an iowa Century Museum

NEW DISPLAY: a Union Lieutenant's uniform has joined an 1863 field diary, photos, Gettysburg shrapnel, Lincoln's signature, draft cards, leg irons, & other Civil War artifacts. Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 1–4pm, First Friday's Art Walk 6–9pm.

Amana Heritage Museum Exhibits in three 19th century communal buildings tell the story of the Amana Colonies National Historic Landmark. Introductory video. Museum Store.

112 S. Court Street, Fairfield, IA 52556 641.472.6343 fairfieldmuseum@gmail.com www.FairﬁeldMuseum.com

319-622-3567 www.amanaheritage.org www.muscaneartcenter.org Open Tuesday—Sunday 563-263-8282

The Iowa Children’s Museum Playing is learning! Family attraction full of active learning exhibits, including Take Flight!, inspire every child to imagine, create, discover, and explore though the power of play.

1451 Coral Ridge Avenue Coralville, IA 52241 319.625.6255 www.theicm.org

Railroads

Muscatine County

June 29, 2014 - January 11, 2015

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt Girlhood Home and Interpretive Center Key coordinator of the woman suffrage movement, Catt played a leading role in the successful campaign to win voting rights for women. Open Memorial Day–Labor Day, 10–4; Sunday 12–4; and by appointment.

Open 7 Days a Week Year-Round 641-842-6176

Special Advertising Section

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2379 Timber Avenue Charles City, IA 50616 641.228.3336 www.catt.org

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The journey begins: Iowaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive network of county roads offers many launching and landing options, making the state a favorite ballooning destination.

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t Aloft A balloon’s-eye view of Iowa by DAN WEEKS | photography by BOBBIE RUSSIE

There’s no rush of acceleration, no hurtling down a runway. With a slight jiggle, the balloon’s basket simply rises an inch or two, as though gently lifted by an unseen hand. It is an absurdly slight transition, like standing on a pebble. After that, there is virtually no sensation of movement. The ground falls away as though seen through a rapidly zooming lens. Save for the periodic roar of the balloon’s propane burner, it is nearly silent. The view is boundless and gets increasingly abstract with altitude. From a few thousand feet, Iowa is rich in shape, color, line, and form. The natural and manufactured landscapes intertwine. The imposition of roads, buildings, fields, and row crops appears as arbitrary as the shapes of ponds, the courses of streams, the outlines of woodlands, the crowns of hills, the folds of draws. They all drift beneath you, seemingly changing shape as you float by.

Passengers are invariably disoriented or enthralled or both. Some look for landmarks, strain for perspective. Others enter a sort of visual trance and take in the scenic flow as though they’re watching a movie or dreaming. As you descend, you can start to feel omniscient, unbound, all-seeing, as the hidden corners of back lots and alleys and woodlands and ponds become as visible as highways and front yards. It’s all yours — to float over or to land in. When you do touch down, it’s with a gentle bump. Only then do you realize that you’ve become used to weightlessness. You climb heavily out of the basket. Your feet stick unnaturally to the earth. The balloon deflates, vanishing into a puddle of shimmering colors on the ground. It leaves you standing, the tallest thing in the field, a speck on the land.

GIVE IT A TRY! See hot-air balloons up close — or ascend a mile or more into the Iowa sky in one — at the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, July 25–August 2. For more information: nationalballoonclassic.com, 515-961-8415.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Lines on the land: A horizon-tohorizon composition of geometric and free-form shapes makes the Iowa landscape endlessly interesting.

March/April 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Underfoot: A house, garden, pond, and a tracery of paths are as accessible as a city park to a drifting balloonist.

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July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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Waiting to exhale: Back on the ground, the balloon envelope offers a final display of color before deflating.

Photographer Bobbie Russie is a graphic designer and art director from Des Moines. Dan Weeks is editor of The Iowan.

March/April 2014 | THE IOWAN

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www.visitindianola.com 

www.visitindianola.com

www.indianolachamber.com Indianola Chamber of Commerce 104 N. Howard Street (515) 961-6269 or 1-866-961-6269

2014 EVENTS Sunday tunes @ Summerset Winery year round Bike Down To I-Town 3rd Friday of each month April–Sept Figure 8 Races April–Sept Indianola Classic Car & Truck Cruise Night Every Saturday Starlight Cinema Outdoor Movies May–August Rockin’ and Rollin’ Around the Square Car Show 1st Thursday of each month May – Sept

“Tastes Like Home Cookin” Family owned since 1946

115 East Salem Indianola 515-961-3362

Dinner on the Deck @ La Vida Loca May–Oct Bluegrass Tuesday June 3–July 29 Des Moines Metro Opera June 27–July 20

(Closed Monday) Tue.-Thur. 6 AM-8 PM, Fri. & Sat. 6 AM-9 PM, Sun. 8 AM-2 PM, Saturday & Sunday breakfast buffet 8-10:30 AM

Farmers Market Saturdays June–Oct & Wednesdays July–Sept Spring Fling Corvette Show June 7 Warren County Fair July 28–Aug 28 National Balloon Classic July 25–Aug 2 Open Air Market on The Square July 26 Warren County Log Cabin Days Sept 27 Halloween Costume Party & Parade Oct 25 Holiday Tour Dessert Fashion & Fun Oct 25 Holiday Extravaganza & Lighted Parade Nov 21 Holiday Tour of Homes Dec 12–13 Market at The Square June 5-August 7 Thursday evenings 5-8:30pm

For a complete list of events & attractions in Indianola go to

www.indianolachamber.com

Indianola

• Des Moines

Indianola is just 12 minutes south of Des Moines!

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Find interesting history, unique stories, and fabulous photography in the pages of these Iowan Books...

Welcome to Onawa, Iowa

Join us for the Onabike 22nd Annual Bike Ride! “Western Iowa’s Largest 1-Day Bike Ride Through The Loess Hills”

2014 Calendar of Events Monona County Fair July 16–20 Classic Car Swap Meet August 17 Onabike August 23

www.iowan.com or 515-246-0402 ext. 211

TRAINS on the

FARM Model Toy Trains, Depot and Railroad Artifacts Museum Children’s Toy, and Ag collections Circus & Wild West Layouts Join us for a time of fun, nostalgia, history “On The Farm” Tours lasting 2, 5 or 8 hrs are available — call for more information.

For more information visit

www.onawachamber.com

Onawa Chamber of Commerce Email chamber@onawa.com | 712.423.1801

30215 170th Street I Clarksville, IA 50619 319.278.4847 www.trainsonthefarm.com

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It’s fast. It’s physical. It’s

Lacrosse

... and it’s coming to a playing field near you. by JORDAN MOREY

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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PHOTO BY JACKIE FRISK

West Des Moines, left, faces off against Ankeny. The gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popularity among players and spectators of all ages has boomed in Iowa in the past decade.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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PHOTO BY JORDAN MOREY

Dubuque University began offering women’s lacrosse in spring 2013. More college opportunities have sprouted up for young women thanks to scholarships.

As the sun sets over Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, 20 athletes from West Des Moines and Ankeny square off in a game that’s sort of like ice hockey on grass. Players wield netted sticks that hurl a small, dense ball through the air at 80+ miles per hour. They pass, block, and check one another in the attempt to score goals at either end of a 110-foot field. This is lacrosse, and during the past 10 years Iowans have been playing and attending its games in record numbers. The game is great fun to watch and doesn’t require deep knowledge of the sport to enjoy. If you’ve ever witnessed ice hockey, you’ll feel right at home. One difference: The sticks vary in length depending on the player’s position. Defense uses longer ones for better checking and ball deflection; offensive positions use shorter sticks for more control. “I go to about two games a month,” says Des Moines native Barry Von Ahsen, who learned to play during the two years he lived in upstate New York, “where lacrosse is a religion. I enjoy watching because lacrosse is just as physical as football, but much faster and more athletic.”

Physical is right: What with the high speed of the ball, lots of sticks flying, and sometimes violent checks and blocks, lacrosse can be a pretty rough game. Players in the men’s game wear shoulder, elbow, and rib protectors and helmets with face guards. (Women wear only face guards.) Lacrosse ranks third in sports with the highest concussion rates, behind football and ice hockey. That comparative safety may also be contributing to the game’s popularity.

North America’s oldest sport Lacrosse was invented by North American natives hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. French Jesuit missionaries witnessed their first game in the 1630s. (“La crosse” means “the stick” in French.) They described hundreds of warriors from neighboring tribes playing contests that lasted days and sprawled over miles of countryside. Lacrosse became popular among European settlers. They drastically reduced the size of the teams and fields, applied other rules to the game, and played it primarily in the Northeast.

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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But in the past 10 years, the game has taken off throughout the United States. Youth participation grew about 140 percent nationally during that period, and lacrosse is now the tenth most popular high school sport for girls. (It’s eleventh for boys.) Play doesn’t end after high school: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools alone will field 68 men’s lacrosse teams for the 2015 season.

In Iowa to stay While it’s not about to outshine high school or college football or basketball — or even high school wrestling — Iowans love sports of all kinds and have been quick to embrace lacrosse. The state currently boasts three varsity high school lacrosse clubs: West Des Moines boys and girls, and Ankeny boys. There are also at least 10 collegiate teams in the state. Youth camps and clinics have sprung up throughout Des Moines, and the spring sport has garnered some of Iowa’s top athletes. The West Des Moines boys lacrosse club, formerly exclusive to West Des Moines’ Valley High School, is

PHOTO BY GLEN F. BURMESTER

PHOTO BY JACKIE FRISK

The West Des Moines Tigers are currently Iowa’s top-ranking high school team. It is made up of players from several central Iowa schools.

Two defensemen attempt to knock the ball loose by trying to hit an attacker’s stick. Defenders use longer sticks than attackers to gain reach in such maneuvers.

“Lacrosse is just as physical as football, but much faster and more athletic.” — Lacrosse fan Barry Von Ahsen now open to surrounding schools in central Iowa. The team had its inaugural season during the 2008– 2009 school year. There isn’t an Iowa lacrosse league yet, so Valley plays in the Nebraska High School Lacrosse League. Last year the Valley Tigers finished runner-up in the competition — not bad, especially because the interest in playing the game in Iowa has outstripped the number of officials and coaches available to support the sport. It’s not uncommon for Iowa teams to have to import officials from neighboring states for games. “The biggest thing hindering the growth of the sport is lack of participation from adults,” says Adam Edgington, the Tigers’ coach.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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PHOTO BY JACKIE FRISK

Two West Des Moines defenders converge on a ball-carrying Ankeny attacker as he rushes their goal.

After seeing the athletic success and impressive turnouts for the West Des Moines teams, Ankeny added its own varsity lacrosse club for the 2013–2014 school year. On April 25, 2014, the two teams met at Valley Stadium for the first-ever high school lacrosse game between two Iowa high schools. More than 1,000 fans attended the game — Iowa’s largest high school lacrosse gathering to date.

LACROSSE IN IOWA Lacrosse is a rapidly growing sport that enthusiastically welcomes newcomers. Here are some websites that can help you find games to attend or teams to join: Central Iowa Lacrosse: centraliowalacrosse.com West Des Moines Tigers: wdmlacrosse.com Ankeny: ankenylax.com

NCAA-bound One milestone in the development of Iowa lacrosse came in 2013 when West Des Moines player Ted Crites signed a letter of intent to play Division III lacrosse at Capital University in Ohio. He will be the first Iowan to play lacrosse in the NCAA. As high schoolers age out of their current teams, coaches expect the growth of lacrosse in Iowa to accelerate even faster. “A lot of alumni are coming back and helping out,” Edgington says. “Our players run a youth summer camp that we oversee. The sport will continue to grow as more kids get involved. It carries on to after they graduate.”

Youth Programs: centraliowalacrosse.com/youth.html University of Dubuque: dbq.edu/athletics/womens/ lacrosse, dbq.edu/athletics/mens/lacrosse Iowa State: stuorg.iastate.edu/lacrosse St. Ambrose: saubees.com/sport/0/8.php Dordt College: dordt.edu/athletics/lacrosse Loras: duhawks.com/sport/0/29.php University of Iowa: hawkeyelacrosse.com

Jordan Morey is an avid lacrosse fan and a sports writer for the Le Mars Daily Sentinel.

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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FAULCONER GALLERY

GRINNELL COLLEGE

JULY 11 TO SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

EDWARD BURTYNSKY WATER In 50 large-scale photographs, Edward Burtynsky traces the various roles that water plays in modern life — as a source of healthy ecosystems and energy, as a key element in cultural and religious rituals, and as our rapidly depleting yet most vital natural resource. Edward Burtynsky: Water was organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art.

For a full listing of events and programs, visit grinnell.edu/faulconergallery or call 641.269.4660 Edward Burtynsky, Colorado River Delta #4, Sonora, Mexico, 2011 Chromogenic print, 60 x 48 in. Photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York.

TREASURES Antique to Modern Collecting

FRANK FRITZ

PICKS

Starting this summer, you can read Frank Fritz’s new column in Treasures magazine.

Don’t miss an issue! Visit treasuresmagazine.com or call 877-899-9977 (U.S.) or 515-246-0402 (international) to subscribe. “Like” us at facebook.com/TreasuresMagazine. House ads.indd 4

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Second-Wind Entrepreneur How a small-town grandma’s homemade bug repellent went viral. By DEB WILEY

Freda Sojka didn’t start out to build a thriving small-town manufacturing business in her retirement. In 2008 she just wanted a safe and effective repellent to keep bugs away from her 5-month-old grandson, Elijah. So she created her own all-natural bug spray using lemongrass oil as the active ingredient, plus water, vanilla, castor oil, soya lecithin, lemon, and vitamin E.

A Business Explosion It was so effective that word-of-mouth testimonials alone led customers to swarm her inventory. That led to shortages, hoarding, and even more viral buzz about the product she dubbed Bug Soother. “The business exploded beyond our wildest dreams,” says Sojka of Columbus Junction, a town of about 2,000 people 30 miles southwest of Muscatine. “We put in three phone lines, and they rang nonstop last summer.” In six years she’s gone from blending small batches with a mixer to investing in a semiautomated system that can fill more than 8,000 bottles per day. She uses a multistate distribution system that services more than 3,000 retailers (see “Where to Find It,” opposite).

No wonder Freda Sojka is smiling: At a life stage where most people’s careers are winding down, hers is taking off.

“I didn’t even know what a distribution center was,” Sojka says. Last year a shortage of the company’s signature green plastic spray bottles led to a panic of sorts. “I bought up every green bottle in the United States,” Sojka says. At one

THE IOWAN | iowan.com

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made in iowa point, the Mount Vernon, Iowa, Ace Hardware store had 179 names on a waiting list, and Sojka’s company shipped up to a hundred orders a day from the Columbus Junction post office. Dixie Collins of Mount Vernon is one of the reasons why. She loves the product. “It works really well on gnats. And I like the way it smells, like lemons.”

Simply Soothing The bug spray is just one product from Simply Soothing, a company Sojka started 11 years ago after taking early retirement from Monsanto’s Central Lab in Muscatine. “I like to call us second-wind entrepreneurs,” she says. A visit to a Missouri store where customers created their

Safe for Tigers Bug Soother works best on gnats and repels a light to

own scented lotions gave Sojka the idea to create and sell

moderate attack of mosquitoes, Sojka says. Customers have

her own natural bath and beauty products, air fresheners,

also reported success against sand fleas, biting midges,

soy-blended melts for warmers — she’s even created a

black flies, ants, ticks, chiggers — even Japanese beetles on

natural mouse repellent.

roses. She’s heard that the spray works on dogs, chickens,

The first indication that Bug Soother would be a smash

horses — and tigers. An animal trainer friend originally

success came in 2008. Sojka’s sister took pity on several

from Muscatine used Bug Soother to calm an old tiger, “and

gnat-infested surveyors checking flooding on the Cedar River

there’s this huge roar of purring,” Sojka says. “He thinks

and sprayed them with Bug Soother. Shortly afterward, “This

zoos would be interested.”

big, burly guy walked into my shop with all this scented stuff and asked, ‘Do you sell bug spray?’” Sojka says. Since then, Sojka, her husband, Jim, and other family members involved with the business have gotten a quick

Sojka’s family now employs about 20 seasonal workers at the Columbus Junction factory and promises no shortages this year. “I’m not a chemist. I have no idea why any of it works,”

education in how to produce, distribute, and market a

Sojka says. “Humans love it, and bugs hate it. It’s like Moses

product they never dreamed would take off so fast. Sojka

parting the sea.”

credits mentoring from state and local business experts, her farm-background work ethic, and help from family and

community with her businesses success. Her father instilled

WHERE TO FIND IT

that she could “do anything, work hard, and take some risk.”

Bug Soother is available in many of

Jim Sojka was a bridge builder for 40 years before

Iowa’s Ace Hardware stores, Casey’s

he joined Freda in business. Jim, Freda, and other family

General Stores, Earl May Nursery

members even took a business personality assessment to

and Garden Centers, Fareway Stores,

discover their strengths and determine which roles to play.

Farm and Auto Stores, Hartig Drug

Sojka is “terrible with details,” she says, but great at

Stores, Hy-Vee Stores, Theisen’s

networking. She snagged Debi Durham, director of the

Home Stores, True Value Hardware

Iowa Economic Development Authority, at a recent business

stores, via Amazon, and direct from

workshop in Dubuque to tell her how important the state’s

bugsoother.com (where there’s also

support means to small businesses. In February she went

a store locator) or by phone order at

on a state trade mission to Panama City, Panama, and

319-728-7070.

Bogota, Colombia, looking for new markets that would help drive winter product sales. She’s also exploring selling Bug Soother to the U.S. military. Des Moines writer Deb Wiley has been a lifelong bug magnet.

July/August 2014 | THE IOWAN

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flashback: 1954

60 Years Ago in The Iowan

The July 1954 issue was completely devoted to the Amana Colonies, then marking their centennial. Editor David Archie mused on the paradox of the Colonies’ “keeping up with the times while retaining as much of the Amana charm as possible.”

The cover featured a portrait of Amana native Mrs. Lisette Rohrer, “born in 1857 and the oldest member of the Amana Society” at age 97.

Except for the four-digit phone number and the “German Zither Music” offered three times each week, this advertisement for the Ox Yoke Inn could run nearly unchanged today.

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“The Amana Story” featured 33 uninterrupted pages of coverage of the Colonies, which were just 22 years past the 1932 “great change” from communal life to private enterprise. As the photo shows, century-old traditions were still strong.

“Craftsmen Survive the Profit System” featured woodworkers, weavers, millwrights, and meat curers. “They like the old techniques, and visitors like the products,” says the article, “but the family bills are paid from money earned in the larger Amana industries.”

“Smokestacks by the Old Mill Stream” told the story of how Amana refrigeration grew from a single beer cooler in 1934 to producing 500 freezers a day 20 years later. Here, factory workers hand-finish refrigerator doors.

The Iowa Development Commission lured business from big cities with Iowa’s “friendly spirit,” “conservative and sound” financial policy, and “accent on leisure” with “golf, swimming, hunting and fishing ’round the corner.” This ad on page 39 announces the 1954 launch of Amana’s newest products: air conditioners. “Select the weather you want with just the flick of a finger … cool, heat, dehumidify, ventilate, filter, exhaust …”

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escapades

Come See My Mole! Oh, wait — I guess it isn’t a mole. by DIANA HOUGH SHANDLING | illustration by DAVE TOHT

We used to spend a week at

My mother lost patience with both of us, grabbed the

my grandparents’ cottage directly across the lake from

spade, and smashed the animal flat. It was definitely dead,

the town of Clear Lake. In 1953, as a girl of 10, I was

and I was finally convinced: rat, indeed.

walking my grandparents’ dog, Blondie, in a vacant field near the Bayside Amusement Park. Suddenly a little animal stood up and hissed at us. I — a would-be zoologist —

Diana Hough Shandling is a retired teacher who grew up in

decided it was a mole.

Storm Lake.

Conveniently, there was a bag with paper cups nearby. I scooped the animal into the bag with a cup and ran to the cottage shouting, “Come see my mole!”

Dave Toht is an illustrator, writer, book publisher, and blogger (davetoht.tumblr.com).

“That’s a rat!” my mother screamed while the mole/ rat ran under the screened-in porch. It reappeared, and my father slowly approached it with a large, heavy spade.

Do you have a story about your escapades in Iowa? Email it to editor@iowan.com and we’ll consider it for publication.

I started screaming, “Don’t kill my mole!”

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November/December 2013 | THE IOWAN

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For good. For Iowa. For ever.

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