Three Weeks In Iowa

Recently I spent three weeks in Iowa.  This is where I was born and raised and visit as often as I can but have never spent this length of time there.  I left Round Rock on August 19, stopping to spend the night with the Bankstons.   On  August 20, I headed towards Kansas City.  On Saturday, August 21, I left Kansas City headed to my Dad's place.  He and my step mom live on a farm outside Davenport on the eastern side of Iowa.  This was to be my home base for the next week and a half.  On Sunday, August 22, we met with some of the extended Oetzmann family at a restaurant called Gramma's Kitchen.  Every year my Dad and his siblings and cousins have this mini family reunion and I wanted to attend once.  This year it worked out that I was in town at the time of the gathering.  I convinced a couple of my girl cousins (Darci, Denise, & Becky) to join me.  It was great to see some of Dad's cousins whom I have not seen in many years.  Afterwards the girls and I went to Donahue to The Depot to hang out and catch up, as well as celebrate Darci's birthday.  Kim met us there and we had a great time laughing and catching up.  My Uncle Ron stopped by and I was glad to have the chance to see him as well.  Also while we were visiting, a good family friend and my former third grade teacher, Mary Lou Engler, came and visited with us for a bit. The rest of the week was spent hanging out with Dad and Pat, shopping, crafting, eating, and playing cards.  

On Saturday, August 28, I went to my 40th high school reunion.  I have never attended any of the other reunions since they usually happen in August and I am always back to school.  Not sure why I was interested in going since my group of friends was pretty small and I haven't really kept in touch with more than a few.  But go I did.  When I arrived, there was a line out the door and so I sat in my truck  in the ac until the line grew shorter.  While sitting there I kept thinking to myself, "I must be in the wrong place.  The people going in are old."  I am really not comfortable in situations like this where you go in alone and don't recognize anyone or know anyone.  I almost turned around and left.  But I didn't.  I got a drink, walked around a bit and found a spot to sit and enjoy my drink.  Soon a friend from elementary school came up and said hello.  She looked the same as I had remembered and it was so nice to catch up with her.  As we sat and talked a guy came over and asked if we knew him.  We did not.  (There were over 800 kids in our graduating class.) But we all ended up visiting and eating dinner together anyway.  Later I did visit briefly with a few other people from elementary school. I finally bid my friend goodbye and returned back home to Dad's.  It was interesting and I can honestly say I am glad I went, but I don't need to do it again.

On Sunday I went to my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Rick's to spend the day and stay overnight.  All their kids and grandkids and great grandkids were there for lunch so it was great to see everyone.  Later that night we went to her youngest son's house for a cookout.  During the afternoon, Aunt Bonnie taught me how to make some very simple baby blankets.  On Monday morning, we finished up my lessons, visited with my cousin Darci who popped in and I headed back to Dad's.

On Wednesday morning, I met two lovely ladies on my grandmothers side of the family for coffee at Panera and to ask a few family history questions of them.  While I was doing that, Dad and Pat took their motorhome and headed to Britt  for the Britt Draft Horse Show.  I headed that way after my visit but I made a stop in Gladbook, Iowa at the Matchstick Marvels Museum. (This will be a different post.)

We spent the rest of the week and the weekend in Britt attending the Draft Horse Show.  This horse show includes Belgians, Clydesdales and Percherons pulling carts and wagons.  Dad and I watched the horses being bathed and groomed, and walked the barns talking to the trainers and owners. Below are a few pictures of the show.

On Monday, September 6, Dad and Pat headed to Ft Madison in the southeast corner of Iowa to stay for the Tri State Rodeo.  Before joining them there, I went to Jefferson, Iowa to visit with a dear college friend I have not seen in many, many years.  We had so much fun catching up on our lives, reminiscing and eating lunch with her husband and grandkids.  I told her it cannot be this many years again before we see each other next.  Then I drove to Ft Madison to join Dad and Pat.  On Wednesday night we attended the Cinch Shoot Out Rodeo.  Thursday Dad and I drove to St Louis to pick LW up, who flew in from Austin for the remainder of the weekend.  Sitting in the cellphone lot waiting for LW's plane to land felt a lot like waiting to be picked for teams in gym class.  

Saturday we attended the small town parade (and gathered candy thrown from the floats) and that night we went to the rodeo. 

 On Sunday, we all went to the Lions Club Breakfast and then LW and I began our drive back to Texas.  We stopped Sunday night in southern Oklahoma and finished out our drive on Monday.  I was back in Texas on Monday September, 13.  It has been 25 days since I left.

Fun Facts about Ft Madison Iowa:

Did you know that the Santa Fe Railroad Depot in Ft Madison was the inspiration for Walt Disney's train depot at Disneyland?  Disney spent a summer riding the train from his home in Missouri to Ft Madison selling snacks and newspapers and loved the design and architecture of the Ft Madison depot.  

Ft Madison also boasts the longest swing span double decker bridge in the world.  It was created by Octave Chanute who used the same technology that was utilized by the Wright Brothers in building their first airplane.  

This is the Rizer House built by EJ Rizer in 1880.  In the early 1900's it was a boarding house where a local bachelor shot his mail order bride who had come to marry him but changed her mind.  He later killed himself.  She lived.

The granddaughter of Betsy Ross once lived in Ft Madison.  She created replicas of her grandmothers flag while living here.  She donated her last flag to the Episcopal Church and they have it on display there.  These replicas are collectors items and can fetch between $6-10,000 each.  

The Tri State Rodeo began in 1948 when Gene Autry brought his rodeo to town on his way to Madison Square Gardens.