Category Archives: Teresa

Art, Road Trip, Teresa, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Sac County

July 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

A few Saturdays back I cruised around Sac County with Teresa harvesting their town signs. I knew Sac County was the home of the Largest Popcorn Ball in the World, but I did not know that popcorn was so huge to the development of the entire region. I found references to popcorn in three towns and one unincorporated town. The next time I fire up the Union Street Theater popcorn maker I will think of Sac County. (Unrelated, but the Union Street Theater has recently been upgraded substantially. If you haven’t stopped by for a show lately, you probably should get on that.)

Here are some facts about Sac County:

+ Population is 9,802 (2019) estimate. Making Sac County the 75th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Montgomery County and above Calhoun County.
+ The county seat and largest town is Sac City.
+ Was formed on January 13, 1846.
+ Named for the Sauk people.
+ Home of the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball.
+ Home of Blackhawk State Park.
+ Major highways are: US-20, US-71, IA-39, IA-110, and IA-175.
+ Adjacent counties are: Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cherokee, Crawford, Ida, and Pocahontas.
+ Population peaked in 1930 at 17,641.

The Sac County Courthouse is fair looking, well it was, until they added that horrible addition to it:

The Sac County Courthouse in Sac City, Iowa.

The Sac County Freedom Rock is located in Sac City, Iowa:

With Sac County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

29 counties completed. 29.3% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Sac County:

Sac City, Iowa
Sac City
Population: 2,220

Lake View, Iowa
Lake View
Black Hawk Lake
Population: 1,142

Odebolt, Iowa
ODEBOLT
RICH HISTORY-PROUD COMMUNITY
Established 1877
Population: 1,013

Wall Lake, Iowa
WELCOME TO WALL LAKE
BIRTHPLACE OF ANDY WILLIAMS
Population: 819

Schaller, Iowa
Welcome to SCHALLER
Popcorn Capital of the World
Population: 772

Early, Iowa
City of EARLY
Established 1882
Population: 557

Auburn, Iowa
AUBURN
a taste of home.
Population: 322

Nemaha, Iowa
Nemaha
A “MIGHTY” SMALL TOWN
Population: 85

Lytton, Iowa – Also Calhoun County
LYTTON
Population: 315

Ulmer, Iowa – Unincorporated
WELCOME TO ULMER

Sac County has a solid set of signs. I don’t strongly dislike any of them. Put in a position, of having to choose a worst sign, It would have to come down to Early, Lake View, Auburn, and Lytton. My feet to the fire, I give the worst town sign to Early. There is no pithy slogan, which is what saves Auburn. There is no boat, that is what saves Lake View. And Lytton gets points for just throwing their town sign on a big rock.

But who has the best town sign in Sac County. Who gets Best in Show. It really comes down to Wall Lake and Nemaha. The alternate town sign for Schaller would be an underdog for this award, but I only consider primary signs for this award, unless we get into a tie-breaker situation, like we did for Lucas County. With apologies to Andy Williams, my huckleberry friend, I’m going to paddle down this river that is wider than a mile, looking for rainbow’s end, to the town waitin’ around the bend, and give Best in Show to Nemaha.

Nemaha – Best in Show – Sac County

A few towns in Sac County have alternate signs:

Wall Lake – Alternate

Schaller – Alternate

Sac City – Alternate

Auburn – Alternate

You might be sitting there wondering, what makes Schaller the Popcorn Capital of the World? I mean, Sac City houses the World’s Biggest Popcorn Ball, just where does Schaller get off?

I pulled over and asked a guy name Derrick just where Schaller gets off making such a bold claim. Turns out that Derrick is the owner of Bango Haunted Crib. He told me that Schaller used to be the home of 3 popcorn companies. Jolly Time, Bango, and American. Now, the only company left in town is Jolly Time. Some of the people in town turned the old Bango building into a haunted house. I will get into the details of this in a future post of Sac County Auxiliary Images. But you combine that with the fact that Schaller has hosted Pop Corn Days for 70 years now. Now you know.

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

The Next time we check in on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will visit Ida County.

Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Jen, Kim, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 306 – ARCHITECTURE

July 26, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The theme of ARCHITECTURE rang the bell of a few people. Quite a few people, actually. Anita Ward would be proud.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Logan Kahler

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Teresa Kahler

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Kio Dettman

Carla Stensland

A great week of submissions!

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

PATHS

PATHS! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a PATHS image? Simply put, a PATHS image is a picture of a route used by beings to get from one place to another. Trails are PATHS. Roads are PATHS. Railroads are PATHS. Sidewalks are PATHS. Aisles are PATHS. Of course, you don’t have to be literal. There are the PATHS we are on in our life. There is the faith PATHS that we walk.

In the theme reveal image, there is a literal trail from an observation tower back to the woods and eventually, back to my car.

When considering subjects for this week’s image, consider the following quote:

When the path ignites a soul, there’s no remaining in place. The foot touches the ground, but not for long.
-Hakim Sanai

Heed these works and there is no doubt your path will take you to a most intriguing PATHS image.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of PATHS in this place that like to think it is your trail to my soul next Monday.

Andy, Bill, Boone County Fair, Carla, Cathie, Christianity, Elizabeth, History, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Music, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 305 – MUSIC

July 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

While we have been working on sorting things at my Mom’s house, we recently have come through a whole pile of genealogy stuff. While sorting through it, I thought I would share a bit of family history from my Dad’s side of the family. It is a story I’ve known, but never knew all the details that well. Through a series of 6 newspaper clippings, I’m going to share the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief second marriage.

Handschin-Kessler Wedding
Sunday, December 31st

After morning services at the Central Church of Christ Sunday, December 31st, a wedding ceremony was solemnized in which Mrs. Bernice Kessler, daughter of Mr. anad Mrs. O.M. Needham, 1517 Sixth street, became the bride of Mr. Maurice Handschin of Sioux City, Iowa. The Rev. G. Harvey Sutton officiated at the double ring ceremony in his study. Attending the couple were Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Spratt of Boone.

For her wedding, the bride wore an attractive dress of plaid sheer wool with black accessories.

Later in the day, a wedding supper was served at the Spratt Restaurant, seventeen being present for the event. Both the bride and bridegroom attended Boone High school and have many friends in Boone who will be interested in reading of their marriage. The bride is employed at the Rollins Hosiery Mill and Mr. Handschin is employed by Swift Packing company at Sioux City, where the couple will make their home.

The articles are printed on thermal paper, it appears, and are not in good shape. Here is what it looks like:

There will be more to the story tomorrow.

+++++++

The language of MUSIC seemed to speak to several people this week. Of course, that is MUSIC to my ears, or maybe MUSIC to my eyes.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Teresa Kahler

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Bill Wentworth

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Andy Sharp

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Mike Vest

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is an ARCHITECTURE image? Simply put ARCHITECTURE photography is the photographing of structures. Buildings mostly, but there are other types of structures. Bridges. Towers. Bleachers. Try to capture a beautiful construction or parts of it in an interesting way.

Think on the following quote when you think about creating your ARCHITECTURE image:

Even a brick wants to be something.
-Louis Kahn

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of MUSIC in this place that is created by a computer architect next Monday.

Andy, Becky, Bill, Carla, Dad, History, Joe Duff, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Music, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 304 – HISTORY

July 12, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Lots of people decided to make HISTORY by taking a HISTORY image this week. I understand that it can be a bit difficult for people that aren’t like me. You see, it is easy for me cause I’m making HISTORY every day.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Teresa Kahler

Joe Duff

Tamara Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker

Andy Sharp

Michelle Haupt

Carla Stensland

Micky Augustin

Kio Dettman

Mike Vest

MUSIC

BY THE WAY: WEDNESDAY IS THE LAST CITY BAND CONCERT OF THE YEAR IN BOONE.

MUSIC! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a MUSIC photo? A MUSIC photo is any picture that’s composition includes anything related to MUSIC. A person playing MUSIC. Sheet MUSIC. A MUSICal instrument. Anything involved in the creation of MUSIC.

While thinking on your MUSIC photo, consider this quote:

Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.
-John Erskine

Think on that quote, and you will no doubt create a stunning MUSIC image for next MONDAY.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of MUSIC in this place that like to think it is a metaphorical melody next Monday.

Andy, Angie, Carla, Derrick, History, Jen, Joe Duff, Kio, Logan, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 303 – ADVENTURE

July 5, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Despite the holiday weekend, there was pretty good participation in this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. At least a few of you got out there and had an ADVENTURE last week.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Teresa Kahler

Andy Sharp

Derrick Gorshe

Joe Duff

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Angie DeWaard

Logan Kahler

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Kio Dettman

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

HISTORY

HISTORY! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a HISTORY photo? A HISTORY photo is any picture that records something that happened in the past. For example, in the theme reveal picture is the break room (building) for the employees of a Cracker Jack factory that has been gone for 50 years. A HISTORY picture could be a picture of a museum or an old building or a mural that depicts a HISTOR(Y)IC event. Or it could be a picture of a HISTOR(Y)ICAL artifact. It doesn’t need to be a piece of HISTORY that is as significant as Cracker Jack. It could be personal HISTORY.

As you think on a great subject for your HISTORY image, think on this quote:

History is a race between education and catastrophe.
-H.G. Wells

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of ADVENTURE in this place that is just a record of my HISTORY next Monday.

Andy, Animals, Brandon, Flowers, Jay, Johnathan, Logan, Naima, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Still Life, Teresa, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Selfie Project – June 2021

July 2, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On Wednesday night I completed another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. I don’t know that is was a particularly exciting month, but I think there are some good pictures in the collection.

Here are some of my favorites from June:

June 1, 2021

June 2, 2021

June 3, 2021

June 4, 2021

June 5, 2021

June 9, 2021

June 10, 2021

June 11, 2021

June 12, 2021

June 14, 2021

June 15, 2021

June 17, 2021

June 18, 2021

June 19, 2021

June 20, 2021

June 21, 2021

June 22, 2021

June 24, 2021

June 26, 2021

June 27, 2021

June 28, 2021

June 29, 2021

June 30, 2021

I hope there are some great pictures taken for this project in July.

+++++++

This is your weekly reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ADVENTURE:

ADVENTURE

ADVENTURE! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is an ADVENTURE image? An ADVENTURE image is simply any image that was taken while on an ADVENTURE or preparing for an ADVENTURE or going on an ADVENTURE. The theme reveal picture could qualify for all 3. The twist to this picture is that YOU have to figure out what you consider to be an ADVENTURE.

DON’T FORGET THAT INDEPENDENCE DAY IS SUNDAY, THEREFORE MANY PEOPLE HAVE MONDAY AS A VACATION. BUT PHOTOGRAPHY 139 DOES NOT TAKE HOLIDAYS. PLAN YOUR SUBMISSION ACCORDINGLY!!

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Candid Portrait, Dahlia, Formal Portrait, Greyson, Lensbaby, Logan, Macro, Mom, Naima, Railroad, Teresa, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

Congregation

June 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

This collection of images is cleaning up some random photos from January and February. The highlight and the majority of these images are taken from when Logan brought Dahlia over see Mom and Teresa.

That was a good day!

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is COMMUNICATION:

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a COMMUNICATION image? It is simply any picture that shows a type of COMMUNICATION or people COMMUNICATIONing or things that are used for COMMUNICATION. For example, in the theme reveal there are several things being COMMUNICATIONed. The business is a carwash. The phone number to reach the proprietor is 515-890-1900. Somebody fears the commercialization of Christmas. They also must like fish. Signs are a great form of COMMUNICATION, as just an example.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Animals, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Derrick, Ernie, Formal Portrait, Holidays, Jason, Jen, Johnathan, Logan, Mom, Photoshop, Teresa

2010-09-06

June 5, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

There is a wide collection of images in the folder 2010-09-06. Some are of Jen and Derrick when she was pregnant with Evie. The others are from a Labor Day cookout I hosted at my house for the family. Also, some pictures of a toad I found in my backyard.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

Clu’s Holiday

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #36

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a turtle.

Logan, Sara, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Suzie, Teresa

Selfie Project – May 2021

June 1, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I did return to THE SELFIE PROJECT in May. I’m not sure I travelled many places, but I did manage to leave Boone a couple of times.

Here are some of my favorites from May:

May 1, 2021

May 2, 2021

May 3, 2021

May 4, 2021

May 6, 2021

May 7, 2021

May 8, 2021

May 9, 2021

May 10, 2021

May 12, 2021

May 13, 2021

May 14, 2021

May 15, 2021

May 18, 2021

May 19, 2021

May 22, 2021

May 23, 2021

May 26, 2021

May 27, 2021

May 28, 2021

May 29, 2021

May 31, 2021

To view all the pictures from this year’s THE SELFIE PROJECT, click on the link below:

THE SELFIE PROJECT – 2021

Hopefully June will be a solid month for THE SELFIE PROJECT.

Boone FUMC, Brandon, Logan, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Teresa

Selfie Project – April

April 30, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

So I’ve made a decision about THE SELFIE PROJECT. I’ve decided to start it backup tomorrow. Saturday, May 1.

I did a few selfies during the month of April. They weren’t for this suspended project, per se, but I threw them in that gallery and I will share them here, now.

Day 91 – April 1, 2021

Day 93 – April 3, 2021

Day 94 – April 4, 2021

Day 99 – April 9, 2021

Day 104 – April 14, 2021

Day 105 – April 15, 2021

Day 106 – April 16, 2021

Day 107 – April 17, 2021

Day 111 – April 21, 2021

Day 115 – April 25, 2021

Day 116 – April 26, 2021

Day 120 – April 30, 2021

Something I’ve noticed on social media is people badmouthing people that share pictures of them getting vaccinated or with their vaccine card. I just don’t get it. I didn’t share my vaccine-selfie on social media, but that is more because I just really haven’t been on social media much lately. Getting a vaccine is a pretty big deal and it is the key to getting out of this pandemic. Celebrating and marking this important event seems like a logical thing to do.

So if you are one of those people that posts things like, “Does the vaccine work without a selfie?” Get over yourself.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is TRAVEL:

TRAVEL

TRAVEL! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

A TRAVEL image is pretty simple. It is merely a picture that involves TRAVEL. It could be the result of TRAVEL. You could TRAVEL somewhere and then take a picture of something. You could take a picture of things that are involved in TRAVEL. You could take a picture of things that are involved in preparing for TRAVEL. The possibilities are endless.

Think about the following quote while you are contemplating your TRAVEL image:

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
-Marcel Proust

Meditate on this quote and I have no doubt your submission will help others see the world with new eyes.

Happy photo harvesting!