Category Archives: Ruins

Art, Christianity, Road Trip, Ruins, Tenderloining

Keokuk County Aux

October 15, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by noting that the Iowa Pork Producers Association announced the 2022 winner for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin.

Here is the press release:

A car dealership-turned-restaurant is where you’ll find Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin for 2022.

Lid’s Bar & Grill in Waukon, in the northeast corner of the state, has won the 20th annual contest, presented by the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and managed by its restaurant and foodservice committee.

“Obviously we enjoy highlighting our state’s delicious pork,” said Kelsey Sutter, IPPA’s marketing and programs director. “But this award also forever transforms local Iowa businesses, as tenderloin enthusiasts look forward to the announcement every year, and are known to travel lengthy distances to try a variation of this Midwestern staple.”

Each third-pound tenderloin is cut and twice tenderized at Quillin’s Food Ranch in Waukon. At the restaurant, the never-frozen meat is hand-breaded to order—dipped in milk then dredged through a seasoned breading.

“The tenderloins are actually fairly thick, so you can taste the pork instead of just breading,” said Dan Liddiard, who co-owns Lid’s with his wife Kelly. Lid’s is a shortened version of the couple’s last name.

The deep-fried favorite is served with lettuce and mayo on a lightly buttered and toasted bun, baked fresh daily also at Quillin’s. Sandwiches include a side of crinkle-cut French fries.

A few months back I cruised around Keokuk County harvesting their town signs. I didn’t spend much time their exploring cause I had to make it to Des Moines by a certain time to see Evie dance at the Renaissance Faire. Which in some way is a bit of a shame cause I was there on one of the weekends that they have a giant flea market in What Cheer. If you haven’t been to the What Cheer Flea Market, you should go check it out. I believe it happens 3 times a year and it is massive.

Chef Phil Carey, a tenderloin finalist judge, describes the sandwich as having “great pork flavor, with a wonderful breading that greatly complements the overall sandwich,” as well as a “perfect size of bun-to-pork-tenderloin ratio.”

The Liddiards are Waukon natives who opened the eatery in July 2020. Dan Liddiard had operated West Side Auto Sales on the site for nearly a decade. However, when car sales plummeted during the early months of COVID-19, he reduced his inventory and renovated a portion of the office, showroom, and shop for the restaurant. The Liddiards had no prior experience in food service.

“Nope,” Dan Liddiard admits. “Not till after the day we opened.”

Since being named among the top five tenderloin finalists earlier this month, tenderloin fans have been flooding in from all over the state, the Liddiards said. The business went from selling about 25 pounds of loins per week, to 35 to 40 pounds a day. A drive-up window accommodates carry-out customers.

“To be nominated for this was absolutely incredible,” said Dan Liddiard, choking back tears. “To win is 10 times that. It’s pretty great.”

IPPA’s restaurant and foodservice committee will officially present the best tenderloin award at the restaurant Tuesday, Oct. 18. Lid’s will receive $500, a plaque, and a large banner to display.

This year’s runner-up is Ludlow’s Steakhouse in Corydon, about an hour and a half south of Des Moines. The designation comes with a $250 prize and plaque from IPPA. Other finalists, listed alphabetically by town, have earned a top five plaque to display:

• Massena – Main Street Bar & Grill

• St. Olaf – St. Olaf Tavern

• Van Meter – 5th Quarter Bar & Grill

IPPA received 4,812 nominations for 449 different establishments during a spring nomination period. The restaurant and foodservice committee reviewed the top 40 restaurants in the summer. Each was scored on the quality of the pork, taste, physical characteristics, and eating experience.

The tenderloin contest recognizes Iowa dining establishments that offer a hand-breaded or battered pork tenderloin as a regular menu item. To win, businesses must be open year-round. The winners are announced as part of #Porktober22, or National Pork Month, which celebrates the state’s dedicated pig farmers and the great product they produce.

Victoria Station in Harlan, about an hour and 40 minutes west of Des Moines, won the 2021 contest.

If you interested in revisiting when I went to Victoria Station (the 2021 winner, click on the link below:

TENDERLOIN APPRECIATION SOCIETY – HARLAN FIELD WORK

Waukon is a 3 and half hour drive from Boone. But don’t think I won’t make that drive. Sounds like a good excuse to take a Friday off. I have too much PTO anyways.

I need to start knocking off the Tenderloin Trail 2.0 as well. I should just stop working Fridays for awhile.

+++++++

A few months back I cruised around Keokuk County harvesting their town signs. I didn’t spend much time exploring because I had to make it to Des Moines by a certain time to watch Evie dance as the Renaissance Faire.

It was a bit of shame that I didn’t have more time there because I was there one of the weekends the What Cheer Flea Festival was going down. If you enjoy flea markets half as much as I do, you should make a pilgrimage there. It is massive and they hold it, I believe, three times a year.

Here are the auxiliary images from Keokuk County:

Thornburg

Keswick

Do they still make Slice?

Webster – I hate power lines so much!

Keota

Zenith?

Harper

Richland

Ollie – There is only one right color for a tractor and that is green, but it is a John Deere, so it is still okay.

Hedrick

Hayesville – I bet The Roadhouse was a rockin’ in the day.

Sigourney

Delta

What Cheer

Just a small taste of the What Cheer Flea Market.

If you are interested in seeing the pictures of the time I went to the What Cheer Flea Market, click on the link below:

All the Fleas

Keokuk County is a good example of The Missouri Rule. If you don’t know, The Missouri Rule states that the closer in Iowa you get to Missouri, the more rundown and trashy the place you are in becomes.

The next time we hit the open road to see auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Howard and Chickasaw County.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Christianity, Photoshop, Road Trip, Ruins

Appanoose County Aux – Vol. 3

October 12, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the third and final collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Appanoose County.

Here is the final collection:

Centerville

Little Flock Chapel

Mystic

Rathbun

Lake Rathbun – Some of these future edits are kinda sarcastic edits. Photoshop editing jokes, everybody gets those, right?

Jester Park – Polk County

The next time I share the auxiliary images from a THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT harvesting road trip, we will visit Keokuk County. Which mean, I probably should start thinking about sharing the Renaissance Fair pictures I took on that day. Wow. That was over 5 months ago!

Art, Christianity, History, Road Trip, Ruins

Appanoose County Aux – Vol. 2

October 8, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for another collection of auxiliary pictures from my trip to Appanoose County to harvest their town signs. If your relationship to this website is exclusively through the email subscription service, you probably missed the first collection because the delivery search had a glitch on that day and didn’t deliver the emails that day. Which is sad, cause you missed some sweet outhouse pictures.

However… if you click on the link below, you can go back and still check out those sweet outhouse pictures:

Appanoose County Aux – Vol. 2

Here is the second collection of auxiliary images from Appanoose County:

Moulton

Exline

Cincinnati

Numa

Centerville

Centerville claims to have the World’s Largest Town Square.

I really loved Centerville. It is definitely a town I would like to visit again. Spend more time there. And photograph more. And Pancake Day is definitely on my list of things I want to hit in the future!

There is still one more collection of pictures from this road trip to share!

Art, Automobiles, Black & White, Brandon, Flowers, Football, Iowa State, Naima, Nature, Photo of the Day, Politics, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins, Self-Portrait, Still Life

Fat Mum Slim – September 2022

October 5, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Another month done in the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. I have to confess that I spent some time on the struggle bus this month. I don’t know if I lost some steam or if I just want feeling some of the themes. Being sick for a few days in September didn’t help either. With that being said, I think there is still some good work in there.

Here are the September images:

September 1 – Something I Saw

September 2 – Plastic

September 3 – Paper

September 4 – Somewhere I Went

September 5 – Hobby

September 6 – Green + Blue

September 7 – Before Bed

September 8 – An Emotion

September 9 – Opposites

September 10 – I Can Hear…

September 11 – Paint

September 12 – Symmetry

September 13 – Tasty

September 14 – Odd One Out

September 15 – A Food Shop

September 16 – 12:34

September 17 – Lucky

September 18 – Car Park

September 19 – What’s on TV

September 20 – Texture

September 21 – Nature

September 22 – Tree Trunk

September 23 – Crunchy

September 24 – I Can Smell…

September 25 – Laneway

September 26 – The Moon

September 27 – Open Door

September 28 – My Culture

September 29 – Not My Style

September 30 – Sentimental

As you can tell, the woman who runs this challenge is Australian and there were some terms in there I had to look up, cause I had no clue what a laneway is.

Remember, you can follow on for my daily posts on the dedicated Instagram Account.

@fmsbennett

These are the themes for October:

1. White
2. Black
3. Green
4. Red
5. Orange
6. Blue
7. Yellow
8. Purple
9. Aqua
10. Pink
11. Grey
12. Brown
13. Pop of Colour
14. Stripes
15. Floral
16. One Colour
17. Two Colours
18. Pattern
19. Black and White
20. Rainbow
21. My Fave Colour
22. Matching
23. Natural
24. Dark
25. Light
26. Pastel
27. Bright
28. Gold
29. Fresh
30. Mellow
31. Dots

Some good ones in there. Should be a good month!

Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Mary, Michelle, Monica, Ruins, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 368 – RUINS

October 3, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

The old. The forgotten. The abandoned. The falling apart. The rusty. The dilapidated. I love that stuff, but were RUINS a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 26, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1+ Sara Lockner – 1 week
2+ Willy McAlpine – 1 week
3+ Suzie Brannen – 5 weeks
4+ Jesse Howard – 6 weeks
5+ Brandon Kahler – 6 weeks
6+ Linda Bennett – 9 weeks
7+ Sarah Toot – 10 weeks
8+ Sabas Hernandez – 12 weeks
9+ Monica Jennings – 12 weeks
10+ Angie DeWaard – 14 weeks
11+ Mary Green – 14 weeks (2)
12+ Dawn Krause – 18 weeks
13+ Kim Barker – 24 weeks
14+ Joe Duff – 26 weeks
15+ Logan Kahler – 27 weeks
16+ Teresa Kahler – 36 weeks (3)
17+ Tamara Peterson – 36 weeks
18+ Carla Stensland – 36 weeks (2)
19+ Michelle Haupt – 37 weeks
20+ Micky Augustin – 38 weeks
21+ Andy Sharp – 39 weeks
22+ Bill Wentworth – 40 weeks
23+ Cathie Morton – 44 weeks
24+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 45 weeks
25+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 47 weeks
26+ Kio Dettman – 49 weeks (6)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Becky Parmelee – 1 week

Sara Lockner – 2 weeks

Suzie Brannen – 6 weeks

Brandon Kahler – 7 weeks

Linda Bennett – 10 weeks

Linda Bennett

Sarah Toot – 11 weeks

Sarah Toot

Sabas Hernandez – 13 weeks

Monica Jennings – 13 weeks

Angie DeWaard – 15 weeks

Mary Green – 15 weeks

Mary Green

Dawn Krause – 19 weeks

Dawn Krause

Kim Barker – 25 weeks

Joe Duff 27 weeks

Logan Kahler – 28 weeks

Logan Kahler

Teresa Kahler – 37 weeks

Teresa Kahler

Tamara Peterson – 37 weeks

Carla Stensland – 37 weeks

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt – 38 weeks

Micky Augustin – 39 weeks

Andy Sharp – 40 weeks

Bill Wentworth – 41 weeks

Cathie Morton – 46 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen – 46 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley – 48 weeks

Kio Dettman – 50 weeks

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett – 472 weeks

26 participants this week! A good, but not great week. But I’ll take it.

Submissions from (most of these are assumptions) Pennsylvania, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, California, and Iowa this week. My picture was taken about 30 miles from my front door.

Congrats to Linda who joined the double digit streak club!

It wasn’t all fun and games this week though. Willy couldn’t extend his streak to two weeks. Jesse’s 6 week streak is a pile of rubble. Ruins, one might say.

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:

VIOLET

VIOLET! What a great theme for year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a VIOLET photo. It is simply any picture where the color VIOLET (or purple if you will) plays an important part of the composition. It can be a picture of something that is VIOLET. Or it can be surrounded by VIOLET. Heck, you can crack out a VIOLET filter and make everything VIOLET.

While considering possible subjects for your VIOLET submission, meditate on the following quote:

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.
-Alice Walker

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

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 your idea of VIOLET in this place that is very purple next Monday.

Art, Automobiles, Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Christianity, History, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Appanoose County Aux – Vol. 1

September 28, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

A few months back I cruised around Appanoose County harvesting their town signs. Found quite a few other things to photograph while I was there. Including, in this collection, a few outhouse pictures. I find the outhouse pictures to be poignant, moving, and funny. But some people might find them disagreeable. But they are not gross. All that being said, you have been warned.

Lovillia

Moravia

I’ve also read that this is a myth. More research might be needed.

There are 100 official Freedom Rocks, but there are a few not quite Freedom Rocks out there too.

Udell – This bank still has better hours and customer service than my bank.

Unionville

Heart shaped!

The picture of the Buxton sign is located in Monroe County. Buxton is a fascinating bit of Iowa history. I meant to visit the Buxton ruins once, but I just didn’t trust the road. Some day soon though.

Art, Black & White, Christianity, History, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins, Self-Portrait

Mitchell and Floyd Aux – Vol. 3

September 21, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for another collection of images from my road trip to Mitchell and Floyd County back in April. This is the final collection of images from this road trip. A few counties are covered in this collection. Mitchell. Floyd. Franklin. Hamilton. All covered. Well at least there are pictures from all of those counties in this collection.

Osage

Interstate Park

Mitchell

Osage

Colwell

Charles City

Floyd

Rockford

Fossil & Prairie Center

Marble Rock

Roseville

Franklin County

Ellsworth

I really love some of the auxiliary pictures from this collection. If my tentative plan to create a book from the auxiliary images comes to fruition (have to get the THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT book finished first) there is definitely some pictures from this trip that will make the book.

The next county we will visit for auxiliary images is Johnson County. It will be a smaller collection. This isn’t because Johnson County is full of Hawkeye fans. Truth is I love Iowa City and will one day make a trip to better photograph its campus town area. It is just because it was a weird, strange and abbreviated trip. I might explain later.

Art, Christianity, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Mitchell and Floyd Aux – Vol. 2

September 17, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for another collection of images from my road trip to Mitchell and Floyd County back in April. Most of the pictures were taken in Mitchell County.

Saint Ansgar

Mona

Toeterville

Stacyville

Meyer

McIntire

Riceville

New Haven

Osage

I really liked Osage. It is a town I would like to explore again in the future. It goes on the list! One more collection from this road trip to go!

Art, Black & White, Christianity, History, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins

Mitchell and Floyd Aux – Vol. 1

September 14, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Way back in April, I cruised around Mitchell and Floyd County harvesting their town signs. The weather and the lighting was great for photography and I took as much advantage of it as I could. There will be three collections of auxiliary images from this road trip.

Here is the first collection:

Carpenter

Otranto

Fort Severson

Saint Ansgar

Fort Severson. This is a fascinating bit of history to me. For starters, it isn’t a fort. It is a barn. A cool barn. But not a fort.

Here is what the inscription says on the historical marker outside of the barn:

Built in 1867 by Nils Severson on his land with help of neighbor’s using limestone and mortar of lime & sand from Deer Creek. Severson’s design was a typical fort with small openings for rifles and larger openings for gatling guns. The Spirit Lake Massacre and uprising at New Ulm Minnesota prompted the building of forts across North Iowa. This is the only one left standing. Although Indians never came there were some scares. Settlers would come from as far as ten miles to stay here. The building was later used as a stage coach stop on a route between Northwood and St. Ansgar on the Kansas City, Rochester Minnesota stage line. As many as 20 people would sleep on the top floor, meals were served on the first floor. Immigrants would stay while looking for land to settle on. It became a farm building in the 1870’s after the railroad came through. Restored in 1972 by local people as a United States bicentennial project. Use of fort & site donated by David & Judy Goplerud. Placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in July 1976.

Seems straight forward. They were scared of the indigenous people in the area. They built a fort. Where they had gatling guns. This is the inscription that is on the historical marker. However, the Mitchell County Historical County calls BS on this marker. According to their website:

Actually, it’s just a barn but where’s the fun in that? It’s long been called Fort Severson by Mitchell and Worth County residents. Actually, the term “Fort” was a common designation on the American frontier for larger secure structures built by early pioneers. These included some churches, a remote farm house or other safe place to stay when needed. People often found themselves away from more populated areas on the prairie and needed good shelter. Sadly, it never actually acted as a “fort” for protection.

But that takes away nothing from the structure itself. Solidly and skillfully constructed of local limestone and timber from surrounding woodlands, it has survived since the mid 1850s.

The website goes on:

Rumors of the structure being used for Indian protection and being a stagecoach stop have made for good stories over the years. Many will say the small openings were for defense of the “Fort” during anticipated attacks but that was not the case- No rifles or Gatling guns (as one account speculates) ever extended through those openings. The Spirit Lake Massacre in 1857 and the New Ulm Massacre in 1862 were over long before the “Fort” was built and the Indians that passed through the area, scouting along Deer Creek, were not a threat but were known to approach the settlers’ homes seeking food. These framed openings were in fact for ventilation of the barn. Not near as exciting as the rumors. The stage line to Northwood did pass by the Seversons. Tradition said that the “Fort” was used as a stop with the wagon teams staying below and the passengers stayed above on the loft space. Again, another good story. There was no chimney or heating source in the “Fort” and this was not a regular stage stop but weary travelers were likely accommodated in a nearby frame structure, now long gone, that was the actual inn and only the teams would have been sheltered in the Nels Severson Barn.

I assume the historical society is correct, but makes me wonder why the historical marker is so completely inaccurate.

Dickinson and Emmet Aux – Vol. 2

September 10, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the second and final collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Dickinson and Emmet County. A few are taken in Humboldt County and the final picture is taken in Greene County. Some of the trips to harvest town signs are very long and sometimes I don’t eat or barely eat on these trips. While I was harvesting town signs out west and northwest, I would consistently hit up the A&W drive-thru in Jefferson. So delicious! I would gladly trade Boone’s Evil Clown Empire Outpost AND the Burger King that is allegedly opening back up in a couple months for an A&W. No regrets. The last picture is from that Jefferson A&W drive-thru. Miss you! I will come see you again soon.

Here is the final collection of images from Dickinson and Emmet County:

Superior

I can only imagine putting 32 quarters in the slot to get my 1000 gallons of water.

Estherville

Little known fact – Meteors aim for Iowa.

Actual chunk of the meteorite.

Wallingford – He-s looking to see where the rest of his hat went.

Gruver

Armstrong

Bradgate

Mmmmmm… Fried Cheese Curds (Not available at B-Bop’s, for the record)

The next time we hit the open road to view some of the auxiliary images I took while harvesting town signs for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Mitchell and Floyd County.