Category Archives: Religion

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Loess Hills Road Trip

January 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 11 Comments

I’d like to just start with saying how completely impressed I was with Amanda Gorman, this nation’s first ever youth poet laureate and the poem she read at the inauguration on Wednesday. Wow! Goosebumps. I was one the people that rushed to Amazon and pre-ordered her book and made it the best selling book on Amazon. It doesn’t come out until September, so to tide myself over, I thought I would just put her inauguration poem down here, so I could find it and read it anytime I want:

THE HILL WE CLIMB

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

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Today I’m going to share what I would call auxiliary images from my road trip to the Loess Hills back in September. They are auxiliary because they were not taken at the Loess Hills and they also don’t fall into THE TOWN SIGNS PROJECT either. These are pictures I took on the way to the Loess Hills and on the way back.

I do want to start with a brief history lesson. It comes from a question I had to ask when I stopped at a historic marker on the trip. A historic marker honoring Merle Hay. I’m sure many of you have driven on Merle Hay’s road and shopped in his mall, but do you know who Merle Hay was?

I myself only knew that Merle Hay was a war hero of some kind, but I didn’t even know from what war and what he did. Take a look at this historic marker in the cemetery where he is buried:

When I saw this, I couldn’t figure out what was going on in the picture. So I researched it and while it is maybe obvious to some, I didn’t deduce that the guy carrying the fallen soldier was Uncle Sam. Carrying Merle Hay home.

So who was Merle Hay?

He was the first or one of the first Americans to die in WWI. Here is his story from the Wiki:

When the United States entered the First World War, Hay was young enough to avoid being drafted. With his father’s blessing, he voluntarily enlisted on May 9, 1917. He was among 8 men from Glidden who enlisted that day. They were first shipped to Fort Logan, Colorado, then to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment. On 26 June 1917, the regiment disembarked the troop ships in St. Nazaire, France, as part of the 1st Infantry Division. By November 1917, he was assigned to Company F along with Corporal James Bethel Gresham and Private Thomas Enright. They were posted in the trenches near the French village of Artois. In the early morning of 3 November 1917, the Imperial German Army attacked. After an hour of fighting, Hay, along with Corporal Gresham, and Private Enright were the first three casualties of the American Expeditionary Force.

Two days later, on 5 Nov 1917, Enright, Gresham, and Hay were buried near the battlefield where they had died. An inscription marked their graves: “Here lie the first soldiers of the illustrious Republic of the United States who fell on French soil for justice and liberty.” Their bodies were eventually returned to their families and reburied in the United States. Hay was then re-interred in July 1921 in West Lawn Cemetery in his home town of Glidden, Iowa. The West Lawn Cemetery was later renamed the Merle Hay Memorial Cemetery. An 8-foot monument commissioned by the Iowa Legislature marks his gravesite.

Remember that story, the next time you are driving down Merle Hay Road in Des Moines.

Here are the rest of the Loess Road Trip auxiliary photos:

I can’t figure out if this is brilliant, sacrilegious, brilliantly sacrilegious, or sacrilegiously brilliant. Hopefully there is a theologian out there that can assist me.

This sign confuses me so much. So very much.

I love this tiny mailbox so much. I want to bundle it up and take it home with me, but of course that is a federal crime.

Birthplace of Merle Hay – Now you know where he started and where he ended.

I wish I would have gotten better pictures of the ghost town that is Carrollton, but it was just pouring down rain when I rolled through there. But I’m sure I’ll get there again some day.

Here is another history fact for you:

The first American military casualty in WWII was also from Iowa. Robert M. Losey was born in Andrew, Iowa. He was killed in a German bombardment of Norway on April 21, 1940. If you are doing the math, that is well before the United States entered the war.

Also semi-interesting fact. Andrew, Iowa is in Jackson county. Jackson County is named after racist piece of trash Andrew Jackson. Andrew is also named after racist piece of trash Andrew Jackson. Double fail for that town.

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

HOBBIES

HOBBIES can be all sorts of activities. Collecting things. Making things. Building things. Destroying things. So much, much more. Just remember the words of Norman Bates…

As you should know, the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic PSYCHO is tied for being my favorite movie of all-time. Think about the scene is PSYCHO where Marion Crane and Norman Bates are eating supper together in the backroom of the Bates Motel office, with all of the birds that Norman has stuffed.

INT. NORMAN’S PARLOR -(NIGHT)

In the darkened room, lit only by the light from the office spilling in, we see Norman placing the tray on a table. Mary comes to the doorway, pauses. Norman straightens up, goes to lamp, turns on the light.

Mary is startled by the room. Even in the dimness of one lamp, the strange, extraordinary nature of the room rushes
up at one. It is a room of birds. Stuffed birds, all over the room, on every available surface, one even clinging to
the old fashioned fringed shade of the lamp. The birds are of many varieties, beautiful, grand, horrible, preying. Mary
stares in awe and a certain fascinated horror.

CLOSE UP – THE VARIOUS BIRDS TWO SHOT – MARY AND NORMAN

NORMAN
Please sit down. On the sofa.

As Norman goes about spreading out the bread and ham and pouring the milk, we follow Mary across the room. She studies
the birds as she walks, briefly examines a bookcase stacked with books on the subject of “Taxidermy.”

CLOSE UP – THE BOOKS ON TAXIDERMY MED. CLOSE SHOT – MARY

She notices, too, the paintings on the wall; nudes, primarily, and many with a vaguely religious overtone.

Finally Mary reaches the sofa, sits down, looks at the spread.

MARY
You’re very… kind.

NORMAN
It’s all for you. I’m not hungry. Please go ahead.

Mary begins to eat, her attitude a bit tense. She takes up a small slice of ham, bites off a tiny bite, nibbles at it in the manner of one disturbed and preoccupied.

Norman gazes at her, at the tiny bite she has taken, smiles and then laughs.

NORMAN
You eat like a bird.

MARY
You’d know, of course.

NORMAN
Not really. I hear that expression, that one eats “like a bird,” is really
a falsie, I mean a falsity, because birds eat a tremendous lot.
(A pause, then explaining)
Oh, I don’t know anything about birds. My hobby is stuffing things…
taxidermy. And I guess I’d just rather stuff birds because… well, I hate
the look of beasts when they’re stuffed, foxes and chimps and all…
some people even stuff dogs and cats… but I can’t… I think only
birds look well stuffed because they’re rather… passive, to begin
with… most of them…

He trails off, his exuberance failing in the rushing return of his natural hesitancy and discomfort. Mary looks at him,
with some compression, smiles.

MARY
It’s a strange hobby. Curious, I mean.

NORMAN
Uncommon, too.

MARY
I imagine so.

NORMAN
It’s not as expensive as you’d think. Cheap, really. Needles, thread,
sawdust .. the chemicals are all that cost anything.
(He goes quiet, looks disturbed)

MARY
A man should have a hobby.

NORMAN
It’s more than a hobby… sometimes…
a hobby is supposed to pass the time, not fill it.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Christianity, Commercial, Dawn, History, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 279 – COMMERCIAL

January 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start by noting that today is the day we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

I’d like to share a teaching on The Good Samaritan from the last speech that King ever gave as my small part of honoring his legacy today:

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base…. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side.

They didn’t stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his brother.

Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn’t stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn’t be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that “One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.” And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem — or down to Jericho, rather to organize a “Jericho Road Improvement Association.”

That’s a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect.

But I’m going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It’s possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, “I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable.” It’s a winding, meandering road. It’s really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles — or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you’re about 2200 feet below sea level. That’s a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.”

And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?”
That’s the question.

In a time where we have white supremacist terrorists threatening our country, we should all heed the widsom of Martin Luther King Jr. and we should all strive for his calling of dangerous unselfishness.

And to honor the fact that the pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.’s church was just elected to the United States Senate. While the white supremacists throw a big shadow in this country, it is just a shadow. There are more of us, than there are of them. The election of Raphael Warnock is proof of that.

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I do want to point out that last week, in the chaos that was my 11 AM hour, I missed Cathie’s submission for FAMILY. I have corrected that error and it has since been added to last Monday’s journal entry. I encourage you to go to the website to see it. My apologies Cathie!

I was actually worried that this is the theme that would break the streak. I figured COMMERCIAL would be a tough nut to crack for many people. But we did it! For the 68th week in a row, we hit double digits!

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

Kim Barker

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Andy Sharp

Shannon Bardole-Foley

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:

HOBBIES

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

What defines a HOBBIES photo? HOBBIES are activities done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. What do you do in your leisure time, regularly, for pleasure? What do your friends or family do regularly in their leisure time for pleasure. Take a picture of somebody that is engaged in their leisure time pleasure. Or take a picture of an item that is used for leisure time pleasure. We aren’t here to judge what people do for leisure time pleasure. We are just here to photograph what give somebody leisure time pleasure.

INT. NORMAN’S PARLOR -(NIGHT)

In the darkened room, lit only by the light from the office spilling in, we see Norman placing the tray on a table. Mary comes to the doorway, pauses. Norman straightens up, goes to lamp, turns on the light.

Mary is startled by the room. Even in the dimness of one lamp, the strange, extraordinary nature of the room rushes
up at one. It is a room of birds. Stuffed birds, all over the room, on every available surface, one even clinging to
the old fashioned fringed shade of the lamp. The birds are of many varieties, beautiful, grand, horrible, preying. Mary
stares in awe and a certain fascinated horror.

CLOSE UP – THE VARIOUS BIRDS TWO SHOT – MARY AND NORMAN

NORMAN
Please sit down. On the sofa.

As Norman goes about spreading out the bread and ham and pouring the milk, we follow Mary across the room. She studies
the birds as she walks, briefly examines a bookcase stacked with books on the subject of “Taxidermy.”

CLOSE UP – THE BOOKS ON TAXIDERMY MED. CLOSE SHOT – MARY

She notices, too, the paintings on the wall; nudes, primarily, and many with a vaguely religious overtone.

Finally Mary reaches the sofa, sits down, looks at the spread.

MARY
You’re very… kind.

NORMAN
It’s all for you. I’m not hungry.
Please go ahead.

Mary begins to eat, her attitude a bit tense. She takes up a small slice of ham, bites off a tiny bite, nibbles at it in the manner of one disturbed and preoccupied.

Norman gazes at her, at the tiny bite she has taken, smiles and then laughs.

NORMAN
You eat like a bird.

MARY
You’d know, of course.

NORMAN
Not really. I hear that expression,
that one eats “like a bird,” is really
a falsie, I mean a falsity, because
birds eat a tremendous lot.
(A pause, then
explaining)
Oh, I don’t know anything about birds.
My hobby is stuffing things…
taxidermy. And I guess I’d just rather
stuff birds because… well, I hate
the look of beasts when they’re
stuffed, foxes and chimps and all…
some people even stuff dogs and
cats… but I can’t… I think only
birds look well stuffed because
they’re rather… passive, to begin
with… most of them…

He trails off, his exuberance failing in the rushing return of his natural hesitancy and discomfort. Mary looks at him,
with some compression, smiles.

MARY
It’s a strange hobby. Curious, I
mean.

NORMAN
Uncommon, too.

MARY
I imagine so.

NORMAN
It’s not as expensive as you’d think.
Cheap, really. Needles, thread,
sawdust .. the chemicals are all
that cost anything.
(He goes quiet, looks
disturbed)

MARY
A man should have a hobby.

NORMAN
It’s more than a hobby… sometimes…
a hobby is supposed to pass the time,
not fill it.

When you are preparing to take your HOBBIES photo, meditate on an activity that passes the time, but doesn’t fill it.

Then send me you submission(s) by 11 AM next Monday. Remember, while I might consider you FAMILY, 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 HOBBIES in this place that passes the time next Monday.

Boone FUMC, Calendar, Christianity, Evie, History, Jen, Joe Duff, Layla, Postcard, Sara

POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT – SOME CHURCHES

December 31, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 22 Comments

Here we are, the last day of 2020. That means it is time for me to share the December image from the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar. Because of the pandemic, I got to deliver very few calendars in person this year. I think the only reactions that I got to see in person was from Alexis, Vest, and the Degeneffes (sans Melissa). Pretty much every other calendar delivery was done by leaving a calendar on a desk at work or a calendar in an envelope next to a front door or through the hard working folks of the United States Postal Service. While the response sometimes ranged from crickets to “I have a calendar on my phone, but thanks”, I did get a couple pictures sent to me of people’s reactions to getting the calendar that I want to share because they are amongst my favorite pictures I have received on my Pixel 5.

From Jen

From Sara Lockner

From Joe Duff

Those pictures really made my day(s)!

The December image of the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar is taken of the cross on top of the Boone First United Methodist Church with Rodan139. It was my Merry Christmas picture in 2019. That cross also appeared in the January 2018 Calendar image. It also appeared in the 2010 Calendar for December. Probably the item to be most included in the calendar. More than the High Bridge or the High Trestle Trail Bridge. That might require more research though. The picture was taken on December 23, 2019.

DETAILS
CAMERA: Hasselblad L1D-20c
LENS: 28.0mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 10.3mm (28mm in 35mm equivalency)
APERTURE: f/3.2
EXPOSURE: 1/30
ISO: 100
FIELD OF VIEW: 65.5 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.06296
LONGITUDE: -93.88240
ALTITUDE: 363 meters above sea level

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Today’s THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT old-timey postcard I’m working on recreating is a postcard with a picture of 5 different churches. Of the 5 buildings. Only two are currently standing.

They are labelled like this on the postcard:

German Lutheran
Catholic
Baptist
Presbyterian
Swedish Mission

The Catholic and Presbyterian churches are still standing. No problem finding those churches.

The Baptist church burned down in the 1940s, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what congregation used to be in that building. It was a little challenging to figure out where the Baptist Church used to be. Because they didn’t rebuild on the same location. Here are some pictures from the Baptist website of the fire:

I figured out where the old Baptist Church was located by consulting old Boone phonebooks. The address for the Baptist Church was 604 Greene Street. 3 out of 5 shooting locations located.

The next one I needed to figure out was the German Lutheran Church. A little research and I found out that the German Lutheran Church became Trinity Lutheran Church. But I didn’t know what happened to this original church building.

The German Lutheran church building also… wait for it…. burned down. But, the building wasn’t a total loss. They moved it to a different corner of the lot that they are still on and built a new building where the original church building was located. It was used as a school, until they finished building another school. Then I assume it was torn down. The trail grows cold there. Here is some info on the fire from Trinity Lutheran’s website:

Headlines and article from the
Boone Republic Newspaper, Daily
Edition, Thursday Evening Aug. 12,
1915

About 12:20 o’clock Thursday noon a fire was discovered by Fred Erbe son of the Rev. Otto Erbe in the belfy of the German Lutheran church at 12th and Boone Streets. The fire company was called at once and when they arrived flames were shooting out of every side of the tower. The fire was a mystery as the windows were protected by wire netting to keep birds from building nests and it was said the electrical wires were in first class condition. The only explanation for the fire is that the insulation on some wire that was not noticed burned off and set the tower afire. It was very hard to get at the flames, and they gained considerable headway before the fire company was able to control it. For a time it looked like the steeple would topple over onto the parsonage just south of it, but this did not happen. Perhaps the greatest loss was the pipe organ which had just been installed at a big expense, and which was situated under the steeple. This was damaged by water and some of the pipes were affected by the fire. Luckily the fire did not spread to any other part of the building or the whole structure would have been gone as it is a wooden building. The entire loss is covered by insurance.

Here is a picture of the fire:

I now had the congregations and the location of four out of five churches from the postcard. That left just the Swedish Mission Church.

It took me awhile to figure out if the Swedish Mission congregation still existed. This took some effort because as it turns out two different congregations in town split from one congregation. Evangelical Free and Augustana. Neither one is in the building in the picture. So trying to figure out which one was in that building and where that building used to be took some work.

Augustana used to have an address of 7th & Carroll address. But so did the Open Bible Church. While researching the Augustana history, it turns out that in the early 20th century, they traded churches with the Central Christian Church, because the trains were so loud that it was disrupting their activities. What I find funny about that, is that the Central Christian Church is on 8th and Greene (different building now) which is only ONE block from 7th and Carroll. Which I doubt makes a huge difference in the volume of passing trains.

I just think it is fascinating that congregations just traded church buildings.

In the end in turned out the Swedish Mission Church is now the Evangelical Free Church. It used to be located on 6th and Monona. Something I located looking at old Boone phonebooks. Which interestingly enough, this location, while it was a different building, housed the LDS Church, before they moved out on 22nd Street.

I don’t know what happened to the old Swedish Mission Church building. The Evangelical Church website has a video about their history on their website, but it doesn’t really say what happened to the old building when they moved.

But at one time, one block in Boone would have housed the Augustana Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Baptist Church. Across the street to the south would have been the Open Bible Church. Across the street to the north is the Central Christian Church. Half a block to the east, is both the Grace Episcopal Church and the First United Methodist Church. Kind of like the God District in Boone. Cause not far across the railroad tracks was Trinity Lutheran and Sacred Heart Catholic.

That is probably enough backstory. Here are the results of all that research:

Some Boone Iowa Churches – Original

Some Boone Iowa Churches – Redux

Some Boone Iowa Churches – Modern Interpretation

Some Boone Iowa Churches – Modern Interpretation, with Color

Next time we take a look at THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, we will tackle a government building. In fact, the next two will involve government buildings.

Christianity, Drone, Nature, Panorama, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

TOWN SIGN PROJECT: POLK COUNTY

December 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 12 Comments

The November image of the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar is actually a combination of 3 panoramic images taken with Rodan139. Something that was rekindled in 2020 was a love for panoramic photos. However, it is hard to include such an image in a calendar, so I combined 3 of them to fill up a page. I don’t know if it works, but at least one person told me that this was their favorite month in the calendar. So, that is something at least.

The top image is of Horseshoe Bluff in Mines of Spain. The middle image is of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in northeast Boone County. The bottom image is of the Loess Hills, taken in Monona County.

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When I looked the map for the TOWN SIGN PROJECT and knew that getting the town signs in Polk County was going to be next, I wasn’t overly excited. My excursion to West Des Moines to complete Dallas County was less than enjoyable and I anticipated finding town signs in places like Windsor Heights and and Pleasant Hill was going to be equally horrible. And it was. Only, I actually found decent signs for Windsor Heights and actually like the sign for Pleasant Hill. Now it took some time with Google Maps Street View before I even left on the trip to find those signs. Strike that, before I left on my second trip. I ran out of time and couldn’t find signs for Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Des Moines, and Windsor Heights on my first trip. I had to research it at home before I made a second trip, that doubled as a calendar delivery trip for Baier, Russell, Dre, and Sara. I don’t like doing that much research ahead of time. I like being surprised by what I find, but there is no way around it in Suburbia. Besides, this really is more of a small town project.

I will concede, I never really found a Des Moines “sign”. So I’m throwing in a downtown Des Moines Mural. I’m not going to consider it for Best in Show for Polk County though. Even though it is a pretty sweet mural. Think there is a fair chance that this spring I’m going to spend sometime photographing the murals in downtown Des Moines, cause there are some pretty cool ones.

If you don’t know Polk County, here is a look at it on the TOWN SIGNS PROJECT PHOTO MAP:

POLK COUNTY

Polk County is the 7th County I have completed:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

Here is a look at the town signs of Polk County. Population Data is from 2010, so it is probably not remotely correct for Polk County:

Des Moines, Iowa
Greater Des Moines – Better Together – Better Forever
Population: 203.433

West Des Moines, Iowa
The City of West Des Moines
Population: 56,609

Ankeny, Iowa
Ankeny
Population: 45,582

Urbandale, Iowa
Welcome to… Urbandale – Uniquely Urbandale

Johnston, Iowa
Johnston
Population: 17,278

Clive, Iowa
Clive – District by Nature
Population: 15,447

Altoona, Iowa
Altoona
Population: 14,541

Norwalk, Iowa
Norwalk Welcomes You
Population: 8,945

Pleasant Hill, Iowa
Welcome to Pleasant Hill
Population: 8,785

Grimes, Iowa
Grimes
Population: 8,246

Windsor Heights, Iowa
Welcome to Windsor Heights – the heart of it all
Population: 4,860

Carlisle, Iowa
Carlisle – The Natural Choice – Established 1851
Population: 3,876

Bondurant, Iowa
Bondurant
Population: 3,860

Polk City, Iowa
Welcome to Polk City – A City for All Season
Population: 3,418

Mitchellville, Iowa
Welcome to Mitchellville
Population: 2,254

Granger, Iowa
Welcome to Granger
Population: 1,244

Elkhart, Iowa
Welcome to Elkhart – Est. 1902
Population: 683

Runnells, Iowa
Runnells Welcomes You
Population: 507

Alleman, Iowa
Welcome to Alleman
Population: 432

Sheldahl, Iowa
The People of Sheldahl Welcome You – Biggest Little Town in Three Counties
Population: 319

So what is Best in Show for Polk County. Normally the no-brainer would be Sheldahl or Granger. There are 21 town in Polk County or partially in Polk County. It is amazing that most of them are below average. My biggest disappointment is Mitchellville. There is a prison in Mitchellville! How does a town that has a prison not have a cool sign?

However, since Granger is really almost entirely in Dallas County, I’m going to put it aside. Sheldahl is fairly evenly split amongst Polk County, Story County, and Boone County. However, while I was driving home from Polk County, I made the most alarming discovery cruising through Sheldahl. They took down their town sign! It doesn’t exist any more. I’m going to assume that it was a victim of the derecho and the good people of Sheldahl will make amends for this and get it back up in the very near future.

Putting those aside, I’m going to give Best in Show to Bondurant:

Best in Show – Polk County

I know it definitely isn’t my style of Best in Show, but while it has no art or a snappy town slogan, it is original and cool looking. I give the highest marks for originality and I have never seen a sign like it.

The worst signs in Polk County? Take your pick from Urbandale or West Des Moines or Norwalk. Although Grimes and Johnston are literally on the opposites sides of the same brick wall, so maybe they should share last place.

Time for the BENNETT TOWN SIGN POWER RANKINGS.

#10. Collins

#9. Sheldahl

#8. Badger

#7. Granger

#6. Scranton

#5. Boone

#4. Dexter

#3. Farnhamville

#2. Pilot Mound

#1. Moingona

Nothing has changed. However, I’m putting Sheldahl on notice. If the sign doesn’t return, I’m going to have to drop them from the power rankings. They’ll still make a book, but with several demerits.

The next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Marshall County, the site of the deadliest train crash in Iowa history.

Boone FUMC, Calendar, Drone

Rodan139: Downtown Boone

December 29, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The October picture from the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar was taken out at the Ensley Farm. It was taken during harvest season while the combines were out in the fields. It was taken on October 18, 2020.

Here are the photo details:

DETAILS
CAMERA: Hasselblad L1D-20c
LENS: 28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 10.3mm (28mm – 35mm equivalency)
APERTURE: f/4.5
EXPOSURE: 1/200
ISO: 100
FIELD OF VIEW: 65.5 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.11372
LONGITUDE: -94.02925
ALTITUDE: 409 meters above sea level.

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A few weeks back, when I went to the Boone First United Methodist Church to take my modern interpretation picture for THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, I also took a few other pictures.

The weather has already started to turn and probably won’t be many drone pictures in the future for a few months. Although, I should have taken Rodan139 out on Saturday. I took a nap instead. Just being honest.

Art, Black & White, Calendar, Christianity, Holidays, Mom, Nature, Road Trip, Teresa, WPC - Reminder

Merry Christmas – 2020

December 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start by wishing everybody a Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Many of us (me included) aren’t having our typical Christmas, or even the Christmas that they remotely wanted. Remember it is okay to feel a mixture of feelings today, because this isn’t the Christmas you wanted. Maybe it is the first Christmas without somebody. Maybe it is a Christmas you can’t spend with the people you want because of the pandemic. It is okay to feel whatever you feel. It is with those thoughts that I still say (and remember joy and happiness are not the same thing):

Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!

And of course to remember who that baby in that manger grew up to be:

JESUS WAS
A Radical.
A Nonviolent Revolutionary.
He hung out with lepers, hookers, and crooks.
Was NOT American.
Did NOT speak English. (Spoke Aramaic, if you were wondering)
Was ANTI-wealth.
Was ANTI-death penalty.
Was ANT-public prayer.

NOT ANTI-gay.
NEVER mentioned abortion. (Yes, abortion pre-dates Jesus by at least 1600 years)
NEVER mentioned birth control. (Yes, birth control pre-dates Jesus by at least 1850 years)
NEVER called the poor lazy.
NEVER justified torture.
NEVER fought for tax cuts for the wealthy.
NEVER asked a leper for a co-pay.
NEVER slut-shamed. In fact Jesus was anti-slut shaming.

WAS long-haired.
WAS brown-skinned.
WAS homeless.
WAS a refugee.
WAS a community organizer.
WAS a middle easterner.
WAS a Jew.

TOLD us to love one another.
LOVED poor people.
HUMANIZED everybody, regardless of their background.
MET people where they are at.
WAS considered a troublemaker by the authorities.
WAS ultimately murdered by the police.

Let every heart prepare room!

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The June calendar image is taken from when Fly Iowa was in Boone back in 2019. Remember big events, when you could be around other people. Safely. Yeah. Good times. Good times. This picture was taken on August 3, 2019.

Here are some details of this photo:

PHOTO DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
LENS: 120-400mm F/4.5-5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 180mm (270mm 35mm equivalent)
APERTURE: f/5
EXPOSURE: 1/2000
ISO:250
FIELD OF VIEW: 7.6 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.05149
LONGITUDE: -93.84873

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Today I’d like to share some pictures I took back on another holiday… Labor Day. On Labor Day I loaded Mom and Teresa up into a car and drove to Mines of Spain because I wanted to see Horseshoe Bluff. I posted some drone pictures of this day in the past. Now I’m getting around to pictures that are more for you land lovers. Or is that spelled land lubbers! I’m not sure, it has been so long since I’ve had my sea legs. Or lake legs. Or river legs. Or small farm pond legs. But we don’t need to talk about the last time I was on a boat in a farm pond.

Mom and Teresa did not want to get up and leave as early as I did. They have both volunteered to be a part of a future town sign harvesting road trip. Hopefully, they remember how early these trips need to leave dock…

Here are some pictures from one of the most beautiful parks in Iowa.

I would love to go there again. It would probably make a beautiful winter subject as well. Plus, less lousy with people. People, the enemy of nature photography.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ROAD TRIP.

ROAD TRIP

A ROAD TRIP photo is any picture taken during a ROAD TRIP or making preparations for a ROAD TRIP or spoils that came from a ROAD TRIP. What constitutes a ROAD TRIP? I’m pretty lax, but I would say that as long as your car leaves the driveway, it is a ROAD TRIP.

Happy photo harvesting!

Boone FUMC, Calendar, Drone, Flowers, History, Macro, Photoshop, Postcard

Postcard Recreation Project – Boone FUMC

December 24, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Happy Christmas Eve everybody! This is always my favorite worship service of the year. However, it is just one of the many things taken away by a horribly mismanaged pandemic. But I thought I would share a picture from the 2016 service as hopefully a reminder of what is coming in 2021.

I believe my church is doing some kind of Zoom service tonight, but I haven’t received any details on it yet. Maybe they are still coming.

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The May 2021 Photography 139 Calendar image is a picture of a dandelion that I had sprayed down with water. It was taken with extension tubes. It was taken on May 23, 2020.

Here are the details of the photo:

DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: Not Recorded
EXPOSURE: 1/60
ISO: 250
LATITUDE: 42.05333
LONGITUDE: -93.87070

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A couple weeks back I decided that churches would be a good subject for THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT during this time of year. So I decided, why not start with my own church. I am prejudiced, but I do believe it to be the prettiest church in Boone. At least from the outside. I’m not sure that we have the most beautiful sanctuary. It might not be the most useful setup building, but I would rank it as the prettiest church in town. I’d give second to the Presbyterian Church and third to the Catholic church.

Often, in this process I’ve looked up the history of the places I was photographing. For an upcoming project, I did a lot of research on the history of different congregations in town. Almost every church I looked up had a decent “History” section on their website. I assumed their would be one on our church website.

I was badly mistaken. I knew our website wasn’t the best, but I was pretty surprised to see that there isn’t a history section on the website. Actually our website could use a ton of TLC. There is probably more misinformation on there than a FoxNews broadcast. But less than a NewsMax broadcast.

I probably should know more about the history of the church I attend, but I don’t. This is what I can tell you. The original building was built in the 1890s. The education addition was added in the 1950s. There was a considerable remodel to the education wing in the 1990s.

This year, we were supposed to celebrate, I believe the 125th Anniversary of the church building, but I believe this congregation was established in 1865.

Despite the best efforts of Pastor Phil Webb, it has never burned down. Which I’ve learned, a building in Boone that was built in the 1890s, to have never burned down, is quite the accomplishment.

Here are the postcard recreations:

First M. E. Church – Boone, Iowa – Original

First M. E. Church – Boone, Iowa – Redux

When I first saw this postcard, I thought it was so strangely designed. I didn’t believe it was a postcard, but a scan in a book. However, when I found a website selling it, they showed both sides, and it is a postcard, with an incredibly bizarre design. One thing that has stuck with me during this project is the old-timey postcard designers insistence on putting periods all over the place.

Methodist Church – Boone, IA – 2228 – Original

Methodist Church – Boone, IA – 2228 – Redux

One thing that is maddening about this angle is that the power line is always in the picture from these angles. Something they didn’t have to deal with back then.

M. E. Church – Boone, Ia – Original

M. E. Church – Boone, Ia – Redux

I actually used the Photoshop Sky Replacement Tool on this one. Not a tool I’d use often, but when this one is already so Photoshop heavy with the use of the Watercolor Filter, what does a little more “lying” matter?

Finally, my modern interpretation of what a modern postcard of the Boone First United Church would look like:

Boone First United Methodist Church – Modern Interpretation

I actually took the drone up to get the church’s angles. Mostly did it to avoid that blasted power line in the composition. I also like that in the background you can see the Presbyterian Church, the Central Christian Church, and a little bit of the Grace Episcopal Church.

Next time we hit up THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, it will also involve churches. The pre-work has been done, but the Photoshop work on this one will be time consuming. Not sure how much of the style I’m going to try to emulate. Because, frankly, I’m not even sure how to do part of it at this time.

Boone FUMC, Calendar, Drone, Event, Flowers, Johnathan, Lensbaby

Rodan139: Community Thanksgiving

December 22, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The March image from the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar was taken at Badger Creek Recreation Area. It was taken in the sunflower field there. It was taken on July 25, 2020. It was taken with a Lensbaby lens.

Here are some details on the picture:

DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: Lensbaby Burnside 35mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 35mm
ISO: 50
APERTURE: f/2.8 (probably, didn’t record)
EXPOSURE: 1/320
LATITUDE; 41.47915
LONGITUDE: -93.91051

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Back on Thanksgiving, when I was taking pictures of Boone First United Methodist Church’s Free Community Thanksgiving, I decided to take Rodan139 up in the air to take a few pictures of the line.

Hopefully this is the last time I have the opportunity to use the drone for the Thanksgiving meal. Hopefully next year this meal is back inside the church.

Christianity, Drone, Panorama

Rodan139: Swede Valley Lutheran Church

December 17, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 20 Comments

A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out to Swede Valley Lutheran Church and took a few pictures. A very pretty country church, that unfortunately doesn’t have the pretties setting. The farm fields in the background are okay. It is just unfortunate that what I’m sure was a parsonage at one time, is so close to the church to the north. I also, didn’t wish it was on a fairly major highway. All that being said, it is very photogenic.

I’m sure I’ll be back here to photograph this church some more, but probably a couple other country churches I will have to photograph first.

Boone FUMC, Event, Holidays, Johnathan, Kio

Community Thanksgiving – 2020

December 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

On Thanksgiving, my church (Boone First United Methodist) served nearly 800 free meals to the community. I could write about it, but why bother, when Kio has already done such a great job at that:

Seven hundred seventy one meals were served at First United Methodist Church’s 23rd annual free Thanksgiving dinner held on Nov. 26 at the church, 703 Arden St. in Boone.

Meals were also delivered to the local police and fire stations, an apartment complex and a homeless shelter in Ames. Due to COVID-19, this year’s event was drive-thru pickup only.

According to the event’s chairperson, Brad Filipiak, “the drive-thru was very busy the first 35 minutes with cars lined up for over three blocks. We had to add another serving line and enlist more food baggers.”

Food for the event included 35 turkeys, 12 pans of dressing, 10 pans of mashed potatoes with side helpings of gravy, 24 commercial size cans of green beans, 8 gallons of cranberry sauce, 748 rolls and 60 apple and pumpkin pies.

Preparing, handling and serving of the food followed strict health and safety guidelines. To make social distancing easier, the number of volunteers needed to put on the event was reduced from the 60 of past years to 25 this year. Couples and families were encouraged to volunteer to keep the amount of households to a minimum. Everyone was required to wear gloves and masks.

Dealing with COVID-19 gave this year’s meal a different feeling. Filipiak added, “We didn’t have the normal fellowship of the in-person meal.” The event still provided a meal for many people who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to make it get a Thanksgiving dinner.

In looking back on the event during this time of a pandemic, Filipiak said, “it showed that with everything going on we can still find a way to calm our fears and serve our community”.

As for next year’s Boone First United Methodist Church free Thanksgiving dinner, Filipiak hopes it will be back to the normal in-person meal with a new goal of serving 800 to 1,000 meals.

Kio’s write-up appeared in the “Boone News Republican”.

Here are some pictures from the day: