I recently drove around Marion County to harvest their town signs. Marion County includes two of the more famous Iowa towns, Pella and Knoxville.

Here are some facts about Marion County:

+ Population is 33,309.
+ Pella is the largest city.
+ Knoxville is the county seat.
+ Named for Francis Marion, a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War.
+ Home to the Pella Tulip Festival, which is one of the most popular town festivals in Iowa.
+ Home to the Knoxville Speedway an internationally known auto racing track.
+ Home of Central College.
+ Major highways are: IA-5, IA-14, IA-92, IA-163, and IA-316.
+ Adjacent counties are: Jasper, Mahaska, Monroe, Lucas, and Warren.
+ Population is currently at its peak.

Marion County has a beautiful courthouse:

Marion County Courthouse in Knoxville, Iowa

The Marion County Courthouse is located near the form Veterans Hospital in Knoxville:

The story about the ashes…

With Marion County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

21 counties completed. 21.2% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the Marion County town signs:

Pella, Iowa
Welcome to Pella – A Touch of Holland
Population: 10,352

Knoxville, Iowa
Welcome to Knoxville
Population: 7,313

Pleasantville, Iowa
Welcome to Pleasantville – Established 1849
Population: 1,694

Melcher-Dallas, Iowa
Welcome to Melcher Dallas – A Coal Mining Community
Population: 1,288

Bussey, Iowa
Welcome to Bussey
Population: 422

Harvey, Iowa
Harvey – Home of the Peace Tree – Population 277
Population: 235

Hamilton, Iowa
Hamilton City Hall and Community Center
Population – 130

Swan, Iowa
We Honor Our Veterans – Swan, Iowa
Population: 72

Marysville, Iowa
<- Marysville 1
Population: 66

I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with Marion County. Pella and Knoxville are pretty big deals. How does Pella not have a tulip or something Dutch on the sign? Maybe the good folks of Indianola are right? FTD. And the race track in Knoxville is a big deal. I’m not a fan of auto racing. I get the appeal of watching things go fast, I just wish racing didn’t lasted so long. Go around the track a couple times. Take off your helmet. Wave to the crowd. We’re all home in time for the start of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. That being said, I’m going to give Knoxville the worst town sign of Marion County. Even though Hamilton doesn’t even really have one and Marysville only has a DOT sign. But at least it has an interesting crack. The most interesting thing about the Knoxville sign is the Laser Car Wash sign behind it.

But who has the best town sign in Marion County? Even though it is a DOT sign, I like the Harvey sign. I would like it even more if I could have found the “Peace Tree”. Melcher-Dallas has a nice sign, but I’m giving this best sign to Pleasantville.

Pleasantville – Best in Show – Marion County

There were a couple of towns with alternate town signs, both better than their main town signs:

Pella – Alternate Town Sign

Melcher-Dallas -Alternate Town Sign

Pleasantville – Alternate Town Sign

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Boone 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 – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

Next time we check in with the Town Sign Project, it will involve Tama County.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is UP IN THE AIR:

UP IN THE AIR

UP IN THE AIR! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is a UP IN THE AIR photo? It is simply a photo of something that is UP IN THE AIR. A bird. A plane. Superman? Well, if Superman isn’t standing on the ground. A good idea is to just throw something into the air and photograph it. Or a good candid portrait is to throw something in the air and have them try to catch it. This is a great candid portrait technique.

Happy photo harvesting!