Art, Black & White, Flowers, Macro, Mom, Road Trip, Ruins

2010-10-18 & 2010-10-19

July 31, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

There was really only one picture of consequence in the folder 2010-10-18, so I decided to combine it with the folder 2010-10-19. The pictures in the folder 2010-10-19 are from a road trip I took to Kalona with my Mom. We also stopped in Riverside and the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. I do miss those trips to Kalona.

WEEK 42 - SHADOWS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

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:

RWPE #41 – DRY

RWPE #42 – SHADOWS

SOME VACATION PICTURES

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Minnesota.

Animals, Boone County Fair, Contests, Nature, WPC - Reminder

Boone County Fair 2021

July 30, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back was the Boone County Fair. I didn’t spend much time there, but even with what little time I was there, it felt good to be back. Last year was the first time I didn’t at least make a brief appearance at the Boone County Fair, probably in my entire life.

I went there late Saturday morning to judge the Boone County Fair Photography Contest. It was my first time judging a photography contest and it was definitely an interesting experience being on the other side.

One of the disappointing aspect of being a judge was that there was only 16 entries this year. The past few years I would guess that there was around 50 or so entries. I’m not sure why few people felt like competing this year, but the photography contest wasn’t the only contest I saw that had a precipitous dip in entries. The barbecue contest that Baby Got Rack usually dominates normally has about ten competitors. This year there were two. Baby Got Rack was not one of the two, despite the fact that I already picked up this year’s competitive fedora and Hawaiian shirt. Scottie D. took his lady to Vegas for the weekend, so that put us on the sideline. We have been in discussions to enter a different contest, but at this time, nothing has come of it. You’ll just have to imagine how great it would have been.

What made the lack of participation rates so weird is that the brief times I was at the fair, the fairgrounds were plenty busy. Busier than normal.

Here are some facts about this year’s Boone County Fair Photography Contest:

+ 16 total entries.
+ There are 3 divisions (Black and White, Color, and Digitally Enhanced) broke into 4 classes (People, Landscape, Animal, and Other)
+ There was one entry in Black and White. (Landscape)
+ There was one entry in Digitally Enhanced. (Landscape)
+ There were 14 entries in Color. (1 in People, 4 in Landscape, 6 in Animal, and 3 in Other)
+ I awarded 1 Best in Show.
+ 1 Sweepstakes Award (Most Blue Ribbons)
+ 3 Purple Ribbons (Best in each Division)
+ 12 Blue Ribbons (3 elevated to Purple)
+ 4 Red Ribbons
+ 0 White Ribbons

I wasn’t given many instructions other than this, “We don’t want people to feel discouraged.”

Here is a picture of the contest.

It was a great experience and I was surprised that I even got paid for my efforts.

The lack of participation at the Boone County Fair is why I worry about the participation at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. However, whatever happens, this year is just the foundation from where we will build the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest into a juggernaut.

Here is the flyer, if you need more information:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyer - 2021

While the flyer says the deadline was July 21, the true deadline is roughly 4:30 PM on Tuesday, August 3. That is when I will be picking up the entries and that night my trifecta of judges will evaluate and determine the winners. So, if you are still interested in entering some pictures, you still have the weekend to get your entries ready.

But I digress. Here are some pictures from the Boone County Fair:

I did get to see lots of people at the fair that I haven’t seen in a long time. I hope I get to spend more time at the fair in 2022.

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

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

Happy photo harvesting!

Flowers, History, Macro, Mom

Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone

July 29, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I’ve decided to share some of the family history notes that I find now and again while going through some of the genealogy stuff at my Mom’s house. None of it is quite as weird as the 6 part story on my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage, but I hope some of you find it interesting. Today I’m sharing a little bit about a town in Iowa (that doesn’t really exist any more) that was named after one of the earliest members of my Mom’s Dad’s family to immigrate to the United States.

A Town Named Paris (Bunch) IA

This is probably the only town in Iowa with two names. It owes its schizophrenic personality to the stubborness of the U.S. Post Office and the Rock Island Railroad.

About 100 years ago, a local resident named Jackson Paris donated land for the Rock Island Railroad to build tracks and a depot here. The depot and the town that grew around it was named Paris.

About 20 years later, Paris became big enough for a post office, but postal officials told the town father they would have to come up with another name.

A town in Linn County had already registered the post office as Paris.

So the town renamed Bunch, after a local doctor, and everyone was happy except the railroad.

Railroad officials refused to recognize Bunch, because if they did, they would have to change all their timetables and other records. Postal official(s) refused to recognize Paris because doing so would mean changing their records.

So, the railroad station remained Paris, the post office was named Bunch, and the town was known as Paris (Bunch).

To add further confusion, Davis County legal platts have always called the town Paris, and residents of Paris (Bunch) have called their town Bunch.

The railroad eventually pulled its tracks out of Paris and the Post Office closed its Bunch office, leaving Paris (Bunch) with neither a railroad nor a post office.

Now all that remains are a few old houses and antique filled general store.

The problems of Paris (Bunch) is about to resolve itself. In a couple of years, this will be a ghost town.

I’m not sure when this article appeared in the newspaper, but Paris (Bunch) is definitely a ghost town now. All that remains (I’ve read) is the cemetery. The Paris in Linn County didn’t do much better. It is now an unincorporated community.

I haven’t been to Davis County for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT yet, but when I do, I will definitely seek out this old ghost town and visit the cemetery and the graves of some of my ancestors.

Here are the scans of the documents where I gathered this information:

I’m sure I will run across another family nugget that I just have to share while going through these papers soon.

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Here is another collection of pictures I took of my Mom’s flowers. These were taken on April 25. Once again, mostly tulips.

I still have lots of flower pictures from my Mom’s house to share.

Art, Candid Portrait, Christianity, History, Jesse, Road Trip

Benton County Auxiliary Images – 1

July 28, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

A few weeks back I hit the open road with Jesse and we harvested the town signs of Benton County and Poweshiek County. This collection focuses primarily on Benton County, although there are some pictures at the end from Buchanan County.

Jesse was the first Town Sign Assistant to use the map and eschew GPS in his navigator duties. It was quite impressive to see and I believe his ability to read a map gives me hope for the world.

Here are the first set of auxiliary images from the road trip:

Van Horne

Garrison

Vinton

Mount Auburn

Jesse didn’t get a Pepsi. The machine didn’t even have a power cord.

Brandon (Buchanan County)

No riffraff allowed!

I definitely really enjoyed Vinton. Any town with tons of artwork is my kind of town. It is definitely on my list of towns to visit again when I have more time. They also recently installed a glow-in-the-dark path that I want to checkout.

There are plenty more pictures from the road trip still to share.

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!

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.

Art, Black & White, Flowers, Grandma, History, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins

Tama County Auxiliary Images – 2

July 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Here is the final chapter in the storage of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage:

Handschin Killer Commits Suicide At Reformatory

Sioux City, Feb. 15

Mrs. Martelle McPeek, 29 year-old blonde, who last January 11th shot her lover after being jilted, committed suicider early today in the woman’s reformatory at Rockwell City by hanging herself with a pair of cotton stockings.

Supt. Pauline Johnston said Mrs. McPeek was by a guard. The county coroner said Mrs. McPeek died of strangulation and that her neck was not broken.

Mrs. McPeek entered the institution January 27th. She had been sentenced to ten years when she pleaded guilty to a charge of second degree murder.

The charge against her was filed after the death of Maurics Handschin, 36-year-old packing house employee as a result of a bullet wound in the abdomen.

Formerly of Boone

The late Mr. Handschin was formerly of Boone and had married here only shortly before the fatal shooting. His underal services were held in this city.

Claimed by Husband

Rockwell City, Feb. 15

Mrs. Martelle M. McPeek, 29, committed suicide at the Iowa Women’s Reformatory, to which she was sentenced for 10 years for killing Maurice Handschin in Sioux City last January 11.

Mrs. McPeek’s body was found hanging from the top of a window. She had strangled herself to death with her stockings. Her husband, William McPeek of Sioux City claimed her body.

Handschin lived at the McPeek residence in Sioux City several years before leaving there to marry a Boone divorcee. Mrs. McPeek contended she had planned to divorce her husband and marry Handschin.

Here is a copy of the newspaper article:

While that concluded this episode of sharing some of my family history that I discover going through some genealogy stuff, it won’t be the last.

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This is the rest of the auxiliary images from my trip to Tama County to harvest their town signs. The highlight of this trip was the winding stairs in Traer.

Clutier

Dysart

Traer

Lincoln

Conrad (Grundy County)

Garwin

So many auxiliary images still to go through, but that is it for Tama County.

Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kalista, Kelly, Saydie, Taylan

2010-10-17

July 24, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2010-10-17 is a collection of images from the fairly annual Howard Family Photo Shoot from 2010.

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

THE 2010 HOWARDS

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a road trip to Kalona I took with my Mom.

Grandma, History, Self-Portrait, WPC - Reminder

Dropped

July 23, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is Part 5 of the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage.

Sentence in Shooting of M. Handschin

Sioux City Woman Given 10 Years At Women’s Reformatory at Rockwell City

Sioux City, Jan. 26 – Mrs. Martelle McPeek, 29, of Sioux City, today was under sentence of 10 years in the women’s reformatory at Rockwell City for the slaying of Maurice W. Handschin, 37, packinghouse worker.

Mrs. McPeek was sentenced late yesterday by Dist. Judge D.C. Browning, after she pleaded guilty to murder charges. The court decided the offense was second-degree murder.

Mrs. McPeek confessed shooting Handschin on January 11 because he had married another woman after promising to marry her.

She testified that Handschin, who died late Wednesday of a bullet wound through his abdomen, had threatened to beat her after his return from Boone with his bride the former Mrs. Berniece Kessler, mother of a 7 year-old daughter.

Mrs. McPeek said that after friends told her of Handschin’s threats, she changed the door locks on her home where Handschin had been a roomer for six years.

Following the shooting, William McPeek, the accused woman’s husband, filed suit for $130 room rent against Handschin.

Here is the newspaper article:

I will share Part 6, the final part, of this story on Sunday.

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Back earlier in the year, I had an idea for decorating my hallway with a photomosaic self-portrait. I have since abandoned this photo project, but thought I would share some of the self-portraits I took that were test shots for what would be the base image for the photomosaic that will never exist.

At some point, I might try a different photomosaic project, but it won’t be in my hallway.

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

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

Happy photo harvesting!

Flowers, Grandma, History, Macro, Mom

(I’m So) Afraid Of Losing You Again

July 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is Part 4 of the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage.

M. Handschin Funeral Rites Here Jan. 25th

Native of Boone Died in Sioux City
Formerly Employed by North Wester R. R.

Relatives, neighbors and friends paid their final respects to the memory of the late Maurice W. Handschin at funeral services held here Sunday afternoon. Dr. Edwin A. Briggs was in charge of brief rites at Schroder’s funeral home, followed by the main service at First Methodist church.

His text was Psalms 23:4 “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.:

A solo, “Beautiful Dreamer” was sung by Mrs. Kenneth McIlvain. The hymn “The City Foursquare” was sung by a male quarter, H.J. Van Ness, Ken Goodrich, Kenneth Hakes and L.R. Johnson. Royal Duckworth accompanied the singers at the organ.

In charge of floral tributes were Mrs. Thomas Ogilvie, Mrs. E.R. Byers, Miss Leone Stiner and Mrs. Kenneth Crawford.

Pall bearers were Albert Hatt, Boyd Rothman, Levi Van Meter, Melvin Shadock, Glendon Johnson and Maurice Cox.
Internment was in Linwood Park cemetery, east.

Born in Boone

Maurice William Handschin, son of Adolph and Mertil Handschin, was (b)orn in Boone, IA, May 6, 1903 and passed away in a hospital at Sioux City, Ia., at 11:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 24, 1940.

He received his education in the Boone schools and for years was employed by the Chicago & Northwester in Boone, Ia., In 19933 he was moved to Sioux City where he was employed by the Swift Packing company.

His Survivors.

December 31, 1939, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Bernice Kessler. He was baptized on January 23, 1940.

Those who remain to mourn his passing are his wife, Norman Lee, a son by former marriage; a step-daughter, Barbara, and five sisters, Mrs. Ralph Spratt, Mrs. Carl Westberg of Boone; Mrs. Clarence Ades of Des Moines, Ia.; Mrs. Art Howd of Webster City, Ia., and Mrs. Ollie Mabee of Parker, S. D., and three brothers, Warren of Boone, Ia., Art of St. Paul, Minn., and Harry of Oregon, and also a number of nieces and nephews.

Here is the newspaper article:

I will share Part 5 of this story tomorrow.

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Here is another collection of pictures from my Mom’s yard. I took these on April 24, 2021. Almost exclusively tulips, but one picture of a peony in there.

So many more flower photos left to share!