This Saturday from 8-12 we are going to have the final sale at my Mom’s house. There is still lots of glassware and collectibles for sale. A few tools. Many decorations. Maybe some furniture. Some other stuff will be added this week as well I’m sure. The address is 111 South Benton Street. The sale is in the garage and in the garage only. The garage is on the alley. The alley is a dead end, so don’t come down the alley and try to park. I’ll let you know if any of the details change.

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The Thursday before Pufferbilly Days, Jesse and I cruised around north Iowa and harvested the town signs of Cerro Gordo County.

Here are some facts about Cerro Gordo County:
+ Population is 42,834, making it the 14th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Muscatine County and above Marshall County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Mason City.
+ Was formed in 1851.
+ Named after the Battle of Cerro Gordo from the Mexican-American War where General Winfield Scott defeated General Santa Anna.
+ Site of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and their pilot Roger A. Peterson.
+ Location of Music Man Square.
+ Major highways are: I-35, US-18, US-65, IA-27, and IA-122.
+ Adjacent Counties are: Worth, Mitchell, Floyd, Franklin, and Hancock.
+ Peak population was 49,894 in 1960.

The Cerro Gordo Courthouse is hideous:

The Cerro Gordo Courthouse in Mason City, Iowa.

The Cerro Gordo County Courthouse is located in Clear Lake, Iowa:

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

35 counties completed. 35.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Cerro Gordo County:

Mason City, Iowa
Welcome to Mason City
Population: 27,338 (-747)

Clear Lake, Iowa
WELCOME TO Clear Lake
EST. 1871
Population: 7,687 (-90)

Rockwell, Iowa
WELCOME TO ROCKEWELL
Population: 1,071 (+32)

Ventura, Iowa
VENtURA
SPORTSMAN’S PARADIS
Population: 711 (-6)

Thornton, Iowa
WELCOME TO THORNTON
Population: 400 (-22)

Plymouth, Iowa
WELCOME TO PLYMOUTH
Population: 375 (-7)

Meservey, Iowa
Welcome To Meservey
Est. 1886
Population: 222 (-34)

Swaledale, Iowa
WELCOME TO SWALEDALE
Population: 144 (-19)

Rock Falls, Iowa
WELCOME TO ROCK FALLS
Population: 150 (-5)

Dougherty, Iowa
WELCOME TO DOUGHERTY
LIL’ IRELAND
Population: 62 (+4)

Cartersville, Iowa (Unincorporated)
CARTERSVILLE ELEVATOR

I don’t know that there is an absolutely terrible sign in this collection. However, I’m going to have to give the worst sign in Cerro Gordo County to Plymouth.

But what gets Best in Show? I’m normally not a big fan of rock signs. They look like tombstones. However, I actually like Ventura’s sign, although I can’t figure out why all the letters are capitalized except the “t”. I love how Rock Falls clearly turned an old DX sign into their town sign. However, it loses some of the luster because Grafton (future post) did the same thing. I have to give Best in Show to Dougherty.

Dougherty – Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Here are the alternate signs of Cerro Gordo County:

Ventura – Alternate

Rockwell – Alternate

Thornton – Alternate

Swaledale – Alternate

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 – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo 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 – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida 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 – Pocahontas 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 – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Worth County.

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

JUNK

JUNK! What a great theme for Week 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a JUNK photo. JUNK isn’t necessarily garbage, but it could be. JUNK is defined as things that are useless or of little value. But that doesn’t mean JUNK has no value. Just like the theme reveal image, I bet everybody reading these words has a JUNK drawer. Off the top of my head, I have at least 9 of them and several JUNK bins. So go out and find something that has been set aside because it has little value and give it some value by turning it into art.

And don’t forget that some food is considered JUNK as well. And of course, there are other definitions for the word JUNK. Some more safe for work than others.

Happy photo harvesting.