Monroe and Mahaska County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

Time for another collection of auxiliary images from a road trip I took with Teresa to harvest the town signs of Monroe and Mahaska County. Almost all these pictures are taken in Albia or near Albia. The near Albia pictures are taken at what I think is the coolest veteran memorial I have ever seen in Iowa.


Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Avery
Great Pyramids of Iowa

Monroe County - Avery

I will get more into the history of the Great Pyramids of Iowa when I share the rest of these images tomorrow night.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SLICE OF LIFE:


WEEK 348 - SLICE OF LIFE
SLICE OF LIFE

SLICE OF LIFE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a SLICE OF LIFE photo? It might not be what you think. Hence this week’s special rule. SLICE OF LIFE is a reference to the photo postcard company that my Dad created. That is why (and here is the special rule) this week, the theme is NOT up for interpretation. This week’s theme is to take a picture that you could see used as a postcard. That is the only interpretation available to you.

Some of you might not live in a tourist hotbed like Boone, Iowa (no seriously, Boone has lots of tourist attractions from Pufferbilly Days to the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace to Ledge State Park to the Boone Speedway to name a few) but there is certainly something in your town that you could see put on a postcard. For those of you that are under the age of 40 you may have to ask an elder what a postcard is, but I’m sure they will be happy to tell you all about it. And also other amazing things that happened in the 80s or 70s or before.

To give you another few examples of postcards. Here are a few postcards that my Dad made that I hastily scanned this morning:

Slice of Life Postcard

Slice of Life Postcard

Slice of Life Postcard

Slice of Life Postcard

When you look at these postcards, remember that these were made in a darkroom. With film! Quite a bit harder than dragging and dumping layers in Photoshop.

So remember, it has to be the kind of image you would see on a postcard. Not a picture of your pet or your kid and then saying, this is a “slice of my life”. That doesn’t qualify this week.

Do I expect this to possibly be a streak killer for many people? Maybe.

BONUS: If you want to go the extra mile, this isn’t a requirement, you can take your image in black & white as my Dad’s postcards were black & white.

DOUBLE BONUS: For this theme and this theme only, if you include some kind of description of your postcard scene, I will include it in the “An Artist’s Notebook” post on Monday.

Happy photo harvesting!

Still Laughing – 2022 – Collection 1

A couple weeks back I made a trip to Pella to photograph their tulips. I like to make this trip about a week or so before their annual tulip festival. I do this because this way there are usually most of the tulips are blooming or close to blooming, but I usually have them pretty much to myself. It was a bigger risk this year cause of the wicked cold spring we’ve had, but for the most part, it paid off.

Here is the first of 3 collections of Pella tulip pictures I took:


Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Still Laughing - 2022

Next year, I want to visit both the tulips of Pella and Orange City. This year, the tulips of Pella will have to be sufficient. Hope you find them sufficient.

Monroe and Mahaska County Auxiliary Images Vol. 1

A long, long time ago when I revealed the towns signs of Monroe County I pointed out that the town of Melrose, Iowa had a memorial up in their town park to honor the 1936-37 Melrose Shamrocks boys basketball team. A team that the Des Moines Register honored as the best team in the first 100 years of Iowa boys basketball in 2012.

Kio took great offense to this and sent me the following email:

Some of what Melrose claims about their championship basketball team might be a bit of blarney. I have to stick up for the Boone High Boys State Basketball 1931 State Champions. Although I’m not completely impartial, my Dad was the captain of that team, it had a legitimate star at all positions. Also worth noting, there were no classes or divisions in high school basketball in those days. All the teams in the state were lumped together. So if you won the state championship, you were truly the best team in the state. I always add this footnote when talking on this topic. Although Boone hasn’t won a state basketball tournament championship since 1931, no one would have been prouder to see his team’s record beaten than my Dad.

While Kio is clearly prejudiced, I think it is fair to reveal why the Melrose Shamrocks are considered the best boys basketball team in the first 100 years of Iowa boys basketball.

Here are some facts about them:
+ Melrose was the smallest school to ever win a single-class state basketball title in Iowa. Enrollment was 66. They beat Marshalltown in the championship game. A school with an enrollment of 1,077.
+ Melrose was the first team to go undefeated in state history. Going 33-0. They defeated undefeated Rolfe (29-0) in the semifinal game. They beat them 29-13.
+ Their 35-17 win over Marshalltown was the largest margin of victory in the championship game up until that point.
+ Played their home games in an opera house because they didn’t have a gym. The court measured 30 feet by 40 to 45 feet. Why 40 to 45 feet? One of corners of the playing floor featured a wood stove that heated the building and was blocked off so players didn’t run into it. A standard basketball court is 50 feet by 94 feet.
+ “Many of the players on the Melrose basketball team wanted to fit in with the “big city” crowd of Des Moines. In the fashion of the day, they slicked back their hair with Rose Hair Oil. Rose Hair Oil was inexpensive (“about 15 cents per gallon,” according to Walt O’Connor), so they apparently used lots of it. The oil also had a nice smell to it.

While this was fine before the tournament started, it gave the team trouble in their first game against Geneseo. During the game, the hair oil went from their hair to their hands to the ball. As Walt O’Connor recalled, “We started perspiring and wiping our heads to get the hair out of our eyes, and the first thing you knew, the referee couldn’t hold the ball.” After having trouble handling the ball in the first half, the players washed out their hair at half time. Better ball handling in the second half helped them to win the game, 35 – 34. After almost letting the first game of the tournament slip their grasp, Melrose stopped using the hair oil in the later games.”

Some of this information is taken from the Melrose website article on the team:

1937 Melrose Shamrocks

All of that being said, the Ames High team featuring Harrison Barnes and Doug McDermott would have beaten this team by at least 20 points. They did win 53 games in a row.

Here is the first collection of the auxiliary images from a road trip I took to Monroe and Mahaska County with Teresa.


Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Melrose

Monroe County - Georgetown
Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown

Monroe County - Georgetown
Albia

Monroe County - Albia

Monroe County - Albia

There are still two more collections of images to share from this road trip.

Town Sign Project: Plymouth County

A few weeks back I cruised around Plymouth County harvesting their town signs.

Here are some facts about Plymouth County:
+ Population 25,141 making it the 25th most populous county in Iowa. Below Benton County and above Bremer County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Le Mars.
+ Formed on January 15, 1851.
+ Named after Plymouth, Massachusetts.
+ Home of the Ice Cream Capital of the World.
+ Major highways are US-75, IA-3, IA-12, IA-60, and IA-140.
+ Adjacent counties are Sioux, Cherokee, and Woodbury.
+ Currently at peak population.

Plymouth County has a pretty courthouse:


Plymouth County Courthouse
The Plymouth County Courthouse in Le Mars, Iowa.

The Plymouth County Freedom Rock is located in Kingsley, Iowa.


Plymouth County Freedom Rock

Plymouth County Freedom Rock

Plymouth County Freedom Rock

Plymouth County Freedom Rock

Plymouth County Freedom Rock

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


Town Sign Project - 70 Counties
PURPLE=COMPLETED

70 counties completed. 70.7% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Plymouth County:


Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars, Iowa
Welcome To
LE MARS
Ice Cream Capital of the World
Population: 10,571 (+745)

Remsen, Iowa
Remsen, Iowa
REMSEN
“Neat and Hard to Beat”
Population: 1,678 (+15)

Akron, Iowa
Akron, Iowa
WELCOME TO AKRON
ALL TRAILS LEAD TO AKRON
PEACEFUL VALLEY OF OPPORTUNITY
EST. 1882
Population: 1,558 (+72)

Kingsley, Iowa
Kingsley, Iowa
WELCOME TO Kingsley
SOME BIGGER… NONE BETTER
Population: 1,396 (-15)

Hinton, Iowa
Hinton, Iowa
Welcome to HINTON
“Home Of The Black Hawks”
Population: 935 (+7)

Merrill, Iowa
Merrill, Iowa
WELCOME TO MERRILL
AT THE HEART OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY
Population: 717 (-38)

Brunsville, Iowa
Brunsville, Iowa
Welcome to BRUNSVILLE
ESTABLSIHED 1911
Four Seasons Garden Club
Population: 129 (-22)

Westfield, Iowa
Westfield, Iowa
Welcome to WESTFIELD
Celebrating 150 Years 1856-2006
Population: 123 (-9)

Oyens, Iowa
Oyens, Iowa
OYENS
A NICE PLACE TO CALL HOME
Population: 92 (-11)

Craig, Iowa
Craig, Iowa
Welcome to CRAIG
Est. 1910
Population 102
“We’re Small, But Big Enough To Know You.”
Population: 79 (-10)

Struble, Iowa
Struble, Iowa
STRUBLE, IOWA
hometown of
GENERAL JACK NICHOLSON AND AMBASSADOR JIM NICHOLSON
Population: 67 (-11)

Plymouth County has a solid, but perhaps not spectacular set of town signs. I don’t know that there is a terrible sign in the collection, but if I have to give a last place trophy out, it would go to Le Mars.

But who gets the purple ribbon? Who gets Best in Show? I’m going to have to go with Kingsley.


Kingsley, Iowa
Kingsley – Best in Show – Plymouth County

There were a couple of alternate town signs in Plymouth County:


Kingsley, Iowa
Kingsley – Alternate

Remsen, Iowa
Remsen – Alternate

Westfield, Iowa
Westfield – Alternate

Merrill, Iowa
Merrill – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:


Fontanelle, Iowa
Best in Show – Adair County

Nodaway, Iowa
Best in Show – Adams County

Audubon, Iowa
Best in Show – Audubon County

Norway, Iowa
Best in Show – Benton County

Moingona, Iowa
Best in Show – Boone County

Readlyn, Iowa
Best in Show – Bremer County

Storm Lake, Iowa
Best in Show – Buena Vista County

New Hartford, Iowa
Best in Show – Butler County

Manson, Iowa
Best in Show – Calhoun County

Coon Rapids, Iowa
Best in Show – Carroll County

Anita, Iowa
Best in Show – Cass County

Lowden, Iowa
Best in Show – Cedar County

Dougherty, Iowa
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Washta, Iowa
Best in Show – Cherokee County

Murray, Iowa
Best in Show – Clarke County

Rossie, Iowa
Best in Show – Clay County

Low Moor, Iowa
Best in Show – Clinton County

Ricketts, Iowa
Best in Show – Crawford County

Dexter, Iowa
Best in Show – Dallas County

Weldon, Iowa
Best in Show – Decatur County

Popejoy, Iowa
Best in Show – Franklin County

Tabor, Iowa
Best in Show – Fremont County

Scranton, Iowa
Best in Show – Greene County

Beaman, Iowa
Best in Show – Grundy County

Menlo, Iowa
Best in Show – Guthrie County

Stanhope, Iowa
Best in Show – Hamilton County

Britt, Iowa
Best in Show – Hancock County

Ackley, Iowa
Best in Show – Hardin County

Modale, Iowa
Best in Sow – Harrison County

Bradgate, iowa
Best in Show – Humboldt County

Ida Grove, Iowa
Best in Show – Ida County

Millersburg, Iowa
Best in Show – Iowa County

La Motte, Iowa
Best in Show – Jackson County

Lynnville, Iowa
Best in Show – Jasper County

Anamosa, Iowa
Best in Show – Jones County

Titonka, Iowa
Best in Show – Kossuth County

Springville, Iowa
Best in Show – Linn County

Lucas, Iowa
Best in Show – Lucas County

George, Iowa
Best in Show – Lyon County

East Peru, Iowa
Best in Show – Madison County

Leighton, Iowa
Best in Show – Mahaska County

Pleasantville, Iowa
Best in Show – Marion County

Haverhill, Iowa
Best in Show – Marshall County

Malvern, Iowa
Best in Show – Mills County

Onawa, Iowa
Best in Show – Monona County

Melrose, Iowa
Best in Show – Monroe County

Grant, Iowa
Best in Show – Montgomery County

Paullina, Iowa
Best in Show – O’Brien County

Melvin, Iowa
Best in Show – Osceola County

College Springs, Iowa
Best in Show – Page County

Mallard, Iowa
Best in Show – Palo Alto County

Kingsley, Iowa
Best in Show – Plymouth County

Plover, Iowa
Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Bondurant, Iowa
Best in Show – Polk County

Walnut, Iowa
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County

Malcom, Iowa
Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Maloy, Iowa
Best in Show – Ringgold County

Nemaha, Iowa
Best in Show – Sac County

Elk Horn, Iowa
Best in Show – Shelby County

Orange City, Iowa
Best in Show – Sioux County

Collins, Iowa
Best in Show – Story County

Tama, Iowa
Best in Show – Tama County

Gravity, Iowa
Best in Show – Taylor County

Creston, Iowa
Best in Show – Union County

New Virginia, Iowa
Best in Show – Warren County

Humeston, Iowa
Best in Show – Wayne County

Badger, Iowa
Best in Show – Webster County

Buffalo Center, Iowa
Best in Show – Winnebago County

Joice, Iowa
Best in Show – Worth County

Woolstock, Iowa
Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will end up in Woodbury County.

WPC – WEEK 347 – SQUARE

WARNING: THE THEME FOR NEXT WEEK IS THE OTHER WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE THAT DOES HAVE A SECOND RULE. READ THE DIRECTIONS CLOSELY.

Square has proven to be a pretty popular theme.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 2, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
+ Sarah Karber – 1 week
+ Angie DeWaard – 2 weeks
+ Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
+ Evie Gorshe – 3 weeks
+ Kim Barker – 4 weeks
+ Sara Lockner – 4 weeks
+ Becky Parmelee – 4 weeks
+ Joe Duff – 5 weeks
+ Dawn Krause – 5 weeks
+ Suzie Brannen – 6 weeks
+ Monica Henning – 7 weeks
+ Logan Kahler – 7 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 15 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 15 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 15 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 16 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 17 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 18 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 19 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 23 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 24 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 26 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 29 weeks

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:


WEEK 347 - SQUARE - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman – 30 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 34 - SQUARE - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett – 1 week

WEEK 34 - SQUARE - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson – 16 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth – 20 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland – 16 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler – 16 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt – 17 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp – 19 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley – 27 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff – 6 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker – 5 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler – 8 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen – 25 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen – 7 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin – 18 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning – 8 weeks

WEEK 347 - CATHIE RALEY - SQUARE
Cathie Raley – 24 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee – 5 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard – 3 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause – 6 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - SARA LOCKNER
Sara Lockner – 5 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - SARA LOCKNER
Sara Lockner

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard – 3 weeks

WEEK 347 - SQUARE - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks

I’m not going to get into who had streaks broke and how many participants there were, because Mediacom sucks. Just absolutely sucks. You are lucky you are even seeing this post, that is how bad Mediacom sucks.

There were 31 submissions. That is all you get.

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:


WEEK 348 - SLICE OF LIFE
SLICE OF LIFE

SLICE OF LIFE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a SLICE OF LIFE photo? It might not be what you think. Hence this week’s special rule. SLICE OF LIFE is a reference to the photo postcard company that my Dad created. That is why (and here is the special rule) this week, the theme is NOT up for interpretation. This week’s theme is to take a picture that you could see used as a postcard. That is the only interpretation available to you.

Some of you might not live in a tourist hotbed like Boone, Iowa (no seriously, Boone has lots of tourist attractions from Pufferbilly Days to the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace to Ledge State Park to the Boone Speedway to name a few) but there is certainly something in your town that you could see put on a postcard. For those of you that are under the age of 40 you may have to ask an elder what a postcard is, but I’m sure they will be happy to tell you all about it. And also other amazing things that happened in the 80s or 70s or before.

To give you another few examples of postcards. Here are a few postcards that my Dad made that I hastily scanned this morning:


Slice of Life Postcards

Slice of Life Postcards

Slice of Life Postcards

Slice of Life Postcards

When you look at these postcards, remember that these were made in a darkroom. With film! Quite a bit harder than dragging and dumping layers in Photoshop.

So remember, it has to be the kind of image you would see on a postcard. Not a picture of your pet or your kid and then saying, this is a “slice of my life”. That doesn’t qualify this week.

Do I expect this to possibly be a streak killer for many people? Maybe, but maybe SQUARE already was a major streak killer, who knows?

BONUS: If you want to go the extra mile, this isn’t a requirement, you can take your image in black & white as my Dad’s postcards were black & white.

While considering your SLICE OF LIFE subjects, meditate on the following quote:

The world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it.
-Mary E. Pearson

I look forward to seeing the digital postcards you send me.

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 SLICE OF LIFE in this place that is nothing more than my postcard to the world next Monday.

Cedar County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

Here is the second collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Cedar County. A few of these are taken in Muscatine County. A few are taken in Benton County. The majority of them are taken in West Branch at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.

Herbert Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River. He is also the only president born in Iowa. I always thought it was embarrassing that the worst president in history was born in Iowa. But then I looked it up. Herbert Hoover was not the worst president. Just one of the worst. John Tyler. Worse. Millard Fillmore. Worse. William Henry Harrison. Worse. Franklin Pierce. Worse. Warren G. Harding. Worse. Donald Trump. Worse. James Buchanan. Worse. And according to presidential scholars, historians, and political scientists. Andrew Johnson. The worst.

If you are wondering, the three presidents that are currently considered the best are:

3. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
1. George Washington

And while one of the worst presidents was the only president born in Iowa, think of sad states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Florida, West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama… to name a few… that haven’t even had a sad sack like Benjamin Harrison (the president ranked just ahead of Herbert Hoover) born there. He was born in Ohio. Just like William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding.

Enough presidential birthplace history. Here are the rest of the pictures from my Cedar County road trip:


Muscatine County - Wilton
Wilton

Muscatine County - Wilton

Cedar County - West Branch
West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Cedar County - West Branch

Youngville Cafe
Benton County – Junction of Lincoln Highway and Red Ball Highway

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Youngville Cafe

Here is some information about the Youngville Cafe from the Wikipedia:

Youngville Cafe, also known as Youngville Station, is a historic building located northwest of Watkins, Iowa, United States. It was a one-stop roadside business that included a café, a Skelly gas station, and three cabins for travelers to stay in. The cabins have subsequently been removed. The building calls attention to increasing business opportunities for women. The Tudor Revival building was built in 1931 by Joe Young on his pasture land for his widowed daughter Lizzie Wheeler to support her and her children. The main building also contained residential space where the family lived. It is located on U.S. Route 30, which at this point had been the Lincoln Highway. The café/station also served as a bus depot for the Greyhound and Jefferson bus lines.

When Wheeler retired to Cedar Rapids, she rented out the business to others to run. She returned to the café/station in 1967 after the lease ended, but it closed that year because it didn’t have enough parking and vehicles could no longer park along the highway. The building was used as a residence into the 1980s, when it was abandoned. The Benton County Sesquicentennial Commission acquired it as a restoration project to celebrate Iowa’s 150th anniversary of statehood in 1996. It is now owned by the Youngville Highway History Association and open as a café on a limited basis. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The cafe has been closed since 2020 because of the pandemic and because of damage it sustained from the derecho. However, according to a Facebook post on the Youngville Highway History Association Facebook page, it will be opening up and serving lunch Tuesdays from 11 AM to 2 PM starting on June 7th. You can bet dollars to donuts or burgers or tenderloins or whatever they serve, that I will be taking a day off from computer mining to go experience it.

If the menu that is lying on the ground is still accurate, I’ll definitely be knocking down a raspberry pie and probably a rhubarb pie as well.

Fat Mum Slim – April 2022

Last Saturday I completed another month of the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. It was a month entirely comprised of food prompts. Which seems perfect for me, as I do enjoy eating and I do enjoy trying new foods. However, I have to confess it didn’t ring my bell as much as I thought it would.

That being said, I feel there are a few winners in the month:


April 1
April 1 – ON MY PLATE

April 2
April 2 – A VEGETABLE

April 3
April 3 – A FRUIT

April 4
April 4 – BREAKFAST

April 5
April 5 – LUNCH

April 6
April 6 – SUPPER

April 7
April 7 – RAW

April 8
April 8 – COOKED

April 9
April 9 – IN MY PANTRY

April 10
April 10 – DESSERT

April 11
April 11 – A GREEN FOOD

April 12
April 12 – A SNACK

April 13
April 13 – A FAVE RECIPE

April 14
April 14 -INGREDIENT

April 15
APRIL 15 – KITCHEN

April 16
April 16 – 2 THINGS

April 17
April 17 – A DRINK

April 18
April 18 – A WHITE FOOD

April 19
April 19 – HEALTHY

April 20
April 20 – INDULGENT

April 21
April 21 – A RED FOOD

April 22
April 22 – SAVOURY

April 23
April 23 – SWEET

April 24
April 24 – IN MY CUP

April 25
April 25 – ON MY FORK

April 26
April 26 – YUK!

April 27
April 27 – I EAT HERE!

April 28
April 28 – DELICIOUS

April 29
April 29 – UTENSIL

April 30
April 30 – IN MY BOWL

The month of May has some good themes. Here are the May themes:

May 1 – This is Me
May 2 – Good Morning
May 3 – Free Choice
May 4 – Trees
May 5 – Mirrors
May 6 – Leaf
May 7 – View from Here
May 8 – Love
May 9 – A Seat
May 10 – Where I Stood
May 11 – Something Small
May 12 – In Nature
May 13 – Green
May 14 – Sunshine
May 15 – Upside Down
May 16 – This Season
May 17 – A Shape
May 18 – Door
May 19 – Creative
May 20 – I Read This…
May 21 – Waves
May 22 – Flying
May 23 – Stairs
May 24 – A Pair
May 25 – Something Warm
May 26 – Pink
May 27 – Lucky
May 28 – Horizon
May 29 – A Car
May 30 – Sky
May 31 – This is Also Me

A reminder that I post these pictures daily on my dedicated Fat Mum Slim account: @fmsbennett. Follow that account to follow along.

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


WEEK 347 - SQUARE
SQUARE

SQUARE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a SQUARE image? A SQUARE image is any image where one of the major elements of your composition is a SQUARE. Remember, all SQUAREs are rectangles, but not all rectangles are SQUAREs. If you look around, you will see that there is are SQUAREs all over the place. Once you see them, you won’t be able to stop seeing them. The next step is to photograph one. I wouldn’t even hate on you if you took a picture of your dog and used a 1:1 aspect ratio.

There are also other definitions of SQAURE you can ponder.

While thinking on your possible subjects for SQUARE, meditate on the following song lyric:

It’s not too hard to figure out
You see it every day
And those that were the farthest out
Have gone the other way
You see them on the freeway
It don’t look like a lot of fun
But don’t you try to fight it
An idea whose time has come
Don’t tell me that I’m crazy
Don’t tell me I’m nowhere
Take it from me
It’s hip to be square

Happy photo harvesting!

Selfie Project – April 2022

Another month is down for THE SELFIE PROJECT. I feel that April was an okay month. I didn’t probably have as many adventures as I thought I might. But I had a few more than I thought, when I started looking back. Maybe May will have plenty of adventure. We will see how that trip to Miami works out. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how many fedoras to pack. I special ordered a baseball hat to go to a MLB game. I don’t really wear baseball hats because I am an adult*, but I feel having one special one in the rotation won’t hurt me too much.

Here are some of my favorites from April:


Day 91 - April 1, 2022
April 1

Day 92 - April 2, 2022
April 2

Day 93 - April 3, 2022
April 3

Day 94 - April 4, 2022
April 4

Day 97 - April 7, 2022
April 7

Day 98 - April 8, 2022
April 8

Day 99 - April 9, 2022
April 9

Day 100 - April 10, 2022
April 10

Day 102 - April 12, 2022
April 12

Day 105 - April 15, 2022
April 15

Day 106 - April 16, 2022
April 16

Day 107 - April 17, 2022
April 17

Day 110 - April 20, 2022
April 20

Day 111 - April 21, 2022
April 21

Day 112 - April 22, 2022
April 22

Day 113 - April 23, 2022
April 23

Day 114 - April 24, 2022
April 24

Day 116 - April 26, 2022
April 26

Day 117 - April 27, 2022
April 27

Day 119 - April 29, 2022
April 29

Day 120 - April 30, 2022
April 30

There can only be one selfie per day, so here are some alternates from April:


SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE

Hopefully May is eventful in all the good ways.

Cedar County Auxiliary Images Vol. 1

Several weeks back I travelled to Cedar County to harvest their town signs. On this trip I also harvested some town signs in Clinton County and Muscatine County. I also stopped and took some pictures in Benton County.

Here is the first collection of images from this road trip:


Cedar County - Mechanicsville
Mechanicsville – Back when I worked at the Campus Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire, one of our regular customers was a guy we called Snake cause he had a snake tattoo. Yeah, we were original. He used to come in daily and would put the moves so to speak on Jean, the Breakfast Assistant. She was not in to Snake. I like to think that Snake moved to Mechanicsville and opened a carwash. It is a small dream of mine.

Cedar County - Mechanicsville

Cedar County - Stanwood
Stanwood – I’ve never had the desire to get a tattoo in my life. Mostly because I’m terrified of hepatitis. That being said, seems like a reputable place.

Cedar County - Stanwood

Cedar County - Stanwood
My favorite kind of thirst trap.

Cedar County - Clarence
Clarence – Metaphysical Geodes?

Cedar County - Clarence

Cedar County - Clarence

Cedar County - Clarence

Cedar County - Clarence

Cedar County - Clarence

Cedar County - Clarence

Clinton County - Wheatland
Wheatland

Clinton County - Calamus
Calamus

Clinton County - Calamus

Clinton County - Lost Nation
Lost Nation

Clinton County - Lost Nation

Clinton County - Lost Nation
I have questions…

Clinton County - Toronto
Toronto

Cedar County - Bennett
Bennett

Cedar County - Bennett
I’m not a military expert, but I wouldn’t paint my military aircrafts red. Would seem to make it easier to shoot them down.

Cedar County - Tipton
Tipton

Cedar County - Tipton

Cedar County - Tipton

Cedar County - Tipton

Cedar County - Tipton

Cedar County - Tipton
The concept of this mural is one of my favorites I have seen.

Muscatine County - Wilton
Wilton – This place is literally NEVER open!

Muscatine County - Wilton
I think this is the LSD training rolling into Wilton.

Muscatine County - Wilton

There is one more collection of images from this road trip still left to share.