Category Archives: Art

Art, Calendar, Flowers, Macro, Mom, Town Sign Project, Vest

Town Sign Project: Decatur County

December 21, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The February image from the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is a macro image of an allium from my Mom’s yard just starting to bloom.

Tomorrow I will share the March image.

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A few weeks back Vest and I loaded up in the car and toured around Decatur County harvesting their town signs.

Here are some facts about Decatur County:

+ The population is 7,645 making it the 86th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Lucas County and above Monroe County.
+ The county seat is Leon.
+ The largest town is Lamoni.
+ Was organized in 1850.
+ Named after Stephen Decatur, a naval hero from the War of 1812.
+ Home of Graceland University.
+ Home of the smallest incorporated town in Iowa (tied).
+ Major highways are I-35, US-69, and IA-2.
+ Adjacent counties are Clarke, Wayne, and Ringgold.
+ Population peaked in 1920 at 16,566.

The Decatur County Courthouse is pretty cool looking:

The Decatur County Courthouse located in Leon, Iowa.

The Decatur County Freedom Rock is located in Leon, Iowa:

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

50 counties conquered. 50.5% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Decatur County:

Lamoni, Iowa
Welcome to Lamoni
home of GRACELAND UNIVERSITY
Founded 1895
Population: 1,969 (-355)

Leon, Iowa
LEON
Population: 1,822 (-155)

Grand River, Iowa
GRAND RIVER RODEO
AUG 20-21
FRI-SAT 8:00 PM
Population: 196 (-40)

Davis City, Iowa
DAVIS CITY COMMUNITY CENTER
Population: 179 (-25)

Van Wert, Iowa
VAN WERT Community Center
Where friends & family meet
Population: 178 (-52)

Decatur City, Iowa
DECATUR CITY
Population: 175 (-22)

Garden Grove, Iowa
Welcome to GARDEN GROVE
1846
Population: 174 (-37)

Weldon, Iowa
Welcome to WELDON
“Always Home”
Est. 1880
Population: 136 (+9)

Pleasanton, Iowa
PLEASANTON
1838 2007
A Pleasant Place to Live
Population: 32 (-17)

Le Roy, Iowa
LEROY
Est. 1880
Population: 11 (-4)

Decatur County doesn’t have a very good collection of signs. Particularly bad are Van Wert, Davis City, and Grand River, which don’t really have signs so much as signs for their community center or rodeo. When I went through Grand River, the roads around it were heavily under construction and it was difficult to even get into the town, so I will give them some grace. Perhaps there is a sign somewhere that I just couldn’t get to because of all the road construction. I don’t know I’ll get back to Grand River to check that out any time soon though. That area of the state I’ve pretty heavily harvested. However, it isn’t too far from the interstate, so it is something I could check out next time I go to Kansas.

There are a few signs I do really like. Garden Grove has a solid sign. So does Pleasanton. I like the rustic charm of the Decatur City sign. The concrete Leon reminds me of signs I’ve seen in the Flint Hills area of Kansas. Le Roy has a very impressive sign for being a town of 11 people. Although, it will always be confusing to me. Is it Le Roy or is it Leroy? Technically it is Le Roy, so it feels like they misspelled their town name on their own town sign. Which means I’m going to give Best in Show to Weldon. A solid town sign like that is surely the reason that it is the only town in the county that actually gained people between 2010 and 2020.

Weldon – Best in Show – Decatur County

Two towns had alternate town signs:

Leon – Alternate

Garden Grove – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass 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 – Decatur County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Fremont 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 – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Winnebago County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty trail for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will end up in Wayne County.

Art, Black & White, Brandon, Calendar, Candid Portrait, History, Logan, Mom, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins

Cass County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

December 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

It is time I start revealing the images that are included in the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar. Each picture was chosen for one reason or another. I might reveal the reason why those images were picked or I might not. It is a mystery. But the pieces are there, if you can put them together.

I tried to represent all the photo projects I’ve worked on or the pictures I entered into Photo Contests, but I only entered one photo contest this past year and most of those pictures were in last year’s calendar. However, THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT is represented by 3 of the images. 3 of the pictures were auxiliary images taken on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips. THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is represented by 2 images. I also included 2 drone images, even though I barely took any drone images this year. I didn’t include any pictures from THE SELFIE PROJECT, cause nobody wants to stare at this mug for 31 days. I also didn’t include any images from the abandoned POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT. None of them seemed to fit any of the prerequisites that I have inside my head for each month’s image.

Here is the image that graces the front cover:

This picture of a Banksy inspired mural was found on the side of a building in Creston, Iowa. To know me at all is to know that I love Banksy. I took this picture on the last town sign harvesting trip I took with my Mom.

Tomorrow I will reveal January’s image.

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Here is the balance of the images I took on my road trip with Logan and Brandon to harvest the town signs of Cass County:

Cold Springs State Park

Lewis

Hitchcock House

Atlantic

Tree in the Road – Audubon County

Grand Junction – Greene County

Here is the story behind the Tree in the Road from the Travel Iowa website:

This is a Cottonwood tree that has become a landmark in Audubon County. The story is when the county lines were being established the surveyor placed a green cottonwood stick into the ground at the exact point where the lines crossed and grew into the present tree.

The next set of auxiliary images will come from southwest Iowa.

Art, Brandon, Flowers, History, Logan, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Cass County Auxiliary Images Vol. 1

December 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Several weeks back Logan and Brandon accompanied me on a town sign harvesting trip to Cass County Iowa. Here is the first collection of auxiliary images from that trip:

Adair County

Anita

Wiota

Cumberland

Griswold

Cold Springs State Park

I do want to point out that I do not venerate Jesse James. Many criminals in our history our venerated. Some deserve it. Some do not. Jesse James was a trash human being that shouldn’t be thought of as a hero.

There is still another collection of images to come from this amazing road trip to and through Cass County.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Winnebago County

December 14, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A few weeks back I hit the open road to harvest the town signs of Winnebago County.

Here are some facts about Winnebago County:

+ The population is 10,679 making it the 69th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Hancock County and above Guthrie County. (Unrelated question, do you think that whenever teachers ask their classes to pick a number, do they still always pick 69 and the laugh uncontrollably? I bet they still do.)
+ The largest town and county seat is Forest City, which is partially in Hancock County.
+ Founded in 1847.
+ Founded after the Native American tribe also known as the Ho-Chunk.
+ Location of motor home manufacturers Winnebag.
+ Major highways are US-69 and US-9. (Unrelated, but back in the day college students used to steal Highway 69 signs and thought it was hilarious. I bet they still do.)
+ Adjacent counties are Worth, Hancock, Kossuth, and Cerro Gordo.
+ Population peaked in 1940 at 13,972.

The Winnebago Courthouse is pretty sweet. Especially the fountain out front.

The Winnebago Courthouse in Forest City, Iowa.

The Winnebago County Freedom Rock is located in Lake Mills, Iowa.

If you ever want to check out all the Freedom Rocks and Courthouses to date, just click on this link below:

Courthouses and Freedom Rocks

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

49 counties completed. 49.5% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Winnebago County:

Forest City, Iowa (Partially in Hancock County)
Forest City
Population: 4,285 (+134)

Lake Mills, Iowa
LAKE MILLS
EST. 1869
Population: 2,143 (+43)

Buffalo Center, Iowa
WELCOME TO… BUFFALO CENTER
Population: 857 (-48)

Thompson, Iowa
Thompson
Est. 1892
Population: 495 (-7)

Leland, Iowa
WELCOME TO… LELAND
WATERMELON DAYS SINCE 1934
A GREAT PLACE TO CALL HOME.
Population: 249 (-40)

Rake, Iowa
Velkommen
RAKE IOWA
EST. 1900
A Little Bit of Norway And A Lot Of Pride
Population: 186 (-39)

Scarville, Iowa
SCARVILLE
Population: 74 (+2)

I don’t think there is a bad town sign in the bunch. If I had to pick a least favorite, it would probably be Lake Mills or Thompson gets points for the at least using a fun font.

Best in Show is pretty obvious. I like the town signs of Leland and Rake, but really it is all about the Buffalo.

Buffalo Center – Best in Show – Winnebago County

When I worked at the Campus Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire my Breakfast Assistant was a woman named Jean Smith. She was from Buffalo Center, Iowa. Jean passed away a few years after I left for the Computer Mine. She was a fascinating person and have many fond memories of her. I thought about her as I drove through Buffalo Center.

A few towns in Winnebago County have alternate town signs:

Thompson – Alternate

Rake – Alternate

Buffalo Center – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass 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 – Fremont 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 – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Winnebago Count

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will head south to Decatur County.

Art, Black & White, History, Jesse, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Cerro Gordo and Worth County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

December 8, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Here is the balance of images from my road trip with Jesse to harvest the town signs of Cerro Gordo and Worth County:

Mason City

Rock Falls

Plymouth

Grafton

Legend has it this place has great chicken!

Bolan

Kensett

Northwood

Manly

I love the part about the town of Bolan being on David Letterman. Even the people of Bolan’s suburbs. Bolan is an unincorporated community, for the record.

Art, Railroad, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Kossuth County

December 7, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 14 Comments

A few weeks back I made a solo trip to Kossuth County to harvest their town signs. Kossuth County is the largest county in Iowa covering 972 square miles. Pottawattamie County is second, covering 950 square miles. It was twice split into two counties with the northern section broke off into a second county. Giving Iowa 100 counties. First Bancroft County was established in 1851, but then abolished in 1857. It was joined to Kossuth because Bancroft County was determined unusable as farmland. Then in 1870 the same area was designated as Crocker County, but in 1871 the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that this creation violated the constitution because no county can be less than 432 square miles. The area was returned to Kossuth County.

Here are some facts about Kossuth County:

+ The population is 14,828. Making it the 52nd most populous county in Iowa. Below Hamilton County and above Harrison County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Algona.
+ Founded on January 15, 1851.
+ Named after Hungarian politician Lajos Kossuth.
+ Home of Nativity Set carved by Nazi prisoners of war.
+ Major highways are US-18, US-169, IA-9, IA-15, and IA-17.
+ Adjacent counties are: Winnegabo, Hancock, Humboldt, Palo Alto, and Emmet.
+ Population peaked in 1940 at 26,230.

Kossuth County has a pretty nondescript courthouse:

The Kossuth County Courthouse in Algona, Iowa.

The Kossuth County Freedom Rock is located in Whittemore, Iowa.

Something I think is cool about the Kossuth County Freedom Rock display is that the rock is in the middle of a concrete path that makes out a purple ribbon.

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

48 counties completed. 48.5% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Kossuth County:

Algona, Iowa
ALGONA WELCOMES YOU
Population: 5,487 (-73)

Bancroft, Iowa
Bancroft
Garden Spot of Iowa
Population: 699 (-33)

Swea City, Iowa
SWEA CITY
est. 1895
Population: 566 (+30)

Titonka, Iowa
TITONKA
EST 1898
Population: 511 (+35)

Whittemore, Iowa
Welcome To Whittemore
ESTABLISHED 1878
Proud of our past… Excited for our future
Population: 497 (-7)

Burt, Iowa
WELCOME TO BURT
EST. 1881
Population: 418 (-115)

Wesley, IOwa
WESLEY
Quality Life in the Heartland
Population: 391 (+1)

Fenton, Iowa
FENTON
A GOOD TOWN FOR A HOME TOWN
Population: 271 (-8)

Lakota, Iowa
WELCOME TO LAKOTA
Population: 267 (+12)

Lu Verne, Iowa (Partially in Humboldt County)
WELCOME TO LU VERNE
COME AGAIN
Population: 258 (+33)

Lone Rock, Iowa
Lone Rock
Population: 146 (0)

Ledyard, Iowa
WELCOME TO LEDYARD
A PLACE TO COME BACK TO
Population: 121 (-9)

West Bend is also partially in Kossuth County, but since the majority is in Palo Alto County, I will wait to share that sign when I share the signs of Palo Alto County.

I don’t know there is a truly terrible town sign in Kossuth County. I guess I’ll give it to Algona for their sign being mostly corporate, but also hard to read.

As fro Best in Show for Kossuth County? I really like the sign for Lone Rock, but believe it or not, that rock isn’t “the” Lone Rock. Which means there is actually more than one rock in Lone Rock. I like the signs of Whittemore and while I’m not a big tombstone looking town sign guy I like the town signs for Swea City and Titonka. However, it is well known that I am partial to signs that have animals on them. So I’m giving it to Titonka. But Swea City is a really close second.

Titonka – Best in Show – Kossuth County

There are a couple of towns with alternate signs:

Lone Rock Alternate

Bancroft Alternate

Algona Alternate

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass 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 – Fremont 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 – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty trail for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Winnebago County.

Art, Black & White, Travel

NYC – Three

December 4, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse back in 2011. These pictures were all taken around the Statue of Liberty.

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:

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #62 – ALPHA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #62 – BETA

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will still involve New York City.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Bremer County

November 30, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A few weeks back after the semi-annual Howard Family Photo Shoot, I tooled around Bremer County harvesting their town signs. Here are some facts about Bremer County:

+ The population is 24,998 making it the 26th most populous county in Iowa. Below Benton County and above Washington County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Waverly.
+ Named after Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish feminist writer.
+ Home of Wartburg College.
+ Major highways are US-63, US-218, IA-3, IA-27, IA-93, and IA-188.
+ Adjacent counties are Chickasaw, Fayette, Floyd, Black Hawk, Buchanan, and Butler.
+ Is currently at its peak population. Previous high was 24,820 in 1980.

Bremer County has a fair looking courthouse:

Bremer County Courthouse in Waverly, Iowa.

The Bremer County Freedom Rock is located in Readlyn, Iowa:

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

PURPLE=COMPLETED

47 counties completed. 47.5% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Bremer County:

Waverly, Iowa
WAVERLY WELCOMES YOU
SISTER CITY EISENACH, GERMANY
Population: 10,394 (+520)

Sumner, Iowa (Partially in Fayette County)
Welcome to Sumner
Population: 2,030 (+2)

Denver, Iowa
Welcome to DENVER
The Mile Wide City
Population: 1,919 (+139)

Tripoli, Iowa
TRIPOLI WELCOMES YOU
Population: 1,191 (-122)

Janesville, Iowa (Partially in Black Hawk County)
EST. 1849
JANESVILLE
WELCOME
The Oldest City in Bremer and Black Hawk County
Population: 1,034 (+104)

Readlyn, Iowa
READLYN
“857 friendly PEOPLE”
& one old GRUMP
WELCOME TO READLYN
Population: 845 (+37)

Plainfield, Iowa
PLAINFIELD
THE HEART OF A RURAL COMMUNITY
Population: 393 (-43)

Frederika, Iowa
Welcome to Frederika
Est. 1896
Gem of the Wapsie
Population: 204 (+21)

Horton, Iowa (Unincorporated)
HORTON
Est. 1856

Maxfield, Iowa – Ghost Town
“Welcome to Maxfield”

I actually don’t think there is a bad town sign in Bremer County. Even the corporate art types like Sumner manage to be interesting. So I’m not awarding a worst town sign in Bremer County award.

Best in Show is very obvious. But if towns like Plainfield and Denver and Frederika weren’t in the same county as Readlyn they could very easily win Best in Show.

Readlyn – Best in Show – Bremer County

There is only one town with an alternate town sign:

Readlyn – Alternate

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass 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 – Fremont 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 – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

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

Animals, Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, History, Jesse, Sarah Toot, Travel

NYC – Two

November 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse back in 2011. Most of these pictures are taken around Ellis Island, but some are taken where all the white collar criminals hang out. It was scary hanging out in such a bad neighborhood, but we got in and out without anybody getting us involved in shorting stocks.

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:

MORE RANDOM NYC – ELLIS ISLAND AND FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will also involve New York City.

Art, Flowers, History, Jesse, Lensbaby, Movies, Music, Road Trip

Cerro Gordo and Worth County Auxiliary Images Vol. 1

November 24, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back Jesse and I traveled up north to harvest the town signs of Cerro Gordo and Worth County. This trip included a stop at the Music Man Square in Mason City. Music Man Square is devoted to the history of famous composer. Wilson is most famous for writing the Iowa State pregame song “For I, For S”. Some people recognize the name because he wrote THE MUSIC MAN too. I think there is some little ditty you hear coming out of Iowa City now and again that he also wrote. A song that is based on another one of his hits, “It’s Begging to Look a Lot Like Christmas”. But he is definitely best known for “For I, For S”.

Here is the first collection of pictures from the road trip:

Rockwell

Mason City

The starts the T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!

If you think I was watching the inferior but still great Matthew Broderick version of THE MUSIC MAN that you can watch for free on YouTube while I was writing this post, well you would be right! One of the greatest musicals ever.