Category Archives: Baier

Alexis, Alisa, Anders, Andree, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Becca, Becky, Bethany, Bill, Billy, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Dae Hee, Derrick, Dory, Elainie, Evie, Flat Earth Joe, Frank, Geri, Grandma, Iowa State, Jason, Jaxon, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Johnathan, Jonah, Jorge, Kanoa, Linda, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nora, Pastor Sarah, Russell, Sara, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Suzie, Teresa, Vest, Willy, Youth Group

Gratitudo

November 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Happy Thanksgiving! Every year on Thanksgiving I like to think about my many, many blessings. I know, real original. You should feel free to try it sometime. But make sure you let everybody know that I invented gratitude.

I am thankful for my family, no matter how family is defined:

I am thankful for my friends:

I am blessed with an amazing church family:

I am blessed with a decent job and work friends that I don’t mind seeing more than 40 hours a week:

I’m blessed to share my house with Naima:

This is only a small sampling of my blessings, but I feel to go on much longer would sound like boasting. Thank all of you for choosing to be part of my life!

Animals, Baier, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Ernie, Event, Faust, House, James, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Logan, Monica, Russell, Sara, Scottie D., Shannon, Steve, Teresa

2009-05-29

September 1, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

There are a wide variety of pictures in the folder 2009-05-29. They range from pictures of socks that Shannon made to Ernie trimming trees to baby worst birds to invites to my housewarming party to pictures Sara took at my housewarming party.

The guy in the picture with me and Jesse was my neighbor across the street from me. He would sometimes drop by at all hours of the night. He was a good guy, but his struggles overcame him and he passed away a couple years after this picture was taken.

However, looking at these pictures, it does inspire me to bring back the birthday party in 2020. I’m about 95% sure that I will.

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:

The Fruit of the Mystery Trees
Mr. Bunyan
Memorial Day Backyard
Shindy
Housewarming Invites

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

Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Flat Earth Joe, Frank, Iowa State, Jason, Jesse, Jorge, Laura, Linda, Lowell, Micky, Pastor Sarah, Robert, Russell, Shannon, Teresa, Tim, Toby, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 15 Final Results

April 14, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

6 days ago another college basketball season sadly came to an end. While it was one of the most exciting tournaments in history, it was bittersweet as the Cyclones were eliminated in the 1st Round.

Now anybody that watched Iowa State’s mercurial season knew that there was a good chance that would happen. When I saw they were playing Ohio State, I was 95% that they would lose in the 1st Round. Ohio State was a completely garbage team that didn’t even belong in the tournament. Iowa State struggled all season with garbage teams.

Despite that, I still picked Iowa State to win it all in my bracket because I don’t pick against my rooting interests.

I don’t pick Iowa State to lose.
I don’t pick Duke to win the National Championship.
I don’t pick Michigan State to win the National Championship.
I don’t pick Liberty to win a single game.

When the overtime was over in Minneapolis on Monday night, the Virginia Cavaliers were the National Champions and Becky Parmelee won her first ever Roundball Oracles crown. Russell Kennerly won his first ever The Sara for last place adult.

Becky’s name has been added to the List of Immortals:

2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Paul Golden’s iron grip on the throne has been released.

On the other end of the spectrum, Russell Kennerly adds his name to past “The Sara” winners:

The Sara
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The trophies will be in their possession shortly.

Here are the final standings:

RANK	TEAM NAME	SCORE	CORRECT	BEST SCORE	BEST CORRECT	CHAMPION
STANDINGS
1	Becky Perky	281	45	281	45	Virginia (112)
2	Linda Bennett	265	45	265	45	Virginia (93)
3	Michelle Haupt	242	40	242	40	Gonzaga (150)
4	Lowell Davis	242	45	242	45	Duke (148)
5	Angie DeWaard	242	41	242	41	Virginia (183)
6	Dawn Krause	239	42	239	42	N. Carolina (146)
7	Sean Clubine	237	44	237	44	Duke (152)
8	Paul Golden	237	43	237	43	Duke (135)
9	Rachel Gildersleeve	237	42	237	42	Iowa St. (125)
10	Jason Baier	236	41	236	41	Duke (159)
11	Jesse Howard	231	42	231	42	Duke (143)
12	Michael Augustin	230	43	230	43	Gonzaga (165)
13	Corey Faust	225	39	225	39	Duke (153)
14	Derek Dohrman	224	43	224	43	Duke (160)
15	Shannon Bardole	224	39	224	39	Gonzaga (138)
16	Cathie Raley	223	41	223	41	Duke (137)
17	Jordan Toot	221	40	221	40	N. Carolina (128)
18	Robert Henning	220	39	220	39	Duke (150)
19	FHMeiners	219	42	219	42	Duke (182)
20	Brandon Kahler	210	40	210	40	Duke (125)
21	Jackson Faust	209	38	209	38	Kentucky (126)
22	Which Mascot Would Win in a Fight	202	34	202	34	Iowa St. (150)
23	Bill Wentworth	202	40	202	40	Duke (105)
24	Ben Baier	201	36	201	36	Iowa St. (173)
25	Derrick Gorshe	201	38	201	38	Duke (128)
26	Christopher Bennett	198	40	198	40	Iowa St. (158)
27	Elizabeth Nordeen	196	41	196	41	Iowa St. (149)
28	Jason Stensland	195	39	195	39	N. Carolina (167)
29	Olivia Baier	195	32	195	32	Yale (155)
30	tim peterson	193	39	193	39	Duke (160)
31	William McAlpine	192	36	192	36	N. Carolina (165)
32	Jorge Rios	189	36	189	36	Iowa St. (150)
33	Sarah Duffel	189	34	189	34	Michigan St. (112)
34	Toby Sebring	185	36	185	36	Duke (144)
35	Joseph Lynch	181	38	181	38	Iowa St. (167)
36	Teresa Kahler	181	35	181	35	Iowa St. (124)
37	Will Baier	177	33	177	33	Duke (164)
38	Jon DeWaard	173	36	173	36	Duke (148)
39	Carrie Baier	170	34	170	34	Michigan St. (177)
40	Laura Priest	166	36	166	36	N. Carolina (155)
41	Sean Gildersleeve	161	31	161	31	Iowa St. (125)
42	Russell Kennerly	160	34	160	34	Villanova (145)
43	JJ Baier	150	25	150	25	Seton Hall (181)

If you are wondering, JJ Baier is 7 years old and isn’t eligible for “The Sara”.

Now that is behind us, it isn’t too early to start looking at what kind of team Iowa State will have next year.

Next year could be a potential step back for the Cyclones. They lose 3 seniors, including their starting point guard in Babb and leading scorer in Shayok. They are also losing Wigginton and THT to the NBA. Talented post Lard has also left the team and intends to transfer.

Iowa State has currently signed 3 players for the upcoming class. Currently, none of the freshman they have signed are highly ranked, but they all have the potential to be solid contributors. 2 in particular will be interesting to watch.

Marcedus Leech is perhaps the most intriguing. He was formerly a 5 star guy and one of the most recruited players in the country. 2 years ago he had a gruesome leg injury similar to the one Paul George suffered. Almost every school backed off, except Iowa State. Leech rewarded the Cyclones for their loyalty. If he gets back to what he was, he will be the steal of the recruiting class.

Tre Jackson is another interesting player. He was under recruited and didn’t really get many major offers until last summer. He is a shooter and a good athlete that recently dominated the Carolinas Classic by scoring 38 points and hitting eight 3 pointers. With so many guards leaving, Jackson will have a shot at getting some playing time.

Luke Anderson is the final commit. He will be a stretch 4 or 5. Even with the loss of Lard, Iowa State is still fairly stocked in the post with Jacobson and Conditt playing big roles this season and with Solomon Young coming back from an injury that sidelined him for a year and a half. That will give Anderson time to add some bulk to his body.

Another newcomer that I anticipate starting for the Cyclones next season is Prentiss Nixon. He sat out last season after transferring from Colorado State. The 6-2 point guard averaged over 16 points a game with the Rams. I anticipate he will be the starting point guard. He might not have Babb’s overall game, but he will be more of a scoring threat from the point.

Adding proven college players in Nixon and Young back to a returning nucleus of Halliburton, Jacobson, and Conditt, the Cyclones will still be pretty decent next season. How good they can be will depend on what a couple players buried on the bench last season are able to bring. Both Zion Griffin and Terrence Lewis were highly regarded coming out of high school. Zion was slowed at the beginning of last season with an injury and never really broke into the rotation. Lewis showed flashes, but got buried on the bench after Lard and Wigginton returned from injuries and suspension. Both could take great leaps next season if they can show some consistency. The potential is there.

The other unknown variable for next season is Iowa State currently has 3 scholarships open for next season.

I expect Iowa State to add 1 more freshman. Possibly Caleb Grill from Wichita. 1 sit out transfer. 1 graduate transfer.

Another possibility would be to leave one of those scholarships open for the 2020 class. As it sits now, Iowa State will only have 2 seniors on next year’s squad in Nixon and Jacobson.

The 2020 class is loaded and Iowa State is sitting in a good spot with a few very highly regarded recruits in Xavier Foster, Dudley Blackwell, and Ben Carlson.

Either way, I can’t wait for college basketball season to start again.

Andree, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Cathie, Dawn, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Laura, Linda, Lowell, Micky, Nader, Nate, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shannon, Tim, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 15

March 17, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

It is time once again for the greatest sporting event of year. It is that time known as March Madness. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Once again, I will be sponsoring a pool. There is not cost to enter the pool, except for pride.

The winner gets a trophy. The dead last place person gets a trophy known as The Sara.

By winning, you get your name etched on the list of immortals:

PAST ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPIONS

Past Roundball Oracle Champions:

2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Paul’s repeat championship definitely puts a target square on his back.

But I said that there are 2 trophies. The 2nd trophy, The Sara, goes to the adult that finishes dead last, while trying. A person can not tank on purpose and win The Sara. The reason The Sara winner has to be an adult is that I don’t want to mock children, to their face. Probably a better rule would be that to “win” The Sara, you have to be at least a teenager. I have no problem mocking teenagers to their face. I do it pretty much every Wednesday night at Youth Group.

Past “The Sara” Winners:

The Sara

2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole – now Bardole-Foley
2016 – Laura Priest – now Miller
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The Sara doesn’t have the long storied history of the championship trophy, but it will get there. I have no doubts.

Last year, 35 combatants threw their hats into the ring. Here are the standings from last year:

2018 STANDINGS
RANK	TEAM NAME	SCORE	CORRECT	BEST SCORE	BEST CORRECT	CHAMPION
1	Paul Golden	248	40	248	40	Duke (175)
2	Dawn Krause	243	38	243	38	Villanova (132)
3	Christopher Bennett	243	37	243	37	Villanova (153)
4	tim peterson	232	41	232	41	Michigan St. (165)
5	Michelle Haupt	232	35	232	35	Villanova (182)
6	Nate Miller	230	37	230	37	Villanova (159)
7	Jordan Toot	224	33	224	33	Villanova (108)
8	Corey Faust	223	34	223	34	Villanova (153)
9	Angie DeWaard	221	34	221	34	Villanova (201)
10	Rachel Johnson	219	39	219	39	Kansas (178)
11	Lowell Davis	215	38	215	38	Virginia (152)
12	Benjamin Baier	213	33	213	33	Virginia (112)
13	Derek Dohrman	205	36	205	36	Virginia (155)
14	Cathie Raley	204	35	204	35	Virginia (138)
15	Bill Wentworth	200	34	200	34	N. Carolina (97)
16	Sean Gildersleeve	198	35	198	35	Michigan St. (145)
17	Linda Bennett	195	36	195	36	Kansas (145)
18	Jesse Howard	195	35	195	35	Duke (146)
19	Olivia Baier	188	33	188	33	Virginia (133)
20	Toby Sebring	185	32	185	32	Arizona (148)
21	Russell Kennerly	184	33	184	33	Virginia (161)
22	Jackson Faust	182	32	182	32	Auburn (124)
23	Sean Clubine	173	33	173	33	N. Carolina (151)
24	Jason Baier	173	30	173	30	Virginia (159)
25	Michael Augustin	167	31	167	31	Virginia (186)
26	Brandon Kahler	166	33	166	33	Kansas (133)
27	Nader Parsaei	166	33	166	33	St. Bona. (170)
28	Andree Jauhari	165	32	165	32	Virginia (145)
29	Elizabeth Nordeen	165	32	165	32	N. Carolina (173)
30	Carrie Baier	162	31	162	31	Gonzaga (144)
31	Laura Priest	158	32	158	32	Duke (125)
32	FHMeiners	156	31	156	31	Kansas (167)
33	Becky Perky	152	32	152	32	Kansas (168)
34	Will Baier	148	25	148	25	Marshall (113)
35	Robert Henning	141	28	141	28	Kansas (156)

The rules are as follows:

Round 1 = 1 point + seed

Round 2 = 2 points + seed

Round 3 = 4 points + seed

Round 4 = 8 points + seed

Round 5 = 16 points + seed

Rounds 6 = 32 points + seed

I can tell that you are already sold and just want to know how to get into this competition, so that you can battle it out and possibly get your name on “The List of Immortals”. It is easy enough, just click on the link below:

Roundball Oracles – Year 15

Good luck! I know you will fare well!

9 Emotions Project, Alexis, Anders, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Bethany, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Colleen, Derrick, Elainie, Flat Earth Joe, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Johnathan, Jorge, Laura, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nora, Russell, Sara, Shannon, State Fair, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Willy

Blessings – 2018

November 22, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! It is the time of year where we are supposed to count our blessings.

I thought I would share a few of my current blessings:

I am blessed with a great family!

I have plenty of friends that share my love for the Cyclones!

I have a job I don’t hate going to, where I work with several people I don’t want to punch in the face.

I have an amazing church family!

I have an amazing friends family!

I’m blessed to share my life with Naima!

This is really just a handful of the blessings in my life! But I’m already getting this out late, so I’ll cut if off here. I’ll just end with a passage from a Rob Bell NOOMA video that really spoke to me:

“So the verse in First Timothy, it says command those that are rich to not put their hope in wealth… and then it goes on and it continues… and it says, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

That phrase, a God that richly provides us with everything. All that we have is a gift.

Food. It is a gift.

Clothes. Gift.

Roof. Gift.

That breath you just took. It’s a gift.

Now there are some that will say: No, you don’t understand. I’ve worked for what I have. I deserve it. It is mine. But like it says in the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8: You may say to yourself, my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your God, because it is God that gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

I thank God for the embarrassment of riches in my life!

Andree, Baier, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, Photo Journal, Russell

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 56

September 21, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

A few weeks back I got together with my bros from the West Ames Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire. It might have been the first time we have been together all year.

We ate at the worst restaurant in Ames and went to the worst movie in theaters at that time, but I let all that slide as long as they agreed to pose for Page 56 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. Which they did!

Page 56 – Use framing to create a photograph within a photograph.

While only one picture can be physically adhered into the physical THE PHOTO JOURNAL, I did take a couple others.

I didn’t really give them any direction, other than to look through the window. I even let them choose where they sat on the firetruck. I wanted the picture to be about who they are and the decisions they made. Then you can figure out where they chose to sit, hold the window, and look says about each of them as a person.

Next time we check-in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, we might look at Pages 78-79 or maybe Pages 48-49.

+++++++

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you certainly heard about the senseless murder of Celia Barquin Aroamena. She was a former Iowa State golfer that was finishing up her Engineering degree. She was the European Amateur Champion. She was 2018 Big 12 Champion. She competed at the U.S. Open. On Saturday she was supposed to be honored as the Iowa State 2018 Female Athlete of the Year at the Iowa State football game. All reports are that as great of an athlete as she was, she was just as great of a person.

Monday morning, while she was practicing her craft, a man came out of the woods that line the golf course and murdered her. No real reason for it. He had been fantasizing about murdering a woman and so he did.

If you think about it for a million years, you couldn’t make sense of it.

On Tuesday, Iowa State Athletic Director sent out the following letter:

Sept. 18, 2018

Dear Cyclone fans,

It is with a very heavy heart that I share thoughts on the tragic passing of our former women’s golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena. Celia, who was the Big 12 Champion last year, was scheduled to be honored at this week’s home football game as our Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Celia, who is from Spain, was a fifth-year senior planning to graduate this spring with a degree in civil engineering.

Although the details of her passing are still being investigated, it is believed she was the victim of a senseless act of random violence committed by a total stranger, in broad daylight, while playing golf at the Coldwater Golf Course. This situation clearly cuts at the very core of our community, our institution and especially our athletics program.

I wish there were words or actions that would make this all better. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. Losing one of our student-athletes is like losing a child. We are all devastated and heart-broken.

We also know that we must carry on in the same spirit that Celia lived her life. She was a passionate, caring and vibrant young lady who was so proud to be a Cyclone. She attended all the sporting events of her fellow student-athletes and was so excited to be selected as our 2018 Female Athlete of the Year. In fact, when she was told she was going to be honored on the field at this Saturday’s football game, she broke down and cried.

The purpose of this letter is to share with you we plan to move forward with honoring Celia on Saturday at the home football game. We will honor her with a video tribute and a moment of silence, prior to the marching band playing the national anthem. The tribute will take place at approximately 10:50 a.m. We strongly encourage all Cyclone fans to be in their seats by 10:45 a.m. to pay tribute and show her grieving teammates, coaches and friends, what it feels like to be fully embraced by Cyclone Nation.

I look forward to seeing you in the stadium Saturday morning.

Go Cyclones!

Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics

Also on Tuesday, Celia’s teammates requested that fans wear yellow to the game. It was Celia’s favorite color. So if you are going to the game on Saturday, please be there on time for the moment of silence and wear yellow to honor Celia.

The football team will be wearing her initials on their helmet. Akron will also do that.

On a personal note, the man that murdered Celia was homeless. He lived in the woods behind where I work:

There are usually several people living back there. I’ve walked those woods several times and never feared for my safety, but I know a co-worker that wears a gun when he walks back there.

When I think about the whole situation, the one thought that keeps crossing my mind is, “We can do better. We can do better. We can do better…”

+++++++

A reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is BOREDOM!

BOREDOM!

A BOREDOM photo is a photo of somebody that is experiencing BOREDOM or an activity you do to fight BOREDOM.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Baier, Black & White, Blogging, Flowers, History, Macro, Road Trip

05-10-08 – A Tale of Gypsum Junk

June 2, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in today’s collection come from the folder 05-10-08.

These pictures came from a road trip to Fort Dodge I went on with Jason Baier. A road trip that ended with us coming face to face with a gypsum penis. What is more, that was the ultimate goal of the road trip.

This journey started when I was reading a magazine on the greatest hoaxes in history. One of the hoaxes was the Cardiff Giant. I’m not going to go into an incredible amount of detail, but what is important to know is that the gypsum that made up the Cardiff Giant came from Fort Dodge. It was purchased in Fort Dodge. Loaded on a train in Boone. Shipped to Chicago. Carved in Chicago. Then buried and dug up in a farm near Cardiff, New York.

The original Cardiff Giant is in a museum in Cooperstown, New York. A replica is in Fort Dodge. A pale and pathetic copy is housed at Living History Farms. The Living History Farms Giant is more modest than the original Giant. He covers his gypsum junk with his hands. The Fort Dodge Giant and the original just leaves it out there, blowing in the wind.

Some of the pictures below have never been made public before because Baier and I very flagrantly broke some museum rules. I hesitate to publish these photos because he is now a big time white collar criminal with infinite PTO and numerous minions. I would hate for our youthful indiscretions come back to haunt a man of his stature. However, I’ve done no research to back this up, I think the statue of limitations on our museum crimes has passed. I think he will be safe.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Fort Dodge to meet the Cardiff Giant and his gypsum junk:

I learned the hard way that not all people consider glorious pictures of gypsum junk to be appropriate. Back when I was using Photobucket to store my blog images, pictures of The Cardiff Giant that showed him in his full glory were flagged and then taken down. I can feel only pity for people that can’t appreciate great art.

I replaced the images that showed images with his anatomy with pictures like this:

Yeah. Lame.

What isn’t lame is that by adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery I was able to restore the following historical “An Artist’s Notebook” posts to their original glory:

LESSONS LEARNED IN A GIANT’S TOWN

TOO HOT FOR PHOTOBUCKET

There are more pictures from the Cardiff Giant Road Trip that I didn’t share here. You can see them by clicking on the link below:

THE CARDIFF GIANT ROAD TRIP

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Little White Lye Soap… I know… but this time action photos… and Mother’s Day.

Baier, Road Trip, Scottie D., Town Sign Project, Travel

The Town Sign Project Vol. 7

June 1, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Way back on my birthday I decided to make a solo tenderloining trip to Winterset. Scottie D. had been ducking the Winterset trip for several months now and everybody else seemed to have to work on my birthday, so I figured, why not fly solo and take a few pictures for the TOWN SIGN PROJECT while I was on the open road?

I headed down 17 and the went west on 141 for a little ways before pretty much taking 169 the rest of the way to Winterset.

I have to confess that the signs I found on this route were almost universally boring. Almost.

However, I’ll let you make your own assessments:

Madrid, Iowa

Perry, Iowa

Minburn, Iowa

Dallas Center, Iowa

Adel, Iowa

De Soto, Iowa

Winterset, Iowa

Van Meter, Iowa

Granger, Iowa

Madrid is know for caring way too much about high school sports AND The Filling Station.
Perry is known for being a town that racist people like to badmouth.
Minburn is known for having a pretty cool park bathroom.
Dallas Center is known for being the DC of DCG. DCG is known for being the thing that Jason Baier hates the most in the world.
Adel is known for being the hometown of Nile Kinnick. Kinnick is famous for being the last Iowa Hawkeye football player that that didn’t spend time in jail.
De Soto is known for being spelled Desoto.
Winterset is known for being the birthplace of John Wayne and covered bridges.
Van Meter is known for being the birthplace of baseball hall of famer Bob Feller.
Granger is known for having a hot water water tower and a cold water water tower.

You might not have believed me about Minburn having a cool park bathroom, but have a look:

I didn’t just love it because of a “any port in the storm” situation, but there is some truth in that. It is just cool looking.

However, I also want to call attention to a peculiar aspect of the Minburn town sign. Remember the town sign?

Minburn Town Sign

It has a bench behind it:

If you were to sit down on this bench, you would be staring at a brick wall:

I would love to know the story behind the Minburn bench with a view of a brick wall. If anybody knows, let me know!

I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance to work on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT again, but I’m hoping to go snooping up around the Rolf, Iowa area in the nearish future next.

The results of my tenderloining adventure will be published soon. I know a few of you have been waiting on my official ruling.

Baier, Mom, Road Trip, Teresa, Town Sign Project

The Town Sign Project: Vol 5

April 25, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

On Friday and Saturday of last week I did a little bit of Town Sign harvesting. The full story will follow the new signs, but I’ll just say that I on both trips I made some (by my standards) pretty cool discoveries.

Elkhart, Iowa

Huxley, Iowa

Cooper, Iowa

Jamaica, Iowa

Dawson, Iowa

Angus, Iowa

Rippey, Iowa

Berkley, Iowa

On Friday after I clocked out and put down my axe at the Computer Mine I traveled down to Rocket Fizz in Ankeny. I have been in Elizabeth’s debt for something like 4 months. I have owed her 2 Pepsi’s in glass bottles. My usual source in Boone has dried up lately, so decided it was best I get to Ankeny’s leading proprietor of craft sodas to end this problem.

On my way back to Boone, I swung through Elkhart to harvest their town sign. Until Friday, the only thing I knew about Elkhart was it was the home of this gross dude I knew from my ill-fated time in the Jaycees. After my trip on Friday, now I know that and that some person has a working pop machine in their front yard:

Based on its (ahem) rustic appearance I didn’t throw any money into it, but I believe it works because the sign attached to the front reads:

If you have any problems with this (unintelligible word) please call (redacted) or come to the door. Money or pop will be refunded.

Some day, I will save up my quarters and give this machine a shot.

I have nothing really to say about going through Huxley. It is a speed trap masquerading as a town. The only reason I acknowledge its existence is because the Baier fam lives there.

I had an eventful Saturday morning, but I’ll leave those events for a future entry in An Artist’s Notebook. It will be sufficient to say that I met Teresa and Mom in Jefferson at A&W for lunch. After we parted way, I headed south to see what I could see.

The first town I came across was Cooper. Cooper doesn’t have what I would call a conventional town sign, so I snapped a picture of the sign that welcomes people to Cooper on the bike trail that cuts through town. I really enjoyed cooper, mainly because of this sign:

Cooper really seems to have a sense of humor. According to the census, they are down to more like 30 citizens now.

The other town I really want to point out is Angus. Angus is a ghost town now. Only, as near as I can tell, the only thing left of it is a cemetery a sign and marker that reads:

Whiskey Row in Angus

In the 1860s, when Angus had a population of about 7800, sixteen saloons were on this road which is the Greene-Boone County line. Several of the bar rooms were centered on the county line, hence in case of trouble patrons could move from one side of the barrom to the other side and avoid arrest by the officers of the first county.

Although Angus once had almost 8,000 citizens, within 100 years it was completely gone.

Reminder, you can look at all the THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT pictures by clicking on the link below:

THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT

I hope to be on the prowl for more signs this weekend!

Andree, Baier, Basketball, Commercial, Football, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Nader, Russell, Willy, Work

04-19-08

April 21, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

The following images are from the folder 04-19-08:

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery, I was able to restore the following classic An Artist’s Notebook entries to their original glory:

LITTLE WHITE LYE BONUS

SPRING GAME

If you want to check out more pictures from Iowa State’s 2008 Spring Game, click on the link below:

2008 IOWA STATE CYCLONES FOOTBALL PHOTO GALLERY

Some of these pictures were taken as part of an ad campaign for Shannon’s soap company Little White Lye Soap. The rest are taken from the 2008 Iowa State Spring Game, obviously.

BONUS MEMORY

Racist Starbucks (as opposed to good Starbucks in Nevada, Iowa) has jogged a memory of mine that I’ve been think about lately.

(If you don’t know about Racist Starbucks, a Starbucks recently called the police and had 2 black men arrested who were waiting for a friend to meet them. The fact that Starbucks is racist comes as no surprise to me. I’ve long hated this company. I’ve never once been inside a Starbucks. I’ve unfortunately been drug through a Starbucks drive-thru a few times in my life. Thanks Bethany. You too Kim.)

In another life, when I was running a “restaurant” for the Evil Clown Empire I only called the police to have somebody thrown out of the “restaurant” once. However, I wasn’t even the person that did it. I wasn’t there when they removed him. I think I was running to another store to get product. I only heard about it later.

I believe it was an Iowa State football Saturday, so the store was busier than normal. A drunk homeless person had taken up one of our booths and then passed out. He was there for a couple of hours before the police were called to remove him from the store.

The man was still passed out when the police arrived. The officer grabbed the guy from the back of the head and slammed his face into the table. This woke the guy up and then they escorted him out of the store.

I wonder about what would have happened if I would have been in the store. I know I wouldn’t have taken kindly to the police slamming his head against the table.

I wonder what would have happened if the technology of today existed then. I have no doubt somebody would have videoed the event and it would have ended up on The Facebook, assuming that The Facebook was still for college students and hadn’t been ruined by old people and wasn’t funneling your personal information to the Russians.

I’m sure the conversation with the Son-in-Law (the incompetent boob that was my boss) on the following Monday would have been a hoot.

Next time we take a stroll down memory lane we will probably take even more of a look at some Little White Lye Soap commercial photography.