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.
+++++++
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.