Category Archives: Christianity

WPC – WEEK 305 – MUSIC

While we have been working on sorting things at my Mom’s house, we recently have come through a whole pile of genealogy stuff. While sorting through it, I thought I would share a bit of family history from my Dad’s side of the family. It is a story I’ve known, but never knew all the details that well. Through a series of 6 newspaper clippings, I’m going to share the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief second marriage.

Handschin-Kessler Wedding
Sunday, December 31st

After morning services at the Central Church of Christ Sunday, December 31st, a wedding ceremony was solemnized in which Mrs. Bernice Kessler, daughter of Mr. anad Mrs. O.M. Needham, 1517 Sixth street, became the bride of Mr. Maurice Handschin of Sioux City, Iowa. The Rev. G. Harvey Sutton officiated at the double ring ceremony in his study. Attending the couple were Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Spratt of Boone.

For her wedding, the bride wore an attractive dress of plaid sheer wool with black accessories.

Later in the day, a wedding supper was served at the Spratt Restaurant, seventeen being present for the event. Both the bride and bridegroom attended Boone High school and have many friends in Boone who will be interested in reading of their marriage. The bride is employed at the Rollins Hosiery Mill and Mr. Handschin is employed by Swift Packing company at Sioux City, where the couple will make their home.

The articles are printed on thermal paper, it appears, and are not in good shape. Here is what it looks like:



There will be more to the story tomorrow.

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The language of MUSIC seemed to speak to several people this week. Of course, that is MUSIC to my ears, or maybe MUSIC to my eyes.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:


WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 305- MUSIC - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 305- MUSIC - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 305- MUSIC - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

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 306 - ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE

Architecture! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is an ARCHITECTURE image? Simply put ARCHITECTURE photography is the photographing of structures. Buildings mostly, but there are other types of structures. Bridges. Towers. Bleachers. Try to capture a beautiful construction or parts of it in an interesting way.

Think on the following quote when you think about creating your ARCHITECTURE image:

Even a brick wants to be something.
-Louis Kahn

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 our idea of MUSIC in this place that is created by a computer architect next Monday.

Marion County Auxiliary Images

This is a reminder that if you are interested in entering the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, the deadline is next Wednesday:


Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyer - 2021

To download the entry form and the rules, click on the link below:

Entry Form

A special thanks to Michelle for modifying the form so you don’t have to print it 6 times.

Also, while I am running the contest, I am not judging it. So don’t worry about me recognizing your images. Doesn’t matter if I do, cause I’m not a judge!

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Back in May I cruised around Marion County to harvest their town signs. This was a solo trip and I didn’t take a ton of auxiliary images as I was on somewhat of a time crunch. I had to get to a birthday party at a carousel. Also, I have been to the two biggest towns in Marion County (Pella and Knoxville) a few times, so I didn’t really do much exploring in those towns. Still, I managed to take a few auxiliary images:


Marion County - Pella
Pella

Marion County

Marion County - Harvey
Harvey

Marion County - Harvey

Marion County - Harvey

Marion County - Harvey

Marion County - Harvey

Marion County - Harvey

Marion County - Bussey
Bussey

Marion County - Bussey

Marion County - Bussey

Marion County - Hamilton
Hamilton

Marion County - Hamilton

Marion County
Attica

Marion County

Marion County - Melcher-Dallas
Melcher-Dallas

Marion County - Melcher-Dallas

Marion County - Melcher-Dallas

Marion County - Melcher-Dallas

Marion County - Knoxville
Knoxville

Marion County - Knoxville

Marion County - Knoxville

It was a good trip and an even better birthday party.

Adair County Auxiliary Images

Back in early May I drove around Adair County to harvest their town signs. I also harvested some town signs in Clarke County. This was a solo trip.

Here are some of the non-town sign pictures I took while cruising around:


Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County
Greenfield

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County
Fontanelle

Adair County

Adair County
It is sad that this is being painted over.

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County
Bridgewater

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Adair County

Union County
Creston

Clarke County
Osceola

Clarke County
Woodburn

Clarke County

Clarke County

Clarke County

Clarke County
Osceola, again

Clarke County

Clarke County

One thing I missed in Adair County that I need to hit at some point is the Jesse James Historical Site.

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


WEEK 304 - HISTORY
HISTORY

HISTORY! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a HISTORY photo? A HISTORY photo is any picture that records something that happened in the past. For example, in the theme reveal picture is the break room (building) for the employees of a Cracker Jack factory that has been gone for 50 years. A HISTORY picture could be a picture of a museum or an old building or a mural that depicts a HISTOR(Y)IC event. Or it could be a picture of a HISTOR(Y)ICAL artifact. It doesn’t need to be a piece of HISTORY that is as significant as Cracker Jack. It could be personal HISTORY.

Happy photo harvesting!

Madison County and Union County Auxiliary Images – 3

This is the third and final collection of images I took while harvesting the town signs of Madison and Union County. Almost all these pictures were taken in Union County, but a few were taken in Adair County and Clarke County.

This was the last town sign harvesting trip I ever took with my Mom.


Adair County - Orient
Orient

Adair County - Orient

Adair County - Orient

Adair County - Orient

Adair County - Orient

Adair County - Orient

Adair County - Orient

Union County - Creston
Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Creston

Union County - Cromwell
Cromwell

Union County - Cromwell

Union County - Kent
Kent

Union County

Union County

Union County - Afton
Afton

Union County - Afton

Union County - Afton

Union County - Thayer
Thayer

Union County - Thayer

Clarke County - Murray
Murray

I wish that Harvey’s Chicken Inn was still in business. I bet the place was the most happening place back in the day.

Madison County and Union County Auxiliary Images – 2

This is the second collection of “other” images I took while harvesting the town signs of Madison and Union County. This was the last town sign harvesting trip I ever took with my Mom.

All of the pictures in this collection were taken in Madison County. St. Charles, East Peru, Truro, and Macksburg.


Madison County - Saint Charles
Saint Charles
Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Saint Charles

Madison County - Truro
Truro

Madison County - Truro

Madison County - Truro

Madison County - Truro

Madison County - Truro

Madison County - East Peru
East Peru

Madison County - East Peru

Madison County - Macksburg
Macksburg

Madison County - Macksburg

Madison County - Macksburg

Madison County - Macksburg

There is one more collection of pictures from this road trip still to come.

Franklin County Auxiliary Images

Back in March I made a solo trip up to Franklin County to harvest the town signs that I was missing. Here are some of the auxiliary images I took while I was up there.


Franklin County - Popejoy
Popejoy

Franklin County - Bradford
Bradford

Franklin County - Bradford

Franklin County - Hampton
Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Chapin
Chapin

Franklin County - Chapin

Franklin County - Chapin

Franklin County - Chapin

Franklin County - Chapin

Franklin County - Chapin

Franklin County - Sheffield
Sheffield

Franklin County - Sheffield

Franklin County - Hampton
Hampton Again

Franklin County - Geneva
Geneva

Franklin County - Geneva

Franklin County - Geneva

Franklin County - Hampton
Beeds Lake State Park

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Hampton

Franklin County - Coulter
Coulter

Franklin County - Coulter

Franklin County - Coulter

Franklin County - Coulter

Franklin County - Coulter

Franklin County - Coulter

Franklin County is an interesting county. A collection of tiny towns, a nice state park, and a Hardee’s for me to get my Hardee’s breakfast fix.

Audubon and Guthrie County Auxiliary Images: Vol 2

Here is the second collection of auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Audubon and Guthrie County with my Mom. The thing is that none of these pictures were taken in Guthrie County and the biggest chunk of them was taken in Shelby County. That is #roadtriplife.


Audubon County
Brayton

Audubon County

Audubon County

Audubon County
Exira

Audubon County

Audubon County - Exira
I would love to see the size of the fire truck that came out that door.

Shelby County - Elk Horn
Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Shelby County - Elk Horn

Audubon County - Kimballton
Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

Audubon County - Kimballton

There is one more collection of photos from this road trip out there.

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


WEEK 299 - WORDS
WORDS

But what is a WORDS image? I know many of you didn’t come here fore reading! Top to bottom, left to right… a group of words together is called a sentence. Take Tylenol for any headaches… Midol for any cramps.

But one of the greatest comedies of all-time aside, WORDS are merely collections of letters. You can find WORDS all over the place. Books. Signs. Advertising. Newspapers. Magazines. All over the place. You are literally (used correctly) looking at WORDS right now!

Happy photo harvesting!

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 2

When we left off, I had just won 1st Place in Black and White and 3rd Place in Color at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, but had been completely rejected by the Iowa State Fair for the 4th year in a row.

Whatever I was selling, the judges were not buying. I was despondent, but not discouraged because I knew I had entered some great photos, but they were not what the judges were looking for that year.

2011 comes around. I decided to retire from the Boone County Fair Photo Contest and to start a new way of picking pictures for the Pufferbilly Days. I also had what was probably the peak of my photo contest career at the Iowa State Fair. I got all 4 pictures exhibited. This is extremely hard to do. Thousands of people enter the contest every year. Only 5 of us got all 4 pictures exhibited. You can do the math. It is a big deal.

These are the pictures that were exhibited:


2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - I Recommend Pleasant

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
2nd Place Class 25

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Must Be Truth

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Drenched in Loneliness
Honorable Mention Class 13

For the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest it was the second year of letting other people select my entrants. Dawn, Derrick, Jen, Scott, Russell, and Rebecca chose my entries. Dawn’s choice got 2nd Place in Black and White:


2011 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Radiant Beams
2nd Place – Black and White

I was pretty excited for 2012. I thought I had cracked the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Code, but there is no code. Some years the judge like you. Some years they don’t. In 2012, they like one of my pictures:


2012 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Truth Perception

That year, I decided to retire from the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Then shortly after that, I decided to retire from Photo Contests altogether.

But in 2017, the itch came back. I decided to put on a Washington Wizards Jersey and come out of retirement. Hard. I decided to enter all 3 contests again. I got all Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

I got one picture selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2017 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Little Apple

I had the following people select my entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest: Jim Robbins (yeah that is a long story), Micky, Michelle, Amber, Laura, and Dawn. However, none of the pictures earned a ribbon.

In 2018, my Boone County Fair entries were determined by popular vote:


2018 Boone County Fair
Red

2018 Boone County Fair
Purple

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

I had two pictures selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Peep

2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Christmas Eve Morn

My Pufferbilly Days entries were also selected by popular vote that year:


2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - INRI
1st Place Photoshop

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Freedom Flight
1st Place Photojournalism

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Abandoned (Mill Creek)
3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County

2019 would also be a successful year. I moved to having individuals select my Boone County Fair entrants. Shannon, Michelle, and Logan selected my entries.


2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Red

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

I had one picture selected for exhibition at the Iowa State Fair and it earned a ribbon:


2019 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Entry - Green Little Vaulter
Honorable Mention Class 18

My Pufferbilly Day entries were once again selected by popular vote:


2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Hocks
1st Place Nature

2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Drops
1st Place Photoshop

In 2020 the pandemic hit and all photo contests were cancelled. Which was sad and I think it was avoidable because in a digital age, I think they could have found a way. For example the Iowa State Fair still held its Fine Arts competition.

Which brings us to 2021. I’m currently working on my next embarrassing failure at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. However, I am not going to enter the Boone County Fair this year. There is a reason for this decision. A very good reason. However, I’m not going to share the reason until it becomes official or it falls through. Things seem to fall through quite often these days. No decision has been made on Pufferbilly Days yet, but Pufferbilly Days has been moved to early August this year. I’m not crazy about the decision, but I’ll give it a chance.

If you want to peruse all 153 Photo Contest entrants in this long weird journey, click on the link below:

Photo Contests

You can see them all from the out of focus to the award winners. The good, the bad, and the moldy jam equivalent.

Audubon and Guthrie County Auxiliary Images: Vol. 1

Harvesting the town signs of Audubon and Guthrie County was one the last road trips I took with my Mom. I took lots of pictures that day, so I’m going to break it up into at least two posts. All of today’s pictures were taken in Guthrie County:


Guthrie County
Panora

Guthrie County

Guthrie County
Guthrie Center

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County
Menlo
Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County
Casey

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County
Adair

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Guthrie County

Most of the remaining pictures were shot in Audubon County, but not all of them.

WPC – WEEK 296 – LIGHT

Once again, there was a healthy amount of submissions for LIGHT. Apparently many of you did see the LIGHT.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:


WEEK 296 - LIGHT - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 296 - LIGHT - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

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 297 - GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is a GOVERNMENT photo? A GOVERNMENT photo is any photo that involves something that involves the GOVERNMENT. Went to a public park? That is GOVERNMENT. Driving on a road? That is GOVERNMENT. Of course there are GOVERNMENT buildings like courthouse, police departments, fire departments, post offices… Everything military related is GOVERNMENT. Everything dealing with public schools is GOVERNMENT.

Think about the following quote when you are contemplating your GOVERNMENT image:

The worst thing in this world, next to anarchy, is government.
-Henry Ward Beecher

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 our idea of GOVERNMENT in this place that is governed my conscience. next Monday.