Monday, May 19

Through the countryside this morning, 54 degrees at 7 AM and partly sunny as we left Davenport.

Farms seem bigger and prettier as we go north.  Tons of farm equipment in the fields, in barns, on the roads.  Greg has commented on the large yards people maintain, all with the John Deere riding mower (mostly).  Seems that people love to cut grass, no matter the size of the house, they cut grass as though it is an estate, side lots, along highways, etc.  A friend from Cameron suggests that after the long cold winter they have had, cutting grass may be a joy!

Around Wayland we pass many turkey farms.  When we stop for gas near Washington, another customer chats with us and confirms that the big crops in the area are corn, soy beans and turkeys.  He tells Greg that he’s not old enough to be retired as he, the Iowan, is still working putting up hay.  He says he might not do as well this year since he had some heart problems this winter and has been slow to bounce back.  He is probably mid-70s or so.   His “other” job has been curtailed by vocal chord problems and he breaks into an auctioneer call that lasts 2-3 minutes.  That’s all he can do now, so his 40 years of calling have come to an end.

We begin to see examples of the “Barn Quilts of Washington County”.

  Red barns, white barns, old and new.   We come to a town called Kalona – Quilt Capital of Iowa – that has various quilt patterns in the sidewalks around town.  The area is strongly Mennonite and Amish – horse and buggies, tidy farms with black and white laundry strung on lines, country stores and more. Very reminiscent of Lancaster county PA and we even see a Yoder farm (Mom will recognize that name!)  Some of the barns are much larger than the houses!

As we head back towards the river, we try to stop at the Pearl Button Museum but find it closed. Apparently this was a huge industry in bygone days.  This statue to the Pearl fishermen is nearby.

We pass through the town of Riverside, which is where Captain Kirk will be born in 2228 according to the Star Trek saga.

Next stop is the Pine Creek Grist Mill which is in Wildcat Den State Park.  In the mid-1800’s there were up to 500 mills in Iowa.  The building wasn’t open, but we toured the grounds and made fajitas for lunch.  Ate in the Trek, as it is extremely windy today.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum was the next stop.  We only associated him with the Depression and Hoovervilles (Tent cities), so it was interesting to learn about the man.  His degree was in Geology and he traveled extensively in this trade – Australia, China, London, etc.  While in London, WWI broke out and he was asked to head  food relief program, eventually creating the American Relief Administration which fed millions in 18 countries.

A 1920 poll ranked Hoover among the 10 greatest living Americans.  He served in various capacities including Secretary of Commerce where he was responsible for standardizations in radio, aviation, highway safety, fisheries and more.  Of course Hoover Dam was a huge accomplishment as well.

 He became president in a landslide victory 8 months before the Wall Street Crash which precipitated the Great Depression.  He had warned previous presidents of the problems with the stock market and Wall Street,  but was not heeded.  So although he accomplished many things, the Depression stigmatized him, making him the scapegoat for anything that went wrong.

He did come back under Truman for a post WWII global relief mission, wrote several books and started the Boys Clubs of America.  A beautiful campus includes his boyhood home and several other period buildings.

Heavy winds continued so we found a Lowe’s in Davenport.  Did some grocery shopping including a pre-roasted chicken which we had for dinner.