Traveling East for Ohio

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This blog will be ongoing as we are winding down our travels so that we can spend some time with our kids and other friends in Ohio. I will add some things as we continue to have new experiences. The travel blog “Tripping Through the West” will officially end when we arrive at Sunshine RV Resort, our winter home. After that my blog may appear as interesting things happen such as our winter cruise in January, or other spontaneous excursions. But for now, let me continue on our current road trip comments.

De Smet, South Dakota, or the “Little Town on the Prairie”, is the home of the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum. Remember her? If not, do you remember the books like “The Little House on the Prairie” or “On the Banks of Plum Creek” or even “Little House in the Big Woods”? These, and many more, were written by Laura and read by thousands of children, or parents who read them to their children. Her books have been translated to several languages including French, German, & Spanish. We visited several buildings and went on a tour with a guide who gave us a great deal of history on Laura and her family. Laura was born Feb. 7, 1867 in Pepin, Wis. and died Oct. 17, 1928 in Keystone, S.D. at the age of 90. She had 2 sisters, Carrie and Mary. What really surprised us was what we learned about Laura’s daughter Rose. She was born in Dec. of 1886 in De Smet and died Oct 30, 1968 in Danbury, Connecticut at age 81. She had been married, had one son who died in infancy, and was divorced in 1918. Rose was famous writer in her own right having published 3 novels, "Let the Hurricane Roar," "Old Home Town," and "Free Land" as well as biographies of Herbert Hoover, Henry Ford, and Jack London. She also wrote short stories for the Saturday Evening Post and won the O'Henry Award for the best short story of 1922 entitled, "Innocence". She was even a war correspondent in Vietnam. I must admit that I never heard of her or realized that she had made a name for herself. Very bright from a young age, and having a driving desire for success, brought her through many jobs, including being the first woman teletype operator, a job that only lasted 3 days. (She decided to quit as the job was too easy and boring.) She also became more and more involved with her mother’s writings helping to make sure Laura was not taken advantage of as a writer. A very interesting family and one I hope to read more about in the future.

On the road to Little Sioux, Iowa we stopped in Mitchell, S.D. to see the world famous “Corn Palace”. Amazing, to say the least! The first Corn Palace was built in 1892 when the city of Mitchell was just 12 years old. The idea was hatched by Louis Beckwith and L.O. Gale to showcase the crops grown in the area and to attract immigrant farmers to settle here. Along with the Corn Palace, a festival was planned to celebrate the fertility of the land and the productivity of the people. To this day, over 100 years later the tradition of the Corn Palace and festival continues. The palace welcomes thousands of visitors each year from all over the world, and they don’t charge for tours. It is known round the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota. Each year a new decorating theme is chosen and the outside of the Palace is stripped and redecorated with new corn and grains. In early summer the process begins with removal of the old grasses and grains. Over the summer, 3,000 bushels of milo, rye, oat heads, and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached. The corn murals have to wait until late summer when the corn crop is ready. Over a half million ears of corn are sawed in half (lengthwise) and nailed to the building following patterns created by a local artist. All summer you can watch the process take place. They use 12 different types of corn for the colors and many different grains to add flavor to the murals. I forgot to ask how may staples and nails they use but I understand they do know this and usually offer it as a tidbit of information. The Palace has offered the talents of some of the greats such as Duke Ellington, John Phillip Sousa, Guy Lumbardo, Willie Nelson, and a host of others. During the school year the auditorium is used for local basketball (college and high school), theater (both local and professional), musical programs, etc. In the summer the main floor is used as a gift shop (which moves back across the street when school starts.) If you are in the area it is definitely something you want to experience. I am sure there is a lot I have left out but hope you got the basics. After spending about 2 hours there and we finally decided we'd better get on the road as we had many miles to go.

As we traveled toward Little Sioux, IA we saw literally hundreds of bikers traveling to Sturgis for the rally. Then there were those either pulling their cycles or those who had toy haulers. Remember I said in an earlier blog that they were expecting 300 to 500 THOUSAND bikers this year. I don't doubt it for a minute from what we saw today. We were glad we were going the opposite direction and had visited Sturgis a few days ago, before the craziness started. (In a way I would have liked to stay a little longer to see some of it, and experience the full effect.)

Stopped in Amana, IO today and learned that we were in the area of Amana Colonies. Of course we had to check it out and here is some of what we found. The history of the Amana Colonies is one of Americas longest lived communal societies which began in 1714 in the villages of Germany and continued in America till around 1932 when changes were made in the church's bylaws. During the 18th century there was a lot of turbulence in Germany as it was in the midst of a religious movement called Pietism. Two men, Eberhard Gruber and Johann Rock believed that God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired individuals to speak. This gift of inspiration, or prophecy, was the basis for a religious group that began meeting in 1714 & became known as the Community of True Inspiration. While they tried to avoid conflict they continued to be persecuted and to make a long story short decided to come to America and find a safe place to practice their beliefs. They left Germany in 1843-44 by community members pooling their resources & in turn they purchased 5,000 acres near Buffalo, New York. They worked cooperatively and shared their property, the community now numbering some 1,200 people. They were able to carve a relatively comfortable living. This community was called the "Ebenezer Society" and they adopted a constitution that formalized their communal way of life. When they needed more farmland because of growth the Inspirationists looked to Iowa where attractively priced land was available. They arrived in Iowa in 1855 and called their village, Bleibtreu or "remain faithful" but their leaders adopted the name Amana from the Song of Solomon 4:8 which means "remain true". Amazingly they flourished and gradually built 6 villages about a mile or two apart, across a river valley tract of some 26,000 acres. Now, check out the names ---- Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, High Amana, and Middle Amana. Talk about mundane and lack of uniqueness! In 1861 the village of Homestead was added which gave the Colony access to the railroad. Everything was shared and the elders assigned tasks to people based on their talents. While education ended at 8th grade there were some who were sent off to schools to become doctors, dentists, etc. Now, check this out! Residents received a home, medical care, meals, all household necessities, and schooling for their children. Property and resources were shared. No one received a wage because no one needed one. Farming and the production of wool and calico supported the community, but village enterprises, everything from clock making to brewing, were vital; and well-crafted products became a hallmark of the Amanas. Churches were very plain and simple and they went to church 11 times a week -- with special arrangements for those who had infants and had to stay home. They were up before dawn and worked from 6am to 6pm. They had over 50 communal kitchens providing daily meals, as well as a mid morning and mid afternoon snack. The kitchens had a "boss lady" and they rotated assignments so all got a taste of everything. I believe that I read somewhere that in the bakery they used to roll 1,000 lbs of dough a DAY. They also sold to locals so this may help explain some of what seems to be excess. Oh, I forgot! Kids went to school 6 days a week, year around until the age of 14 or completion of 8th grade. The great depression forced the folks to set aside its communal way of life. Changes in the farm market and the economy forced several changes but the spirit of communal life was still held in high regards and people didn't want that to change. By 1932 the communal life was set aside as it was seen as a barrier to achieving individual goals, so rather than leave or watch their children leave, they changed.
The one thing that may bring recognition to the area and your "aha" is the word 'Amana". Ever hear of the refrigerator or other appliances by that name? Well, they invented the appliances by that name and marketed them with great success until Whirlpool bought them out. Whirlpool also owns Maytag. Whirlpool (Amana) is a huge plant here in Amana and we found out they are hiring and need of workers. Need a job? We enjoyed learning more about the area and found it to be neat and tidy and very pleasant. We traveled to the other so-called towns and, they too, had many older buildings -- all of which were clean and nicely presented. We were amazed at how nice the little crossroads were and how they were so nicely preserved. ( A comment on the photos! I have added at the bottom some historical info on Amana and the Inspirationists that some of you may like to read. Remember you must double click on them to enlarge. I thought some of it very interesting and wanted to share it with you.)

Tomorrow we are headed further east and on Tuesday we will stop and see friends Betty and John Fields who we host with in Fla. We are looking forward to seeing them once again and spending a little time catching up on things. The next day we'll be headed into Ohio to see our kids and spending a while in the Ohio area. So for now this blog is big enough and I feel a need to close it. Be watching for further happenings!

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