Byway Buzz Blog – Page 2 – Prairie Rivers of Iowa

Two from Prairie Rivers Obtain Certified Professional Guide Titles

by Prairie Rivers of Iowa | Sep 30, 2024

Two people from Prairie Rivers of Iowa (PRI) recently added Certified Professional Guide titles to their names through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Professional Guide Certification Program. Jeanie Hau, PRI’s byway Coordinator and Shellie Orngard, a Special Projects contractor, made presentations to State Tourism Specialist Diane Van Wyngarden as the final step in the certification process.

“To be able to share the stories of the people who have lived along our byways in the most interesting and engaging way possible was the reason I sought this certification.” Hau said. Her presentation was about Charlie Reed and how the Lincoln Highway and the Jefferson Highways (which meet at the corner of where his farm was) enhanced his life and the people who he met at this crossing.

“I am committed to historic preservation along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa, and being able to tell the stories of the people and places along the Lincoln is the first step toward preservation,” Orngard said. Her presentation focused on the establishment and first decade of the Lincoln Highway, a story told through the traveling exhibit “Promise Road: How the Lincoln Highway Changed America,” she created in 2022 with funding from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

Shellie Orngard receives Certified Professional Guide

Professional Guide Certification candidates complete a training program of best practices to deliver quality experiences to visitors. The final certification process is conducted at each individual’s location of choice, where they must effectively demonstrate the professional guide practices most appropriate for their unique organization or attraction. Individuals who achieve Professional Guide Certification work to provide quality Iowa visitor experiences, and earn certification from Iowa State University.

Hau’s and Orngard’s names have been added to a statewide list of certified guides. To see the list or get more information about Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s professional guide training workshop and certification program, see https://go.iastate.edu/VAX4FG or contact ISU Extension Tourism Specialist, Diane Van Wyngarden at dvw@iastate.edu.

Oktoberfest in the Amanas: It’s more than beer

by Jeanie Hau | Sep 30, 2024

Millstream brewery in the Amana Colonies Millstream Facebook page

Millstream Brewing is Iowa’s Oldest Brewery Post-Prohibition and brews the Amana Colonies Official Oktoberfest Brew. Photo courtesy of Millstream on Facebook.

On Oct 4, Iowa’s oldest Annual Bavarian-style Oktoberfest celebration will be kicking off in the heart of the Amana Colonies. There is no other celebration like it in the state of Iowa as the Amana Colonies (located just south and west of Cedar Rapids), is a unique cultural lesson in its very existence. The Community of True Inspiration made the Amanas their home in 1855. They practiced a fully communal lifestyle until 1932. Today, the community keeps the history and traditions alive by hosting celebrations throughout the year. Every October the three-day Oktoberfest event packed full of music, dancing, bratwursts and pretzels, and of course German beer in a massive bierkrug (beer mug) takes over the Amanas.

When the Amana Colonies were first settled in the 1800s they quickly established 5 breweries and numerous vineyards. With prohibition those breweries closed by 1884. It wasn’t until 1989 that the first post-prohibition brewery opened in Iowa, Millstream Brewing Co. As their brewery became successful, the owners decided to add an authentic German Bierhalle to the Amana Colonies. The Millstream Brau Haus opened in 2016 offering one of a kind specialty beers only available in the Amana Colonies. German-style pub food is also available here.

German-style pub food is available at the Brau Haus. Photo by M. Kellner

The Amana Heritage Society Museum maintains a group of museums that display and interpret artifacts from the 1700s to the present with a focus on the communal period of Amana (1855-1932). The historic society has its work cut out for them as they maintain a communal-era kitchen, cooper shop, blacksmith shop, church museum, research library, the working High Amana General Store, and the museum and bookstore making history available to the public.

The Amana Heritage Museum. Where you can find books, information, and is an audio tour stop. Photo by J. Hau

The Amana Community Church in Homestead is managed by the Amana Heritage Society. A recent maintenance overhaul has begun on the building. The church is also a stop on the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio tour.

The exterior and interior of the High Amana Store, which was established back in 1857, remain virtually unchanged today. This working store is managed by the Amana Heritage Society.

Historic map of the 7 Colonies of the Amanas.

There remains much to do in all of the Amana Colonies.

The annual Oktoberfest parade happens Saturday morning at 10 am in Amana. The theme this year is “Famous Frauen,” to highlight amazing women. There will be plenty of activities for the kids to do at the Oktoberfest Kinderplatz (kids area) while the adults are having fun with competitions such as: the keg toss, log sawing, nagelhauen (nail driving), eisenmann (strength), brat eating, or the best yodeler competition! Download the official Oktoberfest brochure.

Parking will be limited so be sure to catch the shuttle!.

Kids activities are also available check out the official brochure at the link above.

The Festhalle Barn is a restored century-old dairy barn that was remodeled to function as an event venue. Annually, the Festhalle Barn hosts the main event of the Oktoberfest celebration and the Tannebaum Forest. It can be rented by the public as well.

While the official Oktoberfest activities happen at Festhalle Barn (admission charge), Millstream Brewing, Hotel Millright, and the Ox Yoke Inn have live music all weekend as well. Demonstrations such as chainsaw carving, chair caning, and tours of the Woolen Mill and the Amana Furniture and Clock Shop are other must-dos.

The interior of the Woolen Mill, historic photo.

The interior of the Woolen Mill today.

The Woolen Mill today has one working building. The other buildings on the complex have been repurposed as Hotel Millright.

The Woolen Mill is Iowa’s only remaining working woolen mill having been in operation since 1857. Although the original building eventually became Amana Refrigeration, the second 8-acre mill location along the Mill Race still makes and sells textiles although on a much smaller basis. The majority of the mill complex was remodeled and turned into the luxurious Hotel Millright in 2021.

The old Woolen Mill in Amana. Photographer is looking west. Photo courtesy of Amana Heritage Society.

View of the Woolen Mill (left) and Hotel Millright today. Photographer looking east along the Mill Race.

Electric Thread, the Indigo Room, and the Lobby to the Hotel Millright today. Remaining working Woolen Mill is on the left.

The 1923 addition to the Woolen Mill and other expansion buildings are now part of Hotel Millright.

Textiles were critical to Amana’s beginnings as was the Amana Furniture and Clock Shop.

Today’s The Furniture and Clock Shop remains a thriving busisness using century-old building methods that have been passed down since 1855. This historic workshop has a viewing gallery where you can learn more about handcrafting authentic Amana Furniture while watching the craftsmen work.

The Amana Furniture Shop still makes handcrafted furniture and Clocks today.

Over 200 mums were used to decorate Festhalle Barn for Oktoberfest. Stock photo.

The Chocolate Haus in central Amana.

Oktoberfest in the Amanas offers a variety of authentic German food from pork trotters, pretzels, and strudel crafted by German artisans to sweets at the The Chocolate Haus. So enjoy Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies. Learn about the history and traditions and don’t forget to check out the Iowa Valley Audio Tour locations while you are in town (app to come soon)!

Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Iowa Prairie Rivers of Iowa

Bis bald on the byway!

‘Big Boy’ visits Belle Plaine by Jeff Morrison

by Prairie Rivers of Iowa | Sep 25, 2024

The Union Pacific’s No. 4014 “Big Boy” steam locomotive stops in downtown Belle Plaine, Iowa, on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The train’s trip across Iowa closely followed the Lincoln Highway. Photo by author.

BELLE PLAINE — Little boys love Big Boy. Big boys love Big Boy. On Thursday, hundreds of people turned out to see Big Boy.

“Big Boy” is the nickname of the 25 huge trains built in 1941 for the Union Pacific Railroad. The Omaha World-Herald introduced it as a “mastiff among puny terrier locomotives.” There are seven remaining in museums. That number used to be eight, but No. 4014 was pulled out of a California museum and restored in the 2010s. Five years after its initial excursion in 2019, the last Big Boy returned to Iowa as part of an eight-week, 10-state “Heartland of America Tour.”

John Sutherland, 75, of North Liberty was seeing Big Boy for the first time. “Railroading runs in my family’s blood. My grandfather worked for the Pullman-Standard Steel Car Co. and my great-grandfather was the line superintendent for the Michigan Central Railroad.” He’s not much of a train spotter, but the opportunity to see Big Boy was too good to pass up.

The Iowa-Illinois portion of Big Boy’s 2024 trip followed trackage that was originally part of the Chicago & North Western Railroad and closely parallels U.S. Highway 30 and the Lincoln Highway. Its public stops were in Carroll, Belle Plaine and Grand Mound. Those stops doubled as service periods, since the world’s largest operating steam locomotive requires a high degree of maintenance.

George Kornstead of Iowa City was wearing a Hawkeye Model Railroad Club shirt. He grew up around the rail hub in Duluth and Superior. “Steam is incredible, it really is, to watch how back in the day when people were working on railroad, how hard it was and how intensive it was to keep steam available on the locomotive. Lot of work. The fireman really makes his money.”

Big Boy pulls into Belle Plaine with Lincoln Highway Mural in background

The World-Herald in 1941 said at the first Big Boy’s launch, “A single tender loading of coal would heat a six-room home for three years.” This Big Boy has been converted from using coal to using oil.

Steven Ritchie, 6, wore a “Big Boy” T-shirt. His father, Roger, said Steven has seen a lot of train videos and sings “the Big Boy song.” Andrew Schamberger of Hudson wore a C&NW T-shirt. His sister, Becca Scott of West Branch, loves the old steam engines.

According to the UP’s website, No. 4014 racked up a million miles of travel in its 20 years of original service in Wyoming and Utah. It’s nearly twice as long as a standard diesel locomotive and more than half the length of a Boeing 747 jet. The Big Boys “had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of ‘pilot’ wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive,” the website says.

The Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” glistens during a light rain shower in downtown Belle Plaine, Iowa, on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Engine No. 4014 was built in 1941, decommissioned in 1961, and restored in time for the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad in 2019. Photo by author.

Big Boy’s visit was a way to connect with railroad history. Paul Duffy, 85, is from “Tama, really,” but now lives nearer Belle Plaine. He worked for the C&NW and then with UP after the two railroads merged. He had been stationed at multiple points along the railroad in Iowa through his career. His oldest of five daughters, Laurie Duffy, remembers going to the station in Tama with her children to wave at Paul as his train went by.

As Big Boy finally pulled into Belle Plaine 55 minutes after its scheduled arrival, the only rain in a week’s worth of weather showed up with it. It did not dampen the spirits of those who waited, although busloads of elementary school students were only able to get a short glimpse of the train before leaving.

On the other track, a modern UP train with a long line of double-stacked shipping containers prepared to resume its trip west. Freight trains have been going through Belle Plaine for more than a century and a half, and Thursday was no exception.

After the wheels had been greased up and spectators got their fill of pictures, Big Boy’s engineer pulled the whistle and rang the bell. The 83-year-old engine began to chug its way toward Cedar Rapids for the night.

Roll on, Big Boy, roll on.

My other work can be found on my website, Iowa Highway Ends, and its blog.

I am proud to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.

Jeff Morrison

Iowa Lincoln Highway Association Flashback: 1995, with Bob Ausberger

by Jeanie Hau | Aug 6, 2024

Lincoln Hotel Restoration 1990-92

Lincoln Highway Original Brick at Cornell College, Mount Vernon

Lincoln Highway original brick Woodbine

Follow the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook and at Iowa Lincoln Highway Association – Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved. Become involved and join today: Membership – Iowa Lincoln Highway Association Follow John Fitzsimmons at https://lincolnhighwayjohnny.com

As always you can find Lincoln Highway information at: Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway or Prairie Rivers of Iowa and don’t forget the Byway Buzz.

From “Green Corn Dance” to “Powwow:” the Meskwaki Nation’s End of Summer Tradition

by Jeanie Hau | Aug 6, 2024

The Meskwaki Nation located in Tama County has celebrated the end of summer every year for over 100 years with the Meskwaki Annual Powwow. Family and friends travel from all over the country every year to participate in the Annual Powwow which features dancing, singing, handcrafts, food, games, and fun. Dance styles and content have evolved over the years but the reminiscing, reconnecting, and celebrating unity remains the focus of the event.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

Before 1900, the Meskwaki Tribe would gather every fall during harvest to celebrate the harvest of the crop with a feast. The village was centrally located and the people would celebrate while making final preparations for the storing of the crop for the coming year. They called this celebration the “Green Corn Dance.”

Then in the early 1900s, the smallpox epidemic ran through the village and the federal government burned the village homes to eradicate the disease. The government then built the settlement houses that were spread out across the land in hopes of preventing future diseases. This caused a separation of the population and the arrival of individual crop lands and various harvest times instead of a central common harvest.

CW Wright State Historical Society Wikiup

CW Wright, State Historical Society of Iowa

Powwow Lincoln Highway 1917 Meskwaki Nation

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook Page

To fill the missing sense of celebratory community, from 1902-1912, the Meskwaki Tribe gathered at the old village site and a new event was created but without the harvest. “Field Days” had replaced the “Green Corn Dance.”

“Field Days” became popular with more and more people from outside the settlement. The Meskwaki realized that they could share their culture with the outside world and possibly provide income for the settlement during this festive event and so in 1913 the Chief appointed 15 men to plan the celebration. These men changed the event name to “Powwow” and moved it to the current Powwow Grounds.

The Meskwaki Annual Powwow is now the largest event of its kind in the nation. It has only been canceled during World War II and during the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020/2021.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

All are invited and encouraged to attend the Meskwaki Annual Powwow with open minds and open hearts to learn from the Meskwaki culture during this festive event. Various games, activities, and food vendors as well as traditional foods are available to all. Powwow etiquette is an important way to show your respect and to ease your comfort in an unfamiliar cultural environment. The celebration begins on Thursday August 8 and last for four days with Grand Entry beginning at 1 pm and 7 pm daily.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

The Grand Entry can now be livestreamed if you can’t make it in person. New this year is the Bible’s Fatboy Powwow Highway Ride benefiting the Meskwaki Band Florida Trip; grab your cars and bikes and meet at the Meskwaki Travel Plaza 9:30 am Aug 10^th and ride the gravel-to-grounds route. What a way to celebrate the end of summer!

The Meskwaki Powwow Grounds are along both the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway and the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway.

Visit Prairie Rivers of Iowa for more Byway Buzz.

Freedom Rock Tour and a Liberty Rock on the Lincoln Highway and the Iowa Valley Byways

by Jeanie Hau | Jun 27, 2024

Hello byway travelers!

I am writing today from the National Lincoln Highway Association’s Annual Conference in Elkhart, Indiana! Since I am here all week I thought that I would share with you the feature that I submitted for the Iowa Byways monthly newsletter. If you would like to learn more about Iowa’s other byways be sure to sign up for the newsletter at: https://iowadot.gov/iowasbyways

It seems fitting that as we get ready to celebrate America’s Independence Day that we should celebrate the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway. The Iowa byway gained National Scenic Byway status in 2021 for the historical significance to our country as the first planned transcontinental highway across the United States.

On July 1, 1913 Carl Fisher’s coast-to-coast rock highway was officially named the Lincoln Highway after the 16^th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln Highway Association was officially incorporated and tasked with promoting the Lincoln Highway to local governments and the public. It was no coincidence that Lincoln, a martyr for freedom, was chosen by Henry Joy (the association’s first president) to represent the roadway. Lincoln was a martyr of freedom and the idea of having an improved road across the country that anyone could use to move about freely was the goal. The road soon became known as the “Main Street Across America” and an avenue to a new life for many.

The Lincoln Highway has another significant date in July and that is July 7, 1919 when the first of its kind Transcontinental Motor Convoy left Washington DC to meet up with the Lincoln Highway in Gettysburg and traverse the route. There were 81 military vehicles, 37 officers, and 258 enlisted men who began the trip. Not all of them made it the distance. The Convoy traveled through a muddy Iowa from July 22- July 28th. Read more on the Transcontinental Motor Convoy

Many of the 43 communities across Iowa’s Lincoln Highway choose the fourth of July as their community’s annual town celebration. Belle Plaine has held a July 4^th celebration for many years and good ol’ George Preston would even pull his two-headed pig in the parade. Mount Vernon’s Lincoln Highway Nitty Gritty has about the best name out there and highlights history through antique displays and shopping in the streets and local businesses. The larger towns of Clinton, Council Bluffs (at the historic General Dodge House), and Ames have annual celebrations as do some of the smaller towns like Logan. But the town that wants to really own the fourth of July is Marshalltown, the location of Iowa’s Veteran’s Home which also happens to be one of the largest Veteran’s Homes in the country.

All this talk of freedom and veterans brings us to the topic of this month’s newsletter, Iowa’s Freedom Rocks. The first Iowa Freedom Rock was painted in Adair County in 1999. Artist, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II wanted to give veterans unique recognition on Memorial Day. Eventually Bubba began a Freedom Rock Tour, where his goal was to paint a Freedom Rock in every county honoring the history and veterans who had connections to the county. Bubba has even started a 50 State Freedom Rock Tour. There is now a Freedom Rock in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties, a 100^th one in Altoona, and a Liberty Rock in the Lincoln Highway community of Glidden. Read more about this special rock, Freedom Rocks along the byways and other byway events in the July newsletter!

Safe Travels!

Iowa’s Scenic Byway Coordinators

The Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway traverses through 13 Iowa counties. Of those 13 counties, five of the communities are home to their counties’ Freedom Rock but there is another rock that is on the Lincoln Highway that is not a Freedom Rock. It is the Glidden Liberty Rock. The Carroll County Freedom Rock was complete when the community of Glidden approached Bubba wanting their own rock. The fact that Glidden has ties to the beginning of WWI and the end of WWII inspired the artist to say yes. The Glidden Liberty Rock portrays Merle Hay, the first Iowan and one of the first three Americans killed in WWI, the “Enola Gay” plane that dropped the bomb to end WWII, injured veteran Ralph Neppel, and a Vietnam Vet Donald Sparks, MIA.

Liberty Rock in Glidden on the Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway Freedom Rock Tour also includes: Clinton County (Clinton), Cedar County, Linn County (the 99^th rock completed), Benton County, Tama County (features Meskwaki Code Talkers), Marshall County (Marshalltown), Story County, Boone County (Boone) , Greene County (Jefferson), Crawford County , Harrison County (Lincoln Highway/Loess Hills Interpretive Center), and Pottawattamie County (Lewis & Clark Trail).

Located in the Gateway Park & Preserve in Marengo, the Iowa County Freedom Rock is protected beneath a lighted pavilion. One side of the rock features Marengo born Marine Sgt. Major Bradley Kasal. Kasal was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic action during a firefight in which he was severely injured during Operation Phantom Fury in the Gulf War. Williamsburg native, Eugene Ely, an aviation pioneer who was credited with the first shipboard aircraft take-off and landing is featured beneath the American flag. Army Air Force veteran Dr Burns Byram is also featured on the rock. Byram would fly his restored military plane, “Tangerine” low over the town of Marengo to announce that the doctor had arrived. Other Iowa Valley Scenic Byway counties include the Benton County Freedom Rock which features Army, Navy, and Air Corps heroes and the Tama County Freedom Rock which features the Meskwaki Code Talkers.

I hope you have enjoyed this Lincoln Highway and Iowa Valley Freedom Rock Tour. Have a wonderful July and I will see you on the byway!!

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