The route to Independence meanders through an Old Order Amish community. Do you know that at one time the Amish refused to hang the bright-colored slow-moving-vehicle sign on their buggies because they viewed it as "prideful" ornamentation!
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Independence, Iowa, is home to a towering old mill next to the Wapsipinicon River, shown in the photos below. When I was a kid, the building just sat there, unattended to.......in subsequent years, restoration projects were undertaken and tours are available on weekends. In Independence, there used to be an ice cream joint called "The Old Mill", and we would stop there to buy their famous ice cream cones which were made with square-shaped scoops of ice cream.
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This mill is a wonderful old landmark.......sometimes I think we here in Iowa have been slow to realize that historical sites need to be preserved.......things are improving, but many interesting buildings have already been lost to deterioration........such as the unique old horse barn which used to grace the west end of Independence.
As I drove around the town of 6000 residents, trying to find the track where the meet was being held, I went past a delapidated-looking brick mansion house. A big sign in front stated that it was the home of Captain Daniel See, the first mayor of Independence. There appeared to be construction going on adjacent to the house, so hopefully, restoration is underway. I know it all takes money......the lack of which prevents many preservation projects from taking place.
My son managed 18'3" in the long jump on this chilly afternoon in Independence. Despite the cold weather, before leaving town, I bought a Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard at Dairy Queen to take home to Husband......and for myself......a hot-fudge sundae. Mm-m, mm-m good.....except I also managed to spill a glob of fudge on my coat......good thing its a black coat!
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5 comments:
Cool mill photos! I love old buildings like that.
We shouldn't still have to be wearing coats, should we? Where is the warm weather??
Kacey,
I agree with you about the coats.....we're overdue for not needing them.
Thanks for stopping by!
I live near Decatur, Nebraska. The second oldest settlement in the state. There used to be an old barn in Decatur that was semi-famous because it was the oldest buidling in town adn it was cool, odd architecture, just unique.
The lady who's barn it was tore it down. She said it was dangerous. I felt awful about that, but no one asked me, one day it was just gone.
I was in Ohio in and around the Old Order Amish community. So fasinating. I could have just stared and stared.
I really just couldn't get over the horses and just general oddness of it.
I felt like that was...I don't know...wrong, rude, something.
And yet, they have to be used to it. I mean c'mon!!!!
Mary,
Similarly, Independence had a very unique old horse barn on the west side of town. It was still there when I was a kid. It hailed from the time when Independence had a famous harness racing track, and a well-known horse named Allerton-Axtell.
Oh, yes, the Amish are very interesting folks. I'll have to do a post on them sometime....I once witnessed a funny little incident in one of their stores. Its fun to drive through the area where their farms are.....but, I always think, "Thank you, Lord, for not having me be born Amish."
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