Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, we were the rock and roll generation. And for that generation, February 3, 1959 was a black day in music history. It became known in later years as “the day the music died”. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and “The Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson along with pilot Roger Peterson were killed in a plane crash near Clear lake, Iowa. Continue reading
A young seminarian who immigrated to America at 20 years of age, lay critically ill and began praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He prayed he would recover and promised to build a shrine in her honor. He regained his health, completed his studies and was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest. He never forgot his promise and for over ten years collected rocks and precious stones.
Cemeteries are not places we usually visit. This is not because we don’t like cemeteries but because we believe Louisiana has some of the most interesting “cities of the dead”. That said, everyone we spoke with in the Wadena, Iowa area told us to go see “Skinner” in the Lima Cemetery, and so began our quest. Continue reading
“Pikes Peak is a must. Visit it and you will have a magnificent view of the Mississippi River.” Now Pikes Peak is in Colorado and no-where near the Mississippi River as far as we knew. We stared speechless as our neighbors were relating tourist info. We guess the look on our faces said we had no idea what they were talking about. Continue reading
Entering Iowa, one of the first things we noticed were squares painted on barns. It reminded us of quilt squares – colorful and well designed. Driving the highways, we enjoyed the various designs and colors. Our thought was – wow, Iowa celebrates their barns! Continue reading
The first thing we noticed was the building – small and rather unassuming. Upon entering there was this small town welcome feeling instead of all of the security and metal detectors evident in others we have visited. This was to be a rather unique experience, down to earth, sincere and educational. Continue reading
