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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 13B

22 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 13 – Sunday August 4 (Continued)

Continuing today’s activities at the Johnson-Sauk Trails State Park, I discovered Ryan’s Round Barn was built in 1910 and is one of the largest round barns in the country.  The barn is 80+ feet high and 85 feet in diameter, with a full-size 16-foot wide silo inside.  This restored wooden round barn actually consists of a lot more, on the inside, than a person might think (check the plaque below).  Back in the day it is said, religious groups in the area built their barns round because they “left no corners for the devil to hide.”  What a hoot that is!

Now I headed east another 25 miles, on I-80, to visit the Lovejoy Homestead located in Princeton, IL.  This 1835 home, that Owen Lovejoy lived in, was another of the many stations of the “underground railroad” used by fugitive slaves, in their flight north to freedom in Canada.  The Rev. Owen Lovejoy was a local Congregational minister and outspoken abolitionist, who preached anti-slavery from his pulpit, and later on the floor of the United States Congress.  The Lovejoy house is decorated in period furnishings, and visitors can view the secret space, in the attic, where the fugitive slaves were hidden.

Another 20 miles east on I-80 I visited the Westclox Museum located in Peru, IL.  This museum is housed in the original building where Westclox (United Clock Company/Western Clock Company/General Time Corporation) manufacturing began in 1885.  The museum displays all types of clocks, watches, and other time related items from all over the world.   It also tells the historical story of the Westclox business and family adventures.  From the story of this company, it is likely that most everyone in this country has, or will, own a Westclox product at one time or another in their lifetime.

Just a couple miles east of Peru, I was heading to visit the Illinois & Michigan Canal (I & M) dock located in LaSalle, IL when I saw a small train depot off the side of the road.  I stopped to take a photo, and discovered it was the old 1900 Peru-LaSalle Rock Island Railroad passenger depot, which was the original eastern terminus of the Rock Island Line at that time.

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Across the railroad tracks I stopped at The Illinois & Michigan (I & M) Canal Boat Passage dock there in La Salle.  The I & M Canal was built to connect the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River.  The 96 mile Illinois portion of the canal was built in 1846, and connected the Chicago River (Chicago) and the Illinois River (La Salle).  The canal used 17 locks to take care of the 140’ water height difference between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River.  Even though the canal improved productivity in central Illinois; traffic on the canal consisted of only slow mule-drawn barges until America’s western advancing railroad system replaced it in 1933.  Today visitors can take a leisurely ride in a restored mule-drawn canal boat on a one- mile portion of what is left of the original I & M Canal.

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Now I headed east some 15 miles on US-6 to visit the Ottawa Scouting Museum located in Ottawa, IL.  This small museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of youth scouting (American & English) over the past 100 years.  William D.  Boyce was one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, and he lived in Ottawa and is buried there.  Ottawa was one of the many canal cities that evolved from the introduction of The I & M Canal in the 1800s.  The museum also displays historical items related to the growth of the city of Ottawa. 

Just outside the city of Ottawa I visited the Illinois Waterway Visitors Center located on the Illinois River.  The Illinois Waterway is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is over 300 miles long, and includes portions of the Illinois, Des Plaines, Chicago, and Calumet Rivers.  The Visitors Center is located at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam site, and gives visitors an in-depth view of the Waterway’s history and operations.  Surrounded by the Starved Rock State Park, on both sides of the Illinois River, this area’s beautiful woodlands are a favorite for camping, hiking, and bird watching. 

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Now I ask Greta (my Garmin) to take me to tonight’s motel there in Ottawa.  Once I got checked in and unpacked my necessities, I heated up my leftover Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack delicious St. Louis Ribs, with baked beans and cole slaw from last night, and enjoyed that great meal again.  Too bad I can’t take Jimmy Jack and his famous ribs with me on the rest of this trip.

Description: Image result for jimmy jacks rib shack in iowa city ia

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

                              One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 11

25 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 11 – Friday August 2

This morning after breakfast, I started the southern portion of this road trip, by heading southeast on I-35E, about 30 miles, to visit the Holz Farm Park located in Eagan, MN.  This picturesque 80-acre farm was originally settled in the 1870s, and farmed by the Holz family until 1993.  The city of Eagan purchased the property in 1995 and converted it into a living farm park. The farm offers a unique opportunity for visitors to experience rural life as it was in this part of Minnesota in the late 1800s thru the mid-1900s, with hands on participation and special events.

Next I continued south on I-35 about 60 miles to visit the Steele County History Center & Village of Yesteryear, located in Owatonna, MN.  The museum displays rare photos, artifacts, and memorabilia that follow the history of Steele County, MN.  The Village of Yesteryear is a collection of 19 restored structures, relocated from various locations in Steele County, to preserve the history of the way of life of the mid-1800 pioneers who first settled in the Owatonna area of Minnesota.  I passed up the opportunity to take the tour of the “Village” since the next tour wasn’t scheduled until later in the day.

Another 30 miles south on US-278, I visited the SPAM Museum located in Austin, MN.  This is a very interesting museum that tells the history of SPAM (originally called Spiced Ham by its inventors) over the years.  SPAM was created by the Hormel Foods Corporation in 1937, to meet the need housewives had for cheap, quick meals requiring minimal preparation.

Then the military got in the act, and during WWII Hormel supplied hundreds of millions of cans of SPAM to U.S. and allied troops all over the world.  That may be one reason why so many U.S. veterans turn up their noses at the word SPAM.  It’s been rumored that some G.I.s believe SPAM is an acronym for what they call “Scientifically Processed Animal Matter.”

That doesn’t seem to matter to people all over the world, as witnessed by the creation of original SPAM recipes from over 44 different nations.  I was surprised to find out that SPAM is now available in 17 different flavors.  The samples I was offered at the museum were “Hickory Smoke” and “Roast Turkey.”  I thought they were both quite good.

As a side note; it looks like I measure about 22½ SPAM cans high.  How about that for an unusual method of measurement?

Now I headed west on I-90 about 25 miles to visit the Freeborn County Historical Museum located in Albert Lea, MN.  This museum displays some 40 exhibits, as well as artifacts and memorabilia, tracing the history of the city of Albert Lea and Freeborn County.  An unusual exhibit is the museum’s collection of rare vintage WWI and WWII posters.  The museum also maintains a late 1800s “Village” consisting  of 18 restored buildings, including a one-room schoolhouse, church, general store, and train depot, that will help visitors to this museum see how early settlers to this area lived and worked.  

As I headed south on I-35, I crossed the border into Iowa, on my way to visit the John Deere Tractor Museum.  Greta (my Garmin) took me off I-35 and onto some small backroads, where I happened to see “The Little Brown Church in the Vale,” and had to stop for a photo.  I am always looking for unusual houses, churches, or buildings on my trips.  I love to see how creative people can be.  In this case, it was the name of the church that got my attention, not necessarily the small quaint 1860 church building.

By the time I got to Waterloo, IA it was too late to visit the John Deere Tractor Museum, and besides that my stomach was still acting up.  So before heading for the motel, Greta helped me find the Chick-fil-A there in Waterloo, where I enjoyed an order of their Grilled Chicken Nuggets and another bowl of their extra special and healthy Chicken Soup for my evening meal.

Then it was off to find the motel, there in Waterloo, get checked in, and record today’s events.  As usual, there was nothing worth watching on TV, so I just called it a day and hit the hey.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 10

18 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 10 – Thursday August 1

I woke to another beautiful Minnesota day for visiting museums.  After a really great complimentary breakfast at the motel, I headed southeast, thru about 10 miles of  I-694 and East River Road morning traffic, to visit the Firefighter’s Hall of Fame & Museum, located just north of downtown Minneapolis.  This small museum houses historic fire trucks, firefighting equipment and memorabilia related to Minneapolis Fire Departments dating from the 1860s.  The museum also has interactive displays for children of all ages.

Now I headed about 10 miles southwest on I-394 to visit the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting located in the St. Louis Park area.  This museum displays a large collection of antique and vintage radio, TV, and broadcasting equipment dating from the 1920s.  I found it very interesting that the museum has one of the first German AEG Magnetophon tape recorders (unknown technology in the US at the time).  This recorder was brought to the U.S. after WWII and first used, by John T. Mullin, to record the Bing Crosby Shows in 1947.  It was also used to record many of Crosby’s famous songs of the time.  The evolution of this technology, over the years, has led to many of the high-tech radio, TV, movie and high-quality recording systems we enjoy today. 

Next I drove just a couple of miles east to visit the Minnehaha Railway Depot (part of the original “Milwaukee Road”) located on the shore of Lake Harriet, in the Minnehaha Regional Park and Wabun Picnic area.  Built in 1875, the depot served Minneapolis commuters and visitors to the park until 1963, when it was turned into a restored historic site.  I was intrigued with the Indian names associated with the area.  It is said, in the 1855 poem, The Song of Hiawatha (excerpt) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, that Minnehaha (laughing waters) was the wife of Hiawatha (1525-1595).  Hiawatha was a fictional Ojibwa warrior in the adventures of Longfellow’s poem.  Check out the history of this famous poem when you have the time.

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Now I headed west about 15 miles on I-394 to visit the Wayzata Depot Museum located on the shore of Lake Wayzata, in the small town of Wayzata, MN.  This depot was built by the Great Northern Railroad in 1906, to replace the original 1867 depot, and serviced the community of Wayzata until 1971.  The museum has a large display of vintage train memorabilia, including rare photos of the depot and the city of Wayzata from the late 1800s.  There is also a permanent miniature Minnesota Garden Railroad layout on the east side of the depot that is operated by the Wayzata Historical Society, on the weekends, to the delight of children and adults alike. 

Greta (my Garmin) took me a few miles east now, to visit the Bakken Museum located adjacent to the Lake Calhoun in the St. Louis Park area.  The museum is Minnesota’s only Smithsonian-Affiliate, and is the only library/museum in the world that is devoted to medical electricity.  The museum educates visitors about the history of electricity and electromagnetism, as it relates to medicine, from as far back as 1200 AD to the present.  The museum is filled with artifacts and memorabilia that tell the evolving story of medical electricity over the centuries.

My plan was to drive a few miles northeast to visit the Minnesota Newspaper Museum, located in the Falcon Heights area, but Greta couldn’t find the address.  I was disappointed not to get to visit this museum, as I have not come across that many newspaper museums, during my trips, and I am interested in the early evolution of the printing press and newspapers in general.  Their website informed me that they have volunteers, who can print souvenir copies of the “Maynard News,” using vintage linotype equipment.  I would love to have been able to witness that operation.  As a boy I was actually allowed to operate an old linotype machine (supervised) that was in the basement of my father’s office building.  It was being used, at the time, to print newsletters and other articles.

By now it was time for Greta to take me back to Brooklyn Center where I stopped in at a Chick-fil-A for some of their Chicken Fingers and a bowl of their famous Chicken Soup.  This was the easiest thing I could think of, to help sooth my upset stomach.  That seemed to work, and I headed for the motel to record today’s events and see if there might be something on the TV.  Of course there wasn’t.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 9A

4 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 – Wednesday July 31

My plan was to stay in Minneapolis two days to see the many museums in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  So to start today, I headed back southeast about 15 miles on I-694/I-35W, in morning traffic, to visit the Minnesota Transportation Museum located in St. Paul, MN.  This is a fabulous museum that is housed in a portion of the restored 1907 Jackson Street Roundhouse maintenance and repair facility.   The museum is beautifully laid out to represent the original Great Northern Railroad steam engine roundhouse, where various types of restored vintage train cars are displayed for visitors to walk thru.  Many other railroad artifacts and memorabilia fill the museum.  Additional restored unique and vintage rolling stock are displayed outside the museum building.  

Now I made my way south, to visit the Commemorative Air Force-Minnesota Wing, located adjacent to the Fleming Field Airport, just a few miles south of downtown St. Paul.  This was a very active hanger, filled with 5 or 6 aircraft of various types, all being worked on by at least two or three people.  Their largest plane was a B-25J named “Miss Mitchell.”  Everyone in the hanger, while busy, was very friendly, and informed me that all of the airplanes being worked on there were in flying condition.  After that quick visit, Greta (my Garmin) and I tried to find the Science Museum of Minnesota and the New Brighton History Center, but to no avail.  We finally gave up and headed for the Historic Fort Snelling.

Next I traveled some 10 miles west, across the Mississippi River, to visit the Fort Snelling Veteran’s Memorial Chapel located in the Fort Snelling State Park.  Access to this State Park from the direction I was coming was a nightmare, and took me three tries to finally make it to the chapel.  This is a beautiful park and the 1927 Chapel is dedicated to the many U.S. veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our country.  The Chapel also honors Colonel Josiah Snelling, who served as the fort’s commandant from 1820 to 1824, and for whom the fort was named.

Now I headed a few miles north to visit the Minnesota ANG Museum located at the north end of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.  It turns out that the museum is on the National Guard base, and when Greta took me to a guard gate,  the guard said the museum was no longer open to the public without the proper background check pass.  Rats!  This is another case of a museum internet site not providing a person all the information needed for directions, hours, access requirements  and etc.

 I made a “U” turn and was heading for the intersection, when I spotted an unused driveway off to the side.  I pulled in to inter the address for Greta to take me to the next museum.  I couldn’t have been there more than 2 or 3 minutes, but when I looked up from concentrating on the address, there stood two Military Police outside my window.   They were dressed in their camos, wearing every accessory known to the Military Police.  With their hands on the butts of their weapons, they politely asked me what I was doing.

I explained that I was just using the unused driveway (outside the fenced area) to look up a museum address.  They informed me that I couldn’t park on “Military Property.”  I thanked them (for not shooting me) and got on my way, under their watchful eyes.  After this incident, I moved on north a few more miles, to visit the Twin City Model Railroad Museum located in the Bandana Square area of Saint Paul.  This museum began in1834 as the St. Paul Craftsman Club, and over the years, has grown to display a world-class model panorama of the Twin Cities railroads of the 1930s-1950s.  The museum also displays several different gage-size model railroad layouts and other railroad artifacts.

—–(This day’s activities will be continued next week)—–

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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip~Part 1

4 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Prelude:  The original idea around a Great Lakes region road trip was that there is a lot of history in this area and there are many areas of these northern states that I had never seen.  What little of this region I have seen, during past trips, was so different from the Southwest where I grew up, and Florida where I have lived for the past 50+ years, that it made the idea of visiting this area in more detail, very intriguing to me.   And of course, the summer time was the only time for this southern boy to venture that far north.

Day 1 – Tuesday July 23

I started this road trip with a great non-stop Southwest flight from our Orlando International Airport to Chicago’s Midway International Airport.  They didn’t serve peanuts on this flight, only miniature pretzels and miniature Oreo cookies, but they were both fresh.

My niece Karen, her husband Brian, and their daughter Katie picked me up at the Midway  Airport and we went to the Hofbrauhaus Restaurant, not far from the airport, for lunch. I had a delicious German Sausage plate, consisting of Vienna-style Frankfurter, pork & chicken sausages, served with imported sauerkraut, mashed potatoes & onion mustard.  Yumm!  That helped me get over the Southwest pretzels. 

We had a wonderful visit, all be it very short.  Katie has a new job as Stage Manager for a small theater company in western Illinois, and I got to hear all about it.   After lunch they drove me a few miles from the restaurant, to the Avis Rental Car location in Franklin Park, IL to pick up my rental car.  I ended up with a brand new Hundi Forte with all the bells and whistles (I never did learn how to operate all those electronic accessories).  I told them how much I enjoyed the visit, thanked them for lunch, and we said our goodbyes.

I headed east on I-90 for Gary, IN to visit the Aquatorium.  I was not sure what to expect there, but I learned the original Lakefront Park Bathhouse, built in 1922, has spent most of its life pretty much unattended.  It wasn’t until 1991, when the Gary Historical Society took over the renovation of the structure, that it was brought back to life as a museum.  The Aquatorium now honors Octave Chanute, who, it is said, flew the first aeronautically designed glider in 1896 from a dune just west of the building, and the famous Tuskegee Airmen who made a name for themselves as fighter pilots during WWII.  The museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the honorees. 

So, I moved on northeast another 30 miles or so to Michigan City, IN where I hoped to visit the Old Lighthouse Museum.  Now you would think a structure as tall as a lighthouse would be easy to spot, but neither Greta nor I could find it.  The internet picture I had of the lighthouse showed that it really wasn’t all that tall, so I felt a little better not being able to find it.  

I was sorry to miss visiting the New Buffalo Railroad museum located in New Buffalo, MI.  This small museum was closed, but their website tells me that the museum is housed in a replica of the original 1920s Pere Marquette depot located on the historic New Buffalo rail yard site.  Three of the original 16-stall roundhouse and coal tower are an interesting part of the museum.  Displays include restored WWII Pullman Troop Sleeper Car & a C&O Chessie  Blue Box Car.

Just a few miles east on U.S. 12 I stopped to check out the Three Oaks Bicycle Club Museum, located in Three Oaks, MI.  This small museum was closed, but here again, their website informs me that it was really a one-room-museum, with a collection of some very old bicycles, whose ages date from the early 1800s.

I got to Kalamazoo, MI late in the day and decided to wait until tomorrow to visit the Air Zoo Museum, as they were closed by now (I hope that decision doesn’t throw my Wednesday schedule too far out of reach). While I was planning this trip, I had researched the best restaurants in each of the cities where I would spend a night.  So, I asked Greta (my Garmin) take me to the “42ndLatitude Restaurant” there in Kalamazoo, for a bowl of their Jambalaya.  It was delicious!

By the time I finish that wonderful meal, I was ready for Greta to take me to the motel, so I could rest my weary bones.

—–To Be Continued—–

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