Although we’d much rather stayed under the covers on this cold and damp morning, we had to rally as the Winnebago Service Department opened for business at 7:00 AM – Sharp! Fortunately we had an appointment and had emailed our laundry list of work to be done in advance. However, it took an hour to go over the list with Jim, the Service Manager assigned to us for our duration in Forest City.
Shortly, after 8:00, he disappeared with our rig and we settled in to their service waiting area, which not only had coffee and TV but also an excellent WiFi network.
Around noon, we were getting a bit stir-crazy and went for gas (for our Jeep) and to tour the immediate area. Retreating our route into town yesterday, I found a couple of mailboxes (I’ve been photographing them all over the US and Canada for years)
as well as wooden carvings we’d bypassed yesterday.
Then, immediately after the church mailbox, we pulled in to the Heritage Park of North Iowa, where we were the day’s only visitors. This park hosted many interesting old buildings and pieces of equipment
Beaver Creek Church (for which the mailbox was a replica)
Norwegian Stabbur (used by Nordic peoples as storage buildings for clothes, cheeses, grains and food stuffs prepared all summer for the long winters which follow)
Ellington School House (typical of 19th century prairie school houses)
One of two large eagle statues
Norwegian-style Trappers Cabin (a log house using protruding ends, built in the early 1800s)
Little Playhouse on the Prairie
Railroad Water Tower
Dahlum Log House
Dahlum Log House Interior
General Store and Jail (with just one cell)
Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company Tractor
Old Cities Services Service Station
Iron Memories Sculpture
Minneapolis Engine No. 7281 – Iron Memories Sculpture
Boiler – Iron Memories Sculpture
Sculpture made with Pony Shoes
No explanation needed!
Shortly after 3:00 PM, our motor home was returned to us for the rest of the day. At the moment, it appears that we’re still looking at two more days to have the (mostly) warranty work completed.
Tonight, drove the one mile to the center of this metropolis of just shy of 4,200 inhabitants but sporting
Sherman Tank (60,000 produced between 1942 and 1956. More than 60-70 variations of the tank were produced by 10 different plants during WWII using different engines and canons) and used by most of America’s allies, including the USSR. These tanks, however, were no match for the German Panther and Tiger tanks and were ultimately only successful by their sheer numbers
for Chinese, before hustling back home for Debbie’s Dancing With The Stars.
I noticed you have two photos (Paul Bunyan and the blue ox and the totem pole). This was my dad's sawmill south of Forest City. My father passed away several years ago and the mill was sold. My dad owned the mill for over 50 years. My sisters and I spent many hours helping out in the mill. Our house sat east of the mill where the totem pole stood. In that picture there is an old school house. My dad and his brothers attended that school. Dad only went to the 8th grade, but he was very successful and loved his work
Kelly:
It is year later but yours and others Comments just showed up … hard to believe.
Thanks so much for this personal backstory.