Exploring Eastern Siouxland, Whittemore

22 Jun

During my recent Memorial Day drive I stopped by the small Siouxland community of Whittemore, Iowa. The town began in the late 1870’s and is named for a railroad engineer named Don Whittemore. It’s a pleasant town that was especially quiet on Memorial Day as people celebrate the holiday attending services in the morning and then enjoying the holiday like many others getting together with family and friends. Like many smaller communities I have visited it is anchored by a grain elevator business, but also has a  nice downtown. One of the stores is a hardware store, and in the window are four names denoting different generations of that family’s ownership.

A business that has been in the family for generations in Whittemore, Iowa Friday June 9, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The downtown area has a little “park” or seating place to get in out of the sun on especially hot days and many of the homes were of the grander type dating from the late 1800’s of early 1900’s showing off the community’s well being as was much the case in the early settlement days.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

 

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Nature in Siouxland and the Enviroment, Yankton, SD

20 Jun

Again on a visit to Yankton, SD in Siouxland, I walked about taking in a nice day and searching for visuals that I didn’t previously see and actually recognized. This time it struck me that many communities, larger ones as opposed to smaller ones, really try to infuse the culture of both an urban landscape and nature. The two are actually competing entities it seems to me. And many studies I am sure have delved into the co-existence of them so that the heat given off by all of the cement parking lots and other structures do not detract from living in a town.

I saw the two co-existing together as well as they could while on my walk in Yankton and tried to isolate them with just the two forms competing within my visuals frame. Good, bad or indifferent, man does what he deems necessary. I just hope nature continues to ride along.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

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Visiting a small town in Siouxland, Gayville, SD

18 Jun

On a return trip from Yankton, SD, I stopped off in a small community called Gayville. Driving into town I saw someone had a sense of humor with a smile painted on the roof of a business. As I admired the smile and took some photos an older gentleman passed by and also smiled. He probably has seen many folk look at this face seen by passing railway trains going to and fro.

Somebody with a sense of humor in Gayville, SD Friday, May 26, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Another attraction to Gayville is the Gayville Hall which has a sign that says it is the Home of the Hay County Jamboree. Online information says it is one of the community’s first businesses built.

The Gayville Hall in the downtown area of Gayville, SD Friday, May 26, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

I didn’t stick around for a long period of time but walked around a bit just trying to get a sense of the place. But that may be better done with a return visit to one of the jams at the hall when folk come out to enjoy themselves.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

 

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Honoring the Flag in Siouxland, Ute

16 Jun

In most of the smaller communities I explore someone is flying the Star and Stripes somewhere in the community. Flag Day is set aside each year to honor America’s symbol. But in visiting various communities the flag is honored everyday. It is part of the American life. And no matter how vitriolic and mean spirited people can become about issues, most people stop and reflect and appreciate being able to live in a country where freedoms are not lip service. Land of the free, home of the brave. And while every effort is made to honor those who serve our country, there are so many others equally as brave who pursue their purpose in life in helping others and continuing to make America a country people can be proud.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

On a wind brisk day Old Glory snaps to attention in Ute, Iowa Friday June 9, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

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Missing Memorial Day Celebration in Siouxland, Sibley

14 Jun

Recently for the Memorial Day Holiday I wanted to visit another place in Siouxland to see how other folk celebrate the holiday. Granted, the routine is pretty much all the same, but there seems to always to nuances. However this Memorial Day my well laid plans fizzled. The time I believed was set for the ceremony I found for the celebration in Sibley was incorrect. As I pulled into the cemetery I saw people gathered about a few vehicles. And after asking them about the ceremony they looked at me, maybe in pity, and told me I was too late.

Well, the 2.5 hour drive it took for me to get there left me a little deflated but then I drove into town to take a peek and decided I needed to return at some point just to see the downtown area alive with people. For the holiday, no one was downtown this Saturday as all were with friends, family and doing what folk do on a weekend, holiday weekends included.

So Sibley is on my “to so” list and hopefully to do yet this summer.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

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Exploring Areas in Southern Siouxland, Monona County

12 Jun

Recently as I was headed to an area in southern Siouxland to photograph a building I came upon a couple of barns sitting on the side of the road. As I drove by the little voice in my head said, “You’re here, so stop.” And I did. Sometimes when pressed for time I don’t consciously think I need to stop. I always tell myself you can come back. But the light, the look and whatever it was that caught your attention will never be the same the next time. It could be better, but then again…..

 

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A barn in a field off of Hwy 141in rural Monona County, Iowa Friday June 9, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A barn in a field off of Hwy 141 in rural Monona County, Iowa Friday June 9, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

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Seeing Lands West Siouxland, Bushnell, NE

10 Jun

Earlier this spring I helped a friend move to western Nebraska far removed from Siouxland. She is excited to start a new chapter in her life and to return to a landscape more to her liking, as well as a dryer climate. While there I stopped into the small community of Bushnell, NE. Like some towns in Siouxland which sit at the western most border of Iowa, Bushnell sits at the western most border of Nebraska. The Wyoming border is only 8 miles away. Because of time constraints on my part, I wasn’t able to explore the region very much, but enjoyed it immensely for its change from what I see daily in Iowa. It reminds a lot of areas in west Texas when I lived there as well as New Mexico.

The community of Bushnell is a small place, like many in Siouxland. There are few residents and the town provides a place to reside which the locals enjoy. Far removed from larger communities, but near enough by car to larger places like Cheyenne or Scottsbluff to “get out of Dodge” for a day to shop or enjoy a change of pace.

The early morning light during my walk around was hard and directional. ‘Tis the season with summer here but like west Texas it illuminates the landscape and its occupants well. Like a lot of small Siouxland communities a few small businesses anchor the downtown area and a multitude of trains regularly pass by. It was a nice visit and maybe down the road I can explore more of the surrounding area without any time constraints.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

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