Checking out Semmel

The list of 100 Things You Must Eat made Linda and me aware of the Görtz Haus Gallery in Grimes. Linda and a girl friend went up to see their art display and try the German bread roll from the list called semmel. Linda was good enough to bring me a roll AND a sample of her friend's mother's raspberry jam. I tried the combination and it was GREAT! The bread was slightly sweet with a soft, fluffy texture with a slighly chewy, crispy crust. I had to put forth a little effort to get a bite but, when I did, it was delicious.

I looked up what made semmel semmel and found that the name is simply based on Bavaria word for bread roll. It's my understanding that there are a few distinctive aspects in how it should be prepared like it was in Germany. I looked on the web and found a couple of recipes; one by those folks from the Upper Pennisula of Michigan, UPers, Yoopers. Given our experience with the pastie maker in Madison, I have to caution that the Yoopers are not universally considered to have the corner on authentic recipes for food from the Old Country.

That said, I found that some say that semmel are usually produced as conjoined pairs of rolls, some appear to connect them with a strand of dough. I don't remember the one that I got having any sign of connection to another... but I did get mine through an intervening party.

Shooting the Jasper County Courthouse

Newton is the county seat of Jasper County and this is their courthouse. Decorated for the holidays and located in the town square, it was easy to locate.

The relationship between Newton and Jasper County may be coincidental but, as I read a bit about William Jasper, namesake for the county, there may be a connection.

Evidently, Mason Locke Weems, also known as Parson Weems, wrote a somewhat fictional history of various characters from our revolutionary war. Jasper, real life sergeant in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, was recorded alongside mythical character John Newton at the failed Seige of Savannah in 1779. There appears to be some difference of opinion about Newton's contribution but, thanks to the popular account presented by Weems, his star rose and a number of states have adjacent counties named Newton and Jasper.

Giving Thanks

This year, the kids arrived Wednesday evening with their friends to spend Thanksgiving. Linda was over to spend time with everyone as they arrived before heading north to spend time with her family. The weather was a chilly and snowy so I prepared a pot of soup that was well received. I'd also used my bread maker to prepare a loaf of herb bread that was also a tasty hit. We settled in to chat and enjoy a variety of snack items.

Thursday morning, I awoke to the smell of fresh baked cinnamon raisin bread that had baked overnight; nice. I heated up the tea kettle and got started on the turkey. One by one, the kids wandered out to have a cup, pitch in from time to time, and generally just be.

Everything went surprisingly well ... until I got to the point where I needed to get the turkey out of the roaster; when I lifted the bird, the legs fell off. So much for presentation! Oh well, it still tasted good. Everyone had a good meal with good company and had a moment to appreciate the opportunity.

Soon all were headed off to other family opportunities or to be sure to get home safely. It was a good Thanksgiving.

Reporting the Homestead Results

#1 Bear Down Racing 401 vs. 256 #2 Overdue
#3 Desert Denny 360 vs. 405 #6 Red Neck Racing Academy
#5 Blue Bayou 327 vs. 503 #4 halffastracing

#6 Red Neck Racing Academy was 22-13; won; finishes 23-13
#5 Blue Bayou was 20-15; lost; finishes 20-16
#1 Bear Down Racing was 18-17; won; finishes 19-17
#4 halffastracing was 18-17; won; finishes 19-17
#2 Overdue was 18-17; lost; finishes 18-18
#3 Desert Denny was 9-26; lost; finishes 9-27

It's over and I took third! My string of wins and Overdue's string of losses made for the unlikely order of finish.

Jimmie Johnson didn't win the race but did successfully defend his championship.

Stopping off at That Place Restaurant

On our way home from the UNI game, Linda and I stopped at the That Place Restaurant near Conrad, Iowa. Their Black Dirt Cake had made the Register's 100 Things In Iowa You Must Eat and, since we were going right past the place, it made sense to stop and try a piece. When we arrived, it was very nearly closing time so we ordered a piece to go. The hostess was more than happy to package up a piece for us to try. As we waited, a couple of patrons in the bar area noticed Linda's UNI sweatshirt and asked how the Panthers had done. They were pleased when we shared the news of another Panther mauling. Our cake arrived and we headed home to enjoy our cake.

Shooting the Grundy County Courthouse

Grundy Center is the county seat for Grundy County and this is their courthouse. Located along the main highway through town, it was easy to find, even at night. Again, there's a small Statue of Liberty on the grounds, far left in the photo.

Checking out UNI Women's Volleyball

Next door to the UNI-Dome sits the McLeod Center, home court for the UNI Panther Women's Volleyball team. Having never seen either before and being in the neighborhood, Linda and I stopped over to see a couple of games after watching the football game. A couple of Linda's long-time friends were there so Linda got to chat while I took a few photos of the very nice facility and some of the action on the court. It really was a nice venue for the sport and the teams appeared to be playing pretty well. Of course, having not followed the sport, my opinion may not be the best to go by.

Returning to the UNI-Dome

The University of Northern Iowa Panther football team went into their last game with their national #1 ranking intact and Linda and I wanted to see them finish their season undefeated. It was also a decent excuse to get back up to the Dome. We'd seen the Panthers win at Drake and Iowa State so seeing them at the Dome would complete the trifecta.

The game went pretty well in line with our expectations. I'd heard that Southern Utah, while winless, had played teams tough against higher quality teams. They started out moving the ball and keeping the Panthers in check early. As time went on, they were unable to keep UNI in check and the final score was 48-10, UNI. It was a nice way to wrap up the season and send the team into their playoffs.

Shooting the Waverly Carnegie Library

... at least what's left of it. Waverly built a new library a while back and the only thing left of the Carnegie library is this cornerstone. The building that it's attached to is a large, boxy commercial building; not really what we came to see but it is what we found so I submit it for your consideration.

Shooting the Black Hawk County Courthouse

Waterloo is the county seat of Black Hawk County and this is their courthouse. It's located in an area that took a guide familiar with the city to locate. Being a more modern struture, the standard clock tower found atop older courthouses is not there.

Shooting a Waterloo Carnegie Library

Yes, this a Carnegie library building found in Waterloo, not the Carnegie library building. Waterloo is one of two communities in Iowa that were able to secure funding for a main library and a branch. This one now houses the offices for a few city departments so it's still serving the community. We didn't realize that there were two until a week or so later so we'll have to go back some time to find the other.

Stepping inside the Blackhawk Hotel

Cedar Falls has recently done significant work to revitalizate their downtown. The restoration of the Blackhawk Hotel has been recognized by the community and put the hotel on the list of 100 Places. Linda and I stepped inside the lobby and got a sense of what it may have been like to have stood on that spot fifty years prior. The woodwork was gave a warm feel to the space. Leaded glass in the doors added a simple elegance. From the lobby, you can pass to the neighboring barbershop or martini bar without stepping outdoors. It looks like a comfortable, cozy place right at the hub of the Cedar Falls scene.

Checking out a couple of the sights in Waverly

On the courthouse grounds, Linda and I ran across this patriotic park bench dedicaterd to the memory of Don McKenzie. The distinctive design of this memorial bench really caught my eye. The use of the slats in the back of the bench as stripes of the flag was pretty clever. I was unable to find any further information about Mr. McKenzie.


Across the street from the cornerstone of the former Waverly Public Library, we saw Jimmy's Station Museum; a cleaner than usual version of the classic corner gas station. We didn't go over and poke around but could appreciate the overall look of the place and care that had been taken to keep things clean and orderly. It's a nice feature.

Shooting the Bremer County Courthouse

Waverly is the county seat of Bremer County and this is their courthouse. Located along the main east-west highway through town, this courthouse was easy to find situated on nice grounds. As you may see, there's another Statue of Liberty featured in the foreground at this courthouse.

Visiting Strawberry Point

If you ever see Iowa tourism material, odds are good you've seen either Albert the Bull or the strawberry at Strawberry Point. Being in the area and looking for a gas station, Linda and I tooled on up the road. After topping off the gas, I took the short stroll over to city hall and got this shot of what is generally considered the largest strawberry sculpture on display in these United States. This handsome tribute to the tasty fruit is fifteen feet tall, made of fiberglass, and dedicated some time in the 1960s. Worth a pause to appreciate, I'd say.

Visiting Backbone State Park

Wow! Another of the 100 Places in Iowa, Backbone State Park is an amazingly different piece of Iowa. Our oldest state park, Backbone features a narrow ridge of stone that drops sharply to the river below. As Linda and I were climbing around, I was a little more cautious than usual because of the severity of the drop. The image in the upper left shows Linda ahead of me on the trail; in that image, Linda has just passed a point where the ridge is effectively no wider than the path. In the image on the right, you can see the river and trees below. Reading from the Wikipedia entry, I learned that this area is part of the Driftless Area, unaffected by glaciers in the last Ice Age. It's a very interesting place to visit.

Shooting the Manchester Carnegie Library

Much like their courthouse, the library in Manchester is an attractive building. Linda and I stepped inside and were impressed by how well they'd blended the addition with the original building. The new space probably more than doubled the capacity of the library without changing the welcome feeling; very nicely done. One thing that was a bit disappointing was that the entrance in the picture is apparently no longer used. The staircases up and down from this entrance are beautiful blonde wood now out of side to most of the public. That said, the library was active and clearly serving the community well.

Shooting the Delaware County Courthouse

Manchester is the county seat of Delaware County and this is their courthouse. Looking at the Wikipedia entry for the county, I found the following and have to wonder about the rest of the story.

It was named in honor of Delaware Senator John M. Clayton, who also has another Iowa county, Clayton County, named in his honor.

Clayton and Delaware county share a common border but I really haven't seen why this part of the state chose to honor the Senator and Secretary of State from Delaware and his state by taking their name.

Setting aside the county name curiosity for a moment, this is truly a beautiful building.

Shooting the Linn County Courthouse

Cedar Rapids is the county seat of Linn County and this is their courthouse. Located on Mays Island in the middle of the Cedar River, it's not too hard to find but parking is rather limited. There appears to be underground parking between the courthouse and city hall but Linda and I didn't go exploring to that depth.

Capturing a couple of interesting buildings in Cedar Rapids

The Veterans Memorial Building is quite striking, towering above two of the main roads across the Cedar River. Located on Mays Island, this building is also City Hall. The flame at the top reminded me of the torch on the Statue of Liberty. Below the torch, the row of columns also clearly says municipal building.

I believe that I've heard that the window in the arch at street level is quite impressive from inside. Unfortunately, it wasn't open to get to see it for myself to that will have to wait for another day.

Located a couple of blocks from City Hall is the bank formerly known as Peoples Savings Bank. The second of Louis Sullivan's eight jewel box banks stands as a nice reminder of another time. The original structure used fifteen different shades of brick to create a visual texture with "the effect of an antique Oriental rug." The terra cotta details on the exterior are really quite intricate and beautiful. Click here to see images from the restored interior.