2020 blitz to the Northern Plains - visit friends on our Christmas card list and college memories - Travel With Us

With Covid-19 restrictions affecting travel in the U.S., we decided to spend a couple of months in states where the virus hasn’t closed everything down, so we’re taking off to North and South Dakota to spend time in the Northern Plains area of the nation. On our week-long blitz to get to this area, we stopped to visit friends from our Christmas card list and visit each other’s college locations.

Our first stop was less than 4 hours from home close to Nashville at the Nashville I-24 Campground.

Such beautiful flowers in front of the campground office. This campground is one that people live in year-round, so trailers were pretty close together—so unlike what we were used to in Georgia’s state parks.

So good to see Pete and Cindy, and meet Cindy’s mom. Barney and I worked with Cindy at Ministry Ventures a number of years ago. Hopefully we’ll be able to get together another time and explore this area of Tennessee. So good to see them again in their new home.

Illinois

Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale

Here is where we are at the southern tip of Illinois.

Barney got his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale—but he never stepped a foot on campus until today!

During the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps accepted volunteers for pilot training who had completed at least 2 years of college. Since Barney had always wanted to fly as a Marine just as his father had, he volunteered. While he and his family were stationed in North Carolina, the Corps set up a program with SIU to bring instructors to the base. After completing the 10 classes, Barney earned his Bachelors Degree in Aviation Management (it was that or nursing).

The student center where Barney would have spent much of his time if he had gone to school here.

The school’s mascot is the Saluki. What are they?

The name of the school’s mascot comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illinois has had the nickname “Little Egypt” for a long time.

As we drove around, we were under-impressed by the buildings we saw. However, we did see these older buildings that gave some character to the campus.

Crab Orchard Campground

That night we stayed at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge Campground just out of town. A lovely place to stay.

As we drove through southern Illinois, we saw acre after acre after acre of corn.

Western Illinois University (WIU) in Macomb

Here’s where we are near Macomb, home of WIU.

Welcome to WIU, founded in 1899 as a Normal School that taught men and women how to teach.

I went to WIU for a year of graduate school just after graduating from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. At the time I wanted to teach high school English but believed I didn’t know enough about English literature to be an effective teacher. When my department chair told me about a graduate assistant program at WIU where they would waive the tuition and pay me enough for room and board if I would just tutor undergraduates in a writing lab, I said “Sign me up!”

The last time I was in Macomb was 50 years ago (can’t believe it was that long ago!), so I had to stretch my mind to remember the drive into town, the town itself, the campus, and where I lived.

Most of the buildings were newer and unimpressive, but Simpkins Hall and 1 other building were possibilities. After looking more closely, I knew I had found my “grad home” at Simpkins Hall.

Here is the building where I went every school day to take classes and to work with undergraduate students in the writing lab.

Simpkins Hall was originally called Western Academy and then Western High School and was dedicated in May 1939. This brick building was originally built to house a training school for grades K-12 and school administrators. It also operated as a training/laboratory school until 1967.

The building was renamed Simpkins Hall in 1968 (I came here in 1969), and the English Department was in this building. I remember being impressed with this building when I was here so long ago, but now it just seemed old and had a smell to it that was unpleasant.

One of the flight of stairs I walked up and down 5 days a week for a year. Such memories.

And WIU still has a Writing Center! My job was to work with undergraduates who hadn’t earned a C average in Freshman Comp. They had to work with one of the graduate assistants until they could write 3 papers at a C level.

Most of the students I worked with had earned their poor grade because they hadn’t gone to class regularly. By their senior year they had mastered their writing skills to at least write at a C level. But some students did need some help, and I loved working with them. This experience started my love of working with men and women who want to improve their writing skills.

The first impression I had of Macomb when I came with my folks to find a place to live was that it was so much larger than where I had gone to college. Indianola had 1 town square, and Macomb had 2.

Somehow I remembered that the apartment I lived in was east of 1 of the town squares on a main street. The building was a ways away from the street and was at least 2 stories tall. We drove up and down streets, and finally settled on this building that still has apartments for rent.

I walked in and the closed-in feeling from the stairway and hallway almost overwhelmed me. This is where I lived in my first-ever apartment for a year. I would never choose it now with its closed-in feeling, but what did I know then?

Timberview Lakes Campground

About 30 minutes from town, we found this campground that is certainly a do-again! The owners were so welcoming, and both of us wish we could have stayed longer.

Some of the RVs were pretty close together. Some were being used while we were there, but others were waiting for owners to come for the weekend.

Our first morning there, we woke up to this beautiful sunrise over the fields.

As we left the central western part of Illinois, we saw more and more acres of corn and soy beans. We were amazed by all the fields we saw as we drove along.

Iowa

On this trip we’re just driving through the state on our way to Minnesota for a few days. Wish we could have stayed longer in my home state. We were here 2 years ago on our way home from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula trip.

At one of the rest stops, I saw this poster about a Safe at Home program in Iowa that I wanted to tell you about.

It’s a free state-sponsored program that allows survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking to keep their addresses confidential. The program provides the participants a legal substitute address, a mail forwarding service, and confidential voter registration. The participants’ actual physical address will not appear on public records. Sounds like a great program to me! Wonder if other states have something like it.

KOA Resort Campground

This KOA campground is in Waterloo, just across the street from a (closed) water park that is probably well used during the hot summer months.

This KOA even had their own gas station, which was a real help for us so we could get back on the road easily.

Our site was on top of a hill, but guests staying longer had sites among young trees that would give them some protection from the wind.

Small, colorful cabins were available for rent along the park’s lake.

northern Iowa

As we were about to leave Iowa, we stopped at this unusual-looking rest stop. It sure looked like an Iowa farm.

My mother would have been aghast at this sign since we are at the *northern* part of Iowa, not the *top* of the state.

What made the land formations of northern Iowa? They came from 3 separate glacial ice sheets. Pilot Knob, a glacially formed hill west of here, is one of the highest points in northern Iowa and was used by early travelers as a landmark as they were going west.

Much of the western 2/3 of Iowa was prairie when the first settlers arrived. Pioneers traveled through grasses 5 to 7 feet tall, referring to their trip through them as taking “a voyage through an ocean of grass.”

Iowa women over the years

Behind the rest stop is this memorial garden.

The garden is in honor of women’s service to our country.

Hundreds of women disguised themselves as men and took the bold step of leaving their homes to serve during the Civil War. Many of them enlisted because they had no means of supporting themselves after their loved ones left to fight. One was Frances Clayton who became Jack Williams.

During WWI, women held jobs previously held by men, including work in transportation and construction. Women also found jobs in clerical positions and in garment and textile factories.

By 1945, nearly 40% of the workforce was women since so many men were overseas. The defense industries were dependent on them. Ellen Church from Iowa served as a nurse during WWII and earned numerous awards.

During the Korean War, women filled noncombat support roles and served as communication technicians and intelligence analysts, in addition to such medical support occupations as surgeons and dentists.

Thousands of women took part in the Vietnam War, primarily in support services as volunteers. They participated as air traffic controllers, intelligence officers, weather monitors, clerks, medical support team members, communication specialists, and many other jobs. Over 90% were nurses. More than 11,00 women were stationed in Vietnam during the conflict.

The role of women is the military keeps evolving so that now they are even in battle situations. They patrolled streets with machine guns, served as gunners on vehicles, disposed of explosives, drove trucks down bomb-ridden roads, and piloted helicopters during combat missions.

Some 300,000 women in uniform served in these wars and earned more than 10,000 combat action awards and Bronze Stars.

Mrs. Catt was a leader in the suffrage movement in northern Iowa.

After the 19th Amendment was ratified, she founded the League of Women Voters, holding offices in the women’s rights movement for 51 years.

Minnesota

across-the-street neighbors

Jim and Karen lived across the street from us in Mtn. View, California, for about 8 years before they moved away.

Jim has a green thumb that always transforms the land where he and Karen live. We got to enjoy his work every time we stepped out of our house. Another neighbor, John and Sheri, lived next to them on the corner, and Sheri’s green thumb beautified their lawn as well. These 2 families made living on our street a real joy as we shared holidays and life with each other.

Jim and Karen’s yard—so beautiful! Lucky neighbors.

friends from Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California

I got to know Mark and Deanna when we worked together with middle schoolers in our church. Eventually they got married, moved away, and adopted these 2 young men. We’ve only known their sons through Christmas letters, so getting to know them in person on this trip was a real joy. We spent 2 days together. Mark, Deanna, David, and Steve are friends for life.