We decided to drive the 81 miles to John Wayne Birthplace
Museum, in Winterset Iowa.
Before we left, we had a morning visitor. Isn’t she
a cutie! She is the first wild animal we have seen in this State Park, which is
unusual, since most of the park is in a “forever wild” state.
It is a straight shot along Iowa Route 92. We picked it up just
out of the State Park a few miles before it enters the city of Oskaloosa. After
Oskaloosa, Iowa Route 92 continues its westbound journey, crossing the border
from Mahaska County into Marion County. In Marion County, it passes through a
small town called Harvey before reaching the city of Knoxville. There was a
beautiful old brick silo, along this route. It stands in the middle of a corn
field!
We were in Knoxville yesterday at the National Sprint Car
Museum and Hall of Fame. Iowa Route 92 bypasses the southern end of Knoxville
as a four lane freeway. It overlaps Iowa Route 5 from the interchange in
Knoxville to the point where Iowa Route 5 splits off to the north. After
crossing the border from Marion County into Warren County, we were passed by a
google street view mapping car. We might be famous! Iowa 92 passes through two
more towns, Sandyville and Ackworth before reaching the city of Indianola.
In Indianola, we found a truly old fashioned A&W restaurant.
Too bad, it is too early for lunch! After Indianola, Iowa Route 92 continues
westbound and passes by Martensdale and meets its interchange with Interstate
35. It continues across the border from Warren County into Madison County and
passes through 2 small towns, Bevington, and Patterson.
It is in Bevington, where Iowa Route 92 becomes part of the
Iowa Covered Bridges Scenic Byway. We turned off Iowa Route 92 to head to the
museum. Just learned that Madison County, is the Madison County from the
Bridges of Madison County film! Oh yeah, more to see!
We found the Madison County Freedom Rock, it is located
behind the John Wayne Museum. Although John Wayne is not a veteran, he is
featured on the rock. He played military personnel in 4 movies, which are
featured on the rock. He tried to join the military, but his four children gave
him a deferment.
The Quilt of Valor is a group who make and award quilts to
service personnel. No matter where or when they served. Their goal is to “wrap
all Veterans in love.” Winterset Iowa is the National headquarters for the
Quilt of Valor Foundation. It is interesting that Quilt of Valor is
headquartered here, as the Iowa Quilt Museum is just down the road from the
rock.
George Stout and Glenn Martin are featured on the rock, as
well as 4 POW from Madison County.
The POW are painted in black & white.
They are Carl Hircock, Larry Spencer, Eddie Benge and Dan Thomas. Dan Thomas
reminded me of Yankee RV Caravan member “Uncle Jim” … Dan survived the Bataan
Death March and then became a Japanese POS for 3 ½ years. “Uncle Jim” also
survived the Bataan Death March.
Walking up to the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, the sidewalk
is lined with marble tiles with film names and donor’s names. This is the only
museum in the world dedicated to John Wayne.
There is an almost life-sized statue of The Duke that guards
the front of the museum. The facility naturally includes a movie theater, where
you can relax in comfortable seats (originally from Grauman’s Chinese Theater
in Hollywood) and watch a documentary on the Duke’s phenomenal film career.
The life story of John Wayne began in this small central
Iowa town of Winterset. He was born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907, the
son of Clyde and Mary Brown Morrison. His father, Clyde, was a pharmacist who
worked on the south side of Winterset’s historic town square. In his youth,
Clyde attended nearby Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. John Wayne described
his father as “The kindest, most patient man I ever knew.” Wayne’s mother Mary
was of Irish descent, and Duke said, “She was a tiny, vivacious red-headed
bundle of energy.” During the film, John Wayne’s daughter described her father
as a loving, disciplined man, who never let his stardom get in the way of being
a father first. He was a true mid-western American, he loved God, America and
all the beauty within it.
Inside the museum is John Wayne's custom-made 1972 Pontiac Grand
Safari station wagon. It looks kind-of funny … because the car's roof and doors
are a few inches taller than normal to accommodate Wayne's 6-foot-4-inch frame.
There was a case dedicated to his movie with Dean Martin, “The
Sons of Katie Elder.”
Also on display were Wayne’s personal address book,
including Ronald Regan’s address and his daily planner.
After the museum, we walked to tour the modest four-room boyhood
home of John Wayne. The home has been restored to reflect its appearance in
1907, the year of the actor’s birth. The calendar in the kitchen is even turned
to December 1907.
When we saw the road sign for Scenic Bridges Byway, we
realized that these are the Bridges of Madison County from the Meryl Streep
& Clint Eastwood movie. There is an Annual covered bridge festival is October,
I am sure the bridges are beautiful that time of year with the fall colors of
the trees.
The Cutler-Donahue Bridge was built in 1870 by Eli Cox. The
Cutler-Donahoe bridge is 79 feet in length and features a pitched roof.
Originally located over the North River near Bevington, it was moved to its
present site in Winterset’s City Park in 1970. Cutler-Donahoe was renovated in
1997 at a cost of $35,538.
Also on the edge of Winterset’s City Park is Clark Tower. A
3-story limestone tower overlooking the middle river valley. I am sure it is an
impressive view in the fall. You can only get to it by going through the city
park and taking a narrow one way winding rock road for about a mile in and
another mile out. Clark's Tower was erected in 1926 as a memorial to one on the
county's first pioneer families by their descendants. Dedicated in 1927 to
honor Caleb and Ruth Clark, early settlers in Madison County. Constructed of
native limestone, the tower measures 12 feet in diameter and stands 25 feet
tall.
We drove to the Holliwell Bridge next, which was down a dirt road! It was built in 1880 by Harvey P. Jones and George
K. Foster, Holliwell is the longest covered bridge, measuring 122 feet. It
remains in its original site over the Middle River southeast of Winterset.
Holliwell was renovated in 1995 at a cost of $225,000. It is featured in “The
Bridges of Madison County” movie.
The last bridge we were traveling to is Cedar Bridge, it is
just northeast of Winterset off Iowa Route 92. The Cedar Bridge which was built
in 1883 and replaced in 2004 after an arson fire in 2002. This is one of the
two bridges used in the movie, "Bridges of Madison County." It was
the only bridge which allowed vehicle traffic. But today it is in piles and
behind barricades, because it was heavily damaged again on April 15, 2017 by
arson.
The beloved Cedar Covered Bridge, one of Madison County’s
six historic covered bridges that are linchpins of local tourism, was torched
in April, allegedly by a 17-year-old and his two accomplices. Police said
Alexander Hoff was striking back at his ex-girlfriend. He was spotted on video
surveillance while buying a gas can at 2:15 a.m., left the can behind in the
ditch and then was spotted by another camera near the bridge at 3:15 a.m.
 |
| photo from Iowa Public Radio, at the time of Arson. |
The fire was reported around 6 a.m., and was fully engulfed
when fire crews arrived. One offender received five years of probation and a
suspended 10-year prison sentence. The two accomplices received deferred
judgments and five years of probation. Rebuilding the bridge will cost more
than $500,000.
On the way home, we found some unique roadside art!
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