Making Macon-Bibb Beautiful

Many readers here know that I was born and raised in Iowa (a.k.a. The Holy Land).  Recently I visited my siblings in my birth state and today I present several pictures that I have a desire to share with you.

Admittedly I could have retired in the Iowa, but I choose Macon, Georgia simply because there was not enough farms in Iowa for all of the Farmer's Kids.  Also, I did acquire a Bride who actually was born in Macon during my first tour of Recruiting Support duty here in Macon.

We in Macon-Bibb have much to be proud of.  We have witnessed great progress in recent years in the renovation of downtown Macon.  The demolition of 100 abandoned houses last fiscal year is a noteworthy accomplishment.

The College Hill Alliance and the Friends of Tattnall Square Park have been dynamic leaders in the renovation of other parts of Macon-Bibb.  We must also realize that Mercer University has also played  a major roll in our renewal.

That stated, we can not rest on our laurels.  The projects must continue.  We have a lot to be proud of.

Additionally, if we desire to attract business organizations we must also keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, just as the examples below clearly display.

As I entered Bloomfield, Iowa
in Davis County I noticed these positive
banners.  This is a small Iowa
Farm Town, but they display a lot
of civic pride.

The Davis County Courthouse is located
in Bloomfield, Iowa.  Build in 1877 it
continues to enjoy the civic pride of all
citizens who support keeping it beautiful.

The Bloomfield Business District

Every structure on the Court House Square
had a business that was well kept.

Paducah, KY.  A beautiful city with a lot
of civic price.

Early morning in Paducah.  A street in
the Historic District.  All structures were
occupied and attractive.

The pocket gardens surrounding the trees
had placards announcing which business
maintained them.

Nothing fancy, just great maintenance
of the structures in the Historic District.
Paducah, KY can certainly be a shining
example for many cities in the U. S. A., including
Macon-Bibb.

Paducah is on the Ohio River and has a
Memorial to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
This is located on a large park South of
the National Quilt Museum.

This is is but one of the scenes painted on the Flood
Wall protecting Paducah.  There are at least
fifty painted panels.

This is the River side of the Flood Wall.  Please note
My Bride who stands about 69 inches tall.  The
painted panels displayed above are on
the other side of this Flood Wall.  Of course you can
also view the slide where the gates are placed when
floods approach.

This is the back side and also the receiving
area for a Local Grocery Store, employee owned
Hy-Vee.
I challenge our P&Z as well as our local Government
to implement regulations that require our local business
operations in shopping centers to be as clean and
attractive as this.  This store is located in Altoona, Iowa,
which is just a few miles from Des Moines.
Altoona is a bedroom Community, but also
the home of the MidWest FaceBook Operation.
Facebook choose Altoona last year and the
Building is now almost complete.

2014 Holiday

Homeward Bound

As we prepared for the final day of our 2014 Holiday we decided to stop in Nashville, TN.  Our first stop was the American Pickers Store which is located in the former "Marathon Motor Car" Buildings.  

We can now cross off visiting the American
Pickers Store in Nashville from our Bucket
List.

 After that we traveled to the Cafe Loveless in South West Nashville for a delightful Dinner prior to returning to our Home in Georgia.  It was a delightful Dinner.

Memory Day

2014 Iowa Holiday

As our Holiday was coming to completion I took a few hours to take the pictures that I had missed over the course of the Holiday.

This a woodland/grazing area on the Farm that
My Nephews own and operate.  They also
raise a few beef cattle as shown here.  

This is the "Area Veteran's Memorial"
located in Guttenberg, Iowa.  It list all of the
Veterans from the local area.  This Memorial
is in a park abreast of the Mississippi River.

 The next three pictures are of a tuck point project that one of My Nephews has established.  He indicated that He is encouraging His Sons to learn a craft.  Their handiwork is shown here.  This is the foundation/basement of an old Barn with limestone rock for the walls.

An After Picture.  Not bad for three boys with
the oldest being eleven years old.

A Before picture!!

 The next six pictures are of the Veteran's Memorial located in Garnavillo, Iowa, where I attended High School.

This is a "today" picture of the House
where I was born in 1940.  It was constructed
in 1918/1919 for a total cost of $3600.00 and
includes a full basement with steam heat boiler
and indoor plumbing.  It is no longer
occupied.

This is Clayton Ridge Farm Land just across the
road from the house where I was born.  The highway
is also known as the "Great River Road," which
runs from New Orleans to the Twin Cities and in most
cases is very close to the Mississippi River.

Nephew Day

Iowa Holiday 2014

During the past several visits to Iowa one of my Nephew's also takes me around Clayton County to show me his farm operation and also items of interest to him.

As you can tell, this is a water pump.  My
Nephew welded the handle in a position so
that it now serves as a railing aside of the
steps that go from one level to another level
in his Garden area.

Here you see a flower planting in an old iron kettle
that was formerly used to heat water to scald hogs
so that they could be skinned and butchered for
pork.

This is a view of the farmstead that My Brother
owns but is rented to my Nephew.  This distance
view also includes some of the neighbors
cornfield.

 I climbed the 23,000 bushel corn bin on my Nephew's Farm to capture the next five pictures.

This is the inside of the Corn Bin showing the
auger used to empty the bin.

This is a view of the ceiling of the Corn Bin.

I always enjoy the time I am able to spend with all of my relatives and I continue to learn much about the current farming technology.  I can remember helping my Dad pick corn by hand and then throwing the ears of corn onto a wagon drawn by a team of hourses.  Times have changed!!!!!

Sibling Day

During every visit to Iowa, which is an annual event My Youngest Sibling takes me for a ride.  On this day we visited fields near Clayton, Iowa as well as other locations.  Please see the captions under certain pictures.

This is the entrance sign for the Mississippi River
town of Clayton.  I was born in a nearby
Farm House in 1940, however my Birthplace is
recorded as at:  Clayton, Iowa.

Neither of us had ever visited the Clayton Cemetery
before so we took this opportunity to do so.
Here my Sibling views the tombstones of
the parents of several of his High School Classmates.

Pikes Peak State Park on the West Side
of the Mississippi River.  This pictures was
taken from the observation platform which
is 500 feet above the Mississippi River.
Zebulon Pike and his fellow explorers first
saw this area when they came down
the Wisconsin River on their trip West.

Grain Elevators in McGregor, Iowa

A high span of the bridge that connects
Iowa with Wisconsin.

An old grain elevator in McGregor, Iowa.