Today is New Year’s Eve and the haunting melody of Auld Lang Syne fills my head like a persistent earworm. The song is from an old Robert Burns poem, and its Scottish title translates to “Days Gone By.” The last day of the year is a day to think of times past.
Few things remind me more of “days gone by” than the remote town of Reserve, New Mexico (population 289) in Catron County among the west-central mountains of that state. A 1952 portrait of the old Catron County sheriff paints a vivid description of law and order in “days gone by” in the rural West:
Sheriff Frank Balke of Catron County, New Mexico
Note the pearl-handled revolver and the belt made of rattlesnake hide. Sheriff Balke served three different stints as county sheriff in the 1930s and 1940s. His portrait hangs in the courthouse below, built in 1968 after Sheriff Balke’s times were themselves “days gone by”:
Catron County Courthouse. Reserve, New Mexico. Note the ‘Go Get Em Mountaineers!’ banner on the wall.Catron County in the state of New Mexico
Catron County New Mexico has a population of less than 4,000, and that hasn’t changed much over the past few decades. The people here are a mixture of Hispanics and Anglos who settled the country along the San Francisco River in the late 1800s. The San Francisco River is an upper tributary of the Gila River, which flows westward through southern Arizona to meet the Colorado. The main town in the county is the village of San Francisco Plaza, but the county seat is the nearby town of Reserve, formerly known as Upper Frisco. Reserve was so named for the various Forest Reserves nearby (now called National Forests).
Reserve is the site of the siege of Elfego Baca, a local lawman who held off a gang of Texan cowboys seeking to kill him for arresting their fellow cowboy on a charge of drunkenness. The affair took place in December 1884 and became known as the Frisco Shoot-out. Badly outnumbered, Baca holed up in an adobe house as dozens of cowboys shot hundreds of holes into its walls. Baca was not wounded even once while managing to kill four of his attackers during a siege lasting 33 hours.
What’s interesting about “days gone by” in this instance is that fundamental facts are elusive — “Deputy” Baca may or may not have been an authorized lawman at all and the number of cowboys he held off varies from 40 up to 80. Many claim that the cowboys put over 4,000 holes into the adobe walls sheltering Elfego Baca. Regardless of how many bullet holes there were, the holes were real — they served as evidence in Baca’s murder trial acquittal.
A mural depicting the Frisco Shoot-out. Reserve, New Mexico
A statue of Elfego Baca stands at the center of town, and a historical plaque explains the circumstances of his fame:
Statue of Elfego Baca in Reserve, New MexicoHistorical plaque explaining the events of the Frisco Shoot-out. Reserve, New MexicoPainting of Elfego Baca on a front door. Reserve, New Mexico
I was last here in December of 2012. Back then the “downtown” area of Reserve consisted of the county courthouse, a Mexican restaurant, a breakfast cafe, a small bank, two general merchandise stores, and a bar called Uncle Bill’s. It probably hasn’t changed much since then, nor had it probably changed much in “days gone by” before 2012.
Ella’s Cafe. Reserve, New MexicoThe Black Gold Emporium: Gas, groceries, video rentals, etc. Reserve, New MexicoFrisco Stables collectibles and visitor center, next to the Wild West Coffee Company. Reserve, New MexicoUncle Bill’s Bar. Reserve, New MexicoGas prices in 2012: $3.87 unleaded and $4.46 diesel. Reserve, New MexicoDowntown traffic and mountains beyond. Reserve, New Mexico
All photos were taken by the author either on January 25, 2007 or on December 12, 2012.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
All photos were taken by the author. Photos were taken Friday, January 13, 2012.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
Stevenson is an old Columbia River port town lying about 50 miles upstream from the Portland (OR)/Vancouver (WA) metro area. The town of 1,500 lies on the steep northern banks of the Columbia River at the western edge of the Columbia River Gorge. The high Cascade Mountains can be seen across the river on the Oregon side.
Downtown Stevenson, Washington, from the steps of the Skamania County Courthouse
Main Street Stevenson is called the Lewis and Clark Highway after the famous explorers. The Corps of Discovery, as Lewis and Clark referred to their expedition, came past this spot going downriver in November 1805, and again returning upriver in April 1806. They referred to the area as the “Great Shoote” for the difficult rapids at this spot.
Historical sign explaining the Lewis and Clark expedition’s travails at Stevenson
In the 20th Century, a series of dams were built on the Columbia to help tame the river and to provide hydroelectric power. The Bonneville Dam, 10 miles downstream of Stevenson, was completed in 1937 and provides some calm to the river at this point. This is how the Columbia River at Stevenson looks today:
Columbia River at Stevenson, Washington
Stevenson is an old river port town. Little of the port remains but the government recently built a jetty into the river, some shoreline sidewalks, and a park to commemorate the old port.
Columbia River jetty at Stevenson LandingA historical sign explains the steamboat era at Stevenson
Stevenson is still small despite its location (within commuting distance to Portland). Today the town is half rural residential and half rural logging community. There are a few diners downtown and a few brewpubs have been popping up to service the hiking, biking, and wind-surfing crowd.
It’s often cold and windy around here but I lucked out today. Today is a clear, warm November day. About half the autumn leaves remain on the trees, leaving the hillsides speckled with gold against an evergreen background.
Along the Columbia in Stevenson, WashingtonLooking down toward 1st Street. Stevenson, Washington
The Skamania County Courthouse is a 1970s-style building three stories tall with a wide front lawn sloping down toward the Lewis and Clark Highway below. The bright green of the Washington state flag reflects off the courthouse’s front glass windows. Views from the building could be sold as real estate; they look up and down the Columbia River and include the steep green cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side.
Skamania County Courthouse. Stevenson, WashingtonSkamania County Courthouse. Stevenson, WashingtonSkamania County in the state of Washington
A large tree stump from Skamania County’s logging days serves as the county veterans’ memorial. The best view of the Columbia River Gorge has been reserved for the veterans’ memory.
Skamania County Veterans Memorial
All photos were taken by the author on November 2, 2009.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
Nestled in a shallow mountain valley along the upper Allegheny River, Warren looks like many other central Pennsylvania small towns. Its population stands at 10,000 or so, and the streets here are lined with tall deciduous trees. Often shaded behind those trees are old Victorian homes dating back to Warren’s oil and timber boomtime in the late 1800s. But prosperity has come back to town, as you’ll see below.
In the fall it’s absolutely beautiful here. A stroll down 5th Avenue in Warren isn’t at all like a stroll down 5th Avenue in Manhattan or even in Pittsburgh, but it’s striking in its own way. I used this photo as my PC desktop background for a while.
5th Avenue in Warren, Pennsylvania
Imagine sitting on the front porch of this fine home, enjoying a coffee or a whiskey depending on the time of year.
Classic brick home with an American flag in Warren, Pennsylvania
Just one more home please. 5th Avenue in Warren runs along the base of a mountain, as seen off to the right in this photo.
Victorian home with classic front porch and the American flag. Warren, Pennsylvania
The Warren County Courthouse is just down the street.
Warren County Courthouse. Warren, Pennsylvania
Built in 1876, the cornerstone says July 4, 1876, or the day of America’s first Centennial celebration.
The Warren County Courthouse cornerstone
Renovated in 1999, the courthouse was originally topped by a steel statue of Lady Justice, which has since been replaced with a fiberglass version. The original statue currently sits in a first-floor display case. According to the historical notes, the replacement to a fiberglass version was undertaken since fiberglass is better able to withstand lightning strikes, other weather, and gunshots. Gunshots? Yes, the notes mentioned that when taken down in 1999 the old Lady was found bearing bullet marks. What happened? Were bored residents using her as target practice from their front porches on quiet evenings? It doesn’t say.
Warren County CourthouseWarren County Courthouse front lawn and Civil War cannonWarren County in the state of Pennsylvania
The history of this part of north-central Pennsylvania includes conflicts with Seneca and other Iroquois tribes. One war chief named Cornplanter, son of a Dutch trader and a Seneca woman, led negotiations with the new United States after the end of the Revolutionary War. Wikipedia has an entry on Cornplanter here. On his painting, found displayed prominently inside the courthouse, Cornplanter is shown with an American flag draped over his left arm with the shadow of George Washington over his right shoulder,
Dutch-Seneca Chief Cornplanter
Warren was named for Revolutionary War hero General Joseph Warren, who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The town honors him with a statue in the park, below the tree-lined ridge at the north end of town.
Statue of Joseph Warren in Warren, PA
Warren has always been an oil town, and its proximity to the Marcellus Shale and its fracking activity helps with its prosperity today. Storefronts downtown along Pennsylvania Avenue (main street) are mostly occupied. I hope the prosperity lasts — beautiful, stately small towns like this deserve a break.
Downtown Warren, PennsylvaniaDowntown Warren, PennsylvaniaElk fountain in downtown Warren, looking west
Every old Pennsylvania town has a statue honoring its Union veterans from the Civil War. Warren’s statue is at the base of the Hickory Bridge over the Allegheny River, at one corner of the main intersection in town.
Civil War memorial in Warren, PA. Hickory Bridge over the Allegheny is at the right.
Downtown Warren lies along the banks of the upper Allegheny River — far, far upstream from the river’s confluence with the Monongahela at Pittsburgh. Here, the Allegheny is just a big mountain stream.
Hickory Bridge over the Allegheny at Warren, PAAllegheny River near WarrenCanoeists and a kayaker on the Allegheny, waving at me
Although Warren has only 10,000 residents, it does have some culture. The Struthers Library Theatre uses the old town library building for events. A list of events can be found on their website here. It’s impressive. A photo of the classic venue is below.
Struthers Library Theatre. Warren, Pennsylvania
Of course, the new library building is pretty nice too. I like the classical references along the exterior walls.
Warren Public Library
Finally, and not at all least importantly, every cool town needs a cool cigar lounge. Allow me to present Nice Ash Cigars and Lounge (link here), a classy part of the Warren nightlife. Nice Ash has two additional locations in Depew and Fairport, New York — but why cross the border into New York (no-fracking country) when you can enjoy a cigar in Pennsylvania?
Nice Ash Cigars and Lounge. Warren, PA
As the sign on the window says, Nothing Beats a Nice Ash!
All photos were taken by the author either on October 4th or October 8th, 2019.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
Paducah, Kentucky is a small city situated on the south bank of the Ohio River at its junction with the Tennessee River, which comes up from the south.
The Paducah waterfront looking northeastward up the Ohio River with the Tennessee River joining it
Paducah is an old city in terms of the American west, founded in 1827 by William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame with a purchase of 37,000 acres of land for the sum of $5. A historical sign downtown explains the circumstances.
Colonel George Rogers Clark had claimed the land as a warrant for his army service during the Revolutionary War, in which he effectively gained the entire Northwest Territory for the new United States of America.
Much of Paducah’s history is recounted by murals painted on the town’s Ohio River floodwall. A walk along the wall is a walk through history.
Kincaid Mounds near Paducah, around 1300 A.D.Chickasaw tribesmen along the Ohio River in the early 19th Century. The Lewis & Clark flotilla is shown passing by on their way downstream to the Mississippi.
The name “Paducah” was given by William Clark. Some say Clark named the town for the “Padoucas”, a Great Plains tribe he encountered in his travels to the Pacific with the Corps of Discovery. Others say Clark named the town for Chief Paducah, leader of a nearby Chickasaw band.
Scenes of early white settlement in PaducahSteamboats docked at Paducah
The town was a major prize in the early days of the Civil War. In 1861 while Kentucky was trying to remain neutral in the impending conflict, General Ulysses Grant took Paducah on September 6 before his Confederate counterpart could do so. Later in the war, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest conducted a successful raid on the city.
The Battle of Paducah, 1864Paducah, Kentucky in 1873Paducah in the early 1900sPaducah Townscape in the 1930sPaducah as the “Atomic City”. Home to the nation’s only uranium enrichment facility.
The Ohio landing areas near the riverfront provide an insight into late 19th Century Paducah. The area abounds in old brick merchant buildings now used as restaurants, bars, and antique shops.
Downtown Paducah19th Century brick buildings in Paducah, KentuckyTree-lined merchant shops converted to restaurantsPaducah, Kentucky. Red brick streets downtown
The McCracken County Courthouse occupies an entire city block seven blocks away from the river. This two-story red brick structure was built between 1940 and 1943 under the auspices of the WPA.
McCracken County CourthouseMcCracken County Courthouse. Paducah, KentuckyMcCracken County in the state of Kentucky
Here’s a final floodwall mural of some of the most prominent old buildings in Paducah. Most of them are churches.
The churches of Paducah, Kentucky
All photos were taken by the author on September 3, 2019.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
An August day is a good day to come to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. This is a tourist town and a Rocky Mountain mecca. Downtown has antiques shops, outdoor gear merchants, old bars, and new coffee places. Glenwood Springs straddles the Colorado River at the bottom end of Glenwood Canyon.
Doc Holliday Tavern, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
I remember the very first time I came through Glenwood Springs in September 1991. I was driving an old Mazda GLC on my first cross-country trip.
Downtown Glenwood Springs with the red cliffs of the Rockies as a backdrop
I was charmed by the old buildings and wild west flavor. Main Street includes the Doc Holliday Tavern & Saloon — a little box of a building with a neon sign fashioned as a revolver above the front door.
The entrance to Doc Holliday’s Saloon, Glenwood Springs
Doc Holliday’s life story can be found here. He was a dentist-turned-gunslinger driven west as a remedy for tuberculosis. Ultimately the disease took his life (not a gunshot wound), and he died and was buried in Glenwood Springs.
Other buildings downtown are old stone and brick structures and provide a solid western feel, like this one:
Downtown Glenwood Springs
Because Glenwood Springs is situated deep in a canyon, nearly every view provides a mountain vista behind it:
Glenwood Springs is not without its brewpubs.
Glenwood Canyon Brewpub
Amtrak runs through Glenwood Springs and then up into Glenwood Canyon. Here’s the old train station.
Amtrak train station, Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs is the largest town in this area and the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado.
Garfield County Courthouse, Glenwood SpringsGarfield County in the state of Colorado
The downtown area is along the south side of the Colorado River. If you go across a metal bridge spanning the river (and Interstate 70) you’ll find the Spa of the Rockies.
Spa of the Rockies, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Nice place to enjoy some hot springs — or just take a dip in their pool on a hot day. Or just a place to lie around the pool thinking about it.
Here’s another view of the Spa of the Rockies, their old hotel towers, and their waterslide.
Spa of the Rockies
There’s nothing like rafting down the Colorado River on a hot August day. These rafters have just exited the rapids of Glenwood Canyon, which is just upstream of Glenwood Springs.
Rafting on the Colorado River
I’ll finish with some photos looking eastward, upstream along the river into Glenwood Canyon. Both Amtrak and Interstate 70 snake their way through the canyon along the banks of the Colorado River, providing breathtaking views unmatched anywhere outside of the Grand Canyon of Arizona. I drove through this canyon for the first time back in that first cross-country trip in 1991 — I’ve come back many times since. Of course!
Looking eastward from Glenwood SpringsColorado River at Glenwood Springs
All photos were taken by the author either on August 2, 2006, or August 21, 2009.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
Note: I wrote the draft of this post after visiting Waseca, Minnesota in June 2016 — but didn’t publish it. I’ve had a very busy schedule this month so I’m dusting off the draft and putting it out there today. Hope you enjoy it.)
June 28, 2020
While sitting at the counter one bright summer morning at the Pheasant Cafe…
That cry echoed across the diner with the urgency of a Chicago commodities trader hawking pork bellies at the Merc.
I looked up from my ham and cheese omelet with hash browns to find the source of the sudden commotion. There, off to my far right sat four old men around a corner table. A fifth man, probably a septuagenarian, stood leaning forward, left hand on the table, right hand clutching five big red dice, ready to toss them onto a white tablecloth. Dishes and silverware from finished breakfasts had been pushed to the edges of the table, making room for a small pile of silver coins in the center. Old friends playing for nickels and dimes — early Thursday mornings here in rural Minnesota somehow resemble late Friday nights at Caesar’s in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, not minding the rambunctious old men, a lone old woman sat at a separate table across from them, calmly sipping her coffee, waiting for her husband who should arrive in a few moments. At yet another table two old women sat together, similarly sipping their black coffee and waiting. Perhaps they are wives to one or two of the dice-playing men. Or perhaps they have no one to wait for. I wondered.
Waseca, Minnesota lies about an hour south of Minneapolis but a world away. It’s corn and soybean country; no casinos, those are an hour south in Iowa. Here’s a free plug for the Pheasant Cafe. Drop by someday — I doubt you’ll get any action, but the good food will be reward enough.
Outside the cafe, State Street has been prepared for the Fourth of July.
State Street. Waseca, Minnesota. (verified by the town water tower in the background)
In addition to the classic breakfast café, Waseca successfully meets and exceeds all one’s small-town expectations. The two blocks of downtown businesses are all open. (This includes two other coffee shops, several bars, and at least two casual dining restaurants.) Side street houses are shaded by tall leafy trees. Lawns are being mowed, wood siding is being re-painted.
The Waseca Music Company, and other classic brick businesses. Waseca, Minnesota
The Waseca Music Company is still around, still on State Street. In fact, they’ve been around since 1952, which means they were around when the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around” charted to number one in the United States in 1964. The Waseca Music Company probably sold that record as a 45.
Thrivent Financial, El Molino Restaurant. State Street. Waseca, Minnesota
Waseca boasts a population of 9,000. That’s small but growing — 9,000 is its largest size since settlement in 1867. Waseca is the largest town in Waseca County and the county seat.
People think Minnesota is full of Swedes, but the census says that there are twice as many people of German descent here as there are Scandinavians, and in turn twice as many Scandinavians here as Irish, who are twice as many as the combined totals of all other Waseca residents.
Waseca County Courthouse, preparing for Fourth of July festivities
Built in 1897, this Richardson Romanesque structure has three granite pillars across the front entrance. The entrance is clothed in American flag banners in anticipation of the Fourth of July just two weeks away at the time of the photo. Above it all, a corner, four-faced clock tower rises 100 feet above the ground and keeps accurate time.
Waseca County Courthouse
This courthouse can be found on the National Register of Historic Places. Here’s some additional information on Wikipedia. That entry, however, doesn’t mention the cannon found on the courthouse lawn. It seems too large to be from the Civil War — perhaps it’s a World War I artifact.
Cannon at Waseca County CourthouseWaseca County in the state of Minnesota
Nearby grain elevators give away the county’s main line of business.
The old Miller-Armstrong Building. Waseca, Minnesota
Later on, as I walked along a residential street, three 10-year-old girls ran swiftly past me on the sidewalk. I heard: “Hi”, “Hi” (the third one a bit behind the other two) and “Hi”. Wearing summer pastel shorts and t-shirts, each one said good morning to the stranger (me) as they rushed along to accomplish 10-year-old girl things.
They were probably going to the lake. Every Minnesota town has its own lake — didn’t you know that? Until James Lileks features Waseca in The Bleat, you can find out more here (the website has a rotating series of photos and the 2nd one is a good aerial view of the town and lakes).
All photos were taken by the author on June 23, 2016.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, The TimMan
(Note: I wrote the draft of this post after visiting Heber City, Utah in May 2012 — but didn’t publish it. I’ve had a very busy schedule this month so I’m dusting off the draft and putting it out there today. Hope y’all enjoy it.)
An old wit once compared the nineteenth-century Mormon pioneers of Utah to the Jewish refugees who settled in Israel after the Holocaust — fleeing oppression, both groups settled in barren deserts only to turn them into beautiful gardens.
As I drove into Heber City, Utah, I could tell this was an old Mormon town just by reading the street signs. The Mormons are peculiar yet conformist — each Mormon town has the same street layout, a rigid system of grid numbers. There are never streets named for trees, ex-Presidents, nor even esteemed Mormon leaders. Instead, a street 9 blocks north of the town center is called simply “900 North” while a street 3 blocks east of the town center is “300 East,” and so forth everywhere. The only exceptions are for the central north-south street, called “Main”, and the central east-west street which is called “Center”.
Wasatch County in the state of Utah
Each Mormon town has a tabernacle, and it usually rises at the intersection of Center and Main, the center of town and so symbolically the center of town life.
Pictured below is the old Wasatch Stake Tabernacle in Heber City, built in 1889. Today this is just a historical artifact — having outgrown the old building the local congregation has since built a larger facility nearby.
Wasatch Stake Tabernacle with the statue of “The Family,” Heber City, Utah
I glanced quickly at the bronze statue of “The Family” on the temple lawn. At first, it seems like a typical statue honoring a simple pioneer family, yet I thought it a peculiar subject for the formerly polygamous Mormons. Nevertheless, it is true that the LDS church outlawed polygamy in 1890 and that only a minority of Mormons practiced it even when it was sanctioned.
Wasatch Stake Tabernacle
Heber City was founded in the late 1850s by English immigrants of the Mormon faith (early Mormons heavily evangelized in England) and named for Mormon leader Heber C. Kimball. Like many other Utah towns, Heber City is often referred to as just “Heber” — as Salt Lake City is often referred to as just “Salt Lake” or Brigham City as “Brigham.”
Heber is down-slope from its famous ski neighbor Park City (or is it just “Park”?) on the eastern slopes of the Wahsatch Mountains. The area is a combination of old-time Mormon community and newer, ski-related growth. The two appear to intermingle well. The established folks provide services to the newer ski group who in turn spend their money on land and retail sales.
Business block at the Corner of Main and Center. Heber City, Utah
Heading away from the intersection of Main and Center, I photographed a typical home — smallish but well-kept and with a fantastic view behind it:
In the Shadow of the Wahsatch. Heber City, Utah
Snow-capped peaks in the background. It’s late May.
Heber City is prosperous. New, upscale restaurants compete with fast food places and national-brand big-box stores up and down Main Street. Competing with McDonald’s, Heber offers you Dairy Keen (“Home of the Train”) — a family-oriented hamburger and ice cream shop featuring a miniature train running in a loop along the edge of the dining room ceiling. Everybody loves trains!
Dairy Keen was nearly full when I went inside; half were eating while the other half were watching the trains chugging along over their heads. Here’s a link so that you can support them the next time you’re in Heber: www.dairykeen.com.
Dairy Keen, Main Street. Heber City, Utah
Another promising place is the Side Track Café and espresso bar. (Note: the photo was taken in 2012; the Side Track has since closed).
Side Track Cafe
Built into an old Mormon stone house the Side Track offered all the products Mormons notoriously eschew — beer, wine, espresso and live music. In fact, the Side Track seems to be flaunting them. Perhaps the owners are rebellious old hippies but I’ll never know since the Side Track Café was closed when I dropped by — even though their flashing neon sign said they were O-P-E-N, O-P-E-N, O-P-E-N.
When saying that Heber City is a “Mormon” town that doesn’t mean that the town is only Mormon. Other faiths are well-represented:
St. Lawrence Catholic Church, corner of Center Street and 100 West. Heber City, Utah.
Because Utah is booming, nearly every county seat I visited in the state has a new courthouse and a new justice center. Wasatch County’s new justice building is just south of town. The structure is a semi-circular ranch-style building covered by a red stone veneer with yellow stone trim.
Wasatch County Courthouse. Heber City, Utah
Let’s finish back at the beginning with the old Tabernacle. In front of the old tabernacle is a bronze statue of a pioneer family called “The Family.”
Statue of “The Family.” Heber City, Utah
Here’s the inscription:
The monument’s foundation symbolizes the eternal nature of the family. The plow represents the industry of man. The wheat is the fruit of honest labor. The wheel represents progress; through effort we move forward. The father provides direction for the future with his hand on the wheel. The mother, located at the center, provides teaching and nurturing of the family. The son kneels at his mother’s knee which reminds us that the greatest lessons are taught in the home. The daughter standing with a book in her hand suggests the need for continued education.
First, there is “industry” then “labor” and then “progress” through “effort”. “The Family” travels in a setting of Liberty: This is a statue of the American experience — a Statue of Liberty if you will. This monument could represent any of the many American pioneer emigrations and could be appropriate in any number of states: in Kentucky showing how Daniel Boone led settlers through Cumberland Gap, or in Oregon at the end of the Oregon Trail, or even in Massachusetts describing the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock.
All long journeys are both physical and spiritual endeavors. Anyone who says otherwise hasn’t read “Huckleberry Finn.”
Although today’s modern journeys are less physically taxing than those of our ancestors, they can be just as spiritually transformative. Try it. You’ll see.
Finally:
Plaque honoring Heber C. Kendall. Heber City, Utah
The People of Heber City cherish the heritage bequeathed by our pioneer forebears and the challenge set forth by the city’s namesake, Heber C. Kendall: Now you people have named your little town after me. I want you to see to it that you are honest, upright citizens….that I may not have cause to be ashamed.
All photos were taken by the author on May 30, 2012.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby — donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, Tim
Salem, with a population of less than 2,000, is the largest town in northern Arkansas’ Fulton County. The landscape here consists of rolling farmland, yet mostly used for cattle raising from what I can see. It’s hard to say if the county is considered part of the Ozarks or not – there are some tall hills around but I wouldn’t call them mountains.
Town Creek. Salem, ArkansasFulton County in the state of Arkansas
The Salem has the standard town layout – the courthouse is at the center of the town square with roads and businesses on all four sides.
Fulton County Courthouse. Salem, Arkansas
A sign on the courthouse lawn explains that the land for the Fulton County Courthouse was donated in 1842. The current building was constructed in 1891 and renovated in 1974. It’s a two-story brick structure with the bricks painted red. The architecture I would characterize as sturdy – there are no adornments whatsoever. It’s purely functional.
Inside the courthouse, some professional photographs of rustic county scenes line the single first-floor hallway. These are professionally done and very striking photographs. I’m surprised that they aren’t for sale, I imagine each one could sell for hundreds of dollars.
A local group called the “Fulton County Master Gardeners” provides landscaping for the courthouse lawn and they did an excellent job. The group maintains over a dozen flowerpots on the lawn currently filled with blooming tulips. Here are some examples of their fine work:
Tulips at Fulton County Courthouse. The stone marker on the left describes the Civil War battle of Salem, March 11, 1862.Tulips at Fulton County Courthouse. The small sign above the planter identifies the work of the Fulton County Master Gardeners.
I took some photos around town. Salem is a small place.
Looking east down Church Street. Salem, Arkansas
On one corner, Swingles Family Diner looks inviting although I’ve had breakfast already. Nearby, an old two-story stone building is marked “Federal Building“. It’s nice to see the Federal Government occupying such humble offices for once. The sign on the door lists 3 offices: Election Office, Revenue Office, and the Veterans Office.
The Federal Building in Salem, Arkansas
The newest building around the town square is the Bank of Salem, a catercorner to the courthouse. Across the street from the bank, Mayfield’s General Store is sadly going out of business, leaving others to services the town’s feed corn and ammo needs.
Businesses along the town square in Salem, Arkansas.
However, the true center of town is the hair salon down the street, “Trendy Tresses.” They’re doing a booming business.
Trendy Tresses. Salem, Arkansas
Across town square stands the picturesque Salem United Methodist Church. I love old stone buildings.
Salem United Methodist Church. Salem, Arkansas
A half-mile from the Salem town square, Preacher Roe Park is the town baseball field, probably used for Little League and pony league games only these days.
Historical sign at Preacher Roe Park. Salem, Arkansas
There is a historical sign by the park explaining how Preacher Roe, a famous major-league pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s, offered his time to help raise funds for lighting the park. He brought himself and some major league friends, including Pittsburgh Pirate Bill Virdon, to play exhibition games here in Salem. The funds were raised in a few years of games.
Preacher Roe Park — with lights — about a half-mile walk north of town square along Route 9. Salem, Arkansas.
Here’s a little bit more about the old ballplayer, from Wikipedia:
“Roe was still pitching in the majors at age 39, unusual at the time, and was the third-oldest player in the National League in the 1954 season, his last in the majors. When asked to explain his longevity, he replied “Clean livin’ and the spitball.” He described his methodology in a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated, “The Outlawed Spitball Was My Money Pitch”, published a year after he retired.”
Clean living and the spitball. Life is a knot of paradoxes.
Hope you enjoyed this walk around Salem. Here’s a link to Salem’s Chamber of Commerce site. Quite a bit different than Salem, Massachusetts, don’t you think?
All photos were taken by the author on April 18, 2018.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
I travel as a hobby — donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, Tim
I learned in grade school that Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and that New Orleans is its largest city. But that’s not the whole story. West of New Orleans lies Acadiana. Visit the Cajun homeland, and you’ll see that it’s sort of a separate country.
Bayou Teche in St. Martinville Parish, LouisianaSaint Martin Parish in the state of Louisiana
I had thought that Lafayette was the capital of Acadiana; it’s not, it’s just “the city.” St. Martinville is the Acadian capital and spiritual home. At the center of St. Martinville is St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, a grand yet simple church.
St. Martinville, LouisianaSt. Martin of Tours, St. Martinville, Louisiana
I caught a work crew cleaning the church grounds, and a little girl was raking the shrubs around the statues. She was maybe 10 or 11 and had the French Acadian features — brown hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.
More background on the Acadians, or “Cajuns,” is available from Wikipedia here. The Expulsion is the Acadian’s national origin narrative, and “Evangeline” is their epic poem. St. Martinville is the home of this remembrance.
Evangeline, outside St. Martin of Tours churchThe Evangeline Oak, St. Martinville, Louisiana
The Evangeline Oak (and the church) lie along the banks of Bayou Teche which runs through town. It was a warm, calm spring day and I took some photos along the bayou, where cypress trees stand along the banks with half their roots out of the water. It was so peaceful and quiet, and not a single mosquito.
Bayou Teche
I’ve been told that Louisiana bayous are actually slow-moving rivers and not standing water or swamps. Someday I’ll test that. I’ll set up a bayou-side lawn chair on some warm, mosquito-less winter day. Then I’ll toss a leaf in the water and spend the day with a book, some tunes, some snacks, and see how the leaf travels downstream in an afternoon. It will be an “experiment.”
There are some nice little places along the bayou complete with tall, wide oaks covered with Spanish moss, and this hotel.
Spanish Moss. St. Martinville, LouisianaOld Castillo Bed & Breakfast. St. Martinville, Louisiana
The old hotel lies along the bayou, near the Evangeline site and St. Martin’s Church. Their website is here.
I walked around town. Things are quaint, well-run, well-kept, and busy. These aren’t rich folk, but they prosper.
Typical street scene. St. Martinville, Louisiana
The local shops carry an obvious French influence.
Le Petit Paris Cafe
Street signs in the center of town are written in both English and French.
St. Martinville is the seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana (counties are called “parishes” here). I found the courthouse a few blocks south of the church along Rue Principal Sud (Main Street South). It’s a two-story wooden building that looks like a southern plantation house. Unfortunately, the place was being renovated at the time and I couldn’t go inside.
St. Martin Parish courthouse. St. Martinville, Louisiana
I hope you have a chance to visit St. Martinville. The town is a real treat. And by the way, Acadian gumbo is a national treasure! Despite the humid climate, I could see myself living here for a while.
All photos were taken by the author in March, 2011.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
Donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, Tim
Today is Leap Day, February 29th, a day which comes only once every four years. I remember a former colleague of mine insisting that Leap Day should be a company holiday — if not a national holiday. “It’s an extra day, people! Why do you want to work?” Hard to argue with that logic.
So, for such a rare day I offer a glimpse of the fine city of Marquette, Michigan, where the street signs invite you to Experience the Warmth beneath 10 inches of accumulated snow! (Ten inches is the statistical average of constant snow depth in Marquette during February.) It’s a nice town, despite the irony. Enjoy!
Marquette Yacht Club with frozen Lake Superior in the background
Marquette, Michigan (population 22,000 or so) is a small city on the shores of Lake Superior. Established around iron ore mining in the mid-1800s, Marquette was the largest iron boomtown in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the “U.P”) and it’s still the largest town in the U.P. today. 7.9 million gross tons of ore passed through Marquette’s Presque Isle Harbor in 2005.
Lower Harbor Ore Dock, Marquette, Michigan
Despite the gritty image of iron ore mining, Marquette’s commercial district boasts some grand old buildings along its main street (Washington Street) with an equally grand view over a bluff down to the shores of the lake.
Marquette City Hall
The old Savings Bank building (photo below) was built in 1891 and is still used for commercial office space. Because the building rises above a cliff leading down to the lakeshore, the front side has five floors while the rear has seven. I can only imagine the views from a corner office space. Wikipedia has an entry and more photos here.
Marquette’s Savings Bank building. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Even in winter, downtown Marquette remains a vibrant place full of cozy restaurants, bars, and hotels.
Marquette, Michigan: view looking north along Front Street from Main toward Washington
What could warm your stomach better than the Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery? It’s there on the right in the photo below, occupying an old movie theatre.
Marquette, Michigan along Washington StreetCurrently a Wells Fargo branch. Notice the front floor-to-ceiling windows.
Many of the buildings in old Marquette were constructed using attractive Jacobsville red sandstone and often have iron cupola domes. This includes the Marquette County Courthouse. This attractive building sits atop a little rise overlooking both the harbor and a few blocks of the downtown district. They’ve added an annex and a jail behind the original structure. More here.
Marquette County CourthouseMarquette County Courthouse including annex and jailMarquette County CourthouseView of downtown Marquette from the courthouse. The lower harbor ore dock and Lake Superior are in the background.Marquette County in the state of Michigan
People have come to Marquette on this day to watch the sled dog races. I didn’t catch all the details but it seems to be a big and well-organized event since they have officials and official volunteers. I walked down to the finish line where Starbucks was giving away free cups of coffee to the humans. Both dogs and people seemed to be having a good time.
Sled dog sled (with musher?)Sled dogs after the raceThe Finish Line
The backdrop to the festivities:
Frozen Lake Superior at Marquette, Michigan, in February 2009
Need a warm-up after the race? Go for a beer at L’Attitude Bistro (now the Iron Bay Tap Room).
This little place on Marquette’s frozen waterfront occupies the basement of a refurbished old downtown building. The inside walls are old brick and the hallways back to the kitchen and restrooms are like a labyrinth of caverns. The urban tourist crowd loves this place and many of the tables are filled with skiers and old hippies with hoop earrings and long, gray ponytail manes.
Seriously, Marquette is a great town. In 2012 it was named among the 10 best places to retire in the United States. (Wikipedia entry here)
Enjoy the Warmth!
All photos by the author and were taken in February 2009.
A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.
Donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs. Thanks, Tim
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