Making a Life and History in the Heartland

It's nice to get out and about in my region of the country to see the places that speak to the national experience as a whole.

In that spirit, I went on a Labor Day weekend road trip.

Around 11 AM, I got in Avila and head in a southwesterly direction, driving I-55 and then onto I-80 through Illinois and then into Iowa.  (Please note that all times in this post are CDT. And, as usual, all photos are mine unless otherwise noted.)

Following a quick stop for shopping at the World's Largest Truck Stop, it was a short drive to a place I was eager to visit, West Branch, IA, where a remarkable life story began 150 years ago on August 10, 1874.  Here, in this small town, President Herbert Hoover was born.  I was glad to come back as a way to commemorate this milestone.

First, upon arriving around 2:30-3:00, I went to have a later lunch at the Sweets on Main Street.  I had a chicken sandwich with a Polar Bear dish, which was basically ice cream infused with birthday cake flavor, the designated flavor of the month to celebrate Herbert Hoover.

Sweets on Main Street is one of several fine business establishments on Main Street in West Branch.  Next door was a candy and gift shop, where I went to browse.

Then I walked around the historic area and over to the museum.  This day wasn't my first visit there, but it was special to visit again during the month marking 150 years since Herbert Hoover's birth, particularly standing in the two-room house where he was born.

The museum's security monitor photographed me posing by Herbert and Lou Hoover wearing birthday hats.

Above, I'm inside the birthplace home of Herbert Hoover, and below I'm standing in the outside front walkway.  A fellow visitor got these photos of me.

Shortly after 4 PM, I got in Avila and started making my way west, continuing on I-80.  At Des Moines, where I-80 and I-35 converge into the same lanes around the north and west sides of the city, I rounded a curve and then continued south directly onto I-35.  At the last rest stop before Missouri, I paused and noted a scenic area nearby some lakes.

Soon after entering Missouri, I stopped at the first rest stop, with a large area of prairie right beside it that was scenic in its own right.  (Please see the two photos below.)

Around 8:30, I arrived at my hotel for the night, the Quality Inn in Kearney, MO, just north of Kansas City.  I got a chicken margherita pizza from a pizza place within a 2-minute walk away.

The next morning, I was up around 7 AM, and soon went to breakfast.  The hotel had a great selection, including biscuits and gravy, along with the customary hotel Belgian waffle.  (The gravy was in a Kansas City Chiefs-themed crock pot.)

A few minutes after 8 AM, I was on my way in a southerly direction toward Kansas City.  In about half an hour, I arrived at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Kansas City for 9 AM Mass.  I was impressed by the golden dome, which shone brilliantly in the morning light of that first September day.  The interior had a bright appearance, too.

Exterior of the cathedral as viewed from the parking lot looking from east to west

Inside the Cathedral sanctuary, looking toward the entrance in back

Inside the Cathedral sanctuary, looking toward the altar and the Cathedra chair (appearing to the left)

Following Mass, I lingered a while by the Cathedral to admire it and have some breathing time before the next part of my day.  I ended up in Independence for lunch at Fazoli's.

By 1 PM or so, I was back in Kansas City to visit the Negro Leagues Museum.  

Out front of the building along 18th Street housing both the Negro Leagues and American Jazz Museums

This museum did a great job telling the story of how the Negro Leagues came into existence and how it impacted the African-American community in the US.  There were many teams that formed, and interesting personalities who got them started and among the players. There was a video presentation about the Negro Leagues near the start of the exhibit.

A display with a timeline and map of the various Negro League teams

Above is a theater showing a video presentation about the Negro Leagues and below is the bleacher-style seating in the theater.

Kansas City Monarchs uniform

Stadium entrance gates

One part of the museum that stood out to me was props from the movie 42 about Jackie Robinson's MLB debut.  I saw that movie the day before I graduated from Valparaiso University, when it was first in theaters, and so it is in my mind associated with an important event in my life.  That movie may have been part of why I wanted to visit this museum.

42 movie paraphernalia

The exhibits surrounded a display of a baseball diamond--please see the photo below.

Outside the main exhibit, just off the lobby of the building that also houses the Jazz Museum was a special additional exhibit about the Negro Leagues--please see the two photos below.

After visiting for about 2 hours or so, I drove to the site of the stadium where the Monarchs used to play, which is now a park with interpretative signage--please see the two photos below.

Around 4 PM, I started making my way east, after filling up with the delicious satisfaction of once again paying less than $3 a gallon for gas.

It was a straight shot east on I-70 toward my hotel for the night.  About 6 PM, I stopped in Columbia for dinner at Bob Evan's, a delicious turkey meal with fixings--please see the photo below.

Between 8:30-9:00, I arrived at the Comfort Inn in Hazelwood, which was right by an alignment of Route 66.

The next morning, Labor Day Monday, September 2, I was up by 7:15.  I drove about 10-15 minutes to St. Ferdinand Parish to attend 8 AM Mass.  I noticed a brick in the wall state the parish dates back to 1788.

Inside St. Ferdinand's sanctuary

Stone inside the outside wall near the entrance

Exterior of St. Ferdinand

Back at the hotel, I enjoyed another wonderful breakfast that included biscuits and gravy, along with 4 mini-waffles from a special iron there that I've never seen before--please see the photo below.

Once I was done with breakfast and packed up, I drove about 30 minutes south to the south side of St. Louis County to visit Ulysses S. Grant NHS, which I had been aiming to visit almost ever since the bicentennial of President Grant's birth back on April 27, 2022.

Entrance to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

It preserves the site of an estate that his wife's family, the Dents, originally owned, and then passed into his ownership.  I have been to the Grant home in Galena many years ago, and I wasn't as familiar with this home in St. Louis, so I was glad to visit it.  I learned more about the history from a ranger who did a porch talk to me as the audience of one.

Exterior of the White Haven House

The front entrance

Inside one of the rooms

Toy chest

Stairs leading to the upper level

Inside the central hallway of the house looking out front

The cellar

View of the back of the house

Here I am posing with my copy of Ron Chernow's Grant biography on the front steps, which have been there since the 1810's. So they're the same steps walked upon by Julia and Ulysses Grant.  I believe the ranger on porch duty photographed me here.

It was nice to walk around inside and see the other outer buildings.  I enjoyed the company of fellow visitors as I struck up conversations while meandering through the buildings.

Toward the end of my visit, I visited a building that was originally built as a stable and now houses museum exhibits of the lives of President Grant and his family.

Exterior of the stable-turned-museum

By 12:30, I was on my way north.  After getting gas, I got a quick lunch at Lion's Choice, a chain I was unfamiliar with, and because of an error with the credit card processing, I got the shaved beef sandwich for free--please see photo below.

Then I did some grocery shopping at Dierberg's.  I meandered a little bit north by the campus of my Grandpa Martin's alma mater, Washington University, as a way to connect with him in the year marking the centennial of his birth.  

At Washington University's Campus

Washington University sign

From there, I headed a short distance south to get on I-64.  I bid farewell to Missouri as I crossed the Mississippi River and then went right onto I-55 for a hour-long drive north back to Chicagoland.  I enjoyed some great podcasts as I drove.

By 7 PM, I was back in Oak Park.

Final mileage upon arriving back at home base

This road trip provided a great opportunity to spend some time getting to know what's in my neighborhood in the Midwest/Central USA.  I've passed through Kansas City a few times on the Southwest Chief, and I was glad to have the chance to stop and visit for a while.  Driving around to various spots during my day on Sunday gave me a feel for the different neighborhoods and suburbs of Kansas City.

After hearing about the Negro Leagues Museum from the Bush Center's Strategerist podcast when it featured the museum's CEO, I was eager to have the chance to see it for myself and learn more about this past of US history.  It speaks to how a people facing discrimination strove to make something of their lives and make a name for themselves as they awaited the integration of the MLB.

In a presidential election year, visiting Herbert Hoover and Ulysses Grant sites gave me new perspective on past times.

As a follow-up to this weekend road trip, I did a day outing to West Branch on Saturday, October 12 to spend a little more time there.  That weekend was the annual Fall Fest in West Branch, and there were delightful decorations including scarecrows along Main Street along with sidewalk sales.

After arriving and getting lunch at Main Street Sweets, I went to the blacksmith shop to see a demonstration by one of the NPS employees.  I was intrigued to get detailed explanations about the work blacksmiths did back in the day, particularly Jesse Hoover, Herbert's father.  Because WEst Branch had rail access, people generally went to a blacksmith for repairs like adjusting shoes on their horses, rather than acquiring new products.  It added another touch to seeing the context of Herbert's young life, including the seat for Herbert (or Bert) and his siblings.

Looking out the door of the blacksmith shop toward the Herbert Hoover birth home

While there, I also viewed a video in the National Park Service visitors' center, which described what it was like when Herbert Hoover was growing up in West Branch.

I also visited the museum.  There was a special exhibit for the 150-year birthdays of both Herbert and Lou Hoover.  It included some archival materials that added more personal touches beyond what is on display in the main exhibit, including what Herbert and Lou did in their personal lives..  I was intrigued by the video coverage of Herbert Hoover's visit to West Branch in the 1950s for his birthday and the large celebration that happened.  It included a large cake that a woman in a nearby town meticulously prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a picnic lunch with fried chicken.  A network news reporter broadcast a rooster's sound from West Branch that morning that was heard around the nation. And there was memorabilia from individuals and organizations who offered their birthday wishes to Mr. Hoover.

A model of Herbert Hoover's birthday cake

Newspaper coverage for a woman who baked the cake

Display for the picnic lunch on Herbert Hoover's birthday

Above and below are views of inside the special exhibit gallery

This old-fashioned radio played "Happy Birthday" in the exhibit gallery.

It was also nice to browse the main exhibit again, since the museum plans to temporarily close for a renovation in 2025.  The milestone birthday added a significant touch to viewing the exhibit and the life of Herbert Hoover and what influences it had on US and even world history.

Display in the main exhibit gallery for Herbert Hoover's inauguration

Lou Hoover's dresses

As I traveled throughout the Midwest/Central USA to visit these places and engage with their history, the circumstances and settings resonated with me because I've been here in the same region.  Even in neighboring states, I can connect with the experiences of presidents and Negro Leagues players, who strove to live with purpose in their lives in their families and communities.

Like it said in the special exhibit about Herbert (and Lou) Hoover's 150-year birthday, our lives matter, and birthdays reflect that.  We all have a role to play and we can make an impact on the world around us.  The Heartland of the USA has great examples of how people worked to make the world a better place, through humanitarian causes and advancing racial justice.  It was special to visit these places and to visit the history there, in company with fellow visitors, to appreciate what is significant that arose from the Heartland of the USA.