.... or .... another trip down the ole' rabbit hole.... Let's see if I can remember how I went from reading about a dam to the death of an Iowan monk.
KMA news is once of the first websites I check each morning. This headline, "Pierce Creek dam faces extensive repairs, tree removal", piqued my interest because I wondered where in Page County it was located. I'd never heard of it. So I Googled it, found a map showing Pierce Creek Recreation Area west of Essex, and explored that site.
One of the photos was of an old brick structure without any identification. I tried to find out what/where it was in Essex. No luck. So then I tried the next small town, Imogene, northwest of Pierce Creek County Park. Again, no luck. But I did remember reading about Imogene in the past. It is noted for having one of the most beautiful churches in Iowa - St. Patrick's Catholic Church - which is on the National Register of Historic Places - and has a history of a large congregation with a proud Irish heritage.
I love history so reading about the church and its past kept me occupied for awhile. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015 and it was the headline of one of those articles that was especially informative: "Tiny Imogene (pop.69), expects up to 800 for huge church's 100th". That article was written by Chuck Offenburger - a name I recognized and a person whose writings I followed and enjoyed when he was a columnist for The Des Moines Register. https://offenburger.com/index.php/tiny-imogene-pop-69-expects-up-to-800-for-huge-churchs-100th/
At the right hand top of that article is a photo of Chuck with Deidre DeJear tagged "Let me tell you all about Deidre DeJear, the Democratic Party's candidate for governor in Iowa...." Well I had to read that story because I do want to know more about the woman I will be voting for this fall. It was very informative and gives me hope for a change in Iowa's leadership.
I decided to check out a few more of Offenbuger's posts, another July one about DeJear and then a May one about Admiral Michael Franken the Democrat nominee challenging Senator Chuck Grassley's seat in congress. I admit I voted for Abby Finkenauer in the primaries, but after reading this column about Franken I feel very positive toward him. Hopefully he will be able to replace that 88-year-old man running for his 8th term in the Senate.
Now I'm on a morning long expedition into Offenburger's News and Opinion site. Back to the archives for an April 2022 story: "A requiem for one of the most humble yet most powerful persons in my life, monk Jim O'Connor. Yes, I was aware of the New Melleray Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Dubuque and have read some about it in the past, specifically the simple pine caskets they make. But reading Father Jim's story was especially interesting - from flying a B-17 bomber in WWII, to becoming a monk in Iowa was quite the journey.
The internet has made it so easy to follow my innate curiousity down many rabbit holes. For sure I will be checking out more of Offenburger's archives. He has always been a fine writer with the ability find the most interesting stories.
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