Upcoming trip down memory lane.

KevinP73 · 09:17 PM

I'll be going with my sister and one of my daughters. Our first stop will be Kansas City, Mo. to see our other sister and her family. They're scattered around the northern part of the state, Sedalia, Warrensburg, Osage Beach. If time allows we may get as far south as Branson. I lived there a couple years after my dad retired and before I came to So Cal to start my life. My dad is buried in Springfield so we may stop for a minute there. Then we'll shoot north to Omaha, Nebraska. My dad has family there that we haven't since the '60s. My sister has stayed in touch but I hardly remember them. Then into Iowa. First stop will be Woodbine. This will be where the trip gets very emotional for me. My aunt and uncle and two cousins are from Woodbine. They are are the only real family I ever knew besides by two sisters. My cousins live in Denver now and I see them as often as I can. My uncle passed away many years ago and my aunt has remarried. I've never met her new husband but have heard only good things about him.
Then for the main reason I'm making the trip. The Farm. Carroll, Iowa. My grandparents (on my moms side of the family) were full blown, died in the wool FARMERS. Yep FARMERS. I can't even begin to tell you of all the great memories I have as a child visiting the farm.

This is a shot of the farm looking roughly west taken in 1970. At the top of the photo is the Raccoon river. It fed three big gravel pits that the county used to stock for my grampa whenever they would stock some of the surrounding lakes. My grandfather ( and his father before him ) would sell gravel from the pits to use for road maintenance. He would make up to $300.00 each summer when the winters damage had to be repaired. I've found county records as far back as 1910 showing the purchases.

This is the main house. It's still standing and occupied. My grandfather and his father built this house sometime in the late 1800's. We're not exactly sure. My great grandfather had two hundred acres that he worked and when my grandfather became of age he acquired another two hundred acres of his own. When his father died he inherited his dads land and continued to work it until he passed in 1970. By the time my grandfather passed away the farm was severely neglected and went back to the state for past taxes. I'm hoping the current residents will humor my old ass with a walk through the house. But if for ANY they're not home I'll let myself in.

Then we're on the road again to Manning , Iowa. My dads dad ran the Great Western Train Depot in Manning for as long as he was alive. It's another place my sister and I have great memories.

I'm not sure when this picture was taken but it's exactly how we remember it.

The station a number of years later and just before it burned to the ground.
From there we'll run back to KC and my sister will come back to L.A. while my daughter and I head up to the PNW for a little time together before returning home.

If any one of you is somewhere along the route I'd love to make a few minutes to say Hi and share a beer.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Very very cool.

I have deep roots in Iowa as well.

Sounds like a great trip.

onewhippedpuppy · 08-28-2018, 05:25 AM

That sounds awesome! If you happen to cruise through Wichita let me know, I'm only about 2 hours from KC. If you have some free time in KC and like beer, the Boulevard Brewing Co tour and tasting room is excellent, KC Bier Company is excellent, and Martin City Brewing in Martin City Mo is excellent food and beer. Lots more fun stuff to do there, I love KC. I'm sure you know already, but the roads through the Ozarks heading to Branson are beautiful and a great drive in a fun car. I'm not a huge fan of Branson, but Table Rock lake is very nice.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Love those old photos. Sounds like a fantastic trip. Have fun!

ckissick · 08-28-2018, 05:49 PM

I've been all over the USA and Iowa, and Iowa is my favorite midwestern state. The town's are pretty, and the people are so nice. I mean, who's nicer than Radar O'Reilly?

I have a 400 acre family farm I like to visit, too. It's in Sweden, and has been in our family since 1558! That's not a typo.

Evans, Marv · 08-28-2018, 08:08 PM

Wow 1558! That's something special. I had a sort of trip down memory lane in June. Took my wife to a small town I lived in as a kid. We took sail plane rides for her birthday. While there, I went by the places I lived as a kid. One of them had been converted to a business. The house was offices for an investment business & the side yard converted into a place for weddings & other events. The owners were there & asked if I had any pictures from when I lived there. I sent a few & they asked me if I could do a write up of life as a kid they could publish in the local paper. If anybody might find it a bit entertaining, here's the link to the article. You might have to copy it & paste it into your browser. Of course they miss spelled my name. https://www.theloopnewspaper.com/story/2018/07/21/community/the-house-on-curry-street/4619.html

look 171 · 08-28-2018, 08:32 PM

Those are cool old photos, Kevin.

look 171 · 08-28-2018, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Wow 1558! That's something special. I had a sort of trip down memory lane in June. Took my wife to a small town I lived in as a kid. We took sail plane rides for her birthday. While there, I went by the places I lived as a kid. One of them had been converted to a business. The house was offices for an investment business & the side yard converted into a place for weddings & other events. The owners were there & asked if I had any pictures from when I lived there. I sent a few & they asked me if I could do a write up of life as a kid they could publish in the local paper. If anybody might find it a bit entertaining, here's the link to the article. You might have to copy it & paste it into your browser. Of course they miss spelled my name. https://www.theloopnewspaper.com/story/2018/07/21/community/the-house-on-curry-street/4619.html

What was Tehachapi like back then? We took the long way and drove through it a few months ago on the way up to the Kern for rafting with the kids. It has a lot of new homes and developments. That's a cool story.

A couple years ago, this woman and a couple of early 20 something young men were standing near my house one summer afternoon. I noticed them when I pulled up and ask if I can be of any help. She pointed at the house and said we used to live there 20 years ago. I said, You guys must be the Ducketts? She eyes grew big with a big smile,"yes". I ask if she would like to come in. She was surprise and couldn't say yes fast enough. They now live in Maryland. I had completely remodeled it and moved some walls and build out the house into the back. She started telling her boys the story of this old house. The older boy said, "I remember this hand railing was yellow and I used to pull myself up the stairs when I was about 4". Its now Stainless steel. They took photos and had a good time. It made my day and I hope it made theirs.

look 171 · 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinP73

A couple more very old photos. Two are on tin, I believe they were called tin types and the third one is actually on glass.

Wish I can go to places like that. I love old photos of places with a story.

KevinP73 · 08-28-2018, 08:54 PM

Ooops my bad. I posted the wrong photos. I've no idea when those pictures were taken but it couldn't have been to early as they are in color.

look 171 · 08-28-2018, 09:08 PM

Time stood still in some of those places. A much simpler time and life. When I was in Calgary this summer, I spend a day driving to a town call Mankota Saskatchewan, where one of my relative are from. They had been there since 30s. The streets are still not paved today. Such a simpler life style but I don't think I can live there.

Evans, Marv · 08-29-2018, 08:36 AM

Jeff, Tehachapi was a small town of about 1,500 when I lived there in the '50s. As kids, we used to walk or ride out bicycles everywhere and hike miles into the surrounding mountains. Now the town proper is something like 12,000 & the surrounding area around 30,000. A friend of mine was VP for Zond Corp. back when they started installing the wind turbines. They sold out of course, & he's retired to a big house near the beach in Santa Barbara. I've been through there a couple of times and am amazed at the number of turbines in that area. The town still has a small town flavor.

onewhippedpuppy · 08-29-2018, 10:14 AM

Tehachapi is a cool place, I had a customer there and visited multiple times for my last job. Nice little small town in the middle of the desert.

Evans, Marv · 08-29-2018, 02:30 PM

Here are a couple of old photos from July 1952 the morning of the 7.3/7.5 quake.

Our friends owned the mercantile store.

KevinP73 · 08-29-2018, 06:46 PM

Looks like your friends were lucky to keep the front of their store.
Early in my career I worked with a guy who lived in Tehachapi by the name of Dale Gould. Would't happen to be an old friend would he?

Evans, Marv · 08-29-2018, 08:05 PM

Kevin, the name doesn't ring a bell. He'd have to be pretty old. I left in 1956. Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread.

KevinP73 · 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Kevin, the name doesn't ring a bell. He'd have to be pretty old. I left in 1956. Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread.

Nobody ever said memory lane was only one lane.