The Amana Colonies

The Amana Colonies are 7 villages in Iowa that have been existence over 150 years, 80 as a communal society, an almost completely self sufficient society, a "Utopia?". The people who left Germany in 1850 and established these villages were Pietists, a movement that combined 17th-century Lutheran principles with a reformed emphasis on individual piety and living a Christian life. They were persecuted by both the German government and the then Lutheran Church. This group was originally known as the Community of True Inspiration. They originally settled outside Buffalo, NY but as they grew, and as they found their people more and more tempted by Buffalo, they sold everything and moved to the Iowa , outside what is now Iowa City.

There were 6 original villages: Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana and West Amana. They added the village of Homestead because it was a rail depot and they wanted access to that distribution process and the new railroad. For 80 yeas they were a communal society, no one really owned anything, all food was cooked and for year, eaten, in communal kitchens (50-60 communal kitchens existed in the villages), everyone worked for the community, there were no wages, etc and they lived a vigorous Christian life, going to church 11 times a week. Men and women sat separately, entered the church separately and pretty much sat within the church based on their evaluated piety standing. There was an overall elected governing structure and elders for each village.

In 1932, in the wake of the depression, and for a variety of other reasons, the people of the Amana villages overwhelmingly agreed to dissolve the communal society. They set up 2 organizations;  a for profit joint stock company, incorporated as the Amana Society, Inc. and the Amana Church Society. The new Amana Society gave everyone that was a member of the community stock, and they could use some of the stock to purchase their houses, etc. to get started. The Amana Society, Inc was the corporate heir to all of the land and economic assets while The Amana Church Society was responsible for the people's spiritual needs. This whole process began in 1931 and was completed in 1932 and is known as The Great Change. I'm pretty sure it was a very traumatic time for all, but especially the elderly, who never really took care of themselves, cooked, owned homes, etc.  Can you imagine your whole way of life just being yanked out from under you?

We took the 3 hour tour offered by the Amana  Society. We met people who had grown up in Amana after The Great Change, but whose parents and grandparents had been part of the communal society and then the new organization. One in particular, Bill Metz, Tinsmith, was still living in the house his grandparents had

  occupied during the communal time and purchased after The Great Change. In communal Amana, a married couple was provided 2 rooms, austere furniture, 2 twin beds and if they had children, and another room was available in the house where they lived, they were given it..if not they may have had to move. Bill's grandmother was a communal kitchen boss. As such, they lived in a house with an attached communal kitchen and dining area so did not have to worry there was no kitchen. Remember, most houses provided before The Great Change  had no kitchens.  

His grandmother lived upstairs in one room, his Aunt and Uncle lived in 2 rooms upstairs. He now lives upstairs in those areas (yes with a modern kitchen,) and shows the downstairs the way it was when his parents  lived there. It is fascinating.

We also visited the official Communal Kitchen Museum,  the Ruedy Kusche.. Ruedy's grandmother was also a kitchen boss and they bought the complex after The Great Change. It has been kept as it was, even with many of the original dishes, etc. In communal Amana's, eating wasn't a social event, there was little or no talking, men ate separately from women and children. Families started eating together at home in early 1900s, but the food was still prepared in communal kitchens and the housewives came and got it and took it home. Think they even started using little gas burners at home to rewarm. Life was very different!

I definitely recommend the tour if you're ever in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area. 

I have glossed over much of the history, but here's an added part. Yes, Amana refrigerators are related to that "Amana".  George Foerstner worked for his dad in the Amana general store. After The Great Change, he became a traveling salesman for the woolen mill. He recognized the need for beverage coolers after the repeal of Prohibition so in 1934 using $3500 of his own savings, he started the Electrical Equipment Company, selling and installing coolers. The company was sold to the Amana Society in 1936 and renamed the Electrical Department of the Amana Society, though Foerstner remained as manager. In 1949 the Amana Society, Inc. sold that department to Forester and a group of investors he had put together.  The new privately held firm, Amana Refrigeration, Inc., began life on January 1, 1950, with Howard Hall as president and Foerstner as vice president and general manager. Under its new management, Amana Refrigeration expanded into home air conditioners and continued innovations in commercial and home refrigeration.  It has since been acquired by multiple others, expanded further, including the first microwaves, and now is owned by Whirlpool (they acquired Maytag, who acquired, etc, etc.). The plant still exists right outside the Amana Colonies and still makes refrigerators. Unfortunately, no tours.

The Amana Colonies are on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service, in collaboration with Amana and Iowa has put together a wonderful itinerary and excellent information. So if you're interested...The Amana Colonies

Crystal Lake Campground, Stum, WI

I now know why everyone goes north for the summer. We arrived at the city campground around 1:45 to 79 degrees, sunny and 20 mph breezes. Tonight is supposed to be 58 and we actually have the windows and screen door open with no AC...enjoying Bloody Mary's and contemplating brats, Cole slaw and broccoli salad for dinner. Good thing everything is already either cooked or made since there is alcohol in the equation.

.We left around 8am this morning, with grey skies and mist. The drive was really nice, even with the AC going back on the fritz (not the fan switch tho) and the fact that the service engine soon light came on as we struggled up a big mountain,.....undulating fields of new corn and wheat, mountains (ok maybe hills) with plenty of greenery, old and new farm houses, Norman Rockwell barns and outbuildings...and a scenic ride along the upper Mississippi River. 

We left Iowa City, skirted east of Cedar Rapids and west of Dubuque avoiding the true interstates(US roads, even if some day may be interstates, were fair game)crossing the mighty Mississippi at Prarie de Chein, WI. and driving north along the river to La Crosse and then north to Strum. Can't believe we still found scenic overlooks and wayside parks on the route. (Good thing too... remember I said that check engine light came on) We came into Strum from the SW on WI 93, ultimately cutting across a very small county road that had Bruce wondering if we'd made the right decision. When the road changed to S 5th, we realized we'd arrived.

Strum is a one road downtown and 1.25sq mi.c ity The campground is city owned and has plenty of permanent and repeat seasonal occupants. We were lucky we wanted W and TH, because I'm pretty sure every site will be gone come Friday. We have a fairly level gravel site, in what used to be a field but where now trees and other vegetation have taken root.  We have water, electric, sewer and cable for $27 cash/night. Took all my spare bills.   I hate having to pay more to use credit card, but can definitely understand a small place requiring you to foot the credit cost if you want to use the card.  There is a 9 hole, par 36 golf course across the field with a small grill and full bar. They have one other real restaurant that does breakfast (yay) and lunch, open 6-2, and 2 full bars that also serve food. All this for 1100 people, including children. Am guessing they get lots of use in winter... it's cold, dark early, snowy, cold.....need something for internal warmth. Anyway..this update is to keep me on track.  Yes, we did do The Amana Colonies on Monday, and no, I haven't forgotten, just need to think about that part a bit. Since we have good WiFi here, I'll do that blog tomorrow.

Time for one more Bloody before dinner...Au Revoir mes Amis.

Iowa City and Tailwater West Campground

It's been hot here, high 90s with feel like temps over 100. Talking to some of the locals, 2 weeks ago they needed their fireplaces...now you better hope you have AC.

We've explored the area a bit but are saving the Amana colonies and possibly the Amish for M&T so probably more on their stores later.  Our story, on the other hand, continues. The stove vent cover flap on Newbee (yes, the trailer has a name) broke while we were at Cuivre River, so yesterday we found an RV place south of town that actually had one to fit. It had been duct taped closed,  and Bruce wasn't too keen about constantly being the one to open and shut it if I was cooking, so we decided to look for a replacement. Bruce did have a  fix in mind if one had been unavailable, he was going to make a hinge for the old one, but since we were lucky, now we just have a new roll of aluminum tape. Additionally, we've had an on again/off again unidentifiable leak under bathroom sink. I found a new single lever faucet I preferred to what is in there, so maybe replacing the existing unit will take care of that leak. We can always hope. Anyway, it's always something on a trip like this when you're bouncing a trailer down the road for long distances.

Our site, #1, is nice. We have water and electricity but not much shade. Campground is small, but laid out nicely. I think it's the only one in the Dam Complex that has sites with both electricity and water, and a few with sewer. We can walk to the dam outlet releasing the downstream water for the Iowa River as well as the Devonian Fossil Gorge. We walked through it this morning.

375 million years ago, this area was a tropical marine environment. It was south of the equator and covered by warm, shallow seas similar to the Caribbean Sea today. This was the Devonian period, part of the Paleozoic Era and more than 200 million years before dinosaurs.  Later the continents broke apart and multiple geological events shaped the Iowa of today, including the Iowa River. When the Coralville Dam was completed in 1958,  upstream from Iowa City, it was primarily for flood reduction on the Iowa River, and has been successful in that respect but for the exceptional years of 1993 and 2008. In 1993, Coralville Lake exceeded its capacity and water poured over the emergency spillway for 28 days straight, washing away a campground, a road and removing 17 feet of soil and rock...exposing the Devonian bedrock that became the Devonian Fossil Gorge. In 2008 floodwaters again swept through the gorge, widening it significantly. If you look carefully, you will find numerous fossils embedded in the rock surface, ranging from coral heads to crinoids and brachiopods. This gorge is a transient thing though. The limestone surface exposed by the floods had been protected from the elements by a layer of sediment, and now that it is exposed to the elements, the rock weathers. Freezing and cooling flake the rock surface, acid rain blunts the sharper features, and vegetation has found footholds in cracks in the rock.These natural processes are unavoidable; they apply to any exposed limestone surface. And of course, having thousands of visitors walking on it, touching the fossils, etc continues the degradation. In the fifteen years after the flood of 1993, weathering, plant growth and foot traffic apparently obliterated many of the fossils exposed in that first flood. The flood of 2008 renewed the gorge, but again, it is only temporary. Today, as my pictures show, nature is regaining her foothold.

Enough of today. We're off to the Amana Colonies tomorrow. I made reservations for their tour, but to have that occur, 2 more people will need to sign up. I am hopeful, but either way, we'll be visiting.