Leinenkugel Brewery-Chippewa Falls, WI

Several Laborers went on a road trip with folks from Bethlehem Lutheran Church and other folks to Chippewa Falls.  We had planned to tour the Leinenkugel Brewery but the tours were full.  But in the Leinie Lodge we did get to see some historical items and learn some history of the brewery. Even though it was raining, we went to the zoo in Irvine Park.  We saw a hyena, white tiger, black bear and went through the petting zoo.  We also took the scenic drive through the park.  On the way back we stopped at LaGrander's for ice cream.  They make their own delicious ice cream.  It was a fun outing.

Amana Colonies, IA

The Amana Colonies (7 villages: Amana (largest village), Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana, Homestead and East Amana) were established by a religious movement in the early 1700’s in Germany by Lutheran clergymen and their followers.  After breaking away from the church this group faced unyielding persecution which forced them to immigrate in 1842 to Ebenezer, New York.  Wishing to establish a permanent home, the leaders moved the group west to the fertile lands of Iowa, establishing the Amana Colonies of True Inspiration in 1855.  A communal system was installed motivated by deep religious convictions.  They became a completely self-sufficient society, requiring little contact with the “outside” world.  This system thrived for over 80 years before economic and social changes forced the leaders to develop a new plan.  They changed by becoming a corporation allowing private ownership of property.

During the communal kitchen days, men ate at one table and women and children ate at another.  Only fifteen minutes were allowed for a meal and conversation.

 

 

Typical Farm

 

Amana

Maypole

 



 

Woolen Mill

 

Craftsman

 

 

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, IA

Herbert Hoover, mining engineer, humanitarian, statesman, and 31^st president of the United States, was born August 10, 1874, in a simple two-room cottage in West Branch, Iowa.  His Quaker family had helped settle the town, and their principles of honesty, hard work, simplicity, and generosity guided Hoover throughout his life of service to the nation and the world.  He was the second of three children born to Jesse and Hulda Hoover.  He was orphaned at the age of 11.  His father died of a heart attack in 1880 and his mother died of pneumonia in 1884.  The children were sent to live with various relatives.

Birthplace Cottage

 

Similar to fathers blacksmith shop

 

Schoolhouse

 

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Meetinghouse

Services of silent meditation with men seated on one side and women and children on the other

 

Statue of Isis

The children and citizens of Belgium gave Hoover this bronze statue of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of life, in gratitude for his work on their behalf during and after World War I.

 

Presidential Library and Museum

 

Gravesite of Hoover and his wife

 



Hannibal, MO

Hannibal, MO (located on the Mississippi River about 115 miles north of St Louis) is the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens.   Samuel changed his name to Mark Twain because of his experiences of being on a riverboat.  “Mark Twain” as what the leadsman on a riverboat called when the water was two fathoms deep (12 feet) which is deep enough to be considered safe for most boats of the era.  Hannibal is also the setting of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. 

Mississippi River

 

 

Downtown

 

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Statue

 

Mark Twain's Boyhood Home

 

 

 

Huck Finn Home

 

Lovers Leap Legend and Views