MUMBLINGS December 7, 2006

Iowa is such an interesting state; it is hard to stop talking about her. Of course, when thinking about Iowa you naturally think about farming and corn.

Remember Herbert Hoover was born there and his library is there and was fun visiting it with my traveling partner, Mathew Metcalfe. We enjoyed the trip.

We came away with a much better understanding on how great President Hoover was. One thing I forgot to mention is that as Secretary of Commerce under President Wilson he developed the Standards of Measurements, 2X4's, 2X6's, 2X12's, nuts and bolts and weights and measurements. This has proven to be very important.

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One of the biggest attractions in Iowa is the Amana Colonies. Let me tell you something about this interesting religious group. In 1714, a religious group known as the Community of True Inspiration was founded in southwestern Germany by Eberhard Gruber and Johann Rock. To avoid religious persecution, they decided to leave Germany and settle in New York.

The entire community began moving from New York to the new state of Iowa in 1855, where they purchased 26,000 acres of farmland. Over a period of ten years, they built the new Amana Colonies and sold the New York property, moving to Iowa in groups.

The name "Amana" comes from the Bible, the Song of Solomon 4:8. It means, "remain true" or "believe faithfully".

There is an interesting library there. I asked one of the librarians what was their religious belief. Without hesitation she said we believe somewhere between the Methodists and the Lutherans. Maybe you know where that is, I don't.

They lived as a communal society until 1932, at which time they had what they called the "Great Change". After this, they formed seven groups, mostly around family members.

The villages of Amana, West Amana, and South Amana were the first towns to be set up. They were located on the outside perimeter of the land owned by the community. After that, villages were spaced apart so that all of the land could be easily farmed.

Amana Colonies were designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965 by the United States Department of Interior.

Communalism is a social arrangement for people living together in which all property, except for some personal property like clothing, is held in common. Amana Colonies communalism had nothing to do with political communism.

The Amana Colonies community was above all, religious. Communalism was seen as a means for the community to realize its religious ideals and goals. Although there was much cooperation and sharing in Germany, the communal system was not formally adopted until the people settled in New York in the 1840's and continued in the Iowa Amana Colonies.

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An adult member would be given a certain amount of credit annually in the general stores, pharmacy and craft shops to purchase items, which were not supplied by the community.

The community supplied housing, food, education, a job and medical care to each of its members.

They established the business and still own a lot of the timberland and farm. The population in all seven villages is about 1700, only four hundred belong to the religion.

As you can imagine, they have many old homes well cared for, and everything is clean. No trash in the streets. We ate lunch at one of the original hotels and restaurants. The food was strictly German and delicious. It was plentiful. They served us three different varieties of Knockwurst, original Knockwurst with wonderful German Kraut. They made their own pies, cakes and other desserts. The service was good and plentiful. Not too expensive. The Kraut reminded me of momma's when she would put it in a churn, took a hoe and cut it up, and added water and vinegar, etc.

The Colony is about 30 minutes from the Hoover Library. The roads were fairly level, clean and good. While driving there, we stopped on an interchange, to decide which direction to take. Immediately, an Iowa highway patrolman stopped and inquired on what we needed. She was a lady who was very polite and helpful and directed us to the colony.

So much for Iowa.

See you again soon, I hope.