Digging for Our Roots, Part 2: Clear Lake, Iowa

3 August 2013

Our drive to Clear Lake had its ups and downs. We got out early, for us, only to discover once we were on the interstate, “someone” forgot to put on the anti-sway bars. Guess how we figured that out? Anyway, after getting off the interstate and finding a spot to stop at and put the bars on, we were again on our way.

Met up with Russ’ cousin Lynn, a Methodist minister, and his wife, Sally, at Spencer, Iowa and had a very nice visit. Russ had not seen Lynn since right after Russ had gotten out of the Navy, which is more than a few years ago. They took us for a short tour around “Lost Lake” which is where they live, and then we were back on the road to Clear Lake. Lynn is a third generation Methodist minister. I had the privilege of meeting his father, Paul, many years ago and enjoyed the stories about Paul’s father who was a circuit rider in the Dakota Territories in the 1800s.

Got into Clear Lake rather late and had trouble getting one of the slide outs to electronically move out. Fortunately, there is a manual crank system so we weren’t stuck in a bad situation. Figured out later that a fuse had blown, so the problem was quickly taken care of (whew!) We decided to go out to eat since it was getting later and later. This was good in that I didn’t have to cook after a long day, but it was bad in that we were involved in a fender bender coming back to the campground. There was no damage to our van but the Jeep that ran into the back of us (actually ran into the monster trailer hitch) had a hole punched into its bumper. The police officer gave both drivers a warning; Russ for not signaling a turn and the other guy for following too close. So now we let the insurance companies deal with it. Onward….

My agenda for visiting this area of Iowa was to research one of Russ’ branches. His g-great grandfather, Amos Hill, lived in Worth County, north of Clear Lake, for 20 years including the Civil War. We went up to Northwood, the county seat, and again were allowed access to land records over a hundred years old! I LOVE this! We found Amos’ land records, as well as some of his brothers. No birth records though since all his children were born before 1880, when Iowa started keeping vital records. Amos and his family left Iowa in 1873 to homestead in Kansas. Kansas is definitely on my family history bucket list.

That night we were treated to another series of thunderstorms. Not so much thunder, but lots of pounding rain. We dallied in Mason City to let the worst of the storm system pass us by, then headed back to the campground. So much for grilling the pork chops I had bought at the store – baked them instead. I am not a big pork fan, but these were delicious and I figured that since we were in Iowa, we needed to try the pork chops.

The next day, we went to the National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa. Since the early 1900s they have had a Hobo convention where they crown a King and Queen of Hobos. It is coming up in a couple of weeks and they are expecting between 15,000 and 20,000 (tourists, not hobos). Nowadays, about 100 “hobos” have come. The museum is housed in the old town theater, so most of the museum is on slanted floors. A documentary on the hobo movement in America during the depression era was very enlightening. A large number of the almost 2 million hobos during this time were teenagers, trying to find a job by hopping a train and going west to the great grain farms. The word “hobo” comes from the jobs these boys worked, using hoes on the land. So “hoe” and “boy” shortened to “hobos”. The museum itself wasn’t that great, but the documentary was definitely worth the visit.

After our visit with the hobos, we went down south to Morgan, Iowa, where Russ’ grandfather and mother are buried. Another Methodist minister, Oscar Schaal and his wife, Bessie (granddaughter of Amos Hill) were serving in the church in the 1940s when Oscar suffered a heart attack and passed away. He was only in his early sixties. We found the cemetery as well as the church and the parsonage where they lived.

Then we spent a day in River City. Actually, Mason City, but it was River City to Meredith Willson who grew up there and used the town as the setting for his musical, The Music Man. There is a museum and Music Square dedicated to the Music Man, including a very close duplicate to the main street of River City. I really felt like I could hear those 76 trombones! I had no idea that Mason City had this connection to the Music Man and I also didn’t know that the city has one of the largest collections of Prairie School buildings in the country. If you like Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School movement, then you will love the Stockman House and Interpretive Center and walking tour the city has put together. We had a great time in Mason City – I would highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the north central part of Iowa. We spent the evening watching The Music Man and enjoyed spotting all the places we had seen in the Music Square.

When we got back to the campground, we found the road along the lake lined with people waiting for a parade of American classic cars. This weekend is a classic car event with parade, car show and a dance at the Surf Ballroom. There were hundreds of beautifully restored Chevys, Fords and sports cars! People must come from surrounding states to have this many cars! The Surf Ballroom is the last place that Buddy Holly, Richie Vallens and the Big Bopper performed on the “day the music died.”

Tomorrow it is on to Northeast Iowa where more family history awaits.

Russ, his cousin Lynn and wife Sally in front of their lakeside home. Didn't realize the camera was set to black and white until that evening - oh well.

The Hobo Museum is located in Britt, Iowa.

Some rather famous people were hobos for some part of their lives.

A mock-up of a typical hobo camp. I remember one not far from my home in Artesia in the 1950s.

The museum consisted primarily of clothing and possessions provided by hobos, along with stories of some of the more storied hobos.

Russ' grandfather and grandmother in Morgan, Iowa.

This was the church that Oscar Schaal was serving at when he passed away. The parsonage is hidden behind on the left.

The Stockman house in Mason City. This is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home in the Prairie School style.

Rock Glen with this creek is a part of the city that has lots of Prairie School homes.

Remember the footpath in The Music Man where they met at the end of the movie? It was inspired by the predecessor to this footpath, not far from Meredith Willson's boyhood home.