In our winter home in Texas!

86º with bright sunshine, humidity 39% here in La Feria, Texas at 3:00 pm Wednesday.

I found this little ditty was interesting ----" I went to a mixed religious convention today.  The Christian priest held my hand and said “By the Will of Jesus Christ, you will walk today.  I smiled and said ”I'm not paralyzed.“  Then the Rabbi took  my hand and said, ”By the will of God Almighty, you will walk today.“  Again, I said, ”I'm fine really.“  Then the Buddhist monk said, ”By the will of Buddha, you will walk today.“  I rolled my eyes.  After the service...I went outside and saw my car had been stolen."

We arrived at our winter home about 6:30 pm Sunday evening after driving about 560 miles that day with the trailer behind us. 

We had left our Clarinda home about 9:00 am (after routine doctor appointments at the hospital) and made it the nearly 500 miles to an RV campground in Cape Girardeau by that evening.

We spent Thursday and Friday with my brother Don and his wife Vicki at the Chaateau Girardeau care facility.

This is us waiting for the doctor in the
hospital waiting room in Clarinda.

Waiting with Don.

Waiting with Don.

Vicki had an appointment with a dentist and the Chateau's van took her to it.  Us waiting with Don on his Ground Floor hall by his dining room until about 11:30 am when they let them into the diining room.  And then we went up near the main entrance and waited for Vicki.  There had been some confusion on the part of the driver and she had to wait nearly 45 minutes afer her checkukp for a ride back.

We took Vicki and got a bite to eat at Chick Fila since she had missed her lunch, then stopped at some shops, Doller Tree, Hobby Lobby and went to a T-Mobile store to return our Home WIFI we use in Clarinda that they wouldnt put on vacation without sevearal dollars a month.  

We returned to the Chateau by 4 pm and was down on Don's floor before 4:30 when we ate with them.  Don is getting so feeble standing or walking so is not possible for him to get into the pickup.  They are not even taking him to church in the car account him being dead weight to transfer.  When he gets up to move to a chair he has to be pulled up, then he takes probably 15 teeny steps to turn to sit down at the next place, wobbling all the time. After eating we did play dominoes.

Friday we picked Vicki up after lunch and went to Walmart in Jackson, MO.

Played some more

dominoes Friday evening.

Both nights I rolled Don down the long hall to his bedroom, which he shares with a retired Veternarian.

He is nearly non-verbal, does what he is told to do and is assisted a lot by the nurses, etc. He never seems upset at anything, but doesn't really smile, either.  We told both of them we would see them in April as we return from the Valley.

Photo in Vicki's apartment - from 5-29-24

Our bougainvillea's are doing well.

We went to the first, of this season, Barbershop Chorus practice Tuesday in McAllen, Texas.  Had 19 people there, not bad for this early.  Hope for another 10 to 15.

This morning we went up the office Lounge for coffee and donuts put on by the staff.

Takes a lot of time getting everything from the trailer, pickukp, into the house and Texas Room and situated.  Put up the two awnings that are lowered while we are gone, filled the hot-tub with water (nice to use that since our one in Clarinda sprung a leak and we don't have one there). Took down the Rigid Rib panel I put over the north door of the Texas Room. 

 Had a noise show up with the differential to the front wheels of the pickukp about 20 miles before getting here Sunday -- my local mechanic fouind the oil it it appeared a little low and maybe hadn't ever been changed--only have 186,000 miles on it.   He changed it, with some additive and it seems to be okay now.  We will be heading uptown to Harlingin for the 7:05 pm choir practice after bit.

I need to add this -- our park Maintance Man was here earlier and had to take off some skirting to crawl under our unit to take pictures of our water meter, then let it run 10 gallons and take another photo.  It seems like someone, I don't kknow if it was RHP, the owners, or the water people, thought the meter wasn't working since there was no register of usage this summer.  We turned the water off on March 28th and just returned.  Whoever it was apparently doesn't understand seasanal usage of these units!

Till next time, LCM

Time to head for Texas!

 48º with drizzly rain at 4:20 pm Tuesday.  To rain off and on into tomorrow most of the day.  We hope to pull out of here, with the travel trailer, by 10:00 am, latest, and about that time 20 MPH wind out of the north is forecast--since we are heading south that will be okay until we get to Kansas City and then head east.  Google maps shows about an 8-hour drive, so hope to get into Cape Camping RV Park by at least 7:30 pm with several stops along the way.  Rain predicted all the way with 20 MPH winds out of North or North-Northeast all the way so will be interesting driving with wind blowing on the trailer.

I spent several hours Saturday cutting down trees on the farm.  Will now have to wait until April to pursue that. 

The thorns on these Honey Locust trees are about as mean as I have run into. Click HERE for info on the tree and the thorns. I think they are considered as an invasive tree and to be gotten rid of.  I watched a YouTube on them and they said if you cut the tree, it will shoot up hundreds of little trees all around its root system.  I am hoping the Tordon™ I treated the stumps with will avoid that!

Sunday we attended church and sang in the choir for last time in 2025.  This is a screenshot from the Facebook page that the service is streamed on and is from near the pulpit where the pastor turns the camera towards the congregation area.  This year we have not sat by the Alter, and just go to the front of the congregation to sing.  Phyllis is out of range to the right of this shot.

Sunday afternoon we went uptown to the Circle 8 Square Dance.  Been 15 years since we danced regularly and several years since we danced last.  Quite a few "old folks" just came to visit.  Lots of people who we didn't know were there.  Got to visit with Patty S, who is quite active in the club yet.

Since rain was forecast for today, when we were planning to finish packing the trailer and pickup and hooking up to leave tomorrow morning, we went ahead and got hooked up yesterday and are ready to pull out.  We are moving out into the trailer tonight so can completely close up the house (clean refrigerator, wash bed linens, get Dish boxes packed up, get T-Mobile Home WIFI disconnected and packed up to return to a T-Mobile store in Cape Girardeau) and be ready for 8 am doctors appointments in the morning and pull out immediately afterwards.

Almost the end of October and these flowers, just off our deck, are still going strong.  Assume a freeze in a few weeks will end that.

Hope to report some on our trip to Texas.

LC

30,086 days

If I was told right about my birthdate, this is my 30,086th day here on earth.  Don't remember them all, but many were good, some remarkable (but I won't make those remarks now) and many forgotten.

64º here in Clarinda right now at 12:30 pm Thursday (93º right now at our La Feria, Texas home--where we should be by November 3rd.

Here are 10-day forecasts for weather during next 10 days both Clarinda and La Feria

We didn't get the possible frost forecast for here last night.  We are to be in Cape Girardeau, MO next Wednesday night through Saturday morning and temps are predicted to be from 40º to 60º in that period.  Believe we will miss a freeze, which is something to be concerned about if you own a travel trailer.....best way to winterize an RV is to take it south!

With my blood donation at Red Cross setup in Clarinda this morning I started on my 3rd gallon with them.  Over the years I have donated some 4 or 5 times to organizations not Red Cross.  In the Rio Grande Valley there have been many times groups stop at RV Parks for blood donations that are not affiliated with Red Cross.

Last evening we went to our last choir practice at the Methodist Church here in Clarinda until next April.  We do sing this Sunday, but we leave next week.

I gave a new coat of paint to the cover over the basement window and got it applied for the winter.

I disassembled the recumbent trike.

and got it stowed under the shelf in the forward part of the pickup.

Have been packing in lots of items for trip to Texas.

Got to visit with Phyllis' 2nd Cousin Russ Heuer a bit.  He broke his neck in two places in a car accident the first of August out in Washington state where he lives.  Had presumed it involved speeding, but found that it was 20 mph on a roundabout where a lady went the wrong way around and he swerved to avoid her, which he did, but car rolled on it's side and he slid out of his seat belt and hit head on post on passenger side of vehicle.  He has another 6 weeks or so to wear the brace and possibly more--one cracked vertebrae healing and another not at this time.

I finally turned on the furnace last week.  This photo was one morning when it got a little cold and door glass hazed over.  I tightened a couple of the latches on the inside pane and it didn't do this last night.

Later, LC

Wickfield Farms Sales Pavilion in Van Buren County, Iowa

 

Located in Van Buren County, Iowa in the small town of Cantril, the Wickfield Farms Sales Pavilion is surely the 

most  storied round barn in all of Iowa. Built in 1918, the Wickfield Pavilion is 52 feet in diameter and has three stories and a half-basement. And just wait until you read how much room is packed into this structure! Frank Silvers started his hog operation in 1914. Wickfield Farms became the largest Hampshire hog farm in the world and could feed 1500 hogs at one time. The hogs raised on the farm were sold in the round barn pavilion; about 3500 hogs were sold here per year. The sales arena in this pavilion sat 700 people!

The half-basement has four rooms—a dining room which tightly sat 36 guests; a kitchen; a furnace room; and a pantry/fruit cellar. In the furnace room was a big bath for Lookout Lad, one of the only Hampshire hogs not for sale. Lookout Lad was like a mascot for the Wickfield Pavilion. Buyers looked forward to seeing him being paraded around the place. You can imagine him being brought into the basement through the basement door to the cheers of those in the dining room, then through the kitchen to be cleaned up in his bath before going upstairs to the sales arena. Patrons said that Lookout Lad was cleaner than the farmhands!

The first floor was the sales arena. The hogs were brought in through double doors to an 8-foot by 8-foot holding area. Auctioneers called the bids from a small balcony above.

On the second floor, around a central hall, were eight pie-shaped sleeping rooms for workers and hog buyers. A few rooms were smaller than others to allow for stairways up and down, but each room had a dormer window. During multi-day sales, each room slept about ten people!

The third floor had four more sleeping rooms and also served as a card room and social parlor, complete with a dance floor.

Unfortunately, Wickfield Farms was short-lived as a successful business. Like many farms, it went bankrupt during the Great Depression.

 

 

Wickfield Pavilion

National Historic Register - 1986

Perhaps no barn in Iowa has as colorful a history as Cantril's famed round barn. At one time or another, it was a sales pavilion, a packing plant, dormitory and, believe it or not, was raided as a "speakeasy" during prohibition days.

Built in 1918 on the Wickfield farm at a cost of $20,000, it became known as the largest Hampshire hog farm in the world with some 1500 hogs being fed at once.

The barn had 8 dormers on the lower part of the roof and 4 on the second part. The basement complex was beautifully equipped for humans with a dining room and kitchen. . also, a furnace room, an electric lighting plant, and a fruit cellar. The ground floor was a sales pavilion, and the loft contained eight dormitory rooms for workers and for overnight guests. The crow's nest was a card room and social parlor.

Fifty-two feet in diameter, the structure is 65 feet tall.

Wickfield Farms usually held two auctions each year, some lasting up to three months. Steep bidding was part of the spectacle. One animal sold for a whopping $5,000. Many hogs were displayed at shows in the Midwest, and in 1923 their record included 6 grand champions, 12 champions and 59 firsts. Cash winnings topped $2,300. Two famous hogs were Lookout Lad and Lieutenant Wickware.

The final curtain fell in the mid-'20s when the farm economy turned sour, the farm was finally sold to individuals outside the family. The barn was later used for recreation and later storage.

Contact

17451 260th St
Keosauqua, IA 52565

Family visit in Marengo, Iowa over weekend

66º here in Clarinda, IA at 1:15 pm on Monday.

Frankenstein

Had a good visit with the grandkids and great-grandkids in Marengo, IA over the weekend.  On Saturday they had costume competition in the town square so David & Jessica were in costume.

Sally

 

David (Frankenstein) bowling

There was quite a waiting time--a dance class did some routines--and everybody was visiting with neighbors, friends, etc.

One of David's friends spent time with us.

They came up in different age groups.  Each was
introduced and I guess judging was by applause
or hollering.  Here is David waiting.

Jessica waiting after being introduced

One whole street was blocked off 

and cars were parked so kids could walk

along and "Trunk or Treat" for the candy/cookies

Ashley had her car and represented her
bank in passing out candy/cookies

Dishing up meatballs

Buttering the biscuits from the oven

Saturday evening Phyllis fixed meatballs she had brought from home and helped Patty, Ashley, & Jessica fix the full meal. Derek & Emily had come from Iowa City and Heath & Ashley along with Jessica and David, came out from Marengo, along with Cameron and Patty we were all together.

All for now, LC