Iowa

on location: midwest ❖

ethnic

randy mink

Kalona is the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi River.

A few farmers still work their fields with horses.

iowa rom Dutch culture in Pella to German traditions in the Amana Colonies, tour planners can stitch together enchanting itineraries flavored with Old Country flair. Museum visits, ethnic festivals, shopping forays and lots of good eating lend a taste of Europe to treks across the rolling farmlands of Iowa.

The Germans were the dominant

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Pockets of European culture enchant groups touring America’s heartland

non-English-speaking group to settle Iowa in the 1800s, and today 52 percent of the population can trace its roots back to Germany. As a Midwesterner with great-grandparents who migrated from Germany to Eastern Iowa, I was especially interested in places with German roots on my recent trip.

I started by heading to the recently renovated German American Heritage

Center & Museum in Davenport, part of the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa. Housed in a former hotel that catered to immigrants, the four-story brick building commands a prime location on the mighty Mississippi.

A museum highlight is “Step Into My Shoes,” where visitors step on a footprint that activates a video screen with an actor who describes his or her LeisureGroupTravel.com

experience as an immigrant. Six characters tell the stories of actual people who made the journey to Iowa.

Visitors also learn about the local German-language newspaper (published for 62 years) and Schuetzen Park, where German-Americans and others enjoyed the picnic grounds, roller coaster, shooting ranges, dancing and beer concessions. One exhibit focuses on the anti-German sentiment from World War I that restricted activities of German-Americans and led to the prohibition of speaking German in public.

My Germanic quest continued in the Amana Colonies, a collection of seven villages settled by a German religious group that was persecuted for its beliefs. An industrious bunch, they practiced a communal way of life that lasted until 1932. Though Amana residents are often confused with the

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Amish, they are not related, even though both groups developed separatist societies in the mid-1800s in Southeast Iowa, spoke German and dressed in similar styles. You will not see horse-drawn buggies in the Amana Colonies, but you will in Kalona, an Amish enclave 30 miles away.

The main activity in the Amana Colonies is strolling down the main street in the village of Amana, popping into gift and antique shops and sampling tasty treats. At the Amana Woolen Mill, dating from 1857, see the looms in operation and choose from a vast array of sweaters, scarves and blankets. Wineries specialize in such fruit flavors as pomegranate, dandelion and rhubarb. Ronneburg Restaurant, housed in an original communal kitchen, and Ox Yoke Inn offer hearty German fare like sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel.

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on location: midwest ❖ Kalona, my favorite discovery, claims the largest Amish population (more than 1,200) west of the Mississippi. A highlight was exploring the countryside on a ByWays van tour arranged by the Kalona Historical Village and Kalona Chamber of Commerce. Our narrator guide, D. Paul Yoder, whose great-grandfather was Old Order Amish, explained the simple lifestyle of the “plain people” as we traveled past buggies on gravel roads and white farmhouses with laundry hanging out to dry. We made two stops during the 90-minute tour. At the

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Amish-owned Community Country Store, next to a chicken pen and vegetable garden on farm property, I bought a homemade apricot pie. Our stop at JK Creative Wood & Gifts, a Mennonite enterprise, included a tour of the workshop and showroom.

Many groups make a day of it, combining their tour with a home-cooked meal in an Amish or Mennonite home and a visit to Kalona Historical Village, a collection of three museums and 15 buildings (a rail depot, general store, church, one-room school house, etc.) spread across a block in the heart of town. Galleries in its modern visitor center display historical and contemporary Amish and English (nonAmish) quilts.

Groups also need time to wander about downtown Kalona, fresh from a spiffy makeover completed this spring. Visit antique, quilt and other specialty shops. Treat yourself to an old-fashioned cinnamon roll at the Kalona Bakery.

Then take the brand new Quilt Block Tour.

As the “Quilt Capital of Iowa,” little Kalona (pop. 2,363) is now literally “paved” with quilts, its downtown sidewalks embedded with 42 quilt patterns made of colored paving stones.

Iowa’s Dutch heritage is most evident in Pella, about 80 miles west of Kalona. Ablaze with tulips in April and May, the tourist-friendly town offers visitors a

The German American Heritage Center in Davenport has a bright new look.

virtual trip to Holland, with gabled buildings, an authentic Dutch windmill, a landscaped canal and places to shop for Delftware and other Dutch imports. The Tulip Time Festival in early May features parades, special tours, flower and quilt shows, and Dutch-style entertainment.

Danish traditions take center stage in Elk Horn, home of the Danish Windmill Museum. Built in Denmark in 1848 and transported to Iowa in 1975, the mill grinds wheat and rye.

A tour includes a 15-minute video.

At the site are the largest Danish import shop in the U.S. and a replica of a Viking blacksmith’s shop. Also in town are the Danish Immigrant Museum and 1908 Bedstemor’s (“Grandmother’s”) House, furnished to reflect Danish-American tastes in the early 20th century. LGT

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE One of Iowa’s hidden gems is the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum in West Branch. Read Randy Mink’s story at http://leisuregrouptravel.com/?p=23756.

Obtain Iowa visitor guides and itineraries – and contact groupfriendly suppliers directly – at leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info LeisureGroupTravel.com