On Sunday we all went to various little congregations (called wards or smaller ones called branches) of the LDS Church throughout the area. Russ and I went with the Temple Counselor, wife, and 3 other missionary couples where we enjoyed getting to know the wonderful, faithful people there., many of whom have to travel quite a ways to get to church. Russ sang for them and I played the piano. We all had the opportunity to speak to them, too, and hope we helped them to feel they are part of a large army of really good people trying to follow the Savior. We ended the day with dinner at the Counselor's home, a pleasant evening together, ending by watching the lovely full moon eclipse in the clear sky.
The first stop Monday morning was the John Deere factory. I was quite delighted to find it more interesting and enjoyable than I was expecting. Years ago I went with Russ to visit the Harley-Davidson factory in York, PA and was quite impressed. This was a similar experience. We were not allowed to bring our cameras in so I have no pictures of what we saw. Just like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, each tractor is custom-made to the specifications of
an order. Most parts are made in the USA and the tractors are shipped all over the world. They recently shipped 200 large tractors to China. Most of the work is computer monitored and controlled, although done by human hands, except for the painting which is electro-static and amazing to watch as robots accurately and completely paint with hardly a drop of overspray anywhere. Even the hand-wrenches are "smart" in that they keep track of how tightly bolts are turned. The bus in the photo at right was a group that came at the tour time we were there. We rode around in a little train of open cars pulled by a- guess what!- little John Deere tractor!
When we heard about the next place, the Bily Clock Museum, we really had no idea what to expect. Again, we were not allowed to take pictures inside so this is a picture of postcards for purchase in an attempt to show the amazing clocks built by two brothers, both of whom died about 50 years ago. They were immigrants from Czechoslavakia who never married and were very skilled wood carvers. Many of the clocks had religious themes, such as carved statues of Jesus and the Apostles. The intricacy of their work was fascinating. They never sold them but they have been valued in millions of dollars. Antonin Dvorak heard of this small Czechoslavakian community in Iowa when he visited the United States and brought his family to spend a summer there. The upstairs of this museum is dedicated to Dvorak. He wrote some of his music here, after having composed the New World Symphony.
Last but hardly least, we visited the "Matchstick Marvels", a collection of amazing structures built all out of matchsticks. The builder has sold several to Ripley's Believe It Or Not venues around the world. This one is a replica of the Capitol. You can see the Space Shuttle behind it. It's amazing how far he has taken a little hobby for something to do! (Angela, the woman in this picture looks a little like Grandma Fellows. She's the gentile southern lady sharpshooter I told you about. I just love her!)
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