Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

Just a few random thoughts this week.

1. I saw in my journeys this week the first of the seed corn being harvested and a few beans taken out of the field. It really is amazing how fast the crops are starting to change just in the last week. Harvest time as a child was always a tense and yet thrilling time. I know I spent a lot of time wondering how long Dad would go until something would break down. I loved as a small boy when we still would pick ear corn riding in the wagon as Dad drove across the fields. My brother and I, bundled up, dodging ears of corn as they came crashing down into the wagon from the chute of the corn picker. That was an exciting time and we would watch the world go by us row by row.

2. The Cubs have clinched the NL Central crown. On to the World Series boys!

3. The economy has me troubled. I wonder if we (US) have gone so long ignoring things, just simply thinking they would fix themselves, that now rather than having an easy time maintaining, we now have a bigger mess on our hands than what is really being discussed. Is it the fault of the banks, the consumer or the government? Or are all three to blame? It will be interesting to see how it plays out as those in charge decide which financial institutions survive and which ones are thrown to the dogs.

4. There are a few warm days left I am sure. I keep harping on the kids to get out and play while they can. Soon Winter will be here and they will be groaning because they can’t go out and play. Do I have a surprise for them? I’m going to give them a good old fashioned dose of what good old Dad grew up with…Yes, sir, I’m going to bundle them up and send them out to play.

5. Is it too early to start thinking about what to plant in the garden next spring?

6. I’ve been thinking lately about starting a project just for something to do this winter when it’s too cold to be out. I worked earlier this year on a committee that looked at the buildings in downtown Dexter and tried to list and decode their past. This got me to thinking about the houses in town. When were they built, who lived there and what kind of stories would they tell? One might not think it is very noteworthy, but 100 years from now if any of them survive one might wonder who it was that occupied them. The sale of the old rest home in Dexter has really spurred on my curiosity. I know that in the 1940s there was a gentleman who was the school janitor that lived there. Looking back from that point it’s a bit fuzzy. I’ve found the 1900 census from the time the home was new, but its going to take a little work to match up the facts with the address. What an exciting adventure.

7. Finally this week, for those of you who grew up around here, do you remember the legend of the Depot Park in Dexter? Remember the mound that used to be there? Do you remember the story? That tiny piece of property was once reported to be the final resting place of the horse Dexter? Well folks, the myth has troubled me and haunted me for years now, and I finally have the answer to what happened to Dexter…..It’s a great story and tune in here next week and I’ll share the answer with you.

See you next week…remember, we’re all in this together.