Breakfast in the Amana Colonies

Knowing your neighbors is one of the great things about living in a small town. Being able to wave to them on your walk, say hi at the post office or here in Amana, sit down to breakfast with them. Last Friday I invited myself to eat breakfast at a local restaurant with these four local guys, who meet there every Friday morning.

The Amana Colonies is known for its great food. If you haven’t had breakfast here you are missing out. Plate sized pancakes are served with hash browns, ham or sausage or bacon, fried eggs, fruit, and English muffins with fresh jam. A huge breakfast to start your day out right! Now whether you choose this large breakfast or just a doughnut and coffee at the local gas station, where ever you go you will usually find a group of local guys (just like my four pals here) sitting around, chatting and enjoying their breakfast also.

This past Friday I listened as these guys talked about old school days, local gossip, and the Amana Society Bulletin (a local weekly, where you can find all the news you want to know about the Colonies), along with giving each other a hard time. They sure are a fun bunch of guys! George was on the original Amana Refrigeration factory crew. Bruce is the Amana Society insurance guy. Bill is the town tin smith and was a long time sheet metal worker at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids. Norman is a woodworker who owns a furniture shop in South Amana. They all grew up in the Amana Colonies and have tales to tell. Being able to hang out with them is just another fun thing about living here in the Amana Colonies.

Eating giant pancakes in My Town: Amana Colonies

Brandi

The New Guy In Town

Up until this last September the Amana Heritage Museum has been running without a curator for a while. What is a curator exactly, you might ask. Well, it depends on the institution.  At the Amana Heritage Museum the curator is the person who processes and takes care of the artifacts, archives and photographs in its collections, creates exhibits, and takes care of the museum buildings. It’s a big job!  Not having a curator at the museum has meant a little more work for everyone here and that we have had a little pile up of new artifacts that had been donated to the museum, but we have been managing for the most part.

Luckily though the Amana Heritage Museum now has a new curator. His name is Zach Row-Heyveld. He’s Dutch. His family is from Pella, but we try not to give him to hard a time about that.

 Zach is originally from Peoria Illinois, and currently lives in Iowa City and drives into Amana three days a week. Zach walked into a big job, I hope he is not too overwhelmed. Right now he is working with our artifact collection, securing and bring up to date all of the storage for it. Zach has been doing everything from putting away artifacts, sorting artifacts to making padded hangers for our clothing collection. Before he came to work here in Amana he worked at the University of Iowa Natural History Museum doing exhibit design and maintenance. So we should be getting some great new exhibits at the Amana Heritage Museum in the near future.

I asked Zach if he had found any really interesting artifacts here at the museum as he is familiarizing himself with the collection. Like a true history buff Zach likes items that show how people of the past dealt with everyday problems that we still struggle with. He finds the clothing collection interesting, for it shows this kind of problem solving. He also found a collection of 1930s glass slides that were used in a class room. They are of images from all around the world. Zach finds it interesting to look back and see how places still familiar to us today looked back then.

I also ask Zach what his favorite thing about Amana is, being a fan of architecture he said the old houses, though Millstream Brewery is also pretty high on his list too.

Zach is a big asset to the museum. Each year the Amana Heritage Museum gets hundreds of items donated that need to be taken care of. The artifacts that you see on display are just a tiny percentage of what we have here. As Zach get to know our collection better, I’m sure that you will see some fun new exhibits here at the museum. So make sure that you come on by. Not to be bias, but I think it is the first stop you should make if you ever visit the Amana Colonies.

Working hard in My Town: Amana Colonies

Does this make me a Lumber Jill?

There I am in 20 degree weather, ankle deep in snow, putting on Kevlar chaps when I hear, “have you ever run a chain saw?” Um, no.

Well now I have, thanks to the Amana Society Forestry department who invited me to take a look at how they spend their work day.  Donning three layers and snow boots, I ventured into the Amana timber and that’s how we get to the part with me wearing chaps. Now, I’m the kind of person who is always looking for just a little bit of adventure. You won’t find me sky diving, but tromping through the snow with the possibility of using a chain saw? Yep, I’ll go for that. So I was really excited to have this rare opportunity.

The ASI forestry department consists of Larry Gnewikow and Tim Krauss. Larry attended school at Iowa State in the Forest Management program and Tim went to Upper Iowa University in the Conservation program. These are two outdoors men who know their stuff and they both are super nice and hospitable to boot.

Larry

Tim

This time of year Larry and Tim are out there working on tree stand improvement, or TSI. Using chain saws to cut into unwanted trees, like Iron Wood, they then put herbicides on them so they don’t grow back. The chemical is brightly colored so it can’t be missed (and gives the illusion in my photos that the tree is bleeding. Don’t worry. They aren’t.) After I geared up and was shown the safety precautions with the chain saw, Tim pointed out the iron woods to for me to cut down. I learned that TSI is an important job in forestry, because it gets rid of unwanted trees in order to give more room for the wanted ones to grow. Larry and Tim want to make sure there is a proper balance of tree species. The goal with TSI is to create a balanced ecosystem to have a healthy, productive timber.

Along with TSI Larry and Tim’s job includes the planting and harvesting of trees. They plant mostly Red and White Oak, Walnut and Maple. They collect local seeds, like walnuts and acorns, to be planted another year. They plant any where from a thousand to two thousand trees a year and harvest about as many trees as they plant. After felling, these trees are taken to a saw mill and made into lumber. From there the lumber is sold on the open market, though a  percentage does get sold to the Amana Furniture Shop. So if you buy furniture from Amana, it is possible that it was not only made here, but grown here too.

Now amongst all of this serious forestry business, Larry and Tim are a hoot to hang out with. Ask any question about the forestry and Larry will answer it, along with a big laugh. This is definitely the guy I want teaching me how to run a chainsaw; with him its safety first and joke second. Tim seems to be the resident cook and made us up some deer steaks and French fries over the campfire for lunch. I have never seen anyone cook fries over a camp fire. Seeing what they do was great, but lunch was the best part. Honestly now I am quite jealous of Larry and Tim’s job, it was really fun being out there amongst the trees and working and eating with the guys. Though I’m not sure about being out in the elements all of the time. I never did see the sign for the ladies room.

Roughing it in: My Town Amana Colonies

Brandi

Carl is Hamming it up for Winterfest

                                                

Some folks find comfort in the expression, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” For Amana’s Carl Oehl, change is something he’s familiar with, yet in changing, he’s found a way to remain the same. Born at the end of the communal era in the Amana Colonies, Oehl has literally seen it all, at least when it comes to the many changes that have involved the Amana community over the last eighty years.

Oehl was born in communal-era Amana, and was a part of the community concerned with work, church, and hearty food. Shortly after the Great Change, Opa Carl, as he’s affectionately known, took a job at the Amana Meat Shop. He remarks that they custom butchered for many years until home butchering practices changed, and the mail order business had its start prior to the Great Change in 1932.

“Hotels all over were serving our bacon,” recalls Oehl, “and packages were shipped via parcel post or railway express.” Today, the Amana Meat Shop continues that tradition by filling thousands of orders for hams of all sizes, meat and cheese packs, and other specialty items. He attributes the Internet in keeping the business alive and well, referring to the constant UPS semi traffic loading mail order from the Amana Meat Shop seven days a week during their busy time of year.

In 1968, Carl and his wife, Fern, started the Colony Market Place Restaurant in South Amana. Carl’s love of great food and his desire to work ever closer with the public were the ingredients for his longtime success as a restauranteur. It’s even ironic that the building in South Amana the Oehl family renovated into the restaurant was the village meat market, built of locally-produced brick with a domed-ceiling basement and smokehouse, where you could get just a hint of the smoky aroma from bygone years of curing hams. Ultimately, Carl and Fern sold the Colony Market Place in 1995 and retired, though the thought of retirement for the active couple seemed a foreign concept.

Shortly after his retirement, Carl drifted back to the Amana Meat Shop. “It’s sort of been a magnet for me all these years…I was born just four doors down and still live there to this day,” he explains. Oehl works weekends, especially during events and festivals like Amana’s Winterfest. He can be seen visiting with customers, giving samples, and providing advice on recipes and how to properly cook hams, chops, and other items you’ll find at the Amana Meat Shop. Having lost his wife, Fern, just two years ago, he reiterates, “Being here is my safety valve.” Oehl relishes the fact that he recognizes everyone who is a repeat customer to the meat shop. He also served as the Burgermeister for the Maifest and Oktoberfest in the Amanas. He’s currently the ‘retired’ Burgermeister, though he is still very active in his duties to the various festivals.

When asked about Hammin’ It Up this weekend at the Winterfest, the retired Burgermeister reports, “It’ll be fun. On Saturday, we’ll offer ham carving demonstration and make ham and bean soup for everyone to sample. I’ll show folks what they can do with their ham bones. We’ll have a free drawing for a ham.” He also reminded us that they’ll offer specials on ham salad, pickled ham, hams and ham portions the entire weekend Jan 21-23.” You can even look for a hidden Ms. Piggy.

Indeed, the more things change, the more they stay the same. From a hardworking teenager, to successful entrepreneur, to retiree, to honoree, and back to where it all started for him seventy years ago, Carl Oehl has seen it all, and he’s waiting to visit with you this weekend at the Amana Meat Shop during Amana’s Winterfest.

Like Carl says "Keep smiling"

Jon