Some thoughts about Ottumwa, Iowa have been wandering through my mind tonight, so thought I would just share a few links to posts that I have written about one of my old home towns.
One post that I thought about tonight was Ottumwa on TV in Australia. While in Australia teaching a class last February there was a segment on one of the evening news shows about Ottumwa. Click on the link above to see what they talked about.
I often think about the Canteen in Ottumwa. This is an old picture as there is now a parking garage built over this iconic little restaurant. I wrote a bit more about the type of food they serve in my post Loose Meat Sandwiches.
A friend of mine at work was showing me some books that he had found at an estate sale and the item above fell out of one of them. It is a small world when a small item like this from where I grew up in Iowa shows up in California in a book. For more about this bill see 1895 Ottumwa Bill.
The most popular post that I have written about Ottumwa is about The Harper Mansion. This old mansion is still standing on Court Street. However, you may not recognize it from this picture as the central tower was shortened and a wrap around porch was added to the front.
I have some wonderful memories of times spent in this old mansion. Click on the link above for more information.
I also wrote a post about Chief Wapello. There is a statue of him on top of the Wapello County Courthouse in Ottumwa.
So many memories of Ottumwa tonight as I write this, especially about people I know who are connected with my old home town.
I have a few more Ottumwa posts in the pipeline. I just need to do some more research and also find the right pictures to illustrate them.
Have you ever been to Ottumwa?
Steven
Braman's Wanderings 