Dad remembrance pilgrimage: Day 3
Previous leg: Canton, Missouri to Tama, Iowa
July 12, 2022: Tama to Des Moines, Iowa
The back roads leading to Otter Creek Lake County Park were not on the and I had no cell phone reception that far off the beaten track. As a result, day three started off with no clear route to my first destination. I knew I wanted to get to Traer, but was not sure how to make that happen.
Fortunately, there is a secret to backroad navigation in Iowa, water towers. The state is basically laid out like a checkerboard. Look at the sun, figure out which way is north and then head in the general direction of where you want to go. Eventually you will see a water tower. If it’s the town you’re looking for, great. If not, read the name and adjust your trajectory accordingly. Gradually one starts to learn the shape, color, and location relative to the grain elevator well enough that one can identify the town without reading.
Using this proven technique I headed off in a vaguely northerly direction and waited for some water tower to appear on the horizon. After 8 miles of gravel I only had to make one change in direction before arriving in Traer as if I knew what I was doing. Traer is regionally known for the winding staircase on Main Street. It was built in 1894 to access the newsroom on the second floor of the print shop below.
My grandpa served United Presbyterian Church there in the 1980’s. In addition to big family holidays we would often come here on Sunday afternoons when dad was serving the church in Brooklyn. The church has added on since the last time I was here. One of my favorite parts of the building is the nearly Orthodox looking dome built in the center of the sanctuary.
Camp Dodge: where dad served longest
After having breakfast in Traer I turned southeast and headed for Des Moines where dad spent the last several years of his life. Part way through his military career dad was transferred to Camp Dodge in Des Moines (technically Johnston). He served with several units on base, including the State Regional Command. He served as the family support liaison during the deployment of troops to Desert Storm and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
At Camp Dodge I visited the headquarters of the 185 Service and Support Battalion, the unit he deployed to Desert Storm. I also got to see the base chapel. Even though it was under renovation, the crew let me in to poke around when they heard why I was visiting. There was a lot going on at the base. The Iowa police academy is held here. The Civil Air Patrol was holding an encampment and once upon a time I spent a week on Camp Dodge for American Legion boy’s state. Lots of fun memories.
Retracing the beginning and end of dad’s life
Dad was born in Des Moines while my grandpa was studying at Drake University, a historically Disciples of Christ related school, after returning from service in Europe during WWII. My grandparents lived in a rented garage that had been converted into a studio apartment. Housing was scarce in the postwar years and I can’t imagine how my grandma handled an infant in such spartan conditions.
They moved out of Des Moines shortly thereafter when grandpa started seminary in Chicago, which is where dad’s oldest sibling was born.
It was much harder visiting the buildings representing the end of his life. He spent five years at Calvin Community before he passed away. The Rice Bowl in Beaverdale was his last ever outing made under his own steam. He was able to walk five blocks to the Chinese restaurant for his birthday one week before COVID shut everything down. Unfortunately, the isolation was not good for him on several levels and he declined rapidly after that period.
Preparing to say goodbye
It was definitely a bittersweet day. Many of the locations represented good memories and high points of both dad’s career and family life, but in the midst of celebrating those fun memories, my brother, stepmom, and I met the pastor at church to finalize the details of dad’s funeral. The reality of what was about to happen truly hit home at that moment.
Day 3 mileage: 164.5 (984.6 total)
Next entry: Visitation, Des Moines, Iowa
