2022 Trip 2: Central Iowa: June 23

Thursday June 23, 2022

Des Moines Iowa

We were seeking just a short trip to keep the travel bug alive. The Iowa State Capitol and history museum just never rose to the top of our stops despite driving down I-35 numerous times over the years. So a trip to Des Moines seemed a reasonable short get away with the added bonus of visiting my niece and her husband in Mason City IA.

Shannon and Adam are serial entrepreneurs who opened Walsh’s Shebeen in Mason City late last year. A private club offering specialty cocktails, it offers a rich atmosphere and an inviting list of regular and rotating alcoholic beverages. They make their own bitters and syrups from fresh ingredients. We got a tour after spending some time catching up on various family matters. If you live in the Mason City area, best get yourselves over there and become a member.

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you know besides parks and museums, we like to visit various oddities, those one of a kind places that you just have to see to believe. This afternoon’s visit was both unusual and impressive. This was my pick and Chris’ initial reluctance gave way to admiration for Patrick Acton of Gladbrook Iowa (pop.968) and his impressive matchstick creations. Yes, matchstick creations. What started out in 1977 as a simple creation of a church made from 500 matchsticks, with the sulphur heads cut off, has grown into a full time job creating models for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Recent creations use hundreds of thousands of matchsticks.

After 10 years of buying matchsticks in local stores and cutting off the ends, Acton found out he could buy the sticks plain, before the sulphur tip was created. His last purchase was for over 3,000,000 matchsticks because the manufacturer indicated matches were a dying product and the sticks would soon no longer be available. He calculates he has used over 8,000,000 matchsticks over the years to create over 75 large models. And yes, each matchstick is individually glued to its neighbor.

So how does one see one of these creations? You could see one by visiting a Ripley’s Believe It or Not attraction. Or you could pay $5 per adult and visit the Gladbrook City Hall where one large room is devoted to at least 20 of his models and sculptures. Acton feels strongly that his creations should maintain a strong Iowa presence. Gladbrook is where he, his wife and children call home and the city has made ”Matchstick Marvels” a regular part of its city hall since 2003.

Below are photos of several of his matchstick marvels on display in Gladbrook. Can you guess how many matchsticks it took to create the Notre Dame model at the top of this blog? (Answer at the end of the blog.)

U.S. Capitol made from matchsticks

Our last stop of the day was to visit the ”Bridges of Madison County”. Now, I had heard of the book and movie but never read the book or saw the movie. Chris gave me the basic plot as we drove to Madison County, a little south of Des Moines. Evidently Madison County is home to the largest grouping of covered bridges still remaining in the state. Covered bridges are fun to see and visit but the publication of the book in 1992 and the movie in 1995 really gave a real boost to visiting the remaining six bridges. I could recite the history of each bridge, when it was built, the materials used, etc. but I won’t bore you and give you just a visual treat of some of the bridges. You can read the book yourself to discover which ones are more prominent.

Yes, is allowed to write a message on the white portion of the bridge.

Final stop was a short climb up a tower in Winterset Iowa. Nothing that dramatic but we did it so you get to see it.

Ed and Chris

Des Moines IA June 23, 2022

Answer to question: Model of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took 298,000 matchsticks and ten gallons of glue.