Winterset Iowa

Our first stop on our way to the warmth was in Winterset Iowa. While not a great deal warmer than it was in the Twin Cities, Winterset was the city where the actor, John Wayne, was born, and we had always wanted to visit as we drove by on I-35 and saw the signs.

His home here was a small 4 room (literally only 4 rooms, a living room, an entry, a bedroom and a kitchen) as his parents were of humble means. The home was rented, his father was a pharmacist.

Born on May 26, 1907 as Marion Robert Morrison, John Wayne became an iconic actor always trying to display the essence of America. His movie name came from the industry that cast him as a leading role, John coming as a strong first name. Wayne came from the Revolutionary War General Mad Anthony Wayne. His nickname “Duke” came from his family og named Duke. Local law enforcement and fire fighters seeing Marion walking his dog Duke around town referred to him as “Little Duke”.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We got to see the home he was born to, as well as a considerable collection of memorabilia, stuff that Wayne owned and/or used in his movies. One of the funniest objects was this basic General Motors station wagon that he had modified to raise the roof for his sizable frame.

While at the John Wayne museum we learned that we were in Madison County, the subject of the 1995 Clint Eastwood movie. One of the famous bridges had been moved to the Winterset City Park where we were staying. We learned that the custom in the 1800’s was that any bridge built was named for the family that lived nearest it. Both the Cutler and Donahue family claimed to be the nearest to this particular bridge. The feud was eventually settled when they decided that a hyphenated name would be acceptable. Who knew we would be in hallowed grounds!

Talk to you soon!