 | |||||||||
| I have lived in Dubuque all my life. It's a nice little city with a population of about 56,467. You may not have quite as many things to do here as you would in a large city but you also don't have the crime and grime of a large city either. There are quite a few interesting and fun things to do though. I'll tell you about a few of them further down this page. You can feel safe sending your kids to school (as safe as you can feel in the year 2001). People say hello to eachother when they pass on the sidewalk. Your neighbor will come over with their snowblower when they see you struggling with a snow shovel. We even chat across the fence that separates our yards and maybe share a little gossip too. Your local convience store cashier knows your name and your spouse's name and which children in the neighborhood belong to you. If we forget to lock our door when we go to bed at night...well who cares....we'll try to remember tomorrow night. I really can't think of a better place to raise children. And well, you just haven't lived until you've seen the view of the Mississippi River from Eagle Point Park in the fall! | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Now let me clear about a few things that may have come to your mind when you read that I live in Iowa. No, I'm not a farmer. I've never bailed hay, milked a cow, or picked an ear of corn. I'm not a hick and I'm not stupid. I don't own a single pair of bib-overalls. Please realize that I am not saying there's anything wrong with being a farmer. You won't find a single person on earth who works harder than the family farmer. I will admit to referring to a group of 2 or more people as "you's guys" though. That is an Iowa thing or maybe it's a Midwest thing. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Time for a little Iowa humor! | |||||||||
You know you're from Iowa if... | |||||||||
|
You've never met any celebrities.
Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway. "Vacation" means going to Adventureland You've seen all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular. You measure distance in minutes. East to you means Illinois. You know several people who have hit a deer. Your school classes were canceled because of cold. Your school classes were canceled because of heat. You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day. You think ethanol makes your truck "run a lot better." You know what's knee-high by the Fourth of July. Stores don't have bags; they have sacks. You see people wear bib overalls at funerals. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year. You end your sentences with an unnecessary reposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?" or "If you go to town I wanna go with you." All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, or animal. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows. You carry jumper cables in your car. You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" is. You only own 3 spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie. The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires 6 pages for sports. You think that deer season is a national holiday. You know which leaves make good toilet paper. You find -20 degrees F "a little chilly". You know all 4 seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction. You know if another Iowan is from southern, middle or northern Iowa as soon as they open their mouth. There is a Dairy Queen in every town with a population of 1000 of more. You actually get these jokes and forward them to all your Iowa friends. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Iowa Facts | |||||||||
|
Iowa became the 29th state on December 28, 1846. The word "Iowa" comes from the American Indian tribe of the same name. Nickname: The Hawkeye State Motto: "Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain." State Flower: Wild Rose State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch State Tree: Oak Dubuque is the oldest city in Iowa. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Dubuque Attractions | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Missing from this section is The Mathias Ham House which is one of my favorite Dubuque attractions. I just haven't been able to find a decent picture of it. It is the 1856 Italianate mansion of Mathias Ham and it is just spectacular! A beautiful home of the past. There is also an 1833 lead miner's double log cabin, which is Iowa's oldest building, and an authentic one-room school house. If you ever find yourself in Dubuque, you have got to take the tour! | |||||||||
| |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
|
