Searching for my "roots"

Travelogue for Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006

6:00 a.m.: Awake to alarm and remember that I have to be in West Union, Iowa, at 10:30 to meet with Jim Boelman. Arise, shower, dress in white shirt and suit, put tie in pocket just in case I need it.

6:41 a.m.: On the road with MapQuest directions and Iowa map with Governor Tom Vilsack's picture so it's no more than eight years old. Drive across the glorious countryside of Iowa as a rainy day dawns. Green, giving way to gold in soybean and corn fields, but grass shines like an emerald during this early fall season. Lawns, waterways and roadsides mowed beyond reason by industrious Iowegians.

9:00 a.m.: Coffeed up and cruising on a four lane highway, I realize that I may be early. Unusual situation as I can't remember the last time this happened. I take an extended break in Oelwein, a town of some prominence for me as KOEL radio was the first "A" list station to sign with AgriTalk in 1994 and we had a great relationship before it sold to a broadcast group. Now runs with a skeleton crew.

10:05 a.m.: Arrive in West Union, my destination. The county seat of Fayette County. Photograph beautiful 1920s courthouse and cornerstone that recognizes William Wells, founder of the town and donor of the courthouse square. He named the town after West Union, Ohio, his previous home.

10:25 a.m.: A stately bearded man in mini-van makes an illegal turn on the wide street as he recognizes me and pulls in. It is Jim Boelman, whom I met in 1999 when he invited me to do AgriTalk in their town and be the announcer of the sesquicentennial (150 year) celebration. On the way to West Union with faithful engineer, Dennis Goodnight, I got a call from my brother Jim, now deceased, who said that research, he and wife Mabel had conducted, indicated that our grandfather was born here in 1859.

Boelman, always the upbeat optimistic fellow, greets me and I put my coat and camera in his car abandoning mine on the courthouse square. We head out for a tour of the area and arrive at a Victorian home whose original owner is being saluted at the afternoon concert.

The house had been glorious in its day and may have cost $50,000 to build and decorate in a time when other houses were selling for $500. It had fallen into disrepair and became an apartment house before being bought for a minimal bid by its new owners, LeVirgil and Marie Monroe.

The tour by LeVirgil reveals a historic home with carved staircases, etched windows, pocket doors and beautiful tile fireplaces imported from Europe. The house shows so much promise yet so much work that I looked admiringly at the family who dedicate themselves to bringing it back to a portion of it's splendor and making it a bed and breakfast. I almost asked if I could pay in advance for a night of occupancy just to give them some way to buy the thousands of dollars worth of supplies and fixtures that their sweat cannot provide.

11:30 a.m.: We bid farewell and head to the local country club where we meet for brunch with Tex Heyer. The only Iowan I know with that name runs an abstract company and is the man who proved my ancestors lived here. On that July morning in 1999, he headed back to the courthouse with names of my relatives and returned with copies of long pages of beautiful penmanship with each property transaction highlighted. The description of the plot of land showed that William Root owned where the West Union library now stands. I feel smarter. The town was founded in 1849 and my great grandfather and his brother both owned property here during the 1850s.

Following a wonderful conversation and great food in a dining area overlooking the golf course, with way too many trees, we headed to the library to see a video of the Zeiglar house that was produced by the TV show, "If these walls could talk". It was inaccurate in several ways and showed another house part of the time. Still, it gave some interesting quirks of people of the day and showed the painting, carving and tile that set the home apart.

2:00 p.m.: We are seated in the Baptist Church, built in 1867 as the oldest standing church in town. We anticipate a concert to recognize several West Union historical figures, their lives and their homes. Two couples sing beautiful music as Steve Story, former principal, history teacher and coach wrote the script, plays the organ and piano. The music was beautiful and I've now picked the songs for my funeral.

2:45 p.m.: Jim Boelman introduces me as a descendant of original settlers of the town. I check to see if the rafters are going to fall in as I stand in the pulpit area and thank them for inviting me and for their kindness over the years. I talk about our limited knowledge of where our family came from and of a story that has been told for generations about my grandfather and his brother hearing of gold in California and going on foot across the country. They staked their claim and worked for a year, finding nothing. They then made their way to the coast and worked in San Francisco to pay passage on a ship to Panama. They walked across the isthmus and took another ship to New Orleans where they worked to get passage on a river boat that brought them back to Iowa. There is no documentation of any of this but I was told by a professor of social science from Luther College in Decorah that if anyone in the community did it, then it's not a lie. I asked if any of them had a relative who went to California for the gold rush and, being honest Iowans in a church, no one raised his hand. I realize what my mother had said was true: "Your father's family just made up that story!"

3:15 p.m.: I'm shaking hands with those who can't get by me without doing so. I know that my connection to this place is shaky, at best. A family that happened to be here at a historic time and a descendent who has weaseled in to take advantage of a town that treasures it's past and is very progressive in its present pursuits of culture, business and industry.

3:30 p.m.: A tour of one more home that has been fully restored and is beautiful. I feel uncomfortable even having my dress shoes on as I walk up the stairs and see the chandeliers and stained glass that light the beautiful woodwork, carpeting and furnishings.

4:00 p.m.: I bid Jim Boelman goodbye and head back home with a certain fulfillment. I know a little more about my people, my roots. I wonder why they ever left this landscape of lush grass and deep soil. I don't regret that their wanderings made me an Okie. We are who we are but it's good for the soul to know from whence we came.

Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career began as a vocational agriculture teacher then turned to agricultural broadcasting and writing as well as environmental consulting and association management. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. Ken also contributes to the Midwest Ag Report electronic newsletter each Friday. A free e-mail subscription is available by going to www.hpj.com and clicking on Midwest Ag Report.

Date: 9/21/06

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