One Year on the Road

Grinnell, my home town.

Its downtown is as quaint as ever.

It&#039;s been spruced up a bit, actually.

New paint, flowers.

Most of the downtown buildings date in the 1800s.

The bank was designed by Louis Sullivan (Wright&#039;s mentor) in 1914.

This glamorous bank is one of Grinnell&#039;s biggest prides.

They have repeated the bank&#039;s motif on downtown planters.

The motif is even built into the street intersections.

The Catholic church, where I spent many a catechism and mass.

My junior high school is now a government building.

My elementary school (built in 1899) has been torn down.

The bowling alley is pretty run down but still open.

My parents bought our house on Summer Street for $12,000 in 1960.

Like most Midwest homes, it has a huge unfenced yard.

Ira and Susan have lived there since 1973, and they offered me a full tour.

They&#039;ve done so much work on the place.

They removed paint from all the woodwork.

It&#039;s updated, but still quite recognizable as the home I loved.

Our piano was here in the entryway.