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Let's go ... lob a tennis ball on one of the few grass tennis
courts in the U.S., ... in the Western part of the state,
see all things Danish - from history ... to smorgasbord...
take in a live performance at Iowa's oldest professional opera
company ... get revved up at vintage motorcycle races in
Davenport and take a close-up look at these two-wheel wonders
at an Anamosa motorcycle museum.
Join me, Dan Kaercher, as I travel the state to bring you
these stories next on "Iowa's Simple Pleasures".
Funding for this program has been provided by: Iowa Community
Foundations, an initiative of the Iowa Council of Foundations,
connecting donors to the causes and communities they care about.
Details at iowacommunityfoundations.org
And by Travel Iowa, historic and contemporary Norwegian art come
to life at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
in Decorah.
While Pella offers a taste of Holland with America's tallest
working windmill and Dutch letters.
More information is available at traveliowa.com.
Funding for this program was provided by Friends,
the Iowa Public Television Foundation.
Generations of families and friends who feel passionate
about the programs they watch on Iowa Public Television.
♪
What do you build on a former cattle feedlot?
Why, a grass tennis court of course!
Like many Iowa farmers, Mark Kuhn's day begins
with chores.
There is mowing...
rolling the grounds....
and applying painted stripes...
(Okay, this is a working farm, but by now you can tell this
isn't a typical "to do" list.)
With the advice from Iowa State University turf specialists,
Mark, a former state legislator, brought one of his passions to life:
In 2002, he built a grass tennis court ... where his
family's cattle feedlot once stood.
It wasn't easy.
Mark Kuhn : The soil here grows corn here very well but it
doesn't grow bent grass.
We hauled in a lot of very sandy soil and put it on top of the feedlot.
And then leveled it off.
Installed drainage line, tile about every 12 feet.
There are 5 tile lines that drain the course.
We put in sprinkler system, leveled it off and seeded it.
Dan : How did you develop your passion for tennis
and Wimbledon-style grass tennis?
Mark : Lawn tennis was my first introduction to the game.
Listening on the BBC with my grandfather.
And so I had an early idea of what it was about.
Dan : In 2012, Mark and his wife got to
see the famed British landmark first hand.
After receiving three rejection letters -- he was accepted as
grounds crew intern at the All England Lawn Tennis Club just
prior to the Wimbledon tennis Championships.
While there, he met a few of the players during
their practice sessions.
He also was introduced to "Rufus",
the hawk that patrols center court to keep the pigeons at bay.
He says much of the court care he learned in England will be
applied to improve his own court.
Still, thanks to Mark, we still get the Wimbledon experience
here in Iowa: The Union Jack flag flies ... and the court is
even named after the All England Club.
He says he built this court for himself and friends ...
but guests - who are required to make reservations at this
private court -- have come from 36 states and a couple of
foreign countries to play on one of the
few grass courts in America.
Some even fly into the airport in Charles City.
This foursome flew in from the Quad Cities ... all dressed in
the traditional white clothing that is required at Wimbledon.
After posing for the camera, they were whisked off to the
farm and wasted no time in getting on the grass court.
I started playing tennis the year I went into high school,
60-some years ago.
I think about 10-11 years ago I was voted into
the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame.
I always wanted to play on a grass court, never have.
It's great I enjoyed it very much.
First time on grass and its really different.
Gotta move your feet similar to clay.
It's got a lot of class and ambiance
that's a pleasant surprise.
The detail from the fences to the grass to the warm
hospitality is really cool.
This is like a tennis player's field of dreams.
Between the corn fields and grass court, couldn't be better.
It's a few and far between whenever we get to play on a
grass court.
Dan: T he players spent several hours here and took frequent
breaks during this hot summer day.
Mark yells out to Dan on court: "There you go."
During one of their breaks, I ask Mark to give me a few
pointers about playing on a grass court.
Of course, we both change into our "whites",
which I hope will help my game!
If I look the part, maybe I'll play better!
Mark : It's a softer surface and the balls stay low.
They don't bounce as high.
But from a player's perspective it's comforting.
It's very easy on the legs.
You can play here longer, I think.
The sun's heat is kind of absorbed by the grass.
It isn't reflected back at you like it would be on a normal
hard court.
It's just a joy here.
Dan : Okay, I've chased enough tennis balls for one day.
Its time to let the Quad City visitors have the court back.
I have just as much fun watching them from the deck --- or the
"Royal Box" as they call it at Wimbledon.
Mark : Dan, we thought we'd serve a little bit of
Wimbledon treat here.
Fresh strawberries and cream.
Dan : And that's a Wimbledon tradition?
Mark : Yes, they serve it during the championships.
Dan : This dessert isn't offered to every visitor ... but
it is a touch of Wimbledon tradition.
Meanwhile, back on the court- Mark's other guests can't seem
to get enough games in ...
It's a nice day.
Nice to get a little breeze to take away the big heat.
Couldn't be prettier.
I'm thankful Mark let us come up and play today.
Dan: If this foursome has the energy and desire after their
game ---there is a place just a few miles from here to go to
cool off.
Charles City offers up Iowa's first white water course
built on the Cedar River.
The city modified an existing low-flow dam ... and used heavy
equipment to bring in large rocks to set the water's flow.
Tubers ... kayakers ... and even experienced canoeists can
maneuver around the rocks and through the waves at three
distinct white water sections of the river.
But you can choose to bypass the challenge and float the same
section - on a less turbulent chute on river left.
And there is a third choice: If you prefer to just watch the
action -- there is plenty of green space ... with some
spectator seating at river's edge.
To get a taste of Denmark close to home,
just head to Western Iowa - and look for an old-fashioned
wooden windmill.
Dan : You can't get more Danish in Iowa than Elk Horn and
Kimballton where there's a mermaid
a menu item called "Frikadeller".
memorabilia from entertainment legend Victor Borge ... and a
windmill that stands 60 feet proud.
Welkommen.
I'm here with Lisa Steen Riggs, general manager of the
Danish Windmill in Elk Horn.
Lisa, tell me about the history of this wonderful attraction.
It is a great attraction.
Its an authentic Danish Windmill built in 1848 and came from
Norre Snede, Denmark.
Kind of one man's crazy idea, we otta have a windmill from Denmark.
Dan : Tell me how did they disassemble something and put it
back together here in Iowa?
Lisa : It wasn't easy.
Thank goodness for the carpenter in Denmark.
As he tore it down, he marked each piece and made this model
in scale of 1 to 10 and put some markings on the model so that
was our blueprint.
It took people one year, 300 volunteers and a total of
$100,000 to rebuild it and built it to working condition.
Dan : After 165 years, this windmill can still grind grain
provided the wind is blowing.
Some of the grain, ground into flour is sold in the adjacent gift shop.
I wanted to learn more about the Danish culture and how so many
immigrants ended up in this part of Iowa.
So no better place to go than the Danish Immigrant Museum.
Tradition has it that some of them got to Western Iowa,
to the boundary of what was then Indian Territory,
in the late 1840s - 50's.
Then in the 1870s, that's when the large migration begins here.
Dan : John Mark says, with the development of steam ships,
the travel time for Danes coming to the U.S.
was cut to ten days to two weeks.
You could take what you could pay for.
So that was part of the issue, too.
Most often took a chest, maybe several.
And we have a number of them in the museum.
And in those chests would of course be packed probably mostly
textiles, sheets, clothing.
That sort of thing.
Dan: Since it was founded in 1983, the museum has accumulated
some 35-thousand artifacts - from Danish porcelain ....
to pins from various fraternal organizations.
In 1976, the Queen of Denmark gifted what's called a "China"
chair by renowned Danish designer Hans Wegner And one of
the more unusual items: cast molds from the short-lived,
vintage Madsen automobile- built by a blacksmith
in Council Bluffs.
♪
On a musical note: We're told this piano was the first one
ordered by 20th century Danish-American pianist and
humorist Victor Borge.
John Mark Nielsen : However, when we received it,
it couldn't be played.
First of all, they found water still in the sound board from Hurricane Hugo.
Then to celebrate the centennial of his birth in 2009,
we had it restored.
Dan : You know, this community has done a great job
of preserving history ... but some here are also exposing us
to modern Danish trends.
In several locations around Elk Horn,
there are electric car recharging stations.
You can go to Copenhagen, island of Samso,
Island of Aero and you can find electrical vehicles there.
The windmill was brought back from Denmark.
What we're doing is trying to bring technologies from Denmark
relating to a variety of renewable energies,
electric cars are one of these.
We're a little ahead of the curve, but as field of dreams,
if you build it they will come so in the future we'll be having
more vehicles coming.
Dan : Let's see - I've seen Danish technology...
and history.
How about some Danish food?
On the highway into Elk Horn is the Danish Inn,
known for its smorgasbord.
Everything looks great but I think I'll focus on the
Danish specialties in particular.
I know red cabbage when I see it.
If you're not hungry enough for a buffet,
we also have a number of small braught,
Danish open-face sandwiches.
We have Beef with romalad.
We also have Frikadeller, roast pork has
red cabbage over the top of it.
We also have beef with horseradish.
This is Danish cheese havarti with red peppers and
radish over the top as well.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is Danish dessert.
And this being our most popular one, Danish Kringle.
It's a very light, fluffy puff pastry dough with a very rich
almond cream through the center.
Dan: Yummm.
From food....
to technology...
to history...
I've learned a lot about the Danes today.
But I want to make just one more stop.
A few miles north of Elk Horn - in the town of Kimballton - is a
bronze, full-size replica of the Little Mermaid... just like the
one that reposes in Copenhagen harbor,
one of Denmark's most popular tourist attractions.
And to think, I didn't have to board a plane and travel some
43-hundred miles to experience my taste of Denmark!
Whether you're a devoted fan, or just want to experience your
first performance, head to south central Iowa to hear the sounds
of opera music.
For a few magical weeks each summer,
Des Moines' Metro Opera comes to life right here at the
Blank Performing Arts Center with world-class performers
and productions.
Maestro, if you please....
♪
Dan: I'm watching part of "Don Giovanni" by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
From the first note, I'm transported back to 17th century
Spain where the title character, "Don Giovanni" disregards the
happiness of others to get what he wants in life.
♪
Just so you know, I don't speak or understand the Italian
being sung.
I can tell you a bit about the plot line because I'm reading
the English supertitles projected above the stage!
"Don Giovanni" is one of the three operas performed in
repertoire during this particular season of the
Des Moines Metro Opera, which runs late June
through early July.
The audience can come to see one opera on Friday,
one on Saturday, and another one on Sunday.
This has been the formula for 40-years because
it is user friendly.
Dan: The formula works well for those traveling
from out of town.
This couple, attending the pre-opera Sunday brunch in the
theater's lobby, drove in from Chicago.
Last year was first time.
We saw all 3, came for a long weekend and we're doing the same this season.
The quality was the reason thing that brought us back.
We've been to the Lyric, also the Met,
so you're sitting a little backward.
Here you can see their eyes, their facial expressions and
stuff like that, which is really special.
Dan: Performer Michael Maze, who plays Don Giovanni, agrees.
I've sung with the national opera, Michigan opera theater,
Ft. Worth which is my home company.
You go into this theater and instead of the action happening
60, 80, 100, 200 feet away from you.
Its happening 3,4 feet away from you.
The orchestra is in the middle of the stage underground,
no other theater in America that's got a stage like that.
Dan: The orchestra pit may be unique,
but wasn't worry-free for Michael on opening night...
when he said a wardrobe malfunction impaired his vision
during a sword fight!
I get out there and the mask slides up my eyes like this.
So I was blind, completely blind over a pit you know!
Dan: Luckily, he and the other performers had rehearsed enough
to get through the entire opera without incident.
While the cast and crew prepares for the opera ... so does much
of the audience.
The Des Metro Opera offers audience members a same-day,
pre-performance class to learn more about the story they'll see.
This was a very popular story in Europe at that time.
It was a trusty standby at theaters.
One that they wanted to put on when they wanted to attract a
big audiences.
Oh my goodness!
It still works!
[laughing]
Narration: The class can be helpful to "beginners" like me.
But I wasn't the only first-timer.
Dan: What are you looking forward to?
The whole experience.
The costumes, singing, the set.
I didn't realize this was going on here, even.
Dan: A lot of people may be surprised to learn Iowa has
an internationally recognized opera company ... and that its
home and performing arts center is in Indianola,
population of roughly 15-thousand.
We do auditions every year.
800 auditions live around the United States for performers
both for the main stage and for apprentice program.
We have 200 employees or more every season who come to our
festival to work as either singers, orchestral musicians,
crafts people, technicians, backstage folks, you name it.
It takes a campus setting to house that many people.
Dan: Michael says many in the opera are housed in the
dormitories on the Simpson College campus ... within
walking distance of the theater.
And not all hail from out of state.
Milford, Iowa native John Moore played Eugene Onegin in
Tchaikovsky's opera about a selfish hero who lives to regret
his rejection of a young woman's love.
His carelessness leads to a fatal duel with his best friend.
John Moore: I came to the opera because I had wonderful music
training in Iowa high schools.
Luckily I had some great advice as a kid singing and I carried
that thru until now and now been very fortunate to have what
amounts to a very solid beginning of my career.
You have fantastic set of singers at the
beginning of their careers.
Young elegant singers and actors that actually look the parts.
Eugene Onegin on Friday night was perfect example.
You can actually believe they were late teenagers, early 20s.
Michael Egel: Some of our more famous alums include
Loren Flanigan, Hei-Kyung Hong, Remend Chetto,
very well known in opera got their start right here in the
middle of Iowa as opera singers.
Dan: Wow, that's an impressive list.
Back to what's happening on stage today -- I'm anxious to
see how our evil leading character gets his due in the end.
The pure drama is simply captivating.
The golden age of motorcycle road racing spans 50-some years
-starting back in the 1930s.
The vintage cycles still race in eastern Iowa.
What do you get with fearless drivers, two wheels,
a motor and lots of noise?
You get the Antique Flat Track Motorcycle races in Davenport.
The Chief Blackhawk chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of
America has been racing at Davenport's Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds for well over twenty years.
It's held at the same site, on the same weekend as a "swap"
meet where enthusiasts can shop for almost anything
motorcycle-related.
Back on the track, there's several afternoon practice runs
and heats to watch.
The evening brings ten main race events where motorcycles are
divided by eras ... from the 1920's up through the '80s.
Racing is a lot of fun.
Keep it that way.
Don't go out and cause something to hurt yourself
or someone else.
Dan: As a race promoter, and a racer himself,
Matt George stresses safety first to the drivers.
Its good advice anytime - but especially when riding some of
the vintage models made without brakes!
And some of these antique bikes can reach speeds of more than
90 miles per hour.
Dan: The cycles are old but the gear they wear is not, correct?
George: The Board Track bikes.
They wore leather helmets, wool vests, leather pants.
Since we do in this day and age have good safety equipment,
we make them wear those.
Dan: Matt says there are typically more than 125 racers
who participate in this event.
And I found out their backgrounds are as diverse as
the motorcycles you see here.
I watched my dad do this since I was a little kid.
Its preserving history.
This is one of the places in the country you can come out
and see something like this.
We'll definitely put on a show for the crowd.
This is a 1921 Harley Davidson race bike.
A last year I was running 71-72 miles on the straights.
I'm racing my 1956, 165 D-2, 2 stroke Harley Hummer
with a Ridge frame.
The first year I raced here I ended up with 4th place
and the second year I raced here I actually ended up with third.
So hopefully I'll be doing pretty good this year.
I ride an XL 350 and a Yamaha 650.
Dan: I understand there's a story behind the decoration on this bike.
Tell us about it.
Well, I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.
The bike was plain white.
And I came home on leave in April 2010 and my friends had
torn the bike apart and completely repainted it.
Dan: Tell me why race vintage bike instead of brand new one?
Because I'm 70-years old and I love em.
Dan: Tell us about your bike.
That's a 1973 Norton.
Probably best motorcycle here and if it had a young rider he'd
probably win all the time.
Dan: How's your hearing?
What did you say?
[laughing]
Dan: It is quite a noisy venue for both the riders...
and the spectators.
But the crowd doesn't seem to mind.
After all, how often do you have the opportunity to see so many
working antiques doing the job for which they were intended?
These races are held just once a year in Davenport ... but drive
about 75 miles north and you can see hundreds of vintage
motorcycles year-round - at the National Motorcycle Museum
in Anamosa.
Our collection is growing.
Probably cleared 400 motorcycles and 40 or 50 bicycles also.
Dan: What if you making trip and have just an hour or two.
What strategy of getting most out of museum?
I would say you need to see the celebrity bikes:
McQueen Indian, Easy Rider machine,
Evil Kaneeval jump bike.
Great collection of Harley Davidsons,
toys are a lot of fun.
And check out the bicycles cuz that's where a lot of us started
our two-wheel adventure.
Dan: Mark says there are more than a half-dozen
Significant motorcycle museums in the U.S.
And it's an unusual story on how Iowa got one of them.
This museum was originally established in Sturgis,
South Dakota ... until an Anamosa motorcycle enthusiast
and entrepreneur with a vision got involved.
In 2000 they considered closing so I took it over.
Hard to run from 800 miles away so I moved it to Anamosa.
Its sort of build it and they will come.
It's a beautiful day so we rode 200 miles
to come to this museum.
Most amazing thing I've seen out here had to be some of the drag bikes.
First one to go 250 miles per hour.
Dan: There something for everyone with such a wide range
of motorcycles and memorabilia on display.
In addition to the history of motorcycles,
there's also the history of some of the motorcycle clubs.
One of the better known cycling clubs for women are the Motor Maids.
They started about 1940 and I think their club roster numbers
about 4,000 members right now.
Dan: After seeing so many motorcycles here,
I can't help but wonder - do any of them still work?
Dan, I think if you picked out at random and gave me about
3 hours, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours,
I could get it running for ya.
They all got engine internals.
We might have to find a battery, do a little bit of service to
fuel tank and carburetor and I think it'd fire off.
Dan: Mark may get some of them up and running,
but don't ask to ride one!
They are after all, museum pieces ... darn it!
We'll all just have to snap a photo of one of our favorites...
and dream about how nice it would be to
take one out for a spin.
Want to see video clips from other Iowa gems we visited over
the years on "Iowa's Simple Pleasures"?
Visit our web site at iptv.org/simplepleasures.
Explore where we've been and plan your own Iowa adventure.
♪
We've visited all the Iowa attractions profiled on this program.
But circumstances can sometimes change so we encourage you to
call ahead if you're planning a visit of your own.