America is an amazing country with amazing diversity in a thousand ways. Everyone who can ought to get out and see as much of the country as possible. I am blessed that this is my job.
But when it’s not possible to get out there, we can read up on it. And for readers from the South, from big cities, from the coasts, from the mountains, or from the desert (or from anywhere but the heart of the heartland), may I recommend as brief weekend reading the new special supplement to the Clarinda Herald-Journal, the Valley News, and the Weekly Times: “The Best of Southwest Iowa, Reader’s Choice 2021.”
You will learn that Malvern, population 1,046 in Mills County, is the best place to live in southwest Iowa. You will also learn that the best place to worship is St. Patrick’s in Imogene, Iowa. I have never lived in Malvern, but I am in love with St. Patrick’s. I’ve written about St. Patrick’s before:
“The brick Gothic church standing atop Imogene might be the most beautiful country church in America. The three impressive front doors, flanked by two towers, are capped by the pointed arches typical of the Gothic revival period. Walk through the doors, and you’ll be stunned. Intricate stained-glass windows ring the church and fill it with delightful light. The oaken hammer-beam ceiling, like everything in this church, points worshipers’ eyes toward heaven.
“Italian marble is everywhere, including the baptismal font, communion rails, and the carved Pieta in the back of the church, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her son’s corpse at the foot of the cross.”
Depot Restaurant and Lounge and Dirt’s Place, both of which I can heartily endorse, were runners-up for “Best Bar.”
In the battle for “Best Local Fish Fry,” the Coin Fire Department edged out the Columbus-Greenwood chapter of the Knights of Columbus.
My favorite joint in the county, Imogene’s Emerald Isle, got runner-up for ”best place to get a tenderloin sandwich.” If you are like me (from New York City and living in Washington, D.C.), a tenderloin sandwich may not be familiar to you. You could try the “Tenderloin Trail,” which will take you to the Isle.
At the Isle in Imogene, I’ve met the runners-up for best massage therapist and best mail carrier. And I’ve stayed twice in the winner of best hotel: Shenandoah Inn & Suites.
But most of southwest Iowa’s best is unfamiliar to me, of course, since I’ve never lived there. The newspaper’s readers voted Shelly Anderson as “Best Piano Teacher,” and Donnie Sears, a physical education teacher and football coach in Sidney, Iowa, won “Best Teacher.” The interview with him is revealing.
“The hardest part of teaching for Sears is all the technology changes through the years,” read the article.
“‘I believe that technology is a blessing for schools, but as a PE teacher and coach, it can be a detriment because kids don’t move as much as they used to. Kids aren’t as motivated to participate in extracurricular activities as they used to be. … It’s a struggle that gets worse every year,'” Sears said.
Every part of America has struggles. Some are unique. Some are more universal. I wrote, for instance, about how Imogene and its environs were affected by COVID-19. That, in some ways, was just like the struggles we had in the Washington area — and, in some ways, was totally different.
Learning about the different ways of life in America, but also noting the similarities across the country, is a great way to see the beauty of the United States. There are a million “American ways” and commonalities that unite them. Seeing this is worth an effort — at least the effort of reading a small-town newspaper supplement.
