Destination of the Day: Horsfall’s Lansing Variety

Horsfall's Lansing Variety; Lansing, Iowa If variety is the spice of life, then Horsfall's Lansing Variety is like cinnamon and cardamom and cumin (plus spices that start with other letters, too) all mashed together and stuffed into a giant cedar closet. If you need it, they probably have 12 of it, and it's

By |2016-10-21T15:28:35-05:00June 3rd, 2013|Destination of the Day|Comments Off on Destination of the Day: Horsfall’s Lansing Variety

Lansing

Population (2010) 999 Introduction Lansing is a consummate river town, with an economy that has historically, for better or worse, been dependent upon the Mississippi River. Even if the Lansing of today has fewer people making a living from river-related jobs, the Mississippi remains central to the town’s identity.

By |2024-05-25T12:00:31-05:00October 4th, 2009|Iowa|Comments Off on Lansing

Election Day Special

In honor of Election Day, I offer three short stories of nineteenth century political games in Mississippi River towns. As new areas were settled, communities fought contentious political battles over the location of the county seat, like these places did. Enjoy! Rock Island County (Illinois) In 1833, Hampton and rival Farnhamsburg (now Rock Island) competed

By |2016-10-21T15:29:33-05:00November 4th, 2008|Historical shorts|2 Comments

Small Town Museums and Iceberg Lettuce

I love small town museums. Most owe their continued existence to a core group of believers who donate unimagined amounts of time to the lofty goal of preserving the town’s history for future generations, even as those generations are indifferent to that very history. In spite of their best efforts, the museum is usually a

By |2016-10-21T15:29:41-05:00September 13th, 2007|Blogging the Great River Road|Comments Off on Small Town Museums and Iceberg Lettuce
Go to Top