A VISIT HOME | Amana, Iowa

     I was recently "back home" visiting my father in Amana, Iowa.  Originally a communal society from the mid-1800's to 1932, things have changed there, drastically.  It's not the same as when I was growing up... but nothing stays the same, does it?  I went out with my camera one morning to shoot photos of places that still seemed like the Amana I remember.

      Many of the original homes were either made from sandstone or handmade bricks.

    Grapes were grown by many to produce wine.  Rhubarb and dandelion wines were also made in the Amanas.  I remember picking dandelions when I was young, earning 50 cents for each bushel basketful I picked for the wineries (I had a strong entrepreneurial sense at an early age.  I showed great promise, but it somehow disappeared as I grew older).

   This is a side entrance to the old West Amana store.  Each of the seven villages had its own general store and church.  The seven villages are Amana, East Amana, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana and Homestead.
 

        Isn't that a great foundation on the weathered wood building in the background?

                                                    There is still beauty to be found.