Every fan of The Andy Griffith Show knows Mayberry. It’s that small, charming town filled with friendly, but quirky people. The bumbling deputy, the naive gas station attendant, and the level-headed sheriff who solves everyone’s problems take you back to simpler times. And on one weekend every May, during the Mayberry in the Midwest Festival, the town of Danville, Indiana, becomes Mayberry. Read more
The little house on a corner in Meade, Kansas, looked like any family home in the late 1800s. The family who lived there appeared to be the average family. John Whipple owned a local mercantile. His wife, Eva, partnered in a millinery shop before the two married and Eva gave birth to a little girl. But the wife and mother didn’t come from your average family. She was a Dalton, and three of her ten brothers belonged to the Dalton Gang. After Eva and John moved out of the little house on the corner, a 95-foot tunnel connecting the house with the barn was discovered. Historians believe Eva occasionally harbored the Dalton Gang in the house, and the Wild West outlaws used the tunnel to avoid being noticed. Today you can tour the Dalton Gang Hideout, walking from the barn, though the tunnel, and into the house. Read more
In 1938 at ten years old, Gary Schlosstein discovered a Civil War musket in a used goods shop. He saved up his allowance until he had the three dollars he needed to buy the musket. Once he got the musket home, he loaded it with gunpowder, put a marble in it, and aimed it at his sandbox. He never did find the marble again. Fortunately, the musket didn’t explode, either. But that musket started a lifelong passion of collecting historical memorabilia. Over seventy years later, Gary founded the Castlerock Museum in Alma, Wisconsin, which specializes in arms and armor. Read more
Over 60,000 shoppers swarm to Fort Wayne, Indiana, over five days each April for the annual Vera Bradley Outlet Sale. Shoppers are almost all women, from every state in the union and about a dozen countries. Women come by the busload. Groups of friends or generations of families hold reunions. They often dress in matching t-shirts for the big event. It’s one of the biggest events held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum each year. Some shoppers even sleep in tents in front of the door the night before to be first inside. They often come with lists in hand, lists from families and friends. Read more
Notorious gangster Al Capone owned the historic Hotel Julien Dubuque in the 1920s—maybe. He did stay there a lot, and although some believe he owned it at one time, it could never be confirmed. Earlier in history, Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain both stayed at the hotel. However, the building that they stayed in was the original building, which burned down in 1913.
Today, the hotel, located along the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, is a boutique hotel that combines its original grandeur with modern amenities. Read more
You have three choices when winter arrives in the Midwest: Leave for a warmer climate, become a couch potato, or bundle up and head outdoors for some fresh air and fun. In Argenta, Illinois, located near Decatur, one day is especially popular for winter fun. That’s the day of the Argenta IceFest. Read more
