The Dallas County Freedom Rock® is at Minburn, Iowa, just south of the Nineteen14 restored depot, now a bar and grill. It is on the Raccoon River Valley Bike Trail. The weather is perfect to visit one of Iowa’s precious Freedom Rocks®. If you spend time with this one, you might like to sent me a selfie!
Descendants of Darlene (Wilson) Scar, whose twin brother was Dale (the middle brother on the Freedom Rock®), visited the Wilson brothers in July. Two are the daughters of Darlene’s son Bob Scar. Teresa is from Atlanta. Julie and daughter Lily are from Florida. Chris Scar is the widow of Darlene’s son Dennis Scar, with her daughter Christa, both from Iowa.
I nearly missed this one from two years ago. It included Leora’s Letters and a note from Steve Simpson and Jimmie Kimmel. “. . . As a complete work, this book deserves National recognition. This book is one story, and many stories all at the same time. Told in the words of its own heroes (you hear their voices in their letters) it totally captures & preserves that moment in American & World history of the early 1940’s ~ from the isolated mid-west farm to the farthest reaches around the globe. . . ”
I’m counting this as a selfie, although only Mark Hilliard‘s pickup is in the photo (on the right). He also went to the trouble to pay respects to the family in Perry’s Violet Hill Cemetery. Mark is the reason I included directions in the back of What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers because of the way his truck is pointed. He must have driven around a little in order to find the Wilson stones.
The Dallas County Freedom Rock®, one of 99 Freedom Rocks®, one in each Iowa County (plus a bonus one as a fundraiser for veterans at Adventureland Park), was painted by artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen of The Freedom Rock.com.
This one was dedicated the month before Leora’s Letters was published. It’s the story of the brothers on the Dallas County Freedom Rock® during WWII. They were tenant farmers about two miles SW of where this memorial stands. I could never have anticipated any of this. I’m so grateful and humbled.
Here’s earlier selfies!
Such a wonderful memorial!
Answer to prayer. It was dedicated the month before Leora’s Letters was published. I never could have imagined or planned that!
Such a compelling visual tribute!
Thank you, Craig. I was so thankful they chose to include the brothers. They were tenant farmers just a couple of miles SW of that wonderful remembrance!
Quite interesting!
Thank you, Virginia!
It’s still looking fresh!
I was thinking the same thing, Eilene. I assume the artist must have used paint and maybe a sealer that could take a beating in the weather.
I think he uses a special paint. He’s certainly done a lot of them, and will do at least one in every state in the nation!
I hope he does one in New Hampshire. We have plenty of rocks for him to choose from.
A community does the choosing and hiring, so there could be competition!
It would great if the town of Freedom, New Hampshire applied.
goosebumps
🙂
[…] A few more! […]
Wonderful Memorial!!!
Perhaps the answer to a prayer I’d journaled two decades earlier! That the family would never be forgotten, and that folks might even want to see the places they’d lived. Amazed and humbled.
🙂 🙂 🙂
The Freedom Rock with the Wilson brothers is magnificent. The US flag above the brothers and the eagle below was a superb way to accentuate the patriotism of these young men. 🙂
Thank you so much, Nancy!