New Providence

As I approached my bike in the still dark, early morning hours, I felt a slight pain of fear about the scope of the task at hand. A 60 mile round trip to New Providence was more than I had done so far this year and my legs ached just to think about it. But my Schwinn bicycle had been prepped the night before, and as I rode out onto the streets of Iowa Falls I felt relaxed by the near silence of the early morning which was only broken by the sound of my tires gripping the road and the muted clunking of shifting gears.

The air was moist and chilly as I climbed the bike path leading south out of Iowa Falls towards the unknown. My route would first take me along the treacherous highway 65, filled with semis loaded with corn and sows headed towards their final destinations. 

After passing under Highway 20 I turned left toward Owasa on D35 for a quieter path, but one that seemed to stretch on forever. Next was a turn through Owasa onto County Road S45, which would lead me to D41 and finally south on S55 towards New Providence. I took comfort in the fact that the road I was now on would take me all the way to my goal. The image of a warm breakfast and hot coffee can make you do things that would otherwise seem impossible. The wind was at my back and I was keeping a very quick pace as I raced passed squawking Redwinged Black Birds in the ditch and as I crossed over a small creek a deer bounded out of the thicket into an open chisel plowed field.

Pulling into New Providence the sun was just peaking past the low clouds. There was a line of school children waiting for the bus on the corner of Main Street and I leaned up against a brick wall and viewed their antics while I caught my breath. The street was filled with cars to an amount of which I had never expected. The town seemed all but deserted on my previous visits, but this morning people were filing in and out of the old grocery store on Main at a steady pace. I entered the old store front and was greeted by the smells of a delicious breakfast being made to order for the 30 or so people that had already gathered at the long tables. Omelets, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy were on the menu, along with many other amenities like toast, fruit, and sweet rolls. Everyone there waited patiently for their orders and chatted with old friend.

 

After receiving my entree I grabbed a cup of coffee and took a seat at the nearest table. I chatted with my new neighbors, Pauline and Abner White of New Providence. They had been residents of New Providence most of their lives and still lived on a farm just north of town. Other people cycled by introducing themselves to me and expressing their endearing love for the long tradition of Monday morning breakfasts in New Providence. I met most of the corp of volunteers that make the breakfasts happen. Their ranks included former pastors of the local church, the mayor of New Providence, and a retired Iowa Falls teacher, Nancy Callaway. Nancy explained to me that the breakfast often attracts over 100 people in the summer. Nancy also explained that the staff was all volunteer help and that the breakfast had never come up short on money because of the generous donations made by the participants.

Once word got out that a reported from the Times Citizen was in the building, everyone had an idea about where I should visit next. I finally made up my mind to first head to the old Quaker Meeting House just south of town. The building had been standing since 1916, and was placed atop a small hill overlooking the rolling fields. Inside was an incredible collection of quaker history including original dress and picture books with hundreds of original photographs of settlers to the area. The building is no longer used for services, but many locals use it as a resource to discover their family history or for private events.

My next stop was to explore the businesses of downtown New Providence. I visited the hardware store which was built in 1863 after a devastating fire destroyed much of the town. It is one of the oldest continuously running hardware stores in all of Iowa! The proprietor of the business Marlene McDonald and her husband Tom purchased the building over 35 years ago and are a integral part of the vitality of downtown New Providence. After the hardware store I walked across the street to Olde Quaker Antiques. The building used to be both a post office and a bank, which is evident from the large steel mechanical doors which now house objects of every conceivable size and shape. There is also coffee available and a relaxing atmosphere in which to browse the stores items or simply sit and sip your hot beverage of choice.

On my way out of town I stopped at Quakerdale Promise Academy, which is a mile north of New Providence. Quakerdale was founded in 1851 as a Christian not-for-profit school. The school also supports an extremely successful basketball team which has won multiple national titles in recent years. Donna Lawler and Lalaina Rabary gave me a tour of the grounds, including the brand new Broer Gym facility which was recently completed and which also includes banquet space for larger events on campus. My tour guides also gave me a sneak peak at another project that is still in its infancy, the sustainable agriculture learning lab. The SALL is a large green house built on the south end of the Quakerdale campus. The building is equipped with multiple hydroponic plant beds which are fed water through a circulatory system that uses live fish to fertilize the plants and help them grow faster and larger. The innovative facility, when completed, will be used to teach students sustainable agricultural practices and implement what Lawler calls, "Seed to plate learning."

As I headed back north towards Iowa Falls, my legs complained as I met a heavy head wind. The pain was a satisfying reminder of my journey as I replayed the places I had visited over in my head. I thought about how I would start this article and what I still needed to accomplish in the time I had left in the day. But the journey is not over. Next time I will be visiting Steamboat Rock and all that it has to offer curious travelers of Hardin County.