Town of the Week, October 3, 1998

Take a visit to Audubon, Iowa; Listen in.

Audubon, Iowa

Photo from roadsideamerica.com.

In the valley of Nishnabotna, doth a charming city lie. It's a lovely spot, I'm told, equaled neath the Iowa sky. The town in West-central Iowa is named for naturalist, John James Audubon, who walked this valley in 1843.

The first baby born here was Daisy Audubon McKinley, who is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery. It's not far from the common grave of three men who were lynched by an irate crowd of Auduboneers, using sledgehammers to break down the jailhouse walls. The trio of brothers were accused of robbing and hanging their father at his ranch. It's certainly quieter in town today.

When you are in Audubon, you're in "T-Bone Country"...and you'll know you're near when you see the giant Hereford bull, named Albert, rising 30 feet above the landscape with a hide of six inches of painted concrete. It was put there by the Jaycees, and is named for Albert Kruse, the man who started "Operation T-Bone" in Audubon a couple of decades ago.

Each September, you're invited to put on your best western duds, sit in a club car and ride along as the train hauls cattle to Omaha's stock yards. This is the home of the high school Wheelers and Wheelerettes, and it's our Town of the Week, Audubon, Iowa.