I asked Lilly and Warren to pose for a picture at our Weed Lake gazebo...they were in good spirits -- we just enjoyed a Kwik-Star breakfast...and it was a stunningly beautiful day.
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| We were OFF -- to the unknown city of Muscatine, Iowa. (about a 60 minute drive). |
Our first stop (and the only thing I had planned for SURE) -- was going to be the
National Pearl Button Museum at the History and Industry Center in downtown Muscatine.
From their
website:
The Gold Rush of the Midwest
It wasn’t gold, it wasn’t silver, it was mother of pearl. Shells taken from rivers of 19 states around Iowa were shipped to Muscatine by railcar bargeloads to make 1.5 billion buttons annually.
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| Museums haven't been our first choice this summer. For one thing -- THEY ARE MOSTLY CLOSED... |
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| But this one was a very pleasant surprise...and sooo well done!! |
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| Lilly and Warren both read about the history of making pearl buttons from clam shells. |
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| There were several stations where the kids were encouraged to do hands-on things... |
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| Like -- this paddle is actually a button-counter!! Imagine how long it would take to count out exactly 144 buttons of this small size... |
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| There was an interesting 6 minute movie, and many wonderful photographs that showed how this "industry" worked. For decades... |
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| The fisherman brought in the clams, and, in large outdoor camps, the women and children steamed them open...then, in alley's and homes -- the men cut out the button blanks... |
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| Everybody in the family would be involved...and sewing the buttons onto the cards was done at home, often by older women or young children. |
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| I'm afraid Warren wouldn't have made much money for the family... |
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