CHICAGO — Cynthia Clampitt thinks well of the Midwest region. So much so that “Destination Heartland: A Guide to Discovering the Midwest’s Remarkable Past,” is the food and travel writer’s third book focused on the region.
The Pittsburgh native who grew up in the Chicagoland area has traveled to 37 countries on six continents while following her love for the “history of everything.”
“The Midwest is remarkable,” Clampitt said. “For my previous two books, the one on corn (”Midwest Maize”) and the one on pigs (”Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs”), I drove around a lot and met people. My first driving trip for the corn book, I came home, called my mom and said, ‘America still exists.’ It’s so American in the Midwest — leave the keys in the car; people know who you are.”
“I remember being at a restaurant in Chicago and a waitress said she just moved here from New York,” Clampitt said. “I asked, ‘How are you liking it?’ She said, ‘The people are too friendly; that scares me.’ It’s very much indicative of the reality: The Midwest tends to be cheerful and outgoing and welcoming. It’s not that you don’t ever find those people in the other regions, but it’s more characteristic here.”
Clampitt hits all 12 Midwest states in the new book — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin — letting her curiosity point readers to the lesser traveled paths within. Readers are treated to history such as the Barkers of Michigan City, Indiana, who bought a one-third interest in the town’s first railcar factory and subsequently developed a style of mass production that would be adopted and refined by Henry Ford. The 38-room Barker Mansion still stands with 90% of its original furnishings.
Readers learn about the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. On Sept. 5, 1856, the steamboat hit a partially submerged tree while traveling along the Missouri River, piercing the hull. The boat sank, taking with it all the merchandise for the town of Logan, Nebraska, forcing the town to shutter because of the accident. When the boat was excavated in 1988-89, the foods from the ship were perfectly preserved, including carbonated Champagne. Clampitt regales readers with a recipe for pickled ham, an Amana Colonies (Iowa) appetizer. The Ronneburg Restaurant gave her permission to share their recipe.
“Any place I go, I look for something,” Clampitt said. “I found places while I was researching the two previous books ... things like the monument to corn in Columbus, Ohio. After a few fun things, you start looking for more fun things.”
Among the findings: “A speaking engagement in Keokuk, Iowa, gained me the fact that this is the geode capital of the world, while a gig in Burlington, Iowa, turned up Snake Alley, built in 1894, and said to be the crookedest street in the country.”
“I’m amazed at how many people will go places and go, ‘I didn’t see anything. There’s nothing to do here,’” Clampitt said. “There’s always something. I’ve been to a lot of museums and I still was completely blown away by the Arabia Museum; it’s just one of those, ‘I had no idea there was this much stuff.’”
Clampitt said the surprises she discovered during road trips led her to write the book. She would dive into oases and collect mountains of brochures to mine for information. But it was when she started going to more remote places that she found more surprises.
She said the audience for the book is anybody who loves travel but is worried about traveling overseas, or anyone who doesn’t have an idea how cool the Midwest region is.
In the “Locating More History” chapter, she encourages readers to be surprised by the gems in their own counties and towns.
“You actually have to start looking before you find it,” Clampitt said. “If you drive into a state, the very first rest stop you’ll see will probably have 100 maps and 20 books and posters. (These locales) want to be found — start looking.”
