Highway 18

[Brooke Kohlsdorf] On this episode of Road Trip Iowa -- we're traveling through northern Iowa on Highway 18.

A lot of them come thinking that they're looking for dinosaur fossils.

[Kohlsdorf] We'll explore the unique history, unexpected wonders, and striking landscapes that define this stretch of our state.

[Woman Diner 4] If it was my last supper and I was to die tomorrow, this is where I'd have my last meal.

[Kohlsdorf] Next on road trip, Iowa.

[Announcer] Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the US and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more.

While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

[Announcer] Beverly Thomassen Schultz -- honored to support local programing on Iowa PBS.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] For nearly 100 years, motorists have traveled border to border across northern Iowa along U.S.

Highway 18.

Connecting the Driftless Area to the Great Lakes region and beyond, Highway 18 is the road to discovery in this part of the state.

Today, we're traveling east from Algona to Mason City.

Let's take a look at our itinerary.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] We'll learn about one Iowa town's connection to World War II.

Take an interactive journey to the day the music died.

Stop for a bite of history at an iconic steakhouse.

And uncover ancient fossils once buried below the prairie.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] But first, we begin south of 18 in West Bend, at a religious shrine that's been called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

♪♪ [Bruce Helleseth] It takes your breath away a lot of times.

A lot of people that come here say, why is this place here out in the middle of nowhere?

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Welcome to the Grotto of the Redemption, a shimmering testament to patience, craftsmanship and pure imagination.

Created by Father Paul Dobberstein, a German immigrant, the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption rises in a mountain of crystals, carvings and colors, an unforgettable creation unlike anything else in Iowa or beyond.

[Bruce Helleseth] When he was being ordained a priest like two weeks before he was to be ordained, he got deathly sick with double pneumonia.

And in that time frame back in the 1890s, that was almost a death sentence.

So he made a promise to the Virgin Mary that for the grace of good health, he would build her a shrine.

And he recovered, and they ordained him.

And then he was assigned here in West Bend.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Father Dobberstein started construction of the grotto in 1912 after stockpiling rocks and precious stones from all 50 states and every country on the planet.

[Bruce Helleseth] The first grotto, which is called the Trinity Grotto, the one that he promised to build for Mary and that one alone took him five years to build.

And then from there, people would come and see it and they'd leave him donations.

And then he decided after he got finished with that one to expand it, and it just took off from there.

He just kept going.

♪♪ [Jane Kirchner] When they see grotto, they're thinking of something small and they think when they come, maybe they'll be here 20 minutes, it'll take just that long and then they're here for a few hours.

Everybody says pictures do not do it justice.

You have to come and see it.

♪♪ [Bruce Helleseth] There's rocks here that during World War I, I believe it was, he couldn't get supplies, so he made his own rocks.

He'd break up glass and melt crayons.

And there's a lot of them on these pillars you're looking at right there.

[Jane Kirchner] The fact that he did not draw blueprints or pictures, he just could see this in his mind.

[Bruce Helleseth] You can tell that the hand of God's helping him here.

♪♪ [Bruce Helleseth] It's a blessing for me to be here to meet all these people, to be able to work here and, and maintain and carry on the tradition that Father wanted to go and make it last for generations, hopefully.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Pull off Highway 18 in Algona, where a museum tells the tale of a World War II POW camp that once held thousands of prisoners, men who lived and labored waiting for war's end.

[Brian Connick] The front half of our museum is dedicated to the story of Camp Algona, and in the back half of our museum is the role of Kossuth County in World War II.

♪♪ [Brian Connick] In 1943, the United States government contacted local landowners and said, hey, we're going to put a POW camp in your community.

And within about nine months, they built a camp that would eventually house over 5,000 German and Italian prisoners of war.

Started off mostly with Italians and the German soldiers then came late in 1943 and were here for about three years until 1946.

There were people that were nervous.

We had 2,600 men and women that served from this county in World War II, and now we're going to bring some of the enemy and we're going to house them outside of town.

There were some folks that that that caused some conflicting emotions with, I think.

[Kohlsdorf] Some local farmers made the most of the situation as the new labor force helped to boost Algona's ag economy.

There were 34 branch camps connected to Algona, including locations in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

At the museum, travelers will find a mix of historic wartime artifacts from around the region.

[Brian Connick] We have woodworking items.

We've got poetry and artwork done by POWs.

And those are all things that typically surprise people that they had access to that kind of activity and that they were treated really well here in Camp Algona.

[Kohlsdorf] Housed at a nearby location, one of the museum's most moving treasures is this intricate nativity scene built by German POWs, an unexpected work of faith and craftsmanship.

[Brian Connick] The nativity scene that is the biggest artifact that came from the camp.

And that nativity scene is really, you know, they say world famous.

It truly is world famous.

You know, it's it's worth people's time to come check it out.

[Kohlsdorf] The Camp Algona POW Museum -- telling the remarkable local story of World War II history in northern Iowa.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Outside Algona the rolling farmland of northwest Iowa gives way to steep ravines and rugged timber.

Nestled within this landscape is Ambrose A. Call State Park, a 138 acre woodland retreat in Kossuth County.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] The park's namesake, Ambrose A. Call, was among the first European settlers in the area.

He and his brother Asa arrived in 1854, and a replica one room cabin marks the site of call's original homestead inside the park.

In 1925, Call's daughter donated the land to the state of Iowa, ensuring its preservation for public enjoyment.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] The centerpiece of the park is a log cabin style lodge built by the Works Progress Administration in 1928.

The park was formally dedicated the following year in 1929.

Today, visitors can explore two miles of trails winding through the forested terrain.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] A disc golf course and playground make the park a welcome retreat for all ages.

This secluded spot off the highway is perfect for a short visit or a weekend escape.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Explorers searching for unique stops along Highway 18 are in for a great find on Main Street in Britt.

[Bill Friedow] Well, when they go on Highway 18, quite often they'll see the sign and they come in.

I've had several recently that said, we didn't know about Hobo Days, but we saw the sign as we went by, so we thought we'd check it out.

[Kohlsdorf] The National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa, celebrates the history of the hobo lifestyle and its impact on the Hancock County community.

The moniker hobo marks someone as a traveling worker who chooses to be homeless.

Hobos lived in a state of continuous commuting, riding trains from town to town and working seasonal jobs.

The National Hobo Museum in Britt celebrates the stories and heritage of the hobo lifestyle, with Hobo Days held annually the second weekend of August.

[Bill Friedow] There's actually two events.

The hobos actually do have their convention.

It's a tourist union number 63.

They have their actual convention, and then Britt has their Hobo Days.

So it's two celebrations at one time.

[Kohlsdorf] The hobo lifestyle comes with its own set of rules, such as the hobo code, a series of symbols hobos use to communicate with one another.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] In the late 1970s, Iowa PBS documented the Hobo Days celebration to learn firsthand about the hobo way of life.

[Fry Pan Jack] By putting the corn in here, you get the flavor of the meat.

You don't have to use butter on your corn.

There's cabbage, there's carrots.

There's squash in there.

The green squash.

[Host] Is there anything you wouldn't put in there?

[Fry Pan Jack] Not if it's eatable.

♪♪ [Bill Friedow] Well, the community supports Hobo Days and that's one thing the hobos really like.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Fans of rock and roll history will never forget the tragic Day the Music Died in a snow covered Iowa farm field in 1959.

A new experience at Clear Lake's Surf Ballroom tells the story like never before.

♪♪ *[Nikki Johnson] In here we kind of think that, you know, music truly comes alive here.

You can step into the heartbeat of rock and roll.

You take a journey back in time, and you really discover that the Surf Ballroom is not only where music lives, but it's where it will never fade away.

[Kohlsdorf] Opened in the fall of 2025, the nearly 11,000 square foot Surf Music Experience Center in Clear Lake is built to greet visitors in the same way the original Surf Ballroom did in 1931.

[Nikki Johnson] This is a very multifunctional building, but one of the main highlights of it is Not Fade Away, the immersive Surf Ballroom experience.

[Nikki Johnson] So you can think of Not Fade Away like a 360 degree multi-sensory film.

It immerses you completely in the history of the Surf Ballroom, the lives of Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper.

[Not Fade Away Voice] The singers were identified as Ritchie Valens, 17, Buddy Holly, 22, and J.P.

Richardson, known professionally as -- [Kohlsdorf] Three rock and roll icons Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P.

"The Big Bopper" Richardson perished in a plane crash after performing at the Surf Ballroom.

Known as The Day the Music Died, the three musicians and the Surf Ballroom were forever intertwined as a rock and roll legacy.

[Nikki Johnson] Everything that we do here is for our shining star next door at the Surf Ballroom.

After you go through the immersive experience, after you see these artifacts, you go to the Surf Ballroom with a whole new appreciation and a whole new light of, you know, what it really means and what it stands for, the history that lives inside of the walls.

[Kohlsdorf] The Surf Music Experience Center displays artifacts curated from the Surf Ballroom Museum, as well as new additions donated by icons of rock and roll.

[Nikki Johnson] One section that is very new is a lot of pieces from Les Paul's personal collection.

So one of our most significant pieces is what we call the log, or what Les Paul called the log.

This was the very first look at a guitar in a way of playing guitar that inspired and influenced many, many musicians.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] For music lovers venturing along Highway 18, the Surf Music Experience Center amplifies the Surf Ballroom's place in rock and roll history.

[Nikki Johnson] We want to make sure that the younger generation understands the significance of the Surf Ballroom, and can be able to learn that story in a way that is very compelling and very engaging for them.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Once a summer destination for Sioux and Winnebago tribes, Clear Lake is a sparkling 3,600 acre lake on the western edge of Cerro Gordo County.

For generations, this body of water and the classic resort town named for it have been a place to unwind, stroll the marina and take in a little slice of Americana.

At the center of it all floats a beloved local treasure, The Lady of the Lake.

♪♪ [Scott Monson] Good job.

[Scott Monson] She's a true paddle wheeler.

She was built in 1960.

She's the only one in operation that still is chain driven, and it is a true paddle wheel, and it's powered by a 90 horsepower John Deere diesel.

It's very unique because it was hand built.

It was built in 1960 by the Dubuque Boiler Works.

They took her in two pieces over to the Missouri River.

And you wouldn't have recognized her.

And in 1987, Gary Geiss brought her here, he and his wife.

And they're actually on that stone there.

But what they did is they found excursions, weddings, they were able to get the public out on the lake, and then we started adding the history to it.

So, we do a 90 minute narrated cruise and we cruise every day of the week but Wednesday.

[Kohlsdorf] Built as a replica of the grand paddle steamers that once cruised the Mississippi River, The Lady of the Lake offers something you can't find on the interstate or at the local shopping center, a slow, scenic voyage through time.

[Scott Monson] We had a dredging project that was done about eight years ago.

They took some spots over there in Ventura.

[Scott Monson] Right next door where you see the three brick condominiums, that is the original site of the Surf Ballroom.

[Scott Monson] You know, we've got buddy Holly.

We had the we had the Bayside Amusement Park from 1910 to 1958, Billy's Casino, a lot of natural history around Clear Lake that a lot of people don't know.

In fact, when I started driving 17 years ago, I didn't know a lot of it.

And I had already worked in the lake for 15 years.

Just like the seawall, it was built as part of the works project done during the Depression, and we just restored it a few years ago.

But these guys walked from Mason city.

They lived in labor camps north of Mason City, and they came to Clear Lake, and they built this.

[Kohlsdorf] In the late 1800s, Clear Lake was a getaway for rail travelers seeking cool breezes and entertainment by the water.

Today, the Lady continues that tradition, linking the present to a time when leisure meant community, music and the simple joy of being on the lake.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] From Music Man Square and Meredith Willson's boyhood home to Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School architecture, Mason City is a great place to explore Iowa history and culture.

If you work up an appetite, check out another local landmark, the Northwestern Steakhouse, where sizzling Greek flavors have kept diners coming back for more than a century, thanks to a secret ingredient - [Bill Papouchis] Consistency.

The product.

If you eat here once, you usually come back.

The best compliment I've ever gotten was people haven't been here for 50 years and they said, this is the same as I remember.

It's like really?

So that, yeah, I really take that to heart.

[Kohlsdorf] Opened in 1920 as Pete's Place, the restaurant was a partnership between Greek immigrants Pete Maduros in the front and Tony Papouchis in the kitchen.

They moved to this location in 1954, and a decade later, Tony took over outright.

That's when the restaurant was renamed the Northwestern Steakhouse.

Today, Tony's son Bill and his wife, Ann carry on the tradition.

[Ann Papouchis] My first date, he brought me here, and I had no idea that it was a part of his family.

Kind of came into it not knowing what was going to happen.

And, here we are, you know, Bill and I, 40 some years later, almost half of its life.

[Bill Papouchis] Yeah.

[Kohlsdorf] The Northwestern is well known for its filet mignon, sirloin and New York strip steaks, in addition to a signature side.

[Bill Papouchis] Spaghetti with parmesan.

And then we use the steak juice on top.

And that's a pretty good seller.

Yeah, we sell quite a bit of that, just that alone.

[Woman Diner 1] I moved to Mason City in '93, and every time my dear girlfriends come down to visit me, we like to come to Northwestern Steakhouse because it's the best steak ever.

[Kohlsdorf] The eatery is just as well known for its quaint size.

[Bill Papouchis] We've heard that a lot.

Why don't you expand?

Expand.

Like no.

Or move.

Even move to a different place.

But there's too many memories here with my dad.

[Woman Diner 2] Been coming here for years.

[Girl Diner] I'm the fourth generation to be coming here.

[Woman Diner 3] Everyone at this table had the filet.

[Woman Diner 4] If it was my last supper and I was to die tomorrow, this is where I'd have my last meal.

[Ann Papouchis] I'm so appreciative of all the customers that we have.

One family who's six generations and several five generation families that come in.

[Bill Papouchis] It's just hard to believe that we've been around that long.

When my dad was around he would tell me stories about the Depression and some of the bootlegging that went on or whatever.

I cherished some of those memories with him and stuff, and every now and then something will make a noise up here or something, you know, like, oh, he's still around here.

You know, he's still keeping an eye.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] We're diving deep into Iowa history at the Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve outside Rockford.

365 million years ago, this land was covered by shallow sea.

Today, visitors can unearth ancient marine life among the waves of prairie grass.

Let's dig in.

♪♪ [Heidi Reams] This is just one of Floyd County's hidden treasures.

It's one of our areas that is managed by Floyd County Conservation, and it is most known for our Devonian fossils that everyone can come and collect as well as being the home to the Rockford Brick and Tile Company.

It is because of the Rockford Brick and Tile Company that our fossils were discovered by accident.

They were harvesting the clay to make bricks and drainage tiles out of the quarry.

And as they were doing that, there were these hard chunks that were in the way.

And those are the fossils that everyone comes to collect today.

[Kohlsdorf] What kind of fossils do you find out here?

[Heidi Reams] These are Devonian fossils, though they're about 365 million years old, when Iowa was somewhere between a shallow sea to an ocean.

They're all marine invertebrates, which means they lived in saltwater but didn't have any skeletons.

They all have shells.

[Kohlsdorf] When anyone comes out here, do they usually find something?

[Heidi Reams] I don't know of anyone that goes home empty handed.

A lot of them come thinking that they're looking for dinosaur fossils, so there is some disappointment there.

They come with shovels, rock picks, garden tools and the only tool you really need are your fingers.

Because every time it rains, it uncovers a whole new crop and they can just bend over and pick them up.

I don't know anyone that doesn't go home with pockets full of them.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] There's plenty to do at this 292 acre Floyd County Park.

[birds chirping] [Kohlsdorf] The Fossil and Prairie Center opens seasonally with exhibits on the Rockford Brick and Tile Company.

The ancient fossils found here and the natural prairie that surrounds it.

A short walk brings travelers to two of the Brick and Tile Company's historic beehive kilns.

Beyond the preserve's industrial and archeological history, it offers all the classic outdoor experiences too.

Hike or bike the trails, explore the prairie or fish in the quarry.

But today we're here for the fossils.

[Kohlsdorf] Heidi, give us a quick tutorial of some of the fossils we'll find here today.

[Heidi Reams] So the most common ones you're going to find are the brachiopods.

And then you've got the gastropods, which are snails.

Crinoids, which are sea lilies, and they still exist in the oceans today.

And then horn corals, which to me look like little ice cream cones or little tornadoes.

And then if you're really lucky, you can find a colony coral, which to me looks like the surface of the moon.

[Kohlsdorf] So we don't have to search far for these, right?

[Heidi Reams] No, there's probably some right below us right now.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay, let's take a look.

[Heidi Reams] All right.

If you use the sun, you should be able to see some of the shells as they shine.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay.

[Kohlsdorf] I think it's this one, right?

This is the big one.

[Heidi Reams] That is.

That's a brachiopod.

[Kohlsdorf] Okay.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] People don't have to look far.

And how do they kind of react when they think that, oh, I'm touching this thing that existed so many millions of years ago.

[Heidi Reams] People are pretty excited to be able to find them, and especially as easily and as quickly as they can, and then to take home a piece of history with them and a souvenir of their experience.

I love to see everyone's excitement when they find their first one, or they find the one that they've really been looking for.

[Kohlsdorf] Yeah.

Well, thanks for showing us around today, Heidi, I really appreciate it.

This has been fun to do some fossil digging today.

[Heidi Reams] You are very welcome.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Stretching from the Mississippi all the way to the Big Sioux River, U.S.

Highway 18 is one of the best ways to experience Northern Iowa.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] We explored the beauty of West Bend's Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption.

Took a hike through Ambrose A. Call State Park in Algona.

Hopped a ride to the National Hobo Museum in Britt.

And set sail aboard Clear Lake's Lady of the Lake.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] There is so much to see and do along Highway 18, so pull up a map and plan your trip today.

For more on the history, culture and landscapes along Iowa's highways, join us next time on Road Trip Iowa.

♪♪ [Announcer] Musco Lighting is an Iowa company that travels across the US and to more than 125 countries to light community recreation fields, stadiums, airports, monuments and more.

While our reach is global, we're committed to our local communities.

[Announcer] Beverly Thomassen Schultz -- honored to support local programing on Iowa PBS.