Winterset is Now Famous in a Way That Has Nothing to do With "The Bridges of Madison County"

Interesting piece in this weekend's FT, detailing a visit to Winterset, Iowa, home of devoted Cake Eater readers, Russ and The Lovely Janis, and their freezer, which I'm assured is chock-a-block full of venison.

Anyone wondering why Hillary Clinton has a battle on her hands in Iowa should visit the picturesque town of Winterset. The mid-western state, which holds the first critical nominating caucus 10 days from Saturday, is one of the few in the US never to have elected a woman to the House of Representatives, the Senate or, even, to its governorship.

Located amid the ice-covered corn and soyabean fields of central Iowa, Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne, hero of countless westerns and lifelong friend of Ronald Reagan, president from 1981-1989. “You should visit Winterset,” said a senior figure in one of the Democratic campaigns. “It is like stepping into a 1950s movie set.”

Although John Wayne was born a century ago and his family left town when he was just three, the gruff, plain-spoken leading man of classics such as True Grit, Stagecoach and Fort Apache would find remarkably little had changed. People leave their doors unlocked in Winterset, and their cars running when they pop into the post office.

“Iowa is a socially conservative state,” says Jerry Scheertfeger, former mayor of Winterset, in an interview at the soda fountain in the Montross Pharmacy opposite the clock tower in the town square. “We are proud of John Wayne. He was always on the side of good, he always won and he never used bad words.”{...}

Go read the whole thing. I find it refreshing that the reporter focused on The Duke, Winterset's other claim to fame, rather than that lame-ass book. (In case you're wondering how Winterset and "The Bridges of Madison County" are connected, well, Winterset is the county seat for Madison County. Pretty little courthouse on the square, too.) However, I think, perhaps, the reporter had some preconceived notions about how "religious" people were in that neck of the woods and went out of his way to quote people who supported his notions. I also suspect that Russ will be disappointed that there was not one mention of Fred in the article.