Things Still Wonderful About Marshalltown, Iowa: A Local’s Honest Love

Things that are still wonderful about Marshalltown...

No, it's not like it was in the 80s, or the 60s or the 40s, many landmarks are gone and once thriving economies and opportunities have been replaced by lower quality / low pay jobs.

But rather than mourn what is no more, let's take a moment to remember what we still have so we remember to enjoy it. Feel free to add to my list which is in no particular order.

1. The Veteran's Home - I know some see it as little more than a nursing home for qualifying veterans but it is much more. Starting in the mid 1970s when I was no more than 10 years old my grandmother and I would make almost nightly walks to the Soldier's Home which is how it was known to her generation.
   Starting on the corner of 8th and Boone we did the 1 mile walk and then tour of the various sights, the old headstones were fascinating to me as I was something of a history buff. And then it was downhill to Jack and Jill for a soda pop which we drank out in front of the laundromat before walking home.
   And since my return several years ago, it's become a favorite dog walking trail to see the old sights and the new memorial monuments. Got interrupted by C19 like everything else, but I hope to resume this spring. I know I could use the exercise and I would rather walk the grounds of this familiar place than run in a gym.
   
   
2. The Food - True many have fallen and will never be again. I would give almost anything for the return of Jax supper club, there simply isn't anything that comes close. I know Rube's is in Montour and if I ever feel like putting a steak on a lawaway plan I might go there again, but for the money and service (and honestly the disappointing lack of) I make better steaks at home for less money.
   
   However, you guys don't know how lucky you are to have Sub City, I have had the best Jersey subs in the country and Sub City keeps up.  The quality is astonishing for a town that used to rate no better than a Subway.  I only wish they were open later and on weekends because that is when I crave a good sub the most. While we are at it, while Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, Culvers and Hardees are in a race to the bottom of the food quality barrel, newcommer The Flying Elbow has given this town the best burger it's ever known.
   
   Good food can also be found at Smokin G's. For starters, they actually have a smoker unlike some places which simply make oven BBQ. Again I can often do better at home, but in a pinch when I didn't have time, it's nice to be able to just get some "to go" and know it will be good.
   
   Probably don't need to say much about Maid Rite, everyone should know. I just sorta wish they had fries, somehow chips don't cut it. But on a cool fall day, or a rough winter day, a couple Made Rites will fix you right up and get you back in the game.
   
   Taco Johns and KFC are both a shadow of what they once were. But if you know what to order, you can do ok. Nothing is worse than a sad, greasy taco light on ingredients or old chicken and stale biscuits that have been sitting out too long. And don't even get me started on those stupid Ole things. But if you know what to order you can still do ok. They are still using the same nacho cheese at TJs so as long as it hasn't been sitting in a container getting cold anything Nacho's should be as good as it ever was.
   
   These days I tend to get softshells over hardshells and I ask for them to let the grease drain off the meat before putting it on. Some extra cheese and request some tomatoes and it's actually the same soft shell taco it was years ago. Similarly, the Taco Bravo is virtually unchanged. They have some odd burrito combinations these days, some are unremarkable but if you are willing to special order your own creation, you can make some tasty stuff. Just don't trust the drive through to get it right.
   
   Now that KFC is divorced from Taco Bell it's a little nicer, a lot cleaner and a bit more polite in there. They have the best fried chicken sandwich in town, which isn't hard because Hardee's is terrible. If you ask for "made to order" fries they are actually good. The hit and miss part is the chicken, the chicken strips and everything else. Right out of the fryer it tastes amazing, but after 20 minutes in the warming oven it's a huge let down. I have yet to get an excellent biscuit which is sad because they used to be tasty.
   
   And finally, Ocean City, the only chinese place where you don't take your life and a night spent in the bathroom in your hands. The draw here ironically is the best sushi in town (again not hard to win) that is actually pretty impressive. I wish the miso soup was a higher grade, I wish the wasabi wasn't like a ball of molder clay but the sushi itself is fresh enough you can order sashimi and not regret it. Some of the chinese dishes are also very, very good but I wish somebody would take their red pepper flakes away and force them to season and flavor with something else.
   
   
3. The Weather - Now I know some of you are thinking "waht?" A tornado and a deresheco (I don't care how it's spelled) just cleaned our clocks. But if you come from anywhere else, you guys have a lot of "enjoy life on the back deck with a nice drink" weather. I had done 30 years in south Florida and was getting damn sick and tired of running the AC on christmas day. And trust me nobody want's a thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings when it's 92 degrees outside.
   
   For the first time in a long time I could work in the yard until my arm and leg muscles fatigued and not just because the sun was getting ready to render me unconscious. There were days in Florida I took 5 showers in a single day. I remember the first time I did some light work in the yard in Iowa and realized I never broke a sweat.
   
   And never before have I opened my windows in the summer, but sometimes in June it actually drops below 60 at night and one of my favorite things in the world to do is turn the AC to the OFF position. I only wish JBS wasn't a round the clock operation, if the wind is right they can reach me all the way across town south of Westwood and make my whole house smell like an outhouse if I don't get my windows closed quick enough.
   
   
4. The Backyard Nature - Sure Florida had critters of all kinds, but they all looks a little rough and a little hungry plus we got critters of the non furry, not so cute kind.
   
   I love that my back yard is loaded with squirrels who's sole job seems to be my entertainment. I live that I have wild rabbits who chase each other all over my property. It's so much better than "Hey Dad, is this snake the poisonous kind?"
   
   My dogs absolutely loved living here and once they figured out snow wasn't gonna hurt them, it was just another thing to play in. If a new snow is light enough, my Belgian Sheppard's favorite activity is plowing through chest deep snow and creating trails all through the yard.
   
   
5. And then the big one - Quality of Life - I've lived in lots of places, even lived in other countries a few times and when it came time to decide on where the "final home base" was going to be, it wasn't a hard decision. They have good and bad people everywhere, but Marshalltown still has an impressive ratio of good to bad.
   
   Most people here try and be nice until you make that impossible. And neighbors who actually help neighbors. When the July tornado took out the North side I had an average of 12 people bunking down at my place because I had electricity and we were eating regular meals. The guys would spend the day securing homes and getting them water tight while they waited on insurance and then could come back to my place and actually clean up with something more than a garden hose, use a working bathroom and then sit down to some really good meals because we left the wives and the gfs cooking for us all day.
   
   When it was my turn and the derescheo hit, there were no shortage of people running chainsaws and helping me clear my yard. This time we were all without power for several days but I knew my way around that after having done some Cat 4 and 5 hurricanes in Florida. I knew how to cook complete meals on the grill including cans of spaghettio's for the kids, which backfired because now those kids all like my "grilled spaghettio's" better than the ones mom makes on the oven. So from time to time in the summer when we have friends over grilling steaks, I sometimes have to do a couple cans of my special Franco Amercian for the kids. I taught them how to eat them right out of the can "hobo style" with a spoon. I think it's a valuable life skill but I think their mom's wanted to kill me.

So don't make the mistake of thinking you are trapped in this podunk town, if you know what you are doing it can offer quite a bit.