Marstforth’s Goddess

Ioweird

My special ladyfriend Tammi Jo hails from a little burg in Northeast Iowa named Postville, which might ring a bell to some because the town has been the subject of books and countless NPR gorillas-in-the-mist segments owing to its unusual socio-ethnic composition. The Cliff Notes: in 1987 a group of orthodox Lubavicher Jews from Crown Heights, Brooklyn buys idle slaughterhouse in little German-Norwegian Iowa farm town to convert into world’s largest kosher meat processing plant. Hundreds of orthodox rabbis and their families move in, followed by an even larger number of immigrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Ukraine and the Philippines. Wacky situation comedy ensues! Anyway, last weekend we were in the area for a family wedding and took a few snapshots around Postville and environs.

Postville’s north end welcome sign honoring John R. Mott. The south side signs says “Postville – Where the World Meets.” Oddly enough little Cresco, Iowa — less than 40 miles away — is home to another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Norman Borlaug.

Loading dock at the farmers Co-op and the community meat locker — scenes you expect to see in any small Iowa town.

Here’s something you don’t expect to see: families of orthodox Jews enjoying a walk on a chilly April Saturday sabbath.

The Kosher Community Grocery. We stopped in on Sunday and got some kosher soda.

The Judaica shop and Jewish library on Main Street.

A different kind of biking: Postville vato on his lowrider.

Postville is now about 25% Hispanic population, which is reflected along Main Street. Tonito’s sign, incorporating the Guatemalan flag:

Colorful stuff inside the El Vaquero clothing store (formerly a hardware shop):

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