Shenandoah Iowa Iron Mike a Clarion Call to the World

In our community of Shenandoah in southwest Iowa we have a unique structure, a priceless endangered species which we call the Iron Mike.  Shenandoah is reported to be the last community in Iowa to still have such a structure.  The Iron Mike is a fountain made for horses.  It is a standing structure with a large basin about four feet off the ground and extending toward the street.  This basin was used to water horses when the men came to town back in the days of the horse and buggy.  What can we learn from these types of old objects that may now be forgotten and in adverse condition?

In a recent city meeting our mayor noted a publication about our Iron Mike and felt that we should do all we can to preserve this structure.  That got me thinking about the things we hold on to, and the unsung ties and connection we have to objects of our past.  Not only do I support preserving the Iron Mike, but I also go a step further and hope it is seen as something more than just a relic of the distant past.

We live in a very divided world full of mischief, corruption, poverty and strife.  Man still serves to strip man of his possessions, dignity and even life.  The world of politics have found new purpose in polarizing the views of nations.  Governments excel in providing a disservice to its people and openly seek to make them naked of their liberties and freedoms.  Even among our cities we are greatly divided.  With a growing population filled with technology and disturbing social issues it is ever difficult to rally the people to act in a positive manner as one.  All but gone, the days when entire communities would find positive thinking in the future of their communities.  Now, projects in the millions of dollars hover in the minds of its citizens causing contention and backbiting.  The degraded state of morality has skewed the minds of our young into paths of uncertainty and and ill-progress as an industrious people.  We have failed to find those things in common from which to draw strength as a people and move us along with a degree of unity and peace.

There was a time when Americans looked to the Constitution of the United States as that one unifying tie that made us who we are at the root.  In addition, the Declaration of Independence was that token that we can stand apart, hold true to our faith and be a moral and competitive people.  We took pride without offense in “in God we trust.”  We observed the Pledge of Allegiance each morning in grade school, and knew it was what we Americans do both in honor of the sacrifices made on our behalf and also the potential in the prospect of what we can become.  Unfortunately, those times are quickly fading into the shadows of the past and its vital meanings lost in the annals of historical accounts and personal journals.

There is great value in a group of people finding strength in that which they have in common.  For a community it can be an old building, a piece of art, a historical marker or even certain successes of the community.  Something from that community that conjures fond feelings from the vast majority of the people can serve as that unifying epicenter from which to draw strength, to be unified as a people and look toward the future with a positive attribute.  

Horses drew strength of water from the large basin of the Iron Mike.  People of all ages drew the sustaining strength of water from the small basin on the back of the Iron Mike.  Likewise, though not in working order, people of Shenandoah can draw a renewed perspective of strength from that old Iron Mike.  Perhaps the Iron Mike should be preserved and even dedicated by the City of Shenandoah for the city of Shenandoah.  Perhaps something as old and rusted as the Iron Mike can serve as that token, that link to the past, that binds us together as citizens of Shenandoah.  Perhaps with a visible edifice we can see the issues we face in a new light.  Perhaps without suspicion and vice we can once again look upon each other and our leaders as honest brothers and sisters working toward the common good.  

I challenge all communities to diligently seek out that prize of the community which the people can rally around and find cause to be unified.  Never before in history have we been more connected globally with the aid of technology.  Yet, never before in history have we as individuals felt more isolated and alone.  Vast majorities of us have dissolved or clouded over that original WiFi wireless connection we have to our God.  We are at a crisis point where we thirst and seek for identification and purpose.  Nobody but you can heal the wounds between you and your God, but as a community things can be done to raise your identity as a citizen and unify you on common ground with others of your community.  

I invite you in your own communities to find your own “Iron Mike” whether tangible or intangible.  Find that wellspring of strength that the people can draw from.  No one need surround themselves in loathsome negativity at all hours of the day.  Instead, gain strength that the yokes of our time are shared on the backs of many others in your community, and that as a community you shall not only survive but exceed expectation, prosper and finally realize that goal in your pursuit of happiness.

I reflect on that old Iron Mike.  I contemplate how many horses have found rejuvenation from that spring.  How many of them found new strength to return their masters to their homes so that they can prosper their families and property.  I contemplate the silent contribution the Iron Mike offered in the progress of not only Shenandoah but communities and areas roundabout as people came from near and far with their horses.  I wonder about the happy memories made as children drank from the other basin, played and prepared with their families to either go to town or retire back to their homes.  

It is interesting how something as small and insignificant as a watering hole can have a huge growing affect down the road.  As communities find their own “Iron Mike” they to will find the affects growing in new and positive directions as the people realize that they can function and coexist as one in cause and one in nation.  

Preserve the past that a bright common future can be assured.  That’s the Iron Mike challenge!

Check out my thoughts in video: