Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI (+43.0376, -87.9311)

Marquette University is a private Catholic (Jesuit) university with its main campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I went to visit in 2018 because of my niece Ashley’s interest in architecture and her desire to see the chapel. Because of my amazing lack of knowledge of sports, I didn’t realize that this was the same university that is regularly in the NCAA basketball March Madness. Ignorance is bliss.

There is a small chapel located on the campus. According to the plaque inside the chapel, St. Joan of Arc Chapel was erected in France around 1420. It was abandoned around 1800, and fell into ruin over the next hundred years. In the 1920s, the chapel was moved to a home on Long Island, New York, and reconstructed. After the owner died in the 1960s, the new owner donated the chapel to Marquette University. The chapel was reconstructed, and was in good shape when we visited. It is a quiet place to pause and meditate.

For more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joan_of_Arc_Chapel

Woolstock, Iowa (+42.5664, -93.8427)

For many Baby Boomers, Superman was in the comic books. But for those fortunate enough to have television, the show “Adventures of Superman” was simply fantastic because it showed the Man of Steel in live action. Who could forget the rousing music and thrilling words? “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…” The show ran from 1952 through 1958, but continued in syndication for years afterward,

The starring actor in the series was George Reeves. He was born in Woolstock, Iowa, but moved away at a young age. He died at age 45, possibly from suicide, shortly after the show ended. Woolstock is very small (reminiscent of Clark Kent’s hometown: Smallville, Kansas), with a population of 144 in the 2020 census. Much of the town looks rundown, and we did not see anyone in the town at 11:30 a.m, which seemed somewhat ghostly. It felt like a sad reminder of its most famous son who died too young. However, there are still pleasant rural areas around the town, such as a train trestle and grazing cows.

When I visited Woolstock, there are very few indications of the George Reeves connection. There is a sign on the north side of town with George’s picture on it, and the local telephone company has a business graphic at its office that reminds one of Superman’s logo. The most direct allusion is a telephone booth on the southeast corner of Percival Street and Herman Street. There is no indication that the phone booth is a memorial, but inside the booth is a mannequin wearing a suit, the front open to reveal the Superman costume underneath.

I wouldn’t go far out of my way to go to Woolstock, but it is an interesting footnote along the 43^rd parallel.

TV show intro from Youtube:

George Reeves (not to be confused with the other Superman, Christopher Reeve):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves

Woolstock, Iowa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolstock,_Iowa