At Second Glance
By Michelle Phillips, AJ-E News Editor

Summer Up

Things are picking up in Anamosa with the warm weather finally arriving to our area. Summer in Anamosa, like the rest of the country, kicks off with Memorial Day and winds to an end with Labor Day. If you can’t find something to do in Anamosa during the summer, you just aren’t trying very hard.
The first event of the year is the Memorial Day Parade, spanning Main Street to Riverside Cemetery where a program is held to honor deceased veterans from Anamosa.
Next is the Grant Wood Art Festival, held on June 8. The festival always features area artists in several mediums, entertainment and food. It honors Anamosa born artist Grant Wood and offers a scholarship and badge competition for students in Eastern Iowa.
Also in June, J&P Cycles will hold their customer appreciation event, which is just one of several events the Anamosa company hold each summer, including cruise nights and hill climbs.
Ongoing events in the summer include the Chamber flea markets on the third Saturday of each month from May –September and the Anamosa Parks and Rec. Concerts in the Park, held at the bandshell in WapsiAna Park each Thursday night.
The Jones County Fair is also an Anamosa favorite and with a mix of entertainment, FFA and 4-H competitions, open exhibits, food games and rides, the fair can cater to just about anyone, young or old.
If none of these things suit you, try the Anamosa Aquatic Center for swimming, Wapsipinicon State Park or Central Park for camping, fishing, hiking and many other outdoor activities. Or maybe you like antiques. Many of the shops and restaurants in Anamosa are open on Saturday for those who have to work during the week. The farmers market will be underway in June and offers farm fresh fruits, veggies and treats. Summer sports leagues will begin soon, and golf is a perennial favorite in Anamosa. If rain is a problem, you can always bowl a few frames, take in a movie, go to the library, see a play or check out a band.
So you see, even though Anamosa is a small town, there are plenty of things to do. The things I just listed are just the ones that I can think of right now, but I’m sure there are many more that I have forgotten to mention or will learn about throughout the four months that we call summer.

Between the lines
By Daryl Schepanski, Sports Editor

Growing up as a huge sports fan though extremely athletically challenged, it was tough for me to think of reasons to go out for sports in junior high and high school in Iowa City.
I was short. Very short. And small. Very small. Weighing in at a mere 70 pounds in junior high and tipping the scales at a whopping 95 pounds in high school, my build made playing particular sports for me almost impossible.
If I would have actually even tried playing football, I would have been absolutely crushed in half and wouldn’t be here today taking pictures for Anamosa, Olin and Midland (I truly believe that too).
Basketball was also another sport I had absolutely no chance of playing while a Little Hawk. Growing up, basketball was my passion and I dreamed of wearing the City High Red and White uniform hitting the game-winning shot to beat Iowa City West. But I was cut from the high school team and was never allowed even the opportunity of playing high school hoops (I did happen to be in a very athletic class that was among Iowa’s best in just about every sport).
The only thing I have going for me was speed. I did happen to be fast. Very fast.
In gym class at Southeast Junior High and even Iowa City High, the best athletes in my grade would have a hard time keeping up with me when it came to running short distances.
Looking back at my City High days now from the perspective of time, I wish I had been able to do more. But in a school with a class size of almost 300, that made it tough.
Here in Jones County at Anamosa, Olin and Midland, opportunity abounds when it comes to not only sports, but arts and music as well. Students have the chance to make it work and can leave school knowing they gave their all and succeeded, regardless of what any scoreboard might read.
That’s what impresses me most about our local athletes. It’s not just the success they have that merits our respect, it’s their dedication.
At the Anamosa boys basketball banquet a couple of months ago, coach Kevin Barnes called senior Josh Hora to the front of the room to be honored. Hora wasn’t blessed with all-state hoop talent, he actually rarely saw the floor, but he was still out for basketball all four years making his contribution in ways you can’t measure on a stat sheet. It was then that I realized, not only would I like to see more Colten Kellys in years to come at Anamosa, but this school also needs more Josh Horas, in every sport. Student-athletes who don’t have to be the superstar to make a contribution. My kind of superstars.