When far-flung family and friends make the effort to visit my adopted home state of Iowa, Madison County is where I take them for a taste of small-town rural Iowa at its bucolic best. But during many trips to the Madison County seat of Winterset, I haven't dwelled on the town's claim to fame as the birthplace of John Wayne, the Hollywood actor famous for portraying rugged cowboys and brave soldiers.
Instead of visiting the humble, four-room white house where Wayne was born, I typically make a beeline for "the bridges' " (aka "The Bridges of Madison County," made famous by the 1992 novel and the 1995 movie filmed on location by Clint Eastwood). I also show visitors around Winterset's classic town square and we usually stop for lunch at my favorite small-town cafe.
That was then. Things have changed since the 2015 opening of Winterset's John Wayne Birthplace & Museum, which soon became a popular backdrop for presidential candidates campaigning across Iowa. In early 2016, Donald Trump appeared at the museum beside Wayne's daughter Aissa, who endorsed Trump's candidacy, praising him as "strong like John Wayne."
Sufficiently curious, I drove on a cold December day about 40 minutes south of Des Moines to the buckskin-colored $2.5 million museum. The museum is kitty-corner from the birthplace that has long been open to the public, but was restored with period furnishings as part of the museum project.
A large bronze statue of "Duke" in cowboy gear greets visitors outside the museum, which bills itself as having "the largest diversified exhibit of John Wayne artifacts in existence" — original movie posters, costumes, film clips, scripts, contracts, letters, family photos and artwork designed to help people learn about "the actor, private citizen and an American legend."
Inside, as promised, the one-room exhibition space is filled with memorabilia — from a see-through eye patch Wayne wore in his 1969 Oscar-winning "True Grit" performance to his 1972 Pontiac Grand Safari metallic green station wagon (with a bumped-out roof to accommodate his 6-foot-4 frame) and a signed Andy Warhol portrait of Wayne.
Other film bits and bobs include: Wayne's military coat from "The Green Berets" (1968); his toupee from "Chisum" (1970); a saddle from "The Cowboys" (1972); and, one of my favorites — a white shirt "with a special effects blood stain" from "The Shootist" (1976). For a handy refresher on Wayne's career, the museum's small theater shows an 11-minute film of greatest hits, with co-stars including Maureen O'Hara, Lauren Bacall and a boyish Ron Howard.
On the patriotic front, the exhibit includes Wayne's 1979 Congressional Gold Medal as well as letters of appreciation from presidents (Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush) and stars including Lucille Ball, Bob Hope and James Stewart.
