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n 1900, Kalamazoo was the celery capital of the world! No kidding. The nearby “mucklands” –which must not exist where I live-are perfect for growing celery! Earlier, in the second half of the 1800’s, Kalamazoo was known as paper city. The Bryant Paper Company here in Kalamazoo became largest Michigan manufacturer of book paper. And by World War II, a score of local mills made Kalamazoo the largest paper producer in the nation.

Bloomington Minnesota is home to the Mall of America, and the behind-the-scenes tour was full of surprises for John McGivern.

The rest of the city was also full of surprises. He didn’t expect to find a ski-jump, the largest bicycle products distributor in America, the first tap room in Minnesota and a goat farm!

John knew it‘s home to Vera Bradley and Sweetwater. But he didn’t expect a Diocesan Museum, a huge Public Library, the most perfect Children’s Zoo or Coney Island Hot Dogs. What a great city!

Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood boasts a main street straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. John McGivern enjoys the German roots still present, but also finds many ethnicities in this diverse neighborhood.

On the corner of Myrtle and Main Streets in Stillwater, Minnesota began.
So why here? Well… when Wisconsin became a state in 1848, that left people west of the St. Croix river “high and dry” with no government.

So, the people of Stillwater held a territorial convention right here and voted to send a delegate to Washington D.C. to organize a new territory called “Minnesota” which became a territory in 1849, and a state in 1858.

Decorah, Iowa, draws in many people with its charm. History lovers with Norwegian lineage come to research at Vesterheim. Students come to learn at Luther College. Gardeners come to be inspired at Seed Savers Exchange. What everyone finds are smiles!

Goshen is in Elkhart County, IN. This area makes 85% of recreational vehicles in the US. Dynamax, Janus Motorcycles, Goshen College and Radio Horizonte were surprising. Mexican food is a given here, but Neopolitan pizza at Venturi and Maple City Indian Restaurant? Yum! Add the Old Bag Factory and Quilt Gardens and what you get is joy.

Winona, MN, is a city of 26,000 very lucky people, built on a Mississippi River sandbar.
At Willet Hauser, artists make stained glass. Watkins Co. employees make tons of vanilla, and the crew at Wenonah Canoe make – guess. Sugar Loaf Bluff is paradise for climbers, Yarnology is home for knitters and NOSH is heaven for John, because he’s an eater!

Dodgeville, Wisconsin   Dodgeville, WI, is a close-knit yet welcoming driftless area community built on mining. Dodgeville has some legendary Wisconsin treasures, like Governor Dodge State Park, The House on the Rock and Bob’s Bitchin BBQ. There are legendary...

Greater Lafayette, Indiana, is two cities, and we didn’t come only for Purdue University. If we told you we were going to a place where people raise wolves, operate a 1920s farm, frequent a Triple X establishment, and spit crickets, you might question our judgment. But once you watch this episode your only question will be, when can I go there?

De Pere, WI is sometimes called a suburb of Green Bay, but don’t say that to anyone who lives there.

Being right on Lake Michigan, South Haven Michigan has always been a port city. In the late 1800’s the surrounding timber industry gave way to farming, but another industry grew very well here–the resort and tourism industry.

Sandy beaches, lovely lake breezes and a charming downtown still make South Haven a popular summer tourist destination. South Haven is in southwestern Michigan, along Intestate 196 at the mouth of the Black River on the shores of Lake Michigan.