Dyersville: 'Very homey, close-knit community'

Tue July 17 2007
Posted Jul 17, 2007
6,722

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW CAMPGROUNDS: Choose from three main campgrounds: West Side Park, Commercial Club Park and Beckman High School. SHOWERS: West Side Park will feature portable showers, Commercial Club Park will offer showers at the Dyersville Aquatic Center, and Beckman High School will have indoor showers. FOOD AND BEVERAGES: There will be food vendors at the main event site with offerings including popcorn, cheesecake, pizza and sandwiches. Dyersville also is home to more than 20 dining establishments. Oh, and organizers say guests should remember to leave some room for pie. PLACES TO GO: Field of Dreams, National Farm Toy Museum, Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyer Botsford Historical House and Doll Museum, Becker Woodcarving Museum, Plaza Antique Mall and four farm toy stores. PLACES TO FIND NECESSITIES: Pamida, NuCara, Hartig Drug, Payless Foods, Fareway, Ben Franklin/Radio Shack. TOWN TRIVIA RAGBRAI HISTORY: Dyersville hosted riders in 1989. The theme that year was “Last Night Out.” MORE HISTORY: The town was founded by James Dyer in the late 1840s. The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier underwent a $1 million renovation in 2001. It is one of 52 basilicas in the United States. ANOTHER TIE TO FAME: Although Ernest Hemingway didn’t live here, he was often seen in Dyersville visiting his grandparents. Hemingway’s grandparents are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. POPULATION: 4,167 WHAT TO EXPECT Julie Kronlage, member of Dyersville's RAGBRAI committee Q. How would you describe Dyersville? A. Dyersville is a very unique community. We've got a lot to offer from our world-famous attractions like the Field of Dreams, the Farm Toy Museum, our basilica. We're also a very homey and a very close-knit community, and we take pride in our community. We enjoy it very much, and we're so happy to showcase it. Q. How are you going to welcome the riders? A. Welcoming the riders when they come into Dyersville, they're going to go through our Tunnel of Dreams. Q. Explain the Tunnel of Dreams. A. Our Tunnel of Dreams is something we're going to be putting up right when they come in off of the old Highway 20. We'll have it extending a short ways, and it'll be filled with lots of surprises - not really so much surprises, but lots of unique things for our riders to remember Dyersville. Q. What is the theme? A. Our theme for Dyersville is "Ride the Distance." So many people, when they think of Dyersville, think of the Field of Dreams, and the major line in the movie that says, "Go the distance." Q. Why did you want Dyersville to be on the route this year? A. RAGBRAI has not been to Dyersville for 18 years, so it was a great chance for them to come back into the community, for the riders to see the big changes that we've made. Q. Biggest challenge so far? A. We've had to start this event from the ground up because 18 years ago - you know, we don't have the notes, we don't have what happened then, so basically just getting everything started. Q. Anything else? A. Just that Dyersville is going to be a fun stop. We're looking forward to them.