Spillville: A swinging place.

If I was plunked down in Spillville, Iowa, and told I had to stay there for the rest of my life, that would be just fine. I'd adjust and live happily ever after. I set foot in Spillville on Saturday. For the first time. And I liked it. Spillville has 367 inhabitants. Several of which I met. Including Lori Faust, proprietor of the Speakeasy Inn. Where I stayed. With my Italian true love. I heard of Spillville only because the famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak spent the summer of 1893 there. He was visiting America, and got tired of big city life in Chicago. Preferring a countryside setting where he could listen to the birds. That inspired him to compose music. Indeed, even today, 119 years later, Spillville is a quiet place. At the same time, one can enjoy the creature comforts of the Speakeasy Inn. Nice rooms. Nice food. Nice camaraderie. And down the street, the building where Dvorak lived, still stands. Housing a museum of hand-carved wood clocks. And farther down, there's St. Wenceslas Catholic Church. And a cemetery with tombstones and silvery metal crosses of Spillville residents that passed away as long ago as the mid-19th century. Some were born in the 1700s. I imagined that Dvorak walked the very grounds that I walked. Gave me opportunity to commune with Dvorak's spirit. There's a monument to Dvorak in Riverside Park, along the Turkey River. And a playground. With leather-seated swings. Hanging from chains. Believe me, Dvorak's spirit touched us. Right on the spot. My true love and I took to the swings. And became real swingers again. Just like when we were kids. --Jim Broede