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A potpourri of stories about various family members or events
Hanging Pasta
If you have ever driven on I-35 through Iowa, you may have seen this on the north side of Ames.
a bit distant version
a closeup, found here
This Barilla plant in Ames was their first in the U.S., and it was completed in 1998. When we traveled to MN, after we got to Des Moines, we would go north on I-35 and go past this plant. I recall the first time I realized that this was a pasta plant, and I saw the tall towers (on the right). I told the kids that the workers had cut the pasta into long strips and then hung the strips up to dry in those towers. They then cut the long strips into smaller lengths to fit inside the boxes to sell. I just left it at that, and eventually they repeated it back to me at other times in awe (but, maybe just Christina, since she was younger). Eventually, they all learned that I was just trying to pull their leg (even though they were in the back seat, where I couldn't reach them while driving).
But, now many years later, I wonder if Christina really knew that I was joking:
Christina sent this to me today with the caption "Guess how many sourdough noodles?"
Yes, she learned that I was joking! But this is how (apparently) she now dries her sourdough noodles. BTW, I guessed 350. Later, she told me it was 338!
Published 2026-02-01.
If you find any errors in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail.com. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]
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