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Saturday, June 21, 2025

Take Time for Marvels

I visited my aunt, uncle, and cousins in the fall in Des Moines, Iowa. With plenty of time to visit and no agenda — how do you reacquaint with the birth city you’ve not seen in 35 years? — my aunt and uncle took me to an Iowa treasure in the town of Gladbrook, about an hour northeast of Des Moines. It was an easy trip on the “Diagonal,” Iowa Highway 330.

Google Gladbrook (population 945) and you’ll quickly learn it is home to Matchstick Marvels and Iowa artist Patrick Acton, a former high school teacher. Acton has glued more than four million ordinary wooden matchsticks into 69 incredibly detailed scale models of renowned architecture, ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and life-like sculptures. Many models have historical significance, such as the USS Iowa battleship, the space shuttle Challenger, the Wright brothers’ Flyer, and the U.S. Capitol, which measures 12 feet long. For $5, you can see these and other Acton creations at the Matchstick Marvels Tourist Center, the tidy and tight matchstick museum that draws visitors from all over the world.

Sixteen of Acton’s sculptures on display when we visited. Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museums in North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe have purchased 20 of Acton’s matchstick sculptures.

Visitors to the museum also watch a short video documentary of Acton’s unusual hobby and see a display of the drawings, plans, tools, and equipment he uses.

An unfamiliar but clearly very grand Victorian building — a home, recalling for me, the Reitz Home — stood out from the rest of Acton’s structures. My aunt noted my fascination and explained it was Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor’s Mansion located near downtown Des Moines. Tours are offered. Would I like to go?

Absolutely! And, with plenty of time, we made plans to visit Terrace Hill the next morning.  I will write about the Iowa Governor’s Mansion in my next post.

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Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker formed Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., along with her husband, Todd, in September 1999 and published the first issue of Evansville Living in March 2000. Kristen, publisher and editor of Evansville Living, holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and English from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Southern Indiana. Kristen has recently served on the board of directors of The Catholic Foundation of Evansville, the Board of Advisors for the IU Medical School Evansville, and Indiana Landmarks. In 2007, she helped found the Women’s Fund of Vanderburgh County. She also is a member of the 125-year-old Social Literary Club. Kristen is the 2003 Athena Award recipient and the 2006 recipient of the Indiana Commission for Women’s Torchbearer Award. Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., magazines have won dozens of awards through the years from the City & Regional Magazine Association, the Advertising Federation of Evansville, the Evansville Design Group, and the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Kristen moved with her family to Evansville, her father’s hometown, in 1971. She attended Caze Elementary School, and Castle Jr. and Castle Sr. High Schools in Newburgh, Indiana. Kristen and Todd have two adult sons, Maxwell and Jackson. Kristen enjoys walking, travel, Pilates, and reading.

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