Across Iowa with a handcart

Kent Steinke is on a journey through the past. After doing extensive research into his own genealogy as well as the history of the Mormons’ travels through Iowa, Steinke has undertaken a trip of his own, complete with handcart.

Steinke left Newton on a wet Wednesday morning, following his Mormon ancestors’ route, roughly along the Iowa Interstate Railroad and Cherry Creek. He spent a soggy overnight near Westwood Golf Course, before heading west on Highway F-48, what was once U.S. Highway 6.

Steinke’s mother, Carole Daasch, said her son has been interested in genealogy and history since he was a child, organizing family reunions and creating books on family history. He discovered the Mormon connection (the family are now Methodists, his mother said), and decided to recreate the trip his ancestors took through Iowa.

A resident of Beaver City, Neb., Steinke started out from Iowa City on May 4, pulling a handcart similar to the Mormon handcart used by his ancestors, and arrived in Newton on May 12, stopping where his ancestors stopped.

“I’m doing this just for the experience; what my ancestors went through on the trail,” Steinke said.

He said he hoped to arrive in Omaha in about 10 days.

John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.