On July 26, 2017, I took Norman Zierold to the Bonaparte Retreat Restaurant in Bonaparte, Iowa to celebrate his 90th birthday. It’s located about 29 miles south of Fairfield in the historic Villages of Van Buren. He told me he enjoyed eating at this restaurant from time to time as it reminded him of his earlier years growing up in the Amana Colonies. I was also curious to see it so we went.
Housed in the historic 1879 old Meek Grist Mill building, Ben and Rose Hendricks had opened the restaurant in 1970. Before the Industrial Revolution, farmers from miles around used to haul their grains there to be milled into flour. The Gazette published an article with 19 wonderful photos (Feb 15, 2015): Iowa All Over: Time stands still in Bonaparte.
The restaurant serves traditional Iowa food, and the staff are very personable. Word got around that Norman was celebrating his 90th, and they came over, one by one, to wish him a happy birthday.
One of them was Marie Hainline, a friendly 94-year old woman with the most wonderful smile and twinkle in her eyes. She used to run her own nursing home, which was a challenge. She retired and has been working as a waitress at the restaurant for over 30 years. She’s happy and looks healthy. Marie raised 4 children, has 11 grandchildren, many great grandchildren, and 2 one-year old great-great-grandchildren—twins!
This photo of Maire was taken from an article in the Midwest Wanderer (Nov 23, 2015): Bonaparte Retreat: Dining in an Old Grist Mill. Among the photos are one of the back of the building and the inside, where we sat at a round table looking out a window at the Des Moines River.
After paying our bill, Marie showed me an article about her published almost 7 years ago in the Hancock County Journal-Pilot in Carthage, IL. I found it on the internet and wanted to share it with you. It’s a delightful description of Marie and her impressive work ethic. She is an inspiration!
Perky waitress is reminder to be thankful for work
By Patsy Davis, Carthage | Nov 23, 2010
Recently my sisters and I took a road trip. Although we talk pretty much every day, we seldom get to spend much time actually hanging out together. As we started the day, we decided our destination would be the villages of Van Buren County in Iowa.
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