We spent Mother’s Day in the thriving metropolis that is Maurice, IA. And a day in Maurice (pronounced “mawr-is”, as in “morris”) isn’t worth much if you don’t visit the park and take a ride down The Famous Maurice Fire Escape Slide.
The Famous Fire Escape Slide can’t be terribly famous; a Google search comes up pretty much empty. I found one post in a Blogspot archive by a guy named Steve-O, writing about stuff to do around Sioux Center, IA (must be a Dordt alumnus.) Steve-O’s post somewhat confirms what little I know about the slide; that it used to be the fire escape for the second floor of the school. I don’t recall ever seeing a school building in Maurice, so it must’ve been bulldozed after the Maurice & Orange City school districts merged.
Anyway, the slide looks like a steel-clad silo, but you climb the stairs to the top, jump into the hole, and it dumps your butt on the ground below after twisting you around a couple of times on the way down.
The rest of park there is just as great; not only does it feature The Famous Maurice Fire Escape Slide, but also a swingset that has the crossbar about 15 feet off the ground, and real honest-to-goodness teetertotters! And not the emasculated ones, but the ones that will truly emasculate you if improperly used. Built from 2×12 lumber, angle iron for bracing across the middle, welded steel tube handles at each end, and a four-foot high center, these puppies could cause serious injury. Removes any doubt why they are so hard to find in our litigious modern age. The only question left is why they remain in Maurice!
Enjoy!
Who is that fat guy, and why are two kids unable to balance him out?