Iola Speck, a teenager from England, traveled halfway around the world to visit a town that shares her name.

Iola and her father, Ivan, spent two days in Iola as part of a driving tour around the Midwest. They live in Higham, a village near Rochester in Kent, which is in southeast England.

They flew into Chicago last week, where they rented a camper van airbrushed in bright colors. It was sure to get attention, and it would be their home for about two weeks; they slept in the back, taking up residence at “car parks” (the British term for parking lots) at Walmarts in cities they visited. 

They arrived in Iola on Wednesday afternoon, where they visited the Register’s office. Ivan is a sports reporter, so he appreciates the value of a quirky story and thought Iolans might like to know about Iola’s visit.

She’s 14 and attends an all-girls school, where she will be entering her 10th year soon after returning home. 

THE NAME of Iola, the English girl, comes from multiple sources that are mostly connected to family.

It’s a way to combine the names of her parents, Ivan and Leeann. 

The name also comes from a little-known princess in Greek mythology.

Iola means violet in Greek. Violet is the flower of February, which is the month Iola was born, and is also the name of her grandmother. 

“We liked the name because it’s different,” Ivan said. 

The name of Iola, the Kansas town, is a tribute to Iola Colborn, the wife of J.F. Colborn who had built the first frame-style home in the area. 

It’s not a very common name.

So, do people sometimes mistake the uppercase I for a lowercase L and call her Lola?

“All the time,” Iola said, laughing. She seemed surprised to find someone who understood. 

“At school, everyone calls me Lola. All my teachers call me that. I’m going to get it again next week when school starts and I have new teachers. Sometimes I even get Iona. At least people in this town know how to pronounce it.”

A few years ago, Iola and Ivan searched her name on Google. That’s when they discovered the town in Kansas.

She and her father talked about taking a trip to America so she could visit Iola, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a delay on international travel.

They felt safe enough to take a trip this summer, but Ivan gave her a choice. Did she want a holiday in Europe or the United States?

Iola chose to visit the U.S. 

“I’ve never been to America before and I thought it would be quite cool to be somewhere with my name,” she said. 

Since arriving, they’ve driven through Illinois, Iowa and Missouri on their way to Kansas. On Friday, they’ll drive to St. Louis and see other sites before heading back to Chicago for the flight home next week.

“Before we came, I said I’d like to make some American friends, but it’s not that easy when you’re on the road,” Iola said. 

THEY’VE been quite fascinated by the differences between England and America.

First, there’s so much space here. Everything is spread out: the towns, and also the space between houses and businesses. 

The homes have large front yards and few fences. 

“Everything is really big. The houses are big. The plates of food are big. Even the duration of things is so long,” Iola noted. 

On the way to Iola, they stayed in cities of a variety of sizes, including Galena, Ill.; Cedar Rapids and West Des Moines, Iowa; and Independence, Mo.

In Iowa, they visited the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, where the movie was filmed. Ivan introduced Iola to the movie before they visited.

They also attended the Iowa State Fair.

In Kansas City, they went to a Royals baseball game. They’ll see a Cardinals game in St. Louis.

They especially enjoyed their visit to Iowa City, where they ate “an American-style breakfast.” Iola showed this reporter a photo of the giant plate of pancakes she ordered.

And speaking of food, Iola talked about the different names for certain items. In England, they call french fries “chips” and what Americans call chips, they call “crisps.” 

What Americans call cookies, they call biscuits, so Iola wondered, what are “biscuits” here?

This reporter explained and suggested they try “biscuits and gravy.” They both looked horrified when shown a photo of the dish.

They visited a McDonald’s so Iola could compare the fast food restaurants in England and the U.S. She was shocked to learn she could get a 10-piece chicken nugget meal here; in England, the meal comes with six pieces.

“It’s interesting to see what is the same here and what is different,” Iola said. 

IVAN has been to the U.S. before, covering sporting events for work.

For this trip, he’s trying to avoid the interstates and instead takes more scenic country roads. “We just tried to do all of the things you see in movies and you hear about,” Ivan said of their itinerary. 

It’s led to some interesting discoveries, such as passing by an Amish couple or going through tiny “ghost towns” with few businesses and dilapidated houses.

Ivan noted the price of petrol (gasoline) is much more affordable in the U.S. than in England, but the food is twice as expensive. He calculated the cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in England would be about $9.50.

He also explained that in England, unleaded fuel pumps are green. He drove into a gas station in the U.S. and pulled up to the green pump, only to learn it was diesel fuel.

He hasn’t had any trouble driving on the appropriate side of the road, but said he and Iola frequently try to get into the van on the opposite side out of habit. Ivan also is accustomed to driving a manual transmission, so he kept wanting to use both feet when driving the automatic van.

“Generally, your roads are so quiet because there’s so much space between towns,” he observed.

But perhaps one of the most significant differences they’ve noticed is the lack of recycling options in the U.S.

Whenever they stopped for food or supplies, they looked for places to recycle their used plastic bottles and other items. They couldn’t find many.

“It’s really surprising,” Ivan said.

Iola was shocked to be handed a plastic straw, wrapped in paper, at restaurants. Back home, she only uses paper straws. They stopped using plastic straws years ago. 

“You have no recycling here — not just Iola but everywhere,” Iola said, surprised. “In England, everything is recycled. You can’t put plastic in the rubbish bins.”

It was a timely conversation, as a group of Allen County volunteers are struggling to find a way to offer recycling in the community. 

Ivan also wondered: With all of the open space and the abundant sunshine, why didn’t he see solar farms everywhere?

“It seems so far behind,” he mused. “But then we’ve seen other things that were much more advanced.”

For example, at one restaurant, they saw a waitress followed by an automatic cart to help her deliver food. Once the cart was empty, it rolled itself back to the kitchen.

They also saw someone standing up on a lawn mowing machine, similar to a segway. 

THE TRIP helped them dispel some stereotypes about Americans.

“The impression we have of American people is that you’re all really loud. Not in an unpleasant way, just loud and too much in your face,” Ivan said.

“And yet, nothing could be further from the truth. We really do like the people.”

Everyone they’ve met has been very nice, they said, even in cities such as Chicago.

Almost no one asked about their accents or where they were from, which surprised Iola. 

“I’ve had a couple of looks, but no one said anything,” Iola said. 

During their time in Iola, they walked and drove around the town. They had dinner at Sharky’s, the newest restaurant in Iola.

Ivan said his impression of the town was “A place that was in decline but is pulling itself back up.”

Everywhere they went, Iola looked for signs that said “Iola.” She frequently posed for photos next to those signs.

Downtown, she found a streetside banner with a photo and information about Iola Colborn. She stood under it to pose for a photo.

So what was her impression of the town that shares her name?

“It’s really quite nice,” Iola said.

The latest in local news, right to your feed

Terms of Use| Privacy Policy