February 11, 1887 – Iowa City’s Deputy Marshal L.A. Clearman and his 15-year old son, Fred, complete a 138-day, 1,200+ mile Rite of Passage trip on the Mississippi River.

Between September 1886 and February 1887, Deputy Marshal Lewis A. Clearman and his oldest son, 15-year-old Fred Clearman, embark on a Rite of Passage journey, boating from Iowa City to St. Helens, Arkansas. Following in his steps as a Civil War soldier, Clearman takes his young son on a 138-day, 1,200+ mile journey, with Fred logging in his diary along the way. Come read about this father-son Mississippi River adventure!

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February 10, 1846 – Nine townships in Johnson County, Iowa are incorporated – including Washington Township, home to the Boller family beginning in 1853.

As Iowa became a state in 1846, 40-acre parcels were being sold at low prices to adventurous young men and women back east who wanted to start a new life. My Boller family bought eight parcels (320 acres) of rich farmland in Washington Township of Johnson County, Iowa, and by 1853 had begun a new adventure on land that is still being farmed by Bollers today.

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This Day In History is an Our Iowa Heritage blog series that offers you a little bit of Iowa trivia from a large selection of stories on our website. Subscribe to this FREE blog and you’ll get a new email from us daily. Click to learn more.

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February 9, 1934 – Iowa Historian – Professor Benjamin F. Shambaugh (above left) – is scheduled to be the featured speaker on Professor A. Craig Baird’s first edition of his WSUI radio show – Forensic Forum.

In 1925, Speech Professor A. Craig Baird came to Iowa City and continued a tradition he had started at Bates College in Maine – taking his debate teams overseas to compete with Oxford University students in England. Over the next 45 years, Baird built the modern debate program at Iowa, wrote and/or edited over 36 books on public speaking, and became known world-wide as “The Father of International Debate.”

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