Recalling pleasant things and taking the time to dwell on them.
Welcome!
I’m Marty Boller – I’m a Hawkeye historian. My Boller family first arrived in America in 1816 and has been living here in Johnson County and eastern Iowa since 1853! I’ve enjoyed all the places I’ve lived over the years, but, as you might surmise by looking through this website, I have only one community that I truly love…
Welcome to Iowa City!
As a matter of fact, we love it so much, in 2020, my wife, Sandy, and I moved back here to live amongst the Hawkeyes, finding a nice townhouse that is literally only a few blocks from the home my parents built back in 1966 when I was a sophomore at City High. So now, enough about me. Allow me to tell you about our website…
I love Iowa City, Johnson County and its rich history,
I love collectibles that reflect our rich Iowa heritage, and…
I love hearing and telling people’s stories.
Here on our website you will find hundreds of Iowa-related stories. Stories of courageous men and women, some of whom you will be familiar with – many you won’t. Stories of those who have gone before us, many of which had no idea that they were leaving us a powerful legacy. Different people. Different times. Different circumstances. But two common themes – 1) Iowa, and 2) living a life of meaning and purpose. I invite you to join us in Our Iowa Heritage journey. Read a few posts – get a feel for what we do – sign up for our free daily blog.
Our Iowa Heritage is all about recalling pleasant things and taking the time to dwell on them.Like Van Jones (above), it’s our vision here at Our Iowa Heritage to keep these Iowans and their stories alive.The iconic Broadway star, Mandy Patinkin (below) – also on Finding Your Roots (April 27, 2024) – puts it this way…
“As long as there’s one person on earth who remembers you, it isn’t over.”With over 600 story pages & 600+ blog posts on our growing website, we suggest that you use one of our helpful indexes…
Click here to visit our Facebook page!Here at Our Iowa Heritage, we not only want to share the powerful stories of those names most everybody knows, but we also want to strive to bring you uplifting stories of those individuals who, for no other reason than racial or sexual prejudice, have been overlooked in our history. As our series Rich Stories of Diversity grows, we hope this story index will help you see that here in Iowa, we do have a very rich heritage of those who have gone before us – lighting the way.Here’s A Google Map – Iowa City & Johnson County Historic Places. We are fortunate to have over 100 historic sites across Iowa City and Johnson County that have been designated as landmarks by either the U.S. National Register of Historic Places or the City of Iowa City. 40+ have been designated as such by both! Here, we offer you an interactive resource in accessing all of these iconic properties in one place.As a board member of Johnson County Historical Society (JCHS), I want to personally invite you to visit the JCHS Museum in Coralville or one of the four historical sites that are part of our organization. Click here to find out more.As a board member of Friends of Historic Preservation (FHP), I want to personally invite you to become an active member of our organization. Help us preserve our rich Iowa City heritage! Click here to find out more.So… what’s your Iowa family story? You can read about Our Boller Story: From the Heartland of Europe to the Heartland of America here.
