
Our Iowa Heritage: An Introduction. We might suggest you start here! Here’s how & why I got started collecting stamps, coins, and other Iowa memorabilia.
Iowa Celebrates: The 1950’s. Yup, it’s me, your humble guide, taking a brief look at my first decade on planet earth. Nothing earth-shattering here, but a fun trip back to the days of black-n-white television and Leave It To Beaver.
The Big Show – Meredith Willson’s Big Stage. In the fall of 1950, NBC-Radio debuted The Big Show – a high-budget, star-studded variety show designed to stop the public’s infatuation with the latest innovation in home entertainment – the television. While the effort failed to save radio, the show produced an abundance of amazing moments, including the debut performances of Meredith Willson’s classics: May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You, and The Iowa Fight Song.
Mapping Out My Iowa – 1951. This “official” State of Iowa Highway Map takes us back to 1951 – no interstates – no rest stops – no cruise control. Come drive across the Hawkeye State with this roadmap!
Growing Up in Mt. Pleasant – Old Threshers. Agriculture and Iowa go hand-in-hand. Look back with me at the by-gone days of steam-operated threshing machines, as celebrated annually in my home town of Mt. Pleasant: The Midwest Old Settlers & Threshers Reunion.
Iowa’s Own Rocket Man – Dr. James Van Allen. After years of conducting high-altitude research using hot air balloons, the advent of rocket science provides scientists with a whole new way of reaching to the stars. By 1958, the space race is on and Dr. Van Allen has SUI right in the middle of the fray. As a result, the Explorer space program makes landmark discoveries that impact space travel even to today.