Iowa’s Very Own – U.S. Postage Stamps.

Over the years, Iowa has produced a lot of very fine people. Regular, down-to-earth kind of folks who go on to make a pretty big name for themselves. The complete list is too long, of course, to offer – but we can share those unique women and men with strong Iowa roots, individuals the USPS have honored with commemorative postage stamps over the years. So here goes…

Of course, we begin by celebrating Iowa’s very own Herbert C. Hoover – the 31st President of the United States. A native a West Branch, Iowa, there have been two U.S. commemorative stamps honoring Hoover – the first was on August 10, 1965 (above middle) with the First Day of Issue Ceremony held in West Branch, and the second came in 1986, when the U.S.P.S issued a series of 35 stamps honoring all U.S. Presidents through Lyndon Johnson. We’ve posted several webpages honoring Mr. Hoover. Use the links below to learn more…

August 10, 1965 – Hoover Stamp Day.

An American President – Herbert Hoover.

Boyhood Days In Iowa – Herbert Hoover.

Ding Darling & Herbert Hoover – Two Iowa Friends.

Iowa, U.S. Presidents, & U.S. Postage Stamps.

3236qFDC — *(C-0187)* ***August 27, 1998 – Iowa’s very own – Grant Wood – is honored with a U.S. commemorative postage stamp.***

Once a high school art teacher at McKinley in Cedar Rapids, Grant Wood is recognized as one of the most important representatives of the artistic style of regionalism, which flourished in America in the 1930s. The majority of Wood’s paintings focused on the people and rural countryside typically seen in Iowa. (S-0054) (C-0188) (C-0186) (S-0049) (C-0165)

Click here to read more about Iowa’s iconic artist: Grant Wood.

940-CarrieC — *(C-0189)* **July 19,** **1948 – 100 Years of Progress of Women features Carrie C. Catt (center) includes Woman’s Suffrage (1995 issue).**

Growing up in Charles City as a farmer’s daughter, very few people expected Carrie C. Catt to be a world-changer. But over her 88 years, this ISU graduate became one of the key leaders of the American women’s suffrage movement. Her superb oratory and organizational skills led to ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote in August, 1920. Below – (S-0072) (S-0073) 1970 – 50th Anniversary of Woman Suffrage and 1998 19th Amendment – Celebrate the Century Series.

Click here to read more about Iowa’s Champion for Women’s Rights: Carrie C. Catt.

3098FDC — (C-0190) **1996 – Glenn Miller – Big Band Leaders Series.** Conductor, composer, arranger, trombonist, and U.S. Army (Air Corps) officer, Glenn Miller was, and remains, one of America’s most popular musical figures. Born in **Clarinda, Iowa on March 1, 1904**, Miller’s band played a mix of smooth, danceable ballads and crisp, driving swing numbers. At the start of World War II, Miller joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. He attained the rank of captain and then major, as leader of the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. While flying from England to Paris in 1944, his plane disappeared and was never recovered. Miller’s hit records include “In the Mood,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Sunrise Serenade,” and “Moonlight Serenade” – the band’s theme song. *For more on Glenn Miller – visit this website.*

**1998 – Jazz Flourishes – Celebrate The Century Series – Bix Beiderbecke**. In 1998, the USPS issued a stamp (U.S. 3184K) celebrating the Golden Age of American Jazz (1920’s). While the stamp identified no specific artist, one of those mentioned in the USPS press release was Iowa’s very own **Bix Beiderbecke**. **Leon Bismark Beiderbecke** was born in **Davenport, Iowa on March 10, 1903**. His rich contribution to jazz is celebrated annually with the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival, which draws thousands of fans into the Quad Cities each August.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans. Born into slavery a year before it was outlawed, Carver left home at a young age to pursue education and continued that training in Iowa – Simpson College in Indianola (1890-1891), agricultural science (Iowa State University -1894) and was the first black faculty member at ISU (1894-1896) earning a master’s degree. He would go on to teach and conduct research at Tuskegee University (1896-1943). Below – (C-0191) (S-0055) (C-0192)

Click here to read more about George Washington Carver.

(C-0193) (S-0056) William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody was an American soldier, a bison hunter, and showman. He was born on February 26, 1846, on a farm outside Le Claire, Iowa, but lived for several years in his father’s hometown of Toronto, Canada before the family returned to the Midwest, settling in the Kansas Territory. Cody started working at the age of eleven, after his father’s death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 15. During the Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.

(S-0060) Born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907, John Wayne was a leading Hollywood star for nearly half a century. Born Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne’s first starring role was in the 1930 film The Big Trail, Hollywood’s first epic Western sound motion picture. Nine years later, Wayne became a major star with the film Stagecoach. Wayne played the male lead role in 142 of 153 films, setting an industry record. As Hollywood’s most outspoken conservative Republican, Wayne was asked to run for President in 1968. He declined because he didn’t believe an actor could be elected to the highest office. Wayne was awarded an Academy Award for his role in the 1968 hit True Grit. President Jimmy Carter awarded the legendary actor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. This John Wayne stamp is the tenth issue of the Legends of Hollywood Series.

(L-0026) Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th president of the United States (1981-1989), became a highly influential voice of modern conservatism. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California (1967-1975). Reagan was a Midwesterner at heart, born in central Illinois (Tampico) on Feb. 6, 1911, Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932, when jobs were tight because of the Depression. Luck was with Reagan when he landed a broadcasting job at Davenport’s radio station WOC, which needed an announcer to broadcast University of Iowa football games. Reagan’s first assignment – for $5 and bus fare – was the Hawkeye’s Homecoming game in Iowa City against Minnesota on October 22, 1932.

3897-RReagan — *(C-0194)* ***President Ronald Reagan Cover featuring WOC/WHO Radio Career.*** *(S-0057) (S-0058) (S-0059) **Ronald Reagan – 100^th Anniversary (1911-2011)**.*

In the spring of 1933, partly because he had covered the Drake Relays so skillfully, Reagan was chosen to become chief sports announcer for WOC’s sister station, WHO in Des Moines. “Dutch” (a childhood nickname because of his “Dutch boy” haircut) gained national media exposure covering Iowa Football and recreating Chicago Cubs baseball games from the WHO studio in Des Moines via telegraph. During one game between the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, with the score tied 0-0 in the 9th inning, the telegraph went dead. Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams gained a superhuman ability to foul off pitches) until the wire was restored!

The 1999 Broadway Songwriters Stamp Series – released on September 21, 1999 – featured some of Broadway’s biggest names: George & Ira Gershwin, Alan Lerner & Frederick Loewe, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, Frank Loesser, and of course… Meredith Willson.

(S-0071) No collection of famous Iowans featured on U.S. postage stamps could ever be complete without Mason City’s very own – Meredith Willson. Composer/arranger/musician and author, Meredith’s biggest hit was his 1957 Broadway musical based on his growing up in small-town Iowa – The Music Man.

Read the full story here and visit our entire set of blogs surrounding Willson’s many talents.

In closing, we thought it also might be helpful to list the other U.S.P.S. postage stamps that – while not honoring a person – do directly celebrate an Iowa-related event or location. So here goes…

Way back on May 18, 1925, the U.S.P.S. issued two commemorative stamps honoring the 100th anniversary of the Norwegian immigration to America – Norse-American Heritage. The first day of issue ceremonies were celebrated in several midwestern cities with large Norwegian populations and included Decorah and Algona, Iowa! You can read more here.

In the 1930’s, the Great Depression was in full gear, but that didn’t stop Iowans from celebrating with the special U.S. Post Office Stamp-Day ceremony held for the new NRA commemorative stamp! On August 17, 1933, one such party came to Nira, Iowa – a tiny Washington County village of twenty people – making for one big stamp celebration like none other. Read more here.

In 1838 – Iowa became a U.S. Territory. On August 24, 1938, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, the U.S. Post Office issued a beautiful 3-cent commemorative stamp honoring this special Iowa Territorial Centennial celebration. Many thought that since the stamp featured Old Capitol, the ceremonies needed to be in Iowa City, but in this case, the capital city won out. Read more here.

On August 3, 1946, Iowa City finally had its own “first day of release” stamp day as the U.S.P.S. issued the Iowa Statehood Centennial commemorative stamp. Read more here.

Flags, of course, appear on U.S. postage stamps on a regular basis. In 1976 – celebrating the U.S. Bicentennial – and again in 2008, our Iowa State Flag appeared in a U.S.P.S. commemorative series featuring the 50 state flags of the United States. In 2000, the U.S. 29-Star Flag – which was created in 1846 when Iowa joined the Union – was celebrated as part of a U.S. flag series as well. Read more here.

In 1982 – in what some believe to be one of the most artistic stamp series issued by the U.S.P.S. – the Iowa State Bird: the Eastern Goldfinch, and the Iowa State Flower: the Wild Rose – appeared in a 50-state sheet of stamps. A similar 50-state sheet of commemorative stamps was released in 2002 and featured an old-time “Greetings From Iowa” postcard. Read more here.

In 1988, the U.S.P.S. issued a commemorative post card celebrating Iowa’s Territorial Sesquicentennial (150 years), and in 1996, the Iowa Statehood Sesquicentennial was celebrated using Grant Wood’s Young Corn artwork. Read more here.

Iowa was “discovered” by early French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet (1673), and the Lewis & Clark Expedition of the Louisiana Purchase (1804-1806), and Zebulon Pike’s Exploration of the Upper Mississippi River (1805) opened the doorway to The Father of Waters – the Mississippi River.

Of course, many Native American Tribes called ‘Iowa’ their home long before any white man ever set foot here, and there have been numerous U.S.P.S. commemorative stamps celebrating all of these events in Iowa history. For more details, click on the links below…

Meskwaki People – True Native Iowans.

Iowa – The Discovery 1673-1803.

The Louisiana Purchase 1803-1806.

Over the years, there have been numerous commemorative stamps that have honored The Mississippi River and its history of Bridges and Steamboats.

1856 – Bridging The Father Of Waters.

William J. Petersen – Iowa’s Steamboat Bill.