Darcy Maulsby: Savor Iowa’s Culinary History

Polk County Conservation Board 12130 NW 128th St, Madrid, IA, United States

Savor Iowa’s Culinary History Savor Iowa’s amazing food heritage! Iowa’s delectable cuisine is quintessentially Midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences. From the chili-and-cinnamon-rolls phenomenon to Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa classics and savor a smorgasbord of other unique Iowa […]

Abby Dubisar: Farm Women as Global Citizens

Fairfield Public Library 103 W Adams Ave, Fairfield, IA, United States

Farm Women as Global Citizens: Post-WWII Authority of the “First Lady of the Farm”This presentation draws upon the lifework of Ruth Buxton Sayre, known during her lifetime as “First Lady of the Farm.” An Iowa native, Sayre was appointed to President Eisenhower’s agricultural policy committee and served as the president of the Associated Country Women […]

Jeff Stein: Making Waves

Bricker-Price Block 105 S Chestnut Ave, Earlham, IA, United States

Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa BroadcastingRadio and television exploded onto the scene in the 20th century and completely changed our lives. Today, we can hardly imagine a day without broadcasting. The development of radio and TV in Iowa was groundbreaking, and became the model followed by the rest of America. In his […]

Debra Marquart: Poetry, Music & the Environment

Dubuque County Library - Asbury Branch 5290 Asbury Rd, Dubuque, IA, United States

POETRY, MUSIC & THE ENVIRONMENTDebra Marquart is available to read from her creative work (poetry, fiction, memoir) and to perform music alone, or with her band, The Bone People. A singer-songwriter, Marquart fuses poetry, music, and storytelling in her performances. The topics in Marquart’s five books and ongoing research projects range widely to include the following: […]

Randy Lengeling: Grant Wood

LeClaire Community Library 323 Wisconsin St, Le Claire, IA, United States

Grant Wood: Artistic Rags to Riches—An American Success StoryThis is an animated PowerPoint presentation, with archival photographs and video segments, that looks at Wood’s personal life story, his artistic development and meteoric rise to international prominence as the leader of Regionalism, his controversial professorship at the State University of Iowa and his enduring legacy in […]

Monica Schmidt: The Seven Percent Evaluation

Sawmill Museum 2231 Grant St, Clinton, IA, United States

The Seven Percent EvaluationA 40-minute clinical analysis of Sherlock Holmes’s cocaine use throughout the 60 Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories. This presentation seeks to definitively answer the question of “Was Sherlock Holmes an addict?” from a modern viewpoint. Presentation is accessible to both professionals and general lay audiences.

Pete Grady: Unconditional Surrender

Anita Public Library 812 3rd St, Anita, IA, United States

Unconditional Surrender: A Visit with Ulysses S. Grant is a one-man show about the life and times of the Civil War General and 18th President of the United States. Pete Grady, the author and performer, has performed his show over 100 times at venues in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, South Dakota, Colorado, and Arizona. Grady is fully […]

Donald Shurr: Lewis & Clark in Iowa

Charles E. and Florence M. Lakin Community Center 61321 315th St, Malvern, IA, United States

Lewis and Clark in Iowa“Lewis and Clark in Iowa” begins with the story before the expedition: the sale of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States. Tracing the 1803 course from Elizabeth, Pennsylvania to St. Charles, Missouri, Shurr discusses the background of the many “players” of the expedition including York, the engages and Seaman. Moving […]

John Liepa: How Iowa Met Baseball

Dubuque County Library - Asbury Branch 5290 Asbury Rd, Dubuque, IA, United States

How Iowa Met Baseball: the Myths, the History, the PlayersOver the past century the setting for the spring passion of many Iowans has been the ballpark. This presentation explores the myths of baseball’s origins, the early history and evolution of the game, baseball’s journey to Iowa and the role of the Civil War in spreading its […]

David Connon: Iowans Who Fought Against the Union

Cascade Public Library 301 1st Ave W, Cascade, IA, United States

Iowans who fought against the UnionMost Iowans think that the state was solidly pro-Union during the Civil War. After all, some 76,500 residents fought for the North. In reality, Iowa Democrats formed a spectrum of dissent. The majority of Democrats opposed abolishing slavery (and yet favored the Union war effort); the minority sympathized with the […]

OJ Fargo: Just Before the Battle Mother

Belmond-Klemme Junior Senior High School 411 10th Ave NE, Belmond, IA, United States

Just Before the Battle Mother—A Visit from a Civil War SoldierMr. Fargo dresses in full Union Army regalia and focuses the first person presentation on an individual Iowa soldier’s Civil War experience. After a brief overview of the state’s involvement, the audience is introduced to a returning Civil War veteran (played by O. J. Fargo). […]

Rich Tyler: Your Grampa and Gramma’s Farm

Adair Library 199 Audubon St, Adair, IA, United States

Your Grampa and Gramma’s FarmFarming in the late 1800s and early 1900s represents a lifestyle of hard work, inventions, prosperity and depression. This presentation focuses on a typical farmer, Joshua Secrest, who developed a successful livestock farm. It also reviews the dramatic development of ingenious farm machinery and tools that enabled growth and prosperity. Secrest […]