Iowans You Should Know: Stories from the Iowa Almanac (new in 2021)Did you know that the Eskimo Pie® was invented in Iowa? So was the electric razor, the clip-on bow tie, and the self-filling fountain pen. Iowa was also the childhood home of four Academy Award®-winning performers, and three different Iowa-born musical acts had national #1 […]

In this 45-minute presentation, Jay N. “Ding” Darling visits with the audience, as an old friend, in his 11th office at The Des Moines Register. Beginning with his early years in Sioux City where as a young boy where he became aware of the natural world around him while developing skills as an editorial cartoonist, he […]

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). […]

6-on-6 Girl’s Basketball in Iowa: Traditions, Transitions, and LegaciesFor most of the 20th century, Iowa was known for its devotion to a unique form of women’s sport known as 6-on-6 girls’ basketball. As other states abandoned 6-on-6 in the 1970s, Iowa remained committed to this half-court game until 1993, when the final 6-player championship was […]

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). […]

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 […]

Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a career as a journalist and professor, and a comfortable home in San Francisco. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family farm in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put […]

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Voicing a Cause, Voicing a Self: Jane Addams at the Hull HouseThroughout her long career advocating the needs of impoverished immigrants, exploited laborers, youth criminals and war victims, Jane Addams valued Hull House, her settlement house in Chicago, as the center from which she and her colleagues could assist others, improve society and benefit themselves. […]

Greyhounds and Hawkeyes—Iowa in the Civil WarThe program details Iowa’s involvement in the Civil War from Ft. Sumter to the surrender at Appomattox. Although he focuses on the everyday experiences of a soldier in the field, Mr. Fargo also describes the situation on the home front and politics of the era. Audience questions are welcome.

This presentation tells the story of how Iowa events and changing attitudes from 1830-1861 influenced its Civil War roles; the evolution and changing status of laws affecting black Iowans; the role played by Iowans during the war, including key individuals and battles; the home front; and finally, the immediate and long-term impact on Iowa history.

Lekberg Hall www.simpson.edu