Events

At the Waterloo Public Library, a storyteller and discussion leader meet with families to read and talk about award-winning children’s books. Invigorating and inspiring children to think analytically, develop a lifelong interest in learning and reading, and create connections between storybooks and real-life situations.Originally created by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 1991, Prime Time […]

Debra 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: agriculture and rural […]

Off the Map: Stories of Abandoned and Disappearing Towns Around IowaThousands of towns and communities were established during Iowa’s pioneer and railroad era. In some instances, they were small towns built around the time of the height of a coal industry that just could not thrive while others supplemented the needs of the countless farmers, […]

Working with the Enemy: German, Italian and Japanese Prisoners of War in Iowa during the Second World WarAs part of a relatively quiet and under-publicized government program, thousands of enemy soldiers invaded Iowa in 1943. With the hugely successful 1942 Allied campaign against Adolf Hitler’s vaunted Afrika Corps in North Africa, the number of enemy […]

Hear Iowa Veteran’s Stories In Their Own WordsSurviving a Prisoner or War (POW) Camp, describing the sight, sounds and smells of Vietnam, feeling the bitter cold of a Korean winter. Sara has heard them all and wants to share these amazing first-hand accounts with you. No one speaks better about the experiences of war than […]

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 […]

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 […]

Gladys Black: The Legacy of Iowa’s Bird LadyThe late Gladys Black of Pleasantville was widely known throughout Iowa as a conservationist, educator and amateur expert on birds. Larry and co-author Jon Stravers have written a book about Gladys. Larry’s slide program acknowledges this colorful woman’s impact on so many Iowans.

American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. WallaceIn this one-act play based on the award-winning book of the same name by Senator John C. Culver and John Hyde, actor Tom Milligan portrays Henry A. Wallace, the agricultural innovator and founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred seed corn company who became US Secretary of Agriculture and […]

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 […]

As part of a relatively quiet and under-publicized government program, thousands of enemy soldiers invaded Iowa in 1943. With the hugely successful 1942 Allied campaign against Adolf Hitler’s vaunted Afrika Corps in North Africa, the number of enemy prisoners of war (POW) needing interment grew dramatically. Great Britain, no longer able to accommodate the increasing […]

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 […]