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Iowa Underground – How Coal Mining Fueled Dallas County’s Growth
There was a time when Dallas County was one of the most important coal-mining counties in Iowa. While this way of life vanished decades ago, the memories live on, from rooms at the historic Hotel Pattee in Perry to the coal-mining museum in the Waukee Public Library to the many descendants of mining families who still live in the area.
From Moran to Woodward to Waukee, Dallas County thrived with the increased demand a century ago for coal to power train locomotives and heat businesses and homes. Coal was a relatively cheap, plentiful energy source. With ample supplies of coal, Dallas County became a land of opportunity for immigrant miners from Europe and beyond.
Coal mining started in the Van Meter area as early as the 1870s. By the early 1900s, coal was discovered in Des Moines Township east of Woodward, leading to the creation of the Scandia and Phildia mining settlements. After the Phildia mine was abandoned in 1915 and the Scandia mine closed in 1921, miners moved on to the Moran mine, which opened in 1917 west of Woodward.
It’s not on most maps today, but there was a time when Moran was a bit of a boom town.Another mining town–Angus–was an even bigger boom town north of Perry. The Angus & Moran Room at the Hotel Pattee in Perry recalls the history of these areas, which are now little more than ghost towns.
Shuler Coal Mine and employees shown here on September 13, 1939, in Waukee, Iowa. The mine was open from 1921 to 1949. Source: Waukee Area Historical Society
Living with danger
On the opposite side of Dallas County, coal mining also transformed the Waukee area in the early twentieth century. The Harris Mine opened on September 20, 1920, just two and a half miles northeast of Hickman Road in Waukee.
By 1921, the Shuler Coal Company of Davenport, Iowa opened a coal mine on Alice’s Road, one mile east of the Harris Mine. At its peak production, the mine employed more than 450 men.
The Shuler Mine became one of the largest producers of coal in Iowa, and it had one of the deepest mine shafts–387 feet deep. The mine produced coal for Iowa State University, as well as for local railroads, businesses and homes.
The miners worked in the Shuler mine with the help of more than 30 mules, bringing up hundreds of tons of coal per day and millions of tons of coal over the mine’s 28 years of operation. The miners’ work day often started at 6 a.m., and they wouldn’t return home until 4 or 4:30 p.m.
Mining was dangerous, dirty work. Miners used dynamite, as well as heavy picks, to break coal loose from the coal veins. When the siren blew, it was a sign that a miner was in trouble, or there had been a cave-in.
“I can remember the whistle blowing in succession to let people know there had been an accident,” noted Angelo Stefani, whose uncle was killed in a mining accident. “I can also vividly member women coming out of their homes to see what happened. They were hysterical.”
Alice Nizzi was the founder and owner of the beloved Alice’s Spaghettiland, an Italian restaurant open from 1947 – 2004 in the Waukee area. Source: Waukee Area Historical Society
Life in Waukee’s coal mining community
The Shuler mining camp was home to Italians, Croatians and people of other ethnicities. Most families lived in small, simple houses with no running water, but they often raised chickens and tended enormous gardens where they grew a variety of vegetables.
Work wasn’t always steady. Dallas County’s coal mines often closed in the summer, when demand for coal dropped off in the warmer months. Miners would often work for local farmers or do odd jobs around the community to help pay the bills.
Some of the miners’ wives, especially those in Italian families, worked at local restaurants like Rosie’s and Alice’s Spaghettiland near Waukee to supplement the family’s income. Alice Nizzi (1905–1997) opened Alice’s Spaghettiland in the Shuler mining community just north of Hickman Road in 1947. The restaurant’s waitresses were required to wear white, starched uniforms. Alice’s became a destination and Waukee-area institution for decades until it closed in 2004.
The Waukee Area Historical Society hosted a fundraising dinner in the spring of 2014 featuring Alice’s spaghetti and Italian salad. Hundreds of people now attend this fun event, which has been held each April for the past few years.
Terzo Fiori (left) and Pete Nizzi enjoyed tasting their homemade wine. Excitement spread through Waukee’s mining camps when grapes were imported from California and shipped by train in two boxcars so families could make their yearly supply of red wine.
Remembering the grape trains
For Italian families in the Shuler mining camp, one of the highlights of the year was the arrival of the annual trainload of grapes for making homemade wine.
“Excitement spread throughout the camp when the train arrived, and most of the people from the mining camp came to help unload the box cars,” said Gilbert Andreini, whose memories are recorded at the coal mining museum at the Waukee Public Library. “It was like a celebration.”
The end of an era
By the time the Shuler mine closed in 1949, Iowans began looking to energy sources other than coal for home use, such as electricity, natural gas and heating oil. In addition, the railroads were converting from steam to diesel engines, reducing the need of coal for locomotives.
While Dallas County’s coal mines have vanished into history, those who grew up in the mining camps will never forget how these areas grew into close-knit communities. Everyone knew everyone else and helped each other out, recalled Bruno Andreini.
“I’m very proud of those times. Anyone from that community is like a brother or sister to me. Even though we were poor, we had things that were far more valuable than money.”
Note from Hometown Heritage
I originally wrote this as a guest blog post for Hometown Heritage in Perry. Here’s a note from Hometown Heritage:
If you’d like to meet Darcy, hear more of her stories, and enjoy some Dallas County-inspired snacks, Darcy will be speaking at Hotel Pattee on September 11th, 2017, from 7 – 9 pm as part of Hometown Heritage’s fall programming series. For more information on this, please visit our website.
You can also learn more about Darcy on her website (www.darcymaulsby.com), and her new Dallas County book is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Iconic State Fair Architecture- Historic Buildings Reflect Decades of Memories
The Iowa State Fair is a homecoming for Iowans, and the historic buildings that grace the fairgrounds in Des Moines provide iconic venues for this statewide family reunion. There’s also a lot of surprising history behind many of these structures, from the Agriculture Building to the Livestock Pavilion.
“The Iowa State Fair connects generations of Iowans,” said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who spoke during the opening ceremony of the 2017 Iowa State Fair on August 10. “There are so many wonderful memories and traditions here at the fair, which showcases the best of Iowa’s agricultural and cultural heritage.”
While the first Iowa State Fair was held October 25-27, 1854, in Fairfield, supported by a total operating budget of $323, the fair moved to its present location in 1886.
“The state fair moved to this site in Des Moines after the State Legislature and the City of Des Moines appropriated funds to purchase Calvin and Arminta Thornton’s farm,” said Leo Landis, state curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa, who helped lead an Iowa State Fair walking tour on Aug. 10. “One building original to the Thornton farm remains–Grandfather’s Barn, which is on the far eastern edge of the fairgrounds.”
Livestock Pavilion opened in 1902
Between the time the Fair Board purchased the land in June 1886 and when the fair opened in September 1886, crews constructed 67 buildings. “Of those, Pioneer Hall is the only one that remains today,” said Landis, museum curator at the State Historical Museum.
By the 1900 Iowa State Fair, most of the buildings built for the 1886 fair were still in use. They were beginning to show signs of decay, however, and roofs were particularly bad. It was time for the Iowa State Fair to clean up the fairgrounds.
One of the first new buildings added more than a century ago was the Livestock Pavilion. Back in 1901, more than 650 cattle were shown at the Iowa State Fair – only about 50 less than were shown that year at the International Stock Show at Chicago, Landis said. With future Iowa State Fairs expected to have even more cattle, the Iowa Legislature appropriated $37,000 for a fireproof steel-and-brick stock pavilion, similar to one that had just been constructed at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The Livestock Pavilion was the first major brick-and-steel structure built at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “By constructing buildings out of these materials, the Fair Board gave the fair a sense of permanence and safety at this location,” said Landis, who noted that the new Livestock Pavilion officially opened for the 1902 fair and has been used for stock judging, lectures, entertainment and more for decades.
A new Agriculture Building was constructed in time for the 1904 Iowa State Fair. This famous building is home to the beloved Butter Cow. The Agriculture Building is one of the finest examples of Double Jeffersonian architecture remaining in the world.
1904 State Fair showcased new Agriculture Building
A new Agriculture Building came along two years later, in time for the 1904 Iowa State Fair. Located at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Rock Island Avenue, the Agriculture Building was built along the route to and from the State Fair from the Rock Island Railroad depot.
From the beginning, the Agriculture Building has been used as the agricultural, horticultural and dairy building. It’s home to the famous Butter Cow and other butter sculptures, which have been part of the Iowa State Fair since 1911.
“The Homestead,” a well-known farm newspaper of the late 1800s and early 1900s published in Des Moines, touted the new Agriculture Building as “one of the finest structures for exhibiting products of the farm that can be found in the Central West.”
The building’s design was inspired by the Exposition Halls at the Columbian Exposition, the world’s fair held in Chicago in 1893. The Agriculture Building is one of the finest examples of Double Jeffersonian architecture remaining in the world.
“Building a structure of such grand scale – with 33,800 square feet of floor space – suggested to visitors that the Iowa State Fair was an event of both civic and social importance,” said Jessica Rundlett, special projects and outreach coordinator at State Historical Museum of Iowa, who assisted with the Iowa State Fair walking tour.
Kyle Andrews with the Wayne FFA chapter exhibited hogs during the 2017 Iowa State Fair. The Swine Barn was built in 1907.
Swine Barn design enhanced ventilation
When a new Swine Barn was constructed for the 1907 Iowa State Fair, the roof covered 185,000 square feet of stalls, exhibition areas and two central show rings that could seat more than 800 people. “The Homestead newspaper said you had to see it to believe its grand size,” Landis said.
The state appropriated $75,000 to build the Swine Barn. The building’s roof profile is designed to provide superior lighting and ventilation. The long open windows at roof level and open exterior walls draw in fresh air. Today you can see the Big Boar at the Swine Barn, as well as the Avenue of Breeds, which is coordinated by the North Polk FFA.
Horse Barn cost $25,000
The Horse Barn was completed in 1912 for $25,000 and renovated in 1929. Measuring 156 feet by 224 feet, the new barn could accommodate 132 draft horses and a like number of ponies, according to the Homestead newspaper. Th article also noted the new barn was equipped with water troughs, wash stands, sanitary feed mangers and automatic hayracks, Landis said.
The Horse Barn was completed in 1912 for $25,000 and renovated in 1929.
Cattle Barn named for Iowa farmer
The Iowa State Fair’s building boom of the early twentieth century included the new Cattle Barn, which opened for the 1914 fair. While the original barn could accommodate 108 head of cattle, the barn now has ties for 1,600 cows, thanks to multiple expansions through the years.
Among the early proponents of Iowa’s cattle industry was Iowa Governor William Larrabee of Clermont, Landis noted. Larrabee helped introduced Brown Swiss dairy cattle to Iowa after studying the breed and concluding Brown Swiss were best suited for Iowa’s climate.
Today, the Cattle Barn is named for John Putney, a farmer from Gladbrook who was also a long-time cattle exhibitor, president of the Sale of Champions and beef superintendent. Putney was appointed the first executive director of the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which has raised more than $135 million in the last 25 years to renovate and preserve the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
In 1915, the state legislature appropriated $14,000 to build a sheep pavilion. The Sheep Barn opened for the 1917 Iowa State Fair. The building is notable for the detailed terra cotta designs on the east façade, including a row of rams’ heads near the roof.
Sheep Pavilion opened for 1917 fair
During the Golden Age of Agriculture, state funding was available to construct a wide range of livestock barns at the Iowa State Fair. In 1915, the state legislature appropriated $14,000 to build a sheep pavilion. The Sheep Barn opened for the 1917 Iowa State Fair. The building is notable for the detailed terra cotta designs on the east façade, including a row of rams’ heads near the roof.
The legacy lives on
The Iowa State Fairgrounds was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It’s a fitting honor for a unique venue filled with many architectural marvels. “The late Bill Wagner, a preservation architect from Iowa, noted that ‘the complex contains a representative collection of almost all architectural styles for most of the past 200 years,’” Landis said.
Historic buildings are just one of the many reasons the Iowa State Fair is the best state fair in the nation, Reynolds said. “I’m extraordinarily proud of this tradition. Remember—nothing compares to our great Iowa State Fair!”
Take a virtual tour
The Iowa State Fair Walking Tour can be found on the Iowa Culture App. Either download the app, or log onto dcaapp.com. Click on the featured tour “Star” button on the right and look for the “Iowa State Fair tour.”
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Iconic State Fair Architecture: Historic Buildings Reflect Decades of Memories
The Iowa State Fair is a homecoming for Iowans, and the historic buildings that grace the fairgrounds in Des Moines provide iconic venues for this statewide family reunion. There’s also a lot of surprising history behind many of these structures, from the Agriculture Building to the Livestock Pavilion.
“The Iowa State Fair connects generations of Iowans,” said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who spoke during the opening ceremony of the 2017 Iowa State Fair on August 10. “There are so many wonderful memories and traditions here at the fair, which showcases the best of Iowa’s agricultural and cultural heritage.”
While the first Iowa State Fair was held October 25-27, 1854, in Fairfield, supported by a total operating budget of $323, the fair moved to its present location in 1886.
“The state fair moved to this site in Des Moines after the State Legislature and the City of Des Moines appropriated funds to purchase Calvin and Arminta Thornton’s farm,” said Leo Landis, state curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa, who helped lead an Iowa State Fair walking tour on Aug. 10. “One building original to the Thornton farm remains–Grandfather’s Barn, which is on the far eastern edge of the fairgrounds.”
Livestock Pavilion opened in 1902
Between the time the Fair Board purchased the land in June 1886 and when the fair opened in September 1886, crews constructed 67 buildings. “Of those, Pioneer Hall is the only one that remains today,” said Landis, museum curator at the State Historical Museum.
By the 1900 Iowa State Fair, most of the buildings built for the 1886 fair were still in use. They were beginning to show signs of decay, however, and roofs were particularly bad. It was time for the Iowa State Fair to clean up the fairgrounds.
One of the first new buildings added more than a century ago was the Livestock Pavilion. Back in 1901, more than 650 cattle were shown at the Iowa State Fair – only about 50 less than were shown that year at the International Stock Show at Chicago, Landis said. With future Iowa State Fairs expected to have even more cattle, the Iowa Legislature appropriated $37,000 for a fireproof steel-and-brick stock pavilion, similar to one that had just been constructed at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The Livestock Pavilion was the first major brick-and-steel structure built at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “By constructing buildings out of these materials, the Fair Board gave the fair a sense of permanence and safety at this location,” said Landis, who noted that the new Livestock Pavilion officially opened for the 1902 fair and has been used for stock judging, lectures, entertainment and more for decades.
A new Agriculture Building was constructed in time for the 1904 Iowa State Fair. This famous building is home to the beloved Butter Cow. The Agriculture Building is one of the finest examples of Double Jeffersonian architecture remaining in the world.
1904 State Fair showcased new Agriculture Building
A new Agriculture Building came along two years later, in time for the 1904 Iowa State Fair. Located at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Rock Island Avenue, the Agriculture Building was built along the route to and from the State Fair from the Rock Island Railroad depot.
From the beginning, the Agriculture Building has been used as the agricultural, horticultural and dairy building. It’s home to the famous Butter Cow and other butter sculptures, which have been part of the Iowa State Fair since 1911.
“The Homestead,” a well-known farm newspaper of the late 1800s and early 1900s published in Des Moines, touted the new Agriculture Building as “one of the finest structures for exhibiting products of the farm that can be found in the Central West.”
The building’s design was inspired by the Exposition Halls at the Columbian Exposition, the world’s fair held in Chicago in 1893. The Agriculture Building is one of the finest examples of Double Jeffersonian architecture remaining in the world.
“Building a structure of such grand scale – with 33,800 square feet of floor space – suggested to visitors that the Iowa State Fair was an event of both civic and social importance,” said Jessica Rundlett, special projects and outreach coordinator at State Historical Museum of Iowa, who assisted with the Iowa State Fair walking tour.
Kyle Andrews with the Wayne FFA chapter exhibited hogs during the 2017 Iowa State Fair. The Swine Barn was built in 1907.
Swine Barn design enhanced ventilation
When a new Swine Barn was constructed for the 1907 Iowa State Fair, the roof covered 185,000 square feet of stalls, exhibition areas and two central show rings that could seat more than 800 people. “The Homestead newspaper said you had to see it to believe its grand size,” Landis said.
The state appropriated $75,000 to build the Swine Barn. The building’s roof profile is designed to provide superior lighting and ventilation. The long open windows at roof level and open exterior walls draw in fresh air. Today you can see the Big Boar at the Swine Barn, as well as the Avenue of Breeds, which is coordinated by the North Polk FFA.
Horse Barn cost $25,000
The Horse Barn was completed in 1912 for $25,000 and renovated in 1929. Measuring 156 feet by 224 feet, the new barn could accommodate 132 draft horses and a like number of ponies, according to the Homestead newspaper. Th article also noted the new barn was equipped with water troughs, wash stands, sanitary feed mangers and automatic hayracks, Landis said.
The Horse Barn was completed in 1912 for $25,000 and renovated in 1929.
Cattle Barn named for Iowa farmer
The Iowa State Fair’s building boom of the early twentieth century included the new Cattle Barn, which opened for the 1914 fair. While the original barn could accommodate 108 head of cattle, the barn now has ties for 1,600 cows, thanks to multiple expansions through the years.
Among the early proponents of Iowa’s cattle industry was Iowa Governor William Larrabee of Clermont, Landis noted. Larrabee helped introduced Brown Swiss dairy cattle to Iowa after studying the breed and concluding Brown Swiss were best suited for Iowa’s climate.
Today, the Cattle Barn is named for John Putney, a farmer from Gladbrook who was also a long-time cattle exhibitor, president of the Sale of Champions and beef superintendent. Putney was appointed the first executive director of the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which has raised more than $135 million in the last 25 years to renovate and preserve the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
In 1915, the state legislature appropriated $14,000 to build a sheep pavilion. The Sheep Barn opened for the 1917 Iowa State Fair. The building is notable for the detailed terra cotta designs on the east façade, including a row of rams’ heads near the roof.
Sheep Pavilion opened for 1917 fair
During the Golden Age of Agriculture, state funding was available to construct a wide range of livestock barns at the Iowa State Fair. In 1915, the state legislature appropriated $14,000 to build a sheep pavilion. The Sheep Barn opened for the 1917 Iowa State Fair. The building is notable for the detailed terra cotta designs on the east façade, including a row of rams’ heads near the roof.
The legacy lives on
The Iowa State Fairgrounds was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It’s a fitting honor for a unique venue filled with many architectural marvels. “The late Bill Wagner, a preservation architect from Iowa, noted that ‘the complex contains a representative collection of almost all architectural styles for most of the past 200 years,’” Landis said.
Historic buildings are just one of the many reasons the Iowa State Fair is the best state fair in the nation, Reynolds said. “I’m extraordinarily proud of this tradition. Remember—nothing compares to our great Iowa State Fair!”
Take a virtual tour
The Iowa State Fair Walking Tour can be found on the Iowa Culture App. Either download the app, or log onto dcaapp.com. Click on the featured tour “Star” button on the right and look for the “Iowa State Fair tour.”
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Let’s Have an Iowa Potluck with a Side of History!
Dubuque is home to some of Iowa’s most distinctive culinary traditions, from turkey dressing sandwiches to the memorable meals served at the iconic Hotel Julien Dubuque. We’re going to be eating up all this local flavor at a potluck on Sept. 7 at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque, starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by my “Culinary History of Iowa” program—and you’re invited!
Click here for all the details.
In meantime, here’s a sample of some classic Dubuque recipes to tempt you. These recipes come from a variety of sources, including two cookbooks (including The Flavor of Dubuque and Another Flavor of Dubuque) compiled by The Women’s Auxiliary of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Not only do those cookbooks include tried-and-true local recipes, but they feature many photos of local landmarks. The third cookbook (Cedar Ridge Farm Recipes) appears to have been a collection of family recipes, and librarian Sarah Smith isn’t sure how it came to be in the Carnegie-Stout’s collection, but it’s charming.
Thanks, Sarah, for sharing these recipes and offering us a true taste of Dubuque!
One more thing–if you’re in Dubuque, stop by Cremer’s Grocery, a Dubuque classic since 1948, for their famous turkey dressing sandwiches and other goodies! Also, here are some fun facts about Dubuque, an All-American City that’s truly a “Masterpiece on the Mississippi:”
- Dubuque was settled by a French Canadian fur trader in the late 1700s named Julien Dubuque. In those days, Dubuque was known as the “gateway to the west.” Lead mining soon became the mainstay of Dubuque.
- There has been some type of hotel on the site of the Hotel Julien Dubuque since 1839.
- Some cool things to see in Dubuque include the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, along with the Fenelon Place Elevator Company, which is the world’s shortest, steepest elevator ride!
Source: American Realty
The Flavor of Dubuque (published 1971)
Page 26
Derby Grange Steak. The present owners of what was the main farmstead in the area west of Dubuque long known as Derby Grange found this recipe behind an old picture of President Harding left by the previous owners. Cut 1 thick round steak into 1-inch pieces. Pound very thin and sprinkle with flour, salt, pepper, a little cumin and dill. Poud again and brown pieces on both sides in a little butter or other fat. Place in baking dish and pour over 1 cup tomato sauce. Bake, covered, at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 7. Can be frozen. -Joan Mulgrew
A Dubuque original –24-Hour Cabbage Salad
Page 74
Dubuque 24-Hour Cabbage Salad. Dubuque was given credit for this recipe in a statewide newspaper story which featured foods enjoyed by Dubuque boaters who spend as much time as possible on “the best part of the Mississippi” in the golden days of summer. The salad should be refrigerated at least 24 hours before using. It will stay crisp for a long time. For the dressing combine 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin and 1/4 cup cold water; let stand to soften. Heat together 1 cup vinegar and 1 1/2 cups sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 teaspoon celery seed, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1 cup salad oil. Combine 6 to 8 cups shredded cabbage, 2 shredded carrots, 1 grated onion and 2 green peppers, grated. Toss with enough dressing to moisten and refrigerate 24 hours. Remainder of dressing will keep in refrigerator for weeks. -Mrs. Joseph S. Mattes
More recipes from Dubuque, Iowa
Another Flavor of Dubuque (published 1983)
Page 70
Welsh Rarebit. Shred 1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, put in double boiler and let melt slowly over hot water. Keep water below boiling point. Add 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, paprika, salt and a few dashes cayenne pepper. Stir in 1 cup milk or cream and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Mixture should be smooth and velvety. Serve on hot buttered toast. Strips of bacon are especially good over this.
Welsh Rarebit became a traditional Sunday night supper in the girls’ boarding school at Sinsinawa Mound (this is technically across the river in Wisconsin, but many of the students would have been from Dubuque.) The recipe’s simplicity and flexibility accommodated the varying number of returning students each Sunday night. It was sometimes served over tomatoes or ham. -Bette F. Schmid
Page 156
Dubuque Symphony Orchestra Auxiliary English Toffee. This delicious toffee was sold at the 1981 Designer Showcase, and the Auxillary has had many, many requests for the recipe. Line cookie sheet with foil. In heavy pan mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 pound butter, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cook quickly over medium high heat, stirring constantly, to a rolling boil. Cook to hard crack stage, 300 degrees on candy thermometer. Pour on cookie sheet. Cool and break into pieces. Store in air tight container. Do not freeze, refrigerate or make substitutions in recipe. -Mary Stauffer
Cedar Ridge Farm Recipes by Rita Tarnutzer Montgomery (published 1999)
Page 69
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Monster Cookies)
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup corn flakes
2+ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces chocolate chips
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.
NOTE from Rita: For Monster Cookies, form into 5 oz. balls and flatten into 7-inch diameter circles, two to a cookie sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 8 cookies.
In 1976, when Al had his first antique shop, on 16th and Central Ave., he had a huge glass cookie jar. His idea was to display a couple of really big cookies in it. Everyone wanted to buy them! So, I began baking these monster cookies, 32 at a time and selling them for twenty-five cents each. (They cost twelve cents each to make.) I couldn’t keep up with the demand, so he raised the price to thirty-five cents and still they sold. School kids stopped on their way home from school and bought a cookie to share!
Page 159
Turkey & Dressing Sandwiches
from Janet Duscher, 12/88
Bake in a covered roaster until meat falls from bones: 1 – 12 lb. turkey
Remove meat from bones and chop.
Cook together:
1 1/2 cups cooking juices
3/4 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sage
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 – 1 ½-ounce package dry onion soup mix
1 – 10 3/4 ounces cream of chicken soup
Cube: 2 loaves of day-old bread (about 6 quarts)
Stir together bread cubes, juices with vegetables and seasonings and turkey.
Bake in a greased pan at 350 degrees until heated thoroughly, about one hour.
Serve hot in buns.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Behind the Scene at Iowa’s Own Market to Market
If you’ve lived in Iowa, especially on a farm, anytime from the mid-1970s to today, there’s a good chance your family has tuned into Iowa Public Television (IPT) on Friday nights (or possibly Sunday afternoons) to watch Market to Market. That’s how it has been at my family’s Century Farm, and it’s a tradition that makes me proud to be an Iowan.
After all, Iowa is the home of Market to Market, which has covered issues affecting agriculture, from global trade conflicts to environmental controversies to changing technology, for more than four decades. Today, the weekly news segments and market commentary are geared towards the nearly 60 million people who live and work in rural America.
Even when I was too young to really know what Market to Market was all about, I could always identify the show by its music. I didn’t know the ending theme song was “Buy for Me the Rain” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I just called it the Market to Market song, and I’m glad it’s still part of the show.
History and tradition are part of Market to Market, the longest-running TV show of its kind. The first episode of Market to Market debuted on October 24, 1975, on IPT. Back then, the show was called “Farm Digest,” I learned from Dave Miller, a senior producer/director who has worked at IPT more than 33 years.
I met Miller in July when my family and I toured the IPT studio in Johnston. The tour came about after Josh Buettner, an IPT producer/director, visited our farm a few years ago to shoot a segment on water quality. He mentioned that if I’d ever like to watch a taping of Market to Market, he could arrange it.
I thought it would be cool to take him up on this unique opportunity, since my family has been Market to Market fans for decades. When we pulled up outside the gleaming white studio on a hot Friday afternoon in July, we felt like royalty as IPT staff members greeted us at the front door and welcomed us into the bright lobby. When we were ushered back to the control room around 4 p.m., I was amazed by how dark the rest of the building is.
As we took our seats around the edge of the room, it wasn’t long before a staff member called out “We’re 15 seconds away. Stand by everybody, stand by!”
At the word “go,” vibrant images flashed onto row after row of computer monitors that glowed against the black surroundings. “Thunder!” called out one producer as the famous Market to Market logo shot onto the screens.
About 10 minutes later, we were ushered across the hall into the cavernous main studio, where Market to Market host Mike Pearson sat at a spacious desk and prepared to interview analyst Tomm Pfitzenmaier. As the red digital numbers counted down on a monitor near us, it seemed surreal to watch the interview in progress, both in person just a few feet from us and on a TV monitor right in front of us.
As I took it all in, from the thick power cords snaking across the floor to the huge cameras to lights of all types hanging from the black ceilings, I wondered what the technology was like back when Chet Randolph hosted the show. Dave Miller filled in some of the gaps. “I can remember when we had to run the tapes to the bus station in Des Moines so they could be put on an express bus to Lincoln, Nebraska, which had the nearest uplink,” he noted.
Wow, times have definitely changed. Still, one thing hasn’t changed—the Market to Market team’s commitment to share timely news and ag-related feature stories each week. When the show wrapped up and I heard the familiar notes of “Buy for Me the Rain,” it was amazing to think that the segments recorded right in front of our eyes would be broadcast to 20 states from California to Tennessee in just a few hours—and it all starts right here in Iowa.
This piece originally appeared on Farm News.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
5 Ways a “History Head” Mindset Helps You Think Big
Want a secret weapon to gain more respect, get along better with others, excel at leadership, grow your business and just have more fun in life? Brush up on history.
Take it from this “history head.” A knowledge of history gives you deeper insights into yourself and others. When you become a “history head,” you gain an incalculable advantage over those who don’t have this mindset.
Here are 5 ways that becoming a “history head” will pay off and help you think big:
1. Discover the cure for the dreaded “presentism.” If you can only see the short term, you think only of the here and now. Losing all sense of perspective makes you prone to “presentism,” a sense of exaggerating present challenges out of proportion to all those challenges that have existed before.
2. Increase your odds of success. A knowledge of history is like a virtual time machine that lets you see the big picture. It’s easier to measure your current plans against things that have already occurred and weigh them against your aspirations for the future. While the nearsighted person sees only the present, and the dreamer sees only an imaginary future, often tripping over his or her mistakes trying to get there, a “history head” has a much stronger sense of reality and better chances of success.
3. Enjoy more career opportunities. History requires a complex skill set. It demands thorough research, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. You must study and interpret a variety of sources, including politics, law, economics, sociology, psychology, the sciences and the arts, to extract meaning. These are exactly the high-level skill sets that are required in today’s top jobs.
4. Become a thought leader. Like many modern challenges in our world, history can be extraordinarily complex. In an era marred by fake news, history endows you with a healthy skepticism and a capacity to question the world around you. As you delve deeper, you almost always find unanswered questions, unclear information or missing pieces of evidence. At some point, though, you must stop researching and start developing a credible course of action. It’s like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, except there’s no picture to serve as a guide, and some of the pieces are missing. The historian, like any thought leader, must weigh the evidence, think clearly, and become a strong communicator who can express a compelling, accurate point of view.
5. Make life better. At its core, history helps you learn what it means to be human. You explore timeless issues and challenges that have impacted generations of people, both past and present. These insights equip you to better understand and work with the people in your world. Perhaps the biggest gift of all? History helps you appreciate today while building a better tomorrow.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com, and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Why I’m Using a Powerful 500-Year-Old Technology to Make History–And You Can, Too
It’s always an exciting–yet nerve-wracking–moment of truth when months of research, writing and hard work end up at the one place where I have no more control—the printing press. There’s no turning back now for “Dallas County,” my third non-fiction Iowa history book, which is being printed as we speak by Arcadia Publishing, which specializes in hyper-local history. Can’t wait to show you the final result around Sept. 4!
I love the tried-and-true, old-school format of a printed, hard-cover book to share intriguing photos and the rich history of Dallas County, located just west of Des Moines. No Iowa county has influenced American history more than Dallas County. It propelled Harry Truman to an unlikely victory in the 1948 presidential campaign, following a fiery speech he delivered to 100,000 farmers on a sweltering September day at the National Plowing Match near Dexter. (Read all it about it here–along with my interview of a man who was there and took President Truman for a ride on his bulldozer!)
While Bonnie and Clyde escaped from the July 24, 1933, shootout with the law at the abandoned Dexfield amusement part north of Dexter, Clyde’s older brother, Buck, (shown here lying on the ground) was mortally wounded and died five days later at Kings Daughters Hospital in Perry. Buck’s wife, Blanche, was also captured at Dexfield.
Just 15 years earlier, a shoot-out near Dexfield Park marked the beginning of the end for infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde and the notorious Barrow Gang. (Yes, I was able to track down a lot of the crime scene photos and include them in the book, thanks to the wonderful volunteers at the terrific little Dexter Museum.)
The big-time names that have had a brush with Dallas County history don’t stop there. Dallas County has produced several major-league baseball players (among them Bob Feller and Hal Manders), a US congressman (David Young), and Nile Kinnick, the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner and University of Iowa football legend whose grandfather George Clarke, of Adel, served as Iowa’s governor from 1913 to 1917.
Today, Dallas County is one of the fastest-growing counties in America and remains a region of opportunity with a rich heritage of small-town living, farming, coal mining, and the immigrant experience. (If you like, you can pre-order the book on Amazon. If you want to wait for a signed copy, I’ll be selling them soon through my online store at my website.)
Pushing back against the dominance of digital
If you’ve got stories to share, whether for a business or for your own personal stories, why not take a look at a traditional book, or some other printed format? The print revolution is back in a big way. (Check out this great article to see what I mean.)
While digital technology swept the publishing world with the emergence of the ebook starting in 1999, inspiring some to proclaim the death of the printed book, ebook sales are plateauing. Sales of printed books are once again on the rise.
Printed books aren’t the only part of this intriguing phenomenon. Vinyl records are enjoying a rebirth, as well. This trend toward the analogue, particularly among millennials, could reflect a desire to connect to simple, tangible, non-digital things in our fast-paced, high-tech world. Perhaps it’s more of a longing to be unplugged now and then and occasionally tuned out. Whatever it foretells, the news that printed books are back is welcome here!
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Vintage and rural Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com and yettergirl@yahoo.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
Cruising Through Forgotten Iowa History on Lincoln Highway
If you ever travel U.S. Highway 30 across Iowa, you’re never far away from the Lincoln Highway, if not right on top of it. If you’ve ever driven on Interstates 80 or 35, you’re also enjoying a legacy of fast, efficient transportation that took root with the Lincoln Highway more than 100 years ago.
I was reminded of the Lincoln Highway’s pivotal role when I shared my “Culinary History of Iowa” program with 100+ Lincoln Highway enthusiasts from New York to California who met in Denison from June 20-24 for the Lincoln Highway Association’s 2017 annual conference. As attendees shared their stories with me, it was clear the Lincoln Highway’s magic hasn’t waned through the decades.
Perhaps we should all thank the founders of the Lincoln Highway for helping get rural Iowa out of the mud. Oh, that mud!
It’s obvious why Iowa needed to get out of the mud 100+ years ago.
As late as 1912, road conditions in the United States and Iowa were often deplorable, especially in rural areas. Few roads in the countryside were graded, and maintenance fell to those who lived along them.
The lack of paved roadways meant travel was always dominated by the weather. In wet weather, roads turned to mud and became impassable. During the winter months, you could be stranded on the farm for weeks if snowdrifts blocked the roads.
Iowans, like most Americans, were frustrated by poor road conditions, especially as the automobile’s popularity took off. Indiana native Carl Graham Fisher envisioned a solution. A tireless promoter of the automobile industry, Fisher had a track record of success, having joined a group of Indianapolis businessmen who invested in what became the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
At a dinner meeting in 1912 in Indianapolis, Fisher proposed the idea of a highway that would span America from coast to coast. Stretching nearly 3,400 miles, this “rock highway” named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln would follow the shortest, fastest, most practical route. Fisher’s goal was to finish the highway by the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The highway’s path would run from New York City to the Exposition’s host city of San Francisco.
Belle Plaine, Iowa, celebrates its rich Lincoln Highway history.
Established in 1913, the Lincoln Highway transformed automobile travel from a tortuous journey to an exciting adventure. In Iowa, the Lincoln Highway was built from Clinton to Council Bluffs, connecting the Main Streets of 43 communities along the way.
As the first coast-to-coast highway, the Lincoln Highway demonstrated the power of good roads for transportation and commerce. It accelerated the Good Roads Movement, which helped get Iowa and other states out of the mud. On a national scale, the Federal Highway Administration and interstate highway system decades later marked the culmination of these efforts.
This vintage postcard shows the historic Park Motel and Cronk’s Cafe in Denison along the Lincoln Highway.
While interstates often offer the fastest way to crisscross Iowa today, I’ve been taking the backroads, including the Lincoln Highway, on some of my recent excursions around Iowa. I got a kick out of “Travel Tips from the Past” that the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association recently posted on its website and also appeared in a Washington Post article. While these road-trip gems were first promoted in the early 1900s by etiquette maven Emily Post and fellow motorists Effie Gladding and Beatrice Larned Massey, they still hold true today:
• Stop on a whim. If you see an intriguing café, go in. I recently stopped at the Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine and enjoyed a delicious bowl of vegetable beef and noodle soup, an Italian beef sandwich and coleslaw, along with a side of history. This café has served locals and travelers since 1928.
• Pause to take in the view. It usually takes me awhile to get to my destination, because I stop often to capture rural Iowa’s beauty with my camera.
The Reed-Niland Corner in Colo has served travelers since the 1920s and is likely the only remaining spot on the entire Lincoln Highway that still features a café (try their homemade ham-and-bean soup and a slice of pie!), vintage gas station and motel.
• Eat local. I love supporting locally-owned businesses that preserve the history of the Lincoln Highway, from the Santa Maria Winery in Carroll to the fabulous Reed-Niland Corner in Colo. This Story County treasure has served travelers since the 1920s and is likely the only remaining spot on the entire Lincoln Highway that still features a café (try their homemade ham-and-bean soup and a slice of pie!), vintage gas station and motel.
No matter where your summer road trips take you in Iowa and beyond, long live the legacy of the iconic Lincoln Highway!
This story first appeared in my Farm News column in June 2017.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
Let’s stay in touch. I’m at darcy@darcymaulsby.com.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
About me:
Some people know me as Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, while others call me Yettergirl. I grew up on a Century Farm between Lake City and Yetter and am proud to call Calhoun County, Iowa, home. I’m an author, writer, marketer, business owner and entrepreneur who specializes in agriculture. Learn more at www.darcymaulsby.com.
The historic Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine has served home-cooked food along the Lincoln Highway since 1928.
Ethanol:Passion by the Gallon
What drives you? When I stopped by the Iowa Corn 300 at the Iowa Speedway on July 9, ethanol wasn’t the only driving force as Indy cars roared past the grandstand.
While the cars shot around the oval at speeds over 200 miles per hour, covering the length of a football field in less than a second, I was also struck by the passion that drives today’s corn-grower leaders. It’s a spirit fueled by a strong sense of history and a focus on the future as the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“Long before the Iowa Corn 300, the whole ethanol industry got started by visionaries who were tired of being captive to low corn prices and wanted to find a way to write their own ticket,” said Mark Heckman, a farmer from West Liberty and chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) who visited with me during the race.
Those visionary farmers included Thurman Gaskill, a Corwith farmer who served as ICPB’s first president in 1978. When this future ICGA president and state senator pumped Iowa’s first tank of corn-based ethanol (called gasohol back then) in the eastern Iowa town of Clarence, many people viewed this new fuel as just a corn-fed gimmick.
Corn growers like Gaskill were undeterred in their quest to provide a solution to the 1970s energy crisis and low corn prices.
Iowa Corn leaders found five filling stations willing to sell gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol in Clarence, Cumberland, Osage, Peterson and Fort Dodge. The fuel cost about 70 cents per gallon, and customers drove away with a free “This car powered by Gasohol” bumper sticker. The Fort Dodge station sold about 350 gallons in the first hour, mostly to farmers who pulled up in their pickups, according to ICGA.
Thanks to tireless efforts by Iowa corn grower leaders, ethanol grew from a dream into a reality. Here’s a look back with ICGA’s timeline:
1982: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces standards to reduce lead content in gasoline, paving the way for ethanol’s use as a replacement octane booster.
1985: The Ford Motor Company rolls out the first vehicles designed to run on unleaded gasoline.
1988: Iowa Governor Terry Branstad orders all vehicles in the state government’s fleet to run on ethanol-blended fuel.
1990: The federal Clean Air Act is amended to mandate the use of clean-burning additives to fuel, while the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait focuses attention on U.S. oil supplies and the importance of home-grown ethanol.
1996: The ICPB establishes Iowa’s first E-85 (85 percent ethanol) fueling station in West Burlington. (I admit—I love my flex-fuel SUV and always look for E-85 pumps when I’m on the road.)
1999: The ICPB hosts workshops with ethanol plant representatives and other ethanol supporters to develop new farmer-owned ethanol ventures.
2004: Iowa becomes the #1 ethanol-producing state for the first time.
2005: Congress creates the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gas emissions and spur economic development, especially in rural America.
2007: Iowa Corn develops a partnership with the new Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 (now the Iowa Corn 300) to promote higher blends of corn-ethanol fuels in high-performing engines.
2008: Corn prices soar to historic levels, triggering the food-versus fuel ethanol debate as food prices also spike.
2011: NASCAR adopts the use of E-15.
2017: More than 15 billion gallons of ethanol are produced annually in America, and ethanol is used in more than 95 percent of the fuel sold in America.
While I heard a lot about ethanol’s power and performance at the Iowa Corn 300, passion is also key to this remarkable story. “As we think back to the vision that earlier generations of farmers had for the corn industry and ethanol, it’s clear we need to keep promoting and reinvesting to move forward,” Mark Heckman emphasized to me. “Passion drives this industry.”
This column first appeared in Farm News in July 2017.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.
Small – Town Iowa Polo Teams Thrilled Depression – Era Crowd
What comes to mind when you think of polo? English royalty, perhaps, since this ancient, unique blending of athletic talents between horse and rider helped polo become the “sport of kings.”
Yet there was a time in northwest Iowa when polo reigned as the sport of the common people. It happened in an era when rural Iowans desperately needed a diversion, if only for a Sunday afternoon, from life’s harsh realities.
It all started in the early 1930s in the small Cherokee County town of Marcus. I first heard about this intriguing tidbit of local history from Beth Kingdon, director of the Marcus Public Library, when I shared my “Culinary History of Iowa” program at the library. “Since you like Iowa history, you might be interested in this,” said Beth, as she opened the 700+-page book “Pride in the Past Faith in the Future: A Historical View of Marcus, Iowa.”
Sure enough, right there on pages 157-158 a section titled “Marcus Polo Team” spun a long-forgotten tale of rural Iowa. “The Marcus Polo Team made history in the 1930s for the small but prosperous farm community, providing thrilling Sunday entertainment for residents far and near,” stated the article.
No doubt there were thrills galore, since there’s nothing subtle about polo. This is in-your-face, aggressive horsemanship at its best, demanding power, intense speed, balance, coordination, quick reflexes, strategy, well-trained horses and expert riders.
“Shucking corn develops a wrist, and that’s what polo takes”
The Marcus team consisted of local businessmen and farmers, including Gregory Kennedy, Kenneth (Kim) Bancroft, W.W. (Bill) Bass, Henry (Hank) Abels, Walter Garlow and Glenwood French (the alternate). The Marcus Polo Club boasted a “splendid field” just a mile and a half south of town, where polo matches were played on the W.E. Wiley farm (managed by Walt Garlow). “Two Marcus youths, Jimmy Hogue and Roy (Junior) Williams, were full-time groomsmen for Kennedy and Garlow,” the history noted.
Polo was introduced in Marcus around 1931. By the early to mid-1930s, there were polo teams and/or polo fields in Paullina, Primghar, Clarion, Sheldon, Spencer and beyond, including the famous Barnes Bros. polo team from the Cherokee/Peterson area.
The Marcus Polo Club gained a strong reputation by beating professional teams from Minnesota to Omaha and clinched the Iowa championship by defeating the Des Moines team at the Iowa State Fair. The Marcus Polo Club eventually expanded into two teams, the Purple Team and the Orange Team, which traveled as far away as Sioux City and Pierre, South Dakota, to compete.
The famed Marcus team even caught the media’s attention. In 1936, Country Home magazine devoted a page-long article to document this fascinating phenomenon on the Iowa prairie. Here’s a snippet from Paul T. Sturges’ feature story:
“But polo,” I objected. “Isn’t that a millionaire’s game?
“Practically everyone seems to think so,” said Kenneth Bancroft. “But around here, most of our players are farmers.”
We were talking in Bancroft’s meat market in Marcus. On the wall, pictures of sleek polo ponies flashed white-helmeted riders, a team as proud as the best of them.
“No, don’t get the idea polo is just a rich man’s game,” continued Bancroft.
“Bill Ginger started us going. We used farm horses for mounts. Bill lives up a Gaza, Iowa. He’s farming. Had played polo in the Black Hills, enough at least to get polo in his blood.”
To make a polo mallet, Bill unearthed an old binder roller, sawed out a chunk, drilled a hole into it, and inserted a lengthy of hickory wood into this homemade affair. “First thing they know, people saw Bill out in his pasture on horseback larruping a ball around,” Bancroft said.
Joe Hey, the harness maker, braided whang leather loops on the mallets’ handles. A local pasture provided the playing field, and it was game on. “On stock saddles cinched to regular farm horses, the boys, when the farm work was done, would make for the pasture and have a barrel of fun. The players lined up in center field. The umpire throws the ball out, and it’s in play until it crosses the goal.”
Those Iowa farmers knew their style of polo was a bit—unique. “If today’s crack polo players could have seen us then, they would have died laughing,” Bancroft said. “Imagine horses weighing 1,800 pounds galloping after a little ball.”
The rural Iowa polo players’ gear made the game affordable, from homemade mallets to second-hand Army saddles. “It was inexpensive,” Bancroft noted. “The town boys boarded their ponies with the farmers, who, in turn, found the extra horses came in handy during cultivating time. Corn-shucking time, our players would use their horses on the wagon and then in the evenings would throw on saddles for a whirl at polo. Shucking corn develops a wrist, and that’s what polo takes.”
Chukkers and shuckers
The talented Marcus Polo Club beat professional teams from Minnesota to Omaha and clinched the Iowa championship by defeating the Des Moines team at the Iowa State Fair. The Marcus Polo Club eventually expanded into two teams, the Purple Team and the Orange Team, which traveled as far away as Sioux City and Pierre, South Dakota, to compete.
In the 1930s, just like now, each polo team consisted of four riders and their mounts. The ideal polo pony combined intelligence, speed and stamina, with the ability to accelerate, stop and turn quickly. All horse breeds were allowed to play polo, but a majority ranged from 15-16 hands tall. (A hand is equal to 4 inches.)
“Each player [with the Marcus Polo Club] has two or more ponies, and, in general, have an excellent string of horses,” noted the Marcus history book.
The story also cited Slim Nix, the “wild-riding cowboy,” captain, coach and trainer of Paullina Pirates polo team, who said “a man gives his wife credit for half she does, but a polo player gives his pony credit for 75 percent of his good playing.”
Some of the Paullina players paid big money for the best ponies and gear. Dr. G.E. Van Tuyl played a gray horse, which he purchased in Idaho for $1,000. (That’s roughly $18,000 in today’s money.)
Horses and riders competed on an outdoor polo field measuring 300 by 160 yards. Outdoor polo games consisted of six chukkers (periods) of 7 minutes and 30 seconds each. The main objective? Defeat your opponent by scoring the highest number of goals.
What a spectacle this must have been during the Great Depression, when crowds of rural Iowans flocked to polo fields across the state. Though admission cost 25 cents to see the Marcus team play tough competitors like Omaha more than 80 years ago, the promised rewards were almost irresistible. “These horses can turn on a dime and give you 8 cents in change,” one ad proclaimed. “Everyone come and see this thrilling game.”
This column originally appeared in Farm News July 2017.
Want more?
Thanks for stopping by. I invite you to read more of my blog posts if you want more more intriguing Iowa stories and history, along with Iowa food, recipes and tips to make you a better communicator. If you like what you see and want to be notified when I post new stories, be sure to click on the “subscribe to blog updates/newsletter” button at the top of this page. Feel free to share this information with friends and colleagues who might be interested, too.
If you’re hungry for more stories of Iowa history, check out my top-selling “Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites and More” book from The History Press, as well as my Calhoun County” book from Arcadia Publishing, which showcases the history of small-town and rural Iowa. Order your signed copies today! Iowa postcards are available in my online store, too.
P.S. Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here.
@Copyright 2017 Darcy Maulsby & Co.