Living History Farms

40 Famous Iowans - Catherine Beecher

2010-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Catherine Beecher was a 19^th century author and educator born in Long Island, New York. Beecher came from a very established family. They both touted the strong values of women that Beecher herself would come to believe in when she was an adult. She really pushed for women’s work in the home and strongly believed that women were to be moral role models for the young. One of her books, "Treatise on Domestic Economy” was a best seller when it came out in 1841. Its main purpose was to provide practical household advice that also symbolized the domestic virtues of life.

Unlike many others of her time, Beecher was not looking for a radical change in women’s rights. She fought for increased recognition, for all to see the true importance of the work women did do. She founded several schools that were devoted to training women to become teachers. Beecher also believed that women who were teaching others to live moral lives were the basis of a moral society. So while her beliefs were not radical, they still helped prove that women were no weaker than men. Catherine Beecher is a prime example of a woman who wanted change, but did not need to be overly aggressive to get it.

40 Famous Iowans - Modern Ioway Tribe

2010-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today much of the Ioway Native American tribes are not in Iowa, as much as they are around it. The main locations of the tribes are in Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. They are located along the Missouri River on a reservation that is approximately 2,100 acres. In Kansas, as of 1995, the population was 2,147. The tribe in Kansas and Nebraska is chartered under the Reorganization Act of 1934. Their first constitution was adopted on November 6, 1978. The body of tribes today that govern the Ioway is called the Executive Committee. All members within this committee hold 3-year terms, and then elections are undergone.

The tribe’s economy is mostly run by agriculture, cattle, grain processing and Tribal Bingo which later turned into a casino. The modern tribes do all that is possible to follow the lifestyles and customs of their ancestors. At Living History Farms, staff have worked closely with members of the Ioway tribe to create the 1700 Ioway Indian Farm. Visitors can experience how authentic crops were grown, where the tribe members would have lived, and typical “chores” an Ioway farmer would have done.

40 Famous Iowans - Sarah Huftalen

2010-09-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Born in Manchester, Iowa in 1865, Sarah Huftalen was born as a typical farm girl. Yet, the life she led would be called anything but typical for a Midwestern woman of her time. When she grew older she became a very accomplished school and college teacher. She married a man much older than herself and went on to care greatly for both her family and her life’s work.

What she is known best for however is her writing. Also, she wrote many essays, teacher’s guides and poetry. In total, she wrote over 3,500 pages about her life as a daughter, sister, mother, historian and public figure. She goes into great detail about her feelings, life through each of the stages and how her roles had intertwined, as well as he effects each role she lived had on her. In short, the diaries were an autobiography about her life in Iowa and show us the differences between women then and what struggles and triumphs they made it through during their lives.

40 Famous Iowans - George Schafer

2010-09-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Schafer Drug Store, which can now be found at Living History Farms, is named after George Schafer. Schafer was the Iowa Pharmacy Association’s first President. The store was named after him in honor of all the service he provided to the IPA in the late 1800s. Also, Schafer played a key role in creating the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, which created the first real regulation of pharmacy practice in the state. Today his drug store at Living History Farms is a part of the living museum based on the pharmacy practices in 1875. It does a fascinating job at showing some of the evolution behind a pharmacy as time went on. Schafer’s drug store will show visitors for a long time to come what a pharmacist’s job was like in the late 1800s.

These early drugstores were very important to smaller towns for medicines, household chemicals and much more. Druggists during this time were depended on for their abilities to compound medicines for their patients. Several times patients would actually skip visiting their doctor and go straight to the town’s pharmacist. They not only prescribed the medicines, they created them appropriately in mass. An interesting fact about pharmacists (druggists) during this time was that they were less concerned about patenting their medicines and more into patenting what was holding it. Several bottles designs were patented so other druggists’ could not copy them.

40 Famous Iowans - Fannie Farmer

2010-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Fannie Farmer was a famous culinary expert from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s. Her cookbook entitled Boston Cooking-School Cookbook became very popular and widely used at the time. In this cookbook Farmer introduced readers to standardized measuring utensils such as measured spoons and cups. Although Fannie’s family was very devoted to getting education, her hopes of going to college were crushed when at age 16 she suffered a paralytic stroke. For the next several years she did not attend schooling and was dependant on her parents to care for her. It was during this time that she found her love for cooking.

Eventually Farmer turned her mother’s house into a boarding house that soon earned a reputation for the great meals it served. It wasn’t until age 30 that Farmer was able to attend school again, and she attended Boston Cooking School. Up until 1889, she learned about all aspects to cooking and soon mastered the art. After graduating, she took a spot on the school board up until 1902. Later in her life she again lost the ability to walk. In these later years of her life Farmer lectured, wrote and created recipes for everyone to enjoy. To this day, Fannie Farmer is known for her organization and good food. In 1915, Farmer died at age 57 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

40 Famous Iowans - Isabella Beeton

2010-08-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Isabella Beeton, known by all as “Mrs. Beeton”, was a famous English writer known for writing Mrs. Beeton’s Book on Household Management. Beeton is one of the most famous culinary writers of all times. Born in London, England she was sent off to a school in Germany for two years where she became an accomplished pianist, before returning home. Her husband, Samuel Beeton, was a publisher of books and popular magazines.

From 1859-1861 Beeton wrote monthly in The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine. Then in 1861 her writings were made into a single volume, The Book of Household Management. The book includes over 1,000 pages along with over 900 popular recipes. This was the first cookbook to take the format of recipe with pictures that we still use in cookbooks today. The book’s only intent was to be a reliable source of good recipes, not a book with original recipes. The day after the birth of her fourth child in 1865, Beeton tragically died at age 28. In 1940, the Beeton’s home was destroyed by a German bombing raid. In 2006, BBC made a TV series called The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton.

40 Famous Iowans - John B. Newhall

2010-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

John Newhall came to Iowa from Massachusetts to travel Iowa during its earliest days of settlement. During his career, he published two books describing all of Iowa in general to settlers coming to the area. The books described terrain, weather, prices of different products and much more. They went into great detail as to talk about each county in particular and what made it unique. It talked about rivers, lakes, prairies and timbers.

The first book was entitled, “Sketches of Iowa, or the Emigrant’s Guide” and was published in 1841. The second was called, “The Emigrant’s Guide and State Directory” which was published in 1846. Newhall’s works did much to help bring more settlers into not just Iowa, but the Midwest in general. He also traveled the country lecturing about what to expect when getting to Iowa and preparing to settle. John Newhall gave settlers who were new to the area a great advantage. Without his insight, many may have not chosen to make Iowa their home.

40 Famous Iowans - Thomas Terrill

2010-08-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Thomas Terrill was born in Virginia in 1850. When Terrill was three years old, the family moved to Cedar County, Iowa where they started their own farm. By the time Thomas was eleven, he and his siblings were orphans as both his parents had died by this time. Thomas went to live with the Blaylock family and moved with them down to Keokuk, Iowa. By age twenty-one, Thomas started writing the diaries he is so well known for. Thomas Terrill had no formal education. The diaries span from 1871-1912. As was the case with so many other diarists of this time, Terrill wrote most about his day-to-day activities on the farm.

Although most of the diaries recovered by Terrill had to do with farming, later in his life he began traveling and several accounts of these times can be found as well. The diaries are an interesting read for those who desire more information on what farming was like every day during this time period. Today many of Terrill’s diaries can be found in Iowa colleges and museums.

40 Famous Iowans - Kitturah Penton Belknap

2010-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Kitturah Belknap was one of the very first pioneer settlers in Iowa. She came among the groups of the first settlers as a “trail woman” who kept pushing further west into the uncharted land. Several trail women settled in Iowa, but only a handful went further west, including Belknap. She did eventually finish her journey with the others in Oregon. These trail women challenged the stereotype of women being weak and insecure.

Belknap’s diaries give us so much insight on what the days were like for everybody out on the trail. She wrote about every detail about each day on the trail such as people passed, weather and terrain and even when they came across a nice family who offered a place to stay the night. Kitturah Belknap’s diaries give us as much information about the hardships faced everyday by the travelers. Belknap was a jack-of-all-trades on the trails. She helped with everything from navigating to cooking, even to helping the men save fellow travelers who had been taken during ambushes. She was a highly regarded woman in her group, and is highly regarded today as well.

40 Famous Iowans - Norman Borlaug

2010-08-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

The “father” of the Green Revolution is said to have saved at least one billion people worldwide with his advances agricultural research. Norman Borlaug is one of the few men ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as a medal in India. Borlaug won his Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. When he was informed of this by his wife he thought for some time that it was all a big hoax. His work with producing stronger variations of wheat more than doubled wheat production in Mexico, Pakistan, India, Asia and Africa, saving people from starvation. Norman Borlaug however did not just work on food production to help fight starvation. His other fight was that against deforestation, called the “Borlaug Hypothesis”. The hypothesis states, increasing the productivity of agriculture on the best farmland can help control deforestation by reducing the demand for new farmland.

Borlaug grew up around Cresco, Iowa where he was very active in high school sports. If it weren’t for his father telling him to get his education, he very well may have never left the family farm. His college career was done through a Minnesota two-year college then eventually Minnesota University. He did research for the United States Army after Pearl Harbor and created wartime products they were in need of. He researched and produced disease-resistant and dwarfed wheat to help the production flourish worldwide. In 1986 he created the World Food Prize as a way to distinguish people who helped sustain and advance food production in the world. Later in his life, he became a very distinguished professor in Texas. Borlaug’s achievements in his life saved the lives of so many others.

40 Famous Iowans - Henry A. Wallace

2010-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Henry A. Wallace led a very busy and politically impressive life. Wallace graduated from the Iowa State College (Iowa State University) in Ames. Wallace’s father was Henry C. Wallace, the famous editor in Des Moines. Henry A. Wallace himself did some editorial work for Wallace’s Farmer from 1910-1924. He did some studies on corn a little later in his life and published several agriculture articles on the subject. Wallace started a small seed company which today is Pioneer Hi-Bred. It was acquired by DuPont back in 1990 for around ten billion dollars.

He spent much of his life exploring different religious beliefs. His beliefs even took him to working closely with the Russian, Nicholas Roerich. Eventually Wallace decided on Episcopalianism. In 1933, he became Secretary of Agriculture to Franklin Roosevelt’s cabinet; he served this position until 1940. November of 1940, Wallace was elected as Vice President, on the ticket with Franklin Roosevelt. At this position, Wallace was in charge of a couple different boards that proved to be very important to the United States Army as they entered World War 2. Other milestones in his career were the Secretary of Commerce in 1945, and he ran for President in 1948 as a part of the Progressive Party. After his years as a Politician he went back to the life of a farmer. During these years he made several advances in agricultural science. In 1965, Wallace died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, but his agricultural and political accomplishments will long be remembered.

40 Famous Iowans - William G. Murray

2010-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

The founder of Living History Farms was born in 1903 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1924 he received his B.A. in economics from Coe College, his M.A. from Harvard University in 1925 and his PhD in 1932 from Minnesota University in agricultural economics. For a brief period of time in the mid 1920s Murray served as a graduate assistant in the agricultural economics department at Iowa State. For a brief period after this he served as the Assistant Agricultural Economist with the United States Department of Agriculture then returned to Iowa State as an assistant professor.

In 1958 and 1966 Murray ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Iowa. The Farms takes visitors on a tour of 300 years of history of farming. But he was passionate about giving back to Iowa and had a dream of creating a museum where visitors didn’t just look at static items under glass, but were able to participate in a “living history” museum. In 1970, he founded Living History Farms. The Farms recreated 300 years of agricultural history. A 1700 Ioway Indian Farm, an 1875 faming town, and a 1900 horse-powered farm. Each farm has authentically- grown crops and historic varieties of livestock. Although Dr. Murray died 1991, his dream lives on today at Living History Farms.

40 Famous Iowans - Chief Mahaska (White Cloud)

2010-08-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Ioway chief was born in the late 1700s along the Des Moines River in southeast Iowa. He became chief at a young age due to the murder of his father by an enemy tribe during an ambush. Mahaska proved himself however during a retaliatory attack on the Dakota tribe, killing its chief. The chief and another member of the tribe were arrested for the murder of two French-speaking traders. Although the two were convicted, they later managed to escape from prison. It is said that many questions regarding legitimacy of the jurisdiction was in question, but ignored. During his time as leader, in the early 1800s, the leader position became harder to handle as the tribe dealt with diseases and almost constant war with other tribes. In 1819, Sauk and Meskwaki warriors ambushed the main Ioway village killing close to a third of its population. Another huge problem Mahaska and his tribe faced were settlers moving into the Ioway tribe’s land. Soon after this Missouri was annexed as a state, taking away millions of acres from the Ioway. Mahaska realized it would be impossible to fight everyone off, so he began working on a peaceful coexistence with the new neighbors.

Later in his life, he moved down to the area of Agency, Missouri where he began a lifestyle like that of the Anglo-American. From this point on, Mahaska was against any kind of physical violence. Every time fights broke out he did all he could to seek peaceful resolutions. Even when Mahaska’s own son was killed, he found “revenge” in assisting in the arrests of the eight who were involved in the plot around Omaha. However, in 1833, one of the men convicted of the murder escaped prison, tracked down Mahaska and murdered the beloved Ioway chief.

40 Famous Iowans - Governor Robert Ray

2010-08-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Robert Ray served as Iowa’s 38^th Governor from 1969-1983. From Drake University he received both his B.A. in 1952 and his Law Degree in 1955. It was during Ray’s time in office that the Iowa Constitution was changed, giving governors four-year terms instead of two. From 1975-1976 Ray served as the chair of the National Governors Association. Other associations he was the chairman of included: Republican Governors Association, Midwestern Governors Association, and the Education Commission of the State and was the president of the Council of State Governments. The executive orders he promoted ranged from civil rights, energy conservation, paperwork reduction as well as several other important issues. Ray also had the pleasure of being Iowa’s first Governor to call the Terrace Hill Mansion, home.

He also put a lot of time and effort into the United Nations Conference starting in 1979. He received the Iowa Award in 2005, which is the highest civilian honor that can be attained. In 1975, Ray set up ways for fleeing Vietnamese to take refuge in the United States and eventually obtain citizenship. Ray enacted the first laws in the nation protecting Native American burial grounds in 1976. Later, in 1982, Ray was the first recipient of the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice. Robert Ray was an extremely popular Governor who still to this day has an active role in public affairs for Iowa.

40 Famous Iowans - B.F. Allen

2010-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Franklin Allen (people called him Frank), moved to Iowa in 1851, soon after Iowa became a state. Allen was on his way to becoming Iowa’s first millionaire from good investments in the banks. The pioneer banker and real estate agent soon became an Iowan tycoon in the two industries. Allen built the Terrace Hill mansion as his family home in 1866. He built the famous mansion as a tribute to his great wealth. The infamous Black Friday of 1873 and the panic that followed proved terrible for the young tycoon and he lost everything. After this personal tragedy, Allen was forced to sell his home to his lawyer, Frederick Hubbell in 1884. Hubbell’s family lived in the mansion for a short period before they donated it to the state.

Allen’s mansion today is a National Historic Landmark, as well as the home of the state’s Governor. Today B.F. Allen is buried in Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines. Although Benjamin Allen later in life made some financial mistakes, he still can be recognized as Iowa’s first millionaire. Also, without his masterful work in architecture we wouldn’t have the unique mansion we have today.

40 Famous Iowans - Henry C. Wallace

2010-08-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

The eldest son of “Uncle” Henry Wallace, Henry C. Wallace was from Rock Island, Illinois. As he was growing up the family moved to Winterset, Iowa so his father could go after his journalism endeavors. Henry became his father’s apprentice during this time. In 1885 he entered what is now Iowa State University and met his future wife. He quit school and moved to Orient, Iowa with his new wife. However, in 1892 he decided to move back to Ames and finished school with a degree as a Professor of Dairy Science.

The following year Henry teamed up with his brother John and a professor they knew by the name Professor Curtiss to publish Farm and Dairy, which is now known as Wallace’s Farm. As an interesting note, the Wallace family actually became very close with the great African American scientist, George Washington Carver. Carver and Wallace had little expeditions around Ames. Later, Wallace gave credit to Carver for his interest in botany. When his father died in 1919, Henry C. Wallace took over as the editor of Wallace’s Farm.

Another huge accomplishment made by Wallace was his leadership in the formation of several Des Moines groups such as: 4-H, YMCA and The Red Cross. In 1921 he was appointed Secretary of Agriculture under President Harding. During this time Wallace did all he could to help struggling farmers after the First World War. After his death in 1924, another of his books were published, Our Debt and Duty to the Farmer.

40 Famous Iowans - George Washington Carver

2010-08-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

George Washington Carver was one of the greatest scientists of the 20^th century. The effects of his inventions can still be felt today. In 1864, Carver was born into slavery Diamond Grove, Missouri. He was very sick and frail throughout much of his childhood. At one point he and his mother were kidnapped by a band of raiders and found days later by a neighbor who traded him back to his own in return for a race horse. Carver’s life was full of milestones and achievements.

From 1925-1927 alone he received three patents. It was his time spent on the farms during his slavery where Carver fell in love with plants. He made it his life mission after being a slave to finding uses for nature and its plants, specifically southern agriculture. What he is probably best known for were his techniques in crop-rotation and nutrient conservation in soil. Also, his over 300 uses for the peanut and several others using soybeans. Everything from cooking items to soaps to ink was made from peanuts. There were also several inventions made from sweet potatoes and pecans as well. His hundreds of inventions did the south so much good that it revolutionized their economy, taking off some of their deep needs for cotton.

Due to his skin color, Carver was rejected by several schools and couldn’t start schooling until age 12 in southwest Missouri. When ready for college Carver was again rejected by Highland University due to his race. In 1890 he was accepted by Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. As his interests in the field grew however he transferred to what is now Iowa State University. He was so successful there that in 1894 after graduating he was offered a teaching position, the first for the school. He worked in the greenhouses as an agriculture and botany professor. Many of the hundreds of uses from sweet potatoes were utilized as well. Although Carver received patents for some of his products he never patented any of them. He wanted his work to be available for everyone to use, for the good of mankind. Carver’s work helped everyone, even up until today and he received equality and respect from all. In 1990 he was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

40 Famous Iowans - ‘Uncle’ Henry Wallace

2010-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Henry Wallace, called Uncle Henry by many, was a man who loved to preach about rural Iowa. His congregation was made up of friends, loved ones and other families in his area. Wallace grew up in Pennsylvania and went to seminary in Ohio, then was ordained a Presbyterian clergyman. Through the 1860s he traveled to Iowa in the Davenport area and did his preaching. Soon after he borrowed some money and bought a piece of land in Iowa, this is how he found his ability to sell land at a profit.

In 1877 he had to retire from ministry due to struggles with tuberculosis. In 1879 he started writing in the Winterset Chronicle on agricultural topics. In 1885, working out of Winterset, Wallace started writing for the Des Moines-based newspaper The Homestead. In 1985 Wallace resigned due to editorial differences. Wallace’s writings encouraged new farm practices, getting women and children more into the work as well. In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him on the Country Life Commission. Both Henry’s son and grandson eventually became secretaries of agriculture under the Roosevelt and Harding administrations. Uncle Henry Wallace died from a stroke as he sat in a front pew waiting for a morning session to begin of a ministry convention in Des Moines. Many people loved and adored Henry Wallace, his writings and his preaching.

40 Famous Iowans - Annie Wittenmyer

2010-07-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Born in Sandy Springs, Ohio Annie Wittenmyer was born into a family that focused on education. For this reason, despite being a girl, she was allowed her schooling. Early in her life, Wittenmyer was interested in poetry and by age 12 had published her first poem. When she was 20, she married William Wittenmyer and the couple moved to Keokuk, Iowa in 1853. As she grew up with a family dedicated to education, Wittenmyer’s life early on had the same focus. The same year she started the first tuition-free school. The school also provided clothes and food for those who were needier.

Once the Civil War started she changed her focus to relief work. She became the secretary of the Soldiers’ Aid Society and visited troop encampments where she organized local aid systems to help better collect hospital supplies that were always needed. When it came to the Union army, Wittenmyer did more than anyone else to aid the soldiers. The poor conditions of the camps upset her and she made it her new mission to do something about it. She urged her fellow Iowan women to send food to the wounded soldiers. As the problem became better recognized, Wittenmyer was put in charge of all hospital kitchens for the Union army. When the war ended, she worked day and night to find homes for orphaned children as a result of the war. Today she has orphanages all around the state. In 1862 she was appointed to the Iowa State Sanitary Commission, a first for a woman. At age 72, in 1900, Wittenmyer died in Pennsylvania. Annie Wittenmyer was one of the most important women to the Union army during the Civil War.

40 Famous Iowans - Annie Savery

2010-07-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Annie Savery came to the U.S. as a young girl from her home in London. She was a self-educated woman who taught herself to read and write in both English and Spanish. She was called sharp-witted and brilliant by her peers. In 1853 she married a man by the name James Savery who was a businessman in New York. The following year the couple came to call Des Moines home, at this time Des Moines’ population was around 1,500 people. Soon after moving in, James bought a small log hotel in Des Moines, which Annie spent much of her time helping to manage. This small hotel became so successful it allowed James the money to get into the real estate business and buy a few more hotels in the area, becoming known as the Savery Hotels. From this business the family obtained a worth of around $250,000 ($3.5million today).

Savery’s biggest contributions came in the 1860s when she got involved with the Iowa Woman’s Suffrage Association. In 1870 she helped found the state suffrage association and established Iowa’s first women’s suffrage society in Polk County. At this same time she served on the executive board for the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. While she served; the association was under huge pressure due to their new ideas about woman’s freedoms. During this time when several other suffrage members kept quiet, Savery spoke her mind and didn’t back down. Annie Savery was a clear thinker and hard worker for what she believed was right and fair when it came to the rights women should have.

40 Famous Iowans - Amelia Bloomer

2010-07-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Born in Homer, New York in 1818 Amelia Bloomer played a very significant role when it came to women’s rights and temperance issues. Although she only had a couple of years of formal schooling herself, she became a teacher and was known for her intelligence among her friends and co-workers. In 1840, she married a prominent lawyer Dexter Bloomer. He was very supportive of her interests in temperance and social issues. He encouraged her to write in his newspaper the Seneca Falls County Courier. Eventually, though, she started her own publication in 1849 called The Lily.

Initially, she was primarily writing about temperance and social issues but this developed into a passion for women’s rights, as well. Amelia’s writings caught the attention of national suffrage leaders such as Susan B. Anthony who urged her to do more with her work. Many saw her articles as inflammatory and out of place, but at the same time, circulation was growing. Her interests led her to join several different temperance and women’s rights groups. In 1848, she took part in the famous Seneca Falls Convention.

In 1855, Bloomer and her husband moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Amelia also became known for a new dress style. She believed that women should be allowed to wear less restrictive clothing. The “Bloomers” dress style was a loose fitting pair of trousers gathered at the ankles to be worn with either a skirt or dress. This fashion piece became fairly popular. Eventually, Amelia made her way up to joining to Iowa State Suffrage Association, becoming the head of the association from 1871-1873. Her passion for social issues, temperance and women’s rights is a very important part of Iowa history.

40 Famous Iowans - Martin and Ellen Flynn

2010-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Martin and Ellen Flynn were penniless Irish immigrants who made Des Moines their home. He began his life in Iowa by carrying water to railroad construction crews. By his thirtieth birthday, he had become a wealthy entrepreneur. In 1867, Martin Flynn purchased 600 acres of farmland to the northwest of Des Moines. In 1870, Martin and Ellen built their dream home, a 14-room Italianate country home, which had several amenities that most houses of the time did not. The house still stands to this day atop Walnut Hill and is the centerpiece of Living History Farms.

Martin Flynn, who started out in Iowa so humbly carrying water to railroad workers, would end up making his fortune from that same industry. At this time, thousands of Irish men and women were migrating here and finding jobs with the railroad. Due to his talents however, Martin became one of the most sought after contractors. Flynn eventually owned 1700 acres of farmland, one of the largest farms in the Midwest. On this farm, he raised some of the finest shorthorn cattle in the country. Flynn was a catalyst in setting up other businesses in Iowa as well. These included the Flynn Dairy and Peoples Savings Bank (now Bankers Trust).

Ellen Flynn made her home a well-known social gathering place. Martin and Ellen raised a large family and many of their children went on to have successful careers of their own. In 1916, the Flynn farm was sold to the state of Iowa as a prison farm. This purpose caused extensive damage to the home. Once the organization Living History Farms was established, the home went through major renovation. Thanks to the dream of the Flynn’s, we all today can enjoy the hands-on history lesson that is called Living History Farms.

40 Famous Iowans - Richard and James Clarkson

2010-07-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Newspaper content in early Iowa was much different than we read today. The news consisted of local events primarily; rarely did they read about events in other states, much less other countries. In 1855, the Clarkson family moved to Grundy County, Iowa. In 1870, Mr. Clarkson and his two sons, James and Richard, purchased the Iowa State Register (now the Des Moines Register). The elder Clarkson was the agricultural editor until his death in 1890. Both sons, Richard and James, learned the printing and newspaper business from their father.

James was an editor for the family newspaper. In addition, he has become known as the greatest editorial writer in Iowa. He was also the Des Moines postmaster for several years. James received offers from four U.S. Presidents to join their cabinets and for reasons unknown, turned them all down.

His brother, Richard was the business manager of the Iowa State Register and later became the sole owner and editor as well. In 1902, he became the pension agent for Iowa and Nebraska and sold the paper. For just over thirty years, the Iowa State Register was totally owned and operated by one Iowa family, the Clarksons.

40 Famous Iowans - Alexander Clark, Sr.

2010-07-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Alexander Clark, Sr. was one of the most prominent community leaders of Muscatine, Iowa. He was born, however, in Pennsylvania. His father was a slave who was eventually given his freedom by his owner. Early on, Clark, Sr. traveled the country doing miscellaneous jobs along the way such as a barber, bartender, and firewood salesman. In 1842, he landed in Muscatine, Iowa where he continued with the occupation of being a barber. He was actually very successful with this at age sixteen. At the same time, Clark began investing in real estate and accumulated a small fortune.

After Clark was married, he and his wife came to be very well-known in Iowa. When they tried to have their 12 year old daughter Susan admitted to public school in Muscatine, she was denied. The Muscatine School Board thought that Susan was unfit to attend their all white school. In 1868, Clark, Sr. filed a lawsuit to the Iowa Supreme Court. He spoke on behalf of his daughter. The court found in the Clark’s favor and Susan was allowed to attend the school. This court case, it could be noted, took place almost 100 years before the notorious Brown v Board of Education case in Kansas. He had to go through the same dilemma with his son when he was denied entry into the University of Iowa. His son, Alexander Clark, Jr., did, however, become the first African American to graduate from the University. Clark, Sr. himself became only the second African American to graduate from the University of Iowa at the age of 58 years old. He became a non-traditional college student to set an example for other young African American men. The father and son went on to practice together in Iowa and Illinois.

This case goes to show that even then African Americans who spoke their voice to government could be heard despite all the other injustices to the people at this time. Clark also became a very well-known member of the Republican Party. He died in Liberia in 1891 while serving as the U.S. Minister to Liberia. He had been appointed by President Harrison. This is thought to have been the highest appointment of an African American by a U.S. President to that point in history.

40 Famous Iowans - Washington Freeman Peck

2010-07-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

From fairly early on, Washington Peck knew what he wanted to study and make his life’s work, medicine. Growing up in Galen, New York, Peck started studying the science of medicine at age eighteen. Washington Peck attended Bellevue Medical College of New York. This was the first school in the country to blend clinical and didactic teachings. During his time at Bellevue College, he spent two years as House Surgeon in Bellevue Hospital. In 1863, he graduated with highest honors. Soon after graduating he joined the military as a surgeon for the next eighteen months. His work in the service won him official commendation for the work he did at Lincoln General Hospital.

In 1864, he was relocated to Davenport, Iowa where he gained substantial recognition for his special attention to surgery. In 1867, Peck was made President of the Iowa State Medical Society. Just two years later, in 1869, Peck went in front of the trustees of the University with the idea of adding a medical department to the school. To his surprise, the board liked the idea and helped Peck through the preliminary steps to start the medical department. When the department was established Peck was named Dean and Professor of Surgery. The medical department struggled for years due to financial problems and rivalry from other hospitals. Thanks to Peck’s vision and hard work, a premier educational institution and hospital would eventually flourish in Iowa.

40 Famous Iowans - Mary Potts

2010-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mary Potts of Ottumwa, Iowa came up with her idea of the “sad” irons with detachable handles. They were called “sad” because they were heavy irons. Her creation was then patented in 1871. This was unheard of at the time because women’s rights still had not taken off and women could not even vote yet. So, to have a female inventor was really quite unusual. The invention was simply a detachable handle for pressing irons. Several irons could be kept on the stove to heat. The handle could attach to one and be used until the iron cooled and then the handle could be easily switched with to another hot iron. Potts claimed that her irons were insulated with a filler material that was a non-conductor of heat to keep the irons hot for longer periods of time.

She exhibited her invention at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. If it isn’t incredible enough that she received a patent at this time, there’s more. She also received patents for several variations to the original “sad” iron. Potts’ product was widely manufactured and sold in both the U.S. and Europe. Today, her invention is well-known by antique collectors. This “sad” iron changed forever a very laborious and lengthy household chore of ironing.

40 Famous Iowans - Judith Foster

2010-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Judith Foster was born in Massachusetts in 1840. Foster was an American lecturer. She lectured on a wide variety of topics and published a book in 1882 entitled Constitutional Amendment Manual. She also wrote several pamphlets concerning temperance as well. In 1869, she moved to Clinton, Iowa with her son and husband. She studied law and in 1872, was admitted to the State Bar.

Foster was officially the first woman to practice law in Iowa. While initially she practiced on her own, later in her career, she formed a partnership with her husband. She also became one of the first women to practice in Iowa’s Supreme Court. She later focused on another strong interest which was temperance work. She became the superintendent for the Legislative Department of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. During this period, she became a rigorous supporter and advocate for better women’s suffrage in politics. In 1907, she was appointed as a special agent of the Federal Department of Justice.

40 Famous Iowans - Arabella Babs Mansfield

2010-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Arabella Babs Mansfield was the first woman allowed to take the bar examination on June 9, 1868 in Chicago, Illinois. She passed with high scores, making her the first female lawyer in the United States.

Born in Burlington, Iowa in 1846, Mansfield was raised in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. In 1862, she attended college in her hometown at Iowa Weslyean College. Graduating as valedictorian after only three years, she taught for a while at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, before moving back to Mt. Pleasant where she married John Mansfield. John was a professor at Iowa Wesleyan and he encouraged his wife to study law. She was very close to her brother, Washington, himself an attorney, and she studied in his law office in preparation for the exam. Prior to Mansfield taking the bar, the state of Iowa had a law in place to allow only white males over the age of twenty-one to take the exam. As a result of Mansfield passing this exam, in 1869, Iowa became the first state to admit women to the practice of law. However, after being sworn in, Mansfield did not actually practice law. Instead, she focused on teaching and activist work.

Her teaching continued at Iowa Wesleyan and DePauw University in Indiana. Here, in 1893, she became a Dean of the School of Art. Another true passion was her work with the National Woman Suffrage Association. She worked closely with Susan B. Anthony on several issues. In 1980, Mansfield was inducted into Iowa’s Women’s Hall of Fame. There is a statue in Mansfield’s honor on the campus of Iowa Weslyean College.

40 Famous Iowans - Robert Reid

2010-07-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

It was in the mid-1800s when Robert Reid, the creator of Reid’s Yellow Dent corn, found his new type of corn. Once the seed was created, it quickly became the most popular field corn seed. Reid was from Illinois, but his creation of this variety of corn helped the entire Midwest, including Iowa, where his discovery was made by accident.

When an older version of dent corn called “Gordon Hopkins” was mixed with the native “Little Yellow” corn, the new corn mutation was created. In the 19^th century, Yellow Dent corn was considered one of the most productive open pollinated varieties corn. From 1870 through 1900, Reid’s sons helped refine and improve the corn. In 1893, the corn won for Best Agricultural Product at the World’s Fair. At that it, time produced 35 to 45 bushels of corn per acre.

Today, the Yellow Dent corn can be found in small stores that save their own seeds or it can be ordered. Reid’s Yellow Dent has also been used for developing hybrid seed corn. Reid’s discovery has continued to allow producers in the Corn Belt to have access to a strong, successful seed. Therefore, it can be said that Reid’s creation helped feed many people and helped bring to life other new types of seed corn as time has passed.

40 Famous Iowans - Joseph Dain

2010-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Joseph Dain owned Dain Manufacturing, producing “Dain” tractors, hay handling equipment, and other farming equipment. Dain’s company was originally founded in Missouri, but eventually moved to Ottumwa, Iowa in 1909. Dain Manufacturing Limited was bought out by John Deere in 1911. Dain was the first to produce a tractor that was All Wheel Drive. This was a huge progressive step for farmers and is still used today. Only 100 Dain tractors were produced starting in 1918, while John Deere had been working on prototypes since 1912.

Not long after, John Deere put a halt to the production of Dain tractors for a different, cheaper version called the Waterloo Boy. These tractors were produced until 1924. In 1923, John Deere’s Model D tractor was being mass produced, making the Waterloo Boy model obsolete.

Joseph Dain was a true driving force behind the production and design of tractors. When Dain died, people started to question whether John Deere as a company would survive. They made it through their hardships by producing at least 100 of the All Wheel Drive tractors that Dain has designed. The other big event that saved John Deere was World War I. Deere began producing war equipment instead of farming equipment in 1917.

40 Famous Iowans - Elizabeth Koren

2010-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Koren was the wife of a Lutheran minister who traveled to Northeast Iowa from Norway in the 1850s. Elizabeth’s husband was the first Norwegian Lutheran minister west of the Mississippi River. He was also responsible for purchasing the land where today Luther College is located in Decorah, Iowa. During the family’s travels Koren made a journal dated from 1853 to 1855. The diary talks about everyday life and how lonely and hard was for families who relocated from other countries. Her husband was a very busy man, considered to be a patriarch to the area. The diary also recounted what it was like for four adults and two children to live in a one-room log house throughout the winter.

Elizabeth Koren’s husband, Ulrik Vilhelm Koren was largely responsible the settlement of Norwegians in America. In addition to his ministry, Ulrik was an author and a theologian. Today, Decorah, Iowa is the home of Vesterheim Museum. This museum is dedicated the Norwegians who traveled to America sharing their cultures and traditions. The Koren home is included among its historical structures, as well. While Ulrik Koren is well-known for bringing the Norwegian heritage to this part of the country, we can also learn much from his wife Elizabeth who was brave enough to move her entire family to a new world and culture.

40 Famous Iowans - A.W. Livingston

2010-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Alexander Livingston, originally from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, was a pioneer in the seeding industry. He began his farming career in 1844 when he leased some farmland. In 1852, he was able to purchase his own farm. He moved to Des Moines, Iowa and started a seed company in 1880. It wasn’t until 1898, however, that his company came to be known as Livingston Seed Company.

Livingston and his company created over 30 different varieties of tomato. He planned and worked to improve the shape, texture, flavor, as well as many other characteristics about the fruit. His first release was in 1870 and was called the Paragon. It is claimed that this tomato is the first perfectly uniform and smooth tomato on the market. In the 1930s, their industry began to change. Livingston’s company was struggling to survive and moved into field seeds. In doing this, they decided to drop tomatoes from their line. Even so, A. W. Livingston’s legacy is the tomato.

40 Famous Iowans - Carrie Chapman Catt

2010-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Raised in Iowa, Carrie Chapman Catt had a strong interest in teaching. After only briefly studying law, she was appointed the principal of a high school one year after graduating from Iowa State College, as it was called until 1945. Two years later, she was the Superintendant of Schools for Mason City.

In 1885, after she and her husband moved to California, he died. While in California she worked for a short time as a newspaper reporter. She soon returned to Iowa and joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association as a lecturer. In 1890, she became a delegate for the National Woman Suffrage Association. Due to Catt’s diligence and organization she quickly gained additional responsibilities within the association. In 1895, she became the Head of Field Organizing. Her co-workers soon recognized what a great asset Catt was. She was even being noticed and trusted by Susan B. Anthony, a prominent American civil rights leader. In 1900, it was decided that Carrie Chapman Catt would take over as President after Anthony retired. However, four years later Catt was forced to resign her Presidency to take care of her ailing second husband, who later died in 1905.

From 1904 to 1923, she created the International Woman Suffrage Association and, along with that, in 1915 was re-elected to be President of the NWSA once again. One of her biggest accomplishments in a stellar career was assisting in the passage of the 19^th Amendment in 1920 which provided women the right to vote. Catt was one of the most admired and dedicated people in the history of women’s suffrage.

40 Famous Iowans - George G. Wright

2010-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

George Wright was born in Indiana in 1820, but was a leader in the legal area for the state of Iowa. He was a lawyer, Supreme Court justice, law professor, and a United States Senator for the Republican party of Iowa. Throughout his childhood he attended private school to get his education and graduated from Indiana University in 1839.

During the years of 1847 and 1848, he was the prosecuting attorney for Van Buren County. He was also a member of the Iowa Senate for two years. He eventually became a justice on the Supreme Court until 1860 when he took a break for a few months, but returned for the next ten years until September of 1870. Seven of those years, he was the Court’s Head Justice. In 1865, Wright moved to Des Moines. Along with Justice C.C. Cole, Wright established the first law school west of the Mississippi River and it was called the University of Iowa College of Law. From 1865-1871, Wright served as a professor at the school.

In the 1870s, he was elected to a six-year term in the United States Senate. Following the years he served in the Senate, Wright returned to his practice in Des Moines and entered the banking industry, eventually becoming the President of Polk County Savings Bank. In 1887 and 1888, he was named President of the American Bar Association. Wright did a lot of governmental work for the state of Iowa and also for the United States as a whole.

40 Famous Iowans - Nacheninga, Chief No Heart of Fear

2010-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Nacheninga was a distinguished leader of the Ioway tribe in the early 1800s. Chief No Heart of Fear was a delegate to Washington, D.C. His goal was to negotiate treaty agreements with the United States Government. One common way Nacheninga would assist in these negotiations was his hand-drawn map of where the Ioway tribes had moved and were living. He used this map to support his argument that the Ioway tribes had been living in the area long before other tribes and the Europeans. Today, the map is still used by 1700 farm interpreters to provide information to museum visitors.

When it was necessary, Nacheninga was a hard, ruthless warrior, fighting in several tribal wars. At age fifteen he joined a war party that was led by his brother White Cloud. Chief No Heart of Fear was a vicious fighter both on the battlefield and in his negotiations with the government. This toughness and willingness to fight earned him respect from both his fellow tribe members and others outside his tribe. This visionary leader contributed greatly to the sovereignty of the Ioway tribes. Without his help, the Ioway people would have possibly left the area all together as others began to settle there.

Nacheninga was involved in negotiating treaties throughout the mid-1800s. These signings show us that the ruthless fighter and negotiator looked at all means of peace besides war and battle. Although seen by some as only a ruthless leader, it is fair to say Nacheninga was a man of peace, as well.

40 Famous Iowans - Lyman Dillon

2010-06-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the 1830s, when paved roads became more and more of a necessity, Lyman Dillon was hired to start the job. At the time, some members of Congress were reluctant to pass a bill to allow roadway improvements. However, supporters won over the opposition when they referred to the roadways as “military roads” in their proposals. Improved conditions would aid soldiers in transporting their supplies across the state. R.C. Tilghman, the town mayor, surveyed the terrain and hired Dillon to plow a furrow along the designated route. This 86-mile trek would run from Dubuque to Iowa City.

In the fall of 1839, Dillon began the project and was paid $3 an hour. He used a team of 10 oxen to plow and had two horses pulling a supply wagon. Although in the end, the military never actually used to the road, it was very important in expanded eastern Iowa. The road was also an important piece of progress for several towns along its route.

Dillon later attended college in Utica, New York. He also had other jobs which included agriculture, water power and the railroad system. Dillon worked hard to move the progress and development of eastern Iowa forward.

40 Famous Iowans - Maxi’diwiac Waheenee (Buffalo Bird Woman)

2010-06-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Buffalo Bird Woman was from the Hidasta Native American tribe in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. There are several different accounts of the skills she practiced such as food preparation, weaving, and gardening, for which she is best known. All of her gardening techniques were published in a book known today as, “Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden”. These Hidasta farming methods were very close to those of the Ioway Indians. The book written by Bird Woman is used by museums today as a primary source of insight to how tribes farmed at the time.

Along with the book, Buffalo Bird Woman generously shared her knowledge with others who came to her with farming and gardening questions. For the Hidasta tribe, having a garden next to their earth-made home was one of the tasks completed when settling in. Gardens grew bigger as years passed and more food was needed. At the start of each growing season in April, sunflowers were planted, then later harvested and eaten. Many long hours of hard work were put into a family’s garden.

Buffalo Bird Woman and the Hidasta Native American tribe show us today what popular gardening and farming techniques were common in this time. “Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden” explains that gardening was an important key to a tribe’s survival.

40 Famous Iowans - George Catlin

2010-06-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

George Catlin’s interest in Native American customs was sparked at a young age. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he was told stories of the Native Americans on the western frontier by his mother. This ignited an interest which turned into a lifelong career. After a Native American delegation stopped in Philadelphia, Catlin started studying and following what he called the “vanishing race”. Catlin spent his time traveling the west documenting Native Americans and their customs throughout the 1830s. Also during these years, he traveled Europe spending time with Native Americans who remained relatively untouched by European civilization.

From these experiences, Catlin created numerous paintings and published several books. His artwork provides a look into the life of the Native Americans including how they dressed and many of their customs. One of Catlin’s best-known writings was “Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians”.

After his travels, Catlin created a traveling museum where he gave public lectures about his various paintings and shared stories from his own experiences with the tribes. One of his ultimate dreams was to have the U.S. government buy his paintings so his life’s work would be preserved. Today, hundreds of his paintings are on display in museums around the country, including several hundred in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Without George Catlin’s insightful paintings, people today would know much less about Native American dress and customs. This vivid artwork of Native American families and their customs, offers us a great history lesson of the time.

40 Famous Iowans - Benjamin Gue

2010-06-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

Gue emigrated to Iowa from Green County, New York when he was 24 years of age. Known for many things, Gue was a well-known newspaper and magazine editor in Fort Dodge and Des Moines, Iowa. In Fort Dodge, Gue was the editor and publisher for Iowa Northwest newspaper for nine years. While in Des Moines, he was the editor and publisher for The Homestead newspaper. Later, he wrote a four-volume series of the history of Iowa from the beginning of the state’s settlement and served as Iowa’s Lieutenant Governor from 1866-1868. He was a farmer, as well as a famous lecturer, and a supporter of the Iowa Agriculture College, later named Iowa State University.

Gue invested much time and energy with the Iowa Agriculture College by signing bills, actively supporting and serving as the college’s President of the Board of Trustees for a period of time. Gue devoted much of his attention to gathering material to create a vivid history of Iowa.

Benjamin Gue was considered one of the most prominent men of the state government. He was one of Iowa’s best and brightest journalists and also proved himself to have great executive ability. Thanks to the writings that Benjamin Gue published of different periods in Iowa’s past, we have a vast resource of historical documentation.

40 Famous Iowans - Marie Dorion

2010-06-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

Marie Dorion was the Ioway Indians’ version of Sacajawea. Being the only woman on the expedition from St. Louis to the Oregon Territory, Dorion gained recognition for her courage and endurance during the trip. Her purpose on the trip was to assist a group of American explorers in their exploration. During the expedition, the group experienced much adversity such as starvation, weather and ambush. Dorion brought her family along for the 11-month expedition, including two children, making the hardships for her even more brutal.

In Eastern Oregon, the group was ambushed, losing several members of the party. The ambush, along with starvation and errors in judgment, killed a quarter of the exploration team before reaching their planned destination. However, Dorion and her two children were able to complete the entire journey unscathed. After making it to Astoria, Oregon, she joined another group headed out on a beaver trapping expedition. Coincidentally, again her expedition was attacked, this time killing the entire group except for herself and her two children.

Once the journey ended, Dorion settled with her family in Willamette Valley, Oregon. She remained here until she passed away in 1850. After her death Marie Dorion’s neighbors spoke of her as a very admirable woman.

40 Famous Iowans

2010-05-28T12:18:00.001-07:00

Over the next few months, we're undertaking a special project in honor of our 40th Anniversary. Interspersed with our regular entries, we'll focus on 40 Famous Iowans. From the "Sacajawea" of the Ioway Tribe to a man who helped found Iowa State University, we will honor the strength and spirit of these Iowans. With their adventures, discoveries, writings, documents, and more, Living History Farms is able to showcase the great history of Iowa.

New Emeritus Board Is Formed

2009-06-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

Thanks to former LHF Board member, Gov. Terry Branstad, and Alice Murray, Living History Farms has started its first Emeritus Board. Gov. Branstad is Chair with Alice as Honorary Co-Chair. The Board’s purpose is to keep the passion alive with continued connection to Living History Farms by past LHF Board members.

The responsibilities of Emeritus Board members are to:

A. Serve as advocates of Living History Farms and its programs;

B. Provide feedback to the Board of Directors and staff;

C. Provide advice and technical expertise to the staff on a project specific basis;

D. Assist in targeting others, whose interest and support are important to the sustainability of Living History Farms,

and

E. Assist and advise the Board of Directors in fund-raising efforts, where appropriate.

Their 2009 Project: assisting in the planning of our 40^th Anniversary.

Current members are: Gov. Branstad, Alice Murray, Garland Carver, Bill Classen, Roger Jacobsen, Ann Jennings, Dean Kleckner, Lee Kline, Marilyn Kollmorgen, Ivan Lyddon, Barb Lykins, Barry Schaffter, and Jacque Stessman.

We look forward to this Board’s involvement.

-- written by Jan, Manager of Volunteer Services

In August I will have been with LHF for 20 years.

2009-06-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

These days most people don’t stay at their jobs that long – why have I? Because I honestly can’t think of any place I’d rather be. Now some day, I might leave to join another organization, but it’s not in my thoughts now. Has it been perfect? No, of course not, but even when it wasn’t, it was always interesting and never boring! And, I keep learning every day. I love Living History Farms.

What do I love?

The people –

Our volunteers:

*The skills, enthusiasm, and devotion you bring to your positions continue to amaze me.

*I’ve observed or been part of many heart-warming experiences as we have helped a volunteer find fulfillment in his or her time here. For example, watching a 13 year old grow up through the volunteer ranks as a Day Camp Jr. Counselor to a historical interpreter, and then maybe return as a college intern. I know we’ve helped develop many teens, and I couldn’t be more proud of our staff for facilitating that.

*Seeing how we have become a “home” to so many volunteers. To hear how much LHF means to our volunteers is so rewarding.

Our employee staff:

*You are some of the most unique people I’ve ever met. You’re interesting, well read, funny, creative, intelligent, and passionate about your time here.

*The satisfaction I receive working with you to create successful experiences for our volunteers, which also helps LHF be successful.

How beautiful our property is – sometimes when walking to Walnut Hill from my office to visit a volunteer or staff I walk through the large expanse of land by the Flynn House and enjoy the serenity, smell the flowers, and fill my lungs with the fresh air. I’ll often stop and just stand there for a minute or so as I appreciate that I work at such a beautiful place.
Watching us grow over the years into a world-class museum.
Knowing that our mission is true and so worthy.
How we tell the story – I’ve always been a history “nut”. I was a history major at ISU a million years ago. It’s a dream come true for me to work here.

One time after having gotten a soda at “Rosie’s” and walking back towards the office, I heard the sound of the schoolhouse bell. Then I realized no, that wasn’t what it was. So I stopped and listened. It was the steady ring of the Blacksmith hammering something on the anvil. I am reminded how far that sound travels, and it also reinforced that we really do offer visitors the sights, sounds, and smells of history. I hope you’ll understand when I say it gave me goose bumps.

Knowing we are a positive influence in our world.

I want to thank all the volunteers and staff over the years that have made my professional life here such a joy. I’ll be forever grateful. A special thank you to Nancy Wente, my mentor and friend.

-- written by Jan, Manager of Volunteer Services

Spencerian Art at the Farms

2009-05-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

This past April, LHF had the privilege of hosting a master Spencerian penman, Mr. Michael Sull of Mission, Kansas. We are deeply grateful to the Atlantic Bottling Company for their generous grant making Michael’s visit to LHF possible. Michael Sull is one of the few remaining links to the grand pen masters of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sull travels all over the world to teach Spencerian writing and hosts a venerated writing retreat in Ohio every year.

A long time calligrapher, Michael discovered Spencerian writing when he met an elderly master penman, then in his nineties. This gentleman was one of the last living men trained at an actual Spencerian penmanship school. Michael’s work with this gentleman gave him the ability to preserve and pass on the Spencerian writing technique.

Spencerian handwriting is a beautiful cursive writing style popular in the mid-19th century. It was developed by Platt Rogers Spencer in 1848 and was the first truly American writing style. Up to the 1840s, Americans took their writing style from English Copperplate. Copperplate was used in business especially and had no tolerance for self-expression. Every penman strove to look just like every other penman. Spencer felt Americans needed to break with this formal writing. Inspired by the Great Lakes in his native area of Ohio, Spencer took his cues from the curves found in nature. He observed that nothing in nature is truly straight. Everything has curves, from ripples in water to fluttering leaves in the wind. He incorporated this concept into cursive writing. He felt handwriting should flow and be an expression of an individual, just as nature does not create two exact copies of anything, writing should not be rigid and exact. Spencer designed his handwriting style to make writing easy and elegant. His students adapted the basic principles and created elaborate art pieces by flourishing and extending the curves.

Spencer spent his life traveling and teaching his style of handwriting. His sons published the Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship in 1866. The Coca-Cola logo is written in this style of script. The Spencerian style was popular into the early twentieth century. At that time, Austin Palmer, one of Spencer’s students, made changes to the Spencerian style and published his own book. This “Palmer Method” became the standard for handwriting education in elementary schools.

Mr. Sull’s visit provided LHF staff an opportunity to learn about this vanishing art form. Michael began with a presentation about the history of Spencerian writing to 24 of LHF's staff and volunteers. Through slides and actual artifacts, Mr. Sull shared the story of how Spencerian writing came to be, flourished, changed, and survived.

Sull was willing to share his truly amazing collection of period writing examples, including many given to him by families of the venerated penmen—even some pieces done by Spencer himself. Following the evening presentation, Sull taught a two-day workshop attended by 19 members of LHF's staff.

We learned the basics of Spencerian philosophy, each of the letters, and how to do flourishes—an ornamental drawing form based on the Spencerian technique. We definitely came to respect the practice needed to create this beautiful handwriting. The first day was spent on how to properly hold the pen, angle the paper, dip in the ink, the basic curves, and the lower case letters. Day two was then spent on the upper case letters (many of which have more than one possible way to write them) and flourishes.

By the end of the workshop each staff member felt a sense of accomplishment and also had a very nice example of their name written by Mr. Sull for them. In the 19th century, master penmen would leave a sample for their student, typically their name, to look at and practice. Mr. Sull left each of us our name in fine script to marvel at and practice. It was fascinating to watch Michael write.

He didn’t seem to have any preplanning in his designs and effortlessly we watched our names, birds, quill pens, wheat shafts and flowers appear on the page like magic. Only at LHF can you watch a man write a Spencerian flourished letter “M” on a board and hear an entire room of people gasp in amazement.

We felt so fortunate to learn the real style from a real master. Many sites are planning on incorporating the Spencerian practices into their site activity, especially at the School house, Flynn Home and 1900 Farm. The letters and writing of the past has been missed at our historic sites and we are very excited about adding it back in.

As much as we appreciated him, Michael Sull actually wrote a thank you letter to LHF, in Spencerian of course, expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to come and work with us. He feels that "Living History Farms is a marvelous, magical place- it seems that the past comes alive because the past never left- time has stood still and 'the past' is still the present." He also says, "Please continue your daily (yes! - daily) practice."

--- Written by Janet & Melinda

Education Department

2009-04-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

About four years ago, Living History Farms dropped the term “field trip” from its education brochure, and replaced it with “Learning Excursions.” This was done at the request of the LHF Education Advisory Committee. The teachers and educators on the committee felt that “field trip” carried a negative connotation in the minds of school administrators and school boards. They felt that “field trip” equated “a day off from learning” in the minds of the decision-makers at schools. We know that this is not the case when students visit LHF.

Other Educational Tidbits
• The LHF Education Advisory Committee is meeting on Saturday, April 18th, from 9:30 - 12:00 at the Conference Center. Welcome to the newest member of the group, Marilyn Jungman, the Title I teacher for 5th grade and the “Reading is Fundamental” coordinator for Saydel Schools.

• Students from Evergreen Park High School, a suburb of Chicago, will be here for three days of programming on American history from April 18-20.

• The summer interns will be arriving on Monday, May 18, to begin their training. Look for details about a welcoming picnic and intern seminars in the next edition of the Plough Share.

• Space is still available in the following adult education classes! Sign up is through the Des Moines Schools’ Community Education at 515.242.8521, or visit the LHF web site and register on-line! http://www.lhf.org/adulted.html
Sat., April 18: Advanced Hearth Cooking
Sat., April 18: Norwegian Smorgasbord
Sun., April 19: Advanced Cooking and Baking with a Wood-burning Stove

--- written by Dan, Education Manager

Period Clothing Hours Expand in April

2009-04-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I have spent March getting clothing ready for the coming season. We look forward to seeing returning interpreters pick up their clothing. If you call ahead, we can A: let you know if you can drive up to the Red Barn and B: have your clothes ready to hand over. Just call 278-5286 ext.162. If you will not be returning as an interpreter but still have your period clothing, PLEASE bring it back so others can use it—there is a lot of time and money tied up in each set of clothing we issue, and we need to keep it in use.

Monday, April 13 will begin Monday-Friday hours in Period Clothing. We will also be open Saturdays when the season starts in May, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm as always.

--- written by Laura, Period Clothing Supervisor

Behind the Barn

2009-04-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

Living History Farms
Behind the Barn
Band, Barbeque and Beverages
May through September 2009
Select Thursdays 6:00 – 9:00 pm

In keeping with our season theme "Art at the Farms," Living History Farms is pleased to announce a NEW outdoor music series – Behind the Barn. This evening adult series is sponsored by Fitness Sports and features local performance artists, barbeque from Shane’s Rib Shack, and a cash bar. Each month is themed and will host local visual arts displays or demonstrations, along with casual lawn activities. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy twilight Behind the Barn! In case of inclement weather the event will be held inside the barn.

Admission is $10 which includes one complimentary beverage of your choice.
EXCEPTION: July 16th we are hosting Metro Arts Jazz in July. This event is FREE and Family Friendly. See below for details.

Thursday, May 21 - Woolstock
Featuring: The Flying Silos
This fun six piece band plays a mix of classic rock, country, and blues music. May is sheep shearing month at the Farms, so enjoy meeting wool fiber arts demonstrators such as spinners and weavers.

Thursday, June 18 - Batter Up!
Featuring: The Roxi Copland Band
Performing throughout the Midwest, Roxi entertains with an engaging combination of original tunes and well-known jazz, soul and blues standards. The sound is jazz/pop with a shot of soul. Are you a “striker?” Find out as you chat with members of our historic baseball team and learn about “legging it,” “daisy cutters,” “cigar boxes.”

Thursday, July 16 – Metro Arts Jazz in July
* FREE and Family Friendly*
Enjoy two great concerts on our large outdoor stage. First, Old School presents Giants of Jazz: The Music of Wes Montgomery. Next up is Tina Hasse Findlay. Tina has been a fixture of the Des Moines music scene for over 25 years and makes her musical mark in the fields of jazz, blues, rock, soul, and gospel. Family friendly concessions are available with grilled burgers and hot dogs, watermelon, ice cream and other snacks. Lawn games for all and kid’s crafts jazz up the evening.

Thursday, August 20 – BLT’s
Featuring – The Roxi Copland Band
Roxi returns with a combination of jazz and pop with a dollop of soul. Our most popular BLT Day has gone twilight! Sample heirloom tomato varieties, Iowa made bacon, and slop some mayo on your South Union Bakery garlic foccacia and enjoy a custom sandwich at our BLT bar.

Thursday, September 17 – Moonshine
Featuring – Brother Trucker
Roots rockers Brother Trucker are unique in their art of telling the story of everyday people through their original lyrics. Also known to do a few select cover songs, the group has an alternative country sound. The makers of Iowa based Templeton Rye whiskey will be serving samples and have a display showing the history of their product.
Horse drawn wagon rides round out the fun!

SERIES SPONSOR: Fitness Sports

----written by Linda, Event Specialist

On Corn

2009-03-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

I finished a book, this winter, from the Living History Farms Information Resource Center called "The Story of Corn" by Betty Fussel. This book thoroughly covers most aspect of corn except the taste and smell. Our author starts with flying to a family reunion in Nebraska and the passengers would not leave the plane until they heard the Cornhuskers final score. Then, an aunt showed her a cookbook that had corn in every recipe. She started an investigation on “Corn Madness” and she caught the disease herself. Dr. Fussel wrote stories about how people connect to corn; the myths and history of corn; the science in and around corn; how they grow corn in other climates and in ancient ways; the evolvement of machinery in raising corn; how we grind and prepare corn for eating without getting pellagra; how to make Piki (cornflakes); how people made fortunes in corn; making the drinks Chicha and Moonshine; the culture of corn whiskey; commodities of corn; genetics of corn; ancient ceremonies from corn dances to human sacrifices; carnivals and palaces; corn husking. She finally draws us around the blessing of corn.

This is not a dry textbook. It is a journey meeting “corn mad” people of strange cultures and mountains of knowledge to gain. There are fascinating pictures and quotations. One of my favorite quotes of Betty Fussel is: “What is corn? The floor, earth, grass, leaves, the bluebird on top of the stalk, the evening and morning star, the man who tends it with his blood and the woman who grinds it with her swear into meal, the lost time of the blue tortilla…. Rain comes down, corn grows up, the way up is the way down, when the circle is complete.”

Have I gone “Corn Mad”? Oh yes! I entreat you to join me by reading this book. You can buy your own copy by purchasing it at a local bookstore or online for reference. I plan to read the journey again.

Barnyard Readers

2009-03-12T05:57:00.001-07:00

Do you know a 3, 4, or 5 year-old that cannot get enough of farm animals? Our new 90-minute reading program is perfect for them! It will start at the Visitors Center where we will read a story about that week’s featured animal followed by an activity or craft. Then we will catch a tractor cart to one of our period farms where we will spend some time with the animal.

It is important to pre-register due to a limited amount of space, so please call 515-278-5286 to reserve your spot. There is a fee of $5.00 for a child/adult pair. We will be featuring one animal every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 11:00 this season.

June 4th --- Pigs
June 18th --- Horses
July 2nd --- Chickens
July 16th --- Sheep
July 30th --- Cows
Aug. 13th --- Oxen

We hope to see your favorite 3,4, or 5 year-old there!

Did You Say Panic?

2009-03-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

The economic news is grim. Open any newspaper. Watch any TV newscast. You can be sure your unease will climb, if not quite to nauseous panic, at least to unsettling concern. I’ve heard people say it’s the worst financial panic ever. I’ve heard others say it’s not quite the “Great Depression” but getting closer. I’ve heard the stimulus packages called “socialism.” I’ve heard others say the stimulus is not enough and government should do more. For a cultural historian who does well to remember how to log in to her on-line bill pay, all the commentary is a bit nerve wracking. How panicked should I really be? Surely this is not the first time all this has happened?

From a historic standpoint, it really isn’t the first time. A quick look into history will provide plenty of other panics for comparison. A short list will bring up the panics of 1807, 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, and 1901—and that’s with a fairly narrow definition of panic. And more interestingly, even a cursory read of these past panics brings out some pretty darn familiar buzzwords and situations. In 1837, for instance, land speculation was one of the culprits. Banks printed banknotes to assist in buying real estate—can you say unsound credit? In 1836, President Jackson attempted to contract this paper money supply, tying it more specifically to gold and silver. By 1837, deflation ensued, along with a chain reaction of economic crisis. President Martin Van Buren who inherited the mess, was grilled by constituents for not involving the government more in recovery.

In 1857, a combination of changing world markets, a bank failure due to embezzlement, and lack of confidence in money supply brought about bank closings and unemployment. Historian Miriam Medina claims that 1857 “is notable for the role that telecommunications plays. When a branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company fails, news that would formerly have taken weeks to crisscross the nation, its impact diminishing with time, is known within hours, thanks to the telegraph. The news induces one of the first waves of panic selling in the stock market.” Sounds a little bit like the news tickers/commentators and their often panic inducing comments.

In 1873, a major American investment firm, Jay Cooke and Company, became over extended in railroad speculation. The company closed its doors, triggering panic amongst other investors. Combined with the other usual economic issues of deflation and over-production, the country slid into a general panic. One or two large companies made bad decisions, closed their doors and, inadvertently, sent the little companies into panic. Familiar ring to it, isn’t it?

Just knowing others have really lived through similar economic down turns can have a certain comforting effect in these modern times. The fact that many of these previous panics were resolved thanks to wars, famines and riots is perhaps not so comforting. But, if you are tired of talk about the present crisis or just want to throw some new examples into your own economic editorials, check out this on-line article at www.thehistorybox.com, “Panics, Depressions and Economic Crisis Prior to 1930”. The article has excellent primary sources—period quotes from people in the past who have also been through that proverbial economic wringer!

http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/panics/panics_article1a.htm

Flynn Barn hosts "Ticket Out" Filming

2009-02-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

One out-of-the-ordinary assignment for interpreters, collections staff and our maintenance crews has been working with a movie crew for the past week. LHF was able to provide the perfect set for a Hollywood film crew. Shooting took place at the Flynn Barn and 1900 Farmhouse. LHF staff monitored the filming and provided support to the carpenters and art directors setting the movie scene. Volunteer/Employee, Mark sent this report from his days working as a crew monitor in the historic Flynn Barn.

"While the Flynn Barn is not one of my sites, I do open and close it on those days I blacksmith. In the past week it has gone through a phenomenal transition, internally not externally. A Hollywood film crew is using the barn for some scenes in an upcoming Ray Liotta movie [Ticket Out]. To accomplish what the movie calls for, local carpenters were called in to add three hay lofts, a camera position, stairs and a large box that will hold "hay" for stunt men to fall through the floor in one of the lofts. These lofts occupy the eastern third of the barn. Maintenance manager, Dean, was very involved with the project and oversaw their construction.

The carpenters grew up on farms and realized the historical significance of the Flynn Barn. They were very careful and did not damage the huge beams in their construction and used mainly screws to secure the new lumber to the existing timbers. After filming, the lofts will be deconstructed by the same carpenters and brought back to 1875.

Rental Coordinator, Debby, called me and asked if I could be the LHF liaison for a day of the filming shoot. I arrived at 6 pm on Monday and stayed with the 40+ member film crew until 2:30 am on Tuesday. Over those 8+ hours there were rehearsals and filming. Two stunt doubles provided most of the action. Ray Liotta was in the barn for some early scenes, but did not stay the entire time.

What I found most memorable was the catered food for the crew. That evening the crew was offered fried chicken, sushi, oriental noodles, salad and various cookies and candies. Hot coffee/chocolate and various fruit/vegetable juices were also provided, but some of them froze by midnight. My most vivid sight was seeing crew members in coveralls eating sushi and noodles off of plastic plates using chopsticks in the Flynn Barn.

The entire crew was polite and several of the management staff thanked LHF and me for our time and efforts."

While several days of the shooting felt like a barely controlled chaos for our not-from-Hollywood staff, the film shoot was a fun learning experience and a good influx of funds and work for winter weary LHFers.