History Camp Iowa 2016—Presentation Schedule
| Title | Description | Presenter(s) |
| The Battle of Bulac Kalay | I commanded a US Army paratrooper company in Afghanistan in 2005. We were involved in heavy fighting throughout the year. I wrote of one particular battle and submitted to the US Army Historical Association and won the writing award presented each year. I am a native Iowan currently enrolled in the History PhD program at ISU | Dirk D. Ringgenberg MAJ US Army (retired) |
| Iowa in the 1980s, Teen Edition | The 1980s were a decade of crisis in Iowa, but to what degree were Iowa’s teens aware of the depth of the state’s troubles? In this presentation, we will delve into Iowa’s high school yearbooks to see just how seriously high schoolers contemplated these woes. Take a full color, high energy walk through Iowa in the 1980s. | Prof. Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, Iowa State University |
| Forgotten Sacrifices: Hollywood’s Contribution to the War Effort During World War II | Hollywood stars played an essential role in boosting morale, raising funds, and creating memorable films during World War II. While the films of the era are often studied, the stars and their individual contributions tend to be forgotten. This presentation looks specifically at the sacrifices made by numerous Hollywood box office stars during World War II. | Rebecca Stoeker, MA |
| Iowa Stoneware Industry Mid 1800’s to Early 1900’s | My presentation will be on the stoneware industry that was present in many towns across Iowa in the mid 1800’s – early 1900’s. Stoneware was an something many early Iowans used everyday, from bowls, to jars, and churns, and jugs and crocks. Even little toys and flower pots and much much more. | Jeremy Mclaughlin |
| As an Iowa Farm Girl Thinks: Growing Up on an Iowa Century Farm and the Similarities to Laura Ingalls Wilder | Julie Frances Miller will share her family’s history of pioneering in the state of Iowa, the love and the bond to the land you have when owning a Century Farm, and the chores, hard work, and fun times of growing up on a farm. Her presentation compares life on an Iowa Century Farm to the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” book series, as many of her experiences were strikingly similar. | Julie Frances Miller |
| “But the Cave! I just cannot describe it. Words fail me.” | Sadie Rae Scott was a 28 year-old stenographer with the Iowa Historical Department. In 1919 she accompanied members of Iowa’s first board of conservation on a trip through northeast Iowa to scout new state parks. On this trip she saw a number of places that would become state parks and historic sites. Along the way she met some notable characters in Iowa conservation and preservation work. Her account is not official, but a very personal record of the trip captured in nearly 100 pages of letters written to her mother in Des Moines. These letters housed in the Edgar Harlan papers at the Cowles Library at Drake University are indeed a travelogue of Iowa at the time and describe places one can visit and enjoy today. | Jerome Thompson, State Curator, Retired |
| Radical Acts of Equality | In an interesting, interactive and surprising presentation, One Iowa staff will provide a rich history of lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender persons in Iowa. That journey includes the very beginnings of a movement for equality in Iowa; the people, the stories and the struggles. | Donna Red Wing, Executive Director of One Iowa; Keenan Crow, Deputy Director of One Iowa |
| Colonial Kitchens in Virginia | This presentation will focus on my ongoing research of kitchens, specifically this presentation discusses colonial kitchens in Virginia. I compare the average individual’s kitchen to an elite kitchen such as Jefferson’s kitchen at Monticello. I examine the kitchen implements that were used and the placement of the kitchens in the homes. | Alyssa Yanni |
| Trails in Van Buren County | Describing Indian, Mormon, Amish, Underground Railroad, Orphan Train. Today’s visitor can travel those ancient trails, enjoy the historic buildings, and 12 unique villages. | Dorothy Gilbert & Brad Klodt |
| Ben Laposky: Electronic Abstractions | The late Ben Laposky is among the pioneers in electronic art. This presentation will highlight Ben’s work in bringing science and art together to create beautiful photographs of light. | Linda A. Burkhart, Director of Sanford Museum and Planetarium |
| How the Indians Nearly Lost Iowa | This presentation will review how treaties were used to force Native Americans from Iowa. The coming and departure of American Indians in Iowa will be illustrated by showing a series of gilded age and WPA murals. | William Sherman, Independent Scholar |
| Relish Iowa’s Rich Culinary Heritage | Iowa’s delectable cuisine is quintessentially Midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences. Dig in as author and lifelong Iowan Darcy Dougherty Maulsby from Lake City serves up Iowa’s tastiest traditions, which are showcased in her latest book, “A Culinary History of Iowa.” From the chili-and-cinnamon-rolls phenomenon to Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa classics and savor a smorgasbord of other unique Iowa food traditions with Darcy’s fun, interactive program. | Darcy Dougherty Maulsby |
| History of the Grotto Shrine | This presentation will provide a comprehensive and graphic history of the Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption, West Bend, Iowa. We are celebrating our 104th year of existence, this year, uninterrupted. We also enjoy and expect a Q and A session with the attendees. | Andy Milam, CTA |
| “…As though a cyclone had struck them”: Football and Iowa State, 1894-1897 | This presentation covers the use of football at Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in the 1890s and the positive impact that a winning team had on the institution’s reputation across the state and on student life within the institution. | Doug Biggs, Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Kearney |
| “Skål!” 1000 years of Scandinavian Drinking Culture | If you’ve ever raised your glass and said “Skål!” (pronounced “SKOAL”) you’ve participated in a long tradition of Scandinavian drinking culture. This presentation looks at the history of beer and aquavit in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and how immigrants brought those cultural traditions to the United States. Home brewing, temperance movements, song traditions, and current day interests in micro-distilleries and craft cocktails – all are part of over 1000 years of Scandinavian cultural history. | Tova Brandt, Museum of Danish America |
| Lithographs of Life in Iowa: Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of 1875 | In the 1870s, life in Iowa changed rapidly following the Civil War. Homes, farms, transportation, businesses, industry, manufacturing, and other development dotted the landscape with increasing frequency. Through his lithographs and maps, publisher Alfred Andreas documented the “face of the country” for succeeding generations of Iowans to study, learn, and enjoy.
Andreas’ Iowa atlas has been described by experts as “lavishly illustrated,” “his greatest work,” “a publishing triumph,” and “the maximum development of atlases.” Its 600 pages contain biographical sketches, US Census information, state and county histories, business directory, business ads, 99 county maps, 198 town maps, 220 portraits, and 587 “handsome views” of “varied aspects of the Iowa scene.” These fascinating lithographs tell the story of life in Iowa in the 1870s. |
Paul F. Anderson, Emeritus Professor, Iowa State University |
| Mail by Rail | More than 90% of all US mail once moved by rail. And trains once routinely delivered a letter mailed in Iowa to anywhere else in the state and many beyond the next day! Get a quick glimpse of the Railway Mail Service via slides and commentary. | Phil Borleske |
| A Thread Through Time | A slide presentation on how thread and cloth production changed history from ancient times through the first American Revolution. | Julie Clingman |
| A Place of Refuge / A Place of New Beginnings | Elsje Van Der Zuiden, a twelve-year-old girl is the main character in both books. A Place of Refuge explains why her family left The Netherlands and settled in Pella, Iowa. A Place of New Beginnings, its sequel, begins with Elsje in a covered wagon ready to leave for northwest Iowa. It details the exciting trip, and the hard work of setting up their farms. | Renae B. Vander Schaaf |
| Iowa School Marm in mid-19th Century | The frontier school teachers had a huge influence on both their students and the larger community. Besides being a beacon of knowledge, they were also representatives of decorum and manners. They were also a pioneer in the sense that they were some of the first women to take over a profession once reserved for men. This session will focus on the experiences of these women, gleaned from diaries of the time, and they way Iowans “did school” mid-19th century. | Dr. Steve Rose, professor emeritus of education, Simpson College |
| The Propaganda Campaign in Iowa during the Civil War | While troops fought in the South, Republicans waged a propaganda campaign in Iowa. They expertly demonized Democrats. Republicans were so successful that they controlled the state government for decades after Appomattox. David Connon will share this story, focusing on one Iowa Democrat whose name became a byword for traitor. | David Connon |
| Meskwaki Nation Flow… of Life | A historical overview of the relationship of the Meskwaki People and the Mississippi River will be presented. The Meskwaki Nation once lived along the Mississippi River during the 1700’s. Exploring this time period highlights how one of many Federal Indian Laws attempt to change the Way of Life of Iowa’s only federally recognized resident Tribe. | Christina Blackcloud, Meskwaki |