About 70 people attended our program on Friday, April 1, when Denise O'Brien Van, of Jefferson, shared the 85-year history of the U.S. Post Office in Jefferson. "I'm a Post Office baby," she said in starting. "My parents were introduced to each other in the lobby of the Post Office back in the 1940s." Her father Clem O'Brien was a rural mail carrier for the Jefferson Post Office, and that's a photo of him in his iconic Volkswagen delivery car on the screen behind Denise. She had a career in journalism in Des Moines and Chicago before retiring back to her hometown, and she continues to write here, too.

Rick Morain, the retired editor and publisher of the Jefferson Bee & Herald, is one of Greene County's most popular piano players, and he starred on Thursday, March 17, when the historical society hosted a St. Patrick's Day celebration of all things Irish. You can learn more about that event in the story & photos that are published below here.

Peg Raney, retired teacher and community leader, told our St. Patrick's Day gathering at the Greene County Historical Museum about all the singing she'd done growing up in one of Iowa's Irish capitals, the northwest Iowa town of Emmetsburg. She played her guitar and led the singing at our March 17 party. More details are available in the story and photos published below here.

Michael Morain, communications manager for the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, delivered a fascinating and inspiring account of Iowa history Tuesday afternoon when a crowd of more than 50 people filled our Greene County Historical Museum in Jefferson for a celebration of Iowa's 175 years of statehood. Michael, who grew up in Ames, is a fifth generation Iowan whose grandfather and uncle, Fred and Rick, were editors & publishers of Jefferson's Bee & Herald newspapers. Michael's father, the late Tom Morain, was one of the state's leading historians. You can watch the full video of Michael's program right here: https://bit.ly/3GjOjx5.

The current officers of the Greene County Iowa Historical Society were re-elected for another year of service. Left to right are treasurer Becki Cunningham, president David John, vice-president & program director Margaret Hamilton and secretary Joyce Ausberger. The election was held as part of the official annual meeting of the society, which was held in early December as a preliminary to a holiday program of music and stories.

Leo Landis, curator of the State Historical Museum in Des Moines, spent two hours on Nov. 3 doing a walk-through of our Greene County Historical Museum in Jefferson, then sharing ideas with board members and other members of our historical society. We discussed how to refresh and exchange exhibits; have short-term more-public exhibits of peculiar individual items in our collections; maintain and improve access to our archives; manage our other historical facilities, and more.