Historical society to try a new way of exploring Greene County’s history

JEFFERSON, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2022 — There are many different ways to explore history, and the Greene County Historical Society is trying out a new approach this Saturday afternoon, Nov. 12, at the museum in Jefferson. Up to 25 people are invited to take part.

They’re calling it “Leafing Through Greene County History,” and it’s set for 2 p.m.

The free event has two parts, program director Margaret Hamilton explained.

“First, we’ll sit in a circle, and four members of the historical society will share interesting artifacts from the museum’s collection,” she said. “Everyone can look at the items they’ll display and get some new insights into the museum and our county’s history. There’ll also be time to share your own memories – not required – on the topics we’ll discuss. We’ll follow that with a tea – with scones, clotted cream, jam, tea sandwiches and cookies”.

There will be four presenters who will pick some museum artifact or document, and start the conversations. The four, all from Jefferson and all active members of the historical society, know the museum’s collection well. They are:

–Mikki Schwarzkopf, who will discuss Greene County diaries and autograph albums, as well as a registration book from the old Head House Hotel.

–Jed Magee will talk about the Greene County Courthouses.

–Mike Piepel will share newspapers, posters, yearbooks and atlases.

–Dianne Piepel will talk about historic homes.

Magee said the idea for sharing history this way popped up after a conversation the four of them and Hamilton had one at the museum one lazy afternoon this past summer.

“We were sitting by the bookshelves, and one of us had pulled out a ring binder of historical information,” Magee said. “I think it was either about local theaters or movies that had played here. All of us were telling related stories we knew, and I think we were all surprised how interesting it was. Then we realized that doing this kind of thing would help people understand just how much we have in the museum, and learn more about all of it.”

He encourages everybody to give it a try. “If this first ‘Leafing Through History’ approach seems successful, I’m sure we’ll do another one, probably next spring,” he said. “And remember, you don’t have to be an expert at all – just curious about the things you can find in the museum.”

Because the discussions on Saturday will happen in a circle, the event is limited to 25 actual participants. If you want to be involved, RSVP to reserve your seat, either by emailing Hamilton at hami0017@hotmail.com or calling (515) 386-4408.

Robby Pedersen led us in a “time travel” adventure back to about 1875 in program at Scranton

SCRANTON, Iowa, Nov. 5, 2022 — Robby Pedersen of Jefferson led the Greene County Historical Society members & guests in some time travel on Friday, Nov. 4, in a program at the United Methodist Church in Scranton.

Pedersen’s focus, in his discussion of both heirloom furniture building and pioneer living, was circa 1875. As most local folks know, he is the owner of “RVP-1875,” which makes furniture using only the tools and styles available in that year. It was a brief era when the master furniture trade was at its peak in Iowa — with 2,013 of the tradesmen registered back then. Soon after that, factory-produced furniture took over.

Pedersen, who is a native of Jefferson, operates his business as a genuine furniture maker — typically producing 70 pieces per year for customers who are on waiting lists — as well as a museum and tourist attraction. He usually dresses like the cabinet makers dressed in 1875.

He also heads the non-profit “History Boy Theatre Co.,” which presents musicals, comedies and dramas in a 140-seat theatre he built in the rear of his downtown building that was once a lumberyard.

Insights from Pedersen during his program on Friday:

–“I’m so glad to be doing what I do, here in Greene County. You know, you feel most at-home when you’re actually home.” After Navy service and his college education at Iowa State University, he started his business while portraying a master cabinet maker at Living History Farms for a decade. Then he moved it first to Story City and then, 15 years ago, back home to Jefferson.

–“Something that has served me well is that I’m braver than I am smart. I’m one to dive-right-in and try, on almost everything.”

–When factories took over furniture making, “we lost 800 years of history in about 20. That’s what happened in my trade. It’s sad to think about that. And that’s why I’m doing what I do — re-creating that history and sharing it with people.”

–“The most important element of a pioneer farm was having two trained oxen.”

–“We have a lot more trees in Iowa today than we did in the 1880s. Back then during settlement, Iowa was 85 percent prairie and 15 percent timber.”

–“Life was hard in pioneer times. People worked long, long days building their farms and just getting by. They say that local politics didn’t come into it for at least a generation — 20 to 30 years after the first settlers got here — because people were so busy they didn’t have time to get involved in that stuff.”

–“People ask me if I would’ve liked to live in 1875, and my answer is a quick no. I mean, I like my movies, I like driving my truck around, I like medicine — and all the other things we have available to us today. But I’d like to visit 1875 for a couple weeks, you know? That’d let me see what people’s lives were really like back then.”

Historical society will learn about Greene County trees in program Friday, Sept. 2, at St. Pat’s west of Churdan

CHURDAN, Iowa, Aug. 29, 2022 — The Greene County Historical Society will have its monthly lunch and program on Friday, Sept. 2, at historic St. Patrick’s Catholic Church-Cedar, five miles west of Churdan.

The program is at 12:45 p.m. and is “A Brief History of Greene County Trees” with Lynn Menz and Margaret Hamilton.

Menz is a former science teacher, and Hamilton is vice-president and program director for the historical society. Both are members of the Jefferson Tree Committee, which plants trees on the city parkings in Jefferson with help of local students. He has the deeper knowledge of trees, Hamilton said, and she’s bringing her county historical knowledge.

There are some notable old trees they’ll discuss.

The “Council Oak,” which stood by the Gallup House, was the only tree on the site of Jefferson when the city was founded. There was a “post office tree” by Pleasant Hill Church which was on the stage coach line. People posted messages on it for travelers and people in the neighborhood to read. In 1965 when the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower was under construction, a Christmas tree was secured on the top of the concrete forms, 165 feet in the air and was lighted every night.

They will also talk about the ravages of Dutch elm disease, storms that have damaged trees, and accidents that have involved trees.

The 12 noon lunch in the St. Pat’s Church basement is $10, and you can check on available reservations by calling 515-386-4408. There’s no need to RSVP if you would just like to attend the program.

New historical marker tells the story of Squirrel Hollow park, one of the prettiest spots in Greene County

By MARY WEAVER

RIPPEY, Iowa, Aug. 24, 2022 — A new informational marker explaining the history of Squirrel Hollow Park and its shelter house is now in place in the park located in the southeast portion of Greene County.

The cement holder and plaque are similar to the original 12 historical markers around the county that the late James H. Andrew developed and had placed in 1976, as the United States celebrated its bicentennial.

Through a grant from the Greene County Community Foundation, and labor provided by the Greene County Secondary Roads crew, this new marker at Squirrel Hollow is sponsored by the Greene County Historical Society.

An informational marker adjacent to the Squirrel Hollow shelter house is pictured with siblings Ces Melson Brunow, and Stephen, “Steve” Melson. Their grandfather, S. J. Melson, Greene County Engineer from 1910-1935, was instrumental in obtaining the property and developing the plan for Squirrel Hollow.

In a document prepared by James H. Andrew in 2006, we learn several events serendipitously occurred — a 1915 flood, the Great Depression influence, leftover funds and the discovery of coal.

The Stagecoach Road from Fort Des Moines to Sioux City had been established on the east side of the Raccoon River, but in 1915 a flood washed away a long stretch of the road, and for nearly 20 years travelers were forced to detour. The discovery of coal a mile south of the present-day shelter house created a desperate need for a road, as 100 trucks with about 4 tons of coal on each one, headed north from the coal mine and an adequate road was sorely needed.

In 1931 the Chautauqua organization of Jefferson was disbanded, but $3000 remained. The funds were used to purchase land and develop the park. The Great Depression had been underway for several years, and a government program CWA, Civil Works Administration, had been created to employ those without work to build roads, sewers, parks, and other facilities to benefit the public.

Under the steady hand of Engineer Melson, along with other community leaders, 60 acres of land was purchased. This was an average cost of $15 per acre.

In 1933, approximately 150 men from around Greene County worked on the project under the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and WPA, (Works Progress Administration). Hundreds of truckloads of rocks from nearby farmers’ rock piles were dumped at the washout created by the flooding of the river. In a description written, it was noted “the first 8-10 loads just disappeared into the mud and water, but slowly a rock shoulder 200 yards long formed a new road higher than any probable future flood.”

Steve Melson recalls his “Pappy” saying the Board of Supervisors wanted to build cabins and the shelter house along the river edge, but because of the previous flood, his grandfather, Engineer Melson recommended establishing the site at the top of the bluff.

Documentation sources vary. One states Iowa State College, now Iowa State University, designed the shelter house, two latrines, the stone entrances, and five fireplaces. Documents further indicate the stone masonry design of the shelter house was credited to William Bodenstein, a veteran stonemason, and Con McNaught.

When the shelter house was nearing completion S.J. Melson arranged for one of the original millstones from the Coon Valley Mill, originally located about one-half mile south of the park, to be brought and installed into the concrete floor. These millstones remain visible today and it creates a heady feeling to know they were brought by an ox team from Pennsylvania by Josh Locke in 1858 so Greene County’s early pioneers could have corn and flour ground.

Work on the road and park began in 1933 and the dedication was held on May 12, 1935. But “inclement weather held the crowd to 500 persons.” Victor Hugo Lovejoy, editor of the Jefferson Bee newspaper, reported that “the massive rock wall along the river, the excellent highway at the foot of the bluff, the drive to the shelter house, the fine timbered upland beauty, all combined together to make this spot a thing of beauty. Its location less than a mile from the site of the cabin of the first settler in Greene County makes it all the more interesting as a spot to be preserved for future generations.”

The stone inscription crafted by Sloan Monument of Jefferson reads:

Squirrel Hollow is a 56-acre county park located above the Raccoon River. It was developed in 1933 and was the second county park in the State of Iowa. Three farmers sold farmland to form the park.

The Des Moines-Sioux City Stagecoach trail ran on the east side of the Raccoon River, and the tracks remain visible one mile north of this location at the Pleasant Hill Country Church cemetery.

In 1933 this shelter house, a male and female latrine, entrance signs to Squirrel Hollow Park, and two fireplaces were built by the Public Works Administration. The structures were designed by Iowa State College, now Iowa State University.

These structures were accepted by the National Register of Historic sites in 1991.

The Greene County Community Foundation, the Greene County Conservation Office, and the Greene County Historical Society are pleased to share this historical information. — October 2021

Due to the COVID pandemic and then supply chain interruptions, the marker was erected in May of 2022. Take a drive over to the park, for a nature hike, a look at the marker, and the millstones in the floor of the shelter house.

The “Hearth & Home” columnist Mary Weaver is a longtime member of the Greene County Historical Society. She lives on a farm northeast of Rippey. You can write to her at mweaver235@gmail.com.

Two fun historical events: Friday’s “Trivia Team” challenge, Saturday a free matinee of “Whitcomb’s War” movie made here

The Greene County Historical Society is shifting into some real summer fun for gatherings this Friday, Aug. 5, in Grand Junction and Saturday, Aug. 6, in Jefferson.

Friday’s regular monthly meeting will be at the United Methodist Church in Grand Junction, with a lunch followed by the return of the historical society’s undefeated “Trivia Team” to challenge all members and guests with questions on local history.

The team of Roger Aegerter, Nancy Hanaman and Chuck Offenburger is 1-0, having baffled the members and guests of the Greene County Farm Bureau at their annual picnic meeting a year ago. However, the team will be without Hanaman on Friday, as she’s recovering from an illness, and she’ll be replaced in the line-up by new board member Denise Harberts.

Aegerter, of Jefferson, the society’s executive director, says he has trivia expertise in “Jefferson history going back 12.2 billion years, art, the Historic Lincoln Highway and other things that are too much, too odd, too nuts.” Offenburger, of Jefferson, boasts of his knowledge of “Greene County sports — because I know Doug Rieder, Iowa history, politics, journalism, fight songs, and controversies around Cooper.” Harberts will bring expertise the Pleasant Hill community, traditional foods, music and spirituality.

Friday’s RSVP lunch, for $10, is at 12 noon. The program, which is free, should start about 12:45 p.m.

**The historical society’s “Trivia Team” for this Friday’s competition — Chuck Offenburger, Roger Aegerter and Denise Harberts.**

Saturday’s event promises especially fun – a free 2 p.m. showing on the big screen of the Sierra Community Theatre in Jefferson of a 1980 movie “Whitcomb’s War,” which was filmed mostly in Jefferson, with a few scenes in Fort Dodge, and then released and shown nationally.

You’ll see several Greene Countians appearing in small roles in the movie, and a few others had prominent jobs in its filming and production here. Those you’ll see who are still living include Pauline Borst, Jed Magee, Bob Telleen and Rolfe Blaess. And Muriel Lehman worked in arranging and delivering props the actors used.

The storyline of the movie, according to one old review, is that “Pastor David Michael Whitcomb is assigned to a church in Harrah, Iowa (think Jefferson), that is dealing with employer Phil Esteem, who changes the work week to Wednesday through Sunday.” Pastor Whitcomb leads a campaign against working on Sunday, and “three comic demons” are “assigned to see that the pastor fails.”

The movie cast included a dozen or more Hollywood stars, led by Patrick Pankhurst, Leon Charles and Bill Morey – all with a long list of credits. The writer, producer and director was Russell S. Doughten, Jr., a native of Carlisle, Iowa, who lived most of his adult life there while making films across the nation and beyond. His production credits stretch from 1958 to ’84 after he studied literature and movie making at Drake University and Yale University.

“It was a surprise when it was finally announced that Jefferson was going to be the site of a movie that would bring in these stars and a full production company,” said Jed Magee, then a young attorney in Jefferson, now a retired Iowa District Court judge who moved back to Jefferson in retirement. “We’d all heard rumors earlier, but then sometime in the 1970s, here they came. It seems like they were here filming, mostly at the Greene County Fairgrounds, for at least a couple months, but maybe as long as a month.”

He said the Hollywood people all stayed at the Redwood Motel on the north side of Jefferson, and ate most of their meals at the Redwood’s fine steakhouse restaurant, visiting with local folks as they did.

He said for the scenes when Pastor Whitcomb’s war is raging with the demons and the devil himself, “they used one of the fairgrounds buildings and made it look like Hell, complete with flashing red lights, smoke and a lot of noise.”

Magee said that while the movie was not a major hit, it did have a good run nationally. “At the time, most of us here thought it was a really interesting story, with quite a plot.” It runs 67 minutes.

The idea to show “Whitcomb’s War” here again – more than 40 years after its debut – emerged at a brainstorming session the historical society’s board of directors were having a year ago about what historical incidents in county history should be featured in upcoming programs.

“For some reason, I thought of that old movie and said, ‘Why don’t we see if we can get ‘Whitcomb’s War’ and show it at the Sierra?’ ” said Magee, who is on the board.

Then local movie buffs Mike and Dianne Piepel, who are historical society members, got excited and that led to the scheduling this Saturday.

Magee will lead a brief discussion of the movie at the theatre before it is screened.

Admission for the movie is free. Concessions will be available for purchase.

We’re again sharing history at the Greene County Fair, and there’s a new co-host for our “history chats”

JEFFERSON, Iowa, July 11, 2022 — The Greene County Historical Society will have its buildings on the Greene County Fairgrounds open on Friday and Saturday this week during the fair, with “history chats,” tours of a restored one-room country schoolhouse, and opportunities to learn about the farm tools and equipment that were commonly used in earlier times in the county.

For the past six years, the “history chats” were hosted by retired journalists Chuck Offenburger and Jerry Roberts and covered a wide variety of topics. Roberts died early this year, so Offenburger has invited well-known Greene County native Don Van Gilder to join him in hosting the interviews, which will last an hour.

Trained at Iowa State University in English and telecommunications, Van Gilder has now retired after a 45-year career in public works administration with the Greene County Secondary Roads department.

They will host four of the “history chats,” with folks sitting in a circle of chairs in the Historical Building on the fairgrounds. The discussions will be Friday, July 15, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Saturday, July 16, also at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. They will be videotaped for later posting on the historical society’s YouTube channel.

The first of the chats, on Friday at 11 a.m., is “Growing Up at the Greene County Fair.” This one will start with the experiences of four generations of the Lawton family, of Cooper, and then include tales from other families, too.

Another of the chats, on Saturday at 11 a.m., will be “Greene County Sports Stories & Legends” with KGRA radio sportscaster & former Jefferson Herald sports editor Doug Rieder. He’s been the “Voice of the Rams” for more than 40 years and is an authority on the county’s general sports history, too.

The last of the chats, on Saturday, at 1 p.m., is “Greene County Movie Theater History” with Mike & Dianne Piepel, of Jefferson, who have done deep research into all the theaters that have operated in the county – especially the Sierra Community Theatre in Jefferson.

The topic of the Friday, 1 p.m. “history chat” was still being finalized as this week began.

In addition, the “Bristol No. 7” country schoolhouse on the fairgrounds will be staffed Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. by Becki Cunningham, of Paton, secretary of the historical society, with explanations of what rural education was once like in the county. She attended a country school herself.

The schoolhouse was built in 1874, restored by the historical society in 1967 and repaired again in recent years by the organization. It is also known as the “Minnihan Schoolhouse,” after the family that owned surrounding land and donated the building for re-location to the fairgrounds.

The historical society’s collection of agricultural tools and equipment at the fairgrounds shows how farming was done in Greene County from the late 19^th century to the middle of the 20^th century. Members of the society will be serving as docents to explain the exhibits on both Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bob & Joyce Ausberger on the past, present & future of “Traveling the Lincoln Highway” in program this Sunday at our museum

JEFFERSON, Iowa, June 20, 2022 — Bob and Joyce Ausberger, of Jefferson, longtime members and advocates for the Lincoln Highway Association, will be presenting a program “Traveling the Lincoln Highway” in a special program of the Greene County Historical Society on Sunday, June 26.

The program will be at 2 p.m. at the historical museum in Jefferson. Admission and refreshments will be free.

The historic coast-to-coast highway, considered “America’s Main Street” from the 1930s thru the 1950s, then carried an average of 3,500 cars and 700 trucks per day across Greene County. It went right through the business districts of Grand Junction, Jefferson and Scranton.

Joyce and Bob Ausberger

The Lincoln Highway’s prominence as a main traffic artery across the nation was drastically diminished in the late 1950s when new U.S. Highway 30 was built along the same general route, but bypassing most cities and towns.

The Ausbergers have been active in the Lincoln Highway Association for more than 30 years, and they’ve traveled and toured extensively on the historic route.

In their program Sunday, Joyce Ausberger is going to detail her “favorite places in 13 states of the highway.” Bob Ausberger plans to lead an audience discussion of “a vision for the Lincoln Highway in the future.” And they plan to collaborate on “how you can easily spend a week in Greene County while exploring the Lincoln Highway.”

They’ll display some of their favorite memorabilia and sourcebooks about the highway.

In addition, a new three-panel interactive display on the Lincoln Highway – developed for the Iowa Department of Transportation by the Prairie Rivers Association – will be available during and after the program. The historical society has hosted that display during the month of June.

Lincoln Highway Traveling Exhibition Premiers at the 2022 Bell Tower Festival

AMES, Iowa, June 1, 2022 — An audiovisual exhibition telling the story of the national Lincoln Highway premiers at the Bell Tower Festival in Jefferson this year. Promise Road: How the Lincoln Highway Changed America opens June 9 at the Greene County Historical Society Museum and will remain through June 26.

“Many of us have driven the Lincoln Highway but haven’t realized its significance for the unfolding of our country’s modern history. This exhibition tells that story,” said Shellie Orngard, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway coordinator.

The building of the Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1913, when most people traveled by foot or by horse and the roads were mud or gravel. America’s first coast-to-coast highway, the Lincoln Highway starts in Times Square, New York City, and travels through 14 states, ending at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. A dramatic story of ingenuity, personality, and commerce, Promise Road will engage visitors in a new understanding of and appreciation of our forgotten past and what it means for us today.

The exhibition culminates with a presentation on June 26 by Bob and Joyce Ausberger of rural Greene County, who helped found the new national Lincoln Highway Association in 1992, which now has hundreds of members across the country and around the world.

After this first stop in Greene County, the exhibition will travel to Marshall and Story counties, and on to the rest of the 13 Iowa counties traversed by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway.

The traveling exhibit Promise Road: How the Lincoln Highway Changed America was funded in part by a grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and with support from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

In 2021, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway in Iowa was recognized as a National Scenic Byway. The National Scenic Byways Program is a voluntary, community-based program administered through the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to recognize, protect, and promote America’s most outstanding roads.

Mikki Schwarzkopf will share the colorful stories of the traveling “Chautauqua” shows 100 years ago

JEFFERSON, Iowa, May 9, 2022 — A century ago the hottest ticket for entertainment in Greene County – or sometimes for religious or educational programs — was for the “Chautauquas,” which often would pack 2,500 people into a huge tent set up every August at what today is known as Chautauqua Park here.

Mikki Schwarzkopf, one of the most persistent researchers for the Greene County Historical Society, will present a program at 2 p.m. this Sunday, May 15, at the museum in Jefferson on nearly two years of occasional research she’s done into Chautauquas.

Between 1901 and about 1930, the Jefferson Chautauqua Association brought such nationally prominent speakers here as evangelist & former Major League Baseball pitcher Billy Sunday; Congressman & attorney William Jennings Bryan; alcohol abolitionist Carrie Nation, and farm visionary Henry Wallace. There were dozens of others who became stars on the circuit.

“These programs were so popular because they started up in a time when people were really isolated,” Schwarzkopf said. “Remember, the only access most people had to the outside world back then was the occasional newspaper. No TV, at first no radios. These speakers would come in and give our people kind of a connection to what was happening” nationally and around the world.

The Jefferson Chautauqua Association was formed in 1905, and shares of stock were sold to help the organization purchase a tent and chairs, and schedule and pay the traveling speakers.

“Originally the programs were more religious and informative,” she said. “They turned more toward entertainment as time went on – and politics in the later years.”

In the 1930s, with the proliferation of radios and cars, the Chautauqua programs began to fade.

“Scheduling them was always tricky,” Schwarzkopf said. “You had to have them at a time when farmers wouldn’t all be in the field, and not up against the county or state fairs. So here in Jefferson, they seemed to have more of the Chautauqua programs for a week in early August.”

Admission and refreshments for her 2 p.m. Sunday program are free.

Learning how to use the archives of local history & records created and maintained by our six public libraries

CHURDAN, Iowa, May 1, 2022 — When the Greene County Historical Society gathers this Friday, May 6, at the Churdan Public Library in Churdan, members and guests will learn about “Mining Digital Treasures from the Archives.”

Created in 2012 and growing impressively ever since, those “Greene County Archives” are available free online 24/7 and worldwide, from the website of the Jefferson Public Library. They are a collaboration by the county’s six libraries, the local newspapers, local government agencies and donors.

“We receive usage statistics every month, and it’s always fun to look at how many users we’re getting from countries all over the world,” said Jane Millard, the Jefferson library director. “You always wonder, ‘Who are these people and how have they become interested in some part of our history in Greene County?’ ”

The largest volume of material in the archives are the digitized newspapers of the county – all of them. The oldest archive on the site is the 1856 U.S. Census report on Greene County.

“We’ve built the archives in two phases, with lots of public support,” Millard said. “In fact, writing the grants and finding matching money for both phases has been the easiest fundraising I’ve ever done. That tells you how much public support there is for having archives that are as accessible as ours are. If you can do a Google search, you’ll easily be able to use our archives.”

She will lead the presentation on Friday, but it’s been developed with all the libarians in the Greene County Librarians Association. Those include Millard, Shari Minnehan in Churdan, Diane Kafer in Grand Junction, Wendy Johnson in Scranton, Cara McCoy in Rippey and Kimberly Bohnet in Paton.

The Churdan library has special equipment that will allow the presenters to use the library website while projecting it on a large screen, so the audience can see and follow along when Millard shows how to access specific documents.

The event Friday will open with a lunch at the library at 12 noon, provided by the members of St. Columbkille Catholic Church. Cost of that is $10 and members should RSVP to their historical society community contacts. Others are welcome for lunch, too, and should make a reservation with program director Margaret Hamilton at 515-386-4408.

The free program will begin at 12:45 p.m.