JEFFERSON, Iowa, Sept. 10, 2018 — Small towns across Iowa came to a halt each winter to take in the mesmerizing game of high school girls’ six-on-six basketball.
It was a sport that captivated thousands and sent scores sky-rocketing over the century mark, creating legends in the smallest of communities.
The University of Iowa Women’s Archives is celebrating the impact of six-on-six basketball in Iowa with a presentation at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution’s “Hometown Teams” exhibit now being displayed at the Greene County Historical Museum in Jefferson.
Iowa Women’s Archives curator Karen Mason and U of I American studies lecturer Jennifer Sterling, who have spent hundreds of hours researching and interviewing former players, will discuss the marvelous history of the sport and its wide-ranging reach across the entire country through “Six-on-six Girls’ Basketball in Iowa: Stories from the Iowa Women’s Archives and Beyond.”
A “Remembering six-on-six” display, prepared by the U of I, is part of the “Hometown Teams” exhibit.
Part of the “Hometown Teams” exhibit at the museum in Jefferson.
Mason and Sterling will begin speaking at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Thomas Jefferson Gardens Welcome Center. Afterward, there will be a chance for locals to share their stories and memorabilia with the researchers. The presenters will scan historical items that people bring on Saturday, for inclusion in their archives, and people can then keep their precious memorabilia.
The “Hometown Teams” exhibit has also visited Mount Vernon, Ottumwa and Guthrie Center. It will travel to Ames and Conrad following its stay in Jefferson.
The operating hours for the exhibit at the museum here, through Sept. 23, are Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; Wednesdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For complete details about this program, please contact Peg Raney at Jefferson Matters: Main Street’s office at 110 W. Lincoln Way, call (515) 385-3585 or email director@jeffersonmatters.org.
Part of the six-on-six girls basketball display in the “Hometown Teams” exhibit.
