The Grinnell Historical Museum, 1125 Broad St., is a 10-room, late-Victorian residence open to the public from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (Tuesday through Sunday in the summer). The house contains excellent examples of furniture and decor from the turn of the 20th century, arranged to create a feeling of family life at the time. Admission is always free. To con-tact the museum, call 236-7827 and leave a message.

MUSEUM BOARD Howard McDonough President

Frank Heath Vice President

Michele Parslow Secretary

Vera Cousins Treasurer

Doug Cameron, Karen Groves, Ann Igoe, Dorrie Lalonde, Barb Lease, Betty Moffett, Cheryl Neubert, Carol Nielsen, Russ Schuchmann, Dan Tindall, Julie M. Young WEBSITE grinnellhistoricalmuseum.org

NEWSLETTER Mary Schuchmann

Grinnell Historical Museum

NEWSLETTER

SUMMER 2012

Third-graders at the museum On a beautiful day in May, the house and lawn of the Grinnell Historical Museum were filled with kids galore and activities of all kinds as Davis School third-graders spent a morning or afternoon learning about the museum and ways of living in years past. Below, Sig and Judi Barber tell about their growing-up years (Sig in Austria, Judi in New York State) as a way of encouraging the kids to ask their parents and grandparents about their life experiences.

LEFT: Frank Heath demonstrates old musical instruments, including a tuba. ABOVE: Two. boys try out some old-fashioned games.

Photos by Julie M. Young

GRINNELL HISTORICAL MUSEUM Page 2

The summer is off to a fun start. The Grinnell third-graders came for a tour May 10 to view the house and learn about its contents and to play old-fashioned games. In keep-ing with the theme of this year's Fourth of July parade, "An In-ventors' Paradise," several board members are compiling a list of inventors from Grin-nell. Their research is showing that Grinnell had an unusually large number of inventors. The museum’s parade float will fea-ture some of them.

A few major repairs to the mu-seum are needed— repainting the south and west sides of the house because of hail damage in 2010 and repairing the west porch and steps.

We're very proud of our muse-um. Please come visit.

Howard McDonough President

Grants received Two grants in the last year are being used to install new com-puters and software to enhance the collections. The grants are from the Poweshiek County Alliance ($2,000) and the Grin-nell College Mini-Grant pro-gram ($1,600).

The software update helps to manage the acquisitions and conduct inventories more effi-ciently. The updates also allow museum volunteers to produce virtual exhibits and slide shows to take into the community to share our holdings and their stories. The museum now has a computer available for volun-teer and guest research.

From the president

FANNIE BUCHANAN (1875-1931) was a composer and writer. After jobs during

World War I in New York City, she returned to Iowa and took a position with Iowa State College traveling to 4-H Clubs and rural women’s groups. She is best known for writing the words to “Iowa” and five 4-H songs. She was in-ducted into the Iowa 4-H

Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002 and the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2007.

MARTHA WORCESTER DERR (1853-1941) was an early dentist in Grinnell. She grad-uated from Iowa (Grinnell) College in 1878, taught school, then married a den-tist and joined his dental practice. When he died, she continued to practice dentis-try, and later married another dentist.

CORNELIA CLARKE (1854-1931) graduated from Iowa (Grinnell) College in 1909 and began a career as a scientific photographer. The majority of her photos were taken in her back yard or near Grinnell. Her work was known throughout the U.S. and in England and Australia.

ABBY WILLIAMS HILL (1861-1943) was born and grew up in the home still stand-ing at 1008 High St. She studied at what is now the Art Institute of Chicago, taught briefly at Iowa (now Grinnell) College, then began a career painting scenes of the American Northwest - national parks, landscapes of the West, wildlife and scenes that a passenger might see on a rail trip through the West. Many of her paintings were commissioned by railroads. Her works were displayed at the Chicago

World’s Fair in 1893 and major exposi-tions in St. Louis, Portland and Seattle.

JOSEPHINE WETMORE RUST (1874-1927) opened a medical practice in the 1890s above Bates Drug Store on Main Street. In 1905 she married Mr. Rust, a local phar-macist, and later moved her office to 1402 Main St. She was also the Grinnell College physician. The Rusts moved from Grinnell in 1917 because of Mr. Rust’s job. Dr. Rust continued in the medical field, travel-ing the state stressing the importance of physical exams for preschoolers.

LAETITIA MOON CONARD (1871-1941) came to Grinnell with her husband, Henry S. Conard, who taught botany at Iowa

(Grinnell) College. With degrees from Smith College and the University of Chicago and study at the Sor-bonne and Columbia University, she later taught economics and sociology at the college. She was involved in the Iowa Civil Liberties

Union and helped start the Grinnell League of Women Voters. She ran for governor of Iowa in 1932 and for the U.S. Senate in 1936 on the Socialist ticket.

The display was researched and pre-pared by board members Karen Groves, Ann Igoe, Barb Lease, Dorrie Lalonde, Betty Moffett, Cheryl Neubert, Carol Nielsen and Julie Young with the assis-tance of Monique Shore from the Drake Community Library.

TRAILBLAZERS Notable women of Grinnell

For the 2012 Women’s History Month (March), the Grinnell Historical Museum and the Drake Community Library teamed up to research and present a display of interesting women in Grinnell history. Few of them are familiar names. All of them, however, de-serve to be remembered for spirit and accomplishments ahead of their time.. Here is a sample of the 20 women featured. The written material used in the display is available at the museum

Fannie Buchanan

Laetitia Conard

Gerald and Sara Adams Arnold and Harriet Adelberg Dan and Nancy Agnew Claude W. Ahrens Charitable Trust Jon Andelson and Karen Stein Phyllis Armstrong Roberta Atwell Richard and Marsha Bachman Sarah Jane Baker Bob and Miriam Baumann Steve and Judy Bennett Rachel Bly Peter and Diane Boeke Alicemary and Gordon Borthwick Sue and Warren Bower Richard C. Brown Clara Bulens Joanne Bunge Bob and Nancy Cadmus Doug and Ginny Cameron Janet Carl Mike and Lynn Cavanagh Ken and Phyllis Christiansen Ted and Helen Clausen Gloria Clay Beryl and Mary Lou Clotfelter Lloyd and Vera Cousins Jim and Joan Cunningham John and Edith Dawson Robert and Susan Dimit Elizabeth Dobbs Donald Doe and Lesley Wright Sue and George Drake Drummond Club Charlie and Mari Duke W. McKelvie, J. Eismann Bob and Sandy Falck Susan J. Ferguson Ed and Eula Fields Don and Val Gall Hugh German Kim Gilbert Susanne Graham Ruth Greenwald Stan and Gail Greenwald Grinnell College

Virgil and Pat Groth Karen Groves Dennis and Tommy Haas Ann DeLong Haase Jackie Halverson Jaquette J. Halverson Montie and Betty Hammond Elizabeth Hays Frank and Gail Heath Art Heimann Arnie and Joanie Heimsoth Brian and Nancy Heineman Nancy Hendrickson Historical and Literary Club Judith and Chris Hunter Gretchen Isenberg Clark and Annie Jensen Sally Johnson Elsie Johnston Jean Jones Dan and Jill Kaiser Marjory Kaloupek Jean Kinnaird Susie Kinney Philip Kintner Jewel Kintzinger and Burtwin Day Loren and Peggy Kolpin Carlene A. Krumm Judy and Lyle Kuehl Karen and Mark Kurtz Gerald and Dorrie Lalonde Allen and Sheila Latcham Tom and Dianne Latimer Russelle Jones Leggett Cyndy and Ralph Levy Jean Libbey H.R. and Rhea Light Mary Loucks Ben and Emily Louden Gordon and Dorothy Louden Jim and Betty Ludden Mabel Madill Tom Marshall Teresa and Brad McCall Howard and Sue McDonough

Lee Meredith Duane and Joyce Ellis Meyer Orlan and Verlene Mitchell Betty and Sandy Moffett Carol Molison Czrol and Bob Moritz Henry Jr. and Helen Moyer Jack and Jan Mutti Cheryl Neubert Carol Nielson Michele Parslow Janis Peak Roger and Mitzi Pederson John and Emily Pfitsch Phi Rho Lambda Ed and Karen Phillips Albert Pinder Eloise Raffety Rick and Sue Ramsey Monte and Suzanne Redenius Kenneth and Phyllis Saunders John and Pat Saxton Don and Jeananne Schild Janet Schmidt Russ and Mary Schuchmann Craig and Emily Schultz Mary and Doug Shutts Cliff and Marilyn Strovers Tom and Kathy Szary Russ and Barbara Tabbert Lester and Kay Tharp Jeanette Tisdale Tuesday Club Lucille Van Dyke Roger and Val Vetter Bruce and Martha Voyles Bill and Joy Weeks Robert and Kim Wemer Larry and Colette Wilson Victor and Diane Wilson Bill and Jean Wissmiller Bonnie and Gordon Wold Netia Worley Larry and Jo Wray Mary Jane Zimmerman

GRINNELL HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Many thanks to our donors in 2011 The Grinnell Historical Museum thanks the individuals and groups who contributed

more than $8,000 to the operation of the museum in the past year. Most of the donors were local, but we also received donations from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida.

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Grinnell Historical Museum 1125 Broad Street Grinnell, Iowa 50112 SUMMER 2012

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

With very little coaxing, Howard McDonough agreed to serve once again as president of the Grinnell Historical Museum. Howard, who knows more people, owns more old stuff and possesses more skills than anyone in town, is perfect for the job.

New board members include Ann Igoe, Cheryl Neubert and Dan Tindall. Ann became involved in the museum as a way of getting to know Grinnell after moving here from California two years ago. She has a background in teaching, edu-cational technology and instruc-tional design. Cheryl has served on the Grinnell Historical Preser-vation Commission, on the board of the Grinnell Historic Neighbor-hood Association and worked for eight years in the archives at Grin-nell College. Dan is a local archi-tect. (His master’s project at Iowa State University School of Archi-tecture was overseeing the restora-tion of the railroad depot in Grin-nell.) He has served as chair of the Grinnell Historic Preservation Commission.

In flower Thanks to the Grinnell Area Gar-den Club, plantings (including peonies and roses) -were added next to the foundation on the south side of the museum, the front garden under the sign was enhanced, and a hosta bed was created at the northwest corner of the building. The goal is to create landscaping as it might have looked in the early 20th century.

Racing is out, but admiration is in When RAGBRAI announced plans for an overnight stop in Grin-nell in 2011, museum volunteers dusted off an old bike that had been stored for years in the Carriage House. It turned out to be a racing bike—a Rambler No. 10. Museum board member Frank Heath did some newspaper research and found that the model was manufactured in 1895. The year was confirmed by Craig Cooper, owner of Bikes to You, who found a paper tag inside the frame with the 1895 date. Further research by Frank showed that the bike belonged to Fred Spaulding (son of Henry W. Spaulding of the buggy company), who was a champion bike racer at Iowa Col-lege (now Grinnell College). It is believed to have been last rid-den in Grinnell in the 1940s. Currently, some parts are being re-plated and the frame will be repainted. You’re not likely to see the 14-pound bike with wooden rims around town, however. Once restored, it will be used for display only Even with restoration, the frame is too thin to support much weight. And remember, it was first pedaled 117 years ago.

New board members

2012 FUND DRIVE Grinnell Historical Museum

Join in support of the Grinnell Historical Museum with a contribution to the museum and/or the Grin-nell Historical Museum Endowment Fund.

NAME _________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED _______________ The Grinnell Historical Museum is a non-profit organization under Code 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev-enue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Make checks payable to the Grinnell Historical Museum Mail to Vera Cousins, treasurer, 903 16th Ave., Grinnell, IA 50112 An Endowment Fund for the Grinnell Historical Museum was established in 2010 to provide long-term support for the museum’s operations. You can add to the fund through a designated donation to the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, P.O. Box 344, Grinnell, IA 50112.

2012 FUND DRIVE Grinnell Historical Museum

Join in support of the Grinnell Historical Museum with a contribution to the museum and/or the Grin-nell Historical Museum Endowment Fund.

NAME _________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED _______________ The Grinnell Historical Museum is a non-profit organization under Code 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev-enue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Make checks payable to the Grinnell Historical Museum Mail to Vera Cousins, treasurer, 903 16th Ave., Grinnell, IA 50112 An Endowment Fund for the Grinnell Historical Museum was established in 2010 to provide long-term support for the museum’s operations. You can add to the fund through a designated donation to the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, P.O. Box 344, Grinnell, IA 50112.