Author Archives: SCblogger

In Memoriam: Barbara Bush

With these images from the Davenport Public Library’s archives, we are remembering Barbara Bush’s visit for the dedication of the Learning Center on January 21st, 1988. The Learning Center housed a collection of materials specially-selected to help promote literacy, a cause dear … Continue reading

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40 Years Ago: The Annie Wittenmyer Branch of the Davenport Public Library

The former administration building of the Annie Wittenmyer Home, at 2800 Eastern Avenue, opened as a branch of the Davenport Public Library on Monday, April 3rd, 1978. That’s forty years ago this month! The City of Davenport’s improvements to the … Continue reading

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Tracking the Tracts: Researching the World War I Government Housing Project in Davenport

As a follow-up to Alma Gaul’s story “Homes for the Homefront: 600-plus homes were built for war workers” in the Quad-City Times this past Sunday, we would like to share these two panoramic photographs of the Black Hawk Addition (or … Continue reading

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A Celebration of Spring: Blooms of the Past

We hope Loretta Clayton’s hand-painted/retouched photographs of the floral displays at the old Vander Veer Park Conservatory* have you thinking happy spring thoughts despite tomorrow’s snowy forecast! The conservatory at Vander Veer still creates seasonal exhibits — a perfect place to … Continue reading

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The Sarsfield Guards: The first bi-state St. Patrick’s Parades

Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 11:30 a.m., the 33rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Grand Parade will start in Rock Island, Illinois, cross the Talbot Memorial Bridge (formerly the Centennial Bridge), and end in Davenport, Iowa. This much-beloved event is the … Continue reading

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1910: “Alien” Women Arrive in Davenport

With the celebration of International Women’s Day this week and Women’s History Month, we are focusing our attention on the women who came to live in Davenport from other parts of the world in the early years of the twentieth … Continue reading

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Davenporters of Note: African American Soldiers in WWI

In celebration of Black History Month 2018, we have been searching for information on the African American soldiers from Davenport and Scott County who served in the U.S. Army one hundred years ago in the First World War. In October … Continue reading

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Newspaper Love Notes: February 14, 1918

In the February 14, 1918 issue of the Davenport Democrat, the marriage of locals Sgt. George Marsh Sheets and Louise Baird was celebrated in connection with a controversy over the conditions at Camp Cody in Deming, New Mexico. Named for LeClaire … Continue reading

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National Pizza Day 2018: The Quad Cities’ Pizza Pie Past

February 9th is National Pizza Day!  The first place to serve pizza in the Quad Cities was Tony’s Pizzeria, inside the Paddock Club in Rock Island, Illinois. Oscar Liske took over ownership of the club formerly known as The Horsehoe … Continue reading

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#ColorOurCollections

Celebrate the 3rd Annual #ColorOurCollections, a week-long coloring fest on social media, hosted by New York Academy of Medicine! From February 5th through 9th, libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions have created free coloring books and sheets from materials in … Continue reading

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