Author Archives: SCblogger

Just Skating By . . .

The river frequently froze over smooth, and made wonderful skating, particularly distance skating.  A favorite stunt was to skate from Davenport downstream as far as Rock River—a matter of five or six miles.  Sometimes, if there happened to be a … Continue reading

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A Street by Any Other Name: Kimberly Road

The street known as Kimberly Road in both Davenport and Bettendorf was dedicated on December 14th, 1936. This road was an extension of U. S. Highway No. 6 and it passed through what at the time was the northern section … Continue reading

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In Their Own Words: Pearl Harbor

In 2001, our Special Collections Center was privileged to conduct oral history interviews with several area World War II veterans and others who were personally connected to the War, both home and abroad. On this 70th anniversary of the attack … Continue reading

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Guess Who’s Coming to Town!

  Santa likes Davenport, Iowa—probably because we’ve thrown him some pretty good parades over the years.   The Jaycee’s Santa was bigger than life in the 1940s . . .  . . .  But decided he’d rather sit down for … Continue reading

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Turkey Notes: a four-line Davenport tradition

It’s Thanksgiving Week!* Some of our readers already know about The Turkey Note tradition, either because your family writes them, your children write them in school, you make children write them in school, or you caught our previous posts about … Continue reading

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Moustache Season

We’ve noticed that moustaches seem to be making a comeback. It might be because of Movember, a month long campaing that helps raise awareness for men’s health, including prostate and other cancers.   If you’re looking for some inspiration, here are … Continue reading

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A Hero of the Iowa 7th: Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Wentz

Wednesday, November 13, 1861 was a day of mourning for the citizens of Davenport, Iowa.  Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Wentz would be buried on that crisp Autumn day. Only a few weeks before local residents had cheered as Wentz and members … Continue reading

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A History Mystery Solved: The Disappearance of the Lindsay Lagoon

Once upon a time, there was a Mississippi River lagoon in the area near Lindsay Park Marina in the Village of East Davenport.  The lagoon was used for swimming and fishing.  Pretty nice place, from what we hear. It’s not … Continue reading

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A Summer Morning Haunting?

The end of October is upon us with cooler days, rustling leaves, and stories of haunted houses and ghosts.  We have found, though, that rumored hauntings are not just for Halloween. One such alleged haunting merited a small article in … Continue reading

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A Street by any other Name: The Legend of Bloody Hollow

We have blogged in the past about west Davenport subjects, including Fairmount Cemetery, which was named in a contest, Scheutzen Park with its fabled fairy lights, and the fun of the Mississippi Valley Fair.  Today, we’re adding another west Davenport … Continue reading

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