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Author Archives: SCblogger
Specifically for Seniors: Your Family Tree — Finding Your Roots
Love of the past implies faith in the future. – Stephen Ambrose, 1936-2002 Specifically for Seniors Programs are held on the last Wednesday of each month through November, at 1:00 p.m. at the Fairmount Branch Library. This month, the program … Continue reading
Dog days of summer
The month of August is commonly referred to as “the dog days of summer”, so we at Special Collections thought we would share some of our favorite “dog” images from the Hostetler photograph collection. The first set of pictures were … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged bulldog, Children, collie, Curtis (family name), Dogs, Grates (family name), Hostetler Studios, Irma Kohn, jack russell terrier, Katherine Peek, Pets, Portraits, wolfhound
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Just Shelved: Local Authors
It appears to be a well-kept secret that our Special Collections Center archives the work of local authors from Octave Thanet to Dick Stahl. The most current additions to our local author shelves include: Complicated Weather Poems by Ryan Collins, … Continue reading
Heat Wave: 1901
“Fair tonight and Wednesday continued warm”* A prosaic statement for sure, but warm failed to describe the conditions being dealt with by local individuals during the last two weeks of July 1901. Drought, heat and humidity controlled our area, and … Continue reading
Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener…
This Saturday, July 16th, is National Hot Dog Day, so it seems like a good time to profile one of Davenport’s largest employers, and its predecessor. Henry Kohrs was born in Holstein, Germany on November 15, 1830. He immigrated to … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport (Iowa), Henry Kohrs, hot dogs, Kohrs Packing Company, Meat packing industry, Oscar Mayer
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Have You Seen: Mrs. Millie Berger?
Every so often, we’re going to post the image (and available information) of a person, place, or thing about which we would like to know more. We would like to invite you to take a good look, and if you … Continue reading
Introducing America’s GenealogyBank
We are pleased to announce that we’ve subscribed to another terrific online genealogy resource: America’s GenealogyBank. This resource is user friendly—our staff enjoying experimenting with it!—and offers some keyword searching. Its five databases can help researchers find family members, verify … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library, Local History
Tagged America's GenealogyBank, Genealogy, library, Local History, new resources, Online Indexes
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One hundred years ago: Davenport High School, Class of 1911
In June of this year, around 970 students graduated from our three Davenport high schools. In contrast, ninety-two students received their diplomas from Davenport High School in June of 1911. This marked the first time that graduates from both semesters were … Continue reading
Summer is here!
And about time, too. Summer river outing, ca. 1890s This image shows nineteen people and one brave little boat sitting pretty low in the water, on a “Summer River Outing”, 1890’s style. This 4 x 6 inch postcard is part of our … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Canoes, Franciscan Sisters, Photographs, Postcards, Rivers, Summer
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Summit Cemetery: Memories of a Rural Past
It catches the eye. Nestled amongst more elaborate headstones in Summit Cemetery is a small wooden grave marker. It is simply engraved “Lena Smith 1915 – 1932.” One cannot walk by, but feels the need to stop and ponder about … Continue reading
