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Author Archives: SCblogger
150 Years Ago Today
April 12, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War— a war from which 13,589 Iowa men, and countless others, never returned home. Our Special Collections Center, is home to many interesting primary and secondary resources … Continue reading
Poets and Poetry: I See the Hills
April is National Poetry Month, so it seems fitting to share the work of a few of our local poets each week. George Cram Cook, author and playwright, was born in Davenport on October 7, 1873. Although he considered Greece his … Continue reading
Flood of Images: the West End Perspective
As we keep a watchful eye on the river levels around here, it might be interesting to look back at the last few times it rose up to shake hands with Davenport. Here are a some of our favorite flooding … Continue reading
Genealogy Night!
Are the nuts in your family tree taking up all of your precious research time? We in the Special Collections Center understand. And we are once again opening our Center to give you a little extra time to root out … Continue reading
Posted in Genealogy, Library
Tagged Genealogy Night, SCIGS, Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society
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Celebrate Bird Day – it’s the law!
On April 20, 1923, The 40th General Assembly of the State of Iowa enacted the observance of a new holiday: Bird Day. It was an act to designate and set apart the twenty-first day of March as a day for … Continue reading
Did somebody say “spring”?
Daylight Savings Time began yesterday, which means that spring is just around the corner! Are you ready for the warmer temperatures and blooming flowers? Here is an image from our photograph collection that we hope will get everyone excited about … Continue reading
Davenporters of Note: George Cram Cook
George Cram Cook was born in Davenport on October 7, 1873, to a prominent, respectable family. His parents sent their son to be formally educated not only at Harvard, but at the universities in Heidelberg and Geneva. They were hoping … Continue reading
A Fire Engine by Any Other Name
Great excitement greeted the arrival of the month of March in 1866—and it wasn’t weather related! The citizens of Davenport were awaiting the arrival of their new fire engine with great anticipation. This wasn’t a simple hand pump type, but a … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged By Any Other Name Series, Davenport Fire Department, Fire King Engine and Hose Company, Fires, German Theatre, Hand Pump Fire Engines, Liberty Company, Liberty Steam Fire Engine and Hose Company No. 1, Mayors, Michael Donahue, Pilot No. 3 Engine, Steam Fire Engine, Volunteer Fire Companies
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Novel Cuisine
It’s a given in the Quad-Cities that if an organization or business is around long enough, it will produce a cookbook. Just look at the 641.5 shelves in our Special Collections Center and you’ll see decades worth of church cookbooks, … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Annie Wittenmyer, Cookbooks, Davenport Public Library, Novel Cuisine, Recipes
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Long time Special Collections librarian passes away
Many long time genealogists and local historians will remember Mary Herr, who worked at the Davenport Public Library for more than 40 years. She had a great interest in genealogy and local history and spent her last working years assisting … Continue reading
