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Tag Archives: Davenport (Iowa)
San Fran 49er Fan – Iowa Connections
If you watched last weekend’s NFL Divisional playoffs, you probably saw some Iowans in action! Did you know that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, “Mr. Irrelevant”, was a very successful quarterback at Iowa State University? He seems pretty relevant … Continue reading
A Little Special Collections Poem for Gift Ideas
Special Collections is here to help with some last-minute gift ideas! For the ladies in your life, handy home tools might be a hit. But, something more personal might be a better fit. Teens are tough, but technology is good! … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Advertisements, Advertising, Davenport (Iowa), newspapers
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A Trusted Friend: The murder of Rose Gendler
22-year-old Rose Gendler left her part-time job at M. L. Parker Co. in downtown Davenport a little after 9:00 p.m. on December 21, 1932. She had worked a full day in the toy department and still had to catch the … Continue reading
Halloween History in Newsprint
From the shrouded mists of history, the mysterious Samhain (pronounced “sow-wen”) is an ancient Celtic end-of-summer or beginning-of-winter festival where Halloween finds its origins. In the early newspapers of Davenport, readers read about this curious holiday intertwined with Hallowe’en on … Continue reading
The Truth Will Out: Annie Wittenmyer
In preparation for a recent program featuring Annie Wittenmyer and the orphanage she is forever linked to in Davenport, Iowa, inconsistencies within reference works were found bringing up a number of questions. Turning to some basic documents used for family … Continue reading
Found in a Library Book: A Davenport Mayor Connection
We find curious artifacts in books from time to time. A couple of weeks ago when we were featuring our collegiate yearbooks we found two pen drawings by an Art Kroppach. Davenporters should be familiar with Mr. Kroppach. He was … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Arthur Kroppach, Davenport (Iowa), drawings, Mayors of Davenport, university of Iowa
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Heading Back to Campus: Collegiate Yearbooks
As college campuses revive with the activities of students moving into the dormitories, attending classes, and studying in every conceivable place, we wanted to share a resource for those searching for faculty, students, and other aspects of collegiate life over … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport (Iowa), Genealogy, Iowa, Local History, Yearbooks
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“Last Seen” and the Black Community in Davenport
A valuable resource for discovering more details about the families of Davenport’s post-Civil War Black community is Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery, an online database of advertisements “placed in newspapers across the United States (and beyond) by formerly enslaved … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged African Americans, Ashe, Black history, Cooper, Davenport (Iowa), Genealogy, Local History, Pitts, Reynolds, Robinson, Simons
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A Century of Back to School
A new school year is upon us! Fresh pencils, new beginnings, stomach butterflies, and of course…. NEW SHOES AND CLOTHES! Here is a century of back-to-school fashion from 1900-2000 available from our local business establishments! The 1900s The 1910s The … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Advertisements, Clothing, Davenport (Iowa), newspapers, Schools
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A Beautiful Place: A Letter about Davenport of July 1842
This newsy July 1842 letter addressed to “Aunt” Elizabeth B. Langdon from Ellen Harris describes her ten-day journey along the Ohio River, then to the mighty Mississippi River as Ellen, husband William, her mother, and perhaps other family made their … Continue reading
