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Tag Archives: Iowa
Urban Recycling–Davenport Style
The Burtis House was built in 1857 on east 5th Street in downtown Davenport. Billed as the biggest hotel in Iowa, the Burtis was perfectly positioned to take advantage of the passenger trains coming over the first railroad bridge across … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Burtis House, Crescent Lofts, Crescent Macaroni, Davenport, Davenport Lofts, Iowa, Local History, urban recycling
2 Comments
Living Memory History: The Blizzard of ’79
Anyone living in the Quad City region is probably happy that the week of January 11 – 17, 2009 is now over.With temperatures in the minus 20’s (Fahrenheit) at night (and during the morning commute) and the highs barely breaking … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Blizzard of 1979, Davenport, Iowa, Local History, snow, Weather Records
10 Comments
A Capital Theater!
Children arising early with noisy glee. Presents opened to joyful laughter. Special breakfasts, brunches, and of course the traditional dinner. Christmas 1920. Along with all the happiness of the day was the excitement of the thought of going … Continue reading
The Art of (Alice) French Cooking
We are about half way through the season of Holiday Feasting, where Thanksgiving dinners (and the leftovers) have mercifully worn off and many of us begin to look forward to the next traditional fancy dinner with joy or with dread—depending, … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Alice French, Christmas dinner, Davenport, Iowa, Teddy Roosevelt
4 Comments
Now Available: Iowa Civil War Enlistment Papers
If you’ve got an ancestor who served in an Iowa Regiment during the Civil War we’ve just acquired a great resource to assist you in your research. Thanks to some generous folks like the Tawani Foundation in Chicago who provided … Continue reading
A Grand Opening
A noon day parade. Flowers sent from the garden of movie star Ginger Rogers. Big executives in town. Search lights across the sky . An American Legion band furnishing a musical background. What was happening?? Why, everyone was getting ready … Continue reading
Turkey Notes
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s Turkey Note time! What on earth, you may ask, are Turkey Notes? Turkey Notes are a Davenport Thanksgiving tradition full of mystery and glamour and fairly bad poetry. They are said to have been around for … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Davenport, Holidays, Iowa, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Traditions, Turkey Notes
24 Comments
A Soldier’s Letter Answered
Approximately 76,237 Iowa men fought in the Union Army during the Civil War. Of these men, 13,589 did not survive the war, and many others were in no condition to support their families. Annie Wittenmyer, Iowa’s first female Sanitation Agent, … Continue reading
Posted in Local History
Tagged Annie Wittenmyer Home, Civil War, Davenport, Iowa, Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Local History, Orphanages
3 Comments
Happy Anniversary to the Library of Tomorrow!
If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that we use it to share snippets of local history. We hope you’ll forgive us if we take the opportunity this week to share some brief history of a … Continue reading
Posted in Library, Local History
Tagged Davenport, Davenport Public Library, Edward Durell Stone, Iowa
2 Comments
