| Contact:
Jeff Morgan, Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov,
(515) 281-3858
(DES
MOINES) – The State Historical Society
of Iowa will launch a year-long celebration of its
150th anniversary with events in Iowa City on February
7, the day the Society’s constitution was signed
in 1857.
The public is invited to an open house 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
February 7 at the Centennial Building, 402 Iowa Avenue.
Guests may tour the building and view historical materials
in the SHSI collections, view an exhibition of photographs
by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Don Ultang
and learn about the Iowa Labor Collection. In addition,
the following activities are planned:
- 9-10 a.m. – World War II
clipping project showcased by volunteer workers
- 10-11 a.m. – National History
Day student, Kiona Rolfes, from Harding Middle School
in Cedar Rapids will perform her play based on Annie
Wittenmyer, who worked with Sanitary Commissions
during the Civil War
- 11 a.m.-Noon – Historic
Preservation Award winners in Iowa City will be
featured and resource books from the library relating
to architecture and historic preservation will be
on display. Helen Burford from the Friends of Historic
Preservation will be available to speak to with
the public
- 1:30-3 p.m. – Stereo slide
show presented by Ernie Rairdin will feature historical
3-D images of Iowa
- 3:30-5:30 p.m. – Book signing
by Marybeth Slonneger, author of Wetherby’s
Gallery: Paintings, Daguerrotypes & Ambrotypes
of an Artist
- 7 p.m. – Historian Robert
R. Dykstra will give a free public lecture in the
Senate Chamber of Old Capitol titled “Race,
Courage, and Discipline in Iowa’s Heroic Age.”
Derived from his book, Bright Radical Star: Black
Freedom and White Supremacy on the Hawkeye Frontier,
the lecture will focus on debates about black suffrage
in Iowa. February is Black History Month.
- 8-9 p.m. – a public reception
at Old Capitol with a musical performance by Bob
and Kristie Black and the Banjoys.
All activities are free and open to the public.
Call 319-335-3911 for more information.
These sesquicentennial activities were made possible
through the generous support of Humanities Iowa and
the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Iowa
Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts;
the Center for Recent United States History; Heritage
Microfilm, Inc., and Hills Bank and Trust Company;
Technigraphics, Inc.; Pleasant Valley Flower Shoppe;
Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center; and
Friends of Historic Preservation among others.
The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division
of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and serves
as a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy and
as an advocate for understanding Iowa’s past.
Its dual mission of preservation and education involves
identifying, recording, collecting, preserving, managing
and providing access to Iowa’s historical resources.
As an advocate of understanding Iowa’s past,
SHSI educates Iowans of all ages, conducts and stimulates
research, disseminates information, and encourages
and supports historical preservation and education
efforts of others throughout the state.
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