Annals of Iowa Covers Mormons, Amana Society in Latest Issue

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa has a long history of diverse religious beliefs emerging in small communities and two of them are highlighted in the winter 2002 issue of The Annals of Iowa.

Peter Hoehnle describes developments in the Amana Society's woolen textile industry from 1785 to 1942 in "Machine in the Garden: The Woolen Textile Industry of the Amana Society, 1785-1942." Hoehnle concentrates on the ironic but key role this capitalistic, industrial enterprise played in a communitarian society perceived by outsiders as existing in a bucolic garden-like setting.

Fred Woods and Douglas Atterberg offer an account of the Mormon encounter with Keokuk in 1853, when the Mormons used that town as an outfitting post for their emigration to the Salt Lake Valley. Keokuk offered an adequate temporary solution to the Mormon's search for an outfitting point, while the town benefited from the Mormons' temporary presence.

The Annals of Iowa is a quarterly journal of history founded in 1863 and published by the State Historical Society of Iowa, the historical division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Subscriptions to The Annals of Iowa are $19.95 per year; single copies cost $6 and can be purchased by contacting Publications, State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Ave., Iowa City, IA 52240; or by calling Marvin Bergman, editor, at (319) 335-3916.