Iowa Heritage Illustrated

Swaim, Ginalie

Adieu to thee, 19th century': Iowans Observe New Year's

English

Iowa Heritage Illustrated, vol.80 no.4, Winter 1999

Heartland Comfort: Bedcoverings from the Collections of the State Historical Society of Iowa

Miss Elizabeth Irish's University Business College: A Look at the History of Commercial Education in Iowa

S N O W
For Iowa, snow is a given. We curse it and we 
celebrate it. In winters of heavy snowfall, we 
compare each storm to those etched in our 
memories. In years of light snow, we caution 
newcomers that "this isn't your typical Iowa
winter. //
We frequent the hardware stores for the new­
est style of snow shovel or snowblower, the 
clothing stores for the warmest and most water- 
resistant fabrics, the sports stores for the fastest- 
flying sleds.
Snow. Flow we shovel it, dress for it, and 
move through it have certainly changed in the 
last century, as the following historical photo­
graphs reveal. But whether it is 1880, or 1936, or 
today, there are certain classic stages we Iowans 
go through every winter as we rekindle our love- 
hate relationship with snow.
— Editor
Fall 1998 1 0 7
S t u m m e d , , ,
First, we are stunned by
its beauty, its 
completeness, the way it 
commands the landscape 
into silence. Since the mid- 
19th century, we Iowans 
have pulled out our 
cameras, donned our boots, 
and stepped out to survey 
the snow.
the snow, by
■ ences  a n d  t e le p h o n e  po les  s t i tc h  p u c k e re d  
s e a m s  across an Io w a  fa r m y a r d  b la n k e te d  w i th
snow. C i r c a  I 9 6 0 .
108 Iowa Heritage Illustrated


A s n o w b o u n d  p h o t o g r a p h e r  in S w e a  
C i t y  c r e a t e d  th is  p h o to  p o s tc a rd  o f  a 
F e b r u a r y  I 9 0 9  s n o w s to r m  t h a t  
b lo c k e d  th e  s t r e e ts  in th e  n o r t h e r n  
K ossuth  C o u n t y  c o m m u n i t y .
110 Iowa Heritage Illustrated
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The next stage, of course, 
is the sinking realization 
that, regardless of 
destination or vehicle, 
we are stuck.
»
N
_  SHSI (IOWA CfTY)
B e i n g  s tu c k  in th e  sn o w  w as  
n o th in g  u nusua l in th e  w i n t e r  o f  
I 9 3 5 /3 6 ,  w h e n  t r e m e n d o u s  s n o w ­
falls s t r a n d e d  fa r  m o r e  veh ic les  
th a n  th is  lo n e  t r u c k .
112 Iowa Heritage Illustrated
B u t  b e in g  s tu ck  is all r e la t iv e ,  as th e s e  tw o  
t ra v e le rs  fo u n d  o u t  in D e s  M o in e s  in N o v e m ­
b e r  I 9 5 7 .  F o u r -y e a r -o ld  D o n n a  G i l le y  tugs a t  
th e  t r ic y c le  h a n d le b a rs  as th r e e -y e a r -o ld  
W i l l  ia m  G i l le y  adds t r a c t io n .
SHSKOES MOINES) NOV 19. 1957 DES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE
Fall 1998 1 1 3
Hailing neighbors, we begin the 
next stage—shoveling ourselves 
out. We call upon muscle power 
and horsepower, and, as the 
work gets underway, someone 
thinks to photograph our 
progress. "Because," we say to 
each other, "years from now, 
no one will believe that it was 
this deep."
R a l p h  T r e m a i n e  p h o to g r a p h e d  th e s e  t h r e e  scenes in F e b ­
r u a r y  I 9 3 6 ,  as lo w a n s  h e lp e d  c le a r  th e  w a y  fo r  t r a in s  on  
C h ic a g o  &  N o r t h W e s t e r n ’s E a g le  G r o v e - H a w a r d e n  l in e .
114 Iowa Heritage Illustrated

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SHSMOES MOINES) DES MOINES REGISTER ÂNO TRIBUNE. J M  1949
L e f t :  A  f a r m e r  h e fts  a shovel an d  
w a lk s  d o w n  a c le a r e d  la n e ,  N o v e m b e r  
1959.
B e l o w :  P e d e s tr ia n s  a t  F i f th  an d  W a l ­
n u t  S t r e e t s  in D e s  M o in e s ,  J a n u a ry  
1949, w a tc h  as sn o w  h ead s  up  th e  
c o n v e y o r  b e l t  o f  a m e c h a n ic a l  
s n o w lo a d e r  a n d  in to  a w a i t in g  t r u c k ,  
a t  th e  s p e e d  o f  a t r u c k lo a d  p e r  
h a lf  m in u t e .
N e x t  page: N e a r  S p i r i t  L a k e ,  p h o ­
t o g r a p h e r  L. F. W i l l i a m z  c a p tu re s  a 
d r a m a t ic  m o m e n t  as a t r a in  on  th e  
C h ic a g o ,  R o c k  Is land  &  Pacific  b lasts  
th r o u g h  d r i f ts  in M a r c h  1917 . SHSl (IOWA CITY)
Fall 1998 1 1 7


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Finally, once 
sufficient snow has 
been blasted and 
blown, shoveled 
and shifted—or has 
simply melted 
away—we set forth 
to resume our daily 
business. We seek 
each other's com­
pany, eager to share 
stories about who 
conquered the 
deepest drifts and 
whose horsepower 
performed the best.
S le ig h s  an d  bobs leds  s u r ro u n d  th e  
M o n r o e  C o u n t y  C o u r t h o u s e  in A lb ia ,  
c irc a  I 9 0 0 .
120 Iowa Heritage Illustrated

I
t -. »
A b o v e :  S a tc h e l  in h a n d ,  a M a q u o k e t a  
c it iz e n  sets f o r t h  a f t e r  a M a r c h  1923  
s n o w s to rm .
R ig h t :  N e l l ie  an d  W i l m a  W a r r e n  
pause o u ts id e  t h e i r  h o m e  in W e s t  L ib ­
e r ty ,  a b o u t  1904.
R e lo w :  Ears  p e e k  a b o v e  th e  d r i f ts  as 
a m u le  t e a m  pulls a w a g o n  a n d  its 
passengers th r o u g h  th e  w i n t e r  snows  
o f 1935 /36 .
L e f t : T w o  w o m e n  s t r ik e  a ja u n ty  pose  
in f r o n t  o f  th e  W in n e b a g o  C o u n t y  
C o u r th o u s e  in F o re s t  C ity .
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Suinreinideriuni«
' SHSI (OES MOINES); PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOAN UFFRING FOR THE OES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE  (JAN 27 1962)
e  j o y  , , *
Others among us 
simply surrender to 
snow's splendidly 
slippery nature. We 
pile into sleds and 
sleighs, strap on skis, 
seek out the pure joy.
L e f t :  P h o to g r a p h e d  n e a r  C e d a r  Rap  
ids, w h e r e  th e y  w e r e  a t te n d in g  c o l ­
leg e ,  f o u r  s is ters  o f  a re l ig io u s  o r d e r  
in In d ia  e m b a r k  u p o n  a sleigh r id e  in 
J a n u a ry  I 9 6 2 .
O  v e r v ie w :  W h i l e  a w o m a n  sm iles  
f r o m  th e  p o rc h ,  a b o b s le d  p a r ty  
poses i n W e s t  L ib e r ty .
SHSI (IOWA CiTY) W A  WARREN COLLECTION
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te s ts — and  
c o n f i r m s — th e  
fo rc e  o f  g rav ity .
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Heritage Illustrated
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sled t r a n s p o r t in g  an e n o r m o u s  log to  a s a w m il l .  P h o to g r a p h e d  on th e  H e i b e r  
fa m i ly  f a r m ,  in B la c k  H a w k  C o u n ty .  ❖
Heritage Illustrated
SHSI (IOWA CITY)
Fall 1998 131



Snow

Iowa Heritage Illustrated, vol.79 no.3, Fall 1998

"Show them the goods": a Small-town Iowa businesses in the 1920s," as photographed by William H. Felton

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