The Palimpsest

Setterdahl, Lilly

English

Adjusting to America

Mullen, Michael

The
Greatest
American
Living
Machine
by Michael Mullen
COURTESY THE AUTHOR
Edward Earle and Fannie Harriet 
Butler flank their daughter 
Sarah and an unidentified woman
(in large hat).
WARNER BROTHERS CARTOON from the 1930s 
shows a clog trying to escape the clutches of another clog, 
the bully, by running into a modern, streamlined home. 
The bully follows and both dogs become the comic victims 
of the mechanical devices that fill the house. At the same time 
that the house served as the backdrop for the clogs’ antics, it also 
gave the creators of the cartoon a chance to poke fun at the 
modern, futuristic appliances that threatened to change the way 
people lived.
Edward Earle Butler of Des Moines did not see such 
inventions as a threat. Instead, Butler built a house in Des 
Moines in 1935/36 that would showcase the exciting possibilities 
of the modern home in America. What he offered was not a 
cartoon fantasy, but a functional, livable home reflecting many of 
the most progressive ideas in house building at that time.
Butler was a likely candidate to build one of the best examples 
of streamline deco architecture in the country. For one thing, he 
had money. His father, Eugene K. Butler, was a millionaire when 
he retired as general manager at McCormick Harvesting Com­
pany in 1900 and moved from Chicago to Des Moines. Butlers 
own occupation was managing his family’s investments, which 
included many real estate properties in downtown Des Moines. 
Besides his financial resources, Butler was a thoughtful and prac­
tical man who looked to the future.
According to an article in American Magazine in 1937, Butler 
was graduated from Culver Military Academvand the University 
of Chicago, where he majored in chemistry, and served in the 
U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I. He was 23 when he 
first decided to build a house on a hillside overlooking Des 
Moines, a site that continues to provide an exciting view of the 
capital city. But it would be more than two decades before he 
would begin.
Butler and his wife, Fannie Harriet Butler, had lived in Des 
M oines hotel suites or apartments from the end of World War I 
until the mid-1930s and traveled extensively during that time. 
Butler preferred plane flights over train travel. His son, Edward 
B. Butler, was manager ol United Airlines in Des Moines, and 
Butler himself knew many pilots and had his own license. On 
their travels, Butler enjoyed looking at houses and planning his 
own. Finally he decided to act on his interest in house design and 
his desire to create his own house. He purchased an eleven-acre 
tract of land and began plans to build at 2633 Southwest Twenty- 
First Street (now Fleur Drive).
Butler’s landmark house suggests that he may have visited the 
Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1933 and 1934. 
House design was an integral part of the Home Exhibits section at 
the exposition. He was certainly aware of what many believed to 
be a coming revolution. Home and Furnishings, published in 
conjunction with the exposition, announced that "the design of 
the perfect home seems to be the same in everyone’s mind. Its 
main qualifications are only four in number. It must be d u r a b l e ;
130 THE PALIMPSEST
ARCHITECTURAL FORUM
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C O N V E N IE N T ;  L IV A B L E ; A N D  I N E X P E N S I V E .” Blltler S house in 
Des Moines would meet the first three qualifications. And though 
the house would not he inexpensive, Butler would emphasize 
that the principles he incorporated into it could also he part of a 
more modestly priced house.
Butler participated to an unusual degree” in planning and 
supervising construction, according to an article in The Architec­
tural Forum, which called the house the result of two years’ 
close collaboration between a strong individualist and his archi­
tect. Butler worked closely with friend and architect George A. 
Kraetsch (partner with his brother William Kraetsch in the archi­
tectural firm Kraetsch & Kraetsch).To satisfy their requirement 
of durability, Kraetsch and Butler chose concrete, reinforced 
with steel. Exterior walls were made of ten-inch-thick monolithic 
concrete (poured into a form as a continuous mass), furred on the 
inside with latticed metal studs and lath. Interior partitions were 
of cinder concrete blocks covered with hardwall plaster. 1 he floor 
was also reinforced concrete over steel joists. Double-paned 
windows kept out cold and heat.
With 15 carloads of Portland Cement, 110 tons of steel, and 
over 19,000 feet of telephone wire and cable, Butler and Kraetsch 
created a house that was remarkable for its practicality. In the 
Architectural Forum article Butler explained, Materials were 
selected for permanence and ease of upkeep; they were to be 
fireproof, tornado proof, earthquake and termite proof, assuring a 
nominal insurance rate. Surplus materials for decorative pur­
poses are totally lacking as I believe that simplicity and good
ft#
On,
-
Built of ten-inch poured concrete 
walls, the Butler house in Des 
Moines is distinguished by the 
curved corners, flat roofs, and 
terraces characteristic of streamline 
deco architecture.
FALL 1987 131
design are much more restful and inherently beautiful in a 
home.’ Butler chose an architectural style generally known by 
several names: art deco, moderne, streamline moderne, stream­
line deco, or depression modern. It incorporated the common 
features of relatively unadorned surfaces, curved corners, and Hat 
roofs.
a  - J
SECTION THRU RAMPS
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i.____? —
»CALI IN rut
10 is
The ramp zigzagged up from the 
recreation room and three-car 
garage, through the living areas, to 
the glass-walled sunroom on the
top Hour.
LOWER ROOF-, 
LEVEL
Ü
:
o
j* CO
_ SUNROOM & 
ROOF TERRACE 
LEVEL
2 "°  FL0QR 
LEVEL
LIBRARY
LEVEL
2 N0FLOOR 
LEVEL
RECREATION 
ROOM LEVEL
1*T FLOOR 
LEVEL
ih
J_GARAGE
LEVEL
¿1,
SECTION ’A-A’
ARCHITECTURAL FORUM
L I L I' INTO A HILLSIDE, the house had three floors, 
which became six staggered layers (plus garage and sun­
room) when divided by a special feature — a wide concrete 
ramp that served as a central staircase. Butler had 
researched the topic of safety and had found that almost 50 
percent of accidents in buildings happened on stairs. To alleviate 
the problem, he designed a central ramp that gently spiraled from 
the ground floor up to the top-floor sunroom. As he explained,
I he ramp was selected for the convenience in circulation it 
offers. It provides a method of wheeling vehicles anywhere in the 
house and also to permit older people to meter their rise and 
descent to their physical ability. It has proven very successful in 
use, and practically puts the basement and two stories above on 
one level. ” The ramp was less tiring to climb and allowed quicker 
and freer movement along it.
In his research on home design, Butler had noted that few 
owners are satisfied with their homes and that defects in equip­
ment and construction cause friction and expense. He believed, 
according to American Magazine, that a perfect house . . . has a 
psychological effect which may alter entirely a family’s outlook on 
life, stimulate it socially, and even prevent a divorce.
Butler designed the house to be practical and efficient, but not 
at the price of comfort. T he master suite included a bedroom, 
closets, bathroom, dressing room, and a shoe closet. Most rooms 
— there were twenty-eight — had adjoining terraces, porches, or 
balconies, allowing the Butlers, their adult daughter, Sarah, and 
their guests to enjoy the pleasures of fresh air and sunshine. The 
low walls built around each terrace were tilted back slightly so 
that they were more comfortable to sit against, and the concrete 
terraces were painted to reduce glare. From the glass-walled 
sunroom the Butlers enjoyed picnics and an unparalleled view of 
Des Moines and the Raccoon River valley. Butler could plug his 
portable grill into an electrical outlet there or build a fire in the 
fireplace.
Butler took advantage of modern technology to install labor- 
saving devices that would pay for themselves in time saving and 
low cost of operation, he wrote, “and that if necessary would 
make one independent of servants.’ In a description that must 
have overwhelmed the masses of rural Americans who still lacked 
electricity on their farms, Butler listed some of these labor-saving 
devices: automatic heating and air conditioning; automatic water 
softening and heating; an electric towel dryer; an electric eve that
132 THE PALIMPSEST
\  •
'  1
responded to blinking ear headlights to open and close the garage 
doors; eight intercom “house telephones ’; and one of the first 
residential dishwashers and electric garbage disposals. Such fea­
tures, though fairly standard today, in the mid-1980s required 
some explanation; a Des Moines Register reporter defined a gar­
bage disposal for readers as “an electric sink, a feature of which 
w ill be a waste disposer in which garbage may be thrown, pul­
verized, and worked down the sewer. As might be expected, the 
house had an electric refrigerator — and a bit more for a home- 
owner who liked to hunt ducks and entertain: “a small cold 
storage room for freezing game; a cooling room for storing meats 
in quantities that make wholesale purchase possible; [and] an 
extra ice cube freezer with a 675-cube capacity.
ARCHITECTURAL FORUM
URING CONSTRUCTION, lighting engineers from 
General Electric went through the entire house with a 
foot-candle meter to determine the precise degree of 
lighting needed in each room. Five hundred light bulbs 
were installed, many in recessed banks that would direct light on 
the object or work surface. Ninety-six bulbs lit the dining room, 
with controls to change brightness and color (for example, the 
lighting in the room could be adjusted to complement the 
appearance of the most important female dinner guest). Butler’s 
stated goal was no less than “perfect illumination in all the house 
to prevent eye strain.”
In late October 1936 General Electric executives from 
Cleveland and New York met in Des Moines to tour the com­
pleted house, marking the first time such a large group of G.E. 
executives had met on this side of the Mississippi. Judging from 
their enthusiastic response, the trip was not wasted. Carl Snyder, 
G.E. manager of the home bureau, called the house "the first 
truly American home in America, ” explaining that "all the things 
we have done in the past have been borrowed from Europe. We 
think the Butler home includes all the elements we need in the 
American home today.”
The general sales manager of the appliances and merchandise 
division, P. B. Zimmerman, was equally enthralled. “Mr. 
Butler,” Zimmerman said, “has built his house from the inside 
out, employing only modern standard equipment, just as an 
automobile comes in one unit. He has set a mark in unified 
architecture, and the building industry must follow his example. ” 
Zimmerman called the house "the charm home of America” and 
the greatest American living machine ever devised.
Originally a $55,000 building permit was issued, but the 1937 
American Magazine article states the cost at $150,000. Yet 
throughout construction and thereafter Butler insisted that the 
design principles in his house could be applied to houses costing 
much less. He wrote in Architectural Forum, “Our electric bills 
are no larger than those of our neighbors with homes ofcompara-
M
SKSfct*
v.-N
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-A
W anting to avoid the freq u en t 
household accidents that happen  on 
stairs, B utler designed this th ree- 
storv ram p. L a te r he tested  the 
incline by riding a coaster wagon 
down it —  and then quickly and 
isel\ b an n t d child re n s wagons 
and skates in the house.
FALL 1987 133
COURTESY THE AUTHOR
The balconies (here still under 
construction) offered the Butlers 
fresh air and a view of the wooded
Raccoon River Valley.
ble size. In other words, we have tried to include all the things 
which add to the pleasure and convenience of a house without 
anything in the nature of a gadget. There is hardly anything that 
we have used that can t he used in lower priced houses.” To 
further his point, he instructed Kraetsch to draw up plans for a 
$10,000 house with similar features, taking advantage of the 
extensive planning and testing they had done. “Concentrate for a 
year or two on planning a house, Butler advised homeowners, 
“and no matter whether it is large or small, you will spend the rest 
of your life enjoying it.”
NE MIGHT WONDER why so few other examples exist 
todav of what G.E. executives heralded as 'the start of a 
new era in American home building. The largest con­
centration of streamline deco buildings can he found in 
cities that showed enormous growth during the 1930s, such as 
Tulsa, Oklahoma. American architects were addressing a housing 
crisis brought on by the influx of industrial workers into the cities 
during World War I. Prevailing economic conditions of the 1930s 
and returning veterans after both world wars would deepen the 
crisis. Americans needed immediate housing, not streamlined 
“living machines.”
fhe new era never came; nor did the Butler house prove as 
durable as Butler had believed it would be. Built to withstand 
fire, tornado, earthquake, and termite, the house nevertheless 
developed cracks in the roofs and walls. The brass hardware 
supporting the terrace awnings broke away from the concrete.
Butler and his wife lived in the house until September 1966, 
when they moved to a Des Moines apartment. Butler died in 
Fel miary 1970, a month after his wife. The new owner, the Open 
Bible College, used the house for administrative offices and 
classrooms. The college fixed the cracked walls, sealed the exte­
rior, and placed a rubber membrane over the roof to stop further 
leaking. The next project — window renovation to prevent fog­
ging up — stopped at the planning stage when the college 
decided in 1986 to merge with its sister campus in Oregon and sell 
the Butler house.
S
I BEAM LINE DECO was a short-lived style in residential 
architecture. But the Butler house was to some a convinc­
ing example that the truly modern home was feasible and 
sensible. Another Des Moines couple read about Butler s 
home and commissioned Kraetsch and Kraetsch to build them a 
similar modern, though more modest, home in Des Moines. 
Butler had told American Magazine writer Lawrence McCann 
that his wife had originally disliked modern architecture, prefer­
ring a nice colonial house with green shutters. But once the 
house was built, she wouldn t swap this one for six dozen colonial
134 THE PALIMPSEST
houses/ And even McCann was convinced; instructing his read­
ers on what “modernism” meant, he wrote, “When Mr. Butler 
told me the idea behind his house, I understood for the first time 
what this modern movement is all about. The word ‘modern’ had 
suggested something that would give ordinary folks the fi Igets — 
queer gadgets, goofy furniture, jazzy decorations, weird exteri­
ors.
“Actually,” McCann continued, “modernism in housing is . . . 
a plan to make your life more comfortable — to obtain, in a home, 
durability, beauty, utility, and economy. W hen vou bought your 
first vacuum cleaner and electric toaster you joined the modern 
movement.”
In applying that definition on a much grander scale than toast­
ers and vacuums, Edward Earle Butler set a nationally recog­
nized example of the modern movement in American residential 
design. □
r
A semicircular sliding door opened 
into the library. Many roomsr  #
continued the sleek curves and clean 
lines ol the exterior of the house.
NOTE ON SOURCES
For an overview ol the 1930s streamline 
style, see Martin Greif, Depression 
Modern (New York, 1975). The most 
comprehensive article on the Butler 
house is Lawrence McCann, “The 
World’s Most Modern Home. Ameri­
can Magazine (March 1937). Another 
important article, because it contains 
Butlers remarks, is “House for Earl 
Butler, Des Moines, Iowa, Architec­
tural Forum, 67 (Sept. 1937). The Des 
Moines Register followed the house as it 
was being built; see “New Butler I lome 
in Des Moines to Embody the Best in 
Scientific Construction, June 23, 
1935; New Butler Home Nearing 
Completion, April 26, 1936; “Home of 
Tomorrow — New Times — New' 
Ways, Oct. 30, 1936. Rev. Dennis 
Schmidt, former president of the Open 
Bible College in Des Moines, was 
exceedingly helpful in sharing his 
knowledge of the house. His interest in 
preserving the history of the house, as 
well as the structure itself, was admira­
ble.
FALL 1987 135


The Greatest American Living Machine

Andrews, Clarence A

Cedar Rapids in the Roaring Twenties

Noun, Louise

Making her Mark: Nellie Verne Walker, Sculptor

The Palimpsest, vol.68 no.1, January-February 1987

Thomson, Will

A Whale for Iowa

Bird, Carol

Core Sample of Iowa History: The Mather-Bush Collection

Melton, John

Index for 1987
compiled by John Melvin
and Paul Stolt
Abolition, 12-21 
"An Acre of Hill,” 22-31 
Adams, Ephraim, 18 
"Adjusting to America, by L illy 
Setter d a h l , 136-44 
Advertisements, 141, 151 
Agriculture, 2-6, 9, 84-96, 146 
Albin, Fred, 61-64
American Trust and Savings Bank (Cedar 
Rapids): photo of, 35 
Anderson, Magnhild, 141 
Anderson, William, 64-68; photo of, 67 
Andover (Iowa), 37 (caption)
An d rew s , C la ren ce  A., “Cedar Rapids 
in the Roaring Twenties,” 32-48; biog. 
of, following 48 
Antebellum Iowa, 101-2 
Arbor Vitae Summit School (Delaware 
County), 23 
Architecture, 130-35 
Armstrong, Robert, 33 
Arnolds Park, 72-83; photo of, 72-83 
Art Institute of Chicago, 161, 163-67 
Art pottery, 113-29; photo of. Fall cover, 
113, 115, 118-20, 122-28 
Arts and crafts movement, 114-29 
Ashley, James, 14-15 
Assimilation, 136-44 
Attebery , Lo u ie  W ., “Phil Stong’s 
Buckskin Breeches,’ 184-88; biog. of, 
following 192
Automobiles, 37-39: photo of, 37, 42-43, 
91, 93
Aviation, 47-48, photo of, 47
Bailey, A.L., 41 
Ball. J.J., 105
Bankhead, Billie, 88; photo of, 88 
Beckwith (Iowa), 90 
Beenk, Emma, 36
Belgian-American Education Foundation, 
71
Benedict School (Des Moines), 177 
Berry, Samuel, 105
Binns, Charles Fergus, 115-16, 118, 122, 
126
Bird , C arol, “Core Sample of Iowa 
History: The Mather-Bush 
Collection, 174-83; biog. of, 
following 192
Bixby, Amasa G. “California,’ 18
Bixby, Amos, 14-16, 19, 21 
Bixby, Augusta, 14-17, 20 
Bixby, Sarah, 19
Boatright , Ke v in , “A Simple Little 
Building, 60-7L biog. of, following 
96
Bouilleur, Ethel, 117 
Bowen, Jesse, 103-4 
Bradfield, Barbara, 2 
Brewer, Luther, 34, 39 
Brimley, Clement S., 50-59 
Brimley, Herbert H., 50-59; photo of, 54 
Brown, Edwin, 109 
Brown, John, 14 
Bucklev, Barbara. 74 
Burton, EfBe, 36 
Bush, Millicent: photo of, 182 
Bush, Rachel. See Mather, Rachel 
Bush, Stephen Hayes, 178, 180, 183; 
photo of, 182
Butler County Union Guards (Iowa),
106-7
Butler, Edward B., 130 
Butler, Edward Earle, 130-35; photo of, 
130
Butler, Eugene K., 130 
Butler, Fannie Harriet, 130-35; photo of, 
130
Butler House (Des Moines), 130-35;
photo or illus. of, 131-35 
Butler, Sarah, 130; photo of, 130
Campbell, W. Glenn, 68
Carnegie Corporation, 34
Cedar County (Iowa), 174-83
Cedar Falls (Iowa), 98-111; illus. of, 110
Cedar Falls Gazette, 100-2, 104, 109-11
Cedar Rapids (Iowa), 32-48, 136-37, 143;
photo of, 32-33, 35, 42, 44-45 
Cedar Rapids Gazette, 36, 39-42, 44-4 . 
“Cedar Rapids in the Roaring Twenties,” 
by C larence  A. An d r ew s , 32-48 
Century of Progress Exposition (Chicago, 
1933/34), 130 
Cervenka, George, 45 
Charles City (Iowa), 105 
Chicago, 154-55, 161-63, 16., 168, 1.0-72 
Childhood: in rural schools, 22-31; 1920s 
urban, 39-40; 140, 142-43; 1940s 
rural, 146-59; photo of, Winter covers 
Civil War, 98-111; illus. of 98-111
Clark, Nathaniel Winslow, 14, 16-19 
Coal mining, 87-89; photo of miners, 88 
Coalport Iowa), 87-90 
Coe College (Cedar Rapids), 32 (caption), 
36, 39 (caption), 45 
Cole, Cyrenus, 42
A Collaboration in Clav: Iowa State’s 
Prairie Pottery,” by Susan Ru sso , 
112-29
Collins, Arthur, 46-47 
Collins, Merle, 46, 48 
Conrad, Grace. See Graber, Grace 
Cooper, Jane, 14, 17-18 
Cooper, Samuel F., 14-15, 17, 20 
Cooper, Samuel “Scotch,” 16-18 
Copeland, Dallas, 30; photo of, 26 
Core Sample of Iowa History: The 
Mather-Bush Collection, by C arol 
Bir d , 174-83
Costume, 73, 105-6, illus. of, 136-44, 
156-57
Cox, Paul E., 112-29; photo of, 112, 115 
Cummins, Albert Baird, 164
Darling, J.N. “Ding,” 61 
Davis Gift Shop (Iowa City), 121-22 
Deamer, Arthur, 34 
Democratic party, 13, 19-20 
Des Moines (Iowa), 130-35, 164 
Diaries: Sarah Gillespie Huftalen, 23, 
29-30; Rachel and Stephen Hayes 
Bush, 178. See also Personal 
narratives.
Dill, Homer R., 57-59; photo or illus. of, 
57, 58
Dixon, Cletus, 44 
Doolittle, James, 13
Douglas Starch Works (Cedar Rapids), 34 
Douglas, Stephen, 13 
Dubuque (Iowa), 107-8; illus. of, 98-99 
Dust storms, 5-6
Eclipse, 5
Education: integration, 12-21, rural,
22-31, 33-36, 140-41; 1920s 
curriculum, 34-36 
Ehrich, Adelaid, 121-22 
Engle, Paul, 34
Entertainment, 9, 41-46, 91, 93, 141, 
150-51
Erbe, Norman, 69
WINTER 1987 189
Ethnicity: Swedish, 136-44
Fairfield (Iowa), 89
A Farm Family Enters the Modern
✓
W orld hv W illiam  Bern a rd  
G räber , 84-96
“Farm Girl,' by Jo a n n e  M e u sb u r g e r , 
Part 1, 146-59 
Fidler, Alex, 39, 41 
Fifield, R.B., 105-6 
Floete, Franklin, 68 
Foreign-language publications, 136-44 
Forrest, Kathleen, 41 
Fort Dodge (Iowa), 2-11 
Fra alle Lande. 136 
Freja Society, 142
Frontier and pioneer life, 2-11, 184-88 
Four Gorners (Iowa), 90 
Fuller, Henrv B., 170
Gardening, 4-5, 8-9, 22-31 
General Electric, 133-34 
Gillespie, Sarah. See Huftalen, Sarah 
Gillespie
Glendale (Iowa), 89-90 
Good, James, 41
Governor s Greys (Dubuque), 103 
Gräber, Bernard, 87-88, 90-96; photo of, 
inside Summer cover, 89-92, 95 
Gräber, Carl Dean, 93-96; photo of, 93 
Gräber, Catherine (Both), 86 
Gräber, Christian, 86; photo of, 87 
Gräber, Daniel Benjamin, 84-96; photo 
of, 87, 88, 90, 93 
Gräber, Elda, 87-88, 91 
Gräber, Fannie (Wyse), 86; photo of, 87 
Gräber, Florence, 95 
Gräber, Hannah Jane Jennie (Maxwell), 
84-96; photo of, 89, 91 
Gräber, Harold, 93-96; photo of, 93 
Gräber, John Sr., 86; photo of, 87 
Gräber, Nellie (Hollander), 92-95; photo 
of, 93
G räber, W illiam  Ber n a r d , "A Farm 
Family Enters the Modern World, 
84-96; biog. of, following 96 
Gräber, Zelta Mae, 87-88 
Grant’s Department Store (Clinton): 
photo of, inside Spring cover 
Grasshoppers, 8-9 
Gratten, Emma, 36 
Great Depression, 48, 92-95, 126, 128 
The Greatest American Living
Machine, by M ic h a e l  M u l l e n , 
130-35
Greene’s Opera House (Cedar Rapids), 
42, 46
Greiner, Chuck, photo by, 113, 118-28 
Grinnell (Iowa), 12-21; photo of, 21 
Grinnell, Josiah Bushnell, 14-16, 20; 
photo of, 15
Grover, Wayne, 69
Gurney, Jim, 74, 76; photo of, 75
Gwynn, Hazel: photo of, 26
Hagge and Son automobile dealership,
H. (Andover): photo of, 37 
Hall, Beulah and Mildred: photo of, 26 
Hansen, Anna, 140 
Hansen, Ida, 136-44; photo of, 137 
Hansen, Nels Fredrick, 136-37, 143-44 
Hansen Publishing Company, N. Fr.
(Cedar Rapids), 137 
The Hardest Battle We Have Yet 
Witnessed, by K e n n e t h  L y f t o c t , 
98-111
Harlan, Edgar, 62, 169, 171 
Harlan, James, 165; sculpture of, 165 
Henry, John M., 66; photo of, 67 
Hickenlooper, Bourke, 69 
Hodgdon, Frank, 126; Mary, see Yancey 
Holidays and celebrations, 154-59. illus. 
of, 140, 143
Hollander, Nellie. See Gräber, Nellie 
Hoover, Allan, 63-66
Hoover, Herbert, 41, 60-71; photo of, 40, 
49, 69
Hoover, Herbert Jr., 64, 66 
Hoover Institution, 66-68 
Hoover, Lou Henry, 61-64, 70; portrait 
in photo, 70
Hoover National Historic Site, 60-71; 
photo of, 67
Hoover Presidential Library-Museum, 
60-71; photo "I. 60, <>7 70 
Hornaday, William Temple, 50, 57 
Horton, Samuel T., 84 
Horton, Uriah, 86
Households, 2-11, 85, 87, 139-42, 146-59, 
175; photo of, 177, 182 
Howard-Manville, Ida W., 144 
Huftalen, Sarah Gillespie, 22-31; photo 
of, 22-23, 30, Spring cover 
Huftalen, William Henry, 29 
Hunter, Dan, 47 
Hunter, Mary, 171
Idstrom, B.A., 143 
Immigration, 86, 136-44, 180 
Inskeep, Alice, 36 
Integration, 12-21
International Great Exhibition of 1851 
(London), 114 
Iowa Band, 18 (caption)
Iowa City (Iowa), 178
Iowa College (Grinnell College), 14, 17
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, 73, 77
Iowa State Capitol, 164, 171
Iowa State Fair. 61, 117 177
Iowa State University (Ames), 113-29,
165
Iowa Woman Suffrage Commission, 171
Jefferson County, 84-96 
Jensen Company, Viggo \L , 67 
Jensen, Ida. See Hansen, Ida 
Jensen, Paul M., photo of, 67
Kan tor, MacKinlay, 39 
Kent, Fred W., 72-83; photo of or by, 
72-83, Summer covers 
Kent, Janet, 74; interview by, 74-81 
Keokuk, Chief, 164; sculpture of, 165 
King, Philip, 29; photo of, 28 
K111 William R 165 
Kinrade, Johnny, 39 
Knudson, Ellen. See Mather, Ellen 
Kofron, John and Pauline, 67-68 
Kraetsch, George A., 131-34; William, 
131
K-S Pantatorium, 72-83; photo of, 74-75 
Kvinnan och Hemmet: See Qvinnan ocli 
H emmet
KWCR Radio, 46
Lake Okoboji: See Okoboji, Lake 
Larson, Ruth, 36 
Lawson, Glenn; photo of, 27 
Leisure activities: 1870s, 9; 1920s-30s, 
42-44, 92-93; resort area, 73-83; of 
women, 137, 142; photo of, 173-83. 
See also Childhood, Entertainment, 
Holidays and celebrations, Sports 
Lewis, John, 52
Lincoln, Abraham, 13, 162, 172;
sculpture of, 173 
Lindstrom, Ellen, 142-44 
Lingo, Elmer: photo of, 27-28 
Literature, 9, 150, 184-89 
Lockridge (Iowa), 84-96 
Longman, Evelyn, 163 
Lord. Frederic P., 180; Frederic (son), 
photo of. Winter cover 
Lord, Jeannette Mather, 176, 180-81; 
photo of. 176, 183
Losee, Julia Antoinette. See Pr esto n .
J ulia An to in e tt e  Lo see  
Louisiana, 115-18
Luoisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis, 
1904), 139
Louden Machinen Compain (Fairfield), 
94-95
Lowden, Frank, 168
Lucas, T homas A., “Men Were Too
Fierv For Much Talk: The Grinnell
*
Anti-Abolitionist Riot of 1860," 12-21 
biog. of, following 48 
Ly fto ct , Ke n n e t h , "The Hardest 
Battle We Have Yet Witnessed,’ 
98-111; biog. of, following 144 
Lytton (Iowa), 147
McKay, Bruce, 63 
MacNeil, Neil, 66
190 THE PALIMPSEST
Makeever, Midge, 44
M aking her Mark: Nellie Verne W alker.
Sculptor, by L o u ise  No u n , 160-73 
Marriage customs, 85-86; photo of, 182 
Marshall, Verne, 47 
Marston, Anson, 124-25 
Mather, Anders, 182 
Mather, Edith, photo of, 176, 182 
Mather, Ellen, 174, 176, 182-83; photo 
of, 182
Mather, Hannah, 174 
Mather, Lydia, 174, 182 
Mather, Jeannette. See Lord, Jeannette 
Mather, Paul, photo of, 178 
Mather, Rachel. 178, 183; photo of, 176, 
177, 179, 182 
Mather, Samuel, 174, 182 
Mather, Samuel Jr., 174-77; photo of, 182 
Maxwell, Isaac, 84
Maxwell, Jennie. See Graber, Hannah 
Jane
Maxwell, Sarah (Logsdon), 87-88; photo 
of, 89
Maytag, Fred, 66; photo of, 67 
Melvin , Jo h n  and  P aul St o l t , Index 
for 1987, 189-92; biog. of, 
following 192
“Men Were Too Fierv for Much Talk:
0
The Grinnell Anti-Abolitionist Riot of 
I860’’ by T hom as A. L ucas, 12-21 
Merriam, H.G., 184 
Meu sburger , Jo a n n e , “Farm Girl, 
146-59; photo of, 146-47, 152, 154; 
biog. of, following 192 
Midway Studios (Chicago), 167-68, 170, 
172; photo of, 163, 166 
Miscegenation (amalgamation), 12-21 
Moore, T.A., 61 
Moore, Tyree, 51 
Morgan, J. Doug and Hila, 42 
Moulton (Iowa), 160, 172-73 
Mularky, Charles, 106 
Mu l l e n , M ic h a e l , 'The Greatest 
American Living Machine,’ 130-35; 
biog. of, following 144 
Museums, 50-59, 60-71
Nash, George, 71 
Naturalists, 50-59, 72-83 
Newcomb (College) Pottery, 115-19; 
photo of, 115
Newspapers: antebellum, 14-15; Civil 
War, 110-11, 137-39; 1920s, 39-41, 47 
New Sweden (Iowa), 90 
New York School for Clay Working 
(Alfred University), 115-16 
Nichols, Reverend (of Yorktown), 23 
North Carolina, 50-55, 59; map of, 51 
Norwich School (Page County): 22-31.
photo of, 23-31. Spring covers 
No u n , Lo u is e , “Making her Mark:
Nellie Verne Walker, Sculptor,
160-73; biog. of, following 192 
Novak, Leo, 41
Nutting, Charles Cleveland, 50-59; photo 
of, 55
Okoboji, Lake; 72-83; photo of. Summer 
covers, 72-83
Open Bible College (Des Moines), 134 
Overton, Frances, 15-16, 19
Page County (Norwich School), 22-31 
Palmer, Austin N., 36 
Pantatorium Summer,’ by D ebby J 
Z ieglow sky , 72-83 
Parker, Leonard F., 14-15, 19. photo of, 
20
Parker, Sarah, 14, 17-20; photo of, 20 
Parr, Harry, 46 
Pearson, Frank, 64 
Perkins, George, 109 
Penick and Ford Company (Cedar 
Rapids), 37
Perham, D.M. Tex,’ 45 
Personal narratives: 2-11, 31, 32-48,
72-83, 146-59, 174-83. See also 
Diaries
Peterson, George, 117 
“Phil Stong’s Buckskin Breeches, by 
Lo u ie  W. Attebery , 184-89 
Photography, 72-83 
Pioneer Greys (Cedar Falls), 98-111 
Pioneer life: See Frontier and pioneer life 
Post, Jennie, 36 
Pottery. See Art pottery 
Powell, Thomas B., 41 
Powell, Virgil, 38 
Powers, J.B., 105 
Prescott, Frances, 33, 36 
Preston, Billee, 8, 10; photo of, 11 
Preston, Carrie, 2-5, 8-10; photo of, 11 
Preston , Julia An to in ette  Lo s e e , 
“Washtub Over the Sun,’ 2-11; photo 
of, 2, 11
Preston, Peter, 2-11; photo of, 11
Qvinnan och Hemmet (Woman and
home), 136-44; illus. from, inside Fall 
cover, 136-44
Radio, 45-47, 93
Railroads: Civil War, 107, 109, Illinois 
Central 6; shipping rates, 55; travel.
3; workers, 9-10, 92, photo of, 92 
Redpath Bureau, 172 
Religion: Congregational, 14 Mennonite, 
86-89; Methodist, 86, 88; frontier 
view of clergy, 185-87 
Reminiscences: See Personal narratives 
Republican party, 13, 60, 85, 91, 101 
Richey, Lawrence, 61
Rookwood Pottery, 116, 118-19 
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 61, 93 
Rowan, Edward, 34 
Roy, Rob, 105
Rural life: 22-31, 84-96, 146-59, 174-83 
Russell, Frank, 50
Russo, Susan , A Collaboration in Clay 
Iowa State’s Prairie Pottery,’ 113-29, 
biog. of, following 144
Sac City, 156 
Sac County (Iowa)/146-59 
Samuels, Benjamin M., 14 
Sangster, Margaret E., 142 
Scellars: Earl, 61, Jennie, 61-62 
Schaeffer, Charles A., 55 
Schools: See Education 
Sculpture, 160-73 
Sessions, Fitzroy, 103, 105-6, 108 
Sessions, W.H., 105 
Se t t er d a h l , L illy , “Adjusting to 
America, 136-44, biog. of, following 
144
Shaw, Paul, 47; photo of, 47 
Shenandoah (Iowa), 25 
Sigmund, Jay, 33-34, 42 
A Simple Little Building by Kevin 
Bo a trig h t , 60-71 
Slavery, 12-21, 102; illus. of, 18 
Smith, John B., 103-6 
Smith, Lulu: photo of, 24 
Smith, Mary, 28
Smith, Philip [Phillip?], 30; photo of, 28 
Snyder, Carl, 133
Snyder, John, 30, photo of, 25, 27-28 
Social change. 1920s urban, 32-48; 1920s 
rural, 89, 95-96 
Spangler, Harrison, 63-64 
Speas, Bill, 44 
Sports: in 1920s, 41-44 
Stark, Helen Kacena, 45 
Stewart, Florence. See Graber, Florence 
Stoflet, Dorothy, 36
St o lt , Paul and  Jo h n  Me l v in , “Index 
for 1987, 189-92; biog. of, following 
192
Stong, Philip Duffield, 184-89 
Stores and shops: 9; photo of, inside 
Spring cover
Stratton, Winfield Scott, 164-65, 172 
Strauss, Lewis, 66, 68; photo of, 69 
Streeter, Zimri, 105-6 
Suffrage: blacks, 14; women, 138-43, 
171-72, 180
Syverud, Arndt, 73, 75, 77, photo of, 72 
Szaton, Genevieve Lewis, 168, 170
Taft, Lorado, 161, 163-71; photo of, 163 
Talbot, D.H., 50 
Taxidermy, 50-59 
Telephone, 10. 148-49
WINTER 1987 191
Temperance movement, 138-39, 177 
T h o m so n , W il l , “A Whale for Iowa. 
50-59; biog. of, following 96; illus. by, 
50-51, 58
Transportation: by train, 3; urban, 38;
school bus, 147, photo of, 148 
Travel, 2-3, 11, 37-39, 42, 47-48, 72-83, 
155
Truman, Harry S., 65, 69-70; photo of, 69 
Tow, Ellen, 175 
Townsend, Edward, 109 
Turner, David, 33
Underground Railroad, 14, 16, 19 
University of Iowa (Iowa City), 50-59, 73, 
177-78, 180; photo or illus. of, 56-59 
Urban living, 33-38 (growth), 102, 130-35
Van Buren County (Iowa), 184-88 
Voting patterns, 85, 93
Wages and prices: coal mining, 85, 91, 
factory, 94; farm, 88, 94; railroad. 7; 
women’s, 143 
Wagner, Elin, 143 
Wagner, William, 67
Wallace, Myrtle: photo of, 24 
Wallace, Opal, 31 
Walker, Everett A., 161, 163 
Walker, Jane Lindsey, 161 
Walker, Nellie Verne, 160-73; photo of, 
160, 163, 167: sculpture by, 164, 165, 
168-73
Washtub Over the Sun bv Julia  
An t o in e t t e  Lo s e e  P r e st o n , 2-11 
Waverly (Iowa), 105-6 
Webster City (Iowa), 2-3 
West Branch (Iowa), 60-71, 183 
A Whale for Iowa by W ill  T h o m so n , 
50-59
Whaling, 50-59; illus. of, 52-53 
Whitehall, Earl, 48
Willcutt, Gladys ( “Aunt Ha Ha”), 154-55, 
157; photo of, 154 
Willcutt, Mabel, 157; photo of, 154 
Williams L.F.,77 
Wilson, Francis, 41
Wilson, Ida (Willcutt), 146-59; photo of, 
154
Wilson, Joanne. See M e u sb u r g e r , 
Jo a n n e
Wilson, Ruth. 146-59; photo of, 152, 154 
Wilson, Ronald, 146 
W JAM Radio, 45
Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 
177
Women’s clubs, 121 
Women’s magazines, 136-44 
Women’s roles: in home, 2-11; 140-41; 
industry, 142; society, 138-43; as 
teachers, 22-31 
Wood, Grant, 33, 37 
Wooster (Iowa), 90
World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago, 
1893), 138, 162-63, 167 
World War I, 60. 90-92. 168, 178 
World War II, 65. 94-95, 156. 158
Yancey, Mary Lanier, 112-129; photo of, 
117
Z ieglovvsky, D e b b y J., Pantatorium 
Summer. 72-83; biog. of, following 
96
Zimmerman, P.B., 133
192 THE PALIMPSEST


Index for 1987

Zieglowsky, Debby J

Pantatorium Summer
RED W. KENT — 
photographer, natu­
ralist, historian, 
conservationist, and, to 
many, a very special Iowan. Dur­
ing his six-decade career as a 
photographer at the University of 
Iowa, he chronicled the historv
* J
of the university, the bloom of 
Hawkeye athletics, and the 
growth of Iowa City. The follow­
ing collection of photos records 
an early stage in this remarkable 
man’s career of service. Kent 
took the photos when he was a 
college student.
Kent came to the Universitv ofj
Iowa in 1911 with a scholarship 
in his hand and a passion for 
nature and photography in his 
soul. Photography had been his 
avocation since 1908 when he 
had purchased his first camera (a 
Brownie) in his hometown of 
DeWitt, Iowa. On campus he 
quickly developed a reputation 
as a photographer. But it was a 
summer job in 1913 that was 
pivotal for him.
Like most college students 
then and now, Kent was looking 
for a summer job. Like many 
college students then and now, 
he was drawn to northwest Iowa, 
to the Lakes region, a naturalist’s 
dream. Such a popular resort 
area as Arnolds Park and Lake 
Okoboji needed extra hands 
catering to the needs of the 
thousands of tourists who Hocked 
there every summer. Ingenious 
students, not afraid of hard work, 
could profit from such a 
summer’s labor. Fred Kent 
never lacked ingenuity; he 
turned his summers at Lake
Left: Arndt Syverud and Fred Kent 
(with pipe). Right: Business card
b y  D e b b y  J .  Z i e g l o w s k y
Okoboji into something special.
He and his friend Arndt 
Syverud built a shack near 
Arnolds Park and named it the 
“K-S Pantatorium. Here they 
cleaned and pressed the tourists 
summer finery. They slept in a 
tent behind the shack, swimming 
and canoeing every available 
minute and having “a wonderful 
time.”
Of course, Kent took his
camera with him every where.0
Photography was as natural and 
as necessary as breathing. Before 
the summer of 1913 was over, he 
added a tiny darkroom to the 
pantatorium where he could 
print his own photos.
Those photographs from the 
beginning of Kent’s career offer 
hints of what was to come. He 
was remarkably gifted at 
capturing a mood, whether it was 
his friends’ hijinks in a canoe or 
the waves lapping gently on the 
rocks at Pillsbury Point. Each 
photograph was composed with a 
clear purpose, to tell a story. As 
historical records, the 
photographs are extraordinary.
Kent returned to Lake Okoboji 
in the summer of 1914. Again he 
worked in the pantatorium.
Again he explored the lakeshore 
in his canoe, birdwatching. He 
photographed the natural beauty
of Iowa’s lakes — as well as the 
university professors and 
students at nearby Iowa Lakeside 
Laboratory, and the tourists at 
the amusement park and 
beaches.
After graduating in 1915 and 
serving in World War I, Kent re­
turned to the universitv as its 
official photographer. Besides the 
many portraits of professors and 
coaches that he produced, he 
photographed many university 
events, such as former president 
Thomas J. Macbride striding 
down the street with his 
successor Walter A. Jessup, Nile 
Kinnick returning to campus in 
triumph with the Heisman 
Trophy, and the Hawkeye 
football team trekking to their 
first Rose Bowl.
Beginning in the 1940s Kent 
headed the universitv’s Photo
0
Service, where he continued to 
work after his retirement in 
1962. He combined his love of 
nature with his photographic 
skills and conservationist efforts. 
He died in 1984, leaving a 
remarkable legacy of thousands 
of photographs, meticulously 
labeled and preserved — so 
many years after those two crazy 
summers of pressing clothes and 
taking photographs at Lake 
Okoboji.
“You Should Worry”
If Y our C lothes Need P ressing
T ake  T hem  to the
K-S PANTATORIUM,
Arnold’s Park, Iowa
SUMMER 1987 73
Editor s note: In 1979 Fred 
Kent’s granddaughter Janet
interviewed him as they looked✓
through several personal photo 
albums. Excerpts of the tape- 
recorded interview
accompanying photos from his 
19lil-1914 Okoboji albums 
appear here through the 
courtesy of Kent’s daughter, 
Barbara Buckley, of Iowa City. 
The photo essay presents Lake
Okoboji and Arnolds Park from 
the perspective of a fun-loving 
college student who needed a 
summer job and who also 
happened to already he a very 
gifted photographer.
74 THE PALIMPSEST
Fred Kent: I got acquainted 
with a guy named [Arndt] 
Syverud. . . . He was in dental 
school. He cooked an idea up 
that we go to Okoboji. So we 
went to Okoboji and bought 
lumber and built a shack near 
Arnolds Park and started a 
pantatorium.
Janet Kent: What is a 
pantatorium?
Fred Kent: [A place for] 
cleaning clothes. We d get jobs 
from that hotel next door, 
nearby, and other places. And 
we had a pan out in the backyard 
with gasoline in it, and we’d 
dunk the stuff in it, clean and 
press them, and take them back. 
I finally built a little cubby-hole 
in it to do photographs, so I 
started taking pictures, 
processing film — and stayed all 
summer and had a wonderful 
time. . . . The next summer [my 
friend] Jim Gurney went too.
Janet Kent: K-S Pantatorium?
Fred Kent: [For] Kent-Syverud. 
[Here we are] hard at work 
inside, pressing. Had an old 
kerosene heater with a big old 
sad iron. . . .
We got some doozies from the 
hotel — fancy clothes we didn t 
know what to do with.
Janet Kent: Anv disasters?** *
Fred Kent: Probably.
Three pantatorium scenes 
— pressing and dry- 
cleaning. Jim Gurney on 
bottom right.
•'¿A
tifoiì ■ '
SUMMER 1987 75
76 THE PALIMPSEST
/
Fred Kent: I got a job there 
with a fellow [L.F. Williams or 
Williamz?] who had a 
photographic shop.
I spent most of the summer 
processing films and making 
postcards. Jim got a job at an 
eating place. [We would get] up 
in the morning and take a swim. 
And “Syv” had an old eighteen- 
foot, and we used that a lot. I got 
one picture with twelve people 
in it.
Janet Kent: Surprised it didn’t 
sink.
mm
• 4
W.v/»V. A .' -.'.'-V- .
ü
Fred Kent: Well, we tipped it 
over on purpose.
We went over to Miller s Bav
0
where the Iowa Lakeside 
Laboratory has their summer 
classes. I took quite a few 
pictures there and sold them to 
them.
By the end of the summer 
Jim Gurney and I and Little Jim 
decided to go for a trip, and we 
got the sail up in the canoe. We 
sailed in a southwest wind clear 
to the other end of the lake, five 
or six miles, and went just 
whewwwwwwww, and it took us 
all day paddling against the wind 
to get back. Couldn’t sail back in 
the canoe because there’s no keel 
on it.
Oh, we had a wonderful time 
up there. We’d go out in the 
evening in the canoe and go over 
outside the inn and listen to the 
dance band playing. So I spent 
two summers there. . . .
•
I worked for [Williams again] 
the next summer. He had the 
negatives, and I printed them by 
the hundreds. . . .
See, here’s the gang in that 
canoe.
f j . •. .V .  W . ’fc jS . ' .• - • • *
,\s<
m ,
« I ; ...Iw.v;
—v,;.*V\\7 . v y * s.-.
.-.■V
M m Ä - • :
*»-
r-» « i ' .SiiÌMWng
w yr & SÄ
-
* -Cr’ - -
»««WPS •-
Upper left: Kent and a friend head 
back toward their tent. (Kent often 
included himself in photos by using 
a cable release.)
Lower left: At Scrogg’s Landing. 
Above: Diving off the deck.
Janet Kent: Two, four, six, 
eight, ten, fourteen people 
little low in the water!
a
Fred Kent: Yeah. There’s where 
they tipped it over.
SUMMER 198 77
• • »
j n f l E f  '<K , *
r 1 K V 1R . # ¿ y Xw4 BB^ Br o » i CT W • 
t \  ; '«i¿; * :*£, / '  -y
f t *
f if f  A'. v J w w . lilS ik lw V
CT? E AM
V
•-i  j g  vL«\i; v? ¿V Ví jf?*!W [ j
78 THE PALIMPSEST
Fred Kent: Muskmelons, 
watermelons. Oh, yes, there was 
an ice cream factory next door [to 
the pantatorium]. I suppose I ate 
a lot of it. The barrels [were used 
for carrying] the ice cream 
around to places. They would 
make them up in containers, and 
make the ice in the wintertime.
. . .  I was into taking pictures 
— anything to make a change. 
The roller coaster out back of 11s 
made a hell of a racket. Listen to 
it!
Far left: Melons and ice cream. Below: Amusement park roller
coaster.
SUMMER 1987 79
80 THE PALIMPSEST
Fred Kent: There were three 
boats that operated, the Okoboji, 
the Queen, and the other one. 
Way at the other end of the lake 
they made contact with the 
Orleans where the Rock Island 
Railroad let people off . They’d 
get on these boats and come 
down to these various places. 
They were great fun.
Janet Kent: What’s this, a slide 
to slide into the water? Pillsbury 
Point?
Fred Kent: Yes, and [Pillsbury 
Point] — beautiful spot. It had a 
rocky point and the waves would 
break over it. Beautiful lake.
Top left: Arriving on the Okoboji.
1 * t v ' vi* V ' '• v # >; v  'Ct
.• i v 7  -V J y )-J a V * . a 4  r  4 ’ •* W i  v f5 v V  J / . • t ,* ’, •  v% . *
Bottom left: Arnolds Park from
Point. Below: Water slide and bath house.
SUMMER 1987 81
T H E  PALIMPSEST
' w •
— ---
- • •-- '̂V - , .
Janet Kent: Now the next book: 
Arnolds Park. Did yon go over 
there and ride verv much?
Fred Kent: No. 1 liked taking 
pictures of water and sailing 
pictures. Nice compositions.
I finally got a postcard-sized 
camera. Can’t remember how 
much money I made in a 
summer or how many postcards 
I sold. □
»¿«wt.waNM .... .. _ .—  rT----- - - :— ---
Upper left: Arnolds Park from 
Pillsburv Point.
Above and far left: Otto (Arndt 
Syveruds nephew).
Left: Fred Kent.
SUMMER 1987 83


Pantatorium Summer

Attebery, Louie W

Phil Strong's Buckskin Breeches

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