Room Histories
The circus has a long and colorful history in Iowa. Beginning with "Buffalo" Bill Cody's birth in 1846 in Le Clair, Iowa, some of the greatest shows and circus workers marked their beginnings in Iowa. While all five Ringling brothers hailed from Baraboo, Wisconsin, where the Ringling Bros. Circus was founded is 1884, the Ringling Bros. Circus and Comedy Concert Company (the precursor to the "Greatest Show on Earth"), found its start earlier in McGregor, Iowa. The Yankee Robinson Show, owned by Fred Buchanan of Des Moines, wintered in Dallas County while W.W. Cole, creator of the knife board, called Adel, Iowa, home. By 1928, Fred Buchanan would own the Robbins Bros. Circus which Perry claimed at its own. Each circus season would get off to a start with a circus parade which The Perry Daily Chief described as having "...red lemonade that's the best in the world and the tastiest peanuts and the poppiest popcorn!"
R.M. Harvey
But the greatest Iowa's native born circus men, and one of Perry's claims to fame, was Robert Mitchel (R.M.) Harvey. Born in Sidney, Iowa on 2 June 1869, Harvey stumbled into circus work by accident while attending boarding school and college at DePauw University. In the course of serving meals to fellow students for $2.10 at Harvey's Club, he made the acquaintance of Ben Wallace, then owner of The Great Wallace Show. Harvey's drive and salesmanship convinced Wallace after one meeting that he would be a success as a circus agent, and so he was. After seven seasons with The Great Wallace Show, Harvey moved on to the Barnum & Bailey Circus, where he spent seven years, one as contractor
and one working exclusively with Buffalo Bill. (It was during these early years in the circus that Harvey and his brother Allen bought The Perry Daily Chief. He was also instrumental in the building of The Grand Theater in Perry.) Following Barnum & Bailey, Harvey met his next challenge with newly merged Hagenbeck-Wallace Show were he stayed for four years.
At this point, Harvey took a break from circus work to assemble a troupe of performers which became the highly successful Harvey's Greater Minstrels. Harvey followed his success with the minstrels with a stint as general agent and director for the American Circus Corporation and later saw duty with the Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West Show.During his 60 years in the circus business, Harvey could boast of being the manager and producer of the first indoor circus and counted major circus owners and personalities, including the famous clown Emmet Kelly, as friends.
Cream & Eggs
No one could ever accuse a farm wife of not working hard. Her day began at the crack of dawn, preparing food for the day ahead. Breakfast usually consisted of fried potatoes, home cured ham and bacon, and toast. All were prepared on a big cookstove stoked with cobs and kindling gathered by the eldest son. After preparing breakfast, she went to work on the lunches for her school aged children. The lunches consisted of homemade bread, butter, jam, and fruit. A sweet treat for the lunches or maybe as a midafternoon snack might be graham crackers baked with a topping of egg whites, sugar, and raisins.
After packing the kids off on their mile and a half walk to a country school, the cleaning began. Cleaning house and making beds were daily chores. A broom was the only utensil used to clean the bare floors in the kitchen and dining room. The rugs covering the floor in the living room were cleaned outside with a wire beater. As there was no electric refrigeration, ice was either brought in and stored in the basement, or food was lowered down in the well where is was quite cold.
It was with chicken, hogs, cattle, and sheep that the farmer and
his wife made a living. It was with these, a garden, and an orchard that the farm wife fed her family. All curing canning, and butchering were done at home, and extra eggs were taken into town to trade for groceries. The only items needed at the grocery store not already provided by the land owned by the farmer were flour, sugar, and corn starch.
A washboard was used for laundry which was generally done on Monday. Irons were warmed on the cookstove and used for pressing clothes every Tuesday. Baking was a daily task as most food was consumed by the end of the day on which it was prepared and with refrigeration unreliable at best, leftovers were an impossibility.
During the depression, cream and extra eggs were sold for extra cash. If the eggs were washed they might be worth a cent or cent and a half more than ones left unwashed. Eggs were so cheap during the 1940s that one woman remembers "it was cheaper to make angel food cake than it was to make bread." A separator was used to separate the cream from the milk, making it easier for door-to-door pick up.
Some of the cream and eggs were kept for use by the family. Cream was used on cereal and also on peaches grown and
canned at home. Fresh ice cream was made from the cream and children would take the ice cream to school and store it in a snow bank to keep it frozen for lunch. In much the same way, chicken and eggs were often kept for family use.
Alton School
Why do Americans cherish their memories of the one-room schoolhouse? This question poses even greater significance in the Midwest where, by 1918, American children were being educated in 90,000 one-room schoolhouses.
The Ordinance of 1787 established education as the Midwest's birthright. Two years earlier townships had been created as forms of local government with Section 16 of each township designated as a school district. Armed with the ordinance and the Section 16 designation, Midwesterners wiped out illiteracy, strengthened devotion to democracy, gave students a taste for good literature, and taught them right from wrong. In the early days, textbooks were a luxury but by the end of the 1890s most one-room schoolhouses had acquired libraries of 50 to 60 of the most current books. With each school district
containing 12 to 30 families, the schoolrooms were so small no child could be ignored, avoided, or found unimportant.
One-room schoolhouses were also the center of community life. With school districts serving as individual corporations, each farmer was a stockholder, responsible for meeting the needs of the schoolhouse.
In 1865, a one-room schoolhouse was built near the community of Alton, which had a post office and a dry goods store owned and operated by D. J. Pattee. Two years later it opened for service and for almost 94 years served the City of
Perry (incorporated in 1875). The first teacher at the Alton School was Nan Johnson and 54 teachers would follow her. The instructor with the longest tenure was Alta Christensen who taught in 1922 and again in 1926 to 1945. Electric lights were installed in 1934 and 1933 saw Alton's largest class of 36 students. Although one grade-level might consist of only one student, the quality and sophistication of teaching material never lagged, allowing students to acclimate academically in high school with no problem.
Although the question of why people cherish one-room schoolhouses has not been answered, the curious might begin to understand by visiting the old Alton Schoolhouse at Forest Park Museum in Perry.
Irish
The story of Irish immigration to the United States parallels the story of European immigration to the United States. No other country has lost so many people to immigration as has Ireland. Although Ireland experienced a growth period in the early nineteenth century, the potato famine of 1855 put an end to that. With two-thirds of the country largely dependent on agriculture, more than two million people were out of work. Between 1820 and 1950, more than 4,600,000 Irish immigrants landed in the United States. A million of these immigrants were due to the famine alone.
Most Irish immigrants settled in Boston, New York, and other eastern cities, however, people were needed on the frontier to mine, farm, and build railroads so the Irish found themselves moving West. The Catholic Church was interested in seeing Catholic settlements arise in Iowa and the Irish were natural candidates for this. The promise of cheap land and good wages was an enticement that the Irish, given their history, could not resist.
Cities along the Mississippi were the first to feel the influx of Irish settlers in Iowa, but by 1840, the Irish were starting
settlements at Bellevue, Sabula, and Concord Township. A large number of Irish immigrants could also be found in Bankston, Farley, and Dyersville. The Irish slowly began settling the larger cities in Iowa and by 1856 had a substantial number in Des Moines. By 1870, more than two percent of the population born in Dallas County had been born in Ireland.
Although Irish immigrants made great contributions in mining and on the railroad, they could also be found as lawyers and politicians, educators, doctors, clergymen, and professional athletes. They could be found in Perry working at these professions alongside German, Scandinavian, and Dutch immigrants. Although they shared similar histories, the going was not always smooth. Together these people settled Perry and laid the foundation that is the basis for life today.
Central American
The history of the people of Central America is steeped in the Mayan culture. The ruins of temples and ancient cities can be found throughout Central America and can be dated back to 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed on the Americas. At this time, there were five million natives living in what is now called Central America, but with Columbus cam Spanish conquerors and European diseases (measles, smallpox, and malaria) and the decimation of the Mayan people.
Central America gained its independence from Spain in 1821 when it joined political forces with Mexico. Two years later it declared independence from Mexico and the United Provinces of Central America was created.
The history of Central America includes much unrest but this has not diminished the country's progress and contributions to other cultures. Much of this progress and contribution came as a result of the Panama Canal. With the discovery of gold in California is 1848, the need for a route across Nicaragua and Panama increased. Both the British and the wealthy American,
Cornelius Vanderbilt made attempts at creating the passage, but it wasn't until the United States concluded a treaty with Panama in 1903 that headway was made. The canal opened on May 4, 1904. It is 51 miles long and sees 32 ocean-going vessels a day, each paying an average of $28,000 for the eight to ten hour trip through the strait. Each year 140 million tons
of commercial cargo pass through the canal with petroleum and petroleum products composing the largest commodity group.
Beginning with the 1990 census, Iowa has recorded immigrants from all Central American countries throughout the state, with high concentrations in Des Moines, Davenport, and Storm Lake, to name just a few.
Central America is located east-southeast between Mexican and South America. The countries the comprise Central America are Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Those of the Mayan descent make up one-fifth of the population and live primarily in Guatemala.
Telital
At the suggestion of G. E. Whitehead, the editor of The Perry Daily Chief, the Perry High School Telital hit the pages of Perry's daily newspaper on November 8, 1926. Each Monday the page appeared at the back of The Perry Daily Chief and contained 15-20 articles written by members of the Perry High School journalism class.
The Telital was named in a contest opened to all residents of Perry. Names such as The Perrysian, The Chief's Papoose, and The Weekly Click were debated before deciding on The Telital. A one dollar prize was given to the originator of that name. Between the circulation of The Perry Daily Chief and that of the other high schools that took the paper, The Telital once reach 25,000 to 30,000 readers.
The sponsor of the Telital for many years was Leonard Rossman. Rossman made journalism his career for more than 40 years and was recognized for this achievement by the
University of Iowa who bestowed upon him its Recognition Award. Rossman also received a Key Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Ken Staton Award, the Appreciation Award from the High School Press Association, and the Iowa Scholastic Journalism Award.
Rossman spent most of his 40 years in journalism teaching at Perry High School. From the time he began teaching in 1929, he was known by students as one of the most difficult (and loved) teachers in school. Not one to give an easy grade, Rossman believed that journalistic writing should be clear, easy to understand, and to the point. According to an article that appeared in The Perry Daily Chief, Rossman said, "Anytime the reader has to read material twice, unless to gain information, the reporter hasn't done a very good job writing."
Rossman also required students to take copious notes which were later filed in the newspaper office as part of the official record. This hard-nosed approach earned him the respect of his students, and they showed it by honoring him with an award named as a tribute to him, The Rossman Award.
Marching Band
The high school experience would not be complete without the memory of football games every Friday night in the fall. Crisp air, hot dogs, hot chocolate, pompoms, cheerleaders, and huddling together under blankets in the bleachers to keep warm.
This memory would be missing something if the high school marching band was not a part of the picture. Energizing the crowd during the game and entertaining them during half-time, the marching band is an integral part of all American's high school experience.
Nowhere is this more true than in small-town Iowa. The high school football season marks the end of summer, kicks off the school year, and ushers in cool temperatures and the holiday season. In cities throughout Iowa, high school football is THE event on Friday nights. In the bleachers at the high school stadium is where you will find all segments of society, brought together by the unifying forces of children and sports. The
music supplied by the marching band at these events provides the atmosphere necessarily to complete the experience.
High schools have not always been the only institutions to have their own marching bands. Many towns like Perry and organizations within the town, such as the Elks or Moose Lodge, maintained their own bands which performed on holidays and participated in parades.
As marching band is made up of the wind instruments and other instruments that musicians can carry including the flute, piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, tuba, drums, and cymbals. The uniforms worn in the 18th and 19th centuries by British and French soldiers.
Over the years, intricate marching formations have developed and been perfected by high school and college bands. These formations require extensive practice and memorization not only of music, but of marching and positioning. Electrically lighted instruments and flag teams have ben included to add to the spectacle and festive atmosphere that marching bands add to American sporting events.
Bohemian
Bohemian immigration to the United States began in 1848 for three main reasons: failure of the potato crop, political oppression, and stories of gold in the United States. The 1848 revolution which brought the Hapsburgs of Austria to power
in the region that is now part of the Czech Republic also caused emigration as young men forced into military service in the Austrian army fled the country. The largest number of Bohemians arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1880 and by 1879, there were 6,766 Bohemians in Iowa. By 1890 there were 10,928 Bohemians in Iowa. Josefs Spielman, an immigrant miller from Bohemia, founded the town of Spillville in 1854. Saint Wenceslaus Church, a state landmark, was built soon after. By 1893, the population of Spillville was 350, all of which were Bohemians except for one German, one Swiss, and one Norwegian.
It was to this town of 350 that the famous composer Antonin Dvorak and his family arrived in the summer of 1893. Born in
Bohemia to a butcher father, Dvorak showed an above average talent for music in his local classes. By the age of 12, he had entered a more advanced music school and within a few years had completed his first composition. He continued his
studies in Prague and by 1880 his music was being played by Austrian and German operas and orchestras. In 1891, while a professor at the Prague Conservatory, he received an offer from the National Conservatory of Music in New York to become its director. In October of 1892, he accepted the directorship and moved with his wife and six children to New York City. Having developed a strong case of home sickness, when a friend mentioned that he was visiting his family in Spillville, a Bohemian enclave in Iowa, Dvorak decided to follow.
Opinion is divided as to whether Dvorak composed the New World Symphony before leaving New York for Spillville of it he composed it during his summer at Spillville. What is not in
dispute, however, are the contributions he made to the town and to the people of Spillville during his summer there. He immediately took up residence as the organist at Saint Wenceslaus Church playing mass every morning and for weddings and funerals. He took long walks in the open spaces in and around Spillville and composed while doing so. Dvorak composed many smaller works in Spillville which were performed there by local musicians.
It is difficult to say how long Dvorak might have stayed in Iowa had events outside of his control not taken affect. The Dvorak family left Spillville abruptly on September 16, 1893 to prevent a romance between his eldest daughter and a local young man. Despite their love for the beauty of the place, the family never returned to Spillville again.
Angus & Moran
Before the advent of electricity, coal provided the energy needed to illuminate, heat, and propel this nation and its industries. Much of this coal was found in the southern section of Iowa, and towns such as Angus and Moran sprang up to accommodate the influx of coal miners and their families.
By 1873, the first coal mines were sunk at Coal Town. On March 31, 1881, Coal Town was renamed Angus in honor of a railroad official and by 1891 had reached its population peak of 8,000. At one time there were more than ten coal mines operating in Angus. Chief among these was the Climax Coal Company which owned 960 acres and employed 500 miners in
1880. The Climax Coal Company mined 1,400 tons of coal a day at its peak and in 1885 shipped 200,000 tons. The Eagle Coal Company and Standard Coal Company also operated in Angus and employed 350 men. Smaller shafts in town provided for local demand. As a result of dwindling coal supply and the unionization of the coal miners in 1893, coal companies were forced to pull out of town, workers took new jobs, and local industries failed. Homes were abandoned and eventually moved to Perry or the neighboring town of Rippey. Although the only remnant of Angus is a plaque along the highway, in its heyday, Angus was the home to a newspaper, an 800 seat opera house, a school system, four churches and seven civic societies. Angus was also well known for Whiskey Row, a series of 16 or 17 saloons built down Main Street which
straddled the Boone-Greene county line. Rumor has it that if a fight broke out in Boone County, the participants only had to step across the bar and into Greene County to avoid law enforcement officials.
The history of Moran is less colorful. Located 12 miles southeast of Perry and 19 miles east of Angus, the Moran mine was sunk in 1917 on Billy Moran's farm. The Norwood-White Coal Company quickly took over and was much more successful in finding a lower vein of coal. Located on the InterUrban Railway Line and connected to Des Moines, Perry, and the neighboring town of Woodward, Moran was a logical site for a coal mine. It drew unskilled laborers and immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Croatia. At its height, Moran found 200 men in its mines working as diggers, track layers, motor men, mule drivers, sellers, and jobs on top. It was the camaraderie of the camps above ground and of the work below ground that drew men into the mines.
The camps dwindled in later years as families moved to neighboring towns like Woodward. By the early 1940s, the Moran mines had closed. All that is left of them now are a few old houses south of Woodward along Highway 141.
Welsh
In the late 19th century, many Welsh men and women made their way to America, some of them to Perry, Iowa. Often, immigrants worked in the mines or started in farming, and like so many other immigrants to Iowa, the Welsh brought along
their traditions. Known for their music, especially their singing, the Welsh brought with them their songs, poetry, drama, and textile arts, and love of their land.
The Welsh Room is accessorized with pieces beloved by the Welsh immigrants it honors. Some of these items include antique china pieces and a book collection with poetry written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The curtains are designed from fabric with a unique traditional Welsh weave. Along with the Welsh heritage memorabilia, the entryway of the Welsh Room contains customer calligraphy of two Welsh songs, put together by Darren Evans.
Bohemian
Bohemian immigration to the United States began in 1848 for three main reasons: failure of the potato crop, political oppression, and stories of gold in the United States. The 1848 revolution which brought the Hapsburgs of Austria to power
Cream & Eggs
No one could ever accuse a farm wife of not working hard. Her day began at the crack of dawn, preparing food for the day ahead. Breakfast usually consisted of fried potatoes, home cured ham and bacon, and toast. All were prepared on a big cookstove stoked with cobs and kindling gathered by the eldest son. After preparing breakfast, she went to work on the lunches for her school aged children. The lunches consisted of homemade bread, butter, jam, and fruit. A sweet treat for the lunches or maybe as a midafternoon snack might be graham crackers baked with a topping of egg whites, sugar, and raisins.
Cream & Eggs
No one could ever accuse a farm wife of not working hard. Her day began at the crack of dawn, preparing food for the day ahead. Breakfast usually consisted of fried potatoes, home cured ham and bacon, and toast. All were prepared on a big cookstove stoked with cobs and kindling gathered by the eldest son. After preparing breakfast, she went to work on the lunches for her school aged children. The lunches consisted of homemade bread, butter, jam, and fruit. A sweet treat for the lunches or maybe as a midafternoon snack might be graham crackers baked with a topping of egg whites, sugar, and raisins.
Cream & Eggs
Cream & Eggs
No one could ever accuse a farm wife of not working hard. Her day began at the crack of dawn, preparing food for the day ahead. Breakfast usually consisted of fried potatoes, home cured ham and bacon, and toast. All were prepared on a big cookstove stoked with cobs and kindling gathered by the eldest son. After preparing breakfast, she went to work on the lunches for her school aged children. The lunches consisted of homemade bread, butter, jam, and fruit. A sweet treat for the lunches or maybe as a midafternoon snack might be graham crackers baked with a topping of egg whites, sugar, and raisins.
Cream & Eggs
No one could ever accuse a farm wife of not working hard. Her day began at the crack of dawn, preparing food for the day ahead. Breakfast usually consisted of fried potatoes, home cured ham and bacon, and toast. All were prepared on a big cookstove stoked with cobs and kindling gathered by the eldest son. After preparing breakfast, she went to work on the lunches for her school aged children. The lunches consisted of homemade bread, butter, jam, and fruit. A sweet treat for the lunches or maybe as a midafternoon snack might be graham crackers baked with a topping of egg whites, sugar, and raisins.