Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Monthly Meeting - October 21, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, October 21, 2008. Among the items discussed were:
  • Memorials for long time supporters of the Cambridge Historical Association.
  • Larry Purvis gave us a wooden model of the old Cambridge water tower which was recently taken down. These are also available for purchase from Larry.
  • The American Legion has requested our help preparing a list of veterans buried in the Cambridge Cemetery.
  • Florence Wheeler and Wayne Messer represented Cambridge at a meeting of the Story County Historical Societies with the Story County Supervisors. We reported on our accomplishments this year and heard what other groups are doing. This was followed by a tour of the Roland Museum.
  • Arlen Twedt of the Central Iowa Norwegian Project sent us a transcript of a news item from The Story County Representative, July 6, 1870, describing the 4th of July celebration and town of Cambridge, Iowa, at the time.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 7 p.m. It will include election of officers for the coming year.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Monthly Meeting - September 16, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, September 16, 2008. Because we did not have a quorum, a formal meeting was not held. We did note a request from John Stow of the American Legion for help in listing the veterans buried in the Cambridge area cemeteries. Also, the Slater Area Historical Society is having a presentation by Amy Yoakum on "Cemeteries of Story County", October 23rd. The remainder of the meeting was used as a work session checking obituaries, email requests, and indexing.

The next regular meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, October 21, 2008, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Cambridge Iowa Newspapers

The local newspaper in Cambridge Iowa had a number of name changes in its history. These changes are described in our first book on page 73. A summary of the name changes for your reference:
  • Cambridge Independent was a weekly begun June 7, 1881. It lasted a few months.
  • Cambridge Reporter started publication April 27, 1882.
  • Cambridge Argus followed.
  • Cambridge Herald published Vol. 1, No. 1 on February 27, 1885.
  • Cambridge Garland started August 2, 1887.
  • Cambridge Press appeared in 1893.
  • Cambridge Chronicle was in 1895.
  • Cambridge Dispatch 1896.
  • Cambridge Phoenix began in 1903.
  • Cambridge Leader 1905.
  • Cambridge Clipper 1906.
  • Cambridge Leader 1906 to March 1972.
Since then the Tri-County Times has carried weekly news of Cambridge.

Microfilm of most of the Cambridge newspapers is available in the Cambridge Memorial Library and at the State Historical Society of Iowa.

[Updated 4-11-2010 with new Tri-County Times link.  Updated 11-10-2016 with new Tri-County Times link.]

Monday, September 15, 2008

Monthly Meeting - August 19, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, August 19, 2008. Among the topics discussed were:
  • Don and Julie Erickson and Wayne Messer attended the initial CHAT Meeting for region 5 at the Boone Historical Society on July 30. This is an opportunity for the cultural, historic, and arts groups to work together. Our region, one of 13 in the state, is the 8 counties around Boone county. Cyndi Pederson, the head of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, is leading the creation of these teams (CHAT is Culture History Arts Team) to raise the profile of these industries.
  • Book sales of our new book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa, continued. The schools and libraries which should receive a copy of this book, the same ones which have our first book, were discussed.
  • The history of current and former Cambridge, Iowa organizations are topics that may need further development. We discussed the Legion Auxiliary, the Bucket Brigade (a fire company auxiliary), Jaycees, and Eastern Star. Are there other organizations which should be added?
  • We received a Buland Specials ad from Nels Nord of the Huxley Historical Society. Thank you for this ad from an early Cambridge store. It is now on display in the Cambridge Historical Association.
The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Monthly Meeting - July 15, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, July 15, 2008. Because we did not have a quorum, a formal meeting was not held. We discussed the continuing sales of our new book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa. A work session by the members present updated our obituaries index, hung the Mason presiding officer pictures we recently received, and examined the indexing of our books contents.

The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, August 19, 2008, at 7 p.m.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Expanded Table of Contents for Second Book Available

Our second book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa, now has an expanded table of contents available. This contains the subject headings and subheadings for each chapter and the dates for photographs. As an example, the entries for chapter three are:

Cambridge Class Pictures 15

* 1912 CHS Sophomore Class - 15
* Circa 1890 - 16
* Cambridge Classes from Around the Turn of the Century - 17
* Cambridge Classes from the Teens - 18
* Grades 1-4, Cambridge, Iowa around 1913-1914 -19
* Two pictures probably from around the 1920's - 20
* Two pictures from 1919 - 22
* First Grade Class, 1926-1927 - 23
* First Primary Class, Date Unknown - 23
* 1933-1934 Cambridge High School - 24
* 1933-1934 First Grade - 24
* 1933-1934 Cambridge Junior High - 25
* 1933-1934 Cambridge Second and Third Grades - 25
* 1936 High School - 26
* 1935 Elementary - 26
* 1936-1937 Sophomore Class - 27
* 1935-1936 6-7-8 Grades - 27
* 1935-1936 4-5 Grades - 28
* Class Photo, ca. 1950 - 28
* 1946-1947 High School - 29
* 1948-1949 High School - 29
* 1955-1956 Junior High - 30
* Shop Class 1955 - 30
* Home EC Class 1955 - 30

The subjects of the chapters are:

Cambridge High School 1
Ballard 11
Cambridge Class Pictures 15
Activities 31
Senior Pictures 47
Cambridge Graduates 91
Cambridge Teachers 95
Country Schools 103
Country School Teachers 125

The expanded table of contents is similar to that created for our first book (see its expanded table of contents).

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Our Newsletter is Available Online

The April 2008 issue of the Cambridge Historical Association of Cambridge, Iowa, newsletter (Volume 1 Number 2) is now available online. If this works correctly, (this is our first test of the Scribd service to do this) you should be able to see it immediately below:


Read this document on Scribd: CHA Newsletter Volume 1 Number 2
Hovering on the iPaper in the top bar brings up a menu that includes print.

If you have difficulties seeing the newsletter, the document can also be found here.

Members of the Cambridge Historical Association should have already received this newsletter in the regular mail. If you did not, please let us know so we can update our mailing list.

Update August 19, 2008: The September 2007 edition of our newsletter is also now available online. It is linked rather than shown directly because the PDF is larger and may be slower to load.

Monthly Meeting - June 17, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Topics discussed included:
  • Our new book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa, is now available and sales began at the Cambridge Alumni Association banquet. This article about the book includes a picture of group members at the June meeting.
  • The Alumni Association president, Roger Griffith, asked if we could provide some trivia questions for next years meeting.
  • Because of flooding, Jubilee Days was canceled. The displays prepared may still be viewed at the Historical Association.
  • Charles Sloniger gave us pictures of the presiding officers of the Masons.
We would like to thank Huxley Communications for providing us with our Internet service.

The next regular meeting is Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Monthly Meeting - May 20, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, May 20, 2008. Topics discussed included:
  • Don Erickson sent pictures of the railroad bridge to the Story County Conservation Board for use with the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail section from Cambridge to Maxwell.
  • Florence Wheeler and Wayne Messer talked with the Ballard 5th graders about the early history of Cambridge and the schools of Union Township.
  • Valerie Moore developed the country schools display which was used for the 5th graders talk. It will be on display at the Historical Association during Jubilee Days.
  • Don Erickson finished preparing the book Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa. It is at the printers and will be available for the Cambridge Alumni Banquet and for Jubilee Days.
  • Preparation for Jubilee Days is underway. A display of advertising items from local companies has several items on loan from Max Olson and from Crystal Hughes. Also there is a display of 1900's clothing from the Carl Peterson family.
  • Julie Erickson had the newsletter ready for distribution. It was copied and addressed for mailing during the meeting. If you have not received your copy, please let us know.
  • Helen Heslop brought pictures of the 1990 flood and a copy of Cora Unashamed, which was filmed here, for display.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Our Second Book Was Published!

The Cambridge Historical Association's second book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa, is now available. It was finished in time for the Cambridge Alumni Banquet and the scheduled Jubilee Days. You can read about it in this article in the Tri-County Times. Copies are available through the Historical Association for $20 plus shipping if needed. A few copies of the earlier book are also still available.

A special thank you to Don Erickson for pulling this together. He did a great job in researching and organizing this.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

History Presentation to Ballard 5th Graders

The Cambridge Historical Association was invited by Mr. Marietta to talk to the Ballard 5th grade students about the history of Cambridge, Iowa. Florence Wheeler and Wayne Messer gave a presentation May 14th on the early history of Cambridge and on the one-room schools of Union Township. The students were a great audience who knew quite a bit about one-room schools from their visit to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Thank you to the teachers and the students for their attention and questions.

Much of the material on the schools came from our new book: Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa. Don Erickson had prepared the proofs for this book which Julie Erickson brought to the Historical Association and Valerie Moore helped convert into the posters used for the presentation.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Cambridge Iowa Website Has a New Look

The website for Cambridge Iowa has a new look and new information. It includes Cambridge businesses, events, and photos of Jubilee Days. There is also a History page with information about the Cambridge Historical Association and a link to our website. Congratulations to the City and Steve Kovarik!

See it at:
http://cambridge-ia.us/Welcome.html

Monday, May 12, 2008

Monthly Meeting - April 15, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, April 15, 2008. Topics discussed included:
  • An April 26th meeting with other Story County Historical Societies to exchange ideas.
  • Details of our upcoming book The Schools of Union Township plus Cambridge, Iowa. We saw a proof copy from Don and Julie which looks very good! More details should be available by the Alumni Banquet and Jubilee Days.
  • We will be sending a newsletter to our mailing list in the near future. Items to include were discussed.
  • Jerry Weatherman provided pictures of the building of the new water tower and Memorial Day 2007 for our archives.
  • Orey Peterson has a picture for us or the American Legion which appears to be of troops in France during World War I.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, May 20, 2008. We will be working on final details for Jubilee Days.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Cambridge, Iowa: The First 150 Years - Expanded Table of Contents

We have created an expanded table of contents for our book Cambridge, Iowa: The First 150 Years. This contains the subject headings and sub-headings from each chapter. For example, in the table of contents the Military chapter is:

Military 105

With the expanded table of contents, the following is added:

* Civil War - 105
* Ersland Post 234 - 105
* * Members of Ersland Post 234 - 106
* Veteran's Reunion - 107
* World War I - 107
* * Floyd H Mathis - 108
* * Willard Densmore Wire - 108
* World War II - 109
* * Kenneth P. Christiansen - 109
* * Virgil Cory - 111
* * Virgil Emerson - 111
* * Hugh Griffith - 111
* * Warren Hanks - 111
* * John Hill - 112
* * Craig Nelson - 112
* * Homer Gurton Nelson - 112
* * Owen Newgaard - 113
* * Claude Orlo Poole - 113
* * Clyde Spooner - 113
* * Chester Yeager - 113
* Korean War - 114
* * Gerald E Gord - 114
* * Paul Jacobson - 114
* Vietnam - 114
* Mathis/Wire Post 233 - 115
* * Veterans Memorial History - 116
* * Legion Building Mural - 117
* Veterans of World War I - 118
* Veterans of World War II from the Cambridge Area - 119
* Korean War Veterans - 120
* Veterans of the Vietnam War - 120

This means that you can search the table of contents online or print it (6 pages). Expanded Table of Contents.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Shelbi Weeks named "Distinguished Finalist" in Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program

Shelbi Weeks of Cambridge, Iowa, was named a "Distinguished Finalist" from Iowa (note you need to select Iowa in the drop-down menu) in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. She personally made 23 quilts and donated them to the neonatal intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines to keep tiny newborns warm. She also led quilting workshops for her 4-H club and local Girl Scout troops to have an even bigger impact on the hospital's need for quilts. More information can be found in the Mid-Iowa News article.

Congratulations to Shelbi on this award.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Referendum Meetings and Upcoming Voting

There is a special election for the Ballard School District dealing with issuing bonds and PPEL on May 6, 2008. There will be a public hearing on this issue at 6:30 p.m. at East Elementary in Cambridge, Iowa, on Thursday, April 17, 2008.

Some background on the two questions are found in the editorial Student-rich, property poor and the article Ballard begins community meetings on school expansion.

The Story County Elections page shows the upcoming elections and candidates. Currently this has:

Monday, April 14, 2008

Monthly Meeting - March 18, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, March 18, 2008. Topics discussed included:
  • The new Schools of Union Township book will contain information about the schools, graduates, teachers, and activities.
  • How to organize our information on Veterans. We are looking at dividing it into Civil War, WW I, WW II, and later.
  • Jubilee Days where our topic will again be schools and their activities. Also there will be a display of Cambridge business souvenirs.
  • Jubilee Cookbooks from the sesquicentennial are now $3.50. We also have magnets, coloring books (from the Cambridge, Iowa sesquicentennial), and historical pictures available.
Our next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, April 15, 2008.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Book Signing at Cambridge Library - April 9, 2008

Former Cambridge resident Donna Christopherson will be at the Cambridge Memorial Library for a book signing on Wednesday, April 9th, at 3 p.m. She is the author of "Iowa in the Rearview Mirror", a collection of her columns from the The Tri-County Times about life in Cambridge, Iowa.

More information on the book can be found in a Tri-County Times review by Ed Rood and on the author's website at www.djbooks.com . We recently added a copy of the book to the Cambridge Historical Association.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Iowa in the Rearview Mirror - Book Signing

Former Cambridge resident D. J. (Donna) Christopherson will have a book signing on Saturday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Blumsters on Main in Huxley (107 South Main Street). Her book, "Iowa in the Rearview Mirror" is a collection of her best columns published in The Tri-County Times.

More information on the book can be found in a Tri-County Times review by Ed Rood and on the author's website at www.djbooks.com . We recently added a copy of the book to the Cambridge Historical Association.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Monthly Meeting - February 19, 2008

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Topics discussed included:
  • Purchase of a microfilm reader-printer for the Cambridge Memorial Library is underway. We are also purchasing a computer to use the microfilm reader-printer with.
  • Pictures and clothing from Ruth Boast and family were received from Dennis Wendell of the Ames Historical Society. These are being assembled into a book describing the Peterson family and their migration from Sweden to Story County. Among the descendants were the H. J. Hanson family in Ames and the Charles Wm. Wills family family, a Cambridge harness maker.
  • Indexing of the artifacts and history books is underway.
  • The next book, describing Schools in Union Township, is being prepared. Pictures related to this would be much appreciated for the book and/or for the Jubilee Days display. Jubilee Days is the weekend of June 13th.
  • Reference requests included questions about the Cambridge High School colors and team name (blue and white, Cobras) and the Adams family of Cambridge. You are welcome to write, call, stop by, or email (CHA@huxcomm.net) us with your questions.
  • Pictures were received from Helen Heslop of the December 18, 1999, burning of the old lumberyard, of the business district (1999) on Water Street, and of the old Cambridge water tower (the one recently taken out of service).
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, March 18, 2008.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Thank You Florence Wheeler

If you have ever visited the Cambridge Historical Association, then you have undoubtedly been greeted by Florence Wheeler and are aware of her enthusiasm for Cambridge history and her willingness to share her knowledge. Florence, a founding member of the association, continually works on collecting, organizing, and displaying Cambridge historical materials and artifacts. You may remember the Water Street storefront, which is now home for the Cambridge Historical Association, once housed the variety store owned by Florence and her husband Harold. She was featured in the Ames Tribune, January 31, in an article "Wheeler remains the eyes and ears of Cambridge".

We would like to add our thank you to Florence. We really appreciate her continuing contributions to the work of the Historical Association.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Ames Historical Society 2008 Lecture Series

The Ames Historical Society has announced the dates and topics for its 2008 lecture series. These are open to the public at the Ames City Auditorium, 6th and Clark, Ames, Iowa.

All the Smoke and Cinders You'll Ever Want: The Ames & College Railway's Dinkey

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 7 p.m. is an Iowa State University Sesquicentennial event.

The Dinkey carried passengers, mail, freight and building materials between downtown Ames and Iowa Agricultural College for sixteen years, 1891-1907, during a period of rapid growth by both entities. Society Curator, Dennis Wendell, combines dozens of vintage images with anecdotes and facts about the incorporators, route, terminals, rolling stock, passengers, freight, and advertising. A sole surviving artifact will also be shown.

Bears, Baptisms and Other Tales

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 7 p.m. looks at the history of the South Skunk River. It is co-sponsored with the Skunk River Paddlers.

The "Heart of Iowa" Leg of the 1908 New York to Paris Great Auto Race

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 7 p.m. looks at a huge news event from one hundred years ago. Its route brought it through the "heart of Iowa" and Ames.

Celebrating 150 Years of the Cyclone Experience

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7 p.m. is another Iowa State University Sesquicentennial event.

Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Head of Special Collections & University Archives at the ISU Library, as she describes her Department's Sesquicentennial projects. From artifacts to oral history interviews, from blogs to websites, from diaries to snapshots, documenting the ISU Sesquicentennial is a full-time effort. The 150th celebration also demonstrates the ongoing importance of keeping archives-- the 15,000 linear ft. of papers, records, and 1,000,000 images in the Archives were used in numerous university projects and publications. She will also share some of the more unique objects from the collection.


Saturday, January 5, 2008

Meeting with Story County Supervisors - November 26, 2007

The annual meeting of Story County historical societies with the Story County Supervisors was held November 26, 2007 at the Maxwell Historical Museum. There were eight groups attending including the Cambridge Historical Association.

We described the following accomplishments for 2007:
  • Thanks to the Supervisors suggestion last year that used PCs were sometimes available from the County, we were able to obtain a PC and a printer. We have used this for: - Updating our index of Cambridge obituaries - Added Internet access - Are now using email to satisfy some of our requests - Established a web presence at CHA Notes.
  • Worked with the Maxwell Community Historical Society to identify a microfilm reader printer system that would be suitable for the Cambridge Library. It was very helpful to us to see someone that had been through this and how they were using it. We have allocated the funds for purchase of this for the Library. This will make the microfilms of the Cambridge newspapers and the Story County Civil War Veterans more useful.
  • The book we produced for the 2006 sesquicentennial continues to have steady sales. We have donated copies to school libraries and have only 50 copies remaining.
  • Have begun working on our next book Schools of Union Township. We had the Cambridge graduating class pictures scanned for this and have found these pictures to be popular themselves. We could use help with the book if anyone has pictures or other information on the Douglas and the Nip and Tuck schools.
  • One other activity we participate in is the Cambridge Jubilee Days, which is always the second weekend in June. This is a good opportunity for you to visit Cambridge and the Historical Association.
The meeting was a good opportunity to hear what other historical societies are doing and learn about approaches and resources that may be useful for us.