CHA Notes

Cambridge Veterans from WW II Can Be Found in Story County Index from Ames Historical Society

2011-12-03T17:10:00.000-06:00

The Ames Historical Society had their World War II Veterans Index online in time for Veterans Day. This contains nearly 5300 service personnel from all branches, both from Ames and throughout Story County, Iowa. There are thousands of scanned articles, photos, and other materials available online.

Preparing this information for online availability was aided with a grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa. Learn more about the creation of this material during WW II and its history in this Ames Tribune article. The Ames Historical Society.also describes how it came to be available online.

While you cannot search for Cambridge specifically (as far as I can tell), the index does contain many Cambridge veterans. Those that I noticed so far are:

Note that the Ames Historical Society welcomes additions to the project.

More on the Old Cambridge Theatre

2011-11-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

While looking at our microfilms of the Cambridge Leader, I saw some more items about the Cambridge Theatre. I probably would not have noticed them if not for our recent posting about the Cambridge Theatre in the Hollywood in the Heartland database. They do have some information which was not included in the history of the Cambridge Theatre. Looking at them reminded me to check our first book, Cambridge, Iowa The First 150 Years, as well.

In our book, pages 128-129 describe the Opera House and the Movie Theatres. Some of that information came from these Cambridge Leader articles.

The front page of the September 29, 1921 Cambridge Leader announced that H. A. Hoskins and L. Collins have gone into the movie show business by renting the Cambridge Opera House. The first show in the Star Theatre was to be "Charlie Chaplin in the Kid".

A little more than two months later, the front page of the December 1, 1921 Cambridge Leader had two items about the movie theatre. The first announced a change of ownership (again), with Hoskins and Collins selling out to H. F. Spencer and son of Ames. The second was an announcement that the first offering by them would be that Saturday with Harry Carey in If "Only Jim" followed by the shorter "Vamps and Scamps".

Florence Wheeler Can Be Reached at Sunny View Care Center

2011-11-28T14:40:00.000-06:00

As you may have heard, Florence Wheeler fell and broke her hip this fall. After later surgery, she is doing well and can now be reached at the Sunny View Care Center. You can visit or reach her at Sunny View Care Center, 410 NW Ash Drive, Ankeny, IA 50023-1590. She can be reached by phone at 515-964-1101, which is the main number for Sunny View.

Florence was the founder of the Cambridge Historical Association, which for many years was located in her residence. We wish her a speedy recovery!

The Old Cambridge Theatre is listed in Hollywood in the Heartland

2011-11-15T13:47:00.000-06:00

Hollywood in the Heartland is a research project of Preservation Iowa and the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office that seeks to document Iowa's movie legacy. Part of this has been identification of motion picture theaters and other buildings that have served as theaters. Their online database of these buildings allows searching by name, city, county, and architect or builder.

Among the 16 buildings found by searching for Story (as a county), is the Cambridge Theatre shown above in its current incarnation as the Cambridge Library and the American Legion Post 233. The Cambridge Theatre link describes its history and architecture.

The project is continuing to look for information about the theaters it has identified and any that it has missed. You can help them by adding to their survey as described in Get Involved on this page.

Also, be sure to check out the section labeled Extras. This includes Iowans in Hollywood and Hollywood in Iowa.

Cambridge Railroad Bridge Postcard on the Web

2011-11-13T10:24:00.001-06:00

The Penny Postcards site, a USGenWeb Archives Web Site, includes a postcard of the Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul bridge near Cambridge as one of the postcards from Story County. Thank you to Roxane Sesker for alerting us to this. We have the same picture in our book, Cambridge, Iowa The First 150 Years, on page 21. It identifies the bridge as the first river crossing and then shows pictures of the double track "High Bridge" which replaced it.

Penny Postcards from Iowa, part of the site, has links to the postcards by county. Then within the counties many are arranged by town.

Armistice Day in Cambridge - 1931

2011-11-11T21:21:00.001-06:00

Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day, was an all-day event in Cambridge 80 years ago according to the Cambridge Leader. The morning school program was with the American Legion, the Auxiliary, and the Community Band. After basketball games in the afternoon, a veterans dinner was followed by an evening program.

Among the guests was a Civil War veteran Andrew Nelson.

This article was on the front page of the Cambridge Leader, November 12, 1931. It and articles from the November 12, 1929 and October 31, 1929 front pages can be seen here as well.

Iowa Genealogy Websites

2011-11-02T12:01:00.000-05:00

Many of those interested in local history have a strong interest in their family history. Family Tree Magazines 2010 Best State Websites includes these Iowa websites:

IOWA

Iowa Genealogical Society iowagenealogy.org

This active genealogy group has provided county-by-county research guides, an alphabetical index of pioneer ancestors, a list of available naturalization papers and more.

Iowa GenWeb Project iagenweb.org

While all the state sites in the USGenWeb Project usgenweb.org are useful, this Hawkeye State project goes way beyond the usual links to county pages. Check out the many special projects, including the family group sheet collection, gravestone photo project, transcribed history books and state censuses, Civil War and WWI compilations, newspaper clippings, and WPA graves registration survey.

Open House September 30, 2011 - 3 to 5 p.m.

2011-09-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

As part of the Ballard High School Homecoming, the Cambridge Historical Association will be open on Friday, September 30, 2011, from 3 to 5 p.m. Come tour the museum at 504 3rd Street in Cambridge, Iowa. And following this attend the Dollars for Scholars Meal at the Ballard High School (5 to 7 p.m.) before cheering at the game with Clear Lake. Details on the Homecoming schedule can be found in this PDF from the Ballard School District.

Jubilee Days Schedule - June 10 - 12, 2011

2011-06-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

The 2011 Cambridge Jubilee Days begin Friday June 10 and continues through Sunday. As part of this, the Cambridge Historical Association will be having an open house following the parade until 4 p.m.

Memorial Day Ceremony at Cambridge Cemetery 2011

2011-06-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

The American Legion Post 233 has ceremonies honoring veterans on Memorial Day each year at several local cemeteries. This slideshow has pictures from this years ceremony at the Cambridge Cemetery. Thank you to the city, the American Legion Post, and the American Legion Auxiliary for preparing the cemetery and this ceremony.

The Cambridge Historical Association prepared an updated list of veterans in the Cambridge Cemetery for the ceremony. You can see/download a copy of this as a PDF here.

Memorial Day Ceremony Cambridge Iowa 2011

View more presentations from Cambridge Historical Association.

Reminder: Open House June 4, 2011 - 3 to 5 p.m.

2011-06-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

Before the Cambridge Alumni Association Banquet this Saturday, June 4, visit the Cambridge Historical Association open house from 3 to 5 p.m. The public is invited as well to see our Cambridge displays and use our materials for research.

The following Saturday, June 11, 2011, we will again be open following the Jubilee Days parade. Stop in and see us then as well!

Memorial Day Services Honoring Veterans at Cambridge Cemetery - May 30, 2011

2011-05-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

The American Legion will have their ceremony honoring Veterans at the Cambridge Cemetery at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 30, 2011. The American Legion Auxiliary has placed American flags at the grave markers of the veterans.

Cambridge Alumni Association Banquet - June 4, 2011

2011-04-07T22:04:00.000-05:00

The annual Cambridge Alumni Association Banquet will be June 4, 2011. If you did not receive a form, you can click on the pictures to the left for details. (Click on the picture a second time for a larger version.) A PDF of the form for printing is available here.

The Cambridge Historical Association will have an open house before the banquet from 3 to 5 p.m. Come and see our Cambridge School memorabilia among other displays.

Talk with American Legion Auxiliary - March 1, 2011

2011-03-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

The Cambridge Historical Association was invited by the Mathias-Wire Legion Auxiliary to speak with them at their monthly meeting. Florence Wheeler and Wayne Messer discussed the history of the Cambridge Historical Association, some of our current projects - particularly the Veterans lists for Memorial Day - and some of the upcoming events. Afterwords, many from the group joined us for a tour of our building and displays.

Thank you for the invitation and your hospitality!

Creating a Search Checklist

2011-02-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

To help us provide better service for requests for history of Cambridge and surrounding area residents, we are developing a checklist of our sources. The current version is shown below so we and you can work with it. Please let us know your experience with it and how we might improve it.

Background: What does the requester know about the topic already? And what would they like to know? Any dates, events, locations, etc.will help suggest sources to check or ignore.

Searching for individuals and/or families:

Are they in our books? The expanded table of contents for the Sesquicentennial and Schools books may help. Also, we have begun a name index for the Sesquicentennial book.
Are there any Family Histories of interest? Our Family History holding are being listed.
Are they a veteran? The Sesquicentennial book lists many of the Cambridge veterans. A Civil War Veterans working page is available. Also see the Veterans binder.
Check the obituary index and the alphabetical binders.
Are they buried in local cemetery? We have the 1992 listings from the Story County Genealogical Society for many of the local townships. These each have indexes by name and readings of the gravestones at the time.
Check binder(s) for particular years.

Also, outside sources that may be useful include:

Check History of Story County Vol 1 Vol 2 (Google Books) We have parts of these; however, by using the Google Books links you can search within the books.
Check Nevada Community Historical Society Family Trees. Despite its name, many other Story County residents are included.
Check Roland Record. You can search and view these papers online. If searching for Cambridge, do not include Iowa. Most of the entries assume Iowa for Cambridge.
Check Story County Genweb. They have a variety of materials available.
For World War II Veterans, check the Ames Historical Society Index to WW2 Veterans.

As we update this checklist, you can see the most recent version here.

Family Histories at the Cambridge Historical Association

2011-02-11T16:26:00.000-06:00

As part of our collection, the Cambridge Historical Association has a number of family histories. Some of these are genealogies and others are collections of articles or other materials from or about particular families. We are listing these holdings in a series of entries on our website. Those whose name begins with A - B can be found in our earlier post.

While we are doing this, we are also creating what will be a list and description of our complete holdings in this area. See this page on our wiki to follow the ongoing creation of the list.

Part of what we are adding to the complete list are cross-references from other family names to help us locating pertinent material for requests. Please let us know what other information might help you in using this.

2010 Meeting with County Supervisors

2011-02-04T20:36:00.000-06:00

The Story County Historical Alliance meets with the Story County Supervisors each year to describe our accomplishments. This year the Ames Historical Society hosted a meeting with Jane Haliburton, Wayne Clinton, and Paul Toot on November 23, 2010. You can read a short summary of the other historical societies programs here.

The accomplishments we reported were:

Moving the Cambridge Historical Association into the building donated by the Masons.
This has lead to an increase in Life memberships and artifacts donations
It also provided a location for expanding our displays for Jubilee Days open house
Updated our Veterans list to work with the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary for Memorial Day
Working with Civil War Remembrance group for the Civil War Sesquicentennial
Added a current events website Cambridge Happenings to announce upcoming local events
Obituaries index being updated and expanded
Our volunteer hours are approaching 500 this year (before the end of the year we did pass 500 hours!)

Thank you to the Supervisors for their continuing interest and support.

Family Histories - A - B

2011-01-25T17:03:00.000-06:00

As part of our collection, the Cambridge Historical Association has a number of family histories. Some of these are genealogies and others are collections of articles or other materials from or about particular families.

We have two Apland collections. One is various clippings about the Apland barn (Apland/Freeland Barn), Apland reunions, and obituaries. The other is Ole Birchaug Descendants from May 2006 which goes back to 1710. Many local family names are included. Copies of Apland i Merika Avis (Aplands in America newsletter) from March 1996 and 1999, Norway in World War II, and a translation of "The Early Settlers from Stavanger and Hadaland, Norway in Central Iowa" are also in this binder. The translation is from a Norwegian book by Hjalmer Rued Holand A.M. 1908.

The binder Bastesen contains exerpts from Erasmus Rosenberger and His Families in Germany and America. The earliest entry in the parts we have is from 1758.

The Bauge binder has articles about the historic Bauge Farmhouse and its move to Ames. Nils Bauge was the original member of the family living in the log home which was built in 1866.

The Berhow Family Tree also contains minutes from the Berhow Reunion from 1932 to 2000. Berhow was named for a farm on the island of Halsnoy on the coast of Norway. The family tree has names to before 1692. As an aside, the Huxley Historical Society has information about the origin of Berhow Park in Huxley, Iowa.

The Bundy Descendants - Descendants of William Bundy has the first child born about 1667 in North Carolina. This is 12 pages long and includes some information from 2001. Local family names include Cook, Tillotson, and Zook.

Monthly Meeting and Election - November 16, 2010

2011-01-20T20:29:00.001-06:00

The Cambridge Historical Association met Tuesday, November 16. The meeting was a combination of our regular meeting and our annual election. The business meeting discussed upcoming meetings including:

Meeting with the Story County Supervisors and the other members of the Story County Historical Alliance November 23.
Meeting with the Cambridge Legion Auxiliary.
Hosting the Story County Historical Alliance at the end of April.
Having an open house in conjunction with the Cambridge Alumni Banquet.

The meeting concluded with election of the following officers for 2011:

Wayne Messer - Co-president
Val Moore - Co-president
Don Erickson - Treasurer
Julie Erickson - Secretary
Joyce Williams - Director
Florence Wheeler - Director

Our meetings are held the third Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m., at 504 Third Street, Cambridge, except for December. Contact us at 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) or by email at cha@huxcomm.net.

Cambridge Historical Association Meeting - Tuesday January 18, 2011

2011-01-15T14:53:00.000-06:00

The next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7 pm. Learn about our accomplishments in 2010 and help us make plans for 2011! We will be meeting at 504 3rd Street (the old Masonic Lodge). Contact information: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net.

Reminder: No Cambridge Historical Association Meeting In December

2010-12-19T17:29:00.000-06:00

Just a quick reminder that we do not meet in December. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you at our meetings next year.

Cambridge Historical Association Meeting - Tuesday November 16, 2010

2010-11-12T18:13:00.000-06:00

The next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, November 16, 2010. Join us at 7 p.m. at 504 3rd Street. (the old Masonic Lodge) and learn more about Cambridge, Iowa and its people. Also, we will be having the election of Officers for the next year. Contact information: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net. For further information, see our website at cha-notes.blogspot.com.

Remember there is no meeting in December.

Cambridge, Iowa: The First 150 Years - Additions and Corrections

2010-10-19T13:05:00.000-05:00

Our first book, published during Cambridge's Sesquicentennial in 2006, Cambridge, Iowa: The First 150 Years has continued to be so popular that we are almost out of copies. As we look at reprinting it, this seemed like a good time to include corrections and possibly additions. The community has provided a number of both from reading the first edition. Florence Wheeler collected many of these comments and we have started an online page with them. These can be seen at this page.

Please add your additions and corrections as comments below or let members of the Cambridge Historical Association know and we will add them to the record.

Cambridge Historical Association Meeting - Tuesday October 19, 2010

2010-10-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

The next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, October 19, 2010. Join us at 7 p.m. at 504 3rd Street. (the old Masonic Lodge) and learn more about Cambridge, Iowa and its people. Contact information: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net. For further information, see our website at cha-notes.blogspot.com.

Cambridge Fall Fest - October 16, 2010

2010-10-13T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Cambridge Jubilee Committee is sponsoring the Cambridge Fall Fest at the Community Center on Saturday, October 16, 2010 beginning at 5 p.m.. Support the Jubilee Committee and have a great time!

Sources for Flood Conditions Updates

2010-08-13T14:35:00.003-05:00

With the heavy rainfalls throughout Story County, you may want to check some of these sources for flood conditions updates.

Story County Home Page has links to maps showing road closures.
Story County Facebook Page lists road re-openings on a frequent basis.
Story County Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration ( August 15 and update added 8/15) - this page has information and links on how to apply as well as links suggesting how to clean up.
Iowa State University Extension Service has some flood clean-up resources available. (added 8/16)

As we receive more links we will add them.

Cambridge Happenings - An Experiment

2010-07-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

Some of the items we include on our website are announcements of local events. Our most recent examples are the Cambridge Fire Department Open House and their raffle.

As an experimental way to provide more of these notices, we have begun to place them on their own site - Cambridge Happenings. Its address is: cambridge.posterous.com. Thus far we have the Cambridge Fire Department Open House, the Cambridge Fire Department Raffle, the Methodist Vacation Bible School, and the Cambridge Library Summer Reading Program.

We still will include some events here (and maybe there as well). The meetings and other events of the Cambridge Historical Association will definitely be here, as will Cambridge Jubilee Days notices and coverage.

Please let us know what you think. You can leave comments on this site (see below) or at Cambridge Happenings. And if you have an upcoming local event we may have missed, please let us know about it.

Cambridge Fire and Rescue Open House - July 31, 2010

2010-07-17T19:57:00.001-05:00

The Cambridge, Iowa Fire and Rescue Department is having an Open House on Saturday, July 31, 2010 from 4 to 8 pm including a BBQ dinner. Also see their raffle prizes!

See the pictures for more details. (Click on the pictures and click them again for a larger poster.)

Flag Disposal Ceremony at Jubilee Days

2010-06-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

The American Legion Post 233 of Cambridge, Iowa conducted a flag disposal ceremony so that people could properly dispose of their tattered United States flags. This slideshow has photos from the June 12, 2010 ceremony during Jubilee Days. The color guard provided a gunfire salute followed by Taps played by two buglers.

Thank you to the Post for this service.

American Legion Flag Disposal

View more presentations from Cambridge Historical Association.

Cambridge Iowa Garage Sale June 19, 2010

2010-06-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

The City Wide Cambridge Garage Sale will be this Saturday, June 19th, from 8 am to 3:30 pm. Click on the photo for further details.

Cambridge Historical Association on the Front Page of the Tri-County Times

2010-06-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, the Cambridge Historical Association appeared on the front page of the June 10, 2010 issue of the Tri-County Times. Just in time for Jubilee Days 2010, we appeared next to the Jubilee Days article.

Thank you to the Tri-County Times for featuring us in this article. It and the other Jubilee Days festivities made for a great turnout at our new location despite the weather.

If you did not get a chance to see our new location, please attend one of our meetings - the third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. The next one is this evening, June 15, 2010. Or contact us: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net.

Jubilee Days - June 11 - 13, 2010

2010-06-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

Always the second weekend in June, this years Jubilee Days in Cambridge, Iowa are Friday, June 11 through Sunday, June 13, 2010. The complete schedule is available on the Cambridge website or download a printable schedule (PDF) here. You can read about the Jubilee Days plans in the Tri-County Times front page article.

Among the events is the open house of the Cambridge Historical Association in our new location, 504 Third Street, from 11 a.m. (after the parade) to 4 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the first opportunity for many to see our new location, displays, and the exciting things we are doing. Learn more in another Tri-County Times article.

Just a reminder: The next regular meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association falls shortly after Jubilee Days. It is the third Tuesday of the month, which means that this months meeting is Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

Des Moines Register Old Time Photos

2010-05-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

The Des Moines Register has an online feature - Old Time Photos - which features new old photos each day. These currently range from 1913 to the 1980's.

The April 29, 2010 entry was a picture of justice of the peace W.T. Harrison, 79, of Cambridge, Iowa in a picture from 1945. The picture was part of a story about the state conducting a drive to change from the justice of the peace system to a county court system.

In addition to the Old Time Photos of the Day, the Register has other collections of old photos from the Register's archive.

Thank you to Margot Eness of the Gilbert Historical Society for pointing us to the Cambridge photo.

Silent Auction and Wine Tasting - April 24, 2010

2010-04-23T16:18:00.000-05:00

The Cambridge Jubilee Committee is doing something different this year. Rather than a White Elephant Auction (where you end up going home with someone else's *ahem* junk)... we're going to have a Wine Tasting!! Sample wines from White Oak and Snus Hill wineries. NO ADMISSION FEE. Wine samples for $1 each. Food and other beverages can be purchased.

Saturday, April 24, 2010, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Cambridge, Iowa Community Center

Door prizes every fifteen minutes!

Chair massages from Lyn Hook of A Healing Touch for $1 per minute.

Gift baskets and packages with new, donated items and services will be auctioned. For example:
- Beach basket (beach towel, bag, spray tan certificate, ect)
- Doggie goodies (treats and dog food)
- Home basket (candles, home decor)
- Reiman gardens (annual membership and anniversary book)
- White Oak wine tasting at their winery
- Fishing basket (rod and reel, tackle)
- Adventureland tickets
- ICubs tickets
- Barnstormers tickets
- Song bird packet (20 plants designed to entice song birds to your yard)
- Spa package (massage, hair cut, spray tan, ect)

Remember: The Cambridge Jubilee Days are June 11-13, 2010.

Cambridge Historical Association Meeting - Tuesday, February 16, 2010

2010-02-13T22:34:00.002-06:00

The next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Join us at 7 p.m. in our new location, 504 3rd Street. (the old Masonic Lodge) and learn more about Cambridge, Iowa and its people. Contact information: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net. For further information, see our website at cha-notes.blogspot.com.

Book Discussion Group - February 15, 2010

2010-02-12T19:29:00.000-06:00

The next Cambridge Memorial Library book discussion is Monday, February 15, 2010, 7 p.m. The book will be The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. More details in the flyer picture.

New Contact Information for the Cambridge Historical Association

2010-01-26T18:35:00.001-06:00

With the move to our new building, we have a new mailing address and a new telephone number. While the old ones will still reach us, please begin using the new ones now.

The new mailing address is:

Cambridge Historical Association
PO Box 461
Cambridge, Iowa 50046

The new phone number is:

(515)-220-HISTORY

which is the same as (515)-220-4478. Most of the time this will reach our answering machine.

Our email address remains:

cha@huxcomm.net

The building itself is located at 504 3rd Street. You can see it from the Cambridge Post Office - it's the gray building in this picture from the Post Office.

Ames Historical Society 2010 Lectures

2010-01-21T16:04:00.000-06:00

The Ames Historical Society Lecture Series begins Tuesday, January 26, 2010, at 7 pm with Treasures from the Tribune Trashbin by Alan Spohnhemier. It and the other lectures are at the City Auditorium, 520 6th Street in Ames. The other topics, all on the last Tuesday of the month at 7 pm are:

Mischief and Mayhem: Stories from the Ames Police Dept. - Kathy Svec, February, 23.
The Bells of Iowa State: An Enduring Tradition - Bob Lindemeyer, March 30.
The Burning of the Froning-Deppe Elevator - Bob Deppe, April 27.

Next Meeting Tuesday, January 19, 2010

2010-01-18T12:35:00.000-06:00

The next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association is this Tuesday, January 19, 2010, at 7 pm. Come see us at our new location 504 3rd Street (the old Masonic Lodge) and learn more about Cambridge, Iowa and its people. Contact information: 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) has an answering machine or you can email us at cha@huxcomm.net .

Library Events - January 11 and 12, 2010

2010-01-10T09:57:00.001-06:00

The Cambridge Memorial Library has a couple of meetings this week. Monday evening, 7:00 - 8:00 pm, is the monthly board meeting. See the agenda in the picture.

Then Tuesday, January 12th, also at 7:00 pm, I believe, is the first 2010 book discussion group. The first book is The Killing Game by Iris Johansen. See the picture for additional details.

(Note: You can click on either picture for a larger version of it.)

Monthly Meeting and Election - November 17, 2009

2009-12-16T19:59:00.000-06:00

The Cambridge Historical Association met Tuesday, November 17, with the meeting being a combination business meeting and work session on our new home. The business meeting discussed how to arrange items in the new building for best use and planning for the new year. It concluded with election of the following officers for 2010:

Wayne Messer - Co-president
Val Moore - Co-president
Don Erickson - Treasurer
Julie Erickson - Secretary
Joyce Williams - Director
Florence Wheeler - Director

During the work session, we moved the bookcases shown in the picture and other furniture into position. We will be filling these with all the Cambridge History references. While this is underway, we can still help you find information about your ancestors and the area.

Our meetings are held the third Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m., at 504 Third Street, Cambridge. The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 (we do not meet in December). Contact us at 515-220-HISTORY (515-220-4478) or by email at cha@huxcomm.net.

Tree Lighting and Open House - Postponed to December 11, 2009

2009-12-01T17:45:00.002-06:00

This Friday, December 4, 2009, at 6:30 is the Christmas Tree Lighting and the open house at the Cambridge City Hall.
[Update] - The Christmas Tree Lighting and open house have been postponed to December 9th.
[Update 2] - The Christmas Tree Lighting and Open House are now scheduled for Friday, December 11th.

Events at Dorcas Hall - November 21, 2009

2009-11-15T20:30:00.001-06:00

There are two events this Saturday, November 21, 2009, at the Dorcas Hall. The first is the Cambridge Holiday Shopping Extravaganza from 9 am to 2 pm. The second is a Homemade Ham Dinner hosted by the Women of the United Methodist Church beginning at 5 pm. Click on the picture on the left for more details on each of them. Click again on the picture that comes up to magnify it.

Monthly Meeting - October 20, 2009

2009-11-14T10:57:00.001-06:00

The October 2009 meeting was the first meeting held in our new building! The building, which was the Masonic Tabernacle Lodge Number 452 of Cambridge, Iowa, is located at 504 3rd Street, just off of Water Street. Please join us at 7 pm, on the third Tuesday of the month, for our meetings.

The main item of discussion was planning the move and how to best use the space. Some of the material has already been moved to a staging area in the building. Thanks to the generosity of Huxley Communications, phone and Internet services have since been installed in the building. Our new phone number is 515-220-HIST (515-220-4478).

Officers for 2010 were nominated for the election at our next meeting, Tuesday, November 17, 2009. Those nominated were:

Wayne Messer - Co-president
Don Erickson - Co-president
Florence Wheeler - Treasurer
Julie Erickson - Secretary
Val Moore - Director
Joyce Williams - Director

Please join us for the meeting and election 7 pm on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. See the building and give us your ideas for how to best use it.

South Skunk River Water Quality Improvements Open House - November 9, 2009

2009-11-08T10:17:00.000-06:00

The Ames Water & Pollution Control Department is having an open house Monday, November 9, 2009, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at their Water Pollution Control Facility at 56797 280th Street. They are looking for public input before their presentation to the Ames City Council. See the image to the left for more details or read their PDF.

Cambridge Trail Sign

2009-11-07T14:46:00.001-06:00

One of the Cambridge Historical Association projects this year was helping the city prepare a trail sign for the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail when the stretch from Cambridge to Maxwell is opened. Story County Conservation has a project underway to restore two bridge structures and build nearly four miles of trail between Cambridge and County Highway S-14.

The sign has been completed and is ready for installation when the trail is opened in the summer of 2010. Thanks to Don Erickson who prepared the history for the brass sign and oversaw its completion. You can click on the sign shown on the left for a larger picture.

Book Discussion Group - November 10, 2009

2009-11-07T13:52:00.000-06:00

There is a new book discussion group forming at the Cambridge Memorial Library. The first meeting, an organization meeting, is next Tuesday, November 10, 2009, at 7:00 pm. Please bring your ideas and book suggestions. See the picture for further details.

Cambridge History Department Flyer

2009-10-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

Before the Cambridge Historical Association formed, we were the Cambridge History Department of Cambridge, Iowa. Many of you still refer to us this way. This flyer from around 2000 illustrates our holdings at that time. You can find these items plus many more to help with your research.

Cambridge History Department Flyer - Precursor to Cambridge Historical Association

Can You Help Us Identify These People?

2009-10-25T17:41:00.000-05:00

We were recently asked if we could identify the students and teacher in this picture. While we also have the picture in our collection, we do not have names for the people. The caption on the bottom says:7344A 1st and 2nd Grades, 1910-1911, Cambridge School, Cambridge, Iowa. We did check our second book, Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa and found we had not used the picture in it. To see a larger version of the picture, click on the image.

The front of the postcard is also shown in case that is helpful. Can you help us? Please use the comments or email us cha@huxcomm.net .

Cambridge City Election - November 3, 2009

2009-10-24T09:03:00.005-05:00

The election for Mayor of Cambridge, Iowa and for City Council members will be held Tuesday, November 3, 2009. You can see the sample ballot on the Story County website. Our current Mayor, Scott DeYoung, is unopposed for reelection. Three City Council seats have four candidates on the ballot: Husie Holmes, Steven Kovarik, Dan Mortensen, and David Thom. Write-in votes may be used for any of the positions. Polls are open from 7 am to 8 pm at the Cambridge Fire Station, 304 River Street.

Restoring Family Photos - October 22, 2009

2009-10-20T22:19:00.002-05:00

The Kirkendall Public Library in Ankeny, Iowa is hosting a free presentation by Dennis Allen and Cris Nagla this Thursday, October 22, 2009, at 6:30 pm on Restoring Family Photos. Learn how to restore and preserve your family's photos.

Our Meetings Have a New Site!

2009-10-17T21:28:00.004-05:00

Beginning with the meeting this month, Tuesday, October 20, 2009, our meetings, and the Cambridge Historical Association have a new location. Thanks to the Masonic Tabernacle Lodge Number 452 of Cambridge, Iowa, we now have a new home. The Lodge has donated their building to us as they are becoming part of the Nevada Lodge. We would like to thank them and especially Charles Sloniger for their generosity in making this happen. Thank you also to the Lewis Law Firm of Cambridge and the Cambridge Mayor and City Council for their help in accomplishing this.

The building is located at 504 3rd Street, just off of Water Street. Please join us at 7 pm, on the third Tuesday of the month, for our meetings. This month we will be discussing the new building and how to organize our materials in it.

Cambridge Fall Fest - October 17, 2009

2009-10-15T10:58:00.005-05:00

The Cambridge Fall Fest sponsored by the Cambridge Jubilee Committee is this Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 5 to 8 pm at the Cambridge Community Center. It includes food, a hayrack ride (non-scary), and spooky hayrack rides, all for $5 for adults and $3 for children under 10. Click on the picture to see a larger version for the complete details.

Barn Tour Including Apland-Freeland Barn - September 19 and 20, 2009

2009-09-16T18:00:00.003-05:00

The Iowa Barn Foundation is having a free self-guided tour of many Iowa barns on Saturday, September 19th and Sunday, September 20th. Barns will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. The Apland-Freeland barn near Cambridge is one of four barns in Story County which may be seen. More information on its history is available here and here.

7th Annual Cambridge Iowa Truck Pull - September 19, 2009

2009-09-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

The 7th Annual Cambridge Fall Truck Pull will be held Saturday, September 19th, 2009. The gates open at 10 am and the pull begins at noon. More details are available at the Cambridge Motor Sports page.

Whole Town's Talking: Cambridge, Iowa

2009-07-26T15:54:00.002-05:00

One of our displays during the 2009 Jubilee Days was the video Whole Town's Talking: Cambridge, Iowa. This was part of a 1952 series by WOI-TV showing town meetings to discuss current local issues. For Cambridge, the issue was whether it should keep its high school or consolidate with other local schools or towns. You can see this half-hour episode online at YouTube or watch the DVD at the Cambridge Historical Association.

The three parts of the show can be seen at:

Whole Town's Talking: Cambridge, Iowa part 1

Whole Town's Talking: Cambridge, Iowa part 2

Whole Town's Talking: Cambridge, Iowa part 3

Each part is about ten minutes long.

A news article about the show can be found in our first book: Cambridge, Iowa: The First 150 Years.

Thanks to Larry and Helen Nernes for identifying many of the students and participants in the video. Those identified were:

CJ Sampers

Betty Jo Harker

Levona Carins

Bud Carins

Terry Jennings

Dorothy Kahler

Larry Nernes

Jim Crosser

Fred Warren

Frank Warren

Matilda Hill

Marge Griffith

Larry Gardner

Danny Stowe

John Dyer

Francis Blackwood

Owen Dean Thorson

Harsha??

Cambridge Fire Department Open House and BBQ - July 25, 2009

2009-07-20T09:34:00.005-05:00

The Cambridge, Iowa Fire and Rescue is having an open house and BBQ dinner Saturday July 25, 2009 from 4 to 8 pm. See the details below:

CAMBRIDGE

FIRE & RESCUE

OPEN HOUSE

SATURDAY, JULY 25^TH

4-8 PM

BBQ DINNER W/BEANS AND PASTA SALAD

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

ONLY $5

VISIT THE STATION

TOUR THE TRUCKS

MEET THE STAFF

SEE OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

***FREE BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS!***

*** 1948 CHEVY FIRE TRUCK ON DISPLAY***

COME JOIN US FOR FOOD, FUN AND PRIZES!!!

(Register to win prize, free entry with every paid meal)

Monthly Meeting - June 16, 2009

2009-06-25T22:00:00.007-05:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Among the items discussed were:

The Memorial Day Services at the Cambridge Cemetery. Thank you to everyone that has contacted us with additional veterans information.
During the Jubilee Days celebration, we participated in the parade. Our displays for this included a DVD showing the WOI-TV production "The Whole Town's Talking - Cambridge, Iowa" and the scans of Cambridge High School senior pictures which were used in our second book. Thank you to Larry and Helen Nernes for helping to identify students and participants in the TV broadcast.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 21st at 7 p.m. at the Cambridge Historical Association headquarters, 209 Water Street.

Playground Equipment Installation - Volunteers Needed

2009-06-24T14:56:00.003-05:00

The new equipment for the Cambridge City Park, Cambridge, Iowa is scheduled to be installed Friday, June 26, 2009. Volunteers are needed to help! You may have seen the notice in the Post Office. See the picture for details. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Jubilee Days Parade

2009-06-16T15:37:00.005-05:00

The Jubilee Days Parade was held Saturday, June 13, 2009. The route took it south on Water Street past the Cambridge Historical Association. We had good weather, after the rain Friday evening, and a good crowd and parade. Here are a few of the pictures, all taken from in front the the Historical Association. We will soon have all the pictures for you to see on our computer in the Historical Association.

Cambridge, Iowa Garage Sale - June 20th

2009-06-15T21:56:00.003-05:00

The annual Cambridge, Iowa citywide garage sale will be next weekend, June 20th, 2009, from 8:30 to 3:30. It is sponsored by the United Methodists.

Memorial Day Services at Cambridge Cemetery

2009-06-08T12:04:00.008-05:00

The list of Cambridge, Iowa veterans we are preparing was used to create a list of veterans buried in the Cambridge Cemetery for the American Legion Memorial Day services on May 25, 2009. A printable copy of this flyer (PDF) can be downloaded here.

An updated version of the list is being prepared for the Legion. A list by location in the cemetery is also being prepared for the American Legion Auxiliary to assist with the American flags they provide at the veterans graves.

Thank you to Julie Erickson, Joyce Williams, Florence Wheeler, and Wayne Messer for creating this list. Also, thank you to the members of the community for information on the veterans. Please let us know of other additions and corrections.

Jubilee Days in Cambridge, Iowa - June 12 - 14

2009-06-08T11:33:00.006-05:00

Jubilee Days are held the second weekend in June. This year it begins Friday, June 12th, and runs through Sunday morning, June 14th. The complete schedule is available on the Cambridge, Iowa website. You can also download a printable version (PDF) of the schedule here.

Be sure and include a stop at the Cambridge Historical Association in your plans for Jubilee Days on Saturday, June 13th.

Cambridge Alumni Association Banquet - June 6, 2009

2009-05-07T17:38:00.005-05:00

The annual Cambridge Independent School District Alumni Banquet will be Saturday, June 6, 2009 at the Ballard East Elementary School in Cambridge, Iowa. A social hour at 5:00 pm will be followed by the dinner at 6:00 pm. Honor Classes are 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, and 1974.

Send the form confirming your attendance to:

Berk Fletcher
8508 NW Country Club Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322

Ames Historical Society Lecture - April 28, 2009

2009-04-07T16:37:00.002-05:00

The Ames Historical Society has a series of presentation each year. The last presentation for this year's series is A Drive Through Ames and Story County using historic images from the IDOT which will be Tuesday, April 28, 2009, at 7 p.m. at the Ames City Auditorium. More details are available on their website.

Monthly Meeting - March 24, 2009

2009-04-05T16:15:00.011-05:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Among the items discussed were:

The list of Cambridge, Iowa Veterans we are preparing. Thank you to everyone that has contacted us with additional veterans information.
Upcoming meetings: the Story County Historical Societies will be meeting April 4th at Story City.
Upcoming meetings: Wayne Messer will be attending the workshop Preserving Your History by Tanya Zanish-Belcher at Corning, Iowa on March 27th.

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 21st at 7 p.m. at the Cambridge Historical Association headquarters, 209 Water Street.

Monthly Meeting - February 17, 2009

2009-03-21T15:03:00.004-05:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, February 17, 2009. Among the items discussed were:

Preparing a list of veterans in the Cambridge cemeteries for Memorial Day honors. We are using the lists of veterans in our book: Cambridge, Iowa The First 150 Years as the starting point. Cemetery records and our collection of obituaries are being combined with the lists. If you have additional sources or know others that should be included, please let us know.
Preparation of a display for Jubilee Days, which is the second weekend in June. The theme will be Cambridge Area Schools with much of it coming from our book: Cambridge, Iowa 150 Years of Education in Cambridge and Union Township, Story County, Iowa.
Designing a sign for the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail being constructed south of Cambridge.
Thank you for the donation of historic items from John Kalsem and Dorothy Hynd.

The next regular meeting was scheduled for March 17th, later postponed to Tuesday, March 24th at 7 p.m. It will be held at the Cambridge Historical Association headquarters, 209 Water Street.

Monthly Meeting Postponed to March 24, 2009

2009-03-17T09:52:00.002-05:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association has been postponed for one week. The March meeting will be held Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 7 p.m.

Next Meeting Tuesday, February 17, 2009

2009-02-14T12:31:00.004-06:00

Just a reminder that the next meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association, Cambridge, Iowa, is next Tuesday - February 17, 2009, at 7 p.m. Everyone is invited.

Photos of Current Cambridge, Iowa - Follow-up

2009-02-11T18:17:00.005-06:00

Just a short note following up our previous post. Random Iowa did visit on February 8th and took great pictures of some Cambridge landmarks. Some of them are in this posting on their blog. This also includes a link to the Cambridge pictures they have posted on Wikimedia. Some of the pictures were incorporated in the Wikipedia article on Cambridge, Iowa.

Thank you Random Iowa for this project and for including Cambridge in it.

Photos of Current Cambridge, Iowa

2009-02-09T17:20:00.004-06:00

The Random Iowa blog had as its topic this week visiting Cambridge, Iowa. (They were planning to visit on February 8th.) They travel around Iowa to a different area each week to take interesting photographs for Wikimedia Commons, i.e., the pictures may be used in Wikipedia articles and related projects. For example, the pictures might be used to illustrate the Cambridge, Iowa Wikipedia article. I'm pleased they planned to visit us and look forward to seeing the pictures.

They asked for suggestions of sights to photograph and I offered the American Legion Mural and the Memorial on Water Street. What do you think we should be photographing? What pictures should the Cambridge Historical Association be collecting now to document Cambridge's history for the future? Please add your comments here or contact us.

Finding that Random Iowa, which I was previously unaware of, was going to visit was partly luck and partly use of some of the tools available on the Internet. The timing was mainly luck because Random Iowa posted their plans on the day before their visit. I found out about their plans because I also have a Google Alert for Cambridge, Iowa, which searches blogs and sends results, if any, daily. You can set these up to email or receive via a Feed Reader. For more information, see the Google Alerts FAQ. The results I receive are similar to this Google blog search for "Cambridge Iowa", just spread out in time rather than all at once.

Monthly Meeting and Election - November 18, 2008

2009-01-08T16:42:00.008-06:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, November 18, 2008. Items discussed included:

The Slater Area Historical Association presentation by Amy Yoakum on the Cemeteries of Story County
The microfilm reader-printer has been received and installed in the Cambridge Library. A different computer is required to make it fully operational.
Mayor Scott DeYoung has requested our help in designing a sign for the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail from Cambridge to Maxwell.
Election of officers for 2009.

The officers elected were:

Wayne Messer - co-president
Don Erickson - co-president
Florence Wheeler - treasurer
Julie Erickson - secretary
Joyce Williams - director
Val Moore - Director

The next regular meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association will be Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at 7 p.m.

Monthly Meeting - October 21, 2008

2008-12-02T20:50:00.004-06:00

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.

Monthly Meeting - September 16, 2008

2008-10-08T11:27:00.003-05:00

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.

Cambridge Iowa Newspapers

2008-09-28T09:26:00.010-05:00

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]

Monthly Meeting - August 19, 2008

2008-09-15T14:00:00.007-05:00

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.

Monthly Meeting - July 15, 2008

2008-09-09T21:45:00.005-05:00

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.

Expanded Table of Contents for Second Book Available

2008-08-25T10:01:00.008-05:00

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).

Our Newsletter is Available Online

2008-07-24T20:06:00.003-05:00

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:

CHA Newsletter Volume 1 Number 2 - Upload a Document to Scribd

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

2008-07-24T18:30:00.005-05:00

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.

Monthly Meeting - May 20, 2008

2008-07-09T20:44:00.007-05:00

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.

Our Second Book Was Published!

2008-07-08T08:43:00.003-05:00

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.

History Presentation to Ballard 5th Graders

2008-07-03T17:49:00.003-05:00

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.

The Cambridge Iowa Website Has a New Look

2008-05-20T16:10:00.003-05:00

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

Monthly Meeting - April 15, 2008

2008-05-12T11:26:00.005-05:00

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.

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

2008-04-22T20:37:00.003-05:00

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.

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

2008-04-20T15:39:00.003-05:00

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.

Referendum Meetings and Upcoming Voting

2008-04-16T15:03:00.007-05:00

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:

Monthly Meeting - March 18, 2008

2008-04-14T17:40:00.003-05:00

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.

Book Signing at Cambridge Library - April 9, 2008

2008-04-07T17:47:00.006-05:00

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.

Iowa in the Rearview Mirror - Book Signing

2008-04-03T11:41:00.002-05:00

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.

Lecture - Ames Historical Society, Wednesday, March 26, 2008

2008-03-21T16:00:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder that the Ames Historical Society lecture series continues next Wednesday at 7 p.m. This one is The Heart of Iowa Leg of the 1908 New York to Paris Great Auto Race
by Bill Jepsen.

Monthly Meeting - February 19, 2008

2008-03-09T17:35:00.003-05:00

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.

Thank You Florence Wheeler

2008-02-17T13:20:00.006-06:00

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.

Ames Historical Society 2008 Lecture Series

2008-01-09T14:42:00.000-06:00

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.

Meeting with Story County Supervisors - November 26, 2007

2008-01-05T11:59:00.000-06:00

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.

Nativity Scenes at the Cambridge Historical Association

2007-12-16T14:30:00.000-06:00

The Cambridge Historical Association has over twenty Nativity scenes on display. These were collected over the years by the Wheelers, often a couple of pieces a year. They include some handmade sets. Stop in to enjoy these during the Christmas season. And receive a candy cane as well.

Cambridge Water Towers

2007-12-06T15:20:00.000-06:00

The old Cambridge water tower was recently taken out of service and will eventually be removed.
Our "Cambridge, Iowa The First 150 Years" book shows it on page 36 shortly after it was built in 1920. Page 32 has a more recent view of it behind the City Hall, similar to the top picture.
Below it the new water tower west of town is shown as you drive toward Cambridge.

Monthly Meeting and Election - November 20, 2007

2007-12-03T16:29:00.000-06:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, November 20th. Topics discussed included:

Election of officers
A combination Scanner-Printer-Copier-Fax was purchased for use with our computer. This allows us to answer requests for copies via email. Our email is cha@huxcomm.net
Annual Meeting with the Story County Supervisors and other county historical societies is scheduled for Monday, November 26th, at the Maxwell Museum.

The new officers are:

Don Erickson - president
Wayne Messer - co-president
Val Moore - director
Joyce Williams - director
Julie Erickson - secretary
Florence Wheeler - treasurer

Monthly Meeting - September 18, 2007

2007-09-30T12:26:00.000-05:00

The regular monthly meeting of the Cambridge Historical Association was held Tuesday, September 18th. Topics discussed included:

Newsletters were mailed to all members last month. Please let us know if yours was not received.
Class pictures have been scanned and returned to the Cambridge Library. These large composite pictures of the Cambridge School graduation classes will be part of an upcoming book on the Union township schools. Any information on the Union township country schools and any pictures of the "Nip and Tuck" and Douglas schools would be appreciated.
A Digital camera was purchased for use by the group.
Stagecoach stop in Cambridge? Someone was researching a report that the green Player's house was once a stagecoach stop. Does anyone know about this?

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October, 16.