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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.