Festival of Trees at the Drake Community Library, December, 2011 Greetings Flavored with the past on Paper and Brass Happy Holidays from the Grinnell Historical Museum Created by Frank Heath The newest Grinnell Historical Museum mini-exhibit is all dressed up! The display, Puttin on the Ritz! was located in the glass cases at the north end of the Drake Community Library lobby, and featured a dazzling array of wearable elegance, including evening bags, kid gloves, and jewelry.
On Sunday, October 30, museum board member Frank Heath, gave an Illustrated Lecture of Iowa Town Bands 1860-1920. Choosing from a collection of over 300 Iowa Town Band photos, Heath presented Iowa history through the unique prism of band music and band members. Watch for it: >> After this initial program, Heath plans further programs at Drake library and around the state. From the Rice Fields to the Corn Fields: China In Grinnell, an exhibit at the Drake Community Library included a late 19th, early 20th century collection of Chinese shoes, including the tiny shoes worn by Chinese women with bound feet. Also on display ere items from China on loan from Grinnell residents and Grinnell College s Grinnell-in-China Program. (July through September) Louisa May Alcott: Through Her Eyes. In connection with the library program on Louisa May Alcott (1832-188), a display of panels gave information about Transcendentalism, the Civil War, Women s Rights, Abolition, and her connection to J. B. Grinnell. (September) Photograph by Warren Grant Kathryn Poulter, the Youth Services Librarian at Marshall Public Library, Pocatello, ID, portrayed Louisa May Alcott, speaking of her life and the issues she faced. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was portrayed by the museum s board membere and copresident, Frank Heath.
This 1895 G&J Rambler bicycle, owned by the Grinnell Historical Museum, was on display at the Sullivan Jewel Box Bank during Ragbrai on June 28, 2011. The bicycle weighs 14 pounds, very light then or now. It has wooden rims, and Fred Spaulding of Grinnell won many races and medals with this wheel in the 1890s. (June) Wedding Dress Exhibit. Over 20 dresses were on display. At right the wedding gown worn by Carrie grinnell Jones on December 12, 1881 and three of the four generations of bridal gowns in the Molison family, spanning about 90 years. (June August) Dolls on Parade was the title of the museum s micro-exhibit at the Drake Community Library. The Bessie Rivers Vegetable Doll collection and vintage dolls from the museum told their stories through the words of Hitty, a wooden doll and heroine of the children s book, Hitty, Her first Hundred Years by Rachel Field.
Board members toured the museums in Brooklyn, Kellogg, and Tama to enjoy the history of other towns and learn about their presentation and organizational approaches. Museum Intern, Sophie Haas, and friends rode the museum s Fourth of July parade float. The entry won the Best Theme float award representing agriculture. 35 FANtastic fans from the museum s collection invited the viewer to relive the days when a fas was an important part of a lady s wardrobe. Fans of silk, paper, ivory, wood and feathers, adorned with paint, lace, and even sequens were on display at the Drake Community Library (April-May) Grinnell Historical Museum volunteers celebrated Jingle Bell Holiday with the public. Chestnuts and hot cider were served on the porch. Music was provided by Frank Heath and Sophie Haas. Vintage Christmas decorations throughout the museum were on display throughout the month of D Students with the Galaxy summer program visited the museum on August 9 for a morning tour of the museum and adjoining Carriage House. Learning about life in the olden days was lots of fun and concluded with
an art activity making quilt blocks of paper. Davis School Third Graders toured the museum and the carriage house on May 13 and, because of rain, May 20, 2011. They learned about life in early Grinnell, played games of the early 1900s, listened to stories, sang songs and enjoyed hand-cranked ice cream. Museum Director Julie M. Young gave a presentation at the Drake Community Library Meeting Room on the life of Mumpford Holland, who was born a slave in Kentucky and, for more than four decades lived as a free man in Grinnell. Ninety four years after his death, through the efforts of Julie Young and other museum volunteers, in collaboration with Smith Funeral Home, he received a gravestone marker at Hazelwood Cemetery. On April 25, 2011 Julie presented an interesting account of the man who lived a storied life and became a fixture in Grinnell from 1871 to his death in 1916. In Search of a Cure...Medical Items from the Collection of the Grinnell Historical Museum (1860-1950) was the museum's exhibit arranged by Barb Lease at the Drake Community Library in Grinnell from February 3 to March 30, 2011. Items include patent medicines, medical books, medicine boxes, nurse's kits, quarantine signs, and a Violet Ray Generator used in 1910. Students, teachers and parents from Central Christian School of Grinnell toured the museum Thursday afternoon, 10 February, 2011. They came with an interest in patents, in aviation and with lots of enthusiasm and questions. Docents were prepared with a list of Grinnell patent holders back into the 1800s, courtesy of Karen Groves. On display from December through the end of January at the Drake Community Library was the exhibit, Treasures from the Toy Box. Barb Lease selected items from the museum's toy room which have delighted generations of children from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's include handmade doll furniture and wooden toys, doll furniture by Tootsie Toys, books, games, dolls and more.