Notes on Iowa

06/01/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On June 1, 1903, newspapers in Muscatine reported on a 49.5-grain pearl found by local man Bert Roby. Worth $3,000, the pearl represents the largest found in Iowa along the Mississippi River during the heyday of the Pearl Button era.

John Boepple started a button-making business after emigrating to America in 1887 by harvesting clams from the rich mussel beds near Muscatine on the Mississippi River. Although many locals questioned the sanity of the German button-making enthusiast, the shop flourished throughout the late 1800s.

The success of Boepple’s business inspired the growth of an iconic Iowa industry. By 1897, Muscatine boasted 53 button-cutting shops fed by ‘clammers’ pulling 3,500 tons of shells from the Mississippi River annually. One such man, Bert Roby, conducted one of the small button-making outfits.

In 1903, the twenty-eight-year-old Roby went out clamming near the high bridge of Muscatine. Finding an unusual shell, Roby pried the clam open and found a flawless sphere of pearl. Offered $2,000 the day of the find, Roby held out and got $3,000 from noted pearl dealer Frank Koeckerwitz.

06/01/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On June 1, 1950, legendary Waterloo East Trojan, Ellsworth Panther, and UNI Panther Mike Allen was born. Allen, a standout on the football field and wrestling mat, further influenced Iowa athletics as one of the country’s most highly-regarded wrestling officials.

A standout athlete at Waterloo East High School, Allen excelled at Ellsworth Junior College in Iowa Falls and at UNI in Cedar Falls. As a wrestler, Mike Allen clinched a conference championship at 190 pounds for UNI, proving his mettle among the best. On the gridiron, Allen also dominated while earning all-conference honors while playing on the defensive line for the Panthers.

After his standout collegiate career, Allen grew into a guiding force as a coach, leading five Waterloo Central High School athletes to state titles in just eight years. While transitioning from coaching to officiating, Allen continued to serve as an educator at Waterloo Community Schools and ultimately retired as the athletic director at Waterloo East High School.

Allen officiated at 15 NCAA Championships and countless major college and high school tournaments. He broke barriers as the first African-American to officiate at the Iowa state tournament and was honored three times as Iowa Wrestling Official of the Year. His integrity and professionalism earned him induction into the Iowa State Officials Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Allen passed away in 2025.

06/01/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On June 1, 1937, world-renowned pilot Amelia Earhart departed on her infamous attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world. A resident of Des Moines from 1908 to 1914, Earhart saw her first airplane at the Iowa State Fair while living in Iowa’s capital city.

Born in 1897, Earhart spent the early part of her childhood living with her grandparents in Atchison, Kansas, while her father worked as a lawyer for the Rock Island Railroad. In 1907, the Rock Island transferred Edwin Earhart to Des Moines. The following year, his daughters Amelia and Muriel joined him. The family struggled due to Edwin’s alcoholism and lived in at least five different residences during their six years in Des Moines.

Amelia Earhart attended the State Fair when she first arrived in Des Moines as a ten-year-old. There, the future aviator saw her first airplane. “It was a thing of rusty wire and wood and looked not at all interesting,” Earhart recalled. Up until her move to Iowa, Earhart did not attend public school. She first enrolled as a 12-year-old seventh-grader.

After moving to Chicago in 1914, Earhart eventually learned to fly in California, taking flight lessons from an Iowan formerly of Ames named Neta Snook Southern. A whirlwind of success followed the flying lessons, and Earhart gained international fame when she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in June of 1928. Later, in September 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast.

Following the initial run of famous flights, Earhart returned to Iowa on a speaking tour. As accomplishments continued to accrue for the former Des Moines resident, the dream of flying around the world started to take shape. The engines roared on June 1, 1937, as Earhart climbed into the sky. The following day, a final transmission from the plane called out, “KHAQQ calling Itasca (a US Coast Guard ship). We must be near you but cannot see you…gas is running low…”

06/01/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On June 1, 1957, the Iowa State baseball team won the District V playoff to advance to the College World Series. One of two World Series appearances for the Cyclones, Coach LeRoy ‘Cap’ Timm’s team featured Gary “The Roland Rocket” Thompson at shortstop.

Iowa State took the field for home games at a small diamond northwest of the Armory. Thompson, a senior, hit .311 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in. All-American catcher and future big-leaguer Dick Bertell led the Cyclones with a .348 average.

Iowa State earned the Big 7 and District V titles by putting together a balanced attack. Featuring a team batting average of .311, the Cyclones also boasted a deep-pitching staff led by Gene Lafferty. Dominant throughout the regular season, Lafferty arrived in Omaha with a 7-0 record on the season and managed to help guide Iowa State to a 13-8 win in 10 innings.

The Cyclones then dropped a game to the University of California before bouncing back to win over a Connecticut team coached by Gary Thompson’s second cousin. However, a rematch with the eventual champion Cal squad ended Iowa State's hopes of winning the College World Series. Reaching the final four of college baseball in the school’s first College World Series appearance left a season for Cyclone fans to cherish forever.

06/01/2026

05/31/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On May 31, 1943, Nile Kinnick penned his final letter home before tragically passing away following a training flight accident while serving as an aviator in the United States Navy during World War II. The 1939 Heisman Trophy winner and consensus All-American, the University of Iowa made Kinnick a familiar name to Iowans across generations when it renamed its football stadium in his honor in 1972.

Born in Adel during July of 1919, the grandson of Iowa’s 21st Governor George W. Clark, Kinnick grew up in a Christian Science household focused on developing discipline, hard work, and strong morals. As a child, Kinnick excelled in athletics, first in Junior Legion Baseball and later as a multi-sport star at Adel High School. Known as “June” during his high school days, Kinnick led Adel to an undefeated season on the gridiron while also dropping in 485 points on the basketball court.

While a freshman in Iowa City in 1936, Kinnick’s athletic ability shone: he played football, baseball, and basketball. As a sophomore economics major, Kinnick showed signs of his potential with a 74-yard punt return against Michigan. The basketball court also offered insights into the athletic gifts of the Hawkeye great, and he finished second in scoring on the team. Injuries during his junior year forced Kinnick to focus solely on football in 1939. The 1939 Iowa Hawkeye “Ironmen” finished 9th in the AP Poll with a 6-1-1 record, as Kinnick dominated the Big 10. Throwing for 638 yards on 31 passes, Kinnick also ran for 374 yards. 16 (11 passing, five rushing) of Iowa’s 19 touchdowns involved Kinnick, and he won Big 10 MVP by the largest margin in history. Also a recipient of the Heisman, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy, and the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Kinnick also shone in the classroom, finishing his time in Iowa City by delivering the commencement speech after compiling a 3.4 grade point average.

After rejecting several offers to play professional football and ignoring his draft by the Brooklyn Dodgers, Kinnick enrolled at the University of Iowa College of Law. Ranked third in his class following his first year, Kinnick left to enlist in the Naval Air Reserve three days before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Training to serve as a fighter pilot, Ensign Kinnick perished after the Grumman F4F Wildcat he flew developed a significant oil leak. With the landing area overcrowded with planes on the USS Lexington, Kinnick performed a standard military procedure emergency landing in the ocean. He died in the crash on June 2, 1943. The final letter Kinnick wrote back home in the days before his death, dated May 31, 1943, mentioned his fondness for Iowa City. “That little town means so much to me - the scene of growth and development during vital years - joy and melancholy, struggle and triumph. It is almost like home.”

05/31/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On May 31, 1866, John Ringling of the world-famous Ringling Brothers Circus was born in McGregor. With five of his brothers, John Ringling helped build one of the “World’s Greatest Shows” while becoming the “Circus Kings of the United States.”

The fifth of seven sons born to August Ringling and Marie Salomé Juliar, Ringling often enjoyed playing in the circus with his brothers as a child. After spending his early years along the Mississippi River in McGregor, John moved with his family to Baraboo, Wisconsin. The Ringlings began their first show in 1870 as "The Ringling Bros. United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals," charging a penny for admission. In 1882, the brothers shortened the name to "The Ringling Bros. Classic and Comic Concert Company.” By 1889, the circus grew large enough to travel on railroad cars, rather than animal-drawn wagons.

In 1907, the brothers bought the Barnum & Bailey circus for $400,000 from the estate of James Anthony Bailey and ran the two circuses as separate entities until the end of the 1918 season. John took the advanced position, traveling ahead and booking appearances, while his brother, Charles, worked as the operating manager.

After purchasing Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth from the estate of James Bailey in 1907, the Ringling brothers gained fame as the "Circus Kings" of the United States. At the peak, the brothers controlled not only their own namesake show but also the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus.

05/31/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On May 31, 1909, longtime reporter and columnist for the Des Moines Register and Des Moines Tribune Gordon Gammack was born. Noted for his coverage of Iowans serving in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, Gammack brought stories to life throughout his long career.

Gammack, originally from Massachusetts, arrived in Des Moines and worked the police and sports beats for the Register. Moving to cover the Iowa House, Gammack eventually found a niche when sent overseas to cover Iowans serving in World War II. He wrote with a direct style and careful attention to the stories of individual people, a plainspoken coverage approach that endeared him to Iowans across the state.

After the war, Gammack returned to Des Moines and worked as a columnist for the Tribune and Sunday Register. When war again broke out, he resumed his duties as a foreign correspondent in Korea. An interview with released prisoner of war and Iowan Richard Morrison aired nationally on radio and television, spreading Gammack’s straightforward style from coast to coast.

Gammack again headed into the field, this time in his 60s, when the United States entered the Vietnam War. One of the first Americans to cover the covert invasion into Laos, Gammack continued to prove an engaging and able correspondent, interviewer, and writer. In 1974, Gammack passed away after a bout with cancer.

05/31/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On May 31, 2014, Hawkeye legend and MLB shortstop Jack Dittmer passed away. The pride of Elkader, Dittmer was one of the University of Iowa’s great multi-sport athletes and a reminder of a vanishing era in American sports.

Born in Elkader in 1928, he came to the University of Iowa after starring in high school and went on to earn nine varsity letters in baseball, football, and basketball. At Iowa, he became a first-team All-Big Ten performer and a second-team All-American in baseball, while also standing out on the football field.

Dittmer went on to play six seasons in Major League Baseball, debuting on June 17, 1952, and playing for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves and the Detroit Tigers. His strongest big-league year came in 1953, when he hit .266 with 134 hits, 22 doubles, 9 home runs, and 63 RBIs, while also earning a reputation for solid defense. Across his six seasons, he finished with a .232 batting average, 283 hits, 24 home runs, and 136 RBIs.

Dittmer returned to Elkader, where he contributed to the community in admirable ways for the rest of his life after his athletic career. He was more than a baseball name in the record book or a football star on campus. He represented an older ideal of the athlete-scholar, one built in the fields and gymnasiums of Iowa and tested on the professional diamond.