Montgomery County History Center | Dave McFarland
Having been a history teacher for a number of years, I would hate to count the number of time I have heard the comment, “History is boring.”
Despite my personal bias and having changed careers, I still would argue against that viewpoint. I could easily cite the last couple of weeks here at the History Center as proof. History seems to be a living, breathing thing, always changing and growing. One should never dare to think that you have learned everything there is to know about something, because history will shift and prove you wrong. History can be full of surprises.
Last week, I attended a meeting about tourism, and the main focus was getting ideas about attracting people (tourists) to the area. I fielded a question from one of the attendees: “Do we have any haunted houses in Red Oak or the immediate area?” We kind of laughed, but in actuality, there is a paranormal group touring Iowa. Then you realize that just days ago there was a television program aired that focused on a haunted house in Malvern.
Most of us will just chuckle about it and give it only passing consideration. Except, I happened to be glancing through the Omaha World Herald and what did I find? It was an article about a small museum in Elmwood, Neb., that focuses on haunted items. Laugh, you say? They are charging $15 admission and they are packing in people. Hmmm? Maybe it’s not so ridiculous, so I think I will bring this up at the next board meeting.
We had a gentleman come in a couple of weeks ago wanting information about genealogy. It turns out he had a great-grandfather in the local National Guard back in the 1890s and early 1900s. Our visitor had some great artifacts from his great-grandfather, including photographs. Then to our great surprise, our gentleman came back last week and donated much of what he had shown us. There were dog tags (World War I dog tags are greatly different than World War II or current ones); there was a photograph of the ship that some of our troops rode home from France, along with his boarding pass; and even a welcome-home ribbon presented in Clarinda in 1919. Plus, even more unusual, there are photographs of when the local National Guard was sent to Texas in 1916 to defend the border against Poncho Villa. There is one photo we have not totally figured out yet; it is very faded, and Roxanne McFarland has been working on the photograph. Now, you can make out that National Guard trooper has a very strange looking critter sitting on his shoulder. We are not sure what kind of animal it is.
This week has been the week of license plates. We received two collections of Iowa license plates.
The first one is really an eye-opener. I will refer to Linda (Artlip) Weinstein, whose mother donated her husband’s and Linda’s father’s collection. Linda did extensive research and wrote an article for the Villisca/Stanton newspaper on the subject. The collection starts with a wooden 1909 plate and goes up through 1921. Oh, what a piece of history!
Iowa recognized that it was missing a revenue source and in 1904 starting requiring licensing and fees. It was the first state west of the Mississippi to do so, and back then it was a one-time deal. Prior to 1910, Iowa issued the number and you made your own plate, usually of wood or leather. They even sold kits. Linda relates that one of the residents of Stanton had a plate that was over 2 feet long, widest in the state. In 1911, the state of Iowa began issuing metal plates with “IA” stamped on them along with the numbers. The cost of registering your vehicle was soaring by this time – the annual fee was $8.50. The history becomes too complex to go into it here, but it has become a true collectible market. We now have ready to display 1909 (minus 1910) through 1921, plus a few others. American Pickers, eat your heart out. Hey, and we have signs, too!
I had a great time taking some of our smaller artifacts to Acorn Acres here in town and giving a little talk on some of the stories behind those artifacts. As you can see, you never know what next week will bring.
Dave McFarland is director of the Montgomery County History Center. Contact him at mchsociet@qwestoffice.net