Gilbert - Gilbert History Documentary DVD, December 8, 2011

The Gilbert Historical Society has its next meeting December 8, 2011 at 7 p.m. in room 121 in the high school.  The main program will be viewing the Gilbert History DVD produced last year by two Gilbert students.  All are invited to see this.

Slater - Growing Up in a Small Town, Slater, Iowa - Opens Thanksgiving Day

The Slater Area Historical Association will have a new display Growing Up in a Small Town beginning on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2011.  This is a display through the eyes of kids growing up in the 1940's and 1950's with memories, stories, and photos.  They will be open from 2 - 5 on both Thanksgiving and the next day (24th and 25th) and then Sundays during the holidays from 2 -5 and their usual Thursday hours.

The Opening Reception will be Sunday, December 4, 2011 from 2 to 5, the same time as Slater's Christmas on Main celebration.

Story County Theaters in Hollywood in the Heartland

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.

There are 16 buildings found by searching for Story (as a county) in the database as shown below.

Theater	Address	City
Varsity Theatre (85-00961)	2410 Lincoln Way	Ames
Ames Theatre (85-00962)	2420 Lincoln Way	Ames
Princess Theatre (85-00990)	115 Main St	Ames
Scenic Theater (85-00994)	121 Main St	Ames
Collegian Theatre (85-01049)	411 Main St	Ames
Opera Hall (85-01133)	233 Main St	Ames
Shattuck Theater (85-01459)	Wallace Rd	Ames
Maxwell Opera House (85-01670)		Maxwell
State Theatre (85-01681)	73 Main St	Maxwell
Camelot Theatre (85-01840)	1114 6th St	Nevada
Nevada Opera House (85-02005)	Lynn St	Nevada
Roland Opera House (85-02025)	217 Ash St	Roland
Grand Auditorium and Hotel Block (85-02243)	500 Broad St	Story City
Alderman Building - Palace Theater (85-03209)	1038 6th St	Nevada
Collins Theater (85-04389)	203 Main St	Collins
Cambridge Theatre (85-04390)	222 N Water St	Cambridge

16 theater(s) found in county search for story.

Follow the theaters links to see information about its history, current use(s), and historic status including whether it is listed on the National Register.

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.

Postcards of Story County on the Web

The Penny Postcards site, a USGenWeb Archives Web Site, includes a number of early photo postcards from Story County.  Ames, Cambridge, Nevada, and Story City all have postcards shown.

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

Story City - World War One Presentation Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Story City Historical Society will present Trench Knives and Mustard Gas: Central Iowans in World War One on Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m.  The meeting will be in the Carriage House Museum with a small donation encouraged for admission.

Story City - Traveling Civil War Exhibit, November 2 - 3, 2011

The traveling exhibit Fiery Trail - Iowa and the Civil War will be located within the Story City swimming pool parking lot on November 2nd and 3rd.  It will be available to visitors from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday the 2nd and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday.  This exhibit from the State Historical Society of Iowa is a 32 foot trailer that shows Iowa's involvement in the war.

“The Fiery Trial” exhibit includes:

• A visual timeline of Iowa’s participation in the Civil War
• Panels about Iowans and their Civil War experiences
• Information about Annie Wittenmyer, a Sanitation Agent for Iowa who oversaw the needs of Union Army soldiers
• The impact of the Civil War on Iowa
• The role Iowa played in the Civil Rights movement when it approved the right to vote for African-Americans
• A computer program that allows visitors to research Civil War ancestors by person, town, township or congressional district

 See additional information on this History on the Move exhibit.