This day in Iowa history

The Marion Meteorite fell with loud explosions across Johnson and Linn counties on the same day that the territorial legislature established the University of Iowa.

From The Iowa Nature Calendar by Jean Prior and James Sandrock, illustrated by Claudia McGehee

Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

Each species that has come to the Loess Hills has left its mark on the ever-changing landscape, nudging it toward certain responses that have altered the land’s form, its processes, and its communities’ composition.

Cornelia F. Mutel, Fragile Giants: A Natural History of the Loess Hills

Engineers for a Sustainable World: Interview with Jeremy Bril, Part 1

You and fellow students from Jerry Schnoor's Sustainable Systems course built the UI Press rain garden, the first rain garden on campus. And you also built a berm that has kept water out of our basement. Tell us how you did this.

As part of the UI Press rain garden design, we had to remove some existing soil to make sure the rain garden was able to correctly collect and infiltrate water. We thought it would be a good idea to try to use the excess soil to prevent water from entering the basement. Amy Bouska, an urban conservationist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, recommended that we construct a berm that would divert rainwater runoff into the grass instead of letting it run along the side of the building where it eventually found its way into the basement. This turned out to be a simple and efficient solution that allowed us to use our existing resources to solve a water management issue.

You’re studying environmental engineering and science. The old-fashioned image of engineers—men in hard-hats standing around large construction sites with clipboards in hand, imposing order upon the natural world—seems to have vanished. How are today’s engineers integrating the natural and the built environments?

The field of engineering has certainly evolved over the years. As an environmental engineer, my job is to utilize science and engineering principles to develop solutions to environmental problems. A great example of integrating the natural and built environments is low impact development or LID. The purpose of LID is to work with nature to manage stormwater runoff by employing techniques such as preserving and recreating natural landscape features and decreasing impervious areas to create appealing and functional site drainage that treats stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. Rain gardens, bioretention facilities, green roofs, rain barrels, and permeable pavements all help reduce the impact of built areas and promote the natural movement of water within an ecosystem.

You’ve been involved with Engineers for a Sustainable World. Tell us about this organization’s projects.

The University of Iowa chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World is a student group that focuses on using technical projects, education, and collaborative action to affect local sustainability challenges. The projects we work on reflect the interests and passions brought forth by the students. Some of our recent projects include Campus and Community Rain Gardens, a Habitat for Humanity Net-Zero Energy Home, a Solar-Powered Funnel Cake/Smoothie Cart, the Quaker Oats Wind Energy Assessment, and Sustainability Road Show Demonstrations.

Jeremy Bril, University of Iowa Environmental Engineering Graduate Student

Strickschule and Other Wintertime Pursuits

When cutting ice or accomplishing some other outdoor task, colony fathers were happy to have the woolen mittens and socks knitted by their children. Young boys and girls were taught to knit in Strickschule classes led by one or two of the older women of the village. Strickschule followed the regular school time and must have been a trial to youngsters who had spent all day indoors and were ready to get out and play. Their parents, however, forbade skipping Strickschule and cheerfully wore the results, appreciating just how much diligence was required of an earnest six-year-old to produce a pair of nubby mittens.

Following knitting class and chores, youngsters rode sleds, played in the woodshed, or skated on nearby ponds. The Mill Race was a dangerous but popular place to skate, and more than one colony youth was drowned, or very nearly drowned, while attempting to cross too-thin ice on the canal. Susanna Hahn said that as a teenager she once skated nearly three miles from Middle Amana to West Amana in order to buy a crochet hook at the West Amana Store and that Middle Amana youngsters often skated to Amana to visit friends. South Amana and West Amana youths held evening skating parties on a slough located in the forest between the villages; there they skated by lantern light, skimming on luminous pools from a dozen kerosene lanterns, casting shadows into the forest, where hoarfrost hung shimmering on the tree branches.


Seasons of Plenty, by Emilie Hoppe

Homestead Living: Cutting Ice

When temperatures hovered near zero degrees and the ice on the lake and on the Iowa river was thick, it was time to cut ice. Block ice, of course, was a necessity, and cutting a large quantity of ice and storing it properly were matters of great concern to the men of the community. On a day determined by the Okonomiebaas (agriculture boss) and the men in charge of the icehouse, the ice making would begin and continue for several days. Nearly every man in the village joined the effort. The teamsters were up early harnessing the horses and preparing the wagons outfitted with special sleighlike runners. A second group of men spent the morning straightening up the icehouse and readying it for the first load. The majority of men were taken by sleigh to the Lily Lake or the Iowa River. Generally, East Amana, Amana, and Middle Amana men cut ice on the Lily Lake. Homestead made ice on the Iowa River, but later the men of Homestead built a small pond near Homestead where ice could be cut closer to home. High Amana and South Amana crews cut their ice on the Iowa River, and West Amana men traveled upstream to a deep oxbow known as Watt's Pond.

It must have been a long day out on the flat with the wind blowing in your face and the ice underfoot and a lot of hard work to be done. As Carl Schuerer of East Amana put it, "That lake, in winter that was a pretty nippy place, I tell you. If we would have a wind like we had a couple of days ago, boy, you couldn't stand it up there. No, it was a cold place."

Seasons of Plenty, by Emilie Hoppe

Valentine's Day Holiday Menu 3

What is Valentine's Day without a sweet treat at the end? Here are some great recipes to get your mouth watering!

Strawberry Short Cake (Mrs. Marie Vawter) from the P.E.O. Cook Book

Take two cups sifted flour and two teaspoons baking power, sift and mix two tablespoons heaping full of cold butter through the flour and mix into a soft dough with sweet milk. Roll out and cover a large pie plate, spread with butter and roll another thick crust and butter well the inside of both layers. If strawberries are gritty, wash carefully and sprinkle with plenty of sugar and let them stand half an hour to drain the juice out before the short cake is baked. Fill immediately and serve hot or cold.


Lebkuchen, Honey Cookies (makes about 5 dozen) from the book Seasons of Plenty

1 tablespoon baking soda                                         2 eggs
3 tablespoons whiskey                                             1 1/2 pounds flour
2 cups honey                                                            Vanilla frosting
1/2 pound (1 cup and 1 tablespoon) sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Dissolve soda in whiskey. In a very large mixing bowl, stir together dissolved baking soda and whiskey, honey, and sugar. Stir until foamy. Add eggs, beating well after each. Then slowly add flour. A soft dough will form. Cover and set bowl in a cool place or refrigerate overnight.

Turn out a portion of the dough on a floured board. Kneading the dough is very important to the quality of the finished product, so take your time and knead until the dough feels springy and light, but not dry. Roll into 1- to 2-inch-thick ropes. Cut ropes into 2- or 3-inch-long pieces and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake 10 minutes. Cookies should be golden brown, oval shaped, and about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. When cool, frost with vanilla frosting.


P.E.O. Cook Book (Souvenir Edition), edited by David E. Schoonover

Seasons of Plenty, by Emilie Hoppe

Valentine's Day Holiday Menu 2

Make your special someone a delicious meal with these recipes from the University of Iowa Press's P.E.O Cook Book, originally published in 1908:

Baked Ham (Mrs. Erma Geist, Joliet, IL) 

Select a thick ham weighing fourteen pounds, scrape trim, cover with fresh, cold water, let soak over night. In the morning, drain and dry; prepare a thick dough by mixing flour and water together, roll out to one-half inch thickness and enclose ham in it, wet the edges and press them firmly together; place ham in a large dripping pan and bake slowly in a moderate oven from four to five hours, remove from oven and break off shell and skin, trim off any ragged portions, stick fat side with whole cloves in diagonal rows an inch apart, grate the crumbs of white bread thickly over this surface and return ham to oven until a golden brown. Slip a paper frill on the knuckle and serve hot. Ham cooked in this way is cooked in its own juices and is very delicious and no waste.

Perfection Salad (Mrs. G. W. Baxter)

One-half package gelatin, one-half cup cold water, one-half cup vinegar, juice of one lemon, one pint boiling water, one-half cup sugar, one teaspoon salt, two cups celery in small pieces, one cup shredded cabbage, fine, one-fourth can sweet red peppers cut fine. Soak gelatin in cold water two minutes, add vinegar, lemon, water, sugar and salt; strain and add other ingredients. Mold and chill. Serve on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise dressing or dice and serve in peppers.

P.E.O. Cook Book, edited by David E. Schoonover