This day in Iowa history

March 13, 1961

The Iowa General Assembly designated the oak as the state tree.

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

Excerpt from Esther's Town

Scandinavian immigrants found Emmet winters more severe, the snow deeper, the wind more violent, the thunder and lightning more terrifying, the dew wetter, and the countryside more desolate than their native lands. They thought their old-world clothing of wool much warmer than American-made garments, largely of cotton. Moreover, they choked easily on a strange language. The name of the Des Moines River, close to their homes, was often pronounced by the newcomers from Scandinavia as "DisMines" River. Such words as "slough," "Sioux," and "Dubuque" were also twisters. My father often amused me when I was a boy by telling of the Norwegian who reported that on a trip across the state his wagon "got stuck in the slutch, halfway between SI-ox City and DUB-kwee."

Deemer Lee, Esther's Town.

Plant of the Week: Gumweed

Gumweed
Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal.
Other common names: curly cup, rosinweed, sticky heads, tar weed
Grindelia: in honor of David Hieronymus Grindel, a Russian botanist at the beginning of the 19th century
Squarrosa: from the botanical term squarrose, meaning “having stiff spreading bracts,” in reference to the many bracts surrounding the base of each flower
Daisy family: Asteraceae (Compositae)

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

Excerpt from Esther's Town

A fireplace provided the heat and was the stove to bake bread and prepare the meals. No family intentionally allowed the fire to go out, even in the heat of summer, when a bed of coals was kept outdoors for use when needed for cooking. There were no matches. A trestle-like table and a cupboard supported on one wall were provinces of the housewife. On another wall a rifle, bullet pouch, and a powder horn hung from pegs. The luxury of kerosene lamps was to come later and electric light much later yet. A shallow dish of lard or other grease with a loosely twisted cotton rag in it for a wick provided illumination of a sort. More sophisticated and somewhat scarce were candles fashioned from a mold that was shared by the settlement--an improvement upon dishes of grease. But often an open fireplace provided the family's only lighting on winter evenings.


Deemer Lee, Esther's Town.

Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

We spent our tallgrass prairie with a prodigal hand, and it probably had to be that way, for these are the richest farm soils in the world. There were certain wilderness things that were fated to be spent almost to the vanishing point: bison in shortgrass plains, lobos and grizzlies in settled cattle country—and the vistas of true prairie.

But spending is one thing; bankruptcy is another.

John Madson, Out Home.

Book News: Esther's Town now available!

Esther's Town could be "Any Town, U.S.A.," for the equals of its cast of characters can be found in any small town. And here, as usual, was the town newspaper editor, the observing eye of all the foibles and peccadilloes that form any town's history. Remembering all the years with love and humor, editor Deemer Lee chronicled for the forty-four years he gathered and wrote news--forty-one of them as editor and publisher of his town's newspaper.

The excitement and fun begin with bootleggers, Chautauqua meetings, and an accomplished arsonist--who achieves in less than two months the impressive score of burning seven barns and one feed store, with an unsuccessful attempt on the Methodist church. Scandinavians move in, build crude shelters for the first winter, and add their special characteristics to the town. The Irish arrive and stamp their mark on the whole territory. The circus comes to town and entrances everyone with its ancient pageantry. The railroads come through and add a rowdy element to the population. The Depression begins and farms see 11-cent corn, 108-degree heat, and a twister. All these events, plus adventures with a massive meteorite and haunting river tragedies, create the drama and flow of small-town life, story by story, in a fascinating revelation of Americana.


Esther's Town, by Deemer Lee

Engineers for a Sustainable World: Interview with Jeremy Bril, Part 2

You organized Iowa City’s first prescription drug drop-off in 2009. Tell us about this.

The prescription drug drop-off was a great project and I was fortunate to work with Christina Balmer (a student in the UI College of Pharmacy), Jennifer Jordan (of the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center), and Maeve Clark (of the Iowa City Public Library) to make it happen. The goal of the project was to collect expired or unused prescription and over-the-counter medications for safe disposal away from landfills and domestic sewers to better prevent contamination of natural waters. An additional goal was to reduce the occurrences of prescription drug abuse and accidental ingestions many times associated with insecure in-home storage of prescription medications. Due to the success of the project in 2009, Iowa City now holds two prescription drug drop-offs every year (April and September) in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Take-Back Initiative. 

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering awarded you a Ph.D. Dissertation Year Fellowship. You’re assessing the effects of freshwater mussels on lakes, streams, and rivers. In light of Hurricane Sandy, this is an especially timely subject. Tell us more about your research.

My research is investigating how native freshwater mussels influence the nitrogen cycle in the Iowa River. Management of the nitrogen cycle is an especially important issue for agricultural watersheds of the Upper Midwest. The goal of my research is to help inform strategies for nitrogen management by examining the interactions between biological organisms (mussels) and the hydrology and chemistry of large rivers. We hope that understanding these natural interactions will allow us to better predict how changes in environmental conditions (e.g., climate change) will influence valuable ecosystems such as the Iowa River and Mississippi River.

You’re incredibly busy—that’s an understatement—but when you do find time to relax, what natural areas do you visit in Iowa? Besides mussels, what kinds of plants and animals are you interested in?

My favorite place to go is back home to Decorah, Iowa. I especially enjoy camping and kayaking on the Upper Iowa River. My wife and I also enjoy taking our son to F. W. Kent Park—we think it is one of the hidden gems here in Johnson County. I would have to say my favorite animals are my two dogs, Joey and Cora. They always keep life interesting. My favorite plants are native prairie plants/grasses due to their resiliency, diversity, and numerous benefits for the environment.

You’re finishing up your dissertation—congratulations! What’s next?

Thank you! After graduation, I will be working as a postdoctoral research scholar here at Iowa and then I hope to find a job with an engineering company working in the field of water resources management.

Jeremy Bril, University of Iowa Environmental Engineering Graduate Student