This has been a summer of big changes for our area. At Forest Park I have been inundated with researchers, donors and concerned area residents eager to save artifacts, memories and even buildings from being lost to time. Each week has brought some new development as changes occur at what seem like increasingly rapid rates.
Last year I saw the beginning of this trend and decided to launch a three-year “local” exhibit to document forgotten area businesses, family bands, artists, clubs and fraternal organizations. When I sent out press releases requesting information, artifacts and participation by remaining groups, I was immediately rewarded with exhibits on the dynamic and very active Dallas Center-Grimes Rotary Club, the last of the three Perry Garden Clubs and several other organizations.
I was able to display many photos of forgotten businesses and industries from all over the county, particularly brick and tile yards, mines and canning facilities. I also was able to feature area fishing groups, the once enormous Dallas County Rock Club and the achievements of the old Dallas County Historical Society.
My interns had previously researched and displayed some prominent area family bands and long forgotten artists, and their efforts matched the civic and business displays nicely.
This second year of the exhibit has almost been a blur. I was able to work with the Fairview Methodist Church to feature their Ladies Aid Society and had some members of the once very popular Centurion Car Club exhibit the accomplishments of that group in the Perry area.
The Knosby family of Perry has been working with me to feature some of their family history as building movers who operated throughout Dallas County for almost 100 years.
Larry Vodenik and other interested local historians did a great public program on the famous Perry washing machine factory, part of which later became the Progressive Foundry.
Over the past year, a very large number of older residents, along with their memories and treasured possessions, have passed away. This is leaving a real void in the more rural parts of the county as farmsteads and other structures disappear, and it is particularly hard on rural churches and community clubs. The Washington Chapel Church of Christ, Dawson Methodist Church and Cooper Methodist Church are all closed now, and the Cooper building is already gone. The Prairie Center Church in Lincoln Township is still open on a monthly basis.
I am working with a variety of people to save memories and records as well as artifacts from some of these landmarks.
Next year will be the culmination of this exhibit, with the acquisition of a huge collection of Dallas County business artifacts and further displays on Iowa artists and their legacies. The changes in the rural landscapes here and around the world seem to be speeding up, and it is a race against time to preserve as much as possible. Come to Forest Park and view the “local” as it evolves over the next year!
Pete Malmberg is the curator of the Forest Park Museum and the cultural and historical resources coordinatorDallas County Conservation Department.
My sister and I tried so hard to save the Yale Methodist Church but the wheels were already in motion to destroy it by the time we found out what was happening. Such a huge travesty, as that church had recently had some updates and was the jewel of Yale. Yale is now called tin city in regard to so much that has been destroyed and replaced with Morton type buildings. I guess that’s what people now call progress.