Voices from the Prairie A publication of Humanities Iowa • Summer 2015
Interview with Jody Swilky
Latino Americans: 500 Years of History!
The Sidey Collection
Voices from the Prairie Fall 2015
Voices from the Prairie Contents
Humanities Iowa Board of Directors & Staff
Humanities Iowa Mission Statement
3 “From the Fort to the Hill: The Evolution of Iowa State Penitentiary: An Interview with Jody Swilky”
president Mark Felderman, Ankeny
The mission of Humanities Iowa is to promote understanding and appreciation of the people, communities, cultures, and stories of importance to Iowa and the nation.
6 “Jan Kaiser Tells All about Perry’s Latino Americans: 500 Years of History!” 8 “Historic Renovations Yield Treasure Trove of Americana Imagery: The Sidey Collection” By John Busbee 11 - 12 New Humanities Iowa Board Members 13 Grants Awarded in 2014 14 Statement of Activity 15 2014 Donors Cover: Iowa State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, IA. Photograph © David Plowden, 2004
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vice-president Sam Mulgrew, Peosta secretary Jack Wertzberger, Dubuque treasurer Cindy McLaughlin, Sioux City past-president Rosemarie Ward, Des Moines directors George Barlow, Grinnell Harry Brod, Cedar Falls Graciela Caneiro-Livingston, Dubuque Georgina Dodge, Iowa City Lynne George, Des Moines Bruce Kittle, Cedar Rapids Mike McCormick, Sioux City Charissa Menefee, Ames Kurt Meyer, St. Ansgar Ric Nelson, Ames Sandra Norvell, Ames Sally Phelps, Spencer Richard Ramsay, Des Moines Marina Sandquist, Johnston Larry Simons, Mt. Vernon executive director Christopher R. Rossi: c-rossi@uiowa.edu assistant administrative progr am officer Michael Carey: michael-carey@uiowa.edu gr ants and finance director Heather Plucar: heather-plucar@uiowa.edu art director David Richmond: david.richmond@ simpson.edu
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From the Fort to the Hill: The Evolution of Iowa State Penitentiary: An Interview with Jody Swilky On August 1, 2015, the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison moved from its old facility dating back to 1839, to a sparkling modern facility with stateof-the-art technology, incorporating the latest ideas in prison reform. With funding from Humanities Iowa, Jody Swilky, distinguished professor of English at Drake University, and Kent Newman, founder and president of Full Spectrum Productions, are filming a documentary about the momentous change. Recently, Voices from the Prairie interviewed Jody Swilky about the project and how it is coming along. Humanities Iowa: Tell us about the project. Jody Swilky: The documentary explores the history of the Iowa State Penitentiary and the people who have occupied it: offenders, corrections officers, and administrators. On August 1st, after an approximately two-year delay, more than 500 maximum-security offenders relocated to a new facility, leaving behind an institution whose history dates back to 1839, seven years before Iowa became a state. Iowa State Penitentiary is the oldest maximum security prison west of the Mississippi River, and its transformation from a 19th century institution to a contemporary corrections campus reflects the challenges of implementing modern prison reform, and simultaneously, documents an important event in Iowa’s history. Our film begins by displaying the past in relationship to the present, integrating the history of ISP with commentary by current members of its community, the latter offering their views on the circumstances of their incarceration and the conditions and
Image: Jody Swilky distinguished professor of English, Drake University challenges of daily life in the penitentiary. After capturing the dramatic day of the move, we proceed to document the first months of transition and settling in, illuminating how the new institutional environment affects the daily lives of members of the community, as well as the ways in which this change in environment does or does not represent humane reform. HI: Tell us about your background. What makes you suited for this project? Why did you decide to involve yourself with it? Swilky: During the 1970s and 1980s, I had the opportunity to work in several New York State correctional institutions. In the mid-1970s, I facilitated weekly creative writing workshops at Attica Correctional Facility, soon after the infamous riots there. A decade later, I taught a composition course at Coxsackie Correctional Facility, another maximum security prison located in upstate New York. I have also worked at Arthur Kill Correctional Facility in Staten Island, a medium-security prison, serving as an advisor to the prison newspaper. What I valued most about these positions is that they enabled me to encourage offenders to keep active minds by expressing their understanding and analysis of their history,
immediate experience, and the social issues that affected their lives. When HI contacted me about this project, I saw it as a meaningful opportunity to both reclaim my interest in the role of the corrections system in our nation, as well as continue to work with HI, which was the first organization to provide support for an earlier documentary, A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, Iowa, that I wrote and co-directed. Social issues such as race relations, the impact of immigration, and the challenges of an increasingly evolving multicultural society have been important to my teaching and writing for several decades. HI: You again are teaming up with Kent Newman of Full Spectrum Productions. What is the history of your collaboration? Swilky: Kent Newman and I first worked together in 2004, when we began collaboration on a documentary about culture change in rural Iowa. A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry Iowa, explores the relationship between industry, ethnicity, and immigration. For decades, Kent has pursued documenting stories concerned with social justice in Iowa. Our mutual interest in the demographic change in Fall 2015 · 3
Interview With Jody Swilky Continued
meatpacking communities across Iowa, which began in the late 1980s, brought us together. He convinced me that a documentary more than a book would reach a broader audience, and since I wanted to produce a product that could be brought to campuses and communities across Iowa and outside the state, we agreed to make a film. To date, the documentary has had over 50 public screenings in communities, at conferences and on college campuses; it has also been shown on Iowa Public Television and The Documentary Channel. So, because of this meaningful collaboration, I thought we might try to tell another story by making a second documentary. HI: Describe the differences between the old and the new facilities. Swilky: The two facilities are centuries apart. The 176-year-old penitentiary resembles a gothic fortress, built on 11 acres of land; its exterior is made of looming 30-foot limestone walls. Inside the walls, there’s a row of multi-tiered cellblocks contiguous to narrow metal catwalks. There are many areas where you find limited light, crumbling brick, and rusted metal; and the heating and air ventilation systems are antiquated. By contrast, the new facility resembles a contemporary collegiate campus, with housing units and program buildings scattered over 45 acres of Iowa farmland, surrounded by an electronic, razor-wire fence, through which the contiguous landscape can be seen. The smaller housing units, which are well-lit and brightly painted, offer more natural light and better ventilation. Rooms open onto communal space equipped with televisions and game 4 · Voices from the Prairie
tables. In these housing pods, corrections officers’ work stations are located in the communal space, encouraging more interaction between them and offenders. The new facility is improving programs and services, among them prison industries, health care, and education. HI: Some offenders are moving away from an environment that has not changed in thirty, forty, maybe fifty years. What stories are you learning about that transition? How did the inmates feel about the move? The administration? The guards? Swilky: This transition, like most changes in physical environment, evoked both optimism and concern among members of the prison community. Many individuals realized that the physical conditions of the old penitentiary were deteriorating and the quality of living conditions—lighting, temperature, ventilation—were not advantageous to their mental outlook and physical health. (The warden himself joked they had purchased all the duct tape in the county to keep the prison running until the move.) But simultaneously, some offenders and COs displayed an attachment to the old penitentiary—its history, the routines and practices that shaped daily life, the feeling of “home.” While members of the community voiced optimism about the improved physical environment in the new corrections campus, they also expressed concern about changes that would affect their daily lives—concern about heightened surveillance, giving up the privacy of single cells, increased interaction between offenders and officers, and the implementation of modern prison security structures. HI: Why did the state decide to build a new facility now?
Image: Jody Swilky, distinguished professor of English, Drake University Swilky: In 2005, two inmates escaped over the old penitentiary walls. The following year, the Iowa Department of Corrections began a systemic study (conducted by the Durrant Group) aimed at identifying prison needs and improving public safety. The report outlined the pros and cons of repairing the old penitentiary at Fort Madison, an aging institution requiring costly reconstruction and updating, in comparison to the costs and benefits of building a new corrections facility. Looking toward the future, the state decided to build a new prison, one that would improve living conditions, incorporate current technology to enhance safety and security, and provide better spaces to implement more humane rehabilitative practices. HI: In a way people don’t ordinarily imagine, you view the prison as a community, not simply as a place of punishment. Can you explain the dynamics of this complex community? What place does the penitentiary have in the larger Fort Madison community? Swilky: The penitentiary is a place where people have considerable contact, whether it be through face-to-face interaction, surveillance, or some other means of connection. Many days members of the prison community interact for eight to ten hours. Although they assume different roles, the conditions of daily life
of the difficulties that accompany telling a story about a maximum security prison. HI: What is the current status of the project?
Image: Empty Cell in Iowa State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, IA. Photograph © David Plowden, 2004. are ultimately what matters. One of the administrators has conveyed to us that “a good day is when nothing happens.” Most members of the community that we have spoken with—inmates, corrections officers, and administrators—don’t want tension or trouble. As far as the community of Fort Madison is concerned, the prison has been a vital institution in the city for a long time. Perhaps one officer summed it up best when he told us that the stone walls are a “legacy”; that the prison has been part of the community’s identity since Iowa became a state; and many residents have had a family member who has worked in the penitentiary. In some ways, the interdependence of the penitentiary and Fort Madison is similar to the connection between the meatpacking plant and the city of Perry, Iowa.
HI: What were the rewards and difficulties of working in a maximum-security prison? Was your presence welcomed by the staff and administration, by the prisoners? Swilky: It’s a compelling opportunity to document an historic event in Iowa, and to contribute to the national debate about the modern corrections system. Our ability to capture this transition has been supported by all parties involved: the Iowa Department of Corrections has approved our project; the warden and his staff have provided access to our production team; and the offenders have allowed us to document their stories. But things happen when you are not there, and some obstacles emerge when you are there. Scheduling interview times with individuals who have limited availability, as well as some restricted access to offenders –or the facility– due to security concerns, are a few
Swilky: We have footage of the two-year period prior to the move, and have shot the dramatic event of transporting over 500 offenders from one facility to another. Since late August, we have been capturing the “settling-in period” for key figures who we previously interviewed; and for the remainder of 2015, we will continue to document how these offenders, corrections officers, and administrators have been affected by the move. As we gather this footage, we will continue developing our script and begin the postproduction editing. HI: What have you learned about the prison system that you didn’t know or realize before? Swilky: My previous association with prisons largely entailed meeting people in the classroom for only a few hours a week or in a workshop once a month. But with this project, I’ve been able to listen to people’s stories and histories, and learn their perspectives on how issues such as sentencing, housing, and the availability of education impact their daily lives. Most offenders I’ve spoken with want their time in prison to be productive, whether they will eventually be released, or spend the rest of their lives inside a corrections institution. At the same time, some offenders who have been inside for decades have informed me that they’ve learned nothing. These conversations have helped me gain new critical understanding of the limits and possibilities for directing resources in both meaningful and wasteful ways. Fall 2015 · 5
Jan Kaiser Tells All about Perry’s Latino Americans: 500 Years of History!
Image: Jan Kaiser Humanities Iowa and the Perry Public Library have been working with the American Library Association on a $20,000 project, Latino Americans: 500 Years of History! The project focuses on the history and culture of Latinos in the Perry, Iowa area, and has received financial support from the Perry Public Library, the Des Moines Area Community College, Hometown Heritage/Fullhart Carnegie Charitable Trust, and Dallas County Hospital. Humanities Iowa recently caught up with the project’s program consultant, Jan Kaiser, for an update. Humanities Iowa: You have recently been part of a successful grant application Latino Americans: 500 Years of History! Can you tell us about it? Jan Kaiser: I am part of a great team that applied for this grant. We have several goals for the project with the main objective being to raise awareness in the community of the long Latino Heritage in the United States and the valuable contributions Latinos have made – especially in regards to migrant worker reform and participation in the military. We also hope to promote and extend the work of Hometown Heritage in collecting oral histories, artifacts, and photographs of immigrants who moved to Perry. We would like to continue recording 6 · Voices from the Prairie
Image: Baker at Zacatecas, Perry, Iowa Photograph © Hometown Heritage, 2004 immigrant stories by adding those of more recent Latino immigrants. Perry, Iowa has a population of close to 8,000 and is composed of a mixture of third and fourth generation immigrants, mainly European, and new immigrants from the past twenty-five years. The largest recent immigrant group is Latinos making up about thirty-seven percent of the population. The grade school is now composed of fifty percent Latino students. Our grant proposal included plans for at least six programs designed to engage scholars, music lovers, art enthusiasts, history buffs, dancers, cooks, and explorers. By engaging in conversations about similar passions, we hope to create bridges of understanding in both old and new Perry residents. We will kick off the project with a booth at Perry’s Latino Fest on August 29. The programs we are planning include, an October bilingual public presentation and school visit by Sonia Nazario, author of Enrique’s Journey; scholar-led discussions on Latinos in the military and the migrant experience in conjunction with showings of PBS documentaries; pilot programs of Conversations and Coffee where ESL learners speak informally with community volunteers; and a Latino Progressive
Dinner finale on May 6 featuring some great food and entertainment. The grant also provides for the creation of an outdoor art mural and audio/video recordings of local families’ histories. We have been heartened by the outpouring of financial and in-kind support from local businesses and organizations for this project, such as free venue space from Hotel Pattee, La Poste, Towncraft, and Perry Community Schools. Tyson is providing pork loins for the progressive dinners. DMACC has given a sizeable donation for the author’s honorarium. HI: What are the supporting organizations you will be working with? Kaiser: The Perry community has really embraced this project and so we are pleased to have lots of wonderful partners who are providing cash donations and in-kind support, including: Des Moines Area Community College, Hispanics United for Perry, Hometown Heritage, Perry Public Library, Dallas County Hospital, Friends of Perry Public Library, the City of Perry, Hotel Pattee, La Poste, KICK Marketing, Salsa Des Moines, Iowa International Center, The Perry Chief, KDLS, The Perry News, Carnegie Library, Iowa State
Image: Meat Counter at Tienda Latina, Perry, Iowa Photograph © Hometown Heritage, 2004 University Extension, the Perry Chamber of Commerce, Perry Community Schools, and Towncraft. HI: Why did you and your group choose to pursue this commitment? Kaiser: As a lifelong resident of Dallas County, I have seen firsthand the many changes that have occurred in the Perry community, and of course, the immigration of Latinos has been a big part of many of those changes. As a child growing up in Perry, my family visited local restaurants like the Maid-Rite, the A&W drive-in, the Dairy Stripe, and later Pizza Hut. Today, there are two Mexican restaurants, a Salvadoran restaurant, a Mexican bakery, and two Chinese restaurants! (The Maid-Rite, the A&W, the Dairy Stripe are all gone.) When I shop in the local grocery stores, there’s an entire aisle of Latino foods and it’s not uncommon to see billboards in Spanish. Although Perry’s population is thirty-seven percent Latino, the vast majority of Iowa’s
population knows very little of Latino American history. So, the project seemed like a natural for the Perry community and a great way to educate native Iowans about the unique history of Latinos. Perry is just one of many small towns in Iowa that have attracted a large Latino population. And with immigration a hot political issue and with national trends indicating that our country will become increasingly diverse, it seemed to be a timely way to learn and to share information. With my recent retirement, I was hoping to find a way to stay active with projects similar to my former work at the Des Moines Public Library.
were still using clip art for graphics—and I mean the kind you clipped out and pasted onto the page we were copying! It’s been fun to see the progress that’s been made in the library world and to see libraries continue to be an integral part of their communities. I sincerely hope that libraries continue to be innovative and relevant, and one important way for them to do that is for them to expand their programs and provide community conversations. Reading is more important than ever— because there are so many different formats now. From books and blogs to text messaging and Facebook posts, everyone still has the need to read. And with all the solitary reading that everyone does, library programs can fill a vital role by bringing people together to share ideas and information. That’s what makes the Latino American grant such a neat project—bringing together people to learn and share new ideas and cultural treasures. Isn’t it great that the NEH and ALA help to make programs like this possible? Latino Americans: 500 Years of History!, a public programming initiative produced by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA), is part of an NEH initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square.
HI: What is the future of libraries as program engines for public participants? Kaiser: It’s been a remarkable couple of decades when I look back and consider how much has changed. You know, when I started at the library in 1995, there was no voicemail, no email, and I used an Apple 2E to do all the promotional materials. We Fall 2015 · 7
Historic Renovations Yield Treasure Trove of Americana Imagery: The Sidey Collection
If, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, then The Sidey Collection offers millions of words through its masterful imagery. Launched in the 1920s by the second generation of a small town newspaper dynasty, E. J. Sidey started processing his own photographs for the family’s weekly newspaper, the Adair County Free Press. His son, Ken “K.H,” Sidey, perfected the process, creating tens of thousands of images over the course of the next several decades. These images are a wondrous cross between photo-journalism and art photography, and the high resolution often captures layered stories within each single image. Greenfield and Adair County have experienced their share of memorable history. Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace was born near the southwest county town of Orient. Greenfield hosted a major motion picture production company when Norman Lear directed the 1971 hit movie, Cold Turkey; and, is home to one of Iowa’s premier aviation museums, filled with working vintage aircraft. Other reverberations from its past include the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, who sold their Adair County farm to fund their dream of man flying in the air, plus Adair was the infamous location for America’s first train robbery by the notorious James Gang. Capturing much of this news and so much more was one of Iowa’s oldest and most respected photo journalistic families, the Sideys. The lineage started when Canadian emigrant John S. Sidey (1837-1903) settled in Greenfield. This was the beginning of a four-generation rural journalism juggernaut which published the Adair County Democrat, founded in 1889, that 8 · Voices from the Prairie
Top Image: May Snow 1944, Greenfield, Iowa Bottom Image: V-J Day Firetruck, Greenfield, Iowa Photographs © The Sidey Collection LLC, 2009 evolved into the Adair County Free Press. John’s son, E. J. (1862-1938), ignited innovative methods to process and present the news, developing a photo journalism approach, making him one of the first editor/publishers of a Midwest weekly newspaper to use local news photos. By its fifth decade, the Adair County Free Press replaced the old sketches still favored by big daily newspapers, adding everincreasing insertion of photographs. This newspaper was one of the first in Iowa to use photographs. As the next generation of Sideys became a driving force through E.J.’s son, Ken “K.H.,” photography usage quickly became a hallmark of the publication. Learning about photography in the 1920s, Ken quickly embraced an entrepreneurial
approach to benefit his readers, creating one of Iowa’s first community newspapers. His dissatisfaction with the delay in acquiring photos from engraving plants out of state inspired him to take leave of his work from the Free Press a few days a week to visit professional photo-engraving plants and study the equipment. Once satisfied with his new-found knowledge, the early 1930s saw him launch his own engraving plant which he designed and built. His home basement became a darkroom operation, which made the Free Press one of the first newspapers in Iowa with such resources, and a journalistic leader. The photo-engraving operation was built in the basement of the original brick building where the newspaper operation prospered for more than a hundred years. This focus on photography was aided by the
1938 invention of the Linotype machine, which quickly replaced the labor-intensive and tedious task of hand-setting all the newspaper’s type. Ken’s two sons were raised in the industry. Both gifted writers, Hugh’s career path would lead him to a life as a photojournalist for Life magazine, then as Time magazine’s Washington Bureau Chief, where his work spanned the terms of six presidents. His brother, Ed, became the heir apparent after the passing of their father, where he continued the family tradition as the editor/publisher/photojournalist for the Free Press. Ed learned the printing business on the Linotype machine, then helped with the transition into publishing with the offset press. He ushered the newspaper into the digital age in the 1990s, continuing his role through major technological and social changes, until his death in 2008. At that time, Ed’s widow, Linda, took the reins of the newspaper, leading it until she sold it to an Iowa family newspaper company based in Carroll. Although her time as editor/publisher was short, Linda guided many important changes and was the dynamic force behind perhaps the biggest move for the business and its accumulated history: from its original home at 108 E. Iowa Street. It was there that a treasure trove of Americana was uncovered.
Top mage: ISEA Library Service, Greenfield, Iowa Middle Image: Parade, Greenfield, Iowa Bottom Image: Train Station, Greenfield, Iowa Photographs © The Sidey Collection LLC, 2009
Through the decades, this brick building built to house the Adair County Free Press accumulated equipment, type, and a massive amount of memorabilia documenting the newspapers storied history. Many behind-the-scenes stories originated in the brick confines of that Fall 2015 · 9
The Sidey Collection Continued
multi-story location. It was destined to become part of a major historic preservation recognition more than one hundred years after its doors opened. The National Register of Historic Districts recognized the restoration spearheaded by Greenfield which started in the late 20th century, ending with the 2014 designation of the Greenfield Public Square Historic District. Three key properties anchored this distinguished recognition: Hotel Greenfield (2011), the Adair County Democrat/Adair County Free Press Building (2011), and the Warren Cultural Center and Heatherington Block (1979), all earning places on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of these preservation maneuverings included Linda Sidey agreeing to move the Free Press to a new location on the town square, so development could add a restaurant to the hotel and opera house parts of the project. With an army of local volunteers, the arduous task of moving more than a hundred years of journalistic vitality began, as equipment, printed materials, furnishings and much more were relocated in the new building. As the move reached the deepest corners of the former newspaper office, a discovery that would usher in a new life for the flagship publication was uncovered. Stored in the attic and in the basement were tens of thousands of glass and large negatives used in Speed Graphic, Rolleiflex and other cameras, documenting the total photo-journalistic legacy of E.J., Ken, and Ed. Linda saved a major collection from possibly ending up in the landfill, with many of the glass plates packed into boxes, scattered on shelves and even lying on the floor. She established The Sidey Collection LLC, and the foundation for a 10 · Voices from the Prairie
special archive spanning decades of rural and small town life in Middle America was formally created. Through a grant from the Iowa Historical Society, more than 13,000 of the Sidey negatives were scanned and catalogued. Laurel Bower Burgmaier, after seeing a series of Sidey images featured in a local calendar, was inspired to produce a documentary about the Sideys. She presented the idea to Iowa Public Television, which embraced her vision and produced it in 2013. In 2014, a companion book on The Sidey Collection was written by June Bower and edited by Sarah Bingaman Schwartz. The bulk of the archival material awaits further research and study, providing historians, journalism scholars, and anyone seeking a deeper visual understanding and immersion into mid-twentieth century Middle America. The Sidey Collection LLC is approaching its next major leap into realizing its full potential as an historic resource for both its historical (journalistic) and artistic imagery. Linda devoted much time in processing the equipment and archival material from the Free Press. This included purging much of the older equipment, for which she found many welcome homes. This purging has given Linda the chance to focus on The Sidey Collection, and developing avenues through which this massive collection can be shared with historians, scholars, genealogists and others drawn to gaining a better understanding of those bygone decades. For more information about The Sidey Collection LLC, please contact Linda Sidey, PO Box 83, Greenfield, IA 50849, or through www.thesideycollection.com
Clay Jenkinson’s Lewis and Clark in Iowa Second printing of chapbook available Thanks to a collaboration of Humanities Iowa and The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center/ Betty Strong Encounter Center, the second printing of Lewis and Clark in Iowa by noted historian Clay Jenkinson is offered free. The 70-page, pocket-sized “chapbook” covers the Lewis & Clark Expedition’s 39 days along the present-day, Iowa-Nebraska stretch of the Missouri River in 1804. It includes the court-martial of deserter Pvt. Moses Reed, the illness, death and burial of Sgt. Charles Floyd, and encounters with Otoe/Missouria leaders. Readers learn about the soldiers’ health, diet, duties and much more. To receive Lewis and Clark in Iowa, send $2 for postage and handling to: Sara Olson, History Education Coordinator Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center 900 Larsen Park Road Sioux City, Iowa 51103
New Board Member: Bruce Kittle
Bar and the Iowa Association for Justice and has been admitted to the 7th and 8th Circuit US Court of Appeals and the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. Currently he is an attorney with Petrzelka & Breitbach of Cedar Rapids. When he is not working Mr. Kittle enjoys camping, hiking, climbing 14,000-foot mountains, scuba diving, open water diving, hot yoga, and Sudoku.
New Board Member: Mike McCormick
Police Department (SCPD), McCormick began his law enforcement career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). During his long tenure with the SCPD, he worked a wide variety of beats, from undercover investigations to traffic to police liaison at Sioux City’s East High School. McCormick designed and installed displays for the SCPD’s Museum which opened in 2011. He is widely known for his community involvement. The father of five, Mike is married to Eileen McCormick. The couple has three grandchildren.
New Board Member: Richard Ramsay Bruce Kittle is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he earned his B.B.A. in 1983 and was co-captain of the 1981 Big Ten Champion football team. In 1989, he graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with high distinction and as a member of the Order of the Coif. He is also a 1998 graduate of the Chicago Theological Seminary. He has been an assistant football coach at the University of Oklahoma and at the University of Iowa. He has taught in the Iowa City Community School District, the University of Iowa Athletic & Physical Education Departments, and at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Besides having worked as a Litigation Associate and as a Law Clerk he is an ordained clergy member and has served as pastor of Faith United Church of Christ in Iowa City. Mr. Kittle has combined many aspects of his background as a mentoring specialist for the sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services and as a mediator for the Iowa Peace Institute. He is a member of the Wisconsin State
Mike McCormick is Facilities Manager at the Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the adjoining Betty Strong Encounter Center, a private, non-profit cultural complex on the Missouri Riverfront. In his evolving role, McCormick handles everything from large-events planning to grounds and garden development to photo exhibition conceptualization, planning and installation. Additionally, he produces and presents programs on Siouxland history, with special interest in the area’s rich carracing heritage. A retired sergeant with the Sioux City
Richard Ramsay is a retired attorney after 30 years of real estate practice in Des Moines, Iowa. He is currently in an emeritus relationship with the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines. Ramsay is a fifty-year member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Presently he serves on the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Board, and the Humanities Iowa Board of Directors. Fall 2015 · 11
New Board Member: Charissa Menefee
also an actor, director, and co-founder of Tomorrow’s Theatre Tonight, a new play reading and development series that just completed its eighth season in Arizona.
New Board Member: Harry Brod
Dr. Charissa Menefee, an associate professor in Iowa State University’s English Department, teaches creative writing, literature, and performance studies, and she serves on the graduate faculties of the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment and the MA in English. Previously a professor of Performing Arts and Writing & Literature at Prescott College, she also served the college as Chair of the Arts & Letters Department and Director of Theatre. A recent finalist for the Julie Harris Playwright Award for her historical drama, The Figurehead, Dr. Menefee is a dramatist whose work has been honored by the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s New American Playwrights Project, Pandora Festival of New Plays, Arizona Theatre Conference, American College Theatre Festival, and City of Charleston Literary Arts Awards. Her plays have recently been produced at the Tennessee Women’s Theatre Project’s Women’s Work Festival, Phoenix’s Herberger Theatre, Theatrics’ ThrifTheatre and Pet Plays festivals, Prescott College Theatre, and Stage Door Productions’ Original One-Act Play Festival. She is 12 · Voices from the Prairie
Harry Brod is a child of Holocaust survivors and a child of the 60’s. Both heritages shape his commitments to justice as expressed in decades of teaching, writing, and activism. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and is currently Professor of Sociology and Humanities at the University of Northern Iowa. His most recent book is Superman is Jewish?: How Comic Book Superheroes Came to Serve Truth, Justice and the JewishAmerican Way. Dr. Brod served as Director of the Iowa Regent Universities Men’s Gender Violence Prevention Institute and on the board of Directors of the American Men’s Studies Association. He was a member of the Iowa Governor’s Task Force for Responsible Fatherhood and the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Public Philosophy. He received the Harry Cannon Award for Exemplary and Sustained Contributions to the Field of Men’s Studies from the American College Personnel Association’s Standing Committee for Men as well as
the Leadership and Service Award from the Men’s Center of Saint John’s University (MN), and held a Fellowship in Law and Philosophy at Harvard Law School. He is the father of two children.
New Board Member: Georgina Dodge
Georgina Dodge is the University of Iowa’s Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President, as well as the university’s Title IX Coordinator. She is an adjunct Associate Professor of English, and her scholarly interests include multi-racial literatures, autobiography, and cultural studies. She chairs the Iowa Women in Higher Education Network and serves on the national Board of Directors for the Association of Title IX Administrators. Her community work includes serving on the ACLU Iowa Board of Directors as well as on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties. Before joining the University of Iowa in 2010, Dodge spent 14 years at Ohio State University. Prior to beginning her academic career, she served a six-year enlistment in the Navy, working as an electronics technician on communications, radar and meteorological equipment.
Grants Awarded 2014
What are the Humanities?
ames
Ames Historical Society — $10,000 clinton
Clinton Public Library—$3,000 Sawmill Museum—$535
iowa cit y
Community Foundation of Johnson County — $10,000 johnston
Iowa Public Television Foundation — $10,000
davenport
Iowa Route 6 Tourist Association—$9,975 Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science—$10,000 River Action—$1,000 Storytellers International—$10,000 des moines
Character Counts in Iowa—$5,000 Des Moines Civil War Roundtable—$1,450 Des Moines Public Library—$5,000 Drake University Andersen Gallery—$5,000 Drake University Department of Philosophy and Religion—$4,300 Salisbury House Foundation—$4,700 State Historical Society of Iowa—$5,000 The Family Farm History Foundation: Iowa Century Farms Applications Project—$2,500 dubuque
Dubuque County Historical Society—$4,825 Saint Mary’s Church—$3,000 Wartburg Theological Seminary—$2,000
mason cit y
TRACES Center for History and Culture —$10,000
The Humanities are our cultural and intellectual heritage-the sum of human experience, thought and expression. They give us knowledge of the past, insight about the present, and wisdom for the future. They teach us about others and help us to know ourselves. Contact us! Humanities Iowa 100 Library Room 4039
new hampton
Iowa City, IA 52242-1420
Carnegie Cultural Center—$500
www.humanitiesiowa.org info@humanitiesiowa.org
okoboji
Okoboji Summer Theatre—$3,700
Phone: 319.335.4153 Fax: 319.335.4154
or ange cit y
Orange City Public Library—$500 pella
Pella Historical Society—$4,995 ( il ) CommUniversity—$1,000 rock island
sioux cit y
Morningside College—$10,000 tama
Follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/humanitiesiowa Donate! Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Online donations accepted at
www.humanitiesiowa.org
Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa—$10,000 urbandale
Living History Farms—$2,00o villisca
Villisca Public Library—$8,50o Fall 2015 · 13
I want to support the humanities! Name Organization Address City State
Zip
Day Phone
Statement of Activity for the year ended October 31, 2014
Your Support Helps Humanities Iowa provides the public with stories that give meaning to people in Iowa through programs and grants. Humanities Iowa cannot provide such without help from supporters like you. Your past support helped fund the Voices from the Prairie Annual Iowa Writers’ Celebration and the Poet Laureate position.
Support Levels
$50
$100
Other
Method of Payment Enclosed is a check payable to Humanities Iowa I prefer to pay by : Visa MasterCard Account # Expiration Signature I wish to receive
Voices from the Prairie I wish to remain anonymous Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. 14 · Voices from the Prairie
r e ve nue s
unr e str ic te d
te mpor ar ily
pe r mane ntly
r e str ic te d
r e str ic te d
NEH & private grants Program income Gifts & membership Dividends & interest Realized & unrealized gain on investments Purpose restrictions accomplished
532,718 55,500 14,936 21,421 14,972 32,400
Total Revenues
650,379
35,100
0 588,218 0 14,936 0 36,393 0 32,400 0
13,804 (13,804) 56,668
total
35,100
0 707,047
func tional e xpe nse s
Grants Council-conducted projects Management & general Fundraising, newsletter
279,811 174,242 89,851 9,948
0 0 0 0
279,811 174,242 89,851 9,948
Total Expenses 553,852 0 553,852 Increase in Net Assets for the Year Net Assets—Beginning of Year Net Assets—End of Year
96,527 747,482 844,009
56,668 1,780 58,448
0 153,195 128,000 877,262 128,000 1,030,457
Donors 2014
African American Museum of Iowa Pat Anderson Tamara Andrews Anonymous Ed and Ethel Barker Sue Berger William Blackburn Liz Boyd Thomas Boyd Willard (Bill) Boyd III Willard (Sandy) and Susan Boyd Margaret Brennan Steve Brower Jean Brown Richard Burton Graciela Caneiro-Livingston Scott Cawelti Community Fdn of Johnson County Sue Cosner Thomas Dean Frances DeJong Richard Dell J.P. Dietrich DNE Caplan Family Foundation East Union Mennonite Church Barb and Ron Eckhoff Glenn Ehrstine Susan Enzle James Erb Mark Felderman Gary Frost Nancy A. Garretson Elizabeth Garst Lynne George Dorothy Gilbert Constable Giles Helen Goldstein
Carol Gronstal Graff Gretchen Gronstal Wilfred Groves William Hamm Voanne Hansen James P. Hayes Pam Hazell Jeff and Cindy Heland Gary Homquist Marsha Hucke Sidney or Elizabeth Huttner Lee or Nancy Jarvis DE or SM Johnson Tim Johnson Claire or Marilyn Keller Pat Knueven Randall Lengeling Thea Leslie Lois Lindaman Sherry or Henry Lippert Helen Lockwood Marcia or Cedric Lofdahl Mary Lorber Christina Lux Kenneth Lyftogt Esther Mackintosh Cindy McLaughlin John Menninger Helen Moyer Roger Natte Harland Nelson Richard Nelson Mary Noble Carrie Z. Norton N.J. Novick Russell Noyes Polly Pagliai
Shirley Pfeifer Chris and Heather Plucar Alta L. Price Walter Pyper Richard Ramsay Keith Ratzlaff Mrs. Robert Reed Christopher Rossi Roswell & Elizabeth Garst Foundation Gerard and Carolyn Rushton Nathan Savin Robert or Anna Mae Schnucker Linda Shenk William Sherman Steve Siegel Dale Simon Larry Simons Vladimir Skarda Cynthia Smith Eldon and Mary Snyder Rebecca Soglin Larry Stone J.S. Strauss Sue Strauss Dr. Richard Thomas Dr. John Van Ness Rhoda Vernon Rosemarie Ward Aaron Woolf Dr. Patricia Woolf
Fall 2015 · 15
NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID TRUART
Humanities Iowa 100 Main Library Rm 4039 Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Become a member today! www.humanities.org
Cell in Iowa State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, IA. Photograph Š David Plowden, 2004.