IOWA’S ABC’S

By Danny Tiarks

A is for Ames, Iowa Ames was named in honor of Oakes Ames, a

congressman from Massachusetts with railroad interests.

The first business in Ames, began in the summer of 1865, and was operated out of the railroad depot.

B is for Butter cow

The butter cow has been an Iowa State Fair staple since 1911.

The first “ Butter Cow” in Iowa was made by sculptor John K. Daniels at the 1911 Iowa State Fair.

C is for corn Iowa has produced the largest corn

crop of any state for the past 14 years.

Iowa has deep, rich soils that are good for growing corn.

D is for Des Moines

Des Moines has one of the largest skywalks in the U.S.A., and it is over 4 miles long.

Des Moines is Iowa’s state capital.

E is for Eastern Goldfinch Iowa named the eastern goldfinch

as the official state bird in 1933.

The eastern goldfinch is found throughout Iowa and stays during the winter months.

F is for Field of Dreams

In 1988 Hollywood built a baseball diamond in Dyersville, Iowa for the movie, Field of Dreams.

It is one of Iowa’s most popular tourist attractions.

G is for Grenville Dodge

General Grenville M. Dodge was a union army officer during the Civil War .

He was also a U.S.A. congressman, business man, and railroad executive who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad.

His house is in Council Bluffs and is a National historic landmark.

H is for Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa.

He was the first president born west of the Mississippi River and remains the only president from Iowa.

I is for ISU

I.S.U. was established on March 22, 1858.

“Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm” was what it was named first and cost $ 5,379. Then in 1959 it was renamed Iowa State University or I.S.U. for short.

J is for Johnston, Iowa

Johnston is located in northwest Des Moines, Iowa.

Johnston was named after John F. Johnston who was a freight supervisor in the railways.

My cousin, Bret, lives there with his wife Brittany.

K is for Kate Shelley Bridge The bridge opened to traffic on August

20, 2009, when the Union Pacific ran its first train across the new span.

It cost over 7 billion dollars to fix the bridge from a big flood.

In 1881 a flash flood washed out a railroad bridge near Kate Shelley’s home. She went to get help and saved 2 of the 4 crew. When the bridge was rebuilt they named it after Kate Shelley.

L is for limestone

Most people never notice, but hidden under Iowa’s fertile soils are rich supplies of limestone.

Nearly 800 tons of limestone from Anamosa, Iowa were used in the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.

M is for Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the eastern border of Iowa.

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America.

You can fish, swim, and drive a boat almost anywhere.

N is for Newton, Iowa

They started making washing machines in 1909 in Newton, Iowa by the company Maytag.

Newton is also the home of the Iowa Speedway, a 7/8ths mile race track designed by NASCAR Champion Rusty Wallace.

O is for the oak tree

Iowa designated the oak as the official state tree in 1961.

The oak was chosen because it is found everywhere in the state and provides shelter, food, and nesting cover for many animals and birds.

P is for Pottawattamie

Pottawattamie County is located in southwest Iowa on the Nebraska border.

The county gets its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe.

Underwood is located in Pottawattamie County.

Q is for Quaker Oats

Quaker Oats began in Cedar Rapids in 1873.

The city’s determination to have a railroad connection led to Cedar Rapids’ role as a major Midwest industrial center.

Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids is still home to the largest cereal mill in the world.

R is for Raccoon

Many people in Iowa trap and hunt raccoons.

A raccoon’s hind feet can rotate (point backwards) , making it easy for them to climb down a tree headfirst.

S is for Snake Alley

Snake Alley is a street located in Burlington, Iowa.

It is the most crooked street in the world and is made of limestone and blue clay bricks.

T is for Train Museum

The Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot was constructed in1899 on the south edge of downtown Council Bluffs and today is operated as a museum and model train display.

All railcars displayed outdoors were donated by the Union Pacific Railroad.

In July 1873 Frank and Jesse James and the Younger Brothers robbed the Rock Island near Adair, Iowa.

U is for Underwood

Underwood is located in Norwalk Township and was established in 1869.

The name Underwood comes from the name of the first engineer to run a train over the Milwaukee tracks in Underwood.

V is for violets

Several species of violet are native to Iowa.

Violets usually grow in colonies and can be found in a wide variety of habitats ranging from dry, rocky prairies to moist woodlands.

Most violet species have heart shaped leaves.

W is for wild rose

To the early settlers the wild rose of Iowa represented resilience and beauty.

In 1897 the wild rose became the official state flower.

The Iowa State Legislature choose to not single out a specific species of the rose as the state flower. To this day any wild rose within the state’s boundaries is the Iowa state flower.

X is for Xeon Liquidators

Xeon Liquidators sell premium HID Lights in Des Moines and the surrounding area.

They also sell conversion kits to convert standard headlights to HID bulbs.

Y is for Yellow River State Forest

The forest was established in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps with land at the mouth of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River State Forest is home to the only fire tower in Iowa.

Z is for zoo

In 1963 Mr. A.H. Bland donated $150,000 for the construction of a children’s zoo in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Children’s Zoo officially opened on March 8, 1966.