Muscatine Tours Podcast

"Builders to the World" Dan Clark's guest is Richard H. Stanley, chair emeritus and past president of the Stanley Group which includes the Muscatine-based Stanley Consultants, Inc., a member-owned worldwide provider of engineering, environmental, and construction services. Dick tells about the firm's international work in some 98 countries over the years since it opened an office in Liberia in 1957. http://www.stanleyconsultants.com/about_us_history.php Dick also chairs the board of the Stanley Foundation, a private-operating international-affairs organization that is separate from SCI and its charitable foundation. http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/richard-stanley-bio.cfm Last week SCI announced a $50,000 donation from the Stanley Consultants Charitable Foundation to the International Red Cross for Haiti-earthquake relief.

"It's Time for Ragtime!" The 16th Annual Eagles and Ivories Ragtime Weekend is January 29-30-31. Dan Clark's guests are Chris Clark and Duffy DeFrance representing the Muscatine County Arts Council which co-sponsors the festival along with the Muscatine Art Center. See schedule and program and links to performers' sites at http://www.muscatineartscouncil.org/eagles&Ivories.htm.

Dan Clark called this show "Who's got a better idea for Muscatine (better than tourism)?" [more soon]

Dan Clark asked his next-door neighbor Frank Kelly to take the lead for this first show of Year 5. A former executive of the local community foundation, Frank says Muscatine is "close to greatness" as an award-winning city for many attributes and attractions, e.g., health care and river front and trails and historic preservation. Caller Kent Sissel calls for a "summit" on cultural tourism. Hear past shows with Frank at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=492461 (June 16, 2009 about the Diamond Towns initiative) and http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=395120 (May 13, 2008 about Historic Downtown).

Dan Clark called this show "Isn't it time for a REAL trolley in Muscatine (again)?" We had 'em from the 1880s through the 1920s, unless you count the electric interurban which ran through 1938. What would it take, he asks, to run a real streetcar in Muscatine, maybe between historic Downtown/Riverfront and Southend sports complex? He says the USA's premier heritage-trolley restorer and replica-maker is Gomaco Trolley Co. of Ida Grove, Iowa (http://www.gomacotrolley.com), but their only car in Iowa is at Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant (http://www.oldthreshers.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.midwestElectricRailway). He reads a description of Muscatine's eight streetcars ordered in 1913 and proposes commissioning Gomaco to construct a replica. He also reads from and comments on Facebook discussion with skeptics. He calls this show Part 2 of his "rant" from September 2008 (http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=383570).

Dan Clark reads "First Christmas Tree" by William D. Randall (Little Known Stories of Muscatine, Vol. 4) and then takes a call from Randall's daughter, Shirley Calvert. Guest author Tom Savage says his research has turned up more information about early settlers than was known when the historical marker was placed in the 1960s at the foot of Iowa Avenue ("This granite stone marks the site of the first log cabin...." http://muscatine-tours.com/vanater1.jpg). He tells of the trading post started by Mr. Farnham before the Black Hawk War and mentions other early settlers who will appear in the local-history storybook he and wife Sharon are writing. They own Muscatine Books and More (http://muscatinebooks.com) and have sponsored TTT "from the git-go." Finally, Dan reads an excerpt from a Christmas-tree tale by Steve Hanken, about a pine his parents in Iowa sent him in Vietnam in 1969.

Dan Clark called this show "It's Our People on that Monument." His guest is Lee Miller, who is leading an effort by local veterans groups and others to restore the 1875 Civil War monument on the grounds of the Muscatine County Courthouse. They propose to replace the soldier atop the column and the four plaques at the base, and they would add names that were left off originally. Lee is author of Crocker's Brigade, a 2009 book telling the story of four Iowa infantry regiments combined under command of Marcellus M. Crocker after the April 1862 Battle of Shiloh, and he says he is working on his second book. Hear our first show with Lee (Jan. 27, 2009) at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=426836 and another (with host Tom Savage)at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=508792 (July 7, 2009).

Dan Clark called this show "Old Barn 'Acorn Fund' Saves the Day." His guests are John Haskins, founder and president of Friends of the Old Barn, and Judi Holdorf, executive director of the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine. Two weeks ago the Muscatine County supervisors reversed an earlier vote and approved a request from Friends of the Old Barn to use a nearby "cottage" for a public restroom for programs at their restored barn at the former county farm site. Haskins credited a community foundation "acorn fund" for helping make the winning case and called the decision "democracy in action." The story is told at http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2009/11/24/news/doc4b0c074310602718088662.txt; the Old Barn fund and others are described at this CFGM page: http://www.muscatinecommunityfoundation.org/staticpages/index.php?page=20060107130217954&tab=2. Hear Dan's first show with John (Jan. 17, 2006) at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=399731 and his Old Barn (Nov. 2008) update w

Dan Clark called this show "No, the Muscatine Trolley is NOT for sale..." but hurried on to say he is getting ready for some changes in the coming year. December concludes eight years of MT&T and four years of TTT. "In the coming year, I will pass the age of 'Old' John Brown when he died December 2, 1859, on the Virginia gallows," Dan said. All year the show has tracked the story of the Brown band's 1859 slave-liberating trek across Iowa and their dramatic departure from Muscatine County. "The more I dig and learn from others who share this interest, the more connections I'm seeing between here and Harpers Ferry," Dan said. "Plus the abolitionists who were active here and all the Iowans who took part in the Civil War that soon followed. Opportunities for so-called heritage tourism are all around us, neighbors." He invited listeners to come out Friday evening for Muscatine's 25th annual Holiday Stroll with a new the parade up Second Street and free trolley rides throughout the evening.

Dan Clark calls this show "What else can we learn about the Underground Railroad around Muscatine?" His guest is Doug Jones, staff archaeologist for the State Historical Society of Iowa whose job includes Underground Railroad research. Doug is visiting the Muscatine area to learn about Alexander G. Clark and other black residents and also their white neighbors who opposed slavery. He gives an update on the project marking the route of John Brown's last trip across Iowa in 1859. Hear Doug's previous show (March 2009) at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=439389. Learn about Alexander G. Clark at http://alexanderclark.org. Photo: November 20, the day Kent Sissel (left) and I (right) helped erect the John Brown Freedom Trail marker at the Springdale Friends Cemetery. Also shown are Doug Jones and Lowell Soike, the main staff on the SHSI project. Photo by Mike Boyle. NOTE: For some reason, only the last five minutes of the show was recorded.

Dan Clark calls this show "Mark Twain Dissenting AND the Diogenes of Diamond Towns." Muscatine brags about the months Mark Twain lived here in 1854. We love his praise of our sunsets, but most don't know his anti-war writings. Dan reads from Twain's "The War-Prayer" in belated recognition of Veterans Day. "When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory—must follow it, cannot help but follow it." Read the full text and view a beautifully done video at http://www.thewarprayer.com/. Dan's guest in the second half is Tom Huber, director of Muscatine-based Diamond Towns of America. He explains the DTA community-building model and invites participation. The newspaper called DTA founder Dick Maeglin a philanthropist, but Dan calls him Diogenes. http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2009/11/14/news/doc4afe4bf154dbd953140766.txt and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Muscatine-IA/Diamond-Towns-of-America/97774599536

Dan Clark calls this show "Muscatine Memories of the Berlin Wall and Its Fall." His guests are Kristine Conlon and Ingrid Rowe of Muscatine Sister Cities Association. Kristine is a Muscatine native and German-language teacher who led several school trips to Germany. Ingrid is an East German native who fled to the West with her parents when she was 12, shortly before the border closed. She is now a Muscatine resident and US citizen. Fifteen years after the fall of the wall, on December 2, 2004, Muscatine gained a sister city in the former (East) German Democratic Republic. Ludwigslust is the capital of a district between Berlin and Hamburg. Ingrid and Kristine share memories of Germany and tell about plans for a Sister Cities trip there scheduled for May 2010. NOTE: For some reason, only the last five minutes of the show was recorded.

Dan Clark calls this show "Our Very Own Lincoln-Assassination Story." After killing President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth eluded federal pursuers and changed his name and lived out more adventures. He ended up in Oklahoma or maybe South America or India. Booth's accomplice Michael O'Laughlen didn't die in prison in 1867 after all, but rather in Muscatine County in 1890, after living where Wild Cat Den State Park is today. Dan says these yarns are part of our local lore, so you'll want to learn about them—and you don't have to believe to enjoy. He reads from the "O'Laughlen" manuscript http://odin.indstate.edu/about/units/rbsc/neff/PDFs/stevenson_olaughlin.pdf and urges listeners to attend a talk by Gladys Mittman who grew up with the story and has been learning more lately. Details at http://muscatinejournal.com/articles/2009/10/31/news/doc4aebcbd126576354383074.txt. More background at http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2007/04/13/news/doc46204bd5585b2975671645.txt.

Dan Clark calls this show "Wedding Destination Muscatine." His guest is Misty Lutz of Hazel Green Bridal and Tux, one of the sponsors of the Wedding Salon Bridal Show that will be at the Muscatine Mall on November 1 http://www.specialelegantevents.com/id83.html. They discuss the bridal show and the wedding business and Muscatine as a place for weddings. Misty says weddings often cost $15,000 to $20,000 these days, but she emphasizes that local businesses work with budgets of all sizes and do their best to help brides make the most of that most special of days. And weddings help pay the trolley bills!

Dan Clark calls this show "Connecting the Dots...to Harpers Ferry and Beyond." He's just back from West Virginia where abolitionist John Brown led raiders into the federal arsenal on October 16, 1859, and helped bring on the Civil War. Dan experienced some of the 150th anniversary observances and took part in an academic symposium at which several sessions were filmed by C-SPAN. At least one program has already been shown, and others may follow http://www.booktv.org/Program/10910/John+Browns+Trial.aspx. News coverage has been vast and is continuing http://www.johnbrownraid.org/pressroom.php. Dan's guest is Kent Sissel, the owner/restorer of the Alexander G. Clark House http://alexanderclark.org. They agree antebellum Muscatine was an abolitionist stronghold and Iowa's main center of African-American population, and they discuss new information about Alexander Clark's family. Urging listeners to learn about Brown's activity in Iowa and Iowans' roles related to Harpers Ferry, Dan recommends "John Brown Among th

Dan Clark devotes this show to the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry (now West Virginia) on October 16, 1859, in an attempt to end slavery. Dan will take part in a conference there this week http://www.johnbrownharpersferry.com/ and visit a friend, a circuit court judge whose work takes him to the courthouse where the 1859 judge pronounced sentence after a fast trial. Brown and several comrades were executed a few blocks away. In his newspaper column this week, the Hon. John C. Yoder writes of the versions of the story he learned growing up in Kansas and going to school in Iowa. "When I moved to Harpers Ferry 25 years ago, however, I began to hear other sides of the story about John Brown," he writes. "Those other perspectives included a belief that his violence and fanaticism may have actually hindered and embarrassed, rather than helped, those who favored the abolition of slavery at the time." John says he supports a proposal to restore the original courtroom wher

Dan Clark's guests are Ann Meeker and Dawnese Openshaw, business owners and leaders of Muscatine's Downtown Action Alliance http://muscatinedowntown.com/. They discuss coming events and promotions and talk about holding onto dreams for a vibrant "heart of the community" in this tough economy. There's even a little singalong with Petula Clark on "Downtown"! "Things'll be great...Downtown"..."Downtown, no finer place for sure..."

Dan Clark's guest is Heather Shoppa, director of Muscatine's Convention and Visitors Bureau http://www.meetmuscatine.com/. It's her job to market our town's attractions, and she tells about two big days for out-of-town visitors arriving via motor coaches: Great River Celebration and Meet Muscatine Day (September 30 and October 21 this year). During such events, the trolley shuttles the visitors from the Riverfront through Downtown. Heather explains that the CVB does not receive hotel/motel tax revenue directly and must request funding from local governments each year.

Dan Clark's topic is "Who's Afraid of the Paint Police?" Dan compares Muscatine's Historic Preservation Commission (educational and advisory only), which he chairs, with other communities' more robust protections for historic properties. And he confesses envy of Dubuque which last month celebrated a huge economic development success based on historic preservation. He reads from Dubuque's ordinance prohibiting "Demolition By Neglect" and imagines something of the sort for Muscatine. Meanwhile, our city struggles to cover the costs of recent landfill expansion, and Dan jests that maybe it's time to help out by demolishing a whole bunch of old stuff. Later this week Muscatine hosts a two-day historic-preservation workshop conducted by state experts http://www.iowahistory.org/about/news/2009/08-26_historic-preservation-workshops-muscatine.html.

Dan Clark's topic is "Celebrating Freedom Seekers" with guest Barb Christensen, director of the Muscatine Art Center http://muscatineartcenter.org/. They discuss a current exhibition of paintings by Joseph Holston, "Color In Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad," and related programs at Musser Public Library http://musserpubliclibrary.org/Quick-Links/Event-Calendar/The-Undergraound-Railroad-in-Iowa.aspx. See a "virtual tour" of the paintings: http://www.umuc.edu/colorinfreedom/virtual_tour/index.shtml.