The Kitchen Table Historian
The world was breathing a little easier at the end of 1945. For the past several years, the Second World War had raged across the globe. Towns and cities had been razed throughout the Pacific and across Europe. Millions had lost their lives during the course of the conflict. Now, the war was finally over.... Continue Reading →
August 30, 1945, was a day like any other in DeWitt, Iowa. That is, until the explosions started. What happened that fateful afternoon, and what is its connection to the modern day?
Guy Gilbert was probably a little surprised when his son Gene showed up on the doorstep of his Yale, South Dakota home. While far from unwelcome, Gene hadn’t said anything about coming for a visit. But here he was just the same. Guy welcomed Gene inside. Guy Jr., Gene’s brother, was also there, and... Continue Reading →
I doubt that Frederick Rothstein thought much about bridges when he was living at Allen's Grove, Iowa. They were probably one of the furthest things from his mind. A miller by trade, Rothstein had a lucrative business. He had a combination saw and grist mill, powered by steam. Rothstein had an abundance of fuel and... Continue Reading →
In 1853, Edward Graham was made the County Judge of Clinton County, Iowa, when his predecessor unexpectedly vacated the position. While the new promotion may have come as a surprise, he was more than up to the task. Born in Pennsylvania, he decided to become a lawyer. Seven years later, he and his... Continue Reading →
From his home in Elvira, Iowa, Captain Robert Lyons surveyed his property with his mariner’s telescope. A relic from his 18 years as a sailor and sea captain, Lyons still liked to use it on occasion, and what he saw on that day in 1851 surprised him. There, in one of his... Continue Reading →
Hard as it is to believe now, Scott County, Iowa, bordering the Mississippi River on the state’s eastern edge, was once America’s frontier. Before 1833, when the United States Congress opened what was then known as the Blackhawk Purchase to free settlement, nearly that entire region was as wild and untamed as anything the... Continue Reading →
Perhaps the most dangerous weather in the Midwest is the blizzard. Temperatures plummet, and the wind not only drives that cold through a person, but blows the snow so hard that they can hardly see. Many lives have been claimed by Iowa’s winter storms over the years, and H.V. Morrill was almost among... Continue Reading →
Life in rural Clinton County could be hard, just like it could be everywhere else. But, for the most part, it was a good, clean place to live. It was a place that you could settle down with your family and not really worry about anything bad happening to you and yours. But, sometimes, the biggest threat to a family comes from within.