Ottumwa Public Library

Has anyone out there ever not seen M*A*S*H, the popular TV series with Hawkeye Pierce, Hot Lips Houlihan, and Radar O’Reilly? Ever wondered how those characters came to be? The Reminisce Society will help answer those questions at its February meeting on Tuesday, February 21st when Don Shaffer, the inspiration for M*A*S*H’s endearing company clerk, presents his program, “On Becoming Radar O’Reilly.”

“M*A*S*H” is the story of a mobile Army surgical hospital during the Korean War, and its staff of doctors, nurses, and support staff who used humor and hijinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war. It was one of the most popular movies of 1970, and was based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker. It went on to inspire an extremely popular, long-running TV series that continues in syndication today.

Please join us at 10:00 a.m. on February 21st in the library’s meeting room for what promises to be a fascinating program…with an Ottumwa connection.. For further information, please call the library’s Reference Desk at 641-682-7563, extension 205.

(For regular Reminisce Society attendees, you will note that this date is a departure from our usual meeting time of the 4th Tuesday. For this month only, we will meet on the 3rd Tuesday to accommodate scheduling conflicts.)

Carrier on the Prairie:

The Story of the Ottumwa Naval Air Station

A unique chapter of local history—the Ottumwa Naval Air Station—will be the focus of the next Reminisce Society meeting at the Ottumwa Public Library on Tuesday, January 24, at 10:00 a.m. Local author Elsie Mae Cofer will discuss the NAS, its history and purpose, and its effect and influence on the city of Ottumwa and surrounding area during the days of the Second World War.

During World War II, NAS Ottumwa served as one of 14 primary flight training stations in the U.S. Naval aviators soared over the state’s lush corn and oat fields in the summer and braved Iowa’s frigid winters to learn to fly in open-cockpit Stearman biplanes. Nearly 5000 cadets and officer trainees completed primary training in Ottumwa. A future U.S. president and some of the first female aviation machinist mates in the nation were numbered among the naval air station’s population, which averaged about 3500.

Cofer, an Ottumwa teacher for 17 years, began her research as a volunteer for the Wapello County Historical Museum, recording oral history interviews of those who were stationed at the NAS. These initial interviews led to 3 ½ years of intensive research into the air station, culminating in the publication of her book Carrier on the Prairie.

Members of the public are invited to attend what promises to be a very interesting and informative presentation by Cofer. For further information, please call the library’s Reference Desk at 641-682-7563, extension 205.

The Davis County Guerilla Raid

The year 2011 marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the start of the Civil War, a conflict which did much to forge our country’s character as it rewrote our nation’s history. Although Iowa sent 76,242 men (out of a total population of 674,913 in 1860) to serve in the war effort, the state itself remained largely on the periphery of the conflict. An October day in 1864 changed that, however, when a dozen Confederate soldiers dressed in stolen Union uniforms rode into Davis County to wreak a day-long reign of terror that began with intimidation and robbery and ended with the murders of three prominent citizens of the area. This month the Reminisce Society is pleased to host a program about the Davis County Guerilla Raid presented by long-time Ottumwa Civil War Round Table member Burr Brown. Burr grew up in the area of Davis County in which the raid took place, and will share an interesting and very informative presentation on the raid itself and the men who took part in it. The program will be held on Tuesday, September 27, at 10:00 a.m. in the library’s meeting room. Please join us for a fascinating look at the day the Civil War came to Iowa.

From “Betty Boop” to the Mills Brothers, the music of the Great Depression delighted listeners and helped take their minds off their troubles as the nation sank into economic doldrums. Because regular records were too expensive to purchase, savvy entrepreneurs came up with a new type of recording on a cardboard backing—the Durium record—which were sold weekly at newsstands for 15 cents. Called “Hit of the Week,” these records were very successful, selling up to a half million copies per week by the summer of 1930.

This month, join the Reminisce Society for a trip back in time to the early 1930s as Ottumwa phonograph collector Dale Essick presents a program on the “Hits of the Week.” You’ll delight in the sound of these 80-year old recordings played on an “official” Hit of the Week wind-up phonograph. The Reminisce Society will be meeting on Tuesday, May 24th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Mary Ann Lemon Meeting Room. For further information, call the library’s Reference Desk at 641-682-7563, ext. 205 or e-mail the Reference Desk here .

The Reminisce Society is excited to host Ottumwa’s preeminent architectural historian Molly Naumann at its April meeting. Molly will present a slide program on Ottumwa in the 1920s. During that decade, Ottumwa was a bustling city, its 23,000 people employed in a number of industries including meat packing and agricultural manufacturing, as well as such small, diverse businesses as iron works, candy making, and coal mining equipment manufacturing. Fifty-seven trains on five different railroad lines passed through Wapello County during this era. Join us as we take a trip back to the 1920s at the Reminisce Society meeting on Tuesday, April 26, at 10:00 a.m. in the library’s meeting room. You’ll be amazed to see how Ottumwa’s past continues to influence Ottumwa’s present.

Food — nothing is more basic to life, yet nothing conjures up more fond (and tasty) recollections than the foods we share with family and friends. From Grandma’s chicken and noodles to Mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls, food does, indeed, bring back fond reminiscences of the “good old days.” The Ottumwa Public Library’s Reminisce Society will be exploring that topic-- “Food: the Stuff of Meals and Memories” -- at its March meeting Tuesday, March 22nd , at 10:00 a.m. Special guest speaker will be Maryanna Lanigan with her collection of Ottumwa cookbooks. Everyone is welcome to attend. Bring your favorite recipes and recollections, and join others in remembering the ways food and family are forever entwined in our memories. For further information, please call the library’s Reference Desk at 682-7563, ext. 205.

February has long been known as the month of love, so it’s only fitting that this month’s meeting of the Reminisce Society focus on “Romance” ... and no one is better qualified to lead a discussion on romance than Ottumwa’s very own romance novelist extraordinaire, Leigh Michaels. Leigh is the author of 80 contemporary romance novels, as well as several single-title historicals set in 1800s London. More than 35 million copies of her books have been printed worldwide, and her novels have been translated into 25 languages. Join us as Leigh discusses her career as a romance novelist; what inspires her writing and how she crafts a plot and develops characters; and how she came to evolve from an Iowa farm girl to a well known novelist, writing teacher, and editor. The Reminisce Society will be meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Bring your own reminiscences of romances (past and present!) with you, and plan to come for a morning that promises to be interesting, educational, and inspiring.

GUYS: you’re invited, too. After all, it takes two to tango!

The Reminisce Society is ready to start out the New Year with a “bang”…or perhaps a “chug-a-chug-a-toot-toot” would be more in order, as our first program of 2011 focuses on railroads in Wapello County. Railroads were central to Ottumwa’s growth and development in the last quarter of the 19th century, and dozens of trains traversed the city on a daily basis. Come and join Ottumwa author and railroader Michael R. Johns as he discusses the history of railroads in southeast Iowa. Mr. Johns has written three books on the railroad industry, and his program promises to be a fascinating one.

Just a note: the Reminisce Society is moving its meeting date from the 3rd Tuesday of the month to the 4th Tuesday to avoid conflicts with other activities in town. Please plan to join us on Tuesday, January 25th at 10:00 a.m. We’ll be looking for you!

Great Aunt Sally? Second cousin George? Grandpa Vernon as a toddler? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?? Anyone who has been confronted by a box of old family photos with no identifying marks can identify with this reaction. But help is just around the corner at November’s Reminisce Society meeting. Master photographer Michael Lemberger will bring his extensive experience with photographs to the rescue. From tintypes to albumen prints, from ambrotypes to polaroids, Lemberger will discuss how to identify and date your old photos at the Reminisce Society’s meeting Tuesday, November 16th at 10:00 a.m. at the Ottumwa Public Library. Everyone is welcome to attend, and participants are invited to bring their own old photos to the meeting.

For more information, contact Patricia at 641.682.7563x205, or email her here .

Have you ever thought you’d like to trace your “roots,” but you didn’t know how or where to begin?  Your questions will be answered on Tuesday, October 19th when the Ottumwa Public Library’s Reminisce Society meets at 10:00 a.m. Dee Hall of the Wapello County Genealogy Society will help guide participants though the ins and outs of genealogical research. With over twenty years of genealogical experience, Hall will discuss how to begin family searches, where to find information, what resources are available on the internet, and what to do if you run into a dead end. Everyone is welcome to attend, but seating is limited. 

For more information, contact Patricia at 641.682.7563x205, or email her here .