Category Archives: Tama County

Aug 27

Ostermann marker placed in Montour

Henry Ostermann, the first field secretary of the Lincoln Highway Association, died in 1920 when his car went off the road near Montour. Earlier this month, an interpretive panel was installed at Montour’s cemetery to honor Ostermann. It is a project from … Continue reading

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Aug 19

Mermaids in Traer

KWWL has a story about “mermaid classes” at the Traer swimming pool (the new one, I might add). It’s taught by North Tama’s current art teacher. This looks like a lot of fun, despite — or especially — considering that … Continue reading

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Aug 12

NT volleyball in preseason ‘Super Ten’

The Gazette’s Jeff Linder ranks North Tama tenth in his all-class power rankings of regional volleyball teams. It’s the only small-school team on the list. NT is first in his Class 1A list. It could be an interesting season, or … Continue reading

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Aug 09

North Tama’s Class of 1969 rides again

Wonder if any of these will show up tomorrow… It’s been 50 years since the largest senior class in North Tama school history graduated. At nearly 100 strong (95), much of this particular group has shared a lot in the decades … Continue reading

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Jul 24

Lincoln Highway bridge project has two options

The 1919 Army Lincoln Highway convoy crossed from Cedar Rapids to Marshalltown 100 years ago today. Its route would have included the then-four-year-old bridge on the east side of Tama. Now, work on preserving that bridge is nearing financial and construction … Continue reading

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Jul 03

‘Tama County Rejects Good Roads Program’

Traer Star-Clipper, July 4, 1919, non-capitalization in original: “Tama county voted against hard roads Monday by 1,165 majority. Everybody familiar with what was going on knew several days before what the result would be. When the highway commission rejected Toledo’s … Continue reading

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Jul 02

100th anniversary of Iowa ratifying 19th Amendment

Today marks 100 years since Iowa ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, extending the right to vote to women. The amendment would be approved in time for the 1920 presidential election. Here’s what Ella Taylor, wife and mother of … Continue reading

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Jul 01

Partial archives of Traer, Toledo papers posted online

The whereabouts of probably the only remaining existing copies of the Traer Star-Clipper dating back to its founding remain unknown since the newspaper office closed more than a year ago. But about four and a half years after I discovered … Continue reading

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Jun 03

Thanks, Grandma

Today is the 109th anniversary of Grandma Lyons’ birth. For a period of years, she gave her grandchildren savings bonds with their birthday gifts. Now, 30 years later, they’re starting to be cashed in. I was able to do it at … Continue reading

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May 31

Traer gets DNR grant

October 1913: Excerpt from Sanborn Co. map showing Traer’s power plant. A May 23 press release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has three items worthy of blog posts. The first is the closest to home: “City of Traer— … Continue reading

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