Posted October 04, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
Until a few years ago, I could not say that I had ever been in a haunted house. My house was built in 1916, and there is no doubt that a lot of souls have lived in this house the last 100-plus years. The first year I was living there,
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Posted September 06, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
I have written about coal mining in the metro previously with the Shuler Mines in Waukee. It’s surreal to think that Des Moines is littered with abandoned mines under the streets and our homes. What creatures could be living in those old caverns? Have you ever seen the movie “C.H.U.D.”
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Posted August 02, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
It’s the time of year when Des Moines becomes a three-ring circus. Yes, part of that is because the Iowa State Fair is near, but we are also in the midst of a presidential election cycle and are heading toward the 2024 caucuses. Last year I wrote about “Strange Tales
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Posted July 05, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
Gentrification is a mixed bag. In one sense, you have people we assume come with good intentions and invest in parts of our city that have been long ignored. The lack of interest would have come from back in the day when suburban life became the hot trend. People would
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Posted May 31, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
This story developed because I received a speeding ticket in Nebraska this past March. It was one of those deals when I was going 10 mph over the speed limit, the cop slowed down in front me, so I rode right up on him. Anyway, I had the option of
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Posted May 03, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
I write a lot about movies, including my experiences making them or my experiences watching them. Des Moines’ film history fascinates me, from the insane Evangelical Apocalypse films of Russell Doughten and Donald W. Thompson to Iowa’s own Cinema Paradiso story with the Bev Mahon’s Varsity Theatre. Before all the
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Posted April 05, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
When I think of pizza, I believe there is hope in the world. It’s one of the few foods that seems to unite everyone, regardless of social status. Growing up in a blue-collar house with a single parent, Fridays meant pizza. Even today, parents get off work and don’t want
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Posted March 01, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
I moved back to Iowa from Colorado in 2007. I settled in Des Moines on the south side without knowing anyone. I had a dodgy (but also cheap) apartment on Fleur between Gray’s Lake and the airport. Smartphones really weren’t a thing yet, and Tom at Myspace was still in
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Posted February 01, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
The first story I wrote for this column back in 2017 was on the love story that followed Des Moines’ Varsity Theatre. Bev Mahon fell in love with his future wife after reading about her in Box Office Magazine while he was enlisted in the Air Force. Patty Crouse worked
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Posted January 04, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
As I write this on the afternoon of Dec. 20, my phone is blowing up with warnings of the upcoming blizzard that is forecasted. The temperature has dropped significantly in recent days, and it feels more like the middle of January, less the anticipation of holiday festivities. As of right
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