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Posted September 04, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

Pope John Paul II’s visit to Iowa in 1979

His leadership at the time continues to be impactful today. I often think about the different parts of my life and how social climates are different. I was born Sept. 11, 1985. The Midwest, as a whole, had a strong middle class, and a good union job could feed a

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Posted July 31, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

The Magic Window

Betty Lou Varnum’s show was a safe place for many central Iowa kids. I wish I could have experienced television the way children and adults did back in the 1950s. I imagine it was similar to the first time many of us saw what the Internet had to offer in

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Posted July 03, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

Greenwood Roadway

Big dreams were behind the Warren County track, as it was to be one of the premiere road-racing tracks in the U.S. In October of 2012, I co-hosted Home Movie Day Des Moines, a film event where people brought in their homemade 8mm and 16mm films. Janet Barcheski Green had

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Posted June 05, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

Remembering the Iowa Oaks

When America needs a break from the worries of the world… Take me out to the ball game. With summer right around the corner, I felt it was time to come out of the closet and say, “I love baseball.” I don’t follow any teams, nor do I care much

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Posted May 01, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

Remembering Riverview Amusement Park

Artifacts are still buried under the city-built levee including light posts and the tunnel of love. One of the most talked about places in Des Moines lore comes from the north side of town in the Oak Park Neighborhood off of Sixth Avenue on Corning Avenue. A small island that

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Posted April 03, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten

Love found on Film Row

From the 1940s until the late 1980s, major movie studios had offices in Des Moines. Editor’s note: Des Moines Forgotten is a new column by Kristian Day that will focus on the significant works related to the people, places and events of Des Moines that no longer exist. Patty Crouse

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