PRESERVING THE PAST: About the County

My dear friend Linda gave me a t-shirt for New Years.  The message on it read:  Please stop me before I volunteer again.

She seemed not the least surprised when I told her the shirt hadn’t worked. 

I’d given into the “somebody shoulds” and agreed to write a column featuring two of my favorite volunteer groups: the Calhoun County Historical Society Museum and the Calhoun County Historic Preservation Commission.

For the past 10 years, my husband has been on the board of the county museum. As an ever- supportive spouse, I helped at events, gave tours, dusted display shelves and spoke to student groups. 

This past summer, I stepped up my involvement by taking on the management of the collections in the two stories, 20 rooms, 16 hallway cases, nine file cabinets and second building. 

Just a hint: When you come visit the museum, plan for – at least – a two-hour stay.

Two years ago, I attended a reorganizational meeting for the Calhoun County Historic Preservation Commission. Honestly, I went only to find out what the group did. 

By evening’s end, I found myself on the commission, later appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Because of my work at the museum, I’ve developed an avid interest in my home county.

The commission stretches that interest to all corners of the county.  In full disclosure, my involvement with the preservation activities of the commission “made” me volunteer to help two other women from Rockwell City purchase the historic Carnegie Library. 

It’s an adventure I’ll share along with other preservation work going on in Lohrville, Farnhamville and Rockwell City. As that old saying goes, one thing does lead to another!

So, why about the County? I chose this title because “about” can mean a lot of things—just check an Unabridged Webster’s Dictionary. 

One meaning is “in regards to” implying a telling of information.

This applies in the following: Iowa became a state in 1846. By 1853, counties had been drawn in western Iowa. 

Originally, Calhoun Country was named Fox County. Along with Sac County to the west, the idea was to honor the tribes who had lived in this area.

A friend of John C. Calhoun persuaded the Iowa Legislature to change the county from Fox to Calhoun in a legislative deal that named the county to the east Webster. Until 1855, Calhoun residents paid taxes and lived under the governmental control of Greene County.

The less than 100 residents voted to form their own government that year, because records show they felt they weren’t getting their tax money’s worth from Greene County.

Until the first courthouse was built in Lake City in 1856, county business was conducted out of private homes.

Another sense of the word about is “here and there” as in I will drive about the county. The commission does hold meetings in towns throughout the county. It’s a great way discover local restaurants, as well as open the commission to the residents of the towns. 

One of the commission’s jobs this next year is to update a 25-year-old survey of historic sites in the county.

The museum has booklets showing tours of historic sites in the early 1960s. This has me asking a couple of questions.

Are those sites still identifiable? How many of these sites need preservation work?

About the county I will go to find out and will share my discoveries.

Linda admired my rationalizing skill when I explained I really hadn’t volunteered for yet another group. I said I’m just recognizing the importance of the work the many people in these two groups do. 

That’s when she asked, “And what day this week are you shelving books at the library?”