Diane Fannon-Langton

Edgar Bergen dropped into a meeting in Cedar Rapids in1963 and used his hand to demonstrate his ventriloquism talent. Donations spiked 23 percent after his talk.

Ada Van Vechten pushed to open a free, public library in Cedar Rapids 125 years ago.

TIME MACHINE: Members gathered in Eighth Avenue building for more than a century

Figures still on display in Algona every December

State went slightly bonkers in 1956 after bowl invite

Charles Hollenbeck sold the land -- a popular picnicking spot -- to two men, who created a modern “park-like” cemetery, Cedar Memorial Cemetery.

Two men — an immigrant and a dentist — provided 30 years of free Thanksgiving dinners in Cedar Rapids

At a time when Blacks were not welcome in Midwest hotels, James Weldon Johnson was welcomed into the Van Vechten Shaffer home in Cedar Rapids.

The owner of a Cedar Rapids office supply store saved a steam locomotive from the scrap yard and brought it to Cedar Rapids.

Famous for his cloud paintings, he moved indoors

National Newspaper Week began in October 1940 but didn’t catch fire with newspapers staffers. As a whole, they rarely toot their own horns, having more important stories to pursue.

The Capitol Theater opened in 1928, but six months later the lettering on its sign was changed to Paramount.

“Satchmo” played on Quad Cities riverboat, then appeared in concert at numerous Eastern Iowa venues

One troupe operated next door to the swimming pool in the basement of the Roosevelt Hotel

Three sports connect the legendary boxer’s family to Iowa