Iowans in Great War featured in Masonic Museum exhibit

CEDAR RAPIDS — Before the United States even entered World War I, the Iowa Masonic Library and Museums started collecting artifacts and information on what was eventually become known as the Great War.

Now, to mark 100 years since that conflict, the Cedar Rapids Museum is organizing an exhibit of WWI-era items from their collection. Though the museum is always open to the public, special exhibits like this one are more rare, museum assistant librarian and curator Bill Kreuger said.

'We don't do a lot of temporary exhibits, but we thought this would be appropriate,' he said. 'It seems to be a timely topic. The Masonic Library was really interested in collecting these things, so we thought we'd show some of them off.'

Some of the items that will be displayed include posters advertising war bonds and army recruitment.

The posters, donated to the museum in the 1920s, were buried in the museum's stacks until a few years ago, when staff stumbled on them.

'We were up in our rare book collection, and someone found this rolled up stack of items covered in brown paper, and there were all these posters,' Kreuger said.

The museum recruited students from history classes at the University of Northern Iowa to work on the posters. Over the last three years, the students photographed, researched, encapsulated and cataloged about 75 posters. Around 20 of these will be on display.

Donors to the collection include Iowa Freemasons who served in the military, as well as many other agencies and organizations. Kreuger said the Iowa Masonic Library and Museum was considered an widely respected institution, bringing in donations from around the world. The posters were donated by English Freemason William Crofts-Bullen.

The exhibit also features photographs, books, articles and artifacts including WWI-era uniforms, gas masks, helmets and weapons.

The exhibit's main focus is on Iowa's role in the war, Kreuger said. That includes artifacts from the Iowa National Guard, from a woman who volunteered as a Red Cross nurse and witnessed early battles and from a Marion man who volunteered to drive an ambulance in the British army before America even entered the war.

'It basically takes people through how Iowa was involved in the war and some of the things they possibly saw,' Kreuger said.

The exhibit, 'The Great War: Iowa and Iowans in WWI,' opens Oct. 6 and will remain on display through June.

If you go

• Where: Iowa Masonic Library and Museum, 813 First Ave. SE
• When: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., through June 2015
• Cost: Free
• For more information or to schedule a group tour: Call (319) 365-1438