Archive for category: Activities by Age

Starting Tuesday, March 24, the Ida Grove Library will be offering digital cards for residents of Ida Grove and Ida County who currently do not have a valid Ida Grove Library Card. This digital card will allow access to online resources available through the library, including access to eBooks, eAudiobooks, databases, and other resources during the time that the library is closed to the public.

A digital library card will work as a temporary, three-month card and will need to be renewed in person at the time the card expires. To renew the card in person when the library reopens, patrons will need to verify identity by providing a valid driver’s license or ID card and proof of address.

More information about this new service and the online application is available through the library website: www.idagrove.lib.ia.us/services/digital-library-card

If you already have an Ida Grove Public Library card, you do not need a digital card to access digital materials. Please call 364-2306 or email [email protected] to request your current library card number.

What comes to mind when you think of Iowa food? Everyone has an Iowa food story, and Lake City, Iowa, author Darcy Dougherty Maulsby will bring these stories to life on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, at the Ida Grove Public Library in Ida Grove for a free Adventures in Iowa’s Culinary History program and book signing starting at 6:00 p.m.

“From Iowa originals like Maid-Rites to kolaches to homemade cinnamon rolls—served with chili, of course—there are many remarkable stories behind Iowa’s tastiest traditions,” said Maulsby, Iowa’s Storyteller, who has been featured in the Iowa History Journal, Our Iowa magazine, Iowa Public Radio and more. “Pull up a chair, and relish what you missed in history class.”

During her fun, interactive program, Maulsby serves up fascinating tidbits and cooking tips related to more than 150 years of Iowa cuisine and ethnic food traditions, from all corners of the state, with stories that include Iowa’s classic breaded pork tenderloins, church dinners, the historic Younkers Tea Room, Laura Ingalls Wilder and more. Discover how Iowa’s delectable cuisine is quintessentially Midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences.

Want to know where in Iowa you can dine at a James Beard award-winning steakhouse? Any idea where to find Iowa’s own distinctive style of potato chips, which might be the world’s best chips? What if you want to step back in time and enjoy a slice of homemade pie at an Iowa icon that first opened in 1852? You’ll pass the test with flying colors—and impress your friends—when you delve into Iowa’s culinary history.

“Even those who are well acquainted with Iowa food lore are sure to find something new and interesting,” said Julie Goodrich, who wrote a review of “A Culinary History of Iowa” in the Iowa History Journal. “Go on an adventure with this fun, fascinating and tasty tale of culinary traditions that weave through Iowa’s past and present.”

“I’m passionate about helping people make the farm-to-fork connection and reconnecting with Iowa history,” Maulsby said. “If you have an appetite for adventure, you can’t do better than Iowa when it comes to history, culture, and one-of-kind culinary experiences. ‘A Culinary History of Iowa’ offers a fun way to explore the world without leaving Iowa.”

Signed copies of “A Culinary History of Iowa” will be available during the event, along with Maulsby’s other non-fiction, illustrated Iowa history books (“Calhoun County” and “Dallas County”) and her postcard collections featuring rural Iowa images and postcards featuring favorite vintage photos from the Culinary History of Iowa book.

For more details, contact Angela Scales at the Ida Grove Public Library, 100 E 2nd St. (phone 712-364-2306), or Maulsby ([email protected]). You can also visit Maulsby online at www.darcymaulsby.com.

The Ida Grove Library will host Iowa author, Linda McCann, for a special program about POWs in Iowa on Wednesday, October 23rd at 2 pm.

From 1943-1946, Iowa housed approximately 25,000 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war. While Algona and Clarinda were the main camps, and there were about 17 branches or short-term camps throughout Iowa; including a camp in Storm Lake. The POWs worked in farm fields and canning factories, often taking the place of young men off to war. Linda has spoken with people who worked directly with the POWs, gotten to know them, and will share their memories throughout the program.

Copies of McCann’s new book, POWs in Iowa, will be available to purchase after the program.

The Ida Grove Library will host special guest speaker, Barbara Lounsberry, for “Nancy Drew: Iowa’s Heroine to the World” on Thursday September 19th at 6:30pm in the Heritage Room of the Ida Grove Library.

Nancy Drew is the most popular female detective in fiction. Today she even outsells Miss Marple, Agatha Christie’s venerable heroine. More than 200 million copies of Nancy Drew mysteries have been sold, and she has been translated into 17 different languages. Few know, however, that Nancy is an Iowa heroine and that her creator was Mildred Augustine of Ladora, Iowa. Augustine’s authorship of the first Nancy Drew mysteries—and single-handed creation of Nancy’s admirable character—were kept secret for more than 50 years. Equally distressing is the fact that as Nancy grew in popularity, her Iowa roots were disguised.

Nancy Drew and her creator are extraordinary role models for Iowa girls and boys, women and men. Augustine was herself an intrepid Nancy Drew-like figure. An academic pioneer (the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism), Augustine earned 6 airplane pilots licenses, including one for sea planing; wrote 130 books for young people; and continued her newspaper column “On the Go” through her 96th and last year of life. The presentation “Nancy Drew: Iowa’s Heroine to the World” is designed to fortify Iowans young and old.

Guest speaker, Barbara Lounsberry, was born and raised in Iowa and retired recently as a Professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. She has written books on literature and writing, and had the fun of editing three mystery novels set in Iowa, with each chapter written by a different Iowa author. Lounsberry’s latest books are a trilogy on Virginia Woolf and diaries. Lounsberry was named UNI’s Distinguished Scholar in 1994 and Outstanding Teacher in 1998. Lounsberry is the president of the Ruth Suckow Memorial Association and believes Iowa culture, like its soil, is incredibly rich.

We hope you will mark your calendars and join us for this program!