The Iowa Files, an educational history lecture series, returns for its sixth year in 2024/2025. This joint WDMHS-WDM Public Library program is free and open to the public, thanks to the generosity of West Des Moines Historical Society members, the Iowa Arts Council and the Friends Foundation of the West Des Moines Library. The Iowa Files is an 8 month series showcasing interesting people and events in Iowa history.
Each program begins at 2:30 and runs for one hour in the Community Room of the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway. All programs are livestreamed on the WDMHS Facebook page and YouTube channel. To see recordings of previous Iowa Files, please click on the year below:
Sunday, September 8: Legacy Woods
There’s an exciting new project on the corner of Grand and Fuller- Legacy Woods Nature Sanctuary. When completed, the 29 acre site will include restored prairie and oak savannah, an arboretum and historical campus with the Jordan House, Bennett School and a new heritage center for the public! See the site plan and hear from Ryan Penning, Director of Parks and Recreation, Marco Alvarez, Superintendant of Parks, Allison Ullestad, Arts, Culture & Enrichment Supervisor and Gale Brubaker, Executive Director of the West Des Moines Historical Society.
A captioned recording of this program can be watched here.
Sunday, October 20: Taste of the Junction
Rachelle Long is a non-profit leader, proud advocate for the under served and under represented and a passionate supporter of Valley Junction. Her organization, Taste of the Junction, celebrates the vibrant community that is Valley Junction and creates opportunities for people to share, preserve, and celebrate the ever changing, culturally rich history of Valley Junction.
Rachelle will share stories of early life in Valley Junction through what is happening in this amazing community now!
A captioned recording of this program can be seen here.
Sunday, November 17; Woodland Cemetery
The Story Behind an Iconic Landmark: Woodland Cemetery Woodland Cemetery was founded in 1848, three years before Des Moines was incorporated as a city. One of the earliest Victorian “garden cemeteries,” its oak tree-covered hills served as the city’s first park. People could be buried at Woodland regardless of race, religion or income. Meet early pioneers like the Younkers, Tones and Neumanns, who immigrated here and started early businesses that withstood the test of time. Veterans from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War are buried here. Civil War brothers in arms, Black and white, Union and Confederate, lie side by side. Woodland Cemetery is also an official stop on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Woodland volunteers Mary Christopher and Mike Rowley reveal fascinating stories of these departed residents.
To watch the recording of “Woodland Cemetery” click here.
Sunday, January 12: From Rarebit Burgers to Carrot Juice; Lessons Learned by Working in Iconic Des Moines Restaurants
Wini Moranville reviewed restaurants for the Des Moines Register for 15 years. She writes about the highs and lows of the job in her new book, Love Is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All. Yet many years before she became the “Datebook Diner,” she worked in a number of iconic (and long-gone) Des Moines restaurants—from the straitlaced Baker’s Cafeteria to the hippie-run Soup Kitchen, from the beloved Younkers restaurants (the Meadowlark Room, Tea Room, and Parkade Pantry), to an erstwhile Country Kitchen. For this appearance, Wini will discuss the chapters of her book that cover her time spent in these restaurants, and tell of how each later helped her approach her work as a food critic with a mix of high standards and genuine compassion. A Q & A session will follow.
Sunday, February 9: The Underground Railroad in Iowa
The Underground Railroad was a series of safe places for Freedom Seekers to receive aid on their journey to escape enslavement. Brave men and women, of all colors, faiths and circumstances were part of this network to freedom, including the Jordan family in West Des Moines. Barry Jurgensen, Midwest Regional Manager of the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom, will focus on the history of the Underground Railroad in Iowa and especially the John Brown Freedom Trail’s place in national history.
Sunday, March 16: One Small Step for Iowa, One Giant Leap for America
Iowa isn’t just a flyover state for NASA, but it also provided important materials and technology for the Apollo lunar program. In fact, without Iowa, no one may have seen Neil Armstrong’s first steps. Learn about Iowa’s role in the early NASA days, and how it continues today from David Dubczakk. You usually see David behind the camera at Iowa Files. He’s also a lifelong space enthusiast who loves digging into the technical details of space history. As a graduate student, he worked at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Sunday, April 13: Cheap Lands & Broken Treaties
Kent Halstad will share the Trail of Broken Treaties, the Exile to Kansas and signing with a X, that led to Iowa farmland being available at $1.25 a acre for New Settlers!